In the 1987 animated series, Lotus Blossom is a kunoichi from Japan that temporarily replaced The Shredder whom she easily defeated (along with Rocksteady and Bebop).
Following her divorcing herself from the ninja-for-hire business, she began running a dōjō in Boston, Massachusetts, under her real name, Himiko.
Biography[]
Lotus was hired by the Krang to annihilate the Turtles, but then found commonality with Leonardo while dueling him. After they both realized they were equally matched and neither could win, she used a rigged sword to knock him out. When she met him for the second time, she tried to convince him to become her partner as "ninja for hire", but he refused. After Shredder called her out for falling for Leonardo, Lotus turned against Krang and allied herself with the turtles. She then ran away back to her mercenary life, telling Leonardo there is not much gold in goodness, although she continued to hope that one day they would be on the same side. Beware the Lotus
She later returned with the Turtles after Shredder tricked her into believing that an ancestral ghost was telling her to get revenge on the Turtles. After discovering the deception, she lamented that she had never fit in and that she didn’t feel like she belonged in the modern world. She joined the Turtles to recover a stolen pearl before Chakahachi's ghost could turn New York City into a replica of Japan. While searching for the pearl with Leonardo, she admitted to him that despite the comedic situation she was sharing with him, she was happy for the first time in her life.
However, Chakahachi mistook her as his long-lost wife, whose soul actually did dwell in Lotus' body. After Chakahachi recovered his wife’s displaced spirit, Lotus was finally able to live a peaceful life. Farewell, Lotus Blossom
In the following years, Lotus would quit the mercenary life and go straight, opening a dōjō in Massachusetts under her legal name, Himiko. As Krang and Old Hob devised a plan to steal the Turtles' Portable Portal Generator, the former sent Bebop and Rocksteady to strongarm her into accomplishing this for them. Himiko easily beats the mutants, but then Old Hob sneaks up and holds her young student, Hank, at gunpoint. This coerces her to go along with the plan.
Himiko shows up in New York and sees that Leonardo is warding off Tokka and Rahzar from attacking a deli. She helps beat them and the two of them meet on a nearby rooftop. She tells Leo what she's been up to since they last met and warns him of Krang's plan and before they plant, she gives him a hug, but also secretly plants a gas grenade on his carapace.
She follows him back to the Turtle Lair and after Leo tells the other Turtles about his encounter, Don notices the gas grenade stuck to Leo's shell. It detonates and knocks the Turtles out, with Himiko reluctantly entering the Lair to steal the Portal. Still the Ninja She Always Was
Himiko realizes that she doesn't know how she'll get the Portal out of the Lair, and even though she's going along with Krang and Hob's scheme under duress, she refuses to just tell the villains where the Turtles live. Just then, Splinter returns early from his fishing trip and easily subdues Himiko. After her defeat, however, he notices the conflict written in her expression, and deduces that she is not there by choice. She recounts what she's been pressured to do, and Splinter releases her. The Turtles awaken and Himiko asks if there's a way they can make Krang think he's getting what he wants, with a decoy perhaps. Don says he's working on a new, upgraded portal, and that he can give them the old one with a defect to sabotage its usage.
Unfortunately, as the Turtles are loading the Portal from their van to the one Himiko was provided with, they witness Tokka and Rahzar speeding by in a police car. They realize they can't just let them run amok, and Himiko is left to deliver the Portal alone without their intended plan of trailing the van to the enemies' hideout.
Himiko delivers the Portal to Old Hob in Central Park, and Bebop and Rocksteady unload it. Hob is impressed with her following through with the theft, and offers to keep her on the payroll. Himiko says she only did this one job to protect her students and demands that he leave her and the students alone. She threatens to retaliate if they don't, then disappears with a smoke bomb. Bebop asks if Hob is going to let her get away with that attitude, but he says he didn't get where he is by antagonizing someone who was capable of "punching [his] ticket". Guess Who's Baaaaack
Trivia[]
- Fans usually link similarities between Lotus and Karai, a later character debuting in the Mirage continuity, who was Shredder's superior. The line of thinking usually stems from her being associated with the Foot Clan and Leonardo having a "crush" on her, as well as her willingness to work with the Turtles. However, having any kind of relationship with Leonardo didn't exist until the 2003 TV series and they didn't experience a blatant flirty affinity until the 2012 TV series. Before that, Karai's only similarities to Lotus Blossom were Foot Clan affiliation (which was at completely different levels between the two), and an eventual truce with the Turtles. Incidentally, though one of the potential readings for Karai in kanji (花蕾) means "flower bud", which would go through blossoming as it grew. A joke toward her resemblance to Karai was mentioned in Still the Ninja She Always Was, when Krang mentions attempting to hire a "Karai" for their purposes, but she was available, and they force Lotus into their service instead.
- Her real name, Himiko (卑弥呼), is an alternate reading for Pimiko - the name of Oroku Saki's daughter in Image Comics continuity.