Takeshi (2012 TV series)

''This article is about Tiger Claw. For the founder of the Foot Clan, see Takeshi Tatsuo.'' "This is the Foot Clan you promised me? I must say Master Shredder, I am disappointed."

- Tiger Claw speaking to Shredder

Takeshi (aka Tiger Claw) is a mutant tiger assassin/bounty hunter originating from Japan who becomes an ally of The Shredder and an enemy of the Ninja Turtles, and the brother of in the 2012 animated series. He perfectly knows his profession, making him an extremely dangerous opponent.

History
When Tiger Claw was a young human boy in his small village, he and his sister Alopex were playing in a playground when they came across a Kraang portal which they decided to enter, believing it to be a magic door. Afterwards, the Kraang mutated and experimented on them. After many months of hardships, they escaped together through a portal back to Earth. Believing that they were monsters now, they fled their home and found refuge in a circus sideshow, but felt their skills were much too valuable for that and eventually became top-level assassins in the criminal underworld. They were notorious and feared, but one day Alopex turned on him attempting to kill him, and the two savagely fought in a lethal duel. The fight resulted in Alopex cutting off Tiger Claw's tail with her sword, taking it as a trophy, and escaping, but also being severely wounded in the process. Although she escaped, Tiger Claw initially believed that her wounds would be too grave for her to survive. However, as he learned later on, he was wrong, and she now wears his tail around her waist as a belt. Tiger Claw has been relentlessly searching for her with a vow to make her pay. Tiger Claw continued to build on his mercenary reputation. Due to this, he was eventually hired by the Shredder and is now his most dreaded, yet revered assassin and bounty hunter from Japan (Shredder finds him on his journey to Japan and enlists him as his newest henchman). He has traveled many lands - and his weapons are only prizes of his conquests.

The Manhattan Project
Shredder returns from his visit in Japan for a few months, only to reveal that he brought back Tiger Claw, whom he calls the "most feared assassin in all of Asia". Instantly, Karai is dismissive of him, and her feelings turn even more sour once Shredder tells her that he will be replacing her with Tiger Claw as his brand-new second-in-command.

The Shredder tells Tiger Claw to find and capture Splinter and the Turtles, commanding Karai to follow Tiger Claw's orders. Tiger Claw quickly locates and fights the Turtles, and he ultimately forces them to call upon Splinter by threatening to kill Michelangelo. Splinter arrives and seems to have the upper hand throughout most of the battle, but he is then shot in the neck by Karai's poison dart. With his final ounces of strength, Splinter throws a shuriken at the ropes binding his sons and tells them to flee immediately.

Tiger Claw and Karai then take an unconscious Splinter back to Foot Headquarters, and Tiger Claw pours a bucket of water on him to wake him up. The Shredder prepares to execute the rat, when Karai convinces him to let him meet his end in combat and with honor. With some persuading from Tiger Claw, The Shredder agrees. The Turtles soon regroup and interrupt, brawling with The Foot to save Splinter.

Following the Turtles, Tiger Claw, Karai, Rahzar, and Fishface quickly catch up and attack all of them on a rooftop. During the fight, Tiger Claw is knocked onto a fire escape. When he leaps back up to get back into the fight, he seemingly meets his demise when he falls into the huge mouth of a Kraathatrogon that April and Casey had just ridden up to the surface before being pulled through the portal and into the 1987 TMNT's universe.

The Wrath of Tiger Claw
Tiger Claw returned from other dimensions having fought numerous enemies, including the Kraang. Due to the battles he fought he now has an eye patch over his left eye and his right ear has been torn. He now wants revenge on the turtles and their allies. The Shredder orders him and Karai to find the turtles and Splinter and destroy them. While running along the rooftops Tiger Claw tells Karai why Shredder sent her with him, because she knows where they hang out and who their friends are. They head to Murakami's restaurant where they attack him and threaten him for information on where the turtles live, Murakami tells them he doesn't know where they live and Karai objects to what they're doing stating "there's no honor in this" while Tiger Claw states "I did not come here for honor". This demonstrates an obvious change in him, as previously he agreed with Karai that the Shredder killing a restrained and poisoned Splinter would not be honorable. Later, when the Turtles returned to the restaurant, they found the place trashed by Tiger Claw. After that, Casey, April, and Irma leave a movie theater, but April then senses someone is following them, so all three split-up. While Karai goes after April [to just talk to her], Tiger Claw goes after Casey. He then ambushes Jones, who thought he lost him by grabbing his gear and ducking into a nearby alley. Casey managed to briefly take him down by tasering him but this only enraged the tiger mutant. He then started to chase him down. While Casey tries to dodge the mad mutant, he corners him and he prepares to fight him off. Unfortunately for Casey, Tiger Claw turns out to be too strong for him and throws Casey off the building they were fighting on. Later, when Karai has convinced the Turtles to take her to the lair, she activates a tracking device that will allow him to find them, but having finally learned the truth about her father, Karai then makes a plan to lure him away from the lair. While following the tracking device, Michelangelo thinks of a place where they can lead him. They lead Tiger Claw to a butcher's shop. While in the meat locker, the Turtles attack him, but he takes the fight into the shop. Tiger Claw beats the Turtles, then offers Karai the chance to finish them off, but she then turns against him and attacks. She is defeated by Tiger Claw and then held hostage by him. He threatens to kill her if the Turtles don't let him go, and so they do and he escapes with Karai. He takes her back to Shredder and tells him of her betrayal. When Karai demands the truth about her father, Shredder tells her Splinter is her father and then orders Tiger Claw to lock her up, and he does and walks away with Shredder leaving Karai in a cell.

The Legend of the Kuro Kabuto
Tiger Claw and the rest of the Shredder's forces were dispatched to retrieve his Kuro Kabuto helmet from master thief Anton Zeck. Tiger Claw was paired with Rahzar, who admitted to being impressed by the assassin's skills. The two then demonstrated that they had no animosity for each other despite the inherent conflict between the animals they had mutated to resemble. Each also admitted that he wouldn't mind eating Fishface, though for different reasons. They soon found the Kabuto in the possession of the Turtles, and engaged them in battle to retrieve it. However, even with the aid of Fishface and Baxter Stockman, they were unable to capture the turtles, the Kabuto, or Zeck, the latter escaping with the aid of Steranko.

Vengeance is Mine
Tiger Claw caught Karai from escaping and has her shackled and locked up in another cell. When Raphael and Leonardo rescue her, Tiger Claw attacks them, but only to be temporarily stunned by the dog whistle that Donatello set up. He chased them to capture Karai, but only to get knocked off the Shellraiser. Later, Shredder has him to get in touch with Baxter Stockman. Once Karai was captured, Tiger Claw gags her with tape and they hang her above Baxter's mutagen tank to lure the Turtles and Splinter. However, everything went wrong when Karai got mutated, and Baxter's lab caught on fire. Tiger Claw then told his leader to retreat with him or the whole lab will go down with him. He told Shredder that he won, though Shredder feels that he hasn't won with Karai as a mutant.

The Invasion
Tiger Claw approached Shredder about his debate over forging another alliance with the Kraang. Tiger Claw warns the Shredder that they will eventually betray the Foot, but Shredder chooses to side with them anyway in order to destroy his enemies and get their help in restoring Karai to human form. He participates in a mass Foot attack on Leonardo, joining the other three Foot mutants in attacking Leo only to be bested. However, their efforts leave Leo wide open to an attack by Shredder. Afterwards, they track the other Turtles to April's apartment and through Leo through the window before attacking, only for the Turtles, April, and Casey to escape the city.

Vision Quest
He appears as the spiritual opponent for Donatello, attacking him by punching Don into a mountain after his actual existence is questioned. Though a struggle, Don is able to triumph over Tiger Claw, utilizing Splinter's advice to "be strong like the mountain" to throw the feline off the mountain and into the abyss below.

Return to New York
Tiger Claw approaches the Shredder in his throne room. He then states his concerns about the Kraang who he believes will betray the Foot clan over their desire for conquering the earth. Shredder then informs him to watch his tone and that he is completely aware of the situation. He then assures him that they will eliminate their alien allies and claim control over the city. A group of Foot-bots then enter the room with a captured Splinter who Tiger Claw (after seeing the mutant rat who has clearly lost his mind) asks the Shredder if he should put him out of his misery. Shredder denies this and takes Splinter to Baxter Stockman instead. He along with the Shredder are then alerted about the situation in Baxter's lab after Mikey accidentally sets off the alarm. He then appears with the Shredder in Baxter's lab after the turtles, Casey and April restore their sensei's memories and defeat Baxter's mutant henchmen. the turtles and the rest of their team then escape using a smoke bomb. As the turtles escape in the party wagon, Tiger Claw appears, holding into the roof of the vehicle. He then tells them that there is no escape. Luckily the turtles use a flame thrower (called the Sir Siz-L-Lot that is concealed in a deer head that used to hang on April's farmhouse wall) to roast Tiger Claw's bottom which causes him to get knocked loose into the subway as the team drive out of the sewers and into the city.

Serpent Hunt
Tiger Claw appears alongside the Shredder in his throne room who informs Rahzar and Fishface that he is angry that they have not found and brought Karai to him. He then threatens to hand them both over to Tiger Claw (who will hunt them for sport) if they cannot accomplish the task.

The Pig and The Rhino
Tiger Claw is seen alongside Fishface and Rahzar who attempt to fight Bebop and Rocksteady who attempt to attack the Shredder for mutating them. Shredder then stops his henchmen in their tracks and easily defeats the two new mutants as they all watch. He then orders them to find and capture Karai (like they did previously in "Serpent Hunt") and not to fail for the consequences would be severe.

Casey Jones VS. The Underworld
Tiger Claw is seen along with the Shredder and Foot Clan driving into the city on motorcycles as they visit a secretive restaurant. They then have a conversation with Don Vizioso (a former gangster and the boss of the Italian Mafia in NYC) who Shredder attempts to make an alliance with as he states that he and the Foot Clan have all the power now. Everyone pulls out their weapons after Don pulls out a knife but Shredder tells them all to stand down. Don agrees and informs him about a shipment of chemicals is coming after the shredder starts to make demands. He then sees his master pin down Casey Jones([who sneaks in while pretending to be a bus boy) after believing him to be a spy. He then states that he's just a bus boy which ends with Shredder letting him go with a warning him to never reveal his face in his presence ever again. Back at the Shredder's hideout (in Stockman's lab where Karai has been placed in a glassed in a small habitat), Tiger Claw informs his master about the Purple Dragons' arrival. He then goes with Shredder and his other mutant henchmen as well as the Purple Dragons and their new leader Hun to Auman Chemicals that Hun states Shredder can use as a base of operations for his project with the one request that Hun himself overlook the operation and factory which Shredder agrees to (while scolding Tiger Claw for his many past failures in the process). Casey tries to ambush them by throwing some pucks their way and prepares to fight Shredder as they all watch. They watch as Shredder easily defeats him and prepares to end him (while finding out that he's the waiter from the restaurant and is briefly incapacitated by him after he shocks him which causes him to throw him across the floor and kicks him into a corner) when suddenly the turtles show up and save him. A fight quickly ensues between them all after Rahzar activates the factory's controls. Tiger Claw fights Raphael while stating that he learns to control his anger before he knocks him down. He, Hun, and the other henchmen then try to stop Casey and the turtles from dropping a substance (that was in the cheese balls that Mikey was eating earlier) into a giant vat of other chemicals hoping they will all mix and cause a chemical reaction which will stop Shredder's plans. Luckily for our heroes, Casey manages to get the substance (after a brief fight with Hun) and manages to dodge the rest of them (including Tiger Claw who uses his jet-pack to catch him and fly up into the air only for Jones to kick him in the crotch which causes him to release Casey). They all then one last attempt to catch the chemical as it falls into the vat below only to fail as Casey plays hockey with it by jumping in all of their way and hitting the chemical straight into the mixture which causes the whole factory to become covered in chemicals. Shredder, furious then states that this has all temporary delayed his plans. Tiger Claw tastes the chemicals on his arm, and points out it's not bad.

Clash of the Mutanimals
Tiger Claw meets with the Fulci Twins at the docks and trades a case of money for the final chemical needed for Shredder's mind control formula. When and the  intervene, Tiger Claw easily defeats all of them and takes Slash and Tyler Rockwell captive, stating that they will be useful to Shredder. Tiger Claw then delivers Slash and Rockwell to Shredder and Stockman. He then watches as the two are subjected to the mind control serum. He later fights the remaining Turtles and Mighty Mutanimals, primarily Michelangelo, alongside Baxter Stockman and the mind controlled Slash, Rockwell, and Raph.

Meet Mondo Gecko
Tiger Claw is among the audience watching Fishface's race against Michelangelo, Casey Jones, and Mondo Gecko. He is seen getting angry at Baxter Stockman for regurgitating on him.

Attack of the Mega Shredder!
When the Turtles attempted to sneak into Shredder's lair to an obtain a brain worm Tiger Claw assisted Bebop and Rocksteady, in stopping the turtles along side the Shredder mutants. After the Turtles escaped, Tiger Claw angrily berates Bebop and Rocksteady for their failures. Later, Tiger Claw present when Shredder threatened to punish all three of them if they failed to stop the Turtles again. After Bebop and Rocksteady fail yet again to capture the Turtles, which led to both a a brainworm theft and the Shredder Elite's demise, Tiger Claw was instructed to teach them a "lesson in pain", which is followed by Tiger Claw pouncing the fleeing mutants.

The Fourfold Trap
Tiger Claw was among Shredder's other minions as they assisted Karai when attempted to trap the turtles as apart of revenge scheme. He was also present when Splinter attempted to rescue the Turtles, being the final opponent Splinter battles before confronting Karai and free his family.

Annihilation Earth!, Part 2
When Splinter and April enter Shredder's lair to convince Shredder to have the Foot Clan help with the war against the, Tiger Claw and Bebop trap them. When he has Splinter cornered, he asks why he would risk his life to invade Shredder's lair. Splinter and April speak with Shredder in order to convince him to stop the Triceratons and takes part in a combined rescue operation to save the Turtles' allies and to stop the Triceratons from activating the Heart of Darkness and destroying the in a black hole. While fighting the Triceratons, he saves April and Casey from a Triceraton while April attempts to free Casey and some of the Mutanimals. Splinter realized he is the only person in position to stop the device in time, but just before he can reach it, he is murdered in cold blood from behind by the Shredder, whose treacherous action has just doomed the entire planet. Tiger Claw angrily condemns the Shredder's actions, asking him if he knows what he has done, only for the Shredder to make it clear to Tiger Claw that he doesn't care about the Earth, its inhabitants, or his own life&mdash;the only thing he ever cared about was killing Hamato Yoshi and getting his revenge, and he's finally satisfied to have done it. It is too late for Tiger Claw to do anything about it, as both he and the Shredder are soon devoured by the black hole along with the rest of the planet.

The Arena of Carnage
Tiger Claw appears in hologram form alongside Shredder and the other hench-mutants during the Turtles' training, which was abruptly ended by the Fugitoid.

Earth's Last Stand
Tiger Claw once more does battle with the Triceratons thanks to the Fugitoid reversing time back six months to prevent Earth's destruction, only this time, Splinter avoids the fatal strike from Shredder and bests him in combat, leaving him paralyzed and unable to move, leaving Tiger Claw to recover Shredder and warn Splinter that the Foot will be back once Shredder recovers, while the Turtles stop the Heart of Darkness, and the Fugitoid destroys it once and for all in fusion explosion which initially appeared to have claimed his life.

City at War
Tiger Claw is joined by Rahzar and Fishface as they follow Karai and Shinigami to a martial arts store where Shredder keeps a cache of illegal weapons in the back warehouse. When asked if Karai is still on their side, Tiger Claw's feline senses detect the loss of the brain worm, meaning Karai is their enemy now since she has her free will back, forcing them to try and confront her in the warehouse. Karai and Shinigami attempt to use the element of surprise on Tiger Claw and the others, with Shinigami attempting to disorient and confuse Tiger Claw using hypnosis, but Tiger Claw is able to overpower Shinigami and knock her out by using his jetpack to slam her into the ceiling. Using her as leverage, he gets Karai to surrender, only to discover afterwards that she texted the Turtles for help, but thinks little of it as he crushes her cellphone in his paw. Karai is able to break free of her restraints and attack, but Tiger Claw overpowers her and prepares to kill her, before he is interrupted by the Turtles, who force him to deflect a shuriken thrown at him, allowing Karai to poke him in his remaining eye, forcing him to release her. Once Shinigami is freed, Tiger Claw deals with Leo and Karai, managing to overpower both of them, even when Karai awakens her mutant self and transforms her arms into their mutant versions to try and tie him up with them, but is brought to his knees by April when she delivers The Dragon's Tail move to his weak spot, allowing the Turtles, April, Karai, and Shinigami to escape, leaving behind enough explosives to destroy the weapons cache. Tiger Claw barely escapes with his life alongside Rahzar and Fishface. Defeated and humiliated, Tiger Claw returns to where Shredder is recovering from his injuries sustained from his last battle with Splinter to report on the destruction of the weapons cache and Karai's plans to overthrow Shredder's control of the city along with his criminal empire. Despite his condition, Shredder is able to reply back to Tiger Claw that if Karai wants a war, she'll get one, before Stockman-Fly begins a process to inject Shredder with mutagen.

Broken Foot
Tiger Claw is assigned with Bebop and Rocksteady to guard Auman Chemicals after learning of the destruction of one of Shredder's money laundering establishments by Karai, Shinigami, and Leo. When Karai reveals she brought reinforcements in the form of several Foot Ninja from Japan, Tiger Claw challenges her by summoning Footbots to deal with them. The Footbots are overpowered and the trio are able to plant their explosives and flee, with Tiger Claw giving pursuit. Once on the roofs, after Leo breaks away from Karai and Shinigami to help Donnie after seeing he was injured by the explosives, Tiger Claw ambushes Karai and Shinigami, but his freeze gun is destroyed by Karai jamming it with a throwing star, leaving him to have the Footbots pursue them instead while he joins Rocksteady and Bebop with pursuing the Party Wagon, only for the Turtles to escape once again after Rocksteady wrecks the Party Wagon. Knowing that Karai will probably come after their factory producing their Footbots at Auman Chemicals, Tiger Claw is on high alert with Bebop and Rocksteady, while also having the factory crank out Elite Footbots to ensure that Karai's plan will fail. Though they succeed with capturing Karai, Shinigami, and their Foot Ninja, Leo, Mikey, and Raph arrive and free Karai and the others, but Raph's attempts to shut down the factory leaves everyone outnumbered by Elite Footbots while Tiger Claw confronts Karai, telling her there is no where to run. However, after Karai plants an explosive on the large cistern at the top of the factory, she pulls out a detonator, and after Tiger Claw wonders what she's up to, Karai detonates the charge, catching Tiger Claw off-guard as it blows and sends him crashing down onto one of the catwalks below while the cistern splashes into the molten steel and destroys the Elite Footbots and the factory. Tiger Claw still has Bebop and Rocksteady attempt to stop the Turtles, Karai, Shinigami, and the Foot Ninja, but the effort is in vain, forcing them to flee before the NYPD and FDNY arrive to deal with the inferno.

The Super Shredder
Tiger Claw came to see what happened to Shredder and sees his master in his new mutant form. He blames Stockman for this but Shredder responds it was this what he always wanted. He breaks in Shredder's old lair to confront Karai, Shinigami and Karai's own Foot Clan with Rahzar before letting his master in, he tries to help Shredder fight Karai but Shredder overpowers them all and takes Karai as prisoner. Later Tiger Claw and Rahzar use a train to separate April and the from Splinter to rescue Karai. As Rahzar gets smashed by the train thanks to April and Donatello. He gets thrown off the train as well by Raphael but uses his jetpack to stay in train and almost makes Raph get hit by another train if Leonardo didn't came to help his brother so Tiger Claw gets hit by the train instead.

Darkest Plight
Its revealed Tiger Claw survived after being hit by the train in the previous episode. He helps Shredder get out of the pit he and Splinter fell into, then Shredder's arm starts to look weak as Tiger Claw talks about the mutagen being unstable and then he helps his master walk as they return to his lair so Shredder can recover. Once Shredder has recovered, they return to the sewers to look for Splinter's followers. They find Karai, April and Leo as they were searching for Master Splinter. Shredder orders Tiger Claw to bring Leonardo to him to destroy, along with destroying April, but bring Karai back to him alive. However, Karai manages to defeat Tiger Claw by using her serpent form's tail to throw him into some power lines and he gets electrocuted, but Leonardo got separated from girls so Shredder could finish him. Tiger Claw later rescues Shredder from April, Karai, and Leo, when Karai was about to finish him after saying to her false father he never was her father and punched him in his heart, leaving him grievously weakened. In his mansion, Tiger Claw tries to prevent Shredder from taking more mutagen, saying it could destroy him, but Shredder doesn't listen to him and forces Stockman to give him more of the mutagen. Tiger Claw watches in horror as his master screams in fury as he receives the mutagen.

Tale of Tiger Claw
In the beginning of the episode, Super Shredder informs Tiger Claw through a M.O.U.S.E.R hologram that they must continue the search for Karai, but Tiger Claw suggests to Super Shredder that Karai isn't hiding with the Turtles since she and Shinigami have often been seen alone. Before Shredder can rebuttal, he has a relapse of the side effects of the unstable mutagen in his system, but informs Tiger Claw that Stockman is on the verge of stabilizing him, to which Tiger Claw reminds him that Stockman's been saying that for months. Before Super Shredder's hologram disappears, he demands that Tiger Claw brings him the Turtles so he can destroy them immediately, as he awaits to face Splinter again. Tiger Claw is then accompanied by Bebop and Rocksteady, despite that fact that he asked for Fishface and Rahzar, but Bebop informs him that they're on guard duty, so they sent him and Rocksteady instead. As they prepare to go back to the city on patrol, Tiger Claw has an intense vision, a blurred glimpse the person who cut off his tail has returned to seek revenge.

While on patrol, Tiger Claw starts to lose his patience with Bebop and Rocksteady, but then suddenly has another intense vision of the Twin Blades. Bebop asks him if there's something wrong with him, Tiger Claw tells him to drive and shut up.

Outside of the museum in Chinatown, Tiger Claw is confronted by Alopex, a mutated Fox Kunoichi with the speed of race car, and the person who cut off Tiger Claw's tail decades ago. The two engage in battle, but despite Tiger Claw's efforts, and the aid of Bebop and Rocksteady, Alopex manages to escape, but not without warning Tiger Claw that she'll be back, and Tiger Claw replies that he will be waiting.

Later, Bebop and Rocksteady question who Alopex is and why Tiger Claw is so afraid of her, to which he replies that he isn't afraid of her and tells the story of how they became rivals. When they were children, Takeshi (as Tiger Claw was named when he was human) and Alopex were brother and sister, and one day, while playing in a playground, they stumble upon a Kraang portal to Dimension X, curious to where it leads, Takeshi and Alopex go through, only to be captured by the Kraang and mutated into Tiger and Fox mutants. After months of hardships, the two managed to escape through a portal back to Earth, but with their new mutated forms, they could never again show their faces in civilization. They eventually take refuge in a circus sideshow, but their skills were much too valuable. They then turnover to a life of crime and become notorious top-level assassins in the criminal underworld. But then, one night, Alopex turns on Tiger Claw and attempts to kill him, but only manages to cut his tail off, and disappears into the night. Tiger Claw had believed that the wounds he inflicted upon her were far too grave for her to survive, but he was wrong, and believes that she had spent years hunting him down, and now that she has, he is the one who will take revenge.

Later, on a rooftop, the two reunite, Tiger Claw requests they have a reasonable discussion before they resume battle, but Alopex refuses because she knows of what he did to their parents and attempts to take him down once and for all. Eventually, she gets trapped and Tiger Claw informs her that he only put her through everything in the past to protect her, but now sees that he has no choice but to annihilate her. But before he can, the Turtles, April, and Casey show up to save and free her. Alopex thanks them and joins them to finally defeat Tiger Claw. Bebop and Rocksteady then join the battle, and among the chaos, Casey seizes the opportunity to destroy the Twin Blades he had been struck with earlier in the episode to break his curse, using Tiger Claw's ice guns to freeze them, making them easier to destroy.

Eventually, Alopex has Tiger Claw right where she wants them, but instead of finishing him off, she decides to spare his life, realizing that he is the only family she has left. As she leaves, she warns him to walk away from the dark path he took, otherwise, next time, she will show no mercy. As she walks away, Tiger Claw reaches for one of his ice guns, and shoots at Alopex in order to have the last word, but she had anticipated the action, so she evades the blast, runs towards Tiger Claw and slices off his right arm and hand. As Tiger Claw groans in immense pain, Alopex reminds him that she could have taken his life, and then takes off, leaving Bebop and Rocksteady to pick him up and bring him back to Shredder's hideout so that he can get patched up and heal. Michelangelo informs the team that they're getting away, but Donatello insists to let them go, claiming that Tiger Claw will never forget the lesson that Alopex taught him.

Owari
Having replaced his missing arm and hand with an interchangeable prosthetic hand, Tiger Claw is one of the last obstacles for the Turtles before facing the Super Shredder. Once they overpower his prosthetic hand and it's various weapons, he tries to get rid of them by dropping them into a pit filled with live tigers of the breed he was mutated with, but they manage to escape, forcing him to confront them outside, before Leo damages his rocket pack with an arrow, sending him careening to the ground and removing him from the fight.

Scroll of the Demodragon
Once learning of the Super Shredder's demise by Leonardo, furious, Tiger Claw goes underground, forming a cultist group to locate the Scroll of the Demodragons, with which he is able to summon the powerful Kavaxas. Aided by a talisman that forces Kavaxas to obey his command, Tiger Claw plans on using Kavaxas' power to resurrect the Shredder from the dead.

The Forgotten Swordsman
Tiger Claw orders Kavaxas to resurrect Rahzar who was murdered by Leatherhead in Requiem. Kavaxas tells Tiger Claw that he can't resurrect Shredder yet as he needs the heart and Kuro Kabuto. Later on, Tiger Claw, Kavaxas and Rahzar attack Hattori Tatsu, who had the kabuto and killed him.

Heart of Evil
Having acquired the mutated Kuro Kabuto from Tatsu, Tiger Claw now only needs the mutated heart of Super Shredder to resurrect him. Sending Bebop and Rocksteady to investigate, they soon learn that the heart is in the possession of Don Vizioso. After Bebop and Rocksteady fail to attain it and Vizioso escapes to his secondary hotel hideout, Tiger Claw and Kavaxas personally attack the hideout and Vizioso's Mafiosi. During the struggle, the Seal of the Ancients that Tiger Claw uses to command Kavaxas trades hands between him and the Turtles several times before Tiger Claw regains control of it, and acquires the heart. With the heart in his possession, Tiger Claw returns to the lair of the Foot Cultists and Kavaxas resurrects the Super Shredder.

End Times
With the Super Shredder resurrected as a zombie, Tiger Claw believes his plan is a success. However, after scaring off the Turtles when they attack after learning of Shredder's revival by Fishface, Tiger Claw is shocked when Shredder names Kavaxas as his new second-in-command, and then asks for the Seal of the Ancients. Suspecting trouble, Tiger Claw refuses, only to then be attacked by the revived Rahzar, disarming him of the Seal, which Shredder crushes under his foot, breaking it into three pieces. It is then that Kavaxas reveals that this was all part of his master plan to unleash the spirits of the Netherworld on the surface world, and Shredder and Rahzar actually are under his command. Tiger Claw is horrified at the apocalypse he has brought on NYC out of wanting revenge on the Turtles for Shredder's demise. As a result, while Bebop and Rocksteady turn chicken and run for their lives, Tiger Claw stands his ground in an attempt to make amends for his actions. He manages to knock Rahzar into the Netherworld, but it takes the support of Leo, Mikey, Karai, and Leatherhead, for Tiger Claw to overpower Kavaxas and send him back to the Netherworld, with Shredder personally seeing to sending both of them back as they don't belong in the living world. As a result of what happened, Tiger Claw calls a ceasefire between the Hamato and Foot Clans, thereby ensuring peace between them for the time being. This would be the last time, Tiger Claw would be seen.

Appearances
Season Two Season Three Season Four Season Five
 * "The Manhattan Project, Part 1"
 * "The Manhattan Project, Part 2"
 * "The Wrath of Tiger Claw"
 * "The Legend of the Kuro Kabuto"
 * "Vengeance is Mine"
 * "The Invasion, Part 1"
 * "The Invasion, Part 2"
 * "Vision Quest" (in vision form)
 * "Return to New York"
 * "Serpent Hunt" (non-speaking cameo)
 * "The Pig and The Rhino" (non-speaking cameo)
 * Casey Jones VS. The Underworld"
 * "Clash of the Mutanimals"
 * "Meet Mondo Gecko"
 * "Attack of the Mega Shredder!"
 * "The Fourfold Trap"
 * "Annihilation Earth!, Part 2"
 * "Journey to the Center of Mikey's Mind" (non-speaking cameo)
 * "The Arena of Carnage" (non-speaking cameo)
 * "Trans-Dimensional Turtles"
 * "Earth's Last Stand"
 * "City at War"
 * "Broken Foot"
 * "The Super Shredder"
 * "Darkest Plight"
 * "The Power Inside Her"
 * "Tale of Tiger Claw"
 * "Owari"
 * "Scroll of the Demodragon"
 * "The Forgotten Swordsman"
 * "Heart of Evil"
 * "End Times"

Powers and Abilities

 * Tiger Physiology: After being mutated by the Kraang when he was a child, Tiger Claw gained the body of a Bengal tiger. As such, he possesses various traits of a tiger, granting him certain advantages that allow him to overpower his foes.
 * Enhanced Senses: Tiger Claw's mutation granted him the senses of a tiger. He possess a keen sense of smell that is greater than Rahzar's.
 * Enhanced Strength: Tiger Claw possesses the strength of a tiger, allowing him to overwhelm all four of the Turtles, April, Casey, Splinter, Karai, and Shinigami in their respective fights. His strength is also great enough to break Leonardo's diato in half with only his paw.
 * Enhanced Endurance: Tiger Claw has been to able take a great amount physical pain, even losing an eye and hand throughout his encounter with the Turtles, and still be able fight at his full strength.
 * Night-vision: Tiger Claw is able to see clearly in dark places.


 * Bionic Right Forearm: After his sister Alopex slices off his right forearm whole, Tiger Claw has his missing arm replaced with a bionic one with interchangeable weapons. The following abilities and weapons are listed below:
 * Paw: The main usage of Tiger Claw's bionic arm is his standard gadget-filled, hinged-fingered paw. The paw's abilities include rocket projection, razor-sharp claws, and presumably other abilities that have yet to be seen.
 * Built-In Features: Other than interchangeable weapons, Tiger Claw's bionic arm also has weapons that are built into his arm. So far the only built-in ability that has been shown is a rope with a disc on each end of it, which Tiger Claw is able to project out of his arm to subdue his opponents.


 * Swordsmanship: As shown in his numerous fights, Tiger Claw is remarkably skilled with his sword able to fight against and overwhelm the Turtles and even Karai.
 * Marksmanship: Tiger Claw is shown to be skilled in handling his twin pistols.
 * Willpower: Possibly one Tiger Claw's greatest abilities is his sheer willpower. When he escaped the  Kraathatrogon's stomach Tiger Claw ventured through countless dimensions that he claimed would've driven lesser men mad, only to arrive back on Earth more angered than anything else.

Personality
Given his predatory nature, Tiger Claw is fierce and cunning, finding enjoyment in hunting and outsmarting most of his enemies. As such he shares no qualms in attacking defenseless people, like when Karai refused to harm Murakami, seeing no honor in attacking a blind man, even attempting to kill his former sister Alopex. Tiger Claw holds no such code of honor, he cares only for power and revenge. Regardless, he follows Shredder's orders without question, given their mutual respects.

However, in comparison to the other hench-mutants (specifically beginning in season 3), Tiger Claw shows concern over Shredder's destructive behavior. When the Kraang may overtake New York City, Tiger Claw questions why Shredder would allow them to continue with their propaganda. Also, when Shredder kills Splinter off instead of stopping the Heart of Darkness, Tiger Claw confronts Shredder about his lust for vengeance for endangering mankind for his selfish agenda. Despite serving the Foot Clan, Tiger Claw appears to value innocents about to suffer, whereas the other hench-mutants follow Shredder's malicious orders.

Physical Appearance
Tiger Claw is a muscular humanoid tiger, but with his tail having been cut off by Alopex. His outfit has somewhat of a commando/bounty hunter look, consisting of light blue shirt with sleeves rolled up and brown shirt vest over it, a double chain bullet bandolier with a jetpack, a blue scarf around his neck, a double chain bullet belt around his waist, and brown pants with pouches for his pistols on his thighs and belted bottoms that stop at his ankles. During the events of The Wrath of Tiger Claw, Tiger Claw wears an eye patch over his left eye and his right ear is slightly damaged. After losing his right arm to Alopex in Tale of Tiger Claw, he now sports a mechanical arm, allowing him to change his hand into a gun, a claw, or a rocket launcher.

Gadgets
Tiger Claw carries a large sword for hand-to-hand combat, but his two main weapons of choice are modified pistols which can blast both red lasers and freeze bullets - and he also has nets for capturing his adversaries. Tiger Claw also has a jet-pack on his back for both evasion and escape. After Alopex severed his right arm during his sneaky attempt to kill his sister, Tiger Claw sports a mechanical right arm. He can change the hand into a gun that shoots lasers or freeze bullets, a claw, or can be launched at his enemies.

Trivia

 * Brandon Auman originally created Tiger Claw when he played the TMNT RPG.
 * Tiger Claw in Japanese is Tora No Tsume, which is also a type of katana sword.
 * In The Wrath of Tiger Claw Tiger Claw returns from another dimension after being swallowed and taken there by a Kraathatrogon in The Manhattan Project. Escaping the Kraathatrogon by cutting it open and fighting his way through multiple dimensions to get back, in the process he lost his left eye and had his right ear torn.
 * He fought against the 1987 TV series while escaping the Kraathatrogon.
 * Tiger Claw is similar to the TMNT character Katmandu as they are both tigers, who are, or in Katmandu's case sometimes, enemies of the Turtles.
 * As shown in "Owari", Tiger Claw has 4 tigers living under neath his room where he drops victims
 * Tiger Claw's character is strikingly similar to Old Hob, a character introduced a few years earlier in the IDW series.
 * Both are felines&mdash;Hob is a mutant domestic cat, and Tiger Claw is a mutant tiger.
 * Both lost a body part at the hands of a rival. Hob's right eye was gouged out by, and Tiger Claw's tail, and later right arm was severed by Alopex.
 * Like Hob, though later on, Tiger Claw also lost an eye&mdash;his left eye&mdash;and started wearing an eyepatch.
 * Both Hob and Tiger Claw are ruthless and formidable fighters with an exceptional determination to complete their missions. Both use guns as their primary choice of weapons.
 * Both Hob and Tiger Claw still redeemably believe in a greater good that they know is not valued by their employers. Hob is concerned about the fate of mutants (something cares nothing about), while Tiger Claw is concerned about the fate of the human race (something the  cares nothing about). However, Hob was forced into serving Stockman and  against his will, whereas Tiger Claw helped the Shredder willingly, only rejecting the Shredder after his actions already doomed the  to annihilation.

Quotes
Annihilation Earth!, Part 2 "SHREDDER, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!?!"

Earth's Last Stand "You have won this time, but don't count the Foot out for long."

City at War "We will never leave until you and Splinter are put to rest!"

"You are beaten. Your shell will hang in our new lair as a trophy!"

Broken Foot "So the cubs recruited Foot Soldiers of their own. Let's see if they are worthy of the name. (roars)"

Gallery

 * Takeshi (2012 TV series)/Gallery
 * Takeshi (2012 TV series)/Animations

Tiger Claw Tiger Claw Tygrysi Pazur