The Battletoads have always been the black sheep of the fighting amphibian family. They’re good guys, even if they are named after disgusting skin conditions. Back in the 1990s, Rash, Zitz, and Pimple survived a grueling series of adventures, saving each other’s skins many a time, as well as their lady friend Princess Angelica. Despite the many heroic acts they accomplished during their heyday, the Battletoads never received much in the way of fame and fortune. They never got to be subjects of movies, and their time in the spotlight was short-lived.

By the time the new millennium rolled around, Rash, Zitz, and Pimple were living in a tiny studio apartment on Planet Ragnorak, barely managing to get by. Princess Angelica was long gone, having decided that living with a bunch of gross, dirt-poor toads was not the life for her, and the toads were alone. Occasionally, one of them would attempt a crazy stunt to get his name back in print, but the attention was always short-lived.

The Battletoads were bitter. Why? Because they could have had it all: fame, fortune, hot TV news reporters. There was only one problem: their arch-nemeses, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, beat them to it. While the Turtles, with their massive line of movies, games, action figures, and comics, managed to hang onto their popularity for decades, the Battletoads had been long forgotten.

Sick of his dead-end job, as well as sharing a rathole apartment with two stinky toads, Rash decided to take matters into his own hands: he was going to fight the Turtles. However, after spending some time tracking them down, Pimple and Zitz discovered what he was up to. At first, they tried to talk him out of it, but Rash was determined. Even if it was the last thing he did, he was going to destroy the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for stealing the life that could have been his.

Reluctant to let their buddy go off on his own to his death, Zitz and Pimple followed Rash across the galaxy and down a sewer far, far away to confront the Turtles. What ensued was a bloody, sweaty, hard-won battle. Who came out victorious? Well, the Battletoads had the desperation, but the Turtles, in addition to being ninjas, were also mutants.

The Battletoads never stood a chance.

Being merciful to their pathetic opponents, the Turtles allowed them to live, but banished them from Planet Earth forever. Defeated, the Battletoads headed back to Ragnorak. There, they found that, suddenly, everyone seemed to know who they were. They soon found out that their fight with the Turtles had somehow made its way onto Ragno-Tube, a popular space-internet video site. The video received a million hits in a week, and the Battletoads had inadvertently risen to infamy. Sure, they were known as “those slimy jerks who tried to fight the Ninja Turtles”, but that was beside the point.

Keeping the ball rolling, the Battleloads next appeared on a new reality TV show that was developed just for them. The concept was simple: the Battletoads would fight random celebrities, which usually resulted in bruises and broken bones… not to mention high ratings. Currently, their show is one of the highest-rated on Ragnorak, and they have left behind their old digs for a fancy swamp-side mansion. It took them awhile, but they have finally gotten the glory they have always felt they deserved. You can catch them tonight on Ragno-Fox, fighting other second-string characters from the last couple of decades. First up: Hammer Brother #2!