Splinter's Review

Ah, Master Splinter... Where to begin? I suppose first we'd have to discuss the differences between this show's version of Splinter and previous versions.

In every incarnation of the Turtles, the back story is always the same, or nearly always the same. It begins in Japan anywhere from 20 to 30 years before the turtle's stories begin. Hamato Yoshi and Oroku Saki, both masters of ninjitsu fall in love with a lovely Chinese doctor named Tang Shen. What she was doing in Japan, Lord only knows. She could have been trying cultural cuisine for all we know. Anyway, she chooses Hamato Yoshi, and in his rage, Oroku Saki breaks off all friendship and contact with his old friend Yoshi. Now, whether or not both were at fault at their loss in friendship, or whether Oroku takes all the blame varies from series to series. But in all versions, he somehow causes the death of Tang Shen and sometimes manages to kill Yoshi as well. It's the details in which this is done that vary.

So, in the original Mirage Comics and the live action movies, Splinter was actually the rat of Hamato Yoshi, and learned all the ninja master's movements through sheer observation (very clever, even for a rat). When Saki makes it clear that he's out for blood, Tang Shen convinces Yoshi to run away with her to New York, where they live pretty happily for an unspecified amount of time. Inevitably, Saki catches up with them and kills them both. Splinter the rat escapes into the sewers where he is exposed to Mutagen and begins the transformation into the rat-humanoid. He finds the four baby turtles who eventually become our daring heroes also in the sewers and raises them as his sons and students, dubs himself Splinter (for reasons unbeknownst to me; I would have picked a cooler name myself), and Oroku Saki becomes the Shredder.

In the 1987 cartoon series, Splinter is actually Hamato Yoshi himself who turned into a rat. So he's actually a qualified master. This, to me, makes his ability much more plausible. Other than that, it's pretty much the same. He and Shredder are enemies ever since Tang Shen who is now dead, etc etc.

Now, the 2012 series takes a spin on this. Splinter is still Hamato Yoshi, and Shredder is Oroku Saki, and they both loved Tang Shen, but events play out a little differently. (SPOILER ALERT) Splinter admits to Raphael in episode three that after Oroku found out that Tang Shen chose him, Oroku came insulting his old friend to goad him into a fight. It worked. Instead of calming him down, he beat Oroku's butt, sowing the seeds of hate that would later sprout into the poisonous flowers of MURDER... I get chills just writing that! So it doesn't say how much time passes, but after Tang Shen and Hamato are married and have a baby girl named Miwa, Oroku comes back to kill Hamato. In the process of killing his new enemy, Oroku burns down their house, killing Tang Shen and Miwa via a candle that falls on the floor. Bet he feels stupid over that mistake. Now, whether Oroku meant to kill his old flame and her baby is up in the air right now, but I'm willing to bet money that that was an accident, and Oroku-now-Shredder blames Splinter for everything.

Splinter in this particular incarnation is deeply attached to his sons, and often calls them as such. He's stern, but kind, always willing to offer advice when they need it, and defending them when he needs to. He doesn't often fight, but from what we've seen via his battle with Leatherhead and his brief brainwash incident with the Rat King, he's absolutely TERRIFYING in battle. Seriously, you do NOT want to be on his bad side. At the same time, he's surprisingly gentle and compassionate, illustrating to his sons the importance of both the need for strength and softness simultaneously.

So as far as his design goes, I really like the fact that they made him middle aged. I'm guessing that he's probably in his mid-forties. Assuming he got married around 25 and Tang Shen and his baby were killed just a few years later, he'd roughly be in his early 30s. Since the turtles are 15 when the show starts, and he's not in his 50s, 44-46 is probably a good age to pin him at. In any case, he's not as old as previous versions of Splinter, which I think makes sense. If they made him too old, he'd be more like a grandfather, and less able to train them. A 60 year old is in no position to be fighting a group of 15 year olds, no matter how skilled he may or may not be. And this way, he can show them things without having to worry too much about his back giving out.

I have a secret confession- I think it'd be cute for Splinter to find himself a lady-friend. It will never in a million years happen since it never has before and that's not likely to change now, but I think it'd be sweet for him to have a thing for a lady around his age. I'm not a total romantic fanatic or anything like that, but I think that it'd be cute for him to have that side of him.