Did Splinter care about the TMNT originally?

[Lil G]

Originally Posted by Cipher

Raph: "What are you saying Leo? We Should aly oursleves with the damned Foot Clan?"

Leo: "I'm simply asking a question."

Raph: "But...We've been at war with them for years! They're our freakin' blood enemies!"

Leo: "Are they? If so, why? Think about it...Think back. We're in this because...because..."

Mike: "Because of Master Splinter."

Leo: "Exactly, Mike. This is his war. Since we were children, Master Splinter taught us, trained us for one thing: to avenge the death of his master, Hamato Yoshi. Since that day...when we first killed the Shredder, the threat of the Foot has circumscribed our lives...And through us, Casey's and April's lives too. Who can blame them for wanting to leave? I know I can't.

But now...Now we have, with Karai's proposal, an opportunity...A chance to break this chain of vengeance and death...and reclaim our lives."

Mike: "Leo...What would Splinter say?"

Leo: I'm unsure...I would gladly die for him...but...I don't know if I can give him my life."

- Volume 1, Issue 58

I love that storyline.

all i could say is... DAUMN!

[cMac44111]

To answer the topic question: I think the line he said in the movie was "I took pity on them and gathered them into a coffee can." So he was going to keep them around for awhile not to eat them as someone had said, but probably for companionship. I can't imagine how lonely it'd be in the sewers when your only friend just passed away. And they were just babies, they couldn't fend for themselves so he looked after them and protected them.

Originally Posted by Buslady

pretty wimpy that he wouldnt face the shred alone ...lets send these guys instead so i dont die.

I think he just saw as too old and he would surely get himself killed if he went alone to face the Shredder. I always saw it as him embarking his teachings on the Turtles, in essence keeping Master Yoshi's legacy alive. How he understood Yoshi's teachings are another story, I always thought he was only copying the moves so he never knew how to connect mind and spirit. But, I'm rambling...what I'm trying to say is the Turtles were being used as a tool for Splinter's war. He wasn't physically able to kill the Shredder so he had these blessings from above come and help him out. The Turtles weren't as weary to the world so they only did what he told them. I see it as a "my way or the highway" type of deal. I haven't read all of the comics but do we ever see Splinter actually getting physical with the Turtles?

[Cipher]

Originally Posted by Lil G

all i could say is... DAUMN!

I didn't have that memorized, if that's what you're thinking.