View Full Version : Can we all agree Tiger Claw sucks?
neatoman
08-21-2020, 08:25 PM
So Tiger Claw sucks, right? He stinks of being an attempt to force a breakout character before anyone could have genuinely developedover the course of the show. The character is introduced as "teh greetest muhrzenary evar", with an element to offer some interest in his backstory, has some unique weaponry, he's seemingly killed off early, returns with scars to prove he's a badass, is the voice of reason around Shredder, turns out to have been a circus freak, gets a robot hand and becomes a cult leader towards the end...
... Too bad they were so focused on making him superficially cool, that they actually forgot to give him clear beliefs, actual on-screen development or even a defined personality. You know, stuff that would actually make him a decent character. Hell, what little there is doesn't even make sense, he's a hired gun who knows Shredder isn't stable and yet he's loyal to the point of trying to bring him back to life? And his backstory implies he knew about the Kraang and that people were well aware of mutants, even though all of that comes across as being unknown to everyone else until the events of the series.
With so many characters that were just brought in and dropped without a second thought, why the hell did they keep this poorly thought out garbage heap of a character around for so many episodes?
Powder
08-21-2020, 08:28 PM
With so many characters that were just brought in and dropped without a second thought, why the hell did they keep this poorly thought out garbage heap of a character around for so many episodes?
He was literally Ciro's childhood TMNT OC.
I liked him well enough, personally.
Zulithe
08-21-2020, 08:28 PM
just one of the many TMNT characters that focuses too much on how cool they look when they don't go far enough in making them cool as a character. Oh well, maybe he'll show up in a future iteration of TMNT and they can make some improvements.
TigerClaw
08-21-2020, 08:35 PM
just one of the many TMNT characters that focuses too much on how cool they look when they don't go far enough in making them cool as a character. Oh well, maybe he'll show up in a future iteration of TMNT and they can make some improvements.
TigerClaw would be a great edition to IDW with how half of NY turned into Mutants. I could see a version of TigerClaw showing up in the comics.
neatoman
08-21-2020, 08:38 PM
TigerClaw would be a great edition to IDW with how half of NY turned into Mutants. I could see a version of TigerClaw showing up in the comics.
Yeah, he can show up for one panel where Ch'Rell crushes his head to show he means business.
I thought he was a great addition to the mythos.
-shrugs-
CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy
08-21-2020, 09:08 PM
For a second, I wasn't sure if this was a targeted attack against our fellow 'Drome member or a character critique. :tlol:
Leo656
08-21-2020, 09:12 PM
For a second, I wasn't sure if this was a targeted attack against our fellow 'Drome member or a character critique. :tlol:
...Would it honestly change your response either way...? :lol::lol::lol:
Shark_Blade
08-21-2020, 09:42 PM
I like that grumpy furball.
victory_angel
08-21-2020, 10:01 PM
I liked him as a character and there could have been so much more they could have done with him, after all, Tigerclaw himself even begins to see the Shredder is crazy.
How about he serves the Shredder for the time, he gets defeated, fights his way back.
Over this time he starts to gain his doubts against the Shredder, but still follows. Bebop and Rocksteady accidentally reveal the turtles have created Retromutagen. Tigerclaw would see how beneficial it could be for them in their fights against the Turtle and Splinter and says they should obtain it from the Turtles and use it as a weapon against them. Or eliminate the Turtle that creates it so the Turtles themselves will no longer be able to have it as an upper hand.
Shredder being short-sighted in his desires for vengeance fails to consider the logic behind this and rejects the idea.
The last straw for him would be when Turtles stop the timeline where their world was destroyed from existing. Tigerclaw chooses to leave the Shredder's service because he saw the Shredder was all to willing to sacrifice the world itself in order to achieve his vengeance.
Then Tigerclaw still remains as an enemy of the Turtles, but he adds the Shredder to his "Beings I seek vengeance upon" list. And follows his own agenda.
IndigoErth
08-22-2020, 01:44 AM
He was okay... I'm mostly neutral. Didn't hate him, but if he doesn't show up again...meh. He's mostly the uber cool bounty hunter for the kids, though for adults I can see that it may look like they were trying too hard.
Though if it wasn't for the missing parts and getting his ass handed to him sometimes he'd be a bit much on the Gary Stu side.
newfan
08-22-2020, 04:08 AM
I found him preferable to some other mutant villains, liked him enough.
Dejablue
08-22-2020, 04:36 AM
Characters don't have to be deep to be entertaining. I liked Tigerclaw for what he was. I will agree it was stupid for anyone to want to resurrect Shredder and I think that moment subtracts alot from his character. No way a supposed self serving bounty hunter would want to resurrect some random guy he worked for. Just find a new guy to work for.
You can do alot with a character like Tigerclaw. A second go with him with more definition would certainly go over well.
newfan
08-22-2020, 06:38 AM
Characters don't have to be deep to be entertaining. I liked Tigerclaw for what he was. I will agree it was stupid for anyone to want to resurrect Shredder and I think that moment subtracts alot from his character. No way a supposed self serving bounty hunter would want to resurrect some random guy he worked for. Just find a new guy to work for.
You can do alot with a character like Tigerclaw. A second go with him with more definition would certainly go over well.
Yeah I feel he could be re-usable depending on the version.
So far as bringing Shredder back, I agree that he might well have moved on at that that point ....or even just wanted to take over himself? I am guessing that they chose him to bring Shredder because he was most loyal to him, unlike other mutants who were bullied by Shredder and scared of him, even though TC questioned Shredder at times he still seemed to hold him in high regard.
Vicky82
08-22-2020, 09:28 AM
I like Tiger Claw, that fight scene in the meat factory in the episode the Wrath of Tiger Claw was great.
TigerClaw
08-22-2020, 09:44 AM
I like Tiger Claw, that fight scene in the meat factory in the episode the Wrath of Tiger Claw was great.
With NYC now having more mutants. I can see Karai bringing in TigerClaw into the ranks for the Foot in IDW.
Shark_Blade
08-22-2020, 11:11 AM
I like Tiger Claw, that fight scene in the meat factory in the episode the Wrath of Tiger Claw was great.
The one with Bruce Lee? It’s been a while, I should rewatch it.
garsh
08-22-2020, 11:37 AM
2012 Nick Turts was all about spoofing more pop-culture properties into the TMNT universe. It came off to me as brilliantly inline with the fundamental tradition of the material. Casey Jones was obviously a spoof on Jack Burton from Big Trouble in Little China, for example.
Right away Tiger Claw seemed like a very thinly veiled Boba Fett to me. So if you think he's presented as a superficially cool mercenary without any substantial background to justify his image, I'd say they nailed it 100%.
TigerClaw
08-22-2020, 11:40 AM
I would also like to point out that the 2012 series also showed his origin. How he and the 2012 version of Alopex were siblings before the mutation.
The Great Saiyaman
08-22-2020, 01:20 PM
TigerClaw would be a great edition to IDW with how half of NY turned into Mutants. I could see a version of TigerClaw showing up in the comics.
The IDW series already has a Tiger Claw counterpart.
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/tmnt/images/a/a7/TMNT_MSV_3A.jpg/revision/latest/top-crop/width/360/height/450?cb=20190115210347
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/5c/ef/d9/5cefd93f1613c1afbdf48a23836a9f27.jpg
Down to the missing eye and I could so hear Eric Bauza recite this dialog.
oldmanwinters
08-22-2020, 07:09 PM
I was intrigued by his taste in "art" seen in Season 4:
http://i.imgur.com/bFu09Lel.png (https://imgur.com/bFu09Le)
http://i.imgur.com/TVhrnTLl.png (https://imgur.com/TVhrnTL)
http://i.imgur.com/d7XFIbDl.png (https://imgur.com/d7XFIbD)
http://i.imgur.com/mtjDtOtl.png (https://imgur.com/mtjDtOt)
TigerClaw
08-23-2020, 08:29 AM
I was intrigued by his taste in "art" seen in Season 4:
http://i.imgur.com/bFu09Lel.png (https://imgur.com/bFu09Le)
http://i.imgur.com/TVhrnTLl.png (https://imgur.com/TVhrnTL)
http://i.imgur.com/d7XFIbDl.png (https://imgur.com/d7XFIbD)
http://i.imgur.com/mtjDtOtl.png (https://imgur.com/mtjDtOt)
I wonder if that art is based on Sally Pride. Because it kind of looks like her.
Coola Yagami
08-23-2020, 10:01 AM
IDK, I liked him. He more competent and serious than Dogpound and Fishface, and unlike those two that suffered from 'nearly invincible the first time they fought the Turtles to complete push-overs', Tiger Claw remained a dangerous threat. He was never someone to just walk over. The Turtles would laugh at owning the other mutants but knew the joking stopped whenever Tiger Claw showed up.
Jetpack was probably a bit much though.
TigerClaw
08-23-2020, 02:59 PM
IDK, I liked him. He more competent and serious than Dogpound and Fishface, and unlike those two that suffered from 'nearly invincible the first time they fought the Turtles to complete push-overs', Tiger Claw remained a dangerous threat. He was never someone to just walk over. The Turtles would laugh at owning the other mutants but knew the joking stopped whenever Tiger Claw showed up.
Jetpack was probably a bit much though.
I love the Jetpack.
CyberCubed
08-23-2020, 04:15 PM
No. I do notice how neatoman constantly posts what he hates about every show non-stop though.
neatoman
08-23-2020, 04:22 PM
No. I do notice how neatoman constantly posts what he hates about every show non-stop though.
Well this place can't quite be a circlejerk, can it? Otherwise nobody would think to re-evaluate their opinions.
The Great Saiyaman
08-23-2020, 04:25 PM
I wonder if that art is based on Sally Pride. Because it kind of looks like her.
Seeing as how the 2012 show was stuffed to the gills with references to other incarnations of TMNT, I'm pretty sure that it was the intention of the creators.
oldmanwinters
08-24-2020, 12:28 PM
I wonder if that art is based on Sally Pride. Because it kind of looks like her.
Seeing as how the 2012 show was stuffed to the gills with references to other incarnations of TMNT, I'm pretty sure that it was the intention of the creators.
My guess is that it's actually a throwback to vintage Playmates Toy concept art for an un-produced Catwoman April figure:
http://lavignebrownart.blogspot.com/2008/03/catwoman.html
ssjup81
10-05-2020, 11:35 PM
I really liked Tigerclaw, but I hated the direction his character took. For instance, I was hoping he'd turn on Shredder once realizing how irrational and nuts he was and just go rogue and become more of a gray character...like Scorpion in the Mortal Kombat series. He's neither good nor bad and is somewhere in the middle. Him trying to resurect Shredder would've made more sense, imo, if it had been Rahzar...
I also wish they'd done more with him and Alopex. Felt like wasted potential.
victory_angel
10-06-2020, 02:43 AM
I really liked Tigerclaw, but I hated the direction his character took. For instance, I was hoping he'd turn on Shredder once realizing how irrational and nuts he was and just go rogue and become more of a gray character...like Scorpion in the Mortal Kombat series. He's neither good nor bad and is somewhere in the middle. Him trying to resurect Shredder would've made more sense, imo, if it had been Rahzar...
I also wish they'd done more with him and Alopex. Felt like wasted potential.
That and how Donnie is the only Turtle he never initially encountered. He knew there were four turtles obviously and when he and Karai come across them they only see Leo, Raph, and Mikey. We don't know how much they overhead of the conversation the Turtles have after exiting the portal.
But their thoughts are likely "Okay, one of them has been dealt with. We will take care of these three. The remaining one if he is still alive will be of little consequence."
It would have been good to have TC sense something from Donatello that was different from the other turtles or. Perhaps in a situation where the Turtles are captured Donnie could address and talk to TC like he's a person. After all T.C. has been used and seen as a monster and a weapon since he was mutated. Being talked to like you are actually somebody could have an impact.
Cake-Monster85
12-15-2020, 01:27 PM
I like TigerClaw... never read that IDW comic tho!
Rabbit Kraken Zeo
02-09-2021, 08:06 PM
I want to be the one to say that I absolutely loved Tiger Claw. I'll go even further by saying that because of the fact he was introduced in the series for 2012 that I was fascinated by his personality and loyalty to shredder as well as his rivalry with the turtles as the show went on. I'll take it another step by saying that because I enjoyed the way he was on screen; added him to one of my wrestling games to enjoy whenever.
The most important detail however is the fact that a character that I up until that point before his introduction wasn't prepared for his debut that I was blown away so much and instantly became a fan of the character and I feel like I am so glad they showed me such a personality in a turtles universe.
In conclusion He is AWESOME (to me at least).
mrmaczaps
02-09-2021, 08:23 PM
What if IDW has Shredder mutated and he becomes Tiger Claw? But with amnesia...
Dejablue
02-12-2021, 04:44 PM
Tiger Claw, if he ever came back, would probably betray Shredder halfway through the show or something. He wouldn't die, still be an obstacle for the turtles, and then just leave.
I like him as a concept but as is typical for a children's cartoon, Tiger Claw can never actually "win". I don't think he sucks but he can certainly be done better.
Darth Knuckles
02-12-2021, 11:55 PM
I personally loved Tiger Claw. And he's my second favorite second-in-command to The Shredder, next to Karai, of all time (sorry Tatsu, down to #3). I loved any time Tiger Claw was in an episode. I thought he had a great "gravitas" and command in trying to capture or destroy the turtles. And he was threatening when fighting them. I also really enjoyed the music when he came on screen to fight. He worked a whole lot better for me than Bebop and Rocksteady did in the 1987 original cartoon series anyway. He was also my favorite brand new created character from the 2012 Nick cartoon.
ToTheNines
02-24-2025, 03:34 PM
Yeah I hate Tiger Claw too and don’t understand why anyone likes the character.
It also just recently occurred to me that I really don’t like how easy he got off at the end. Not long after he helps Shredder kill Splinter, he not only resurrects Shredder but unleashes the ****ing Devil on humanity but then gets to be like “my bad guys, let’s call a truce!”
FredWolfLeonardo
02-24-2025, 04:05 PM
Tiger Claw isn't bad, but I think that Razhar, Fishface, Bebop and Rocksteady are much more engaging mutant henchmen in the 2012 series.
I would've liked to see Tiger Claw have a power struggle with Shredder. While the other Mutant Henchmen are clearly subservient to Shredder, Tiger Claw is implied to be his equal.
You would think that being so strong, Tiger Claw would just be blindly loyal to Shredder and not have his own ulterior motives?
The show did have hints here and there that Tiger Claw would eventually turn against Shredder but I suspect that time constraints prevented this from being elaborated on.
ToTheNines
02-24-2025, 06:18 PM
That’s why he was never a super interesting villain to begin with, even when he was new and fun. He’s just a hired gun.
Obviously he had an axe to grind with the turtles after Wormquake. But he never had a reason to be loyal to Shredder, other than presumably being paid very well. Realistically he probably would have killed Shredder when he was bed ridden in season 4. No one would have taken issue with that except maybe Bradford.
Leofan26
02-27-2025, 03:24 PM
His character started off fine it should have ended with Leo finishing him off though as i felt they had a built up rivalry than he ended on a not so great note.
ToTheNines
03-29-2025, 12:51 PM
His character started off fine it should have ended with Leo finishing him off though as i felt they had a built up rivalry than he ended on a not so great note.
Yeah Leo or Karai should have killed his ass.
neatoman
03-30-2025, 07:23 PM
Does anyone else think it's hilarious that out of all the original characters this show tried to "make a thing", none of them ended up in other parts of the franchise but Pigeon Pete (who they wrote out unceremoniously) did?
I'm not only I have trouble seeing anyone bring back Tiger Claw, but the same goes for Newtralizer, Shinigami or any other characters they seemed to want to stick.
ToTheNines
04-01-2025, 04:48 AM
Does anyone else think it's hilarious that out of all the original characters this show tried to "make a thing", none of them ended up in other parts of the franchise but Pigeon Pete (who they wrote out unceremoniously) did?
I'm not only I have trouble seeing anyone bring back Tiger Claw, but the same goes for Newtralizer, Shinigami or any other characters they seemed to want to stick.
I could see Xever and/or Bradford coming back. But not their mutated forms.
Newtralizer and Tiger Claw were Ciro and Auman’s OCs as kids. It’s cute that they got to do that, but not surprising that they’ll probably be forgotten.
Hopefully “Kirby O’Neil” is never a thing again.
Technically Miwa is a new character. I could see Yoshi having a daughter in future versions.
Kavaxas was cool as hell, but I don’t see him ever coming back.
Is that it?
neatoman
04-01-2025, 06:20 AM
I could see Xever and/or Bradford coming back. But not their mutated forms.
Newtralizer and Tiger Claw were Ciro and Auman’s OCs as kids. It’s cute that they got to do that, but not surprising that they’ll probably be forgotten.
Hopefully “Kirby O’Neil” is never a thing again.
Technically Miwa is a new character. I could see Yoshi having a daughter in future versions.
Kavaxas was cool as hell, but I don’t see him ever coming back.
Is that it?
I don't think Kavaxas technically counts as new because Mike calls him "Hothead" but he might as well be a creation of this show.
As for anything else, let's see here. Ice Cream Kitty and Chompy aren't exactly characters who were meant to be "cool" but they were clearly trying to make them a thing but I don't see it happening outside of that one gag in Rise. I'm not really seeing the mobsters and gang members created for this show returning for cameos either.
I might personally have considered using the Salamandrians as a species if I ever were in charge of writing for TMNT, but really only for the purposes of retconning the origin of Mona Lisa and other lizard/salamander mutants in iterations that already established them to reduce the number of mutants, I wouldn't really consider using them just because and I wouldn't introduce a character like Mona Lisa unless if I made something set in a new continuity or one that never introduced such a character in the first place. And I really don't see anyone else bringing back the Salamandrians at all.
Coola Yagami
04-01-2025, 08:33 AM
I liked the idea of Chris and Xever as the new henchmen with how different they were, how they didn't exactly get along and how outright dangerous they were. Sure Bebop and Rocksteady liked to break stuff but they were pretty much idiots. Chris and Xever were more dangerous and competent, and even had a chance to shine before they mutated.
I was on the fence with Bebop and Rocksteady but they were both very different this time around. Their dynamic changed a bit between arms dealer and a thief he hired, since they both found themselves in the same boat. We got to see them learn to get along.
Like on one side, I didn't think we needed them since we had Chris and Xever, but on the other side I did like seeing Shredder having an actual mutant squad working for him. Chris, Xever, Bebop, Rocksteady, Tiger Claw and Baxter.
I mean, I know the old show had to keep the old TMNT VS Shredder, Krang, Bebop and Rocksteady status quo, but even as a kid I was annoyed when they introduced a new mutant villain there was always some contrivance to prevent them from sticking around and permanently becoming a member of the Technodrome crew. It always felt odd to have Shredder to continue to insist on having only two mutants to go after four.
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