Master Splinter

Hamato Splinter is the adoptive father and master of the  and has taught them all they know.

Background
In the, Splinter was the pet rat of a named  in. Intelligent for his species, in his cage Splinter was able to learn his master's art by mimicking his movements while he practiced. Yoshi became embroiled in a dispute with a fellow ninja by the name of. When Yoshi had to go to America into exile, years later he was eventually murdered at the hands of Nagi's brother, who sought revenge for the death of his brother Nagi.

Without a home, Splinter was forced to run away and live in the. Due to a traffic accident, four baby turtles and a canister of radioactive were sent down into the sewer, where they were exposed to the strange substance that mutated both Splinter and the turtles. Within hours Splinter and the turtles were intelligent, humanoid mutants. Splinter named the four turtles:, , , and (after a book on Renaissance artists that he found in a storm drain) and in the following years  trained them in the arts of  so that they should take revenge for his dead master, while still raising them as his own sons. Although Splinter at the beginning was very careful to keep his existence and his foster sons secret from the rest of the world rates, the five little turtles made friendly contacts with the upper world, in particular with and.

Splinter was usually more in the background instead of at the forefront. He stood aside the Turtles always with advice, but when it came time for a direct fight, he showed despite his age a high skill as a ninja master. In, it would have appeared that this version of Splinter had died of a heart attack. For all his friends, it was a big shock when Splinter unexpectedly died; much later it turned out that he had found a new home in the. How he got there however, remains unclear. However, as revealed in, the Splinter that died was not the Splinter that raised and trained the Turtles.

In, Splinter's full formal name is revealed to be Hamato Splinter, taking the same Japanese surname as his master Hamato Yoshi.

In, the real Hamato Splinter was revealed to have been ruling the as  for years.

Known Superhuman Powers
Splinter has displayed no overt superhuman abilities. It is unknown whether or not his mutation into his more human-like bipedal form has removed the species-wide advantages he possessed as a normal rat, or if they have simply been dulled with age.

Abilities
Splinter is a capable hand to hand combatant and a master of ninjutsu. His skills have atrophied greatly as he has aged, but he is still capable of battling full grown men to a standstill.

Of perhaps greater value are his skills as a sensei and mentor. His training techniques have groomed his students into four of the deadliest ninja warriors known to man.

Splinter’s greatest asset is his keen mind; even as a “normal” rat he was able to learn ninjutsu through the simple observation and mimicry of Hamato Yoshi.

Description
Splinter is a large, nearly human-sized, bipedal rat. His body is covered with a layer of greyish brown fur, his limbs are short and end in three fingered extremities. He has an enlarged snout, ears and a long naked tail.

The only clothing that Splinter wears is a battered old red robe that he uses to preserve what little modesty he has remaining.

Personality
Splinter is a stern, yet patient, sensei who had devoted his entire life to a single goal; gaining vengeance for his beloved master Yoshi. Once his sons had achieved this goal, Splinter found himself somewhat bereft of purpose and spent much of his time in meditation, contemplating his place in the larger scheme of life.

Splinter will often use his skills of stealth and deception to avoid confrontations and trouble. However, when forced to intervene directly in a situation Splinter acts with focused and precise action. He wastes little motion and attempts to defeat his foes with as little effort as possible.

At heart though, Splinter isn’t the killer that he raised his sons to be. Outside of members of the Foot Clan, Splinter will avoid taking a human life if at all possible.

Though Splinter is the head of his family, he allows his sons to take the lead and make decisions on their own. He rarely interjects unless the brothers are unable to come to a consensus on their own (i.e., they are about to come to blows), or if their actions have become self-destructive.

In those moments, he acts as both a wise sage and stern disciplinarian and brings their mercurial natures back in-line and focuses them on the task at hand.

Quotes
“Ah, you have done well. Your skills are at their peak. I have foreseen this night for many years. Now it is time… time for you to be told of the mission for which I have trained you these past thirteen years.”

“I ask you to avenge the cruel death of my master, Hamato Yoshi. And his wife Tang Shen. I ask you to challenge and kill the murderer Oroku Saki… The Shredder !”

“Good aggressive technique Raphael… Donatello, you need to get more extension in your blocking thrusts… like this ! See ?”

“Don’t think April — DO  !”

“This makes two times they caught us unaware my sons ; I want it to be the last  !”

“… the way of harmony is to accept change. We make our choices in life — and our karma is to accept the changes those choices bring.”

“That nerve jab should have rendered you helpless — you are indeed a strong one… perhaps a crane strike… here  !”

“Subtlety over strength… a valuable lesson for you, Skonk… take heed of it… and accept an honourable surrender !”

Trivia