Of course, the first "guy" to acquire the ninja turtles was none other than Master Splinter himself!
This Master Splinter is the re-released Playmates action figure from last year, part of the TMNT 25th anniversary commemorative release. Like Leonardo, I found Splinter at Ross for $3.99. Unlike Leonardo, Splinter does not come with a DVD episode of the original cartoon - only the four turtle releases appear to have that addition.
Splinter has a small star shaped "scar" painted on his cheek. I don't recall how that fits into the cartoon or comic version of Splinter, but I do remember Splinter losing an ear to Shredder in the movie before his owner was massacred and before he mutated into a humanoid rat. I guess that is what the scar is meant to represent.
Like all of the original TMNT releases, Splinter comes with a rack of nifty ninja weapons. And a cane. But that ain't no ordinary cane!
It hides a sword! Damn that's cool. The weapons and accessories really added to the greatness of these original TMNT toys. Sadly they are also the hardest parts to find still with the figures, which is part of why these re-releases are so welcome in my collection.
The bow/arrow combo came apart from the rack - attached to the rack were the two cane pieces and two throwing stars. I only removed the cane/sword, as the throwing stars are sure to be lost, even by me.
"First Disney/Marvel, now Nickelodeon/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. 2009 is truly the year of the rat!"
