Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Naruto #2! Shredder has been the arch nemesis of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles since the beginning of the franchise (indeed, Shredder was the main villain in the first TMNT issue). And now, after all these years, Shredder is getting a badass redesign - perhaps his most badass design to date - as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series has just turned Oroku Saki into an anime villain (literally).
In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Naruto #2 by Caleb Goellner and Hendry Prasetya, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (including Master Splinter and April O’Neil) have a run-in with Kakashi and his students: Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto. While they initially saw each other as enemies, and engaged in an epic battle (as shown in the previous issue), Kakashi recognized the fighting style of Splinter, as it belonged to a former friend, Hamato Yoshi. This acknowledgment ended the fight, though the two ninja clans quickly realized that another battle was imminent, one against a shared enemy: Shredder.
Kakashi asked Splinter what happened to Yoshi, and Splinter revealed that Yoshi had been betrayed many years ago by a former student of his: Oroku Saki aka Shredder. Shredder was after the ancient secrets passed down for generations in the Hamato Clan, and when he finally got his hands on them, he killed Yoshi and became the leader of the villainous Foot Clan. However, what’s more striking than Shredder’s origin story is his appearance, as he now looks less like his spiky, heavy-metal original self, and more like an evil ninja who grew to become a corrupt, armored samurai.
TMNT’s Shredder Has Always Been an ‘Anime Villain’, but Now He Literally Is One
Shredder is Officially a Villain in Both TMNT & Naruto
The Shredder’s new appearance still includes echoes of his original costume - with the inclusion of spikes on his arms and legs - but with an aesthetic that’s more akin to an evil, armored samurai. In all honesty, the best way to describe this redesign is that Shredder simply looks more like an anime villain - specifically, a villain that could conceivably appear in the anime Naruto, even without the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
But, upon taking a look back at Shredder’s origin story, it’s clear that Oroku Saki has always been an anime villain, he’s just never appeared in an anime property before. Betraying his master before raising a clan of evil ninja for the purpose of taking over the world? Yep, that’s an anime villain, alright. And now, Shredder can finally live up to his potential, as he’s now an official anime villain in the world of Naruto - with a badass new look to go along with it.
TMNT May Have Introduced the Most Powerful Shredder of All Time
Shredder Could Master the Jutsus of Naruto to Become Immensely Powerful
As noteworthy as Shredder’s new design is, it’s nothing compared to the implications of his villainous status in the world of Naruto (or, at least a world with elements of Naruto in it, since Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Naruto takes place in an original continuity). Shredder now has the opportunity to learn and master Jutsu, which - as any fan of Naruto can attest to - means he can become more powerful than he’s ever been, given that Jutsu offers ninja power in the mystical arts.
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Right now, Shredder hasn’t yet proven how powerful he may have become in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Naruto, as he has only appeared in a flashback sequence and then again at the very end of the issue in the present day. However, while readers will have to wait to see him in action, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles at least gave fans a look at Shredder’s badass new design, while also firmly establishing him as an official anime villain.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Naruto #2 is available now.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) is a multi-media franchise that began with Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird’s comics in the 1980s. Throughout the years, their comic books expanded to movies, TV shows, video games, and toys. Most notably, the animated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ran for nearly a decade and has become a nostalgic staple of the ‘80s and ‘90s. Several other movies have featured the four anthropomorphic turtle brothers (Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael), including the trilogy of live-action films in the ‘90s and the more recent movies Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and its sequel Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows.
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