Should Shredder hire street gang punks?

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

In most TMNT series, Shredder usually trains ninjas, with the advantage of operating in the shadows, but often ends up hiring street gang punks, like Bebop and Rocksteady or Purple Dragons. These are usually the opposite of ninjas.

So, do you prefer Shredder to hire these thugs, or should the Purple Dragons stay independent like in the Mirage comics?

[CyberCubed]

Most of the time the street punks are recruited to become Foot Soldiers. This is shown in the first two movies. Also the 2k3 series and Nick had Purple Dragons working for Shredder under Hun.

[Panda_Kahn_fan]

Having a gang of hired thugs makes sense for a ninja clan. Ninjas are selling themselves as elite soldiers/mercenaries, who work for a high fee. Committing petty crimes that are supposed to be beneath their skills hurts their marketability for anyone who wants to higher the best group of mercenaries for a job. So having a street gang in the service of a ninja clan makes sense, so the thugs can handle the menial jobs that are beneath the foot ninja.

[Utrommaniac]

It also makes sense from the 2003 Shredder perspective, who has successfully presented himself as a philanthropist do-gooder.

So, creating the appearance of having "hired" gang members for his company would curb gang violence/wars (save for whatever he needs them to do) nad make New York City a seemingly safer place.

[oldmanwinters]

You can't run a respectable criminal empire without employing a few thugs and hitmen for hire.

[PApagreg]

Not so much as hire but more control, I doubt any kind of Shredder would want the Foot to be known by the average person so it would make sense for him to have a bunch of street punks doing things like dealing drugs, robbing people, running a protection racket, selling stolen goods and just flat out keep the neighborhood under Shredder's control

[oldmanwinters]

Originally Posted by PApagreg

Not so much as hire but more control, I doubt any kind of Shredder would want the Foot to be known by the average person so it would make sense for him to have a bunch of street punks doing things like dealing drugs, robbing people, running a protection racket, selling stolen goods and just flat out keep the neighborhood under Shredder's control

To deflect attention, maybe Shredder works from under a shell corporation.

[pferreira]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

Most of the time the street punks are recruited to become Foot Soldiers. This is shown in the first two movies. Also the 2k3 series and Nick had Purple Dragons working for Shredder under Hun.

You explained it better than I could.