Karai's first appearance in the TMNTverse was in the original comics. She wasn't a teenager in those, but she was a member of the Foot Clan and Shredder's Right Hand Woman. Originally she has a daughter, but her child is killed on one mission or another. I don't think the turtles did it, but I could be wrong. Interestingly enough, she later sleeps with Casey, or it's strongly suggested that she does. Casey and April are at that time separated, so although he's incredibly guilty, I don't think he's doing anything terribly wrong. Especially since he has no idea where April is and he hasn't seen hide nor hair of her in two years. But I digress.
Karai also appeared in the 2003 cartoon series as a nemesis and eventual ally of the turtles. While she and Leo have some sort of chemistry, she ends up with a guy named Bishop who has had a long time crush on her. Hey, good for them I say. Also in this show she's like 10-15 years older than Leo, so that probably could have played a deterrent in the writer's setting the two of them together.
She doesn't appear in any of the live-action movies, but she's in the 2007 film, as the leader of the Food since Shredder's untimely demise. In this one, she has a distinct accent. I'm assuming she also has one in the comics, although of course there's no voice for her in that. I don't think she has one in the 2003verse, but I don't know that for sure.
In any case, in THIS series, Karai is, yes, in the Foot, and is Shredder's adopted daughter. He's not exactly fatherly to her, as I'm sure you've deduced, but since he's raised her she has a great deal of love and affection for him. Probably she gets her ruthless personality from his upbringing, and she continues to be somewhat heartless because that's the only way to get his approval. Karai is also a teenager, probably April's age, and unlike the 2003verse, she and Leo definitely have a very obvious thing for each other, or at least Leo has a crush on her. Karai uses that to her advantage, of course.
As far as Karai/Leo shipping goes, I actually like it a lot. I know some people are sick of the whole Batman/Catwoman thing going on here, but it's always been something I've enjoyed. I also think that if they didn't have the whole Family Feud thing going on, they'd actually be a pretty good team. She's playful and mischievous, so she could help lighten him up in his more serious moments, but he's very loyal and steadfast, which I think is something she'd really like. Growing up in Shredder's world has obviously made her distrustful and unable or unwilling to make many friends for fear of betrayal. But for some reason, she lets Leo in right away.
I was both proud of and disappointed in Karai in this last episode- this is a good thing because it means the writers did a good job. Basically (and here's the obligatory warning about spoilers) she and the turtles form a secret alliance in which they both go after a kraang ship that has been transported from Dimension X (I swear, I really will talk about that at some point). In order to get the turtle's trust, she volunteers to go steal a rocket launcher from Shredder's latest weapons delivery. Raph convinces Leo that this is the best time to take out the Shredder because they'll know where he'll be and he won't be expecting them. But Karai finds out and foils their plot and is furious, of course, because the Shredder is her father.
Now, I love this episode, because it really goes into Karai's bond with the Shredder. When she goes after Leo for trying to kill him, Leo says that Karai herself said that the Shredder drives her nuts, and she responds with "Of course he does, he's my FATHER!" This is perfect because it shows that she recognizes that she's going to have issues with him from time to time, but she'll love him just the same. If I were a writer, I'd be super proud of this character development from her.
At the same time, I'm a little disappointed by the fact that Leonardo failed to bring up a very valid point on his part- Yes, the Shredder is Karai's dad. But her dad is not only trying to kill Leo's dad, but himself and all of his brothers! And he's doing it for something that the SHREDDER caused all those years ago! If I were Leo, I would have demanded to know what Karai would have done in his situation, because she's already done that! She defended her father with his life, and she was going after Leo to KILL HIM.They are in the exact same position. The Shredder is out for blood, so whether the turtles like it or not, it's kill or be killed. What the hell else did she expect him to do? I could totally see Leo saying "How DARE you judge me for taking action in the exact same way you would?!" Not only that, but she abandoned his brothers and him to the monster, Justin, just a few episodes before. Frankly, I think it's very naive of her to expect that they would actually trust someone with her track record in her position.
But the sad thing is that Karai didn't expect them to betray her. She even says to Leo that she thought he was her friend. Maybe she thinks that because he saved her life, but either way, it's really sad that maybe her first friend ever hurt her that way. Although honestly I don't blame him in the slightest. I sincerely hope they have a serious discussion about their fathers and their death-feud.
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