Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder is a brutal book. Part of that centers around the fact that unlike the Heroes in a Half-Shell, Oroku Saki is willing to maim or even kill those standing in his way. There’s also the fact that this is a book dealing with New York’s criminal underground. Featuring a cast of criminals means that a story can be a little more flexible in terms of its morality. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder #2 doesn’t waste any time exploring that flexibility, as Shredder starts scouring the criminal underworld for leads on his former pupil.
From the start of the issue to its final pages, Dan Watters shows that Saki is always in complete control of his surroundings. He’s locked in a cell? He’ll find his way out. He’s outnumbered? Pray for his opponents. He wants information? He will get it, no matter how much blood he has to shed. Watters keeps the minimalist approach that he utilized in Shredder #1, showing that Saki is a man who prefers to let his actions, no matter how bloody they are, speak for him.
TMNT: Shredder #2 also sees a shift in artists, with Sid Kotan drawing the majority of the book. Kotan’s artwork has an edge to it; everyone looks dangerous in some shape or form while the action is brutal, bloody, and horrifying in some places. Shredder is also matched in menace by the mysterious King Cobra, who sports a scaly mask that perfectly fits his serpentine visage, and the rumors that anyone who gazes upon his true face will be stricken with fear. Anyone who knows Shredder knows that he doesn’t scare easily, though.
IDW
Michele Bandini illustrates the opening and closing sequences of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder #2, and features a key moment in both sequences: Saki, free of armor, slowly starts sharpening his signature blades. It’s the one time where he either isn’t threatening someone or cutting them into ribbons, but more importantly, he feels at peace. Bandini’s art shows a more relaxed, contemplative side to Shredder that feels just as interesting as the action sequences, which is impressive.
Both Bandini and Kotan have a ball drawing Shredder’s new armor. True to Saki’s character, it’s fairly simple; the Shredder’s signature helmet and blades are shining silver while the rest of his suit features notes of red and black. It also lacks the flowing capes that Saki usually wears, as if to signify that he’s no longer part of the Foot Clan. If clothing makes the man, Shredder’s new suit signifies that he’s become even more deadlier than ever.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder #2 doesn’t skimp on the blood or brutality, as it hones its titular warrior into a killing machine. In a climactic moment, Shredder tells King Cobra, “My reputation is simply my history. Not some myth I have cultivated to intimidate others.” TMNT fans know that history is long and bloody, and this comic is looking to add a few more chapters during its run.
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