The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are about to cross paths with a character that's long been forgotten. Panda Khan is about to make his debut in the new Saturday Morning Adventures.
IDW Publishing's teaser for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures #37 reveals the arrival of the panda samurai, and it's looking to be another action-packed issue. It is set to go on sale on Wednesday, May 27, 2026. "A noble warrior from another dimension finds himself stranded on Earth," IDW's solicit reveals. "Think you know the sword-wielding hero we’re talking about? Well, guess again!" In a first look at the upcoming issue, IDW has revealed a series of covers showing Panda Khan in action.
Panda Khan Reunites with TMNT in New Saturday Morning Adventures
The full solicit for the issue teases what Panda Khan will get up to and why he needs the Ninja Turtles' help. "Panda Khan makes his Saturday Morning Adventures debut, landing in New York after a battle of wits with a sinister set of sorceresses! Can the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles help Panda Khan defeat the spider witches Twixt and Tween and return him to his home? Twenty pages after this pulse-pounding team-up kicks off, you’ll have the answers! Get ready and get set — it’s gonna be panda-monium!"
The new Saturday Morning Adventures issue is written by Erik Burnham with art by Sarah Myer and colors by Luis Antonio Delgado. It features a main cover by Sarah Myer, with variants by Dave Garcia, Jonathan Miller, Steve Lavigne, and Pieter Vermaning.
It's been quite some time since fans saw Panda Khan, also known as the boy warrior bear Li Yang. The character was created by Monica Sharp and Dave Garcia and hasn't had much involvement with the Turtles in the past, other than a well-known but incredibly limited appearance as an action figure in the franchise's toy line back in 1990. In 2025, he could be seen in Crouching Panda, Hidden Turtles.
Unfortunately, Panda Khan's crossover with the Turtles is unlikely to last very long. A teaser for issue #38 of Saturday Morning Adventures already reveals that the Turtles will be moving on to another, even larger issue as Hun, leader of the Purple Dragons, allies himself with the Shredder and gains a mysterious new power.
IDW Brings Back the Classic Ninja Turtles with New Multipart Series
Image via Paramount+Panda Khan's crossover appearance this month is part of a long string of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle issues aiming to recapture the nostalgia of the original cartoon series. "The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles first appeared in 1984, but it wasn’t until 1987 that a catchy theme song and action-packed cartoon helped make them a global phenomenon," IDW's listing for the first collected volume of the series reads.
The series kicked off with four "lost episodes" that follow in the "radical two-toed footsteps of the classic series." Since its inception in 2023, the series has largely been praised, especially for Burnham's faithful recreation of the 1987 animated series, including its tone, lighthearted adventures, and for making the Turtles accessible to fans of all ages.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures #37 goes on sale starting on May 27.
Release Date 1987 - 1996-00-00
Directors Bill Wolf
English (US) · 