Nickelodeon today revealed a first-look of the characters in its brand-new animated series, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which follows the band of brothers as they discover new powers and encounter a mystical world they never knew existed beneath the streets of New York City. The 2D-animated series debuts later this year on Nickelodeon. There is no word on when the first footage of these heroes in a half-shell will debut at this time.

Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reimagines the characters in a fresh new way, featuring jagged-shelled Raphael as a snapping turtle, wielding twin tonfas as his weapons; Leonardo as a red-eared slider, using an odachi sword; Donatello as a soft-shell turtle, sporting a tech-bo staff; and Michelangelo as a box turtle, arming himself with a kusari-fundo. Along for the adventure is the Turtles' most trusted ally, April O'Neil, a street savvy native New Yorker and Splinter, father figure and sensei to the Teenage Turtles.

The series stars the voice talent of Omar Miller (Ballers) as Raphael, Ben Schwartz (Parks and Recreation) as Leonardo, Josh Brener (Silicon Valley) as Donatello, Brandon Mychal Smith (You're The Worst) as Michelangelo, Kat Graham (The Vampire Diaries) as April O'Neil and Eric Bauza (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) as Splinter. WWE Superstar John Cena lends his voice as villain, Baron Draxum, an alchemist warrior mutant who seeks to turn all of humanity into mutants.

The Turtles' hold distinct personality traits and skills, including: Raphael, as the oldest and biggest brother, he is the leader full of enthusiasm and bravado; Leonardo, the self-professed 'coolest' brother possesses irreverent charm and a rebel heart; Donatello, a mechanical genius and tech wizard whose ninja skills are second only to his coding; and Michelangelo, the youngest brother, a skateboarder and artist who is wild and imaginative. The new 26-episode series is co-executive produced by Andy Suriano (character designer, animation industry voice actor Rob Paulsen is voice directing the series. Viewers can visit the Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles page on Nick.com for more information and follow @TMNT for Turtle Power updates. The character art was revealed today on Facebook Live.

Considered one of the most popular kids' television programs of the 1980s, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a classic, global property created in 1984 by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It first debuted as a successful comic book series and then became a hit animated TV show, a live-action television series and later spawned numerous blockbuster theatrical releases. The property is a global consumer products powerhouse, winning in every category that has hit shelves to date, with toys, apparel, video games, DVDs and more, and generating billions of dollars at retail. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has been the number-one action figure for the past three years and the franchise is a previous recipient of the Toy Industry Association's top honor for Property of the Year at the TOTY Awards. Take a look at the artwork below, courtesy of TMNT Twitter.

Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Voice Cast
Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Omar Miller
Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Leonardo
Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Ben Schwartz
Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Donatello
Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Josh Brener
Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Brandon Mychal Smith
Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles April O'Neil
Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Kat Graham
Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Splinter
Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Eric Bauza