Stranger Things Season 4 is over, so what better time to announce a new collaboration with... Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? It was revealed on the Netflix Geeked Twitter account that Stranger Things and TMNT were crossing over for a new set of action figures. That's right, you can now buy two-packs of toys that feature the turtles (well, some of them) standing side by side with your favorite Stranger Things characters (well, some of them).

　　There are two sets available, one featuring Leonardo and Eleven, the other featuring Raphael and Hopper. Pardon us for not understanding why this collaboration exists, other than to wring a few extra dollars out of fans of the franchises. What do the Ninja Turtles have to do with Stranger Things at all, other than the fact that the long-running franchise first debuted as a comic book in the 1980s?

　　Eleven and Leonardo can surely take down Vecna. STRANGER THINGS Upside Down Remix. pic.twitter.com/bDx7W1vAJs

　　— Netflix Geeked (@NetflixGeeked) July 8, 2022

　　Granted, the turtles in the sets are based on the comic book look of the characters--not the animated series versions, which are how TMNT became popular--but this particular crossover feels like a major stretch--and one that's honestly not all that interesting. Why is Leonardo paired with Eleven? Hopper and Raph are both hotheads, but what links them other than that? And why are these the versions of the characters from Stranger Things Season 3, which first aired back in 2019? That's more then a whole pandemic ago!

　　This just feels like a lazy play for cash, and they didn't even bother to include the two coolest turtles. After all, what's better than having two of the four Ninja Turtles in a Ninja Turtles toy collection? All of them, maybe. And if Raphael should be paired with any character, it's clearly the Demogorgon.

　　Interestingly, these toys follow another collaboration between TMNT and Netflix in the crossover figures with Cobra Kai . In that instance, though, you got all four turtles paired with characters from the series--Daniel, Johnny, Miguel, and Kreese. The turtle designs they used weren't very good, but at least the set made sense. After all, they were essentially posed at martial arts showdowns--what's not to love about that?

　　Now, with Stranger Things, it's the "Upside Down Remix." All that means it one of the figures (the Stranger Things figure in each set) is packaged upside down. In a world where NECA and Super 7 are releasing some of the best Ninja Turtles action figures ever released and Playmates, who is behind this new set, has been reissuing several items from the iconic original TMNT toy line, these just seem utterly pointless for fans. But hey, maybe it doesn't matter and these things will sell like hotcakes. They've already made an '80s-style toy commercial to promote them and you can preorder them at Target for $40 per set. So, you know, run out and get them. Or, alternatively, buy the much cooler Stranger Things toys from Bandai which, for one reason or another, are available exclusively at Target.