Crouching Panda, Hidden Turtles

Not every character is so black and white. When Panda Khan confronts an evil wizard called Aldabra, an ancient tortoise, to try an protect his home of Wu-Kung, the wizard enacts a spell that goes wrong, and Panda Khan is drawn into a temporal vortex that rips him away from Wu-Kung and drops him in a dark alleyway in the heart of Hell's Kitchen, New York. When he wakes, he is amazed at the strange new world he has entered, but that amazement soon turns to shock as he finds himself surrounded by a group of Foot Soldiers, and they demand that he journeys with them, as their leader, the Shredder wishes an audience with him. Panda Khan will have none of that, and draws his sword, the Morning Qi, and squares off against the new threat. Unseen, far above, four turtle brothers are watching the scene unfold, and they quickly come to realize that Panda Khan is no friend of the Foot Clan, but he is heavily outnumbered, so with the battle cry, "COWABUNGA" echoing through the darkness of the alleyays, the brothers leap from the rooftop, dropping down to join the large Samurai Panda, to vanquish the Foot Clan soldiers... And this is but the beginning of the story... to be continued in your imagination! Okay, so that is all 100% made up. Well, Li Yang did live in a city in the Wu-Kung Shan mountains, and there was an evil wizard (a human named Shibo, not a tortoise named Aldabra) but everything else? Nope. Panda Khan never appeared on any incarnation of the TMNT cartoon, and the only thing that even hints he may have been under consideration is that he got a figure in the vintage toyline - though more often the cartoon followed the toys' lead, not the other way around. Like Usagi Yojimbo, Panda Khan was another indie comic that Eastman and Laird used their stardom to raise the profile of. In fact, while the toy didn't come out until 1990, Panda Khan actually pre-dates the creation of the Turtles by several years, being created in 1981 and first seeing publication in 1983. But still, considering the Khan never even got a comic crossover with them, that 1990 action figure is the biggest audience the character's ever had. In 2020, Gaelstone Media Group acquired the full rights to Panda Khan, and have plans for a new animated series. Since he never appeared in the Fred Wolf TMNT cartoon, this toy seems to be based on those new designs. It's a bit of a cross between the old comic and the old toy: Playmates Toys' version had chainmail and samurai armor, Abacus Press' version wore baggy pants and a cloth vest; this new one wears a few armor plates over baggy pants, a robe-like tunic, and a vest. The headband was a feature of both versions, so it's naturally here as well. This is a good compromise design, and it's all sculpted nicely by Tomasz Rozejowski. The colors are purely toy-based, however: original Panda Khan artist Dave Garcia was reportedly colorblind, which is why Li Yang's colorscheme was mainly browns and tans instead of anything flashy. Playmates clearly favored primary colors, so the plastic version featured green pants, gold chainmail, and vibrant red and blue armor. NECA's toy follows that lead, giving him green pants, a light blue tunic, darker blue vest, and armor that's blue with yellow trim, but is held on by red ties. If this is a design meant for animation, the colors will definitely be more eye-catching (in addition to homaging the version most folks would already know). Similar to the various Usagis we've gotten from NECA, Panda Khan includes two heads: one is simply frowning, the other is gritting its teeth. And while he can't pull his ears into a top knot like the bunny does, we do still get a bit of extra variety: both heads pull apart above the headband, so you can decide whether you want him to have plain white fur up there, or a tiny black ponytail. How cute! What's the difference? We'll have to wait and see if the cartoon ever actually happens, and if it explains that. There's a swivel joint for the ties on that headband. Can you imagine if that was the only point of articulation on the whole thing? Comical! Sad news for fans of bad things, he moves like any other NECA toy: a barbell head, swivel/hinge shoulders, swivel biceps, double-hinged elbows, swivel/​hinge wrists, a swivel waist, balljoint hips, swivel thighs, swivel/hinge knees, and swivel/​hinge ankles. Switching the heads is tough. It's easier to pop the legs off - despite them not being intended for removal - than the head. On the plus side, that means you don't have to worry about them falling off once they're on, but seesh, giving him different expressions is a chore! Fortunately, trading his alternate hands is much easier. The figure's accessories are simple: a straw hat that can swap on just like the different haircuts, a wicker backpack that has to actually slide up his arms, the sword mentioned in his bio, and a pair of hand claws. It's not much, but it's suitable for him. If we would be to give him anything else, it would be a laser pistol: the vintage toy had one, and he used one in the comics, so even if there isn't one in this new franchise it would be as much of an Easter egg as his colors are. It's not really a mystery how Panda Khan got a figure in the vintage Playmates line: Dave Garcia, the character's co-creator, drew the TMNT Adventures comic for a little while, and inked it for even longer; in fact, it was Eastman and Laird who encouraged Garcia and writer Monica Sharp to try publishing their own comic in the first place. It's possible that, since this NECA action figure is based on the planned new cartoon, the story on the back of the box may be, as well. Even if that text ultimately means nothing, it's still cool to get a modern toy of this classic character. -- 05/15/25 What non-appearing character do you want to be put into this line next? Tell us on our message board, the Loafing Lounge.