Shredder

Oroku Saki, the ruthless leader of the Foot Clan, is the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' most formidable enemy. A master of ninjutsu clad in bladed armor, he serves as the primary antagonist driving the Turtles' earliest battles in the original Mirage series.

Few villains can claim they were there from the very beginning — but Shredder made his mark in the landmark first issue of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in 1984, co-created by Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman in one of the most celebrated independent comics debuts of the Bronze Age. That debut alone carries serious collector weight, with two key-issue recognitions to his name, and his presence has rippled across an extraordinary forty years of comics history. He's forged his legacy squaring off against Raphael, Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Splinter across the pages of Mirage's beloved universe, cementing himself as one of the most iconic antagonists in American comics — not bad for a character born from a black-and-white indie book that changed the industry forever.