Recommended music: Henry Mancini & His Orchestra – Baby Elephant Walk
It’s #TurtleTuesday, so let’s check out another NECA Toys Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shredder!
Oruku Saki was the main villain who shaped the story and tone for the first seven seasons of the 1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon. Unlike the deadly version from the original comics, this Shredder was more family-friendly and often used for comic relief.
In the 30th episode of season three, ‘Leatherhead: Terror of the Swamp’, Shredder is motivated by Krang’s discovery of a “mutant-producing” substance, mutagen, leaking into the Florida Everglades. He heads to the swamp with Rocksteady and Bebop to check out the chemical readings. Their main goal is to get the mutagen and use it to create a new army of mutants for the Foot Clan. While they are in the swamp, they discover that the mutagen has already changed the local wildlife, most notably a swamp alligator named Leatherhead.
The alligator is more interested in being the “King of the Swamp” instead of following the Foot Clan’s orders, so when Shredder tells him to attack the Turtles, the plan doesn’t work. In the end, Shredder falls into a fountain of youth and turns into a toddler. This is one of only three episodes where Dorian Harewood voices Shredder instead of James Avery. Pat Fraley also takes on two roles in this episode, voicing both Napoleon Bonafrog and Baby Shredder.
NECA released this “Baby Shredder” figure in 2020 as a bonus with the Target-exclusive ‘Wrath of Krang’ Ultimate Android Body set. Even though the figure is only two inches tall, it has a lot of detail and four points of articulation, including a waist hinge that lets it sit.
This might not be the most important Shredder figure in the collection, but it’s a fun reminder of the humor that was a big part of the 1987 TMNT cartoon.
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