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- -Splinter, to Leonardo
Hamato Yoshi (also frequently referred to as Splinter) is a mutant (human) rat and the adoptive father and ninja master of the Turtles.
Personality
Though stern at certain times, Splinter is also a protective and affable parent, quirky master, and a Zen philosopher (he is very often seen in the Dojo meditating). Having lost a family once, he is very determined to train and protect his new one at all costs, though he grudgingly realizes that the Turtles are now at an age where he will have to, at some point, give them the freedom to make their own mistakes in the outside world....He is a ninja master at the height of his abilities - He is so in tune with the universe that he can literally feel it's vibrations, allowing him to project and sense energy, and, ocassionally, the intentions of others.
Background
Hamato Yoshi before his Mutation.
Originally a human named Hamato Yoshi, Splinter lived in Japan and studied ninjutsu alongside his friend, Oroku Saki (later known as The Shredder). It is unkown how the two met. However, both men fell in love at the same time with the same woman, Tang Shen, which ended up sparking a bitter rivalry between them. Eventually, Tang Shen married Yoshi and gave birth to their daughter, Miwa. One night, Saki, mad with jealousy and hatred, attacked Yoshi in his home, intending to kill him. During the battle, the house caught fire and Saki mercilessly left Yoshi to die. While Yoshi survived the fire, Tang Shen did not, and their daughter, Miwa, had supposedly died as well.
Devastated, Hamato gave up his old name and left Japan. Under the alias "Splinter", he came to live in New York City. One fateful day, he bought four baby turtles at a pet store. As he was walking down the street, he bumped into a suspicious man, whom he curiously followed into an alley way. As Splinter watched the first man exchanging a strange canister of ooze with another, he stepped on a rat that gave away his position. A fight ensued, and while Splinter was able to defeat the men (who were actually Kraang droids in disguise), the canister was broken. Splinter and his newly bought pet turtles were all covered in ooze and mutated instantly. He became a giant rat, and the turtles became humanoids...
For the following fifteen years, Splinter and the turtles lived in hiding in the sewers under New York City. Taking them in as his sons and students, Splinter raised the turtles and trained them in the ways of Ninjistu. When they turned fifteen, Splinter, though reluctantly, allowed them to leave the lair for the very first time.
In Rise of the Turtles, Part 1, Splinter is seen telling the pivotal story of his mutation to the Turtles. It is revealed that he had also kept the canister of mutagen that mutated them all as a souvenir. As a celebration of the Turtles' fifteenth 'birthday', Splinter, though reluctantly, allows them to explore the wondrous streets of New York City...
In Rise of the Turtles, Part 2, Splinter tells of his rivalry with The Shredder to a curious Leonardo, who wants to know if he can truly handle being the leader of his brothers.
In Turtle Temper, Splinter explains to a grumpy Raphael that anger can indeed jeopradize the people around you. Yet again, Splinter tells of his harsh past. He explains that his temper against The Shredder is what ultimately caused one of his own family members to get killed before his very eyes.
In New Friend, Old Enemy, Splinter only briefly appears when he recognizes a farmiliar move used by Leonardo in a sparring match with Raph (this move was taught by Mikey to Leonardo and the others). They quickly realize that Mikey's recently made friend, Chris Bradford, is one of The Shredder's deadly top henchmen.
In I Think His Name is Baxter Stockman, Splinter unexpectedly catches the Turtles misbehaving and skateboarding in the lair. He grounds them for a week, but they decide to sneak out against Splinter's will and encounter a lone man dressed in robotic armor named Baxter Stockman, whom is trying to break into a building to construct his revenge on those who fired him. At first, they defeat him easily, but the fight turns into much more than they expect....When Splinter learns that they betrayed him, he is not pleased very much at all - but he does give them some good advice on their situation with Stockman - "Never fight the armor, fight the man inside", is what he says.
In Metalhead, Splinter is able to convince Donatello (who is finding his own Bo staff to be relatively defective in combat) that Martial Arts can sometimes prove to be more effective than using robotic machines. Donnie indeed learns his lesson when his own creation, Metalhead, falls under the control of The Kraang and he, miraculously, is able to defeat the robot with the use of his staff!!
In Monkey Brains, Splinter becomes quite fascinated in April when he realizes that she has an innate ability to sense internal feelings (something that he was never able to learn properly). As a response, Splinter wants to teach her to become a Kunoichi (a female ninja).
In Panic In the Sewers, Splinter becomes pulled between allowing the Turtles to go up to the surface to find a source of information or having them stay in their home when their secret lair suddenly is put at risk of being destroyed by The Shredder's clan.
In Mousers Attack!, Splinter warns the Turtles that April O'Neil's missing cell-phone is not a major concern compared to the imminent threats of Baxter Stockman's Mousers and The Foot Clan. At the end of the day, the Turtles learn that, by choosing their battles poorly, they end up creating their own crisis...
In It Came From The Depths, Splinter thinks that his sons should help the aggrieved Leatherhead. However, Splinter soon accuses Leatherhead for unprovokedly attacking his sons.
In I, Monster, Splinter falls under the control of the evil Rat King, but he is eventually able to snap out of his trance (with the help of his sons) and he then defeats The Rat King with nothing but two fingers...
In New Girl in Town, Splinter explains to Leonardo that leadership is not about the repercussions of having the burden of being leader - It's about carrying it no matter what....Meanwhile, Raph believes that being a leader is pretty easy, but he is quickly proven wrong when he is put through the same stress that Leo is every single day.
In The Alien Agenda, Splinter is fairly upset with Leonardo's decision of befriending Karai.
In The Pulverizer, Splinter briefly appears in this episode, and he reluctantly agrees to Donatello's decision of training an inexperienced Timothy.
In TCRI, Splinter is only seen helping the Turtles and April investigate The Kraang Headquarters.
In Baxter's Gambit, Splinter assists April in finding a suitable weapon that she can use. At first, she cannot use any of the weapons with ease - until Splinter offers her a tessen that he once intended to give to his daughter. This likely indicates that Splinter now views April as his closest daughter-figure.
In Karai's Vendetta, Splinter teaches the turtles and April that they can use just about anything to defend themselves if the situation calls. He uses Raph as an example, whom he licks in order to get him off. Meanwhile, The Shredder sends Karai to capture April in order to lure out the turtles, but April is able to apply her Ninjutsu knowledge to flee the situation. Back in the lair, the turtles congratulate April. Splinter, however, is skeptical, and he tells April that she still may be unsafe, due to the simultaneous threats that both The Shredder and The Kraang pose, advising that April should not leave the lair for a while... April, reluctant to cope with the circumstances, is eager to get started on stopping the enemies.
In Pulverizer Returns!, Splinter realizes that the turtles have grown complacent using their signiature weapons, and that they will have to adapt to using varied weapons if the situation calls.
In Booyaka-Showdown, Part 1 and Part 2, While the Turtles are forced to confront the Kraang and rescue April, Shredder uses April's abduction to utterly trick Splinter into confronting him. Although initially amused at the discovery of Hamato Yoshi being a Mutant rat, Shredder quickly engages him in battle, angrily proclaiming that Hamato stole everything from him, while Splinter counters that Tang Shen was never, ever Shredder's. Initially evenly matched, Splinter begins to gain an advantage when he starts to rely on his abilities as a rat, partially breaking one of Shredder's blades in his teeth and running on all fours to evade his attacks, but Splinter is then knocked off-balance emotionally when he realizes that Karai is his own daughter, Miwa, raised to hate him and believe that he was responsible for her mother's death. Unwilling to fight his daughter, Splinter finally decide to retreat, declining to tell his sons what he has discovered - He is mostly in favor of allowing them to celebrate their supposed victory over the Kraang.
Powers and Abilities
Splinter seems to be very adept in regards to the mind. For instance, when the Rat King attempted to hypnotize him, Splinter was able to defend himself from Rat King in his own dreams. Splinter has perhaps trained in the ways of ninja for all of his life, which makes him very methodical in physical situations, and able to act easily in difficult situations that require thought. Even though his mental fight with Rat King was rather strenuous, he still easily defeated Rat King with his sons' help, showing that he had to combine his thoughts with his physical power, which ultimately led him to nearly kill The Rat King....Splinter's feelings for his former family; His daughter, Miwa, who was taken away from him by his arch-nemesis, and his deceased wife, who was killed in a battle, and his determination to hold onto his current bond with the Turtles...is ultimately what gives him the majority of the abilities he has today. He can also seemingly read his foes' thoughts and predict their next move, implying that he can sense the projections of opponents (and use his keen hearing). This seemed to be evident during his fight with Shredder, during which Splinter also demonstrated his ingenuity by using his natural abilities as a mutant rat in the fight (something that he had never shown before, as he focused on training the turtles in more human skills), such as catching Shredder's blade in his teeth and running on all fours. Despite The Shredder taunting Splinter about his daughter, Splinter nearly defeated him, until Karai ultimately made her interference.
Relationships
Family
Leonardo - The eldest of Splinter's four adpoted sons and the leader of his 3 younger brothers. Splinter seems to share most of his knowledge with him. However, it is just in hopes of embracing Leo's role as the leader - and making him more tactful and intelligent. Because of Leo's status, Splinter always discusses how to perfect his leadership...
Raphael - The second oldest of Splinter's four adopted sons and the most aggressive of his brothers. Him and Splinter are shown to have similarities in their temperament, such as when Splinter retaliated on The Shredder, which resulted in the tragic death of his own wife. And much later, when an arrogant man caught the turtles on video with an I-Phone, Raph sought to break the phone 'and the man's face'. However, due to the knowledge that Splinter had acquired from the result of his temper against Shredder, he tells Raph that he must maintain his temper...in order to get the best of the situation.
Donatello - The second youngest of Splinter's four adopted sons and the most technological of his brothers. Like he does with his other sons, he occasionally enjoys teasing Donnie and teaching him important lessons. At one point, he attempted to teach Donnie a lesson in not forcing someone, e.i. April, to like another person, e.i. Donnie, back.
Michelangelo - The youngest of Splinter's four adopted sons and the wildest of his brothers. Splinter says that Michelangelo can fight easily without thinking. Despite Mikey's dimwittedness, Splinter claims that he actually shows great potential (most likely in agility).
Karai - Splinter's initially supposed dead daughter, Miwa, who was taken away by Oroku Saki after the events of their final battle and raised as his own daughter. Splinter only found this out upon being forced to duel with the Shredder, after April O'Neil's abduction by him. Once he knew the truth and after she showed up, he refused to fight her, leaving her and his own enemy alive. Even though Miwa is out of Splinter's life in one sense, Splinter still has one place that he still holds her—his heart.
Tang Shen - Hamato Yoshi's wife, who died a long time ago. Not much is known about their relationship, but it's implied that they both loved each other deeply. Even though the Shredder's jealousy was the reason for Tang Shen's death, Splinter blames himself for giving into the Shredder's presumptuous anger and initiating the two's bitter rivalry.
Friends/Allies
April - A teenage girl who met Splinter and the turtles after being kidnapped by The Kraang. Since he lost his true daughter many years ago, he has comes to view April as his surrogate daughter, and he even supplied her with the weapon that he once intended to give to Miwa.
Leatherhead - More of an ally of the turtles.
Enemies
Shredder - Splinter's old friend and current arch-nemesis. They fought over Tang Shen when Saki was consumed with jealousy, which resulted in Splinter's house catching ablaze and collapsing on Shen, killing her. Up until this day, Splinter has vividly remembered that moment. Unbeknownst to Splinter, Shredder stole his daughter, Miwa, during the night of the tribulation and raised her as his own daughter. He began teaching her in the ways of the ninja, and he later convinced her that Splinter was responsible for her mother's death (which is, of course, not true). Recently, Shredder has organized an army of ninja called the Foot Clan, whom he deploys to locate Splinter and his disciples after learning of the latters' whereabouts (New York City). Eventually, Splinter and Saki duel once more, during which Splinter discovers the truth—that Karai is his own daughter, raised to hate him and the turtles. This both infuriates and depresses Splinter...when discovering that his daughter has been dealt with in the wrong hands.
Chris Bradord ("Rahzar") - Splinter has only battled with him once upon confronting the Shredder. Splinter seems to be relatively more skilled in combat than Bradford.
Xever ("Fishface") - Splinter has only battled with him once upon confronting the Shredder. Splinter seems to be relatively more skilled in combat than Xever.
Dr. Victor Falco ("The Rat King") - Has attempted to (and succeeded at) taking over Splinter's mind, while under the alias of the "The Rat King" by using deceptive tactics based upon their similarities.
Quotes
"Raphael, there is no monster more dangerous than a lack of compassion." (sees Leatherhead) "My mistake..." -It Came From the Depths
"Of course. I am compassionate, not insane." -It Came From The Depths
"That's the choice I made. What choice will you make?" -Turtle Temper
"I hope you have learned, turtles, that truth is not the only thing that hurts!" -I Think His Name is Baxter Stockman
"The first rule of being a ninja is do no harm. Unless you need to do harm, then do lots of harm!" -I Think His Name is Baxter Stockman
"You were all very lucky. (Raphael responds) Few have ever faced the Shredder and survived. (dialogue) Perhaps. But that no longer matters. It is clear now that the Shredder is a problem that will not go away. So prepare yourselves, my sons... because as of this moment... we are at war...!" -The Gauntlet
"Yes, because you will stay down here until you are ready! No patrol, no games, no rest! There is only training! Starting now!" -Panic in the Sewers
"If I were the Shredder, none of you would be breathing right now. Understand!?" -Panic in the Sewers
"No, I am a man...! I am Hamato Yoshi!" -I, Monster
"My place... is with my sons!" -I, Monster
"Oh, the Olympics?" -TCRI
"You fool...! Do you have ANY idea what you've done!?" -Booyaka-Showdown, Part 1
"Look closely at this face, Shredder. For it is the last thing you will ever see!" -Booyaka-Showdown, Part 1
"You took everything that I loved. Everything! And still you hunt me down! So... I fight you now... to end this!" -Booyaka-Showdown, Part 2
"You never had anything but your hatred! And if you defeat me, you will have NOTHING!" -Booyaka-Showdown, Part 2
"... Miwa?" -Booyaka-Showdown, Part 2
"I lost many things... My family, my home... my name... But I gained many things as well, like the four of you." -Rise Of The Turtles, Part 2
Yes...and No, Karai may have failed her mission but if the shredder wants you that badly; I doubt he will stop until he has found you and with the kraang after you as well, i hardly doubt it is safe for you on the surface so it is probably best that you stay down here with us- Karai's vendetta
April will come back to us on her own time- Mutagen man unleashed
See Also
Gallery
See: Splinter (2012 TV series) / Gallery
Trivia
- Splinter's given, "Yoshi", (喜), translates as "like, love, enjoy", or "joyful thing". Splinter's surname "Hamato" (濱戸), translates as "beach/sea coast/river bank door/family". If written purely in hiragana, "Hamato Yoshi", (はまとよし), means "Alright still".
- In the season one finale, Splinter found out that his daughter, Hamato Miwa, is still alive.
- This is the second version of Hamato Yoshi being mutated into a rat, the first version being from the 1987 seires.