Master Shredder - 1987 Animated Series

1987 Animated Series

In the 1987 animated series, Oroku Saki and Hamato Yoshi were both members of the Foot Clan in Japan. After Saki framed him for the attempted murder of one of the Clan’s sensei, Yoshi was forced to exile himself to New York City, where he lived in the sewers with four pet turtles that were accidentally dropped down a storm drain. Shredder was voiced by The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air co-star James Avery for seasons 1 to 7; William E. Martin for seasons 8 and 10, and the alternates being Dorian Harewood in 1989, Jim Cummings in 1991-1993, and Townsend Coleman in 1993. In the 2009 crossover movie, Turtles Forever, he was voiced by Load Williams.

In the following years, Saki took leadership of the Foot Clan, and took on his Shredder persona. He also met a trans-dimensional alien called Krang, and used the advanced technology at his disposal to replace the Foot Ninja with robots called the Foot Soldiers. He secretly moved to New York, where he found Yoshi still alive. In an attempt to kill his old foe, the Shredder dumped mutagen in the sewers. This mutates Yoshi into Splinter, and he starts training the also mutated Turtles in ninjitsu.