Hamato Yoshi (Rise of the TMNT)

Splinter
Biographical information
Home	Earth
Aliases	Lou Jitsu Randal
Nicknames	Dad/Pops (by his sons)
Abilities	Ninjutsu
Weapon of choice	Fish and Ladders Walking Staff
Occupation	Martial Arts movie star (formerly) Battle Nexus competitor (formerly)
Affiliation	Ninja Turtles
Physical description
Species	Human (formerly) Mutant rat (currently)
Gender	Male
Ethnicity	Asian
Eye color	Black Yellow sclera (as a mutant)
Hair color	Grey/White (as a mutant) Black (as a human)
Out of universe information
First appearance	Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles issue 0
Voiced by	Eric Bauza
Teachers and Students
Student(s)	Leonardo Donatello Raphael Michelangelo

Splinter, or once known as Lou Jitsu, is a former martial arts movie star and the (partially) biological father and sensei to the Ninja Turtles.

Physical Appearance

As a human, Lou Jitsu is a tall and lean Asian man with black hair combed over, black eyes and light flesh-toned skin.

As a mutant, Splinter is a short, plump mutant rat with grey fur, as well as white fur in his ears, white hair with a section tied into a top bun, white bushy eyebrows and a goatee to compliment. He has golden yellow eyes, a red-pink nose, black whiskers on his cheeks, his arms and legs are pink (with his hands having five fingers instead of the usual four) and a small tear on his right ear. Splinter wears a black hair tie to hold up his white chonmage and a brown yukata with orange trim and red lotus flowers printed on it.

Personality

Splinter, unlike his previous incarnations, is laid-back and very lazy as he often sits in the chair. He is absent-minded and has troubling remembering his sons' names, and even refers to them by their mask colors. He also prompts to stir up mischief and trouble with his sons, including stealing the Turtle Tank in "The Fast and the Furriest".

However, he is shown to take action when needed, like in episodes such as "Origami Tsunami" and Mrs. Cuddles". Also as shown in "The Evil League of Mutants", Splinter deeply cares about his sons and their safety.

Splinter has also been shown to slowly grow more serious as the first season progresses. Aside of deeply caring and concerned of the safety of the Turtles, he is also shown to be strict. Although his first on-screen training session was of viewing a Lou-Jitsu tape, Splinter is very serious in training the Turtles to perfect their fighting skills.

History

He is a descendant of the ones who defeated 'The Shredder' 500 years ago and train themselves to be warrior to fight against the foot clan. However, he didn't believe in the story and decided to use his martial arts skill to become a movie star.

When not starring in his movies, Lou Jitsu participated in the Battle Nexus, where he triumphed over his yōkai opponents.

This attracted the attention of Baron Draxum, who wished to use Lou Jitsu's DNA to mutate an army that would serve him. It was through this process that the Turtles were mutated from ordinary reptiles, making Lou Jitsu the biological father of their human genes. However, he seemingly freed himself and destroyed Draxum's laboratory, causing Draxum to believe that the Turtles had been killed in the fire. He was then mutated to a rat from currently unknown reasons, and he raised the Turtles as his own sons.

Trivia

• Splinter is voiced by Eric Bauza, the same actor who voiced Tiger Claw in the 2012 TV series.
• Throughout most of Season 1, it was hinted that Splinter was once Lou Jitsu.
  • Throughout Lou Jitsu's appearances until "Shadow of Evil", he has been credited as "Additional Voices" and not as "Lou Jitsu".
  • Like with most celebrities, they keep copies of all their merchandise.
• The name "Lou Jitsu" appears to be a pun of the term jiu jitsu, an old-fashioned variation of the word jūjutsu (柔術), which is the name of a Japanese martial art.
• Lou Jitsu's human form has a slight resemblance to singer Elvis Presley. However, it might be coincidental.
• According to an interview, the reason that Splinter looks like he's gained a few pounds is because since there's no Shredder in the new series, Splinter has no exact reason for training the Turtles.
  • However, after they learn about threats such as Baron Draxum and the fact that the Foot Clan is planning to revive Shredder, he begins training the Turtles more seriously.
• According to Leo, Splinter falls asleep after eating milk and cake.

Gallery

• Lou Jitsu/Gallery
• Lou Jitsu/Animations