Splinter (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Splinter
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles character
Artwork by series co-creator Kevin Eastman.
First appearance	Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 (May 1984)
Created by	Kevin Eastman Peter Laird
Information
Species	Mutant Street Rat
Affiliation	Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Children	Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo (adoptive sons) Miwa/Karai (daughter; 2012 series)
Origin	Osaka, Japan
Weapon	Wooden Cane
Residence	New York Sewers, United States
Abilities	Mastery of ninjutsu High intellect Keen sense of smell Stealth mastery

Splinter, also known as Master Splinter or Sensei, is a popular character from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles stories. He is a mutant rat who acts as the wise teacher and adoptive father to the four Ninja Turtles. Splinter teaches them ninjutsu, a special type of martial arts. He first appeared in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics in May 1984.

A cosplayer dressed up as Splinter.

Splinter's Personality
Who Has Voiced Splinter?
Images for kids
See also

Splinter's Personality

Splinter is usually shown as a very wise and smart martial arts master. He is almost always calm and rarely raises his voice, even when he is upset. He is known for being a calm, all-knowing, and skilled master of many martial arts styles. Splinter also has a very strong will and never gives up easily. In the 1987 TV series, he could even control his own brain waves using his willpower.

Caring for His Sons

Splinter loves his adopted sons very much and is fiercely protective of them. He often rescues them from dangerous situations. For example, he saved them when their enemy, Shredder, tried to harm them. He also helped them when Bishop tried to take them apart for science experiments.

Splinter gets very angry when others try to hurt the Turtles. He even traveled all the way to Japan when the Turtles were kidnapped. Sometimes, Splinter also asks the Turtles for help when he is in trouble. In one episode, he switched bodies with Shredder and needed his sons to help him get back to normal.

Discipline and Rules

Even though he loves his sons, Splinter is quite strict with them, especially when they are young. His biggest fear is that his family will be discovered by the outside world. He always tries to protect them.

Splinter disciplines the Turtles when they misbehave. His punishments have included making them do many back-flips. In the 2014 movie, he used a punishment called "Hashi," where they had to balance with chopsticks. He sometimes gets physical with them when he is angry or when he breaks up their arguments. This often leads to him grounding them, especially in the 2012 series.

Hobbies and Interests

Splinter isn't completely cut off from modern life. He is often shown to be a fan of soap operas. This hobby is mentioned several times, especially in the 2003 series. He also really enjoys desserts, like Ice pops, as mentioned in the 2007 movie and 2012 series.

In the 2018 series, Splinter is sometimes shown as a bit irresponsible. He spends a lot of his time eating and watching TV. However, he still shows his wise and caring side when needed.

In the 2023 movie Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, Splinter is very protective of the Turtles. He strongly dislikes humans because he thinks they want to hurt mutants. In this movie, he is more like a worried single dad than a traditional martial arts master. But he still knows a lot about martial arts, which he learned from watching videos.

Who Has Voiced Splinter?

Many actors have given their voice to Splinter in different movies and TV shows:

In the 1987 TV series, Peter Renaday voiced him in America.
Stephen Mendel voiced Splinter in Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation.
Darren Dunstan was the voice of Splinter in the 2003 animated series.
In the first two live-action movies, Kevin Clash voiced him. James Murray voiced him in the third movie.
For the 2007 animated film, Mako Iwamatsu voiced Splinter. After Mako passed away, Greg Baldwin helped finish the voice work.
Terrence Scammell voiced him in the 2007 TMNT video game.
Hoon Lee voiced Splinter in the 2012 animated series.
In the 2013 video game TMNT: Out of the Shadows, Feodor Chin was the voice.
In the 2014 movie, actor Danny Woodburn played Splinter, and Tony Shalhoub provided his voice. Shalhoub also voiced him in the sequel, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows.
Eric Bauza voiced Splinter in the 2018 animated series, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
In the 2020 pinball machine, Marc Silk voiced Splinter.
Jackie Chan voiced Splinter in the 2023 animated movie, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem.