Characters / Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003): The Shredder

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003) characters:
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A Legacy Character throughout the series. The mantle of The Shredder was worn by multiple individuals throughout history, each with their own motives.

Utrom Shredder

The Shredder / Ch'rell / Oroku Saki

^{See his real appearance}

Voiced by: Scottie Ray ^{Foreign VAs}Martin Spinhayer (FR), Johan Hedenberg (SV)

"You speak my name, but you do not know me! I am Ch'rell, Oroku Saki, Duke Acureds, the one TRUE Shredder! I am a destroyer of worlds, and I FEAR NO ONE!"

The leader and founder of the Foot Clan, Ch'rell was once an Utrom criminal who had his prison ship crash on Earth. Taking the alias of Oroku Saki, he founded the Foot Clan in order to hunt down the stranded Utroms on Earth. In the present day, he works on various criminal operations so as to achieve this goal. He's by and large the most personal nemesis of the heroes, and the most recurring one.

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• Adaptation Origin Connection: He's one of the main reasons the ship carrying him crashed on Earth, and thus ended up playing an indirect part in creating the Turtles and Splinter, his greatest enemies.
• Adaptation Species Change: The only incarnation of the Shredder, as far being the Shredder that the Turtles consider their Arch-Enemy, who was never human.
• Adaptational Badass: He's capable of defeating the Turtles with ease, to the point they stay out of his league for a long while, in which he finally starts relying on augmented armors in fights, which help him against Splinter. He's also the one with the title that lives the longest.
• Adaptational Villainy: While the Shredder is not a good guy by any stretch in any continuity, the Utrom Shredder is by far and away the most vile incarnation of the character in the history of the entire franchise — after all, no Shredder can ever top nearly destroying all of reality itself.
• Apocalypse How: In Turtles Forever, he accidentally starts an Omniversal Annihilation when he tries to erase the Turtles from existence by destroying the "prime" team. He's actually breaking apart the whole multiverse due to destroying the genesis point of the franchise itself - the original 1984 Mirage comic book. Of course, by this point he's so obsessed with revenge that he just doesn't care.
• Arch-Enemy:
  • He's the one that has most actively attempted to murder the Turtles, being part of the reason they came into existence to begin with. When he returns in Turtles Forever, his hatred for them has become so strong that he can't even stand the idea of different versions of the Turtles existing in other dimensions.
  • He absolutely despised Mortu for leading the effort to recapture him. During their time on Earth, the Shredder wants all the Utroms dead and relentlessly hunts them, but he always goes straight for Mortu when given the opportunity and has the lackeys focus on the others. One of the reasons why the Shredder hates the Turtles so much is because they foiled his last chance to kill Mortu.
• Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: In Turtles Forever, thanks to the technology from the Technodrome, he turns into a giant.
• Asskicking Leads to Leadership: He is a leader of the Foot Clan and he is the most dangerous of them.
• Ax-Crazy: He is a crazy intergalactic terrorist who is responsible for millions of lives lost across the universe.
• Badass Boast: Quite a few, honestly, and that's not just the above quote:
  Shredder: Like the Phoenix, I have risen from the ashes! And into my fire, you shall fall.
  [later]
  Shredder: Ahh, the power... I had almost forgotten. The Sword of Tengu! The sword with which I laid villages to waste, brought castles to ground, vanquished armies! The sword that I used to conquer Japan, and give power to the Tokugawa clan! IT IS MINE ONCE MORE!!
• Bad Boss: His first on-screen action is murdering a Purple Dragon for failing him, and frequently maimed Baxter Stockman for his repeated failures (and attempted betrayals) until nothing is left of him but his brain and eye.
• Batman Gambit: In Turtles Forever, he uses the Turtles' attachment to Splinter in order to lure the Turtles into the Technodrome, where he is able to capture them and obtain the location to Turtle Prime.
• Been There, Shaped History: He is apparently responsible for putting the Tokugawa Clan into power.
• Black Sheep: Of the race of the Utrom. Unlike Ch'rell, they're generally benevolent and peaceful. Suffice it to say, the other Utrom hate him even more than the turtles do.
• Big Bad: The overall main antagonist of the first three seasons. Most of the criminal organizations and New York villains are connected to him, and his schemes for global domination make him the Arch-Enemy of the Ninja Turtles. Even his final defeat in Season 3 doesn't stop him menacing the Turtles in some shape or form. He's also the lead villain of Turtles Forever, becoming the Final Boss for the 2003 continuity overall.
• Big Bad Ensemble: With Bishop for Season 3.
• Big "NO!": His last words.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: He initially pretends to be a good guy to get Leonardo on his side, but after Master Splinter reveals his true identity to the Turtles, he drops the charade.
• Becoming the Mask: Stole the identity of Oroku Saki/The Shredder to gain followers, but years of going by that name have made it so he refers to himself as "the one true Shredder".
• Been There, Shaped History: In "Return to New York, Part 3", he claims to have conquered Japan for the Tokugawa Clan. This was the first hint.
• Berserk Button: He has two:
  • Using "his name" in vain. He was unconscious when his 1987 doppelganger and Krang found him. What woke him up was his doppelganger referring to himself as "The Shredder". He then attacked them.
  • He also doesn't like being called a coward. Shown in Turtles Forever when Mirage Raphael accuses him of being afraid to face them in person.
• Black Knight: Fits the bill better than any other incarnation of Shredder, being an armor-clad foe with a secret identity.
• Bond Villain Stupidity:
  • Averted most of the time with the Turtles, he generally fights for the kill and doesn't hold back when facing them, and ordered Baxter Stockman to get proof of their deaths after they were seemingly killed.
  • Played straight with Baxter Stockman himself. No matter the abuse and punishment he inflicts on Stockman, the scientist never fully submits to him, with his hatred of his master only growing with each punishment and mutilation, and he always finds a way to sabotage or openly turn against him. It never occurs to Shredder that maybe he should get rid of Stockman for good, and that his usefulness isn't worth all the troubles he causes to him. He should also have tasked another subordinate to find proof of the turtles having died, as Stockman being unable of finding any instead forged fake evidence in order to get access to an alien armor from the Shredder. This not only left him unprepared for the turtles' return but allowed Stockman to turn on him with a very powerful futuristic battle armor.
• Boomerang Bigot: Despite being an Utrom himself, he expresses to Mortu in "Secret Origins, Part 3" his desire to wipe out all of the Utroms when he takes over their homeworld, all just to spite him.
• Canon Character All Along: Famously inverted. While initially played as a straight adaptation of the Shredder, he's revealed to be a Canon Foreigner alien who just took the identity from the real Oroku Saki.
• Character Catchphrase:
  • "None of you will leave here/this place alive!"
  • When he finds something not worth his time, he utters "pathetic".
• Cool Sword: The Sword of Tengu.
• Combat Pragmatist: Even though he has his villainous ego, in virtually every fight in the series he also brings his underlings with him no matter who he's fighting, and also he doesn't hesitate to use the weakness of the enemy to win.
  Splinter: You strike a wounded warrior. You have no honor.
  Shredder: I fight to win.
• The Comically Serious: Very rarely. A shining example occurs in "Exodus" when Chaplin is gushing over how cool it is to learn that he's actually a grotesque brain-ish alien, Ch'rell just has a blank, unresponsive and unamused look on his face.
• Composite Character: The Shredder actually being the Utrom Ch'rell in some ways makes him this series' answer to Krang, as well as Oroku Saki. While Word of God says they tried to keep that similarity to a minimum throughout the show's run, Turtles Forever takes the idea and runs with it when they merge Dimension X technology with Utrom technology, giving him a powerful molecular amplification exoskeleton that can grow to skyscraper size and transform into various weapons.
• Corrupt Politician: In his Oroku Saki persona.
• Dark Lord on Life Support:
  • In his true form, he is a barely mobile brain-like creature inside a very capable robotic body.
  • For an added example, following his fourth battle with the Turtles in which he was caught in the implosion of the TCRI building, Ch'rell had to stay in a Healing Vat while alien bacteria healed his wounds, with Karai having to manage the Foot till his return.
• Deadpan Snarker: He usually doesn't have much of a sense of humor, but can occasionally get a few digs at other people's expense, especially Baxter Stockman. His reaction to Stockman's new state, which is basically a brain, an eyeball and some neurons.
  The Shredder: This is Baxter Stockman? Huh. You've lost weight.
• Dead Person Impersonation: Ch'rell has replaced the real Oroku Saki. Oroku Saki later turns out to be more alive than expected.
• Decomposite Character: This is the Shredder that killed Hamato Yoshi and is the Turtles' Arch-Enemy, but the real Oroku Saki is a separate character. Ch'rell merely took that identity.
• The Dreaded: Even after defeating him several times, just hearing that Ch'rell is involved in something is enough to make the Turtles nervous about their chances of survival.
• Establishing Character Moment: His first on-screen action in the series is to personally execute a Purple Dragon who failed him.
• The End of the World as We Know It: His ultimate goal in Turtles Forever:
  Shredder: It seems like branches hanging off a single tree, each of these dimensions sprang from a common source, destroy the source, and you would set off a chain reaction that would destroy Ninja Turtles everywhere, Forevermore!
• Enemy Mine: During the "Return to New York" arc in Season 1, when Baxter Stockman betrayed him and attacked both him and the Turtles, threatening everyone. The Turtles and Shredder briefly join forces to defeat him before resuming their battle.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Played with, but ultimately subverted. He seems to hold genuine concern for his adoptive daughter, Karai (like sending Hun to rescue her when she is held captive by Bishop and punishing Stockman for getting in the way)... until she refused to let him kill the Turtles in which he then shows how much of an abusive monster he is towards her. The director's cut of Turtles Forever showed him briefly hesitating when he turned to Karai's cry of pain, but any remaining love for her was outweighed by his hatred for the Turtles as he then continues with his omnicidal goal not caring that he would kill Karai as well.
• Eviler than Thou: Predictably proved to be this to Krang and his 80s counterpart.
• Evil Laugh: Very prone to this.
• Evil Mentor: To Karai.
• Evil Sounds Deep: He has a nice deep voice with a Japanese accent, which, while wearing his armor, sounds like it echoes robotically.
• Evil Versus Evil: In the Season 3 opening arc, he's not thrilled about the Triceraton invasion, but waits it out to see what he can do. Once the Triceratons are gone, he's pitted against Bishop. The first episode of Season 7 has him fighting against the other Shredders.
• Family-Unfriendly Violence: Ch'rell holds nothing back in his fight with the Turtles. This is more noticeable in the final battle in Season 3. He electrocutes Splinter so badly that most of his fur burns, kicks Mikey's leg out of place, delivers a serious chop to Don's neck, and nearly breaks Raph's back. He also kicks Leo into Karai's sword, impaling him and causing long-term damage to his shell. And then there are the punishments he dealt out to Baxter Stockman.
• Fatal Flaw: No matter which universe Shredder is from, the one constant is his massive ego.
• Faux Affably Evil: Very rarely is he ever even this, but he is mostly this in his Oroku Saki persona that he employs to convince Leonardo that the Foot Clan are "good" in Season 1 and in Season 3. His efforts to charm the mayor and the city genuinely work to hide the fact he's an Omnicidal Maniac. Whenever he dons the Shredder persona or reveals his true Utrom self, he doesn't even bother hiding what a pure evil, cruel, and twisted monster he is.
• Fiction 500: There does not appear to be any limit to his or the Foot Clan's money. The only thing that raised any financial concerns was funding the reconstruction of New York City, which he didn't hold back due to it being a cover for his plan to leave Earth.
• Final Boss: Serves as this for Turtles Forever, the Grand Finale of the series.
• Flunky Boss: This version almost always has some goons the Turtles have to fight through first before engaging him. In fact, almost every fight with him on his terms has him either using Foot ninjas to wear down the enemy before he arrives, or to distract them so he can launch surprise attacks.
• Foreshadowing: Shredder's Been There, Shaped History speech and still being alive despite being decapitated by Leonardo hint that he's not exactly human.
• Galactic Conqueror: In the bad future, Shredder has taken over the Earth and rules the planet with an iron fist. His next goal was to build a Transmat device so he can spread his dominion to the stars, enslaving one world after another.
• Go Mad from the Revelation: He's never been a fully adequate person, but he fully goes insane after learning of the multiverse. Or more specifically, that each alternate universe is home to its own group of Ninja Turtles.
• Hero Killer: Peaked with his assassination of Hamato Yoshi.
• Hijacked by Ganon: If there's a large-scale conflict in the series, he's most likely going to take center stage by the end of it, usually resulting in a Mêlée à Trois.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: He is eventually killed by his own Technodrome's laser, courtesy of Bebop and Rocksteady, who he had allowed to serve him only because "they're amusing".
• Human Popsicle: He was banished to the ice asteroid belt of Mor Gal Tal at the end of "Exodus, Part 2" after being found guilty by the Utrom council. And he was found frozen in ice and freed by 1987 Shredder in Turtles Forever.
• Hunk: As Oroku Saki, he has the appearance of a tall, muscular and good looking Japanese businessman.
• Hypocrite: In Turtles Forever, he complains about the 1987 Shredder using "[his] name" in vain, when Season 5 indicates that Ch'rell used the name and title of the real Oroku Saki.
  • He has a bit of a habit of referring to the turtles as freaks. Considering that at his core, Oroku Saki/Shredder here is in fact a brain-like slug of an alien piloting an exo-suit, that's a huge case of the pot calling the kettle black.
• I Have Many Names: Has taken various identities long before his arrival on Earth. Torrinon, Kako Naso, Duke Acureds, then Oroku Saki and The Shredder.
• It's Personal: This became such to the Turtles after they and Splinter help the Utroms escape:
  Shredder: You! You freaks have been little more than thorns in my side, but now, you have robbed me of my triumph! And for that, you shall pay with your lives!
• Joker Immunity: Is seemingly killed multiple times; first from Splinter dropping a water tower on him, then when Leonardo cut off his exo-suit head, then from being left behind in the TCRI building with a bomb that destroyed it without leaving a trace behind. Unlike his other appearances, this one didn't reveal his was still alive, but the Turtles still had doubts he was dead. Sure enough, he did survive and was just in hiding. Being stuck on a freighter that was blasted to pieces might have killed him if Karai hadn't fished him out of the sea. Even after "Exodus" when advertisements promised he would be Put on a Bus for good after he was banished to an ice asteroid, he still returned in Turtles Forever. While Killed Off for Real then thanks to it being the show's finale, there's still doubt among the Turtles that he's truly gone.
• The Juggernaut: After becoming a giant in Turtles Forever, nothing short of the Technodrome's laser can do any real damage to him.
• Killed Off for Real: After many returns, he finally dies in Turtles Forever, courtesy of Bebop and Rocksteady. Bebop. And. Rocksteady. No, seriously. Given his track record, only the fact that this is the Grand Finale gives it any weight — even Splinter and Karai note that they don't doubt the possibility of him surviving.
• Killer Rabbit: Even without his Shredder suit, Ch'rell is still a vicious little monster who snaps and bites like a rabid dog. He even tries to strangle Raphael.
• Kingpin in His Gym: He gets a training scene in the episode "Darkness at the Edge of Town".
• Klingons Love Shakespeare: While he'll never admit it openly, the Shredder enjoys Japanese culture. He is seen sipping tea even if he doesn't need to. He also keep various memorabilia from Feudal Japan.
• Knight of Cerebus: A clear sign that an episode will get darker? Seeing the Shredder get involved personally.
• Know When to Fold 'Em: In "Exodus", after his spaceship is done being built, he plans on just leaving Earth to get his revenge on the Utroms, without even attempting to tie up his loose ends with the Turtles. He does, however, hint that he'll come back after his business with the Utroms are finished.
• Large Ham: Especially when he wears his armor.
• Legacy Character: Ch'rell based both of his identities on ancient Japanese legends of a Tengu demon called the Shredder and the warrior Oroku Saki who defeated him (but in reality, he fell into evil and they merged, and the Turtles later face this Shredder). Ch'rell's Shredder was one to the Tengu Shredder (albeit unknown to the latter), and later after he's exiled off Earth, he becomes one himself to the remaining Foot.
• Leitmotif: A dramatic orchestral piece tended to signal his arrival, while a more low-key and sinister theme would be used in non-action contexts. Both themes often made use of a stock Kabuki yell for the climax.
• Make My Monster Grow: In Turtles Forever, he grows to an incredible size in order to wipe out The turtles of the Mirage universe; Krang then enlarges himself and his robot as well, in order to fight this Shredder on equal footing, but is cut down in no time.
• Make Sure He's Dead: In "The Shredder Strikes Back", the Foot attacks April's apartment, which lead to the building burning down. In the following episode, recalling that the Turtles had automatically assumed him dead without bothering to be sure, Shredder is unwilling to make the same mistake and sends Stockman to the remains of the building to find proof that the Turtles died in the blaze; Stockman is unable to find any evidence, since the Turtles managed to escape, but fearing the consequences of returning empty-handed, he forges some.
• Mobile-Suit Human: He's almost always in one of these.
• Motive Decay: In most of his appearances in series after The Reveal, including all of Season 3, his goals are to get back to space to rebuild his empire and get revenge on the Utroms who imprisoned him. He considered the Turtles little more than an inconvenience and was willing to leave Earth in his space ship without even finishing them off. However in Turtles Forever, he learns that there are Ninja Turtles in every universe. And the entire purpose of his entire existence is to be foiled by those Turtles. This leads him to conclude that so long as there exists a team of Ninja Turtles, they will always disrupt his plans. So in the end he decided to kill all Ninja Turtles in all worlds, even if it will be at the cost of his own existence.
• Multi Layer Facade: He's got a public identity which is Oroku Saki, the rich and well respected Japanese businessman. Then he's the Shredder, a warlord who is using his public persona to gain power. And then his true identity originally only known by his adoptive daughter Karai is Ch'rell, an Utrom criminal who has been on Earth for over a millennium.
• Multiversal Conqueror: The Shredder's original plan before learning of the Ninja Turtles in each and every universe. Eventually turns him into an Omnicidal Maniac.
• Near-Villain Victory: Several times but closest in Turtles Forever when he almost kills the 1984 Turtles, thereby insuring Universe wide Turtlecide, but he's done in by Exploding Throwing Stars, his ego, and Bebop and Rocksteady.
• Non-Standard Character Design: In his Utrom form, he is colored blood-red (as opposed to his species' normal pink appearance, except for a yellow one), has a purple scar over his left eye and three horn-like protrusions on each side and the center of his head. This is to distinguish him from the other Utroms.
• Offing the Offspring: He tried to kill Karai for refusing to let him kill Splinter and the Turtles.
• Off with His Head!: He gets this treatment after the Turtles storm his headquarters. He lives, because it's a robot suit.
• Omnicidal Maniac: Turtles Forever, where he's willing to destroy the entire multiverse, including himself, if it meant killing all existing Ninja Turtles. That includes his own daughter.
• Out of Character Is Serious Business: In Turtles Forever, when the (infamously more hardcore) 1984 Turtles jump onto his helmet and angrily growl at him, Ch'rell screams in terror and starts wailing on his suit's control sticks in a panic. This highlights just how much more dangerous the prime Turtles are, and that they won't mess around with killing him.
• Out of the Inferno: The Shredder literally walks through fire after the building he's been fighting with the Turtles on collapses during their first fight, causing Michelangelo to remark:
  Michelangelo: He's like the Shreddinator or something.
• Pet the Dog:
  • Downplayed. While he can throw it away at a moments notice, he seems to have some level of affection toward his higher level lieutenants; he personally raised Karai, trained Hun, rarely ever significantly punished them, and they're the only ones he listens to. He also respected the power of the Foot Mystics, which they reciprocated to some extent, even when they thought he was an "abomination".
  • In Turtles Forever, he decides to let Bebop and Rocksteady serve him because he genuinely finds them amusing. This act ultimately ends up killing him.
• Pragmatic Villainy: He's not one to throw away resources or good help completely carelessly. It takes several failures on Hun's part for him to finally consider firing him and takes great steps to keep Stockman around despite his treachery. He also knows the value of natural resources and has not only engineered entire wars to claim them when needed, but refuses to lay waste to Earth until he comes back with his intergalactic army.
• Put on a Bus: He gets imprisoned on an asteroid in the endgame of Season 3, and doesn't show up again aside from cameos in Fast Forward and Back to the Sewers, until Turtles Forever.
• Really 700 Years Old: Due to being an alien.
• Revenge Before Reason: He comes to hate the Turtles so much that he'd rather destroy them and destroy the entire multiverse, including himself and his daughter Karai, than let them live.
• Secret Test: He sets his Foot Ninja on Leo when he arrives to test Leo's skill first hand.
• The Sociopath: Arrogant, remorseless, vengeful, cold and ruthless, he will do anything to destroy his enemies.
• Spikes of Villainy: Especially in his latter bodies.
• Stealth Pun: In the bad future, the Shredder is destroyed by the Turtle Tunneler, that is to say, shredded.
• Suicidal Cosmic Temper Tantrum: This is what his ultimate doomsday plan in Turtles Forever boils down to; after discovering The Multiverse and that there are Ninja Turtles everywhere, he decides to go straight to the source (the Mirage comics universe) and destroy all reality. Even after being explicitly told that he would die as well, he decides that it's Worth It.
• Taking You with Me:
  • After being robbed of his revenge to his fellow Utroms by the Turtles, Shredder would rather die in the building's implosion with the Turtles and Splinter than let them escape.
  • It got worse in Turtles Forever when he was willing to destroy the entire Multiverse to get rid of every Turtle in existence, even at the cost of both his life and his daughter Karai's, something which he refused to relent or show remorse to.
• There Can Be Only One: In a possible future, is in a three-way war with the Tengu Shredder, and Cyber Shredder with each of them claiming to be the Shredder. Later in Turtles Forever, he is outraged when the 1987 Shredder claims to be the Shredder.
• This Cannot Be!: Very very often:
  • For example Shredder's reaction after Leo sends him flying with the Sword of Tengu:
  Shredder: "This cannot be happening. I cannot lose!"
  • Another example, in the finale of Season 3, he gets a big shock when the Utrom council finds him guilty for all the crimes he had committed across the galaxy in his many aliases, including but not limited to his Oroku Saki and Shredder aliases. He screams, "NO! You are not fit to judge me! I am the Shredder! I am invincible!" just before the Utroms give him the punishment of banishing him to his new home on the ice asteroid belt surrounding the frozen planet Mor Tal, where he does very little but let loose a Big "NO!" because he is not too thrilled to be trapped on his new home.
  • In the episode "Timing is Everything", the Shredder gets a big shock when he sees for himself how much more skilled the Turtles have gotten since their first battle with him, as well as how powerful Sh'Okanabo is in overwhelming and sending his Foot Soldiers back to the Shredder's original time period.
  Shredder: Impossible! You are not this powerful!
  Raph: Dude, we put the ka-bosh on ya a long time ago. You're history! (he and Leonardo kick the Shredder back to his original time period)
• Tin Tyrant: While a few other Shredder incarnations come close (such as in the movies and the Nick cartoon), the armor and attitude of that one fit the trope better.
• Undignified Death: His final defeat, in a sense, Getting vaporized by a laser? Not too humiliating. Getting vaporized by a laser because of Bebop and Rocksteady's bumbling? Very humiliating. To add insult to injury, he let them work for him simply because he found them amusing. 87!Shredder only loses battles to Bebop and Rocksteady's idiocy; Ch'rell lost his life.
• The Unfettered: He'll do anything to get what he wants. Even if for that need destroying reality itself.
• Villain Decay: Inverted, the Shredder managed to stay a dangerous antagonist, growing more powerful to the point where the Turtles stopped being able to defeat him with martial arts alone, and always portrayed as both scarily competent and pure evil.
• Villain Forgot to Level Grind: After being defeated in Season 1. The Turtles keep getting stronger, to the extent that Leo is able to easily kick his ass by himself in Season 6, and in Turtles Forever, the Turtles are able to defeat him in a straight fight within a few short seconds. Thus, Shredder usually resorts to such things as pointing his army and elite henchmen at the Turtles, or using specialized technology like more powerful suits of armor to get the upper hand. Partially justified during the first three seasons in that although Shredder hates the Turtles, his first goal above all else is finding a way to escape Earth and get revenge on the Utroms. It's played completely straight and justified by the time of Turtles Forever because by that point, the Turtles had gotten much more experience battling the Demon Shredder, fighting their way through the future, traveling through cyber-space, and bettered themselves in countless more adventures, whereas Ch'rell was frozen on an ice asteroid during all this time and couldn't have level-grinded even if he wanted to. Plus he was holding back in order to lure the Turtles into a trap.
• Villain with Good Publicity: As Oroku Saki, he's a rich and respected Japanese businessman, and became well-known as a hero and humanitarian after he singlehandedly funded the rebuilding of New York City after an alien invasion. It's to the extent that when he's finally defeated by the Turtles, the public builds a library in his honor.
• Villainous Breakdown: He suffers one after he discovers that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles exist in all universes, meaning that no matter where he goes, he'll never escape them. This causes him to go from trying to conquer the multiverse to becoming an Omnicidal Maniac and destroy it.
• Villainous Valor: Ch'rell may be a total monster, but he is willing to go down fighting against the Turtles. Sometimes it ends in his defeat but other times it also ends with him standing victorious over the Turtles.
• Wake-Up Call Boss: When he encounters the Turtles early in the series, he's a nightmarish foe who can easily defeat them with little effort, requiring Splinter's help to save them, and being the first, unbeatable opponent they've encountered up to that point. While the Utrom Shredder is relatively less unstoppable afterwards and the Turtles are able to fight and defeat him as the series continues, the Turtles still have him ingrained in their minds as possibly their most dangerous opponent they need to take seriously at all costs even by the time of Turtles Forever when they describe him to their '87 counterparts.
• Walking Spoiler: His real identity.
• We Wait: Shredder acknowledges the gravity of the situation when the Earth's last effort to fight off the Triceratons fails, but decides to wait and see what arises.
• With Us or Against Us: This is the main reason the Shredder takes on the Turtles for the first time, with them having turned down his offer to join him after learning who he really was, he declared this.
  Shredder: "Those who are not with me are against me! And I crush anyone who stands against me!"
• The Worf Effect: His Season 1 self is easily defeated in the Season 6 episode "Timing is Everything", where he travels to 2105 and gets his ass kicked by Leonardo. It's implied that these events are part of a Stable Time Loop which caused the Shredder to become more ruthless in his hunt for the Turtles Post-Season 1 — which would eventually lead to his final defeat. This is even subtly referenced in Turtles Forever: when he goes up against the Turtles himself in his normal armor, he's defeated in a few short seconds, causing the '87 Turtles to wonder why their 2k3 counterparts even hyped him up as being so dangerous. For the most part, Shredder either points his army and elite henchmen at them or enlarges his suit Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever-style, giving himself an unfair advantage.
• Wrecked Weapon: He literally shatters Leonardo's katana with his bare hands.
• You Have Failed Me: His usual reaction to failures of his subordinates. They would be lucky to walk away with a warning and more so if executed. He doesn't give Baxter Stockman such luxury whenever he fails.
  Purple Dragon:: I promise, sir, I won't fail you again.
  Shredder: I know. You won't fail me again. Ever!

The Cyber Shredder

Cyber Shredder

Voiced by: Scottie Ray

"I LIVE!"

A digital copy of the Utrom Shredder's memories that were stored away until Viral, another of the Turtles' villains, tried to absorb it. Instead, the digital engram absorbed her instead, and thus the Cyber Shredder was born. He becomes the new leader of the Foot Clan Remnant and wants to escape Cyberspace.

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• Aborted Arc: Much like with Tengu Shredder, he was intended to appear in an arc in which he was in a Mêlée à Trois with the Utrom and Tengu Shredders.
• Big Bad: Of the final season, prior to Turtles Forever.
• Character Catchphrase: He has a habit of calling his enemies "worms". He seems to favor this insult over his counterparts' more frequently used "pathetic".
• Contrasting Sequel Antagonist: To the previous Demon Shredder. That Shredder was a human who merged with a demon to gain powers, this Shredder was the digital copy of an alien's mind brought to life. Both are insanely powerful, but Cyber Shredder's powers were only great due to existing in Cyberspace. Furthermore, due to being a copy of Ch'rell, this one has a personal enmity with the Turtles.
• Convenient Replacement Character: He was more or less designed to be this In-Universe. In the case that Ch'rell would die or be unavailable, Cyber Shredder would be activated and act as his replacement.
• Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: In the final episode of the series, he glaringly and casually takes out Kon Shisho, one of the most powerful characters in the series even though Cyber Shredder, while powerful, shouldn't really be on the same level as one of the Ninja Tribunal.
• Evil Is Bigger: He towers over the 7'2" Hun.
• Evil Knockoff: A cybernetic copy of Ch'rell.
• Final Boss: He is the final antagonist that the Turtles face in Back to the Sewers, which is the final season of the entire series.
• Flat Character: This Shredder lacks any of notable personality traits that his predecessors did. This is justified due to him being a literal copy of Ch'rell.
  • If you really think about it, though, Cyber Shredder acts exactly like Ch'rell, albeit without the Oroku Saki persona, Karai or Hun by his side, or the majority of the Foot's massive resources.
  • Though it also should be noted that he seems to have lost some of his predecessor's arrogance. Whereas Ch'rell merely viewed the Turtles as an inconvenience who just wasted his time when they interfered with plans, (in fact, he was even willing leave Earth without finishing his conquest there or his business with them) Cyber Shredder, on the other hand, constantly insults them and tells them to meet their doom, not even caring about the Utroms, instead focusing all his efforts on rebuilding the Foot and retaking over the city.
• Hand Blast: In Cyberspace, he can shoot beams from his arms.
• Healing Factor: In Cyberspace, he can get split in half but can quickly heal himself.
• Motive Decay: Compared to Ch'rell, who wanted nothing more than to leave Earth and pillage the galaxy and exact vengeance on the Utroms, Cyber Shredder instead focuses on restoring the Foot to its former glory and re-conquer New York, never even once thinking about the Utroms.
  • Even more glaringly, while attacking April and Casey's wedding, he hardly seems to acknowledge the Utroms being there, just casually tossing one around without any second thoughts or banter.
• Reality Warper: Only in Cyberspace. It’s a downplayed case in that his power’s seem to be limited to altering his own body, but he almost deleted Mikey when he got his hands on him.
• The Remnant: He's the leader of a group of several Foot Ninjas that pales in comparison to the clan in previous seasons.
• Sealed Evil in a Can: Played with. For the most part in Back to the Sewers, he is trapped in Cyberspace and searches for a way out, but he can still communicate with outsiders, for example Khan.
• Spikes of Villainy: His spikes are more exaggerated than Ch'rell's.
• Teleportation: In Cyberspace.

Future Shredder

Future Shredder (Bad Future as seen in "Same As It Never Was")

Voiced by: Scottie Ray

Future Shredder: I want Donatello's head brought before me! With or without his body!

After Donatello disappeared, the Shredder was victorious. He had taken over the entire planet and rules it with an iron fist. Now he wants to expand his empire to the stars, wanting to conquer the galaxy.

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• The Bad Guy Wins: Before Donatello reappeared, the Turtles and their allies were waging a war against the Shredder. He won.
• Blade Below the Shoulder: His mech has his iconic blades on each hand.
• Evil Overlord: He's this to the entire Earth, as he's ruling it with an iron fist.
• From Bad to Worse: In the present, he was already a complete monster that wanted nothing more than to conquer and destroy. In the future, he has done exactly this: conquered the entire planet and ruling it as a tyrant, killing anyone who opposes him.
• Galactic Conqueror: He has already conquered the Earth and plans on taking over the galaxy.
• Kick the Dog: Hun is absolutely pleading the Shredder to allow him to rejoin the Foot Clan. What does Shredder do? He stomps him.
• Killed Off for Real: Donatello uses the Tunneller to completely annihilate the Future Shredder.^note  Or you could say, he shredded the Shredder.
• Mini-Mecha: He uses one of these in the future. It was apparently designed by Future Stockman.
• Multiarmed And Dangerous: His mech has four arms.
• Orcus on His Throne: Throughout a large portion of "Same As It Never Was", he is largely seen as a silhouette, being given status reports by Karai. At the end, when the Future Turtles assault his headquarters, he comes out of hiding...by making the ground shake with his mech.

Shredder Mutants

Shredder Mutants

Hideously mutated clones of the Shredder, dressed in modified Shredder armor and trained to work as elite Foot soldiers.

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• Adaptation-Induced Plot Hole: Due to the reveal that the Shredder in this series is an Utrom, why he has distinctly humanoid clones is never adequately explained.
  • Of course, that goes to the assumption that they're clones as its assumed by the Turtles who did not know at the time Shredder was an Utrom. Its possible they were attempts to create some experimental breed of super soldier that invoked the Shredder's image especially as its shown Chr'ell apporpriated the title from the Tengu Shredder.
• Big, Thin, Short Trio: Shiva-Shredder is huge and hulking, Claws is thin and lean and Shrimp is short.
• Body Horror: Downplayed, as we don't know what they look like under the armor, but they are still hideous: one of them has four arms, the other has large pincer-like hands with spikes, while the third one is unnaturally small.
• Fragile Speedster: Owing to his size, Shrimp is incredibly fast, but not as strong as the others.
• Lean and Mean: Claws is notably slimmer than his "brothers".
• Multi-Armed and Dangerous: Shiva-Shredder has four arms, each equipped with Shredder claws.
• Spikes of Villainy: Their armors are covered in spikes.
• Uncertain Doom: Happens to the four-armed and small mutants: as they stalk the Turtles in an elevator, the heroes cut the elevator's wires, causing it to drop and explode. They are never seen again and whether the explosion killed them or not is unknown.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: After their brief appearance in "Return to New York" parts 1 and 2, they are never seen again.

The Tengu Shredder / Oroku Saki

The Tengu Shredder

Voiced by: Scottie Ray (Oroku Saki), Marc Thompson (Tengu)

The original Shredder, namesake of Ch'rell's identity, and the antagonist of Season 5.

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• Aborted Arc: He was apparently meant to be resurrected again for an arc called the "Shredder Wars", which never materialized due to the series' ending.
• The Ace: Was the most skilled of the warriors who set out to defeat the original Tengu Shredder, and beat the monster single handedly before it offered him power, and the two merged.
• Adaptational Abomination: Downplayed. Saki was a normal human being in the original comics, while this one is a Humanoid Abomination with god-like powers.
• Adaptational Badass: This was the very first incarnation of the Shredder who's not only a skilled warrior but also a Physical God and Reality Warper.
• Adaptational Heroism: In a way minor extent, the original Oroku Saki has no records of originally being a hero, while in here he was one of the five heroes before falling to evil.
• Adaptational Villainy: While Saki is no saint in the original comics, he is far more evil than any incarnation after his fall.
• Age Lift: Most incarnations are from the modern age, while in this incarnation, he was from the 4th Century.
• Ambition Is Evil: Saki was the most ambitious of the 5 warriors and it was this ambition that made him susceptible to the Tengu's temptation.
• Badass Cape: Sports a pretty awesome one.
• Bad Boss: He regards his minions as virtually nothing, punishing his mystics for suggesting he should deal with Karai. After the turtles defeat them for the first time he openly calls them the lowest of his minions despite them being his most powerful and loyal. In the end, he just lets them be killed by the turtles and acolytes without a care.
• Berserk Button: Doesn't take kindly to the Mystics suggesting he should kill Karai, stating he does whatever he pleases.
• Big Bad: For Season 5.
• Blood Knight: He is obsessed with finding a good challenge and is often disappointed with how easily he can crush everything. It’s to the point that he is full on excited when the turtles and acolytes prove themselves even a semblance of a challenge.
• Came Back Wrong: Implied with the version of him seen in the “Shredder Wars” timeline. He seems to have lost a majority of his powers and his strength has been brought down to the level of the Utrom and Cyber Shredder’s.
• Character Catchphrase: Just like Ch'rell, his favorite insult is "pathetic". Though he doesn't use it quite nearly to the same extent as Ch'rell.
• Contrasting Sequel Antagonist: Despite having the same voice actor he has virtually nothing in common with Ch'rell. Ch'rell relied almost entirely on science while the Tengu Shredder relies almost entirely on magic. Ch'rell had a relationship and dynamic with each of his minions while the Tengu Shredder didn't bother to form relationships with anyone. Ch'rell was motivated by a desire to return home and exact revenge on the utroms while the Tengu Shredder is driven solely by a need for a challenge which motivates his conquest of the world. Finally Ch'rell had a personal grudge with the turtles which made him a No-Nonsense Nemesis who took no chances with them while the Tengu Shredder did not know them and would often underestimate them.
• Deal with the Devil: In exchange for sparing the Tengu's life, Saki merged with him and gained unspeakable power.
• Decomposite Character: By virtue of Ch'rell taking his identity, he is not the one who murders Hamato Yoshi or having any connection to him.
• Defiant to the End: He even tells Yoshi himself:
  Shredder: I will fight you to my very last breath!
• Demon of Human Origin: Was originally a warrior from ancient Japan, before he merged with a demon.
• Divergent Character Evolution: When he cameoed in Back to the Sewers, he looked much more top-heavy and the cover for his arms looked more like black bandages, along with having a much "pointier" aesthetic, presumably to further distinguish himself from Ch'rell's overall look.
• Does This Remind You of Anything?: His interaction with Karai during their battle is very creepy, having quite a few rape analogies, especially the moment he forcibly holds her in place and strips away her armor before commenting on how fine of a slave she would be.
• The Dreaded: Given that he is considered the greatest evil to ever walk the face of the Earth and the immense power he wields, the Ninja Tribunal, the Ancient One, and soon everyone else, has a good reason to fear him and try their hardest to keep him from resurrecting.
• Fallen Hero: He was once a comrade of the Ninja Tribunal before becoming corrupted by the Tengu and merging with him.
• Flat Character: Subverted. "Legend of the Five Dragons" definitely looks like this will be the case, but after his resurrection he gains a personality that completely contrasts him from Ch'rell and every other villain in the show.
• For the Evulz: Most of his actions are caused by a love of spreading fear and destruction.
• Fusion Dance: Both Saki and the Tengu merge together however it seems to be Saki who is the dominant personality.
• Greater-Scope Villain: The inspiration for Ch'rell's identity and the true master of the Foot Mystics, whose goal is to resurrect him. He doesn't come into action until the second half in Season 5.
• Hijacked by Ganon: Downplayed; while he's not the same as Ch'rell, the conflict of Season 5 is against the one with the original Shredder title.
• Irony: Hamato Yoshi, or at least his ghost, is the one who delves the killing blow to him. It's the exact opposite in the rest of the franchise.
• Jerkass: He pretends to be the Oroku Saki that Karai knows after she impales him, just to mess with her.
• The Juggernaut: Karai sending an army his way, and preparing with Magitek, fails to slow him down. The turtles, even with the power and weapons they gained from the Ninja Tribunal, can't damage him. Even when Karai starts draining his energy he defeats every opponent in his way until a Deus ex Machina in the form of Hamato Yoshi's ghost appears in his way.
• It Amused Me: He constantly makes comments about how he is seeking amusement and it seems to be the driving reason for a lot of his actions, be they ones that are truly monstrous, just borderline trolling or a weird mixture of the two.
• Large Ham: Much like Ch'rell.
• Loves the Sound of Screaming: Admits he can't wait to hear the screams when he remakes the world in his image.
• Merger of Souls: The Shredder Tengu and Oroku Saki became one after the former made a deal with the latter.
• One-Winged Angel: He can transform into a large dragon when more strength is needed.
• The Paragon Always Rebels: Was the best of the warriors who fought against the Tengu, actually beating it single handedly. And is quick to turn evil when the Tengu offers him power.
• Physical God: He's one of the most powerful characters introduced in the series, being able to warp the landscape, outclasses almost any group of enemies, and being very hard to effectively hurt.
• Powers Do the Fighting: While he was a powerful warrior as a human, as a demon he relies entirely on his supernatural powers.
• Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: Only implied considering it is a Saturday morning cartoon, but the women surrounding him in his backstory are clearly sex slaves and his confrontation with Karai also has a lot of rape analogies.
• Smug Super: He really is smug and arrogant but with how powerful and invincible he is his ego comes off as very justified and every moment he is onscreen he backs it up.
• Superpower Lottery: Definitely a winner, displaying:
  • Eye Beams / Hand Blast: His main form of attack.
  • Flying Brick: Can fly and has Super-Strength.
  • Healing Factor: He is Nigh-Invulnerable, and on top of this can shrug off getting impaled and even getting a hole blown in him. It vanishes once his energy gets drained.
  • Mind over Matter: Used this on cars and trucks.
  • One-Winged Angel: Can turn into a giant dragon.
  • Reality Warper: He can create almost anything or alter the world around him in almost anyway he wishes. This varies from turning New York into a hellscape, creating weapons, or an army of monsters.
• Take Over the World: A rather intriguing case as it is very clear he is not even remotely interested in actually ruling the world and is only doing it because he is so bored with his great power. Taking over the world is the only thing that requires even a little effort and once he actually does conquer something, he no longer pays it any heed.
• Underestimating Badassery: He runs into this every now and again as he pays the turtles no heed even after they turned into dragons which results in him getting blasted through the roof. Hamato Yoshi effortlessly hands him his ass while he's in the middle of trying to threaten him.
• Victory Is Boring: Heavily implied to be what drives his conquests; he is a blood knight seeking new challenges, and after he conquers one he has to be find another because he is just that bored.
• Villainous Valour: One positive thing that can be said about him despite his arrogance is that he's not a coward. Even when he's clearly lost, he states he will fight to his last breath.
• We Hardly Knew Ye: Ultimately averted as he has just as much backstory and characterization as Ch'rell, but the scarcity of his appearances and his lack of a personal relationship with the heroes often means he has nothing to play off of.
• Worf Had the Flu: The only reason he's defeated. Even after Karai drained his energy, he was winning his fight with the turtles until the energy drain proved so much it started to turn the tide against him.

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