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).
Biography[]
She was hired by the Krang to annihilate the Turtles, but then fell in love 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.
Her feelings for Leonardo weren’t in focus in her second episode, “Farewell, Lotus Blossom”, so it’s unclear if their relationship had moved forward. However, 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 mistaked her as his long-lost wife, whose soul dwelt in Lotus' body. After Chakahachi recovered his wife’s displaced spirit, Lotus was finally able to live a peaceful life.
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.