Splinter

Splinter is the wise, disciplined sensei who trained the four Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in the art of ninjutsu, serving as their father figure and moral guide through the dangers they face.

Few mentors in comics carry the quiet gravitas of Splinter, the wise sensei at the heart of the TMNT universe, who made his Archie Comics debut in 1988's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures [Heroes in a Half-Shell], brought to the page by Michael Dooney and David Wise. A fixture of the Copper Age and a character whose presence has stretched across an impressive 36 years of publication, Splinter is the steady moral compass around whom the chaos of turtle adventures orbits — sharing pages with Donatello, Raphael, Leonardo, Michelangelo, and the intriguing Hamato Yoshi across TMNT Adventures, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Giant Size Special, and Mighty Mutanimals. With a key collector's issue to his name and 50 catalogued appearances in the Archie line, he's a figure whose significance runs deeper than sheer numbers. For fans who love the soul behind the shell, Splinter is absolutely essential.