Pop culture ninjas that took hold of our imaginations

No foursome has ever had a name that indicated what they are all about like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. These pizza-loving ninjas have been all over comics, cartoons, movies both live-action and animated, and some pretty awesome video games as well. Also, shoutout to Splinter, who taught the Turtles the way of the ninja.

If you were a child in the ‘90s (and didn’t have discerning taste), you likely at least saw one of the “3 Ninjas” movies. They are, after all, about kids who are ninjas. Maybe you were a Rocky (who loves Emily), a Colt, or a Tum-Tum, but for four films these kids mashed up ninja stuff with “Home Alone” antics.

Who is Haru? Well, maybe you know him better as the “Beverly Hills Ninja.” Chris Farley, the late comedy legend, was a massive movie star, so much so that Hollywood figured they would try and build a movie like “Beverly Hills Ninja” around him. It wasn’t a highlight of Farley's truncated career, but it did play to his gift for physical comedy.

No, not the guy from Green Day. That’s Billie Joe Armstrong. This Joe Armstrong, played by actor Michael Dudikoff, is the “American Ninja” in a series of cult films with that name. In the first one, Joe is enlisted in the army to avoid jail time, and while in the Philippines learns the way of the ninja. They ended up making five “American Ninja” movies, because Golan-Globus loved nothing more than cheap action movies.

We won’t pretend like we know every in and out of the “Lego Ninjago” world. All we know is that, in the wake of “The Lego Batman Movie,” we got “The Lego Ninjago Movie.” It wasn’t as big of a hit, but these Lego characters are certainly more well-known than many ninjas. Lloyd Garmadon, the protagonist of the film, has his own Wikipedia page, after all.

The “Mortal Kombat” games and movies are packed with ninjas. Too many to list, frankly, Any character that wears a partial mask over their face seems to be a ninja. A violent ninja ready to unleash a fatality. Sub-Zero is one of the bigger ninjas, but we also have to shout out Scorpion, mostly because “Get over here!” is forever in our brain.

Even if you don’t know manga or anime, you likely know the name Naruto. His full name is Naruto Uzumaki, and he’s one of the biggest anime characters of all time. “Naruto” has such an expansive universe at this point we couldn’t possibly absorb it all, but Naruto is a transcendent anime character, as well as a ninja, so he has to be included.

Why are there ninjas in the world of “G.I. Joe?” Um, why not? These were toys, and cartoons, originally aimed at kids, and kids loved ninjas. Snake Eyes is the foremost ninja of this world, a fixture of the recent live-action films as well. In fact, the third film in that series was straight-up called “Snake Eyes.”

It’s lost to history now, but when the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” comic debuted, it was a violent parody of “Daredevil.” Splinter’s name is a play on Stick, Daredevil’s mentor, for example. Of course, if you put two and two together, you might then realize that Daredevil – and Elektra – are ninjas just like Leonardo and company.

Batman has some ninja vibes to him, though he doesn’t necessarily make the cut. The villainous Ra’s al Ghul, on the other hand, does. In “Batman Begins,” he’s the leader of the League of Shadows, known as the League of Assassins in the comics, and there is a lot of ninja going on with the whole League of Shadows headquarters. Also, in the comics Ra’s al Ghul is immortal because of something called the Lazarus Pits, so that’s something.

In feudal Japan, a ronin was a samurai with no affiliation, kind of a rogue warrior. That’s not all that different from a ninja, and indeed the Marvel character Ronin is classified as a ninja. There have been several iterations, but the most famous now, thanks to the MCU, is Clint Barton’s time as Ronin.

In the world of Japanese film, “Lone Wolf and Cub” is a storied, lengthy franchise. There have been several films based on the manga series from the seventies. Ogami Itto and his baby set off on a litany of adventures, and the Lone Wolf is, fittingly, a ronin assassin.

“Bloodsport” is a full-on cult classic, and a wild movie. Jean-Claude Van Damme plays Frank Dux, a U.S. Army Captain who goes to Hong Kong to partake in Kumite, an underground fight tournament. Not only does Dux have military background, but he is also an avowed practitioner of ninjutsu, and has a sensei and everything.

Trying to replicate the success of “The A-Team,” NBC created a show called “The Master.” Lee Van Cleef played an American named John McAllister who became a ninja master in Japan after World War II. In the show he took young Max Keller under his wing to teach him the ways of the ninja. It was a bad show, and canceled after 13 episodes. So why is McAllister on this list? Well, the episodes of the show got remastered in the ‘80s and turned into 90-minute movies called “The Master Ninja.” The first two of those films ended up on “Mystery Science Theater 3000,” forever earning the show cult status.

Look, “Surf Ninjas” is a ridiculous movie, even by ‘90s kid movie standards. It’s goofy and features Rob Schneider, Leslie Nielsen, and Tone Loc. However, it’s also delightfully cheesy, and it is packed with ninja action (though notably light on surf action). Plus, can you resist a title like “Surf Ninjas?” All we can say is, kwansu dudes!

From the release of the first “Ninja Gaiden” game in the 1980s for Nintendo, it has become a beloved, extensive series. At the center, you find Ryu Hayabusa. In fact, Ryu Hayabusa is the foremost ninja in video games.

Are the Power Rangers ninjas? They hide their identities, they use martial arts, and, um, they use giant mechs, which is maybe not ninja stuff. We’ll say this. There is a Power Rangers game called “Ninja Storm,” and the 24th and 25th season of the show were titled “Ninja Steel” and “Super Ninja Steel.” So, at the very least, this version of the Power Rangers is ninja-fied.

In 1967, Sean Connery’s James Bond went to Japan for “You Only Live Twice.” Don’t worry, it’s definitely not culturally problematic at all. For a portion of the film, Bond is helped by Aki, an agent of Japan’s secret service who also happens to be a ninja.

Apparently Zelda is a ninja? She’s in the Wikipedia category of “Fictional female ninja.” While Zelda is a princess, one who is often a distressed damsel, sometimes she gets out there and ninjas it up. Maybe it is when she is in her Sheik persona? Clearly, Zelda is considered a ninja in at least some iterations, and that works for us.

The original Japanese word for a ninja was “shinobi.” In 1987, an arcade game called “Shinobi” came out, and it birthed a series of games, arcade, console, you name it. They focus on a ninja, and that ninja in the first game that began the series is Joe Musashi. It’s not always Musashi in the “Shinobi” games, but it started with him, and so we end with this shinobi, aka this ninja.