Would you want a serious Shredder to have some comedic and mundane moments

[PApagreg]

For me at least I always like the idea of serious characters/villians doing things that are mundane or somewhat comedic it makes them more human imo. It shows that these are people, horrible people mind you but people none the less.

For example I thought this clip was pretty funny

[Sumac]

Definitely.

I think inserting some comedy into otherwise serious series and serious characters is a good thing. It allows characters to show more sides and, also, can discharge some tensions, when appropriate.

[FredWolfLeonardo]

Yeah, I think that could potentially be wonderful in execution but it must be delicately handled, otherwise Shredder would end up being written as completely over the top (like his 80s version) or as serious till the point where he is humourless.

[Powder]

Not especially.

Unless it's like, evil funny, like a Joe Pesci in Goodfellas sorta thing, where he's not necessarily being funny but you laugh at just how bad of a person he can be, how he takes joy in the bad things he does, treating atrocities as if they are mundane tasks, etc.

In my mind, Saki is on some Yakuza sh*t, so he should handle most things in a cold, unfeeling way, & for the most part only find humor in the weakness of others.

[ProphetofGanja]

Originally Posted by Powder

Not especially.

Unless it's like, evil funny, like a Joe Pesci in Goodfellas sorta thing, where he's not necessarily being funny but you laugh at just how bad of a person he can be, how he takes joy in the bad things he does, treating atrocities as if they are mundane tasks, etc.

In my mind, Saki is on some Yakuza sh*t, so he should handle most things in a cold, unfeeling way, & for the most part only find humor in the weakness of others.

I agree that Shredder is a pretty serious dude who doesn't laugh or even smile that often, but I think some great comedic moment could still be had with him.

For example in IDW I really wish we could've seen some of his adjustment to the new day and age he found himself in, being amazed by cars and planes, computers, phones, the internet, all of that. It's not that he would have reacted to anything in a particularly funny way, I just think him seeing all of this new technology and saying to himself "ah yes, this will be most useful in my plans to take control of this territory" in such a pragmatic, matter-of-fact way would have been funny.

[TurtleWA]

Originally Posted by PApagreg

For me at least I always like the idea of serious characters/villians doing things that are mundane or somewhat comedic it makes them more human imo. It shows that these are people, horrible people mind you but people none the less.

For example I thought this clip was pretty funny

If the mundane moment somehow served the overall plot I’d be for it.

[plastroncafe]

Sure, so long as the comedy doesn't undercut his ability to be a convincing threat.

[Coola Yagami]

I would have loved to have seen Shredder tell Kitsune to help update him on what's happened to the world in his absence. I would also have loved to have seen Shredder visit Japan for the sake of him. I mean, evil or not, he should curious about what happened to his homeland.

That's a hard part of portraying a villain realistically. Most of the time, what makes a villain cartoonish is that they seem to have no sense of humanity. Everything else in life has been cast aside for the sake of being evil. Shredder can't just be sitting on his damn throne 24/7 with the concessional evil laugh here and there, waiting around until it's either time to order his goons around, or waiting for them to return and report.

[Sumac]

One of things that irked me about 2k3 Shredder(s), is the fact that he was nothing, but perpetually angry evil dude. There was no moments of levity and as a result, Shredder came up as an one-dimensional character.

Adding some comedy is not the only way to add some character development, of course. But I think it's one of the best ones.

[Coola Yagami]

Originally Posted by Sumac

One of things that irked me about 2k3 Shredder(s), is the fact that he was nothing, but perpetually angry evil dude. There was no moments of levity and as a result, Shredder came up as an one-dimensional character.

Adding some comedy is not the only way to add some character development, of course. But I think it's one of the best ones.

Exactly. I don't see him having the patience to train a young Karai or to throw hinself a going away party, forcing him to mingle with humans.

[Krutch]

I wouldn't risk it, personally. Comedic moments involving Shredder should be handled by the outside looking it; I don't see him having a sense of humour.

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

Originally Posted by Powder

Not especially.

Unless it's like, evil funny, like a Joe Pesci in Goodfellas sorta thing, where he's not necessarily being funny but you laugh at just how bad of a person he can be, how he takes joy in the bad things he does, treating atrocities as if they are mundane tasks, etc.

In my mind, Saki is on some Yakuza sh*t, so he should handle most things in a cold, unfeeling way, & for the most part only find humor in the weakness of others.

This.

Also, Alex Mallari Jr. would be a kick-ass Oroku Saki.

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by Sumac

One of things that irked me about 2k3 Shredder(s), is the fact that he was nothing, but perpetually angry evil dude. There was no moments of levity and as a result, Shredder came up as an one-dimensional character.

That seemed more a problem of character background and motivation than anything else. Ch'rell just... wants to destroy the universe? Or rule it? Or something? Why? For what purpose? Just because he's "EEEEVIL"? It's meaningless and dumb.

In Mirage, I think about young Saki screaming, pounding on the side of his older brother's coffin (he must have really loved his brother, idolized him), then read about him becoming the youngest member of the Foot ever to lead a branch being sent to New York to do so... clearly he was super motivated. At the soonest opportunity, he creates "The Shredder" persona and avenges his brother in full regalia, possibly the first time he's ever worn it. This tells me enough about where he's coming from as a character.

He's not a bad guy. He was born into the Foot, basically, the same as Yoshi was (hell, if Yoshi hadn't murdered Nagi, for all we know Yoshi would have been the one sent to begin/lead the New York Foot). He didn't just pick Yoshi and Shen as some random victims... in his mind he was finally avenging the death of his brother and righting that wrong. He doesn't even hate the Turtles... he just became the target of them avenging Yoshi and Shen, and they were even screwing with his day job (ruining his protection racket meetings). If not for this, and Saki had somehow learned that Yoshi's pet rat and four turtles had mutated into living creatures in the sewer, he probably wouldn't have even cared as long as they left him and his business alone.

[Utrommaniac]

Originally Posted by ProphetofGanja

For example in IDW I really wish we could've seen some of his adjustment to the new day and age he found himself in, being amazed by cars and planes, computers, phones, the internet, all of that. It's not that he would have reacted to anything in a particularly funny way, I just think him seeing all of this new technology and saying to himself "ah yes, this will be most useful in my plans to take control of this territory" in such a pragmatic, matter-of-fact way would have been funny.

I was wondering about that...
Part of me just thinks it would just be a great big "What's this" sequence, but without the Christmas and skeleton.


And oh god, 2003 Shredder really, really needs more personality. I could see him (or prefer to see him) on a similar level to Scar from Full Metal Alchemist...but with political power.

Or at the very least a little obvious that he would have a lot of patience with small children to make it seem more credible that he'd spend more time with Karai. Maybe we could have seen things scattered around the manor that suggested the nature of that time of their lives.

It would make him a little more dimension if, for all the violence he's committed, that he genuinely loved Karai. Not just "as if" she was his own child, but he does consider her his own child...even if it is just in a legal sense. Maybe there's implications he had a biological child that he lost.


Someone considered a retelling where Ch'rell was a rebel leader and it's way more interesting than anything given in the actual show.

But, 4Kids wasn't capable of thinking in shades of gray morality, so that never happened.


Ch'rell just doesn't seem like someone who people would be keeling over from screaming their loyalty to the heavens for.

[Wesley]

Yeah, I’d like to see a serious Shredder to be a bit humorous sometimes. Some of my favourite villains are the ones who have a sense of humor.

[CyberCubed]

Shredder was evil in 2k3, but Scottie Ray his voice actor completely sold the character. And we did see him in Season 3 work as a businessman with NYC to repair it after the Triceraton invasion, work with the mayor, etc. We got to see the business side of him.

Nick Shredder seemingly sat in his throne room all day and night.

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

Nick Shredder seemingly sat in his throne room all day and night.

The very idea of Oroku Saki having a throne room at all is dumb. When his daily business affairs are done I'd imagine he would return to his penthouse, take off his business suit and enjoy the best cuisine his aides can find. I don't think he'd even put on the Shredder armor at all except for "special occasions," i.e., motivational speeches to the Foot or actual ops that would require his presence (which would be rare).

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

The very idea of Oroku Saki having a throne room at all is dumb. When his daily business affairs are done I'd imagine he would return to his penthouse, take off his business suit and enjoy the best cuisine his aides can find. I don't think he'd even put on the Shredder armor at all except for "special occasions," i.e., motivational speeches to the Foot or actual ops that would require his presence (which would be rare).

That was one thing 4Kids did pretty well... I think that's the most any TMNT incarnation has ever shown Saki outside of the bladed suit.

[d_osborn]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

In Mirage, I think about young Saki screaming, pounding on the side of his older brother's coffin (he must have really loved his brother, idolized him), then read about him becoming the youngest member of the Foot ever to lead a branch being sent to New York to do so... clearly he was super motivated. At the soonest opportunity, he creates "The Shredder" persona and avenges his brother in full regalia, possibly the first time he's ever worn it. This tells me enough about where he's coming from as a character.

He's not a bad guy. He was born into the Foot, basically, the same as Yoshi was (hell, if Yoshi hadn't murdered Nagi, for all we know Yoshi would have been the one sent to begin/lead the New York Foot). He didn't just pick Yoshi and Shen as some random victims... in his mind he was finally avenging the death of his brother and righting that wrong. He doesn't even hate the Turtles... he just became the target of them avenging Yoshi and Shen, and they were even screwing with his day job (ruining his protection racket meetings). If not for this, and Saki had somehow learned that Yoshi's pet rat and four turtles had mutated into living creatures in the sewer, he probably wouldn't have even cared as long as they left him and his business alone.

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

The very idea of Oroku Saki having a throne room at all is dumb. When his daily business affairs are done I'd imagine he would return to his penthouse, take off his business suit and enjoy the best cuisine his aides can find. I don't think he'd even put on the Shredder armor at all except for "special occasions," i.e., motivational speeches to the Foot or actual ops that would require his presence (which would be rare).

This is pretty much my ideal cinematic Shredder interpretation. Essentially a Yakuza mob boss. Maybe he even has a known love for tradition and history, hence the armor.

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy

That was one thing 4Kids did pretty well... I think that's the most any TMNT incarnation has ever shown Saki outside of the bladed suit.

With Mirage TMNT, it just happened to be every time we saw Saki, it was either the TMNT challenging him to a battle to the death or him fighting said battle(s) to the death. And in the second and last battle to the death, the first thing he did was actually take OFF all the armor. Before the Turtles were even f***ing with him, he was just handling his business in a business suit with clients.

Everyone wants to romanticize him in the armor, as if that's what he's all about. It wasn't. It isn't. Stop making it that way.

Originally Posted by d_osborn

This is pretty much my ideal cinematic Shredder interpretation. Essentially a Yakuza mob boss. Maybe he even has a known love for tradition and history, hence the armor.

Yeah, exactly. Not sitting in a damn throne room just brooding over Yoshi or "Oooohhh, I can't wait to catch those TURR-TALS!" or whatever.

But as to humor? I would imagine. From what we got in #1 and his monologueing in #21, though, I'd suspect he'd have a very dry humor, and super sparing. And if he were to make any actual jokes, it'd be pretty dark humor.