Purple Dragons
| Purple Dragons | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| First appearance |
Eastman and Laird's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 (May 1984) |
| Created by |
Kevin Eastman Peter Laird |
| In-story information | |
| Type of organization | Street gang |
| Base(s) | New York City, New York, United States, Earth |
| Leader(s) | Hun Angel Dragon Face |
| Roster | |
| See: Purple Dragons#Membership | |
The Purple Dragons are the name of a street gang in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise. In all continuities, they often face the Turtles early in the storyline.
The Purple Dragons are particularly known for their salient transition icon, the image of a purple dragon, which they wear as either a tattoo or on their clothes. They mostly commit robberies and threaten people.
In the Mirage Studios comics, the Purple Dragons (also known as the Purple Dragon Gang) are the toughest gang from the Lower East Side in New York City. They often are led by Hun and have a connection to the Foot Clan, though not always. The leader of the “Black Dragons”, apparently cut a deal with Officer Miller, which resulted in Hun being locked up and allowed him to gain control of the Purple Dragons. He then helped the Purple Dragons’ one-time-rival, the Shredder, wipe out the group, turning them into the Black Dragons: a gang subservient to the Foot Clan. In their first fight against the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the Purple Dragons found that their guns and knives are useless against their martial arts. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles managed to kill most of the members before the police arrive.
The Purple Dragons appear again 25 years later in 2009. Decades ago, the gang's leader Hunter Mason (the true identity of Hun) delivered a brutal beating to a teen-aged Casey Jones, one of the Purple Dragons' bitterest enemies, prior to being thrown in jail. After being released from jail Hun wiped out the Black Dragons, declaring his intentions to rebuild his criminal empire.
In the 1987 cartoon, the Turtles defeat a non-named gang, reminding of the Purple Dragons, in the sewers when saving April O'Neil in the first episode ("Turtle Tracks"). Before mutation, Bebop and Rocksteady are members of the gang. The gang reappears in the episodes "The Gang's All Here" and "Once Upon a Time Machine" albeit with different members.
Because the first issues of Archie TMNT Adventures comics follow the 1987 cartoon, a similar (unnamed) gang with Bebop and Rocksteady also appear in the first issue.
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