The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ Original Nemesis Just Called Back to the Most Twisted Version of Himself

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John Dodge is an MTV Writer for CBR who specializes in movies, television, comics, and pop culture. He has a deep knowledge of franchises like Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Marvel, and DC Comics, along with a passion for indie and horror titles. An expert on obscure productions from the ’80s and ’90s, John is known for his encyclopedic recall of cult classics like Beetleborgs.

The Shredder's darkest chapter from over four decades (and more than a half-dozen publishers) ago is still haunting the iconic villain today.

After hunting down the subterranean stronghold of the enigmatic crime lord known as King Cobra, the eponymous villain of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder #2 (by Dan Watters, Michele Bandini, Sid Kotian, Marco Lesko, and Darran Robinson) wastes no time cutting his way through the opposition. Surprisingly, King Cobra isn't the mutant monstrosity he has played himself up to be, but rather an ordinary human boasting more power than he could ever even imagine. Even more surprising than that, however, is the fact that the Shredder doesn't see another person at all, just the same mass of worms he himself was reduced to so many lifetimes ago.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder #2

Written by DAN WATTERS
Art by MICHELE BANDINI and SID KOTIAN
Colors by MARCO LESKO
Letters & design by DARRAN ROBINSON
Main cover art by MATEUS SANTOLOUCO
Variant cover art by MICHELE BANDINI; KAEL NGU; PAUL HARMON; and MATEUS SANTOLOUCO

In the original Mirage Studios comics, Oroku Saki, better known as the Shredder, lost his life to the Heroes in a Half Shell almost as soon as he made his debut in the pages of 1984's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. Two years later, the Leonardo: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle micro-series entry by Eastman and Laird saw the Shredder return as a whole new kind of threat. Using ancient magic, the Foot Clan mystic known as Mashima resurrected the Shredder through the use of strange, carnivorous worms that were imbued with shreds of the villain's consciousness and reformed his body from their own mass. Fortunately, this version of the Shredder was ultimately destroyed by the Turtles, even if doing so took more than 20 years.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder picks up after Oroku Saki's short-lived exile in Dimension X, during which time he was besieged on all sides by a variety of threats and left deeply shaken by the experience. Since returning, the Shredder has become a willing captive of a clandestine government group, including members of the Earth Protection Force who are convinced that he can be just as much help as he is a threat unto himself. Unfortunately for everyone involved, the Shredder's willingness to go along with his captor's plans only extends as his own goals align with them.

Writer Dan Watters previously discussed what Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Shredder has in store for its eponymous villain, noting that "The bad guys always have the best stories, and Shredder is no exception." Watters continued, "This story is Shredder on a quest of revenge – rejecting the gods and allegiances he’s made over his long and storied history, reminding New York exactly why it feared him so much – and why it should do so again. This is the kind of character I love to write. Driven, ruthless, and crawling his way back to the top with a new purpose. This is going to be a hell of a ride."

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder #2 is on sale now from IDW Publishing.