True Hand Made on thick wood plate Art By
1987 animated series Shredder as he appeared in the 1987 animated series In the 1987 animated series, Oroku Saki and Hamato Yoshi were both members of the Foot Clan in Japan. After Saki framed him for the attempted murder of a visiting sensei, Yoshi was forced to exile himself to New York City, where he lived in the sewers with four pet turtles that were accidentally dropped down a storm drain. In the following years, Saki took leadership of the Foot Clan and took on his Shredder persona. He also met a trans-dimensional alien called Krang and used the advanced technology at his disposal to replace the Foot Ninja with robots called the Foot Soldiers. He secretly moved to New York, where he found Yoshi still alive. In an attempt to kill his old foe, Shredder dumped mutagen in the sewers. This mutates Yoshi into Splinter, and he starts training the also mutated Turtles in ninjutsu. After the Turtles discovered their operation in New York City, Shredder became their enemy and would stop at nothing until they were defeated, often holding the Turtles’ human ally April O’Neil captive as bait. Shredder was voiced by James Avery for seasons one to seven and William E. Martin for seasons eight and ten, with the alternates being Dorian Harewood and Pat Fraley in 1989, Jim Cummings in 1991–1993 and Townsend Coleman in 1993. In the 2009 crossover movie Turtles Forever, the 1987 version of the Shredder was voiced by Load Williams. In the 2012 series, the 1987 version of the Shredder is voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson due to the passing of James Avery in 2013. Depiction In his early appearances, Shredder was presented as extremely cunning and was described by Splinter himself as the most dangerous adversary he ever faced. Shredder’s intelligence persevered throughout his various portrayals, and in several instances, it is claimed that Shredder has an IQ of 300. As the 1987 cartoon series was more light-hearted than the comics, Shredder was later depicted as evil but a villain that always fails rather than the dire and lethal ninja he was originally shown to be. He and Krang are constantly bickering about tactics and often take pleasure in the other’s failings (and sometimes intentionally sabotage each other). His two henchmen Bebop and Rocksteady are especially incompetent and fail miserably at everything they do. They were mostly used for comic relief in the show; however, the Turtles certainly consider them to be formidable (despite their inane stupidity) in combat due to their great strength and endurance, and as such, often use their intelligence to outwit them. Despite Shredder’s failings, he is still shown to have considerable skills. In martial arts, he is often shown to surpass the Turtles and to be equaled only by Splinter. Nevertheless, he usually runs away from a fight when outnumbered, incapacitating the Turtles to defeat them in combat; as the series progressed, however, the Turtles were able to battle him on more equal grounds and even defeat him in combat on several occasions. He trained the Punk Frogs in a very short period of time to be a match for the Turtles, but the Punk Frogs soon switch sides. His technical skills are also quite impressive: he designed and built a robotic body for Krang, prepared the mutagen mixture, knew how Krang’s teleportation engine worked and built numerous other advanced devices. Ironically in one episode “Shredderville” the Turtles dream they find themselves in a mirror universe where they themselves never existed and Shredder rules New York City, yet finds the task of ruling so burdensome that he has a nervous breakdown. From mid-season seven onwards, Shredder was depicted as a more serious threat, full of anger and bloodlust, though he was still easily defeated by the Turtles. His friendship with Krang also appeared to have grown. There were many times that Shredder could have just left Krang at the mercy of the Turtles or Lord Dregg, but he always rescued him and went as far as to donate his life energy to save him. Family Shredder’s family is presented in three episodes. In the episode “Shredder’s Mom”,[19] Shredder’s mother Miyoko helps Shredder and Krang in an attempt to destroy the world’s climate. In this episode, Miyoko first learns of her son’s criminal activities and proves herself to be villainous. However, she constantly treats Shredder like a baby, until he gets fed up with it and transports her back to her retirement home. In the episode “My Brother, the Bad Guy”,[20] it is revealed that Oroku Saki has a younger brother, Kazuo who works as a police lieutenant in Tokyo. Kazuo and the Turtles try to join forces to stop one of Shredder’s plans, but his fervent respect for the law clashes with the Turtles’ “whatever it takes” attitude. Finally, the episode “The Legend of Koji”[21] features Saki’s distant ancestor Oroku Sancho, who lived in Japan in 1583. He is the leader of a small clan, and every bit as wicked as his descendant. When Shredder offers to help him find magical relics that would provide him with power and wealth, Sancho takes Shredder’s information, then betrays him and orders his men to kill him. However, Sancho is also a coward, and when he breaks down in the face of danger, his men abandon him. This family tree leads to a bit of confusion regarding whether Shredder’s given name is Oroku and his last name Saki (as indicated by the fact his brother shares the name Saki), or the other way around (as indicated by the fact his ancestor’s last name is Oroku). This question is never resolved on the show, although Mirage comics adds more evidence for Oroku being the family name; Saki’s elder brother is “Oroku Nagi”. This follows Japanese naming conventions, which place the family name before an individual’s given name. Timeline Counting from the first meeting with the Turtles, Shredder spent eight seasons plotting ways to defeat them. In the season 8 episode “Turtle Trek”,[22] the Turtles destroy the engines of the Technodrome, trapping it and its inhabitants in Dimension X for good and putting an end to Shredder’s plans. He spent the next two seasons in Dimension X, until he was contacted by Dregg (“The Power of Three”).[23] Dregg arranged for him and Krang to come back to Earth, to help him fight the Turtles. Together, they capture the Turtles, but Dregg then betrays them and tries to drain the life energy of the Turtles, Krang, and Shredder all at once, making them weaker while Dregg becomes stronger. Shredder alone escapes the trap and restores Krang (“A Turtle in Time”),[24] but Dregg captures them again. Finally, the Turtles spoil Dregg’s plan and transport Shredder and Krang back to Dimension X (“Turtles to the Second Power”).[25] In the series finale “Divide and Conquer”,[26] the Turtles return to the Technodrome in Dimension X to take Krang’s android body, which they need to fight Dregg. Shredder is nowhere to be seen, but it is assumed that he is still somewhere in Dimension X. He and Krang also appear in Turtles Forever, with the Technodrome still under New York City before being sent into the 2003 universe. However, Shredder and Krang’s incompetence (as well as their relative sanity) is fully shown when the Utrom Shredder of the 2003 universe seizes command of the Technodrome and adds Utrom technology to the powerful war machine, and turns it against the world. In the climax, Shredder temporarily overcomes his hatred for the Turtles as both he and Krang decide to help the Turtles defeat the Utrom Shredder who they realize is totally insane, will kill everyone, and has effectively stolen the Technodrome from them. Shredder also takes extreme offense at being considered inferior by his other-dimensional counterpart, does not see the point of destroying the entire universe, and does not understand why the Utrom Shredder refuses to just kill the Turtles when he has the chance. So, with Krang, he chooses to fight alongside the Turtles against their common foe. The Next Mutation In Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation, Shredder (portrayed by Patrick Pon, voiced by Doug Parker) is still the Turtles’ sworn enemy. This time, however, Venus uses her powers to make the Oroku Saki from within taking control of Shredder’s mind. After the Foot Clan disbands, he ends up living on the streets. Later, the Dragon Lord’s rank warriors attack him to get a medallion that was in his possession. Splinter saves him and takes him to the Turtles’ lair to protect him. It was hinted that Shredder might possibly go back to his old ways, but the show was canceled soon after that episode. In the show, Shredder wore a general attire similar to the one he wore in the second film, but with a heavily altered helmet/mask due to the lesser budget for the TV series as compared to the movies, which had allowed for more detailed props and costume pieces. Shredder appeared only a few times in the show, due to the main antagonist of the series being a draconic being from another dimension and thus supplanted Shredder as the Turtles’ nemesis.
