Krang is Shredder’s alien ally in the 1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon.
Krang is an Utrom-like alien brain who operates a humanoid exosuit and commands the Technodrome. In the 1987 series, he allies with Oroku Saki, better known as the Shredder, and helps him build weapons, machines, and schemes against the turtles. Krang’s body is often called an exosuit because the small alien controls it from inside the torso.
The character was created for the animated series rather than being a central figure in the original 1984 Mirage comic. Later TMNT adaptations reinterpreted Krang and the Utroms in different ways, so his exact origin and appearance vary across continuities.
Krang is often mixed up with Baxter Stockman, Shredder’s human scientist associate, or with the Triceratons, an alien species from other TMNT stories. In the 1987 cartoon, however, the distinctive brain-like ally is Krang.