Takeshi (2012 TV series)

"This is the Foot Clan you promised me? I must say Master Shredder, I am disappointed."

- Tiger Claw speaking to Shredder

Tiger Claw is a mutant tiger assassin/bounty hunter, who becomes an ally of The Shredder and an enemy of the Ninja Turtles in the 2012 animated series.

History
Tiger Claw was mutated as a young Japanese boy and grew up as a circus performer, before becoming a part of the criminal underworld. Decades ago in a Kraang experiment, he was exposed to their mutagen and thus transformed into a tiger mutant warrior. Tiger Claw worked as an assassin and mercenary and earned such a good reputation that the Shredder eventually hired him. He has excellent Martial Art skills and is also the Shredder's 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). During his career Tiger Claw lost his tail during a duel with a rival who took it as a trophy, and Tiger Claw has been relentlessly searching for the person who took it from him with a vow to make him pay. He has traveled many lands - and his weapons are only prizes of his conquests.

In 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 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.

In The Wrath of Tiger Claw he 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. Later Casey and April and Irma leave a movie theater, 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 near by 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 Michaelangelo 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 where they fight. Tiger Claw beats the turtles then offers Karai the chance to finish them off, 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.

In 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.

In Vengeance is Mine, where he 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.

In The Invasion, Part 1 and The Invasion, Part 2, Tiger Claw approaches 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.

In "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.

In "Return to New York", he 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.

In Serpent Hunt, he 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.

In The Pig and The Rhino, he 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.

In Casey Jones VS. The Underworld, he 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 henchmutants 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.

In 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.

In 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.

In Attack of the Mega Shredder!, when the Turtles attempted to sneak into Shredder's lair to a obtain a brain worm Tiger Claw assisted Bebop and Rocksteady, in stopping the turtles along side the Shredder Elite. 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.

In 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.

In 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.

In "The Arena of Carnage", Tiger Claw appears in hologram form alongside Shredder and the other henchmutants during the Turtles' training, which abruptly ends by the Fugitoid.

In "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 at the cost of his own life.

Appearances

 * "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"
 * Earth's Last Stand

Powers and Abilities
He has the strength, speed and agility of a tiger as well as razor sharp claws and fangs. His sense of smell is even greater that of Rahzar as seen in The Legend of the Kuro Kabuto.

He is a very skilled fighter and has even proven to be a formidable opponent for Splinter.

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 quarms in attacking defenseless people, like when Karai refused to harm Murakami, seeing no honor in attacking a blind man. 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 henchmutants 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 henchmutants follow Shredder's malicious orders.

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 rays - and he also has nets for capturing his adversaries. Tiger Claw also has a jet-pack on his back for both evasion and escape.

Trivia

 * 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.
 * Tiger Claw's character is strikingly similar to Old Hob, a character introduced a few years earlier in the IDW series.
 * Both are felids&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 was severed by an unnamed rival.
 * 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 "MASTER, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!?!"

Gallery

 * Tiger Claw (2012 TV series)/Gallery
 * Tiger Claw (2012 TV series)/Animations