Boomstick: The Shredder, the sharp and shiny arch-villain of the Ninja Turtles.
Wiz: And Silver Samurai, the mutant swordsman who can slice through anything.
As season four's eleventh episode, two villainous metal-clad Japanese warriors come head to head. The hosts will match speed invisible to the naked eye against superhuman strength and durability, a ferociously brutal mutation against an energy-wielding mutant, as Shredder and Silver Samurai have shown they have much to offer in a fight, and they will both need every last skill at their disposal if they wish to succeed in a death battle.
Opening the episode proper is the lore behind the Shredder, leader of the villainous forces that plague New York City and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, four reptilian warriors committed to fending them off. Over the years, the Shredder has had multiple tales told about his character; the soul of an ancient Japanese warrior reborn, an alien invader masquerading as a man, a comedic bumbling fool, these are all some origins the character has had featured. However, every tale has the same beginning, a practitioner of ninjutsu and member of the Foot Clan, born unto the world as Oroku Saki. In this time, he trained alongside fellow disciple Hamato Yoshi; the two were rivals in combat and for the affections of the beautiful Tang Shen. When Tang returned the love Yoshi had, Oroku attacked his fellow ninja in a jealous fury, only for Tang to die protecting him from the attack. With Tang dead and Yoshi left to die alongside her, Oroku took control of the Foot Clan and shaped them into a worldwide crime syndicate and a base in New York City, all gained under the alias of the Shredder. Though he would learn that Hamato survived the initial attempt on his life, albeit transforming into the rat Splinter and training four other mutants in the ways of the ninja, Oroku used his position as leader of the Foot Clan to end Hamato and his new protégés once and for all.
Shredder's dominance over the Foot Clan is evident in more than just the kuro kabuto helmet; though being forged from an alloy stronger than steel, it is still invaluable in protecting him. The majority of his armor is covered in blades and spikes, even attaching lengthy tekko-kagi claws to his wrists. His expertise stems well beyond his armor; ninjutsu is comprised of 18 different schools of practice, such as spear fighting, infiltration, meteorology, and hand-to-hand combat, and Shredder is well-versed in all of them. In addition, Oroku himself is a physical specimen with feats to his name both awe-inspiring and horrifying; he once faced the 300-pound mutant alligator Leatherhead and not only survived his 3,000-pound bite, but hoisted and flung the mutant away with ease. With his speed, he once intimidated a mob boss by slicing through the man's dinner and candles quick enough to go unnoticed by the mobster and his underlings; to put it in perspective, Shredder drew his claws, slashed, and retracted them in under half a hundredth of a second. With such versatility and power to his name, Shredder is more than enough to handle most any threat, but he still has a trump card if the situation calls for it. A vial of mutagen, once broken and absorbed, gives him the capacity to mutant into a monstrous form known as Super Shredder, and in this form he possesses a number of extra abilities; chief among them being enhanced strength and durability, teleportation, and lightning generation.
Hamato and his reptilian pupils face an uphill battle when coming against Shredder himself, and for good reason. The leader of the Foot Clan is a highly durable ninja, having broken swords against his exposed heart and survived a thousand-foot fall onto a steel girder. But even factoring in his combat prowess and leadership skills, the Shredder is just as dangerous as he is fallible. Oftentimes, his demise comes just as often from the Ninja Turtles finally defeating him in a climactic battle as it does from trivial mishaps, such as being crushed by trash compactors and wooden support beams. But as long as the mythology of the Turtles thrives, there will always be a Shredder ready to oppose them.
Due to a completed analysis of the Shredder, the topic moves on to Silver Samurai, Kenuichio Harada, born to the Yakuza crime lord and leader of the Yashida Clan, Shingen Yashida. As Shingen's illegitimate son, Kenuichio could never truly inherit his father's role as figurehead of the clan, and fate dictated he would eventually earn it from the death of his sister; until then, he chose to forge a new life for himself as a samurai, much like those that once populated feudal Japan. Kenuichio knew, however, that in the modern world, full of fanciful individuals with even more fantastic powers, he had to improve himself in a similar fashion; donning a suit of plate armor with a brilliant silver sheen, he trained in several martial arts, selling himself out as a mercenary, and christened himself the Silver Samurai.
The less than inventive name aside, Harada is talented in a number of fields like his foe; the Silver Samurai is talented in fighting on horseback, as well as with swords and in the arts of stealth, all of which serve him well in battle. One of the exotic superpowers that Kenuichio once desired to have would eventually end up being granted to him thanks to his mutant lineage. The unique power he possesses is the capacity to produce a tachyon energy field, which he uses to amplify the cutting power of his katana to such an extent that he can even damage intangible entities like ghosts; though being skilled in the use of any sword, Harada can likewise charge his weapon with the tachyon field for similar destructive effect. Beyond the sword, he also comes equipped with a number of other weapons, throwing knives and shuriken for ranged attacks, and a teleportation ring that lets him warp to strike from unexpected angles or otherwise escape an unfavorable situation.
Years of honing his skills against a number of foes has given Silver Samurai numerous ways to make a living in a world as thrilling and dangerous as that of Marvel. Harada is a master swordsman, deflecting bullets with his katana and slicing one in half with only a hundredth of a second to prepare. Beyond his expertise in the way of the blade, Harada's armor is completely bulletproof and durable enough to withstand a building collapsing on him, while Harada himself has survived being impaled through the lung and has thrown off Daredevil, She-Devil, and some various jungle cats in one push; with these skills, Harada has triumphed over every individual who crossed him, all except one; James Howlett, the Wolverine. And it is the Canadian X-Man who proves that the Silver Samurai is a talented swordsman, but not a perfect one. Other, more skilled, warriors, have been shown to overwhelm him in battle, and his armor protects against bullets but not other grievous injuries; these elements would combine to be his undoing at the hands of the Black Samurai and the demonic monster Marduk Kurios, who destroyed his soul after he succumbed to his wounds in battle. The Silver Samurai as an identity, however, still lives on, and this legacy is only responsible courtesy of the swordsman who first formed the mantle.
Silver Samurai: (eyes glow blue) The Silver Samurai yields to no man! Kyaaaa! (swings a tachyon-infused katana, slicing the blade off Wolverine's)
Both combatants have been fairly studied and analyzed in detail. One advertisement for the Blue Apron cooking service later, and now, it's time for a death battle!
A dense thicket of trees, set under a moonlit night, is where Kenuichio Harada, Silver Samurai, practices his kenjutsu, slicing through the plantlife in single strokes. His training is interrupted by a series of drills bursting from the ground, and from the drills emerge a squad of purple-clad ninjas. While Harada easily cleaves a path through the soldiers of the Foot Clan, a last drill lay unopened, that is until its lone inhabitant emerges; one Oroku Saki, the Shredder. His tekko-kagi prepared and a katana in one hand, the Shredder hunches forward, which the Silver Samurai meets with his own battle stance.
FIGHT!
In the span of a single moment, the two Japanese warriors collide, their swords firmly pressed against one another. Shredder slowly advances forward, breaking Harada's guard and landing the first hits of the battle, katana cutting into the Silver Samurai's armor and rapid kicks and elbows knocking him away. The Yashida oyabun immediately regains his footing and promptly infuses his sword with a tachyon field and releases a wave of energy at the leader of the Foot Clan. While the Shredder swerves around the oncoming projectile, its destructive power becomes evident when it instead bisects a tree. The sworn enemy of the Ninja Turtles refocuses his attention on his silver-clad foe, darting and ducking around an ever-hastening series of slashes before vaulting above an overhead slash and landing atop the trees.
As he leaps through the canopy, a wave of destruction chasing him courtesy of Harada rapidly felling the trees, the Shredder soon lands behind a stone, waiting for his foe's next move; said move comes sooner than Oroku would've expected, as he nimbly ducks under another tachyon-powered slice that severs a majority of the stone. The Shredder dashes away and discarding his torn cape, rushing at the illegitimate crime lord, who, with a fierce bellow, prepares a set of shuriken to hurl at the Foot Clan master. Effortlessly, Oroku dodges all five projectiles with a single motion and deploys a smoke ball; by the time Harada brings his katana down on the Shredder's image, it dissipates into the mist moments later.
Shredder's sinister cackling echoes in the air, the smoke playing havoc on Kenuichio's senses. The Silver Samurai remains vigilant, katana positioned in front of him, and as the Shredder hurls a set of shuriken in return, the mutant effortlessly deflects them. Again and again does Harada attempt to thrust his sword into the Shredder, but Saki's image disappears, blocking the offense posed by the purple-clad ninja with as much effort as he puts into his own; soon, he uses his teleportation ring to catch Oroku by surprise. The Silver Samurai warps back and forth around the Shredder, thrusting into him at multiple angles before the Shredder disappears into the fog. Viewing the Shredder's reflection in his katana, Kenuichio thrusts the sword behind him, running it clean into his torso before yanking the katana out and leaving Shredder breathless on the floor. Just as he hoists his katana skyward in presumed victory, the Silver Samurai neglects to notice Oroku smashing the ground in frustration. He uprights himself in an instant, being forced into using his last resort, and use it he will; holding a container filled with green liquid in his hands, the Shredder rips the container open, drenching himself in mutagen.
The brilliant flashes stemming from Oroku interrupts Harada's moment of triumph as he stares in horror at the immense monstrosity now standing before him. Though the Silver Samurai soon regains his composure and tackle his foe once again, Super Shredder casually dodges a few incoming blows, smacking the son of Shingen away. The improved Shredder calls a ray of lightning into his hand, giving the Silver Samurai enough time to infuse his katana with a tachyon field and batting the thunderbolt away; the lightning instead fells a nearby tree, sparking a fire that soon mutates into a full-on wildfire. Trees blazing around the two, the Silver Samurai rushes towards the mutant hunter, but Super Shredder catches the samurai, and in a barehanded chop, shears his arm clean off, katana hurtled upwards. The ensuing spray of blood launches Harada backwards, leaving him vulnerable to Super Shredder noticing the falling katana and slapping it towards its owner. The Silver Samurai can only notice the sword coming before his helmet's clattering echoes in the burning forest, the katana run right through his head. Super Shredder reaches his fallen foe and rips his head off, before catching it in a single palm and crushing it into a red paste.
K.O.!
Silver Samurai, once again in hell, notices Marduk Kurios looming over him before his soul is likewise smashed into pulp, while the Shredder leaves the carnage behind him, Harada's helmet resting atop his katana. Both fighters are tough and incredibly durable, and while Silver Samurai's armor offered better protection, it also had vulnerable points that an opponent with extreme precision, such as the Shredder, could target and exploit. In terms of strength, Silver Samurai could lift 600 pounds, as his feat of throwing off Daredevil, She-Devil, and the big cats proves, which is twice as great as Shredder's best-known feat. However, Shredder is skilled nonetheless in fighting physically imposing foes. The Silver Samurai's teleportation ring would give him an advantage, if not for the fact he instead uses it as a defensive tool, and even on the occasions that he weaves it into his fighting style, his movements can be predicted by experienced combatants; with Shredder's history and experience, it remains a fair assumption that he could piece together Harada's strategy. With both Silver Samurai's tachyon blade and Shredder's ninja precision giving them critical advantages, the fight would come down to who would land the killing blow first, which in turn comes down to speed. Silver Samurai's bullet-slicing feat took him a hundredth of a second to perform, while Shredder managing to harass a mob boss was done in four thousandths of a second, meaning his offense is over twice as fast as Silver Samurai's defense. As a last resort, Shredder could always douse himself in mutagen to become Super Shredder, who can effortlessly toss oil tankers. Both Japanese fighters are swift and strong, but Shredder was swift enough to compensate for any of his shortcomings, a key point that ultimately netted him victory.
Wiz: The winner is the Shredder!
Shredder vs. Silver Samurai contains examples of:
- Brick Joke: Early on in his analysis, Silver Samurai is referred to as a bastard by Wiz, who means it in the traditional sense, only for Boomstick to mistake it as an insult. Boomstick later mentions his mutant lineage, only for Wizard to call him out on being the insensitive one.
- Conservation of Ninjutsu: The squadron of Foot Clan ninjas are effortlessly destroyed by Silver Samurai in one attack. Then comes Shredder, who fights by himself and proves to be a far tougher opponent. Enough to kill Silver Samurai, no less.
- Deader than Dead: It's noted that in the comics, Silver Samurai succumbed to blood loss and had his soul destroyed while in hell. That's exactly what befalls him again by the match's end.
- Expospeak Gag: Used briefly when Wizard refers to Hamato's students as "adolescent genetically modified shinobi terrapins."
- Public Domain Soundtrack: This is the first episode to do away with licensed music and instead use royalty-free tracks, which would become commonplace in later episodes.
- Rocket-Tag Gameplay: Both Shredder's ninja precision and Silver Samurai's Tachyon Blade made their weapons very lethal to each other regardless of defense. The hosts even stated that the fight would come down to who could land the lethal blow first, which Shredder ultimately manages.
- Shout-Out:
- Former Death Battle combatant Yoshi is mentioned when Boomstick momentarily mistakes it as the subject of Tang Shen's affections.
- The beginning of the episode features a clip of Kenshin Himura fighting off some ninjas.
- As James Avery voiced Shredder in the '87 cartoon, he's mentioned as sometimes being a bumbling idiot who sounds like Uncle Phil.
- Spell Blade: Not a spell, but Silver Samurai can infuse his weapons with a tachyon field for a similar effect.
- Voice of the Legion: Super Shredder has a reverb effect added to him, making it sound like two voices at once."PLAYTIME. IS. OVER."
