Splinter (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)

In the 1987 TMNT cartoon, Splinter is Yoshi. He was a martial art instructor for the Foot Clan, based in Japan, and also had a passion for Renaissance art. But he didn't talk very much though, for he was very quiet. One day he was framed by his rival, Oroku Saki (who would eventually turn into his future arch-enemy, the Shredder), for trying to murder their common dojo master. Being unable to prove his innocence, he moved away to New York City, where he lived as a hermit in its sewers and befriended the rats. One day, he came across four baby turtles which were accidentally dropped by a boy through a grate of the sewers. He kept them as pets and treated them like his children. But later, he found the turtles venturing near broken barrels that were oozing glowing pink chemical liquid. As he tried to recover them from danger and attempted to clean them with his bare hands, they were all affected by the chemical which was a mutagen. This mutagen transformed any living being into amutant whose body became mixed with the DNA of any other living being it was most in contact with. The turtles, being in a pet store with people touching them and all around them, turned into young anthropomorphic humanoid turtles. Hamato himself, having been in contact more with sewer rats, became a humanoid rat.

Since then, Yoshi raised the turtles by himself, and gave them the names of his favorite Renaissance artists: Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michaelangelo, who were to be distinguished by personality and headband color. He also taught them the art of ninjutsu in order to protect themselves better, since people above ground would not accept them. And like many real life ninja masters He also has a strong sense of honor and follows very strict rules of honor. In which all four of his students take after and strongly follow.

Hamato was given the nickname "Splinter" by his students, due to his proficiency at breaking wooden boards. On one occasion Donatello was able to use the remnants of the ooze that transformed them to restore Yoshi's human self, but the process was only temporary and soon wore off; however, Splinter, having seen how humans could treat each other at times, concluded that he preferred his new state, particularly due to the relationship he had with his students. Master Splinter doesn't hold a father/son relationship with the turtles, as the Mirage Studios, Movie, and 2k3 stories suggested, but more of a teacher/student bond. This version of Splinter never calls the turtles "my sons" and the turtles never call him father. In fact in Turtles Forever the old toon turtles are surprised when the 4kids turtles call Splinter father. However, in an episode called The Old Switcheroo, Splinter showed a glimpse of fatherly concern for Leonardo when he's slightly injured by one of Donatello's contraptions. Splinter also mentions in the series (episode; Snakes Alive!) that Leonardo is his most gifted student. Master Splinter even gets the chance to be human once more in an episode Splinter No More, but realizes he much more prefers being with the turtles. Master Splinter is always there for the turtles to give a wise/ungrasping quote or speech to try to ease the turtles' troubles. He'll also show a little ninja action just in the knick of time when it seems the turtles are in for impending doom that is inescapable. In this series, Splinter is voiced by Peter Renaday.