Shredder (TMNT Comics)

"I am here! Come face your doom!"

- Shredder

The Shredder (Oroku Saki) is the main antagonist of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise. He has appeared in almost every TMNT media at some point and is almost always treated as a formidable opponent to the group.

History
The original Shredder made his debut in the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic books, published under Mirage Comics. However he has since made notable appearances in Archie Comics, Image Comics and several other publishers as the TMNT franchise expanded. He also made a very brief appearance in the animated crossover movie, Turtles Forever, yet was shown as incredibly weak in that movie (a reference to the fact that the original Mirage Comics did not focus as much on Shredder as later media would). In the original comic he was a one shot character but his popularity caused his return and became the main villain of the comics.

He also is major villain in the IDW comics and Archie comics as well.

Shredder's clone
After the death of Oroku Saki, The Shredder, several members of the Foot, as well as the Shredder himself seemingly resurrected, would jump and beat Leonardo to the brink of death, and throw his body through the window of the turtles ally April's Second Time Around store. Shredder and the Foot would attack the TMNT, setting the building on fire, and with the help of Casey Jones, they escaped to his grandmother's old farmhouse in Northampton, Massachusetts.

After months of recuperation, the TMNT returned to New York to settle the score with their enemies, and with the help of Zog, a Triceraton mentally confused due to breathing our Earth oxygen, they went to take down the Foot and the Shredder once and for all. During the fight, Zog gets hacked to death by 3 deformed "Mutant Shredder clones". The other Turtles would face them and be taken down one by one, leaving Leonardo to go ahead and face the "real" Shredder himself.

Leonardo faced off against the Shredder alone in which Shredder revealed that he was a worm clone of the original Shredder, but still harbored the hatred of the original. The Foot employed some sort of mystic worms that ate remains of the dead, and then grow into the form of what they ate. The malformed Shredder Elite were the first three experiments with the worms, and the Shredder now facing Leonardo was their fourth. Shredder and Leonardo fought it out and in the end, Leo would end up decapitating him finally killing him. Leonardo would then take Shredder's body and burn it at the Hudson River in a Viking funeral (burning on a raft on a river). With the Shredder gone, chaos erupted in New York City among the leaderless Foot Clan.

Tales of the TMNT
It is shown that after Leonardo defeated the Shredder, he had yet another resurrection of sort, a Foot Mysticnamed Mashima would find the remains and use the mysterious worms that created Shredder's clone body again, which had gained sentience, the worms then went out to find a new body, but this time they'd also eat the remains of a shark. This shark monster retained Saki's memories and considered himself the real Oroku Saki. This creature wasted no time and started his revenge against the Turtles and Splinter kidnapping him. Facing the Turtles, who defeated it, after a long struggle, in which, by the mysterious abilities of this new creature, the personalities of the Turtles were turned upside down, by severing it's connection to the mystic, he realized he was just a clone and escaped, also eating the Foot Mystic. Sometime later, the monster returned, however, and had the Foot kidnap Casey's adopted daughter Shadow to lure the Turtles into a trap. With the Turtles away this Shark/Worm/Shredder monster would face Splinter and Casey Jones. They defeated this incarnation of Shredder with the help of the Foot Mystic Mashima, who had meanwhile merged with the Shredder Shark clone, and rescued Shadow finally killing the creature.

Shredder also has a daughter named Pimko.

Other Versions of the Shredder
Throughout a considerable part of the Image comic series, Raphael tries to impersonate Shredder by wearing his armor. Following this, he is accepted as the leader of the Foot Clan. In later issues of the series, a mysterious Lady Shredder appears to challenge Raphael. Although the book was canceled before her identity could be revealed, writer Gary Carlsonconfirmed after the fact that she was meant to be Karai.

In Volume Four series, Leonardo encounters Oroku Yoshi, a Battle Nexus contestant wearing armor almost identical to that of the second animated series' Shredder. His connection to Oroku Saki and the Foot is not known, since the bi-monthly comic was ultimately cancelled in 2010.

Archie Comics
The  Archie Comics ' series use the same background as the 1987 cartoon, as the first issues are identical. Later in the Archie comics, Shredder travels to the future and works with Armaggon and Verminator X to offset the skill and experience of the future versions of the Turtles.

This version of the character was more in line with the early episodes' depiction of the character as a cunning adversary and in many issues nearly proves to be a lethal enemy, coming close to defeating the turtles on a number of occasions, and even aids Armaggon and Verminator X in the defeat and capture of two of the turtles in the future. His final fate within the Archie comics series remains unknown, though a three-part mini-series put out by Archie comics after the end of their regular comic series seems to indicate he remains a consistent foe to the turtles for many years, briefly restoring Splinter to the form of Hamato Yoshi and also undoing Michaelangelo's mutation, though both later revert to mutant status by the end of the story, while Shredder was left in a vegetative state in the aftermath of his final battle with the Turtles.

IDW Publishing
In feudal Japan, Oroku Saki was a high-ranking member of the Foot Clan along with Hamato Yoshi. While Yoshi focused on his family, Saki surpassed him and was promoted to Jonin (leader) of the Foot. After an argument on his style of leadership, Saki sent ninja to murder Yoshi's wife, Tang Shen, and later Yoshi and his four sons.

With the help of Kitsune, Saki steals regenerative ooze from an Utrom known as "The Iron Demon" (later revealed to be Krang himself) which is used to preserve his body until he is awakened by his descendant Oroku Karai several centuries later in modern-day New York. During his time in stasis, his spirit conquered the realm of the Afterlife, where he learned he was destined to rule the earth world and eventually return to the Afterlife as a lost soul. Knowing the future, he vows to change it by conquering the realm of the Afterlife upon his return.

Shredder first appears in Micro-series #1 and in full costume on the final page of issue #9. Dan Duncan first designed Shredder with input from Mateus Santolouco and Kevin Eastman; originally wanting to depict a "beefy...monster" he decided to simplify the design and slimmed down the character based on the original Mirage design.

Seeking control in his forthcoming battle for power, Shredder offers Splinter a place in his army but Splinter refuses, revealing himself to be a reincarnated Hamato Yoshi. Saki then reveals his own identity and attacks Splinter, almost killing him when the Turtles arrive to rescue their father. Impressed by Leonardo, he orders his capture and conducts a plan involving kidnapping and stabbing Casey Jones. Shredder then has Kitsune brainwash Leonardo to become his new Chunin (second-in-command) and uses him for a show of strength to the criminal underworld. After the Turtles rescue Leonardo, Shredder calls a meeting with Krang and proposes an alliance in exchange for Utrom technologies, which Krang rejects. A short battle results in retreat on both sides and the revelation that Shredder had stolen some Utrom resources from Krang's compound to begin creating a mutant army.

In Issue #50, Shredder faced Splinter and the turtles in a final battle which he lost and briefly admitted his faults and also making Karai the new head of the Foot Clan. He was then killed by Splinter by having his sword slashed into the back of his head, killing him instantly. After his death Shredder's body is kept in a crypt that is guarded by Jennika who was assigned by Hamato Yoshi in order to learn humility. Shredder's tomb is eventually desecrated by the witch Kitsune who plans to revive Oroku Saki in order to restore order to the Foot Clan.

Shredder will appear in the mini-series "Shredder in Hell" where it has depicted him after his death at the hands of Splinter in hell.

Powers and Abilities
Shredder was a trained Ninja and sometimes uses weapons and martial Arts for combat. He also had various powers as a mutant and other versions

Trivia

 * Unlike the rest his incarnations, this Shredder's backstory not depicted him had direct conflict with Hamato Yoshi, as he killed Yoshi to avenge his brother.
 * Also, for the same reason, in Mirage comics, Shredder was killed outright by the ninja turtles in their fateful battle, which led to his clones' creation to replace him. This, alongside his popularity among fans, led to his later incarnation's portrayal as tenacious antagonist whom able to recovered from injuries/scenarios that normally fatal for normal people either in real life or within the franchise itself.