This article is about the episode "Nano", for the character see Nanobot.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003) episode
TMNT2K3 S01E05
Season Code: S01E05
Episode: 5
Original airdate March 8, 2003
Written by Eric Luke
Supervising Producer Lloyd Goldfine
Producers: Gary Richardson
Frederick U. Fierst
Al Kahn
Norman Grossfeld
Thomas Kenney
Supervising Director  Chuck Patton
Story Editor: Lloyd Goldfine
Episode chronology
← Previous Next →
"Meet Casey Jones" "Darkness on the Edge of Town"

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Season 1
February 8, 2003 - November 1, 2003
List of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles episodes


  1. Things Change
  2. A Better Mousetrap
  3. Attack of the Mousers
  4. Meet Casey Jones
  5. Nano
  6. Darkness on the Edge of Town
  7. The Way of Invisibility
  8. Fallen Angel
  9. Garbageman
  10. The Shredder Strikes, Part 1
  11. The Shredder Strikes, Part 2
  12. The Unconvincing Turtle Titan
  13. Notes from the Underground, Part 1
  14. Notes from the Underground, Part 2
  15. Notes from the Underground, Part 3
  16. The King
  17. The Shredder Strikes Back, Part 1
  18. The Shredder Strikes Back, Part 2
  19. Tales of Leo
  20. The Monster Hunter
  21. Return to New York, Part 1
  22. Return to New York, Part 2
  23. Return to New York, Part 3
  24. Lone Raph and Cub
  25. The Search for Splinter, Part 1
  26. The Search for Splinter, Part 2

Season 1Season 2Season 3Season 4Ninja TribunalFast Forward - Back to the Sewer

"Nano" is the fifth episode of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003 TV series). It first aired on March 8th, 2003. It had 1.65 million views on the 4kids website as on 2007.


Major Characters

Minor Characters

Main Locations, Vehicles and Accessories


Voice-over introduction

Donatello: "My name is Donatello, and I'm usually into building things. This particular thing, I'd like to take apart, real fast... before it takes us apart."

Casey,Leo and April 1

Leo introduces Casey to April

April and Casey 2

April treats Casey's wounds

Plot Synopsis

In an ultra-tech lab, Dr. Marion Richards conducts some experiments on the U.S. Government research project named “Nanotech.” She watches a containment vessel through a powerful microscope as millions of microscopic robots, nanobots, disassemble a toaster and an alarm clock and then reassemble the pieces into something entirely different, a tiny, strangely human-looking contraption. Disgusted with the nanobots' acquisition of a personality, she electrocutes them and leaves the room. The nanobots take this opportunity to escape the containment vessle.

As the nanobots wander the street, it comes across a scene with a father and son buying a toy robot from a street vendor, Harry the Pickpocket. After ripping off the father’s wallet, Harry hurries down an alley, unaware that the nanobots are following him.

Harry slips on the bots, spilling the contents of his toy display case. As the toys smash into pieces on the pavement they are engulfed by the nanobots and re-assembled into a weird looking mechanical child, complete with a crude boombox voice. The strange creature walks towards Harry saying "Daddy" (a concept it learned from the boy) over and over. At first Harry is petrified but then he sees a demonstration of the nanobots abilities and becomes intrigued with the criminal possibilities.

The Turtles and Casey arrive at April's to help her move in. Since she has lost her job, April has decided to reopen her father's antique store, "2nd Time Around." Casey immediately rubs April the wrong way, particularly when he breaks a large cabinet of antique china.

Harry adopts the little nanotech creature and uses it to break into all sorts of shops, including several that are in and around April’s "2nd Time Around" antique store. All these mysterious and unexplained break-ins are causing April to be concerned for the safety of her shop, so she asks the Turtles to spend a few nights at her place. The Turtles gladly agree, both because April is their friend and because they are into the idea of a sleepover.

During the night, Harry and his nanobot accomplice do indeed break into April's store. Casey catches them as they leave, and Nano disassembles a car to create a new, more powerful body, and swats Casey away. Leonardo hears the noise and wakes the others. When the Turtles go down to investigate the noise, they run head on into Harry and Nano. A fight erupts between the Turtles and Nano, as the robotic swarm tries to help Harry escape. During the fight, Don manages to cut off a piece of the Nanobot with an old welding torch, and Nano reacts in pain.

After Harry and Nano escape, Donatello studies the piece and discovers the true microscopic identity of the strange robotic monster, as well as the fact that the nanobots reproduce at an incredible rate. The brainy turtle also discovers that the little nanobots are destroyed by extreme heat.

Deciding that they have to catch this nano-monster before it gets bigger and more powerful, Don develops a tracking device that allows our heroes to track Nano and Harry to a junkyard. The Turtles arrive in the Battle Shell and a full-scale war ensues between the 'bot and the Turtles. As Nano fights, it continually grabs pieces from the junk around it and absorbs the pieces into itself, growing larger and larger. The Turtles need to do something fast, before the nano-monster gets too big to defeat! Through teamwork, the Turtles manage to snag Nano with a giant junkyard electro-magnet. Harry spots this predicament and runs over to the crane, cutting its power in hopes of freeing his ally - but without power, the magnet drops Nano into a blast-furnace below, seemingly ending its twisted life outside the lab. Harry sees the end of his “child” and realizes he made a big mistake in the way he “raised” and used the innocent little nanobot.


[The Turtles see the Nanobot for the first time]
Leonardo: Okay...what is that? Donnie?
Donatello: Uh, insufficient data, boss.

[Casey is hurt lying on the April's couch]
April: You aren't going anywhere, mister. You wait right here till I get some more bandages.
[April leaves and Raph comes up to Casey]
Raphael: You wouldn't be milking this boo-boo thing, wouldja Case?
Casey: Hey, show a little concern, shell-for-brains.
Raphael: *winks and nudges Casey* You owe us one, pal.
Casey: Definitely. *winces in pain* Ow!

[The Turtles search for the Nanobot in the junk yard]
Donatello: Where is that thing? The locater says it should be right here.
Michelangelo: I know it's been used before guys, but I'm gettin' a baaaaaad feeling about this.
[The Nanobot uses stolen goods to become bigger]
Michelangelo: And now I'm getting an even badder feeling about this.

[The Nanobot is crushed into a square cube]
Raphael: Yowch, looks like that did it.
Michelangelo: Yeah, he's flat broke.
[The Nanobot begins rebuilding itself]
Michelangelo: You know, I'm gonna stop with the puns. Seriously, they always come back to bit you!

[The Nanobot melts in the furnace]
Nanobot: Da...dy...
Harry: I can't believe you're one real lucky break...and I broke ya... *cries as the police come onto the scene* I'm sorry!

Michelangelo: You know...I feel kinda bad for the little bot.
Raphael: "Little"?
Michelangelo: You know, he was kinda like a little kid.
Donatello: Too bad he had such a rotten parent.


  • April's antique shop, "2nd Time Around," makes its first appearance.
  • April and Casey meet for the first time.
  • First appearance of the Nanobot, Harry, and Dr. Richards.
  • In the beginning of the episode, when Dr. Marion Richards was examining the Nanobots, they were making several shapes. One of which was similar to a Poke Ball from the Pokémon franchise.
  • When Nano threw Mikey onto the garbage pile, his nunchucks fell out, but he rolled down the pile and they were in his belt again.
  • In one scene, Casey has a red cast under his bandages, but in the next shot, it disappears. 


External links