Recommended music: DJ Canini – Ninja Turtle Scratch
So this #TurtleTuesday, we have something special you probably didn’t expect. Today, let’s take a look at the Super7 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ULTIMATES! Scratch!
“He’s been sentenced to nine life terms, he’s busted outta jail nine times – now this flea-bitten feline is free to frolic with the fetid Foot Clan. Scratch is the meanest street cat you’re likely to meet. And, if perchance you do run into this Mutant mongrel, run him over before he scratches you senseless! But beware – cuz Scratch is the master of trickery. That’s how he gets outta jail all the time! He may fool the fuzz by offering them a piece of his criminal cake gun. Then it’s SWIPE! SWIPE! – and Scratch is off runnin’ with his swindlin’ sidekick, Jail Bird.”
Scratch isn’t as well-known as most other Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles characters. He’s somewhat inspired by the Archie Comics character Hallocat and first appeared in TMNT media in the 1993 Game Boy game ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Radical Rescue.’ In the game, he’s the first boss you face, using his claws and a ball and chain to attack.
While his backstory is not explained in the game, he soon appeared in toy form for the vintage Playmates toyline. Overlooked at the time, the mint-on-card figure now sells for thousands of dollars as TMNT collectors add this rare piece to their collections. Unfortunately, Scratch never appeared in the 1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series, so a NECA release in that style is off the table. While I normally don’t collect the Super7 Ultimates! line for TMNT, this character’s inclusion piqued my interest.
Super7 added Scratch to the sixth wave of their TMNT Ultimates! line, which shipped in late 2022. The figure’s articulation feels great right out of the box, and the paint job is a big step up from the old Playmates version. This release comes with lots of accessories, like an extra head, four sets of hands, Jail Bird, a bag of loot, a cake gun, a fish club, an iron file, a rock hammer, and a ball and shackle with a real steel chain that looks just as good as the one with NECA’s Michaelangelo. For nostalgia, there’s also a vintage-style weapon rack tree that holds unpainted versions of most of the accessories, cast in a solid yellow plastic. In the end, it’s a very fun release, and can easily be picked up for a fraction of the price of his vintage counterpart.
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