When you’re the father and sensei of four teenage mutant ninja turtle sons, it’s no wonder Master Splinter often feels a massive sense of anxiety. Leonardo. Raphael. Donatello. Michelangelo. All his children mean the world to the mutant rat, but it’s time we get to know him better, don’t you think, TMNT fans?
Splinter has a unique history. Depending on the media, he was either once a Japanese man named Hamato Yoshi or was his pet rat who was mutated by accident alongside the turtles. However, there have been versions where neither version is used for his backstory. The first is the 2007 CGI film without time to explain his history. The second is the 2014 film, where it’s revealed that Splinter and the turtles were rescued by a young April from the lab that her father worked at when the Foot Clan burned it down.
Splinter: Sensei And Enemy
Kind and loving towards his sons, Splinter is a tough sensei but is often fair. He also treats their human friends, April O’Neil and Casey Jones, as part of their family unit, seeing them as his children. In return, they respect him greatly and often become his students.
In some versions of the story, Splinter is the arch-rival of the Shredder and is often killed. The sensei’s death devastates the turtles to the point where they avenge their father by taking out the leader of the Foot Clan. The 2012 Splinter is probably the most tragic as he was formerly Hamato Yoshi, a rival of Oroku Saki (Shredder). They were both in love with Tang Shen, but Shen chose Yoshi and had a daughter, Miwa, with him. Tragedy strikes, and Shen is killed. Miwa is thought dead too. Only, it emerges 15 years later that Saki kidnapped her the night her mother died.
Finally, some versions of Sensei Splinter are highly humourous. One example is the 2018 iteration, where he is seen to be somewhat lazy and unable to remember which son is which.
