Panda_Kahn_fan
10-05-2017, 07:40 AM
Okay, I was putting a lot of thought into the TMNT multiverse again, and I think I've come up with a theory on how 4kids and Mirage Splinter might've become martial arts masters. (And for a moment, let's put aside the 'splinter was no ordinary rat' thing. That's only authorial intent, and was never stated or explained in official material) Okay, we all know that Splinter saw and remembered basic ninja moves he saw Hamato Yoshi performing, but that would never allow him to become the master of ninjitsu he's implied to be in most continuities where splinter is a rat. However, two turtles continuities give us a cannon possibility; both the mirage (as learned in volume 4) and 4kids Splinter have been secretly competing in the battle nexus tournament for many years,carrying on the legacy of Hamato Yoshi, who had been the Battle Nexus champion in previous years before splinter, (at least in the 4kids case, though it wouldn't surprise me if it was true for Mirage Splinter, as well) is it possible that Splinter was actually trained it the art of Ninjitsu by the tengu of the battle Nexus, possibly even the Daimyo of the nexus himself?
Think about it. Splinter picks up the bare-bones basics from watching Yoshi from his cage; basically, what a normal person would get from watching a kung-fu movie 1,000 times in a row, then the Daimyo saw potential in Yoshi's rat, and either trained him himself, or had him trained by the Nexus's martial arts masters, taking the raw talent and rudimentary skill put there by watching Yoshi, and refining Splinter into a Ninja master.
This would make sense on a lot of levels; first, we know the Battle Nexus is multiversal; it's visited in both the Mirage and 4kids universes, and we saw it's primordial origins outside of time in IDW. (and yes, the IDW battle nexus is most likely the Mirage/4kids one at an earlier state before the Daimyo's ascension, being lord simultaneous and Renet are tied to it's origins, and they are the same versions from Mirage). From the 4kids series, we know the Tengu from the battle nexus created the art of ninjitsu in the TMNT multiverse, visited ancient earth, and passed the art of Ninjitsu on to mankind. (this is consistent with Japanese myth. Where the tengu are supposed to have created Ninjitsu, and passed it on to humanity. And before anyone brings up the Nina Tribunal creating ninjitsu, that's an easy explanation; the skills they learned by traveling all over the world, were taught to the masters by the tengu, keeping the 4kids story consistent.) and the Battle Nexus Daimyo and Splinter were stated to be old friends.
I believe it's possible that 4kids and mirage Splinters 'learned' Ninja basics from watching Yoshi from his cage, what you or I would pick up from a martial arts documentary, but then expanded, tempered, and refined those skills in tournaments in the battle nexus over the years. You can't become a martial arts master by watching someone do it over and over, then practicing the art by yourself in a sewer for a decade and a half, 'animal mimicry' and other such goofiness for learning a complex martial art aside.This theory is consistent when what's presented in the canon, and if it were expanded to include the original live action films, the Platinum Dune films, next mutation, and every other version with rat splinter, it could solve a LOT of problems on the details of the TMNT's origin.
This theory answers how Splinter picked up martial arts, where he got the turtles weapons and the ninja gear/paraphernalia, and how he learned so many philosophical concepts associated with ninjitsu; after all, the Battle Nexus is shown to have a feudal Japanese-like culture (complete with the writing and mysticism), an excellent blacksmith forge, and probably has libraries stocked with tomes from all over the multiverse. It seems downright silly for any version of Splinter with access to all of this when he's raising the turtles, to not use it at all, and instead cobble junk together from rubbish heaps to make their furniture, weapons, and lair. And I don't think anything the turtles or Splinter had actually Came from Hamato Yoshi's apartment; that apartment was the site of a murder, and would have been cleaned out by either the cops or the landlord long before Splinter fully mutated, and could've gotten back there. I think the battle nexus is a very good theory for these matters; but again, it's only a theory, I'm not stating it with any certainty.
Think about it. Splinter picks up the bare-bones basics from watching Yoshi from his cage; basically, what a normal person would get from watching a kung-fu movie 1,000 times in a row, then the Daimyo saw potential in Yoshi's rat, and either trained him himself, or had him trained by the Nexus's martial arts masters, taking the raw talent and rudimentary skill put there by watching Yoshi, and refining Splinter into a Ninja master.
This would make sense on a lot of levels; first, we know the Battle Nexus is multiversal; it's visited in both the Mirage and 4kids universes, and we saw it's primordial origins outside of time in IDW. (and yes, the IDW battle nexus is most likely the Mirage/4kids one at an earlier state before the Daimyo's ascension, being lord simultaneous and Renet are tied to it's origins, and they are the same versions from Mirage). From the 4kids series, we know the Tengu from the battle nexus created the art of ninjitsu in the TMNT multiverse, visited ancient earth, and passed the art of Ninjitsu on to mankind. (this is consistent with Japanese myth. Where the tengu are supposed to have created Ninjitsu, and passed it on to humanity. And before anyone brings up the Nina Tribunal creating ninjitsu, that's an easy explanation; the skills they learned by traveling all over the world, were taught to the masters by the tengu, keeping the 4kids story consistent.) and the Battle Nexus Daimyo and Splinter were stated to be old friends.
I believe it's possible that 4kids and mirage Splinters 'learned' Ninja basics from watching Yoshi from his cage, what you or I would pick up from a martial arts documentary, but then expanded, tempered, and refined those skills in tournaments in the battle nexus over the years. You can't become a martial arts master by watching someone do it over and over, then practicing the art by yourself in a sewer for a decade and a half, 'animal mimicry' and other such goofiness for learning a complex martial art aside.This theory is consistent when what's presented in the canon, and if it were expanded to include the original live action films, the Platinum Dune films, next mutation, and every other version with rat splinter, it could solve a LOT of problems on the details of the TMNT's origin.
This theory answers how Splinter picked up martial arts, where he got the turtles weapons and the ninja gear/paraphernalia, and how he learned so many philosophical concepts associated with ninjitsu; after all, the Battle Nexus is shown to have a feudal Japanese-like culture (complete with the writing and mysticism), an excellent blacksmith forge, and probably has libraries stocked with tomes from all over the multiverse. It seems downright silly for any version of Splinter with access to all of this when he's raising the turtles, to not use it at all, and instead cobble junk together from rubbish heaps to make their furniture, weapons, and lair. And I don't think anything the turtles or Splinter had actually Came from Hamato Yoshi's apartment; that apartment was the site of a murder, and would have been cleaned out by either the cops or the landlord long before Splinter fully mutated, and could've gotten back there. I think the battle nexus is a very good theory for these matters; but again, it's only a theory, I'm not stating it with any certainty.