Some TMNT stuff really isn't for little kids.
Old Hob is a one-eyed cat mutant, and the first major enemy of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in the IDW series. He was created by IDW's editor-in-chief, Chris Ryall. Hob had a gang of humans that work for him. Later, Hob co-founded the Mutanimals along with Slash, and it later became called the Mighty Mutanimals as its membership grew.
Old Hob was a stray cat that came across the Turtles and Splinter after they were dropped by the pair of ninja that had stolen them from Stockgen. The mutagen that was also stolen spilled, and Hob came into contact with it, causing him to mutate. He tried to scurry off with a pre-mutated Raphael, but Splinter attacked, clawing out one of Hob's eyes. He would later mutate and team up with Baxter Stockman to get revenge on Splinter and the Turtles. Since the mutagen Old Hob came into contact was contaminated, he was sent to bring in the other mutants dead or alive in order to get mutagen samples from their blood. He was put in charge of a street gang and tried multiple times to take down Splinter and the Turtles.
A while later, Hob and his thugs come across Casey Jones and Raphael. Hob nearly killed them until the rest of the Turtles come to Casey and Raph's rescue. Upon remembering his past, Raphael went into a rage and almost beast him to death, but his brothers stop him.
Stockman was unhappy with his failure, but Hob claimed the money he was supplied wasn't enough to pay for forces strong enough to subdue the mutants, and that he would need an army to take them down. So to aid Hob, Stockman gave him control of his M.O.U.S.E.R.S. robots. Hob used the Mousers to attack the Turtles, destroy their home and kidnap Splinter. Old Hob brings Splinter to Stockgen and is waiting for Stockman and General Krang when the lab is attacked by the Foot Clan and he is knocked out. Stockman believes that Hob's usefulness has run its course, so he shoots him.
Though thought dead, Old Hob appears alive and well at the end of issue 16, where he encounters Slash on the shore of the water. The two team-up and vow revenge on Stockman and everyone else at Stockgen.
They managed to kidnap former StockGen scientist Lindsey Baker outside her house, then tie her to a chair, offering her a table full of money to help them make a mutant army to protect the other mutants of New York. Hob had obtained a large canister of ooze and samples of Splinter's blood (containing the missing psychotropic compound). Slash willingly injects himself with some of Splinter's blood, and the compound within it makes Slash intelligent in moments, proving her theory correct. She then uses a gecko and hermit crab stolen by Hob and Slash to create Mondo Gecko and Herman having successfully combined the compound with the mutagen. Then Hob managed to mutate a pigeon to create Pete as part of his Mutanimals group to protect the other mutants of the city.
Hob's Mutanimals later raided the Null Group and brought Mutagen Man, Man Ray and Sally Pride into his group. Around the same time, Slash came to disapprove of some of Hob's less ethical tactics, and made Hob promise not to resort to the tactics of villains. But Hob never intended to keep his promise, and instead recruited the help of Ray and Herman to conduct a series of a black operations without the knowledge or consent of Slash or the other Mutanimals.
First, Hob and Herman jailbroke Hun from police custody. Then, Hob and Ray directed the rest of the Mutanimals to a series of operations seizing heavy weaponry from criminals, promising that they would all be taken off the streets and destroyed. But instead, Hob stored them in a secret warehouse to defend against future possible battles, and had Hun manage the warehouse and sell off surplus weapons for profit to reinvest in the Mutanimals' costs.
Later still, Hob welcomed Michelangelo into the group, which he now called the Mighty Mutanimals. But Mikey's inclusion in the team set in motion a sequence of events that would throw Hob's plan into disarray. Mikey participated in one of Hob's weapons seizure operations, but Mikey doubted Hob's official explanation of what would happen to the weapons. Soon after the first operation, Mikey stealthily trailed Hob and discovered Hob's secret warehouse. Hob quickly lost control of the situation as Hun was enraged to see one of his archenemies and immediately incapacitated Hob and started fighting Mikey. Mondo, having secretly tracked Mikey, told the other Mutanimals, and Sally talked the group into following Mikey and Hob to their whereabouts, discovering both the warehouse and the fight in progress. Slash attacked Hun to defend Mikey, and Hob learnt upon regaining consciousness that the entire plan was falling apart. Slash defeated Hun into unconsciousness, but Hob was forced to explain to the team what he had been doing, provoking an immediate scandal as Slash, Sally, Mondo and Seymour were all deeply disturbed by the revelation. Slash still considered Hob a friend, but he decided to quit the Mutanimals along with Mikey. Sally furiously censured Hob and had lost much faith in him, but she and the rest of the Mutanimals chose to remain part of the team. Hob proved completely unrepentant of his actions; as soon as he and Michelangelo were alone, he assaulted the turtle, blamed him for everything that had just happened, and vowed he would never forgive or forget it.
- Like Hallocat before him, Old Hob's name stems from a colloquial name for the Devil.
I will find you. I will hurt you. And I swear, I will kill you. Even if I have to put you on a rocket and shoot you straight into the sun.
You think I care what you want, turtle? Do you?! I let you on my team after all that rat's been puttin' you through and you thank me by tryin' to wreck everything I built! Slash was right—I invited a snake into the mix, but it wasn't Hun. It was you! Well, little snake, just remember this—I never forget... ...and I never forgive.