Should Splinter die?
 

Splinter's main goal and the reason for training the turtles (In mirage at least)
is so that they can one day find and take revenge on Oroku saki. Now i like Splinter, he's an awesome charachter but wouldn't it make more sense if he bit the dust? Turtles would realise that revenge is not the way to go and that splinter's grudge cost him his life which would send them on the road of becoming real heroes. Or is that way to classic superhero cliche?
Also if a ninja loses his master is he a Ronin or is that only Samurai thing?

He did die, in the Mirage comics. Vol. 4 #'s 10/11.

Ninja families care about each other and their no.1 rule is to get back alive.
I can`t imagine how they would react if Splinter really dies because of the
sad expressions they made in the first movie when Splinter was kidnapped. :ohwell:

There is 2 ways of looking at it. The turtles are Teenagers and need constant direction and guidance, just like anyone else heading towards adult hood. So having Splinter around adds relatability, as a viewer/reader.

The other way I guess, is Splinters death would allow deeper darker stories, and viewing the turtles struggling/brooding without a gardian would be interesting.

It's a hard toss up between the 2.:ohwell::-?

When Splinter died in Mirage, everything went downhill and dull.

When Splinter died in Same As It Never Was in 2k3, same thing.

So, no; he shouldn't. That would be hella lame.

I wouldn't consider SAINW 'dull'. Like, did you even watch the episode.

But wait! No we're told that it wasn't what we thought!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfhBM_Yay6w

It kinda was for me, only thing fascinating were the turtles' deaths.

I vaguely remember having this book based on the OT where Master Splinter died and the turtles saw his image in a campfire like in the first movie and there was a part where Leo trained with his brothers by fighting them blindfolded.

The movie comic adaptation.

No way. Splinter is an integral part of the TMNT universe and it wouldn't be the same without him. Granted, no one lives forever, but I wouldn't want him to be killed off permanently at this moment. I would like to see an alternate future story where he does pass and the Turtles have to deal with not having him around.

Right, but he didn't die. He was captured, like in the film.

I know, but the dying part is probably being mis-remembered.

I know you know, I'm just making it clear to Noname999.

You forget when splinter died the turtles were well into their thirties and weren't really living with him anymore. They were past the point of guidance at this time.

At some point, yes.
Because everyone dies, and because no story is made better by stagnation.

If Splinter died, Raph would turn super sayian

I think that that many of you have missed the point of what i was tring to say. Should splinter die as a result of training the turtles to kill Oroku Saki?
At the end he would't be right, he would be only an old man with a grudge which would eventualy lead him to his grave, i think that would leave the turtles in the interesting place.

Splinter shouldn't die for the sake of dying, IMO. If it were to happen, it should be to signal a permanent shift in the direction of the stories. If he were to die and we had a while of stories where the brothers struggle to cope with his loss, but then gradually become business as usual *minus Splinter* then that's a waste of a perfectly good character. We've seen the Turtles on a number of occasions be reminded of Splinter's mortality, and how they've reacted to that has been interesting enough without going whole hog.
It would also run the risk of someone coming along later and realizing that the book/show has lost an essential dynamic since his death, and steps would be taken to reverse it (I'm reminded specifically of when Aunt May died back in the 90's after having an open final heart to heart with Peter which retroactively made everything she ever was magnitudes more interesting, only for another writer to come along a year or so later and bring her back, claiming that the May who died wasn't actually May but a genetically modified actor planted by the Green Goblin. Ugh).

Ciro Nieli's original pitch (as revealed in one of the shellshocked podcasts) was to have Splinter already dead and he would appear primarily in flashbacks. I think this would be super interesting, and if he does die in any TMNT incarnation, I think it would be great to use this idea. It would work on the emotional development front as well as keep him in the picture.

Tangent: I was definitely bummed when Giles was booted from the regular cast in the last two seasons of Buffy! He was the greatest!