The Ninja Turtles' Enemy Shredder is a Great Leader

One of the Ninja Turtles' greatest enemies, Shredder, just proved to the Splinter Clan and the Power Rangers that he is the best in one special area.

The following contains spoilers for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #3, available now from BOOM! Studios and IDW Publishing.

Over the course of their many adventures, both the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers have overcome some of the most overwhelming odds imaginable. While their many victories are entirely their own, they have been guided through them by mentors as iconic as they are. Unfortunately, the Power Rangers lost theirs in a vicious attack, and the Turtles' worst enemy is stepping up to remind both teams why he is just as great of a leader.

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #3 (by Ryan Parrott, Dan Mora, Raúl Angulo, and Ed Dukeshire) picks up in the middle of Casey Jones' assault on the Rangers' Command Center. While the heroes are forced to take Zordon offline and make a hasty retreat, they also find themselves staring down the many blades of none other than Oroku Saki, aka the Shredder. As much as they want to fight back against their longtime foe, the Shredder quickly makes it clear that he has come to help, and he does so by taking charge of the Splinter Clan all over again.

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Seeing the Shredder join forces with the Turtles and Rangers on its own is surprising enough considering his status as the former's oldest and most iconic villain. Over the years, Oroku Saki has seen the Foot Clan wage war against the Ninja Turtles at nearly every turn across almost every iteration of the character. This alone is proof enough of what the Shredder is capable of while overseeing the battlefield, yet the Foot Clan are hardly the only ones who he has led to victory.

In the currently ongoing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series, Oroku Saki is the new head of the Splinter Clan. With the threat of the Rat King's Armageddon Game looming overhead just shortly after the Shredder's return to the land of the living, the Heroes in a Half Shell couldn't turn down his help. Despite drudging up some particularly difficult memories for some of their closest allies, his presence among the Splinter Clan has only made them stronger in ways they never would have dreamed of.

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Of course, just because one version of the Shredder has come around to playing the role of a hero doesn't mean that every iteration will follow the same path. When it comes to the Shredder of the shared MMPR/TMNT timeline, any hope of salvation is completely unapparent, assuming there is any, to begin with. On the other hand, that doesn't stop him from being able to help the Turtles or their allies when need be, especially when their interests have aligned.

If nothing else, the Shredder being so upfront about why he is helping the Turtles and Rangers is a refreshing bit of honesty from someone who has made such a name for themselves as being anything but. It is also a prescient reminder to the heroes of exactly which version of the Shredder they are dealing with, not to mention what the cost of turning their backs on him could easily become.

John Dodge has been an avid consumer of comic books and nerd culture for as long as he can remember. An expert on competitive gaming and obscure kids shows from the 80's and 90's, John has far too many opinions about Beetleborgs for someone in their thirties. You can find him occasionally discussing them over on Twitter at @JohnJDodge.