Ue-sama, often called the Ultimate Ninja, is a character in the 2003 series. In his initial appearances, he was an adversary of the Turtles.
Abilities[]
The son of the Battle Nexus Daimyo was a highly skilled ninja, able to hold his own against Leonardo in battle. He often fought with dirty tactics, such as attacking when his enemy's back was to him, when their weapons were incapacitated, or when they were down, not giving them a chance to recover. He also attacked Leonardo after he said he surrendered.
Besides his combat skills, The Ultimate Ninja could use magical abilities such as creating a scrying mirror out of water that could speak with him, and teleport short-range, his cloak encircling him.
History[]
The Daimyo's son first came to Earth to fight Oroku Saki, The Shredder, in an attempt to make a name for himself. However, he was deprived of this chance after learning that The Shredder defeat at the hands of Leonardo. In response, The Daimyo's son challenged Leonardo to a mortal duel, and the two fought. The duel was intense, and neither could the gain the advantage on one another for a lengthy period of the battle. The Daimyo's son managed to throw Leo over a bridge, and believing himself the victor, announced the name he'd made for himself: The Ultimate Ninja. However, the turtle survived, climbed back up, and managed to defeat The Ultimate Ninja with relative ease. The ninja then dishonorably attempted to kill the Turtles and Splinter (who were spectating the battle) by conjuring up a dragon, which the Daimyo sliced in half, after the fight ended. The Daimyo appeared from behind a cloud of dust and saluted Splinter for teaching his sons such honorable ways of fighting.
The Ultimate Ninja appeared again later when the Turtles entered the Battle Nexus. Allied with the evil Drako, a former rival of Splinter's, he planned to destroy the Turtles and take over his father's throne and the multiverse. He nearly succeeded by both poisoning Leonardo and implicating Splinter in an attempt to murder The Daimyo. However, the Turtles, along with their allies, Miyamoto Usagi and Traximus, were able to thwart his plans. Both The Ultimate Ninja and Drako were then pulled into a rift in space and time created by Drako's nefarious use of the Daimyo's War Staff.
He later appeared as a pet of Savanti Romero, having been fused with Drako into a grotesque entity known as The Ultimate Drako. Stealing the Time Scepter of Lord Simultaneous, he scattered the Turtles throughout different realities, captured Splinter, and weakened his father, The Daimyo. He later seized the War Staff after Leonardo failed to use it to recover his missing family. Wielding the power of The Scepter and Staff, he gathered Leonardo and Usagi together, trapping them in a battle with powerful monsters.
With the Turtles occupied, Ultimate Drako was ready to destroy The Daimyo. But some part of The Ultimate Ninja still partially cared for his father, and his hesitation allowed Splinter to grab onto The War Staff and summon his sons to him. The Turtles and Splinter managed to gain possession of the two relics. The Time Scepter, being partially sentient, combined its powers with those of the War Staff to restore everything to their natural order, including the separation of The Ultimate Ninja and Drako. However, both were then petrified and crumbled to dust. Fortunately for the grieving Daimyo, Lord Simultaneous decided to give his son a second chance, and revived the Ultimate Ninja, bringing him back as a child with no memory of what happened (except has a vague recollection which he dismissed as a nightmare). Ultimate Ninja embraced his father, who overcame his grief.
The Ultimate Ninja later befriended the Turtles when they returned to the Battle Nexus for Michelangelo's rematch to determine the true victor of the Battle Nexus tournament. He remembered Leonardo, but decided that he must have been someone he played with and declared him his friend. He was temporarily held hostage to ensure that The Daimyo could not interfere with the removal of the Nexus' safety rules, but rescued by Leonardo. Later on, he and his father witnessed April's and Casey's wedding from the Battle Nexus through an interdimensional window.
Personality[]
Unlike his honorable father, The Ultimate Ninja is dishonorable, impatient and short-tempered. His ultimate ambition is to make a name for himself as the greatest warrior in the multiverse, and he believes such an honor can only attained by fighting to the death. The Ultimate Ninja used dishonorable tactics against Leonardo, but despite this, the blue turtle defeated him honorably. He was taken back home by his father, and punished. While his father believed he had learned his lesson, he actually took his defeat as humiliation, even though he himself had acted dishonorably.
During the Battle Nexus Tournament, The Ultimate Ninja showed his vengeful side, as he played a facade by having learned his lesson, but secretly plotted to overthrow his father and get revenge on Leonardo. He nearly succeeded, but thanks to the Turtles, Splinter, Miyamoto Usagi and Traximus, his plan failed, and he was sucked into a dimensional wound alongside Draco.
Despite his intent on overthrowing his father and even kill him, he still cared for him, as he showed this, when he, as the Ultimate Draco, was somewhat unwilling to kill him.
After he was defeated as Ultimate Draco and brought back by Lord Simultaneous as a child, his personality changed into that of an honorable, kind, and loving son to his father. He also became a genuine friend to his former rival, Leonardo.
Other Media[]
The Ultimate Ninja appears as a recurring boss in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: Battle Nexus.
Console[]
He first is encountered in Episode 8, for two stages he battles the player. He assaults the heroes at the Park and chases them down with a semi-truck. He then leads the fighting over to the Bridge. His post-defeat is played out identical to the TV series.
Ultimate Ninja appears as the fifth opponent in the Battle Nexus Tournament. He fights identical to his previous boss battle. His involvement with the theft of the Ultimate Daimyo's staff is unknown, as his role in the Battle Nexus outside of his participation is never fully explored, aside from Raphael's introductory explanation. At the end of the tournament, Drako uses the War Staff to create an opening into a multi-dimensional portal, drawing everyone around within. Slashuur and Traximus plant their weapon into the ground, holding onto it to prevent being pulled into the portal. All others nearby grab ahold of a participant to prevent being sucked in. Drako grabs hold of the Ultimate Ninja, who is holding onto Leonardo. The Ultimate Daimyo appears, and grabs hold of his War Staff, attempting to close the large portal. The Ultimate Ninja taunts Drako to rot, but Drako states that if he goes, he is taking him with him. As Leonardo's grip loosens, Ultimate Ninja is released and falls into the multi-dimensional portal along with the gripping Drako. Although this turn of events harms the Daimyo, he eventually gathers his strength and is able to close the portal, saving the rest of the remaining participants. Though the Daimyo is saddened by the loss of his son, Splinter states that he might not be completely lost, as the multiverse holds many mysteries, and that hope is not lost.
Game Boy Advance[]
In the GBA version, Ultimate Ninja appears as an enemy in the Feudal Japan area, appearing within the even numbered stages. In Stage 2, he summons a large fire snake serving as the stage's boss. In stage 4, he summons a Giant frog as the stage's boss. He fights directly under the shroud of night in Stage 6.
Because the setting takes place within an Utrom Memory Bank, it is unknown if this is the same Ultimate Ninja or a virtual reality program based on the character.
In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3: Mutant Nightmare, Ultimate Ninja is shown to have survived the multi-dimensional portal, along with Drako. both have now merged together, calling themselves Ultimate Drako. They once again are in possession of the War Staff, and now have an artifact known as the Time Scepter. With both artifacts, they send the turtles to nightmare dimensions. The Turtles eventually escape and defeat Ultimate Drako. The evil-doers' fate is unknown afterward.
The Ultimate Ninja also appears in Mutant and Monster Mayhem at the end of the Battle Nexus level fought along side Drako.
Trivia[]
- The character was identified as "Ue-Sama" by name on his action figure long before the name's reveal in Back to the Sewer.
- His name in Japanese translates into "above", indicative of his status and power.
See also[]
- Character gallery: Ultimate Ninja
- Animation gallery: Ultimate Ninja
- Appearances of Ultimate Ninja