Board Thread:New on TMNTPedia/@comment-34447908-20180123201147/@comment-995426-20180730012627

2012 Splinter was really my favorite Splinter. Kind, caring, tender when he wanted to be, and preferred to avoid unnecessary conflict, yet wasn't a total milquetoast when conflict sought him out. He was a real parent&mdash;the kind of parent who helps his kids become better individuals. At least, when the show took him more seriously, earlier on. He was the kind of character I would have liked to see around frequently, to see his children grow up, and perhaps be a kind grandfather and great-grandfather someday. It also helped that, even as a 55-year-old mutant rat, Splinter was still quite attractive; one of my friends in particular dubbed him "sexy rat dad." (Not that it would have been likely to see him love again after spending so many years worshipping the memory of his wife.)

The only Splinter we've seen with grandchildren is the Mirage version, and it was nice seeing that three-generation dynamic between himself, his sons plus April, and Shadow. Even the son-in-law dynamic with Casey could be good at times. I don't want every TMNT story to only have parents who either die prematurely or are abusive. I mean, those tropes certainly have their place even in TMNT (even has been acknowledged recently as a less-than-ideal dad figure), but the only time I've seen Splinter be truly abusive and it didn't derail his character, was with the IDW version, and that was because it had been increasingly clear for a couple years already just how much his new role as the Shredder's replacement was corroding his spirit.

(That took much more effort to type than I would have liked. I've already ordered a replacement keyboard, but it will take time to be delivered.)