Karai (TMNT 2012)

"I have no honour, but that's about to change"

- Karai defying her father and Tiger Claw

Hamato Miwa, also known as Karai, is a major antagonist turned anti-heroine of the 2012 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles show on Nickelodeon.

Like other versions of the character, she is the Shredder's disciple, adopted daughter and a high-ranking member of the Foot Clan. However, unlike most adaptations, Karai is later revealed to be the daughter of Hamato Yoshi, who was taken by the Shredder when she was just a baby. Since then, she was trained and, unknowingly, adopted by the Shredder. Shredder also lied to her about how that he is her real father and that Yoshi (now known as Splinter) had killed her mother. Since then, Karai wanted revenge on Splinter for the death of her mother.

However, after she learned the truth, Karai wanted revenge on the Shredder for deceiving and manipulating her for years. And after she was accidentally dropped into a vat of mutagen that was accidentally altered by Baxter Stockman, Karai now has the ability to mutate into a snake/human hybrid at will.

She is voiced by Kelly Hu.

Season 1
Karai first appears in the episode "New Girl in Town" in which she crosses paths with Leonardo. Though she effortlessly overpowers him in their first fight she lets him live, much to her master Shredder's fury. She later runs into Leonardo again and duels him, seeming to be at least his equal but possibly a little better. During the duel, Karai attempts to seduce Leonardo, who resists and in turn attempts to get Karai to admit to having a streak of heroism inside her, to which she brushes off. She later attempts to convince Leonardo to help her steal a sword on display, to which he refuses. Leo again attempts to reason with Karai, but again she rebuffs him. However, she does save Leonardo and Raphael from Snakeweed when the Mutant attacks them, giving Leonardo hope that there is good in her.

However, in Karai's next appearance, Alien Agenda, she betrays the Turtles during a battle with Kraang forces, leaving them to fend for themselves against both the Kraang and also a mutant monster that Karai accidentally created, also mocking Leonardo when he tells her that he trusted her. While the turtles fight, Karai gives Shredder a piece of Kraang technology, managing in the process to convince him of it's worth.

Karai's next appearance is Enemy of my Enemy, where upon learning of the threat the Kraang pose seeks an alliance with the Turtles, who are reluctant to trust her again. Though Leonardo manages to convince his brothers to trust Karai, he later goes along with their plan to try and take down the Shredder when he shows up to claim some weapons with which Karai planned to take down the Kraang. Upon realizing that the Turtles took advantage of their partnership, a hurt Karai angrily condemns Leonardo and from then on goes from a friendly opponent to a hateful arch-enemy. Her subsequent appearances reflect this change in personality, her previous sociable and friendly personality having been replaced with sadism.

In Booyakashowdown Part 2, Splinter learns, while fighting Shredder, that Karai was in fact his and Tang Shen's daughter Miwa, who Shredder had taken as his own the night he killed Tang Shen, raising her to hate her biological father under the lie that he was Tang Shen's killer and not him. Splinter then immediately lashes out at Shredder, nearly killing him in the process, only to be repelled when Karai attacks him and, unable to bring himself to hurt his daughter, he retreats

Season 2
During Season 2, Shredder leaves to Japan on business and leaves Karai in charge of the Foot Clan, instructing his daughter to do nothing while he was away (and threatens to hurt her if she does not obey him). Nevertheless, Karai, in an attempt to get revenge on Splinter (who she still believes killed her mother) and has her robot Foot Ninjas attack the turtles to try and use them as bait. The plan fails, and Karai is left defeated by Leonardo, who warns her not to endanger his brothers or sensei again.

Following this, Shredder warns Karai not to disobey him again, but she ignores him and sends more Foot-Bots after April O'Neil, as well as the Kraang's new elite Foot-Bot. However, once this new Foot-Bot (who Mike dubs "Chrome-Dome") tracks April down, it attempts to capture her for the Kraang rather than kill her as Karai had wanted. Enraged at this betrayal, Karai attacks the Foot-Bot, prompting it to attack her in retaliation. Once the Turtles arrive, Karai is beaten back and forced to retreat.

Karai later appears again in The Manhattan Project where she tries and fails to capture the Turtles. It is in this episode that Splinter reveals to the Turtles (and later April) that Karai is his daughter. When Shredder returns, he brings a new assassin with him named Tiger Claw. Karai takes an instant dislike to him, especially after Shredder has him replace her as his new second-in-command. The two later capture Splinter after using the Turtles as bait, and Splinter and the Turtles try desperately to convince Karai that he is indeed her father. Though she refuses to listen, she does urge Shredder to give Splinter a fair fight rather than kill him while he's helpless. She later admits that she doesn't know why she did this, but seems to show some discomfort when Shredder tries again to kill Splinter. She is last seen overhearing Splinter, April, and the Turtles discuss how Karai is the former's daughter, suggesting that she has now finally come to accept the truth.

Her subsequent appearance in The Wrath of Tiger Claw shows that she is indeed coming to accept the truth, but remains conflicted. When Tiger Claw returns seeking vengeance on the Turtles and Splinter, Shredder orders Karai to help him. Tiger Claw attempts to use Karai's knowledge of the Turtles to his advantage, but Karai continues to have doubts about her true parentage and Shredder's sincerity. After losing the will to continue threatening Murakami for information, Karai seeks out April and confesses to her that she is beginning to believe that Leonardo and Splinter where telling the truth all along. Leonardo and Donatello intercept the pair and Karai claims to now believe Leonardo. In actuality she remains uncertain and discreetly alerts Tiger Claw to her position at the Turtle's lair. Upon reaching the lair though and seeing the pictures of her mother Karai realizes that Splinter is indeed her father, at which point she regrets her alerting Tiger Claw to the Turtle's location. She helps them lead Tiger Claw away from the lair and ultimately attacks him. However she is defeated and returned to the Shredder. She demands the truth from him and he admits that Splinter is her father, before then locking Karai up for betraying him.

She is later freed by the Turtles after failing to escape on her own, and embraces them and Splinter as her new family. However, her desire for revenge causes her to return to the Shredder with the intent of killing him in retaliation for everything he did to her. Shredder defeats her in the ensuing fight (his teaching her everything she knew ensuring that he knows exactly how she will fight) and then uses her as bait to lure Splinter and the Turtles to him.



Tragically, in the ensuing fight Karai is dumped into mutagen Shredder had prepared for the Turtles (however, unknown to him, Baxter Stockman had accidentally dumped several chemicals into the mutagen), and in the process is mutated into a snake-like creature that is completely feral. She attacks everyone in sight before Splinter is able to make her remember him. However she soon becomes feral again and flees, injuring Raphael in the process with new acid spit. Afterwards though she is shown to be able to transform back into a human, with the only lingering signs of her being mutated being having a snake's eyes, tongue, and fangs.

Karai makes three appearances in the season 2 finale, The Invasion. In the episode's beginning, Shredder has flashbacks of key moments in her life, including her training and mutation. Then, she appears shortly as Casey and Raphael are looking for her. Then, at the very end of the second part, she saves Splinter from drowning, gently nuzzling him awake before slipping away into the water.

Season 3
In Serpent Hunt, the turtles search for her while she is being hunted by Ivan Steranko and Anton Zeck as well as Fishface and Rahzar who try to capture her on Shredder's orders. The turtles manage to track her down to an abandoned factory where they get attacked by the Kraang who she easily takes out. They then try to talk to her, where Donnie realizes she is becoming more snake-like. She then transforms into a human, where it's revealed her human form looks more pale and scaly then it did after she got mutated, and informs them that it's to dangerous to go with them. Fishface and Rahzar show up and manage to capture her by stunning her with a taser. Ivan and Anton then capture her and attempt to make a deal with the Shredder by handing her over to him so he can help them escape the city that the Kraang have taken over and constantly patrol everywhere. The turtles then show up and free her while they fight the shredder. She then gives them a clue; pointing to the East and the word "comet" before she escapes by jumping into the water at the docks.

In The Pig and the Rhino, The Turtles, Casey, and April discover three potential places that Karai could be hiding and split up to find her with retro mutagen in an attempt to change her back. Leonardo and Michelangelo discover she's been at Coney Island and her hint regards the Comet Roller Coaster. Karai evades them in the Haunted House attraction but they corner her outside, where she almost attacks Mikey but is stopped by Leonardo. He asks her if she can change forms but it appears that she can't. She runs away once the now mutated Steranko and Zeck show up (who Mikey calls Bebop and Rocksteady). When Bebop and Rocksteady fight over the retro mutagen she appears and spits acid in Rocksteady's face, causing him to drop the retro mutagen and crush it as she escapes into the haunted house with Bebop following her. This distraction allowed Leo to free his brothers, April, and Casey. After the turtles defeat Bebop and Rocksteady, Karai comes out and Leonardo sprays retro mutagen on her, but to their disappointment it has no effect, as Donatello says that Karai is a special kind of mutant. Leonardo offers to bring Karai home, but she thinks it's too dangerous as her mind is still deteriorating. As it turns out, she only brought the turtles to the location so she can say good bye to all of them as she once again escapes into the water. Later, in the streets, she tries hunting a nearby rat, but it was a trap set up by Bebop and Rocksteady, who take her to Shredder's lair. Shredder swears that he will cure her and they will have their revenge on the Turtles, as Karai angrily hisses at him.

In Casey Jones VS. The Underworld, Karai is seen imprisoned behind a glass wall in Shredder's Lair, banging on the wall for escape, as Shredder once again promises they will reverse her mutation.

In The Noxious Avenger, she is briefly seen in her cage in Stockman-Fly's lab.

In Clash of the Mutanimals, she is seen imprisoned in Shredder's lair, where she overhears Shredder's plans to use the mind control serum on her.

In The Deadly Venom, Stockman-Fly successfully restores her human form and infected her brain with a Mind Controlling Worm. Shredder then orders her to attack Rocksteady who she defeats easily. Shredder then orders to hunt and destroy the turtles and their alleys. she first sends a bunch of venomous snakes to bite April and then she got the drop on Casey. He gave her a good fight but by using both her ninja skills and her new control over her mutant powers she over powered him and gave him a poisonous kiss. When Mikey and Raph came to save him Karai's snake came out of Casey's clothes and bite them. She then used all four of them as bait for Leo and Donnie and she placed some of her venom in the water they swam in. With Leo poisoned she quickly got the upper hand but by using a healing technique Splinter recently taught him, Leo beats her venom and defeated her, but when he turned his back for a minute she was gone.

In Tale of the Yokai, she is seen as in infant with her mother Tang Shen. Her mom leaves her unattended to go after Splinter and Shredder. After her mother's unfortunate death, she is stolen by the Shredder who renames her Karai.

In Attack of the Mega Shredder!, she is seen briefly being attached to some kind of contraption as she's forced to endure multiple worm injections due to the fact that one single mind-worm is not enough to keep her under the Shredder's control (most likely from her fight with Leo involving the healing hand technique in The Deadly Venom). The Shredder apologizes to her and promises her that they will soon have their revenge on Splinter and the Turtles and tells her to sleep well. Bebop and Rocksteady are then assigned by the Shredder to watch over her as well as secure the base from the turtles.

In The Fourfold Trap, she sets up a trap for the turtles with Shredder's other henchmen to lure Splinter to her. She lures Donnie first by having Stockman hack into his T-Phone and making him think April is calling him. After that, she captures Mikey by luring him to Murakami's and having him eat pizza gyozos spiked with a chemical to knock him out. Finally, she lures Leo, Raph and April when she fakes a phone call from Mikey. When they arrive, they are quickly overwhelmed by Karai and the other mutant henchmen. Karai has the turtles placed in separate rooms each filled with a different trap, while April is chained near Karai. April then has no choice but to call Splinter and warn him, where Karai takes her phone and finally talks to Splinter, who is surprised to hear his daughter after so long. Splinter arrives where the Turtles are kept, and he defeats each and every one of Shredder's henchmen until only Karai is left. He tries to reach his daughter and pleads for her to stop, even calling her Miwa, but she doesn't listen and attacks him. During the fight, he tells her that he loved her mother very much, but this only infuriates her. Splinter dodges all of Karai's attacks and knocks her weapon out of her hand. He then says that he won't fight her. She reverts to her mutant form and says that he doesn't have a choice before lunging at him. Splinter narrowly avoids getting hurt by her as he tries to dodge her attacks, until she dives into the water around the command center. Splinter then takes Leo's suggestion about the healing mantra and goes through the motions as Karai circles him in the water. Just as she tries to attack him, he finishes the hand motions and hits her several times in crucial areas with the mantra. He then tells her he loves her before pressing two fingers into her head. She spits venom in his eyes, and wraps around him. Just as she is about to finish him, she screeches in pain as the brain worm that's controlling her weakens, causing her to let go of him. She thrashes in pain and throws herself off the platform until Splinter grabs her by her wrist. Unfortunately, her wrist slips out of his hand and she falls into the water as it drains into the sewer, taking her with it, much to Splinter's sadness. At the end, she lands in a sewer pipe and changes back to her human form. The healing mantra that Splinter performed on her is shown to have worked as she pukes the brain worm out of her mouth, thus restoring her free will.

As she was mentioned in ''Annihilation Earth! Part 2'', she, along with everyone else on Earth, (Excluding The Turtles, Casey & April) died when earth was destroyed by the Triceratons

Season 4
She was mentioned by Leonardo in The War for Dimension X when Leonardo has mentioned a compliment saying "I totally get mutants like Karai, but alien lizards?".

Karai was mentioned in Earth's Last Stand, when Shredder was repeatedly going to kill Master Splinter again when future Leo warned him. Thanks to that, Splinter blocked his attack from killing him. Shredder continues to blame Splinter for Karai's disappearance after spitting out the brain worm in Fourfold Trap and after escaping on her own free will.

In City at War, after being freed from the brain worm, Karai calls her old friend, Shinigami, from Japan to aid her in taking down Shredder's criminal empire. When Shinigami returns to Karai at Shredder's old headquarters with a tanto carrying the Hamato Clan insignia, they soon are confronted by April and the Turtles, as the tanto belonged to April. Karai explains that she's no longer their enemy now that she's free of the brain worm, and explains her plans to rebuild the Foot before Shredder's corruption, take down his criminal empire, then Shredder himself, once and for all. The Turtles offer their support, but Karai believes she needs to do this herself. However, she does allow April to face Shinigami again for getting her tanto back. Though Shinigami easily beats April, Karai agrees to return the tanto, before the Turtles and April then take their leave. Later, Karai and Shinigami arrive at a martial arts store that Karai knows is a front for Shredder as he keeps a cache of weapons in the back. They are soon attacked by Tiger Claw, Fishface, and Rahzar, and before surrendering after Tiger Claw takes Shinigami hostage, Karai sends a text message for help to the Turtles. After being subdued, Karai frees herself, but is soon overpowered by Tiger Claw, who prepares to kill her before the Turtles and April arrive to help after getting Karai's text message. As Karai and Leo fight Tiger Claw, at one point, Karai allows her mutant self to surface as she turns her arms into their mutant form to attack Tiger Claw with, but he is still able to overpower her before April incapacitates him with The Dragon's Tail, allowing Karai and Shinigami to escape with the Turtles and April, but not without leaving behind enough explosives to wipe out the weapons cache for Karai. Back at the Turtles' lair, Karai speaks to Splinter about what she's doing, and though he wants her to join the Turtles and work together with them, Karai explains that she's grown up now and needs to deal with Shredder in her own way. Splinter voices how proud she is of her as she departs with Shinigami to continue her plans with rebuilding the Foot and wiping out Shredder's empire, not realizing that she may have started a war with Shredder that's she's not going to win.

In Broken Foot, Karai and Shinigami are aided by Leo behind Splinter's back as they continue to systematically take down Shredder's criminal empire, taking down Hun and his Purple Dragons before burning a temple full of Shredder's laundered money, then attacking Auman Chemicals, encountering resistance in the form of Foot-bots, Tiger Claw, Bebop, and Rocksteady, but managing to plant their explosives and damage the facility, aided by fresh Foot Ninja from Japan. However, Donnie was injured trying to save Mikey and Raph from the explosion, and as a result, Karai and Shini are forced to flee from Tiger Claw before he goes after the Turtles with Bebop and Rocksteady. When Leo arrives at Shredder's old lair with Mikey and Raph, Karai reveals her next target to be the Foot-bot manufacturing facility at Auman Chemicals. Destroying it would cripple Shredder's army beyond repair, but having witnessed what Karai's revenge did to Donnie, Leo wants nothing to do with it, leaving Karai to blind him and his brothers, while Shini uses her magic tricks to further disorient them so Karai can take Shini and the Foot Ninja to still take down the factory. However, their plan falls apart due to Tiger Claw, Bebop, and Rocksteady anticipating their arrival and having the factory crank out Elite Foot-bots, which manage to overpower Karai, Shini, and the Foot Ninja, capturing them. However, Leo, Raph, and Mikey arrive to save Karai and the others, but thanks to Raph fiddling with the control panel, the Turtles, Shini, and the Foot Ninja are sorely outnumbered by Elite Foot-bots, until Karai plants an explosive on the large cistern at the top of the factory and detonates it manually, burning the side of her face, but causing the cistern to plunge into the molten slag below, splashing it on the Elite Foot-bots and destroying all of them along with the factory. Leo retrieves Karai, and together with Mikey, Raph, the Foot Ninja, and Shinigami, they escape as the NYPD flood to the factory, now a raging inferno, regrouping in an alley where Karai uses her mutant abilities to heal her burn wounds similar to a snake shedding it's skin, much to the Turtles' amazement before they return to their sewer lair. Once there, while the Turtles are overjoyed to see Donnie fully healed thanks to Splinter's healing mantras. Karai apologizes to Splinter for having allowed her revenge to bring harm to others. She then decides that taking down Shredder's criminal empire is no longer her priority. As of now, she's going to go after the Shredder himself, turning to leave and drawing her tanto blade as she does.

In The Insecta Trifecta, Karai has ordered to her Ninjas to look for Shredder, as they report no sights of him, she starts to look impatient and upset and demands her Ninjas to leave her. As they leave, Karai notes on Stockman's Antrax around the lair and Stockman has arrived. She relates of all Shredder's mutants he would send to take her down, he just sends a useless bug, much to Baxter's frustration, but even she could turn to her mutant form she gets stuck in spider web until the Turtles and April arrive, but thanks to Raphael's hallucinations, she gets captured anyway with Leo and April. She is seen in a spider web with Leo, April and Casey (who was captured as well before her) in a high-rise construction and worries if Stockman and his minions are going to eat them. She is rescued by Mikey, Donnie and Raph and along with April she fights the bugs and gets Stockman out of the controls of the crane.

In The Super Shredder, Karai is at her base when a blackout occurs. When Shinigami reports she has no idea how it happened, Karai suggests doubling the guards outside, only for Tiger Claw and Rahzar to enter. Karai is ready to fight them, when they reveal Shredder is with them, entering to reveal he's become what Karai says he hated the most: A mutant. Shredder manages to take out Shinigami, their Foot Ninja, and Karai, in her mutant form, before threatening to hunt down Shinigami if Karai does not surrender to him. Left with no choice, Karai surrenders, and watches as when the Turtles and April arrive in the Shellraiser to save her, Shredder easily overpowers the Shellraiser and sets it ablaze, much to Karai's horror.

Afterwards, Karai is taken to be held hostage in the area where Shredder and Splinter had their last battle that Shredder won. When Splinter arrives to save her, he is confronted by Shredder, and soon forced to retreat when he realizes he's no match for Shredder in his mutated state. As Splinter lures Shredder away, Karai frees herself and regroups with the Turtles and April, only to be stopped from pursuing Shredder and Splinter by Chrome Dome Elite Foot-bots. By the time they reach Splinter and Shredder in the under-city where Splinter fought the Rat King, they are unable to help as more Elite Foot-bots block them from reaching Splinter, who manages to collapse the broken bridge segment he and Shredder are on, before dragging Shredder with him to their presumed deaths. As the Elite Foot-bots begin to rain arrows on them, Karai, April, and the Turtles are forced to retreat and regroup, knowing that Splinter might still be alive if he survived the fall. Before they can consider it further, the doors they were hiding behind are blown open, and they find themselves confronted by Bebop, Rocksteady, and at least a half-dozen Elite Foot-bots...

Appearance
As a human she is shown to be slightly taller than Leo (and April). Karai has dark black hair that is dyed blonde in the back with angled bob cut and two notable strands of her hair falls over her ears. She wears several black earrings and red eyeliner on the top of her eyelids, which have brown irises. Karai always wears silver armor, black material worn under her armor, traditional Japanese shoes, and a purple belt with a design on it reminiscent of the Shredder's. She does have a civilian outfit as well, with a punk-esque design with worn jeans and a leather biker jacket with metal studs.

As a mutant she is a two-armed white and purple serpent with green eyes, snake heads instead of hands and with her armor melded into her skin.

Powers and Abilities
As a human her skills as a kunoichi are so great that she can take on Leonardo one-on-one or all four turtles at once. As seen in "Enemy of My Enemy," her primary weapon of choice is a Tantō (a short yet sharp Japanese blade).



As a mutant serpent she has incredibly fast reflexes, an amazingly strong tail that can be used for whipping, constricting and crushing, and she can spit blinding venom.

She is also shown to be able to morph between her human and mutant form.

Trivia

 * Karai's alias "Harmony" translates to Miwa, her birth name.
 * 2012 Karai is very similar to the minor comic TMNT villain The Mistress. Both are biological relatives of Tang Shen who were manipulated by Oroku Saki (Shredder) into believing that he was good and that it was Hamato Yoshi who was the villain in the love triangle, thus turning them into a loyal minion.
 * For all her disdain for Shredder's obsession with getting revenge on Master Splinter, Karai is similarly obsessed with exacting vengeance on the man she believes killed her mother, to the point that she repeatedly disobeys Shredder in the pursuit of her vendetta and attempts to kill those close to Splinter "just so he'll know what it feels like".

Quotes

 * Well, you might actually be a challenge. -Karai first meets Leonardo
 * Well...you didn't defeat them either. -Karai to the Shredder
 * I know, that's what makes it fun! -Karai's response when Leonardo tells her that she doesn't have to do something wrong
 * I wonder what this button does... -Karai before creating the monster Justin
 * I know! That's messed up right?-Karai callously mocks Leonardo's saying he trusted her after she betrays him
 * I thought you were better than this! I thought you were my friend! How could you betray me!?   -Karai expresses anger at Leonardo for his betraying her trust in him
 * Our deal's off! You want a feud? You got one!   -Karai becomes Leonardo's archenemy
 * My name is Karai! Father told me what you did to mother! Now I'm going to return the favor!   -Karai unknowingly condemns her biological father
 * " Rise and shine, Stockman. You're working for me now- well, me and the Shredder. Let's move!"
 * " 9 Hours!? I want to test it on someone now! And I've got the perfect target too. April O'Neil."
 * "Foot bots, keep the turtle busy! This is between us girls."
 * "Your skills are weak, April. I've had years of training.'"
 * "Like my new little toy? Robot! Eliminate the girl!"
 * "I have no honor, but that is about to change."
 * (To Fishface) "Well isn't the sushi i ordered."
 * (To Shredder) "I am not your ...daughter!"
 * (After escaping)"This isn't over, Tiger Claw."
 * (First words as a mutant)" ... Father ? "

Similar Villains

 * Huntsgirl (American Dragon Jake Long)