Despite being a minor character in the Mirage comics at the time of its initial airing, the Rat King (voiced by Townsend Coleman) is featured as a recurring character in the 1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series, being one of the few villains from the comics to make the transition into the cartoon (the others being The Shredder, the Foot Clan, Dr. Dome, the Triceratons, and Dr. Stockman).