39. Shredder

Shredder, AKA Oroku Saki, is the arch-nemesis of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and their rat-master Splinter. A master in the art of Ninjutsu, Shredder is the leader of the Foot Clan, a fearsome group of warriors and assassins involved in organized crime.

In the original Mirage Comics, revered ninja Hamato Yoshi, once owner of Splinter (pre-mutation), played a key role in Shredder's corruption when he killed his brother in a feud over a woman. Hellbent on revenge, Shredder rose up through the ranks of the Foot Clan and ultimately travelled to New York where he destroyed the powerful Yoshi.

What Shredder didn't count on (we don't really blame him), is that Yoshi's pet rat would mutate into anthropomorphic form and become Sensei to a group of highly-skilled turtle ninjas (also anthropomorphic) and seek to avenge his death.

The Turtles' actually defeated Shredder during their first encounter with him, but a Foot Clan mystic brought the villain back to life using the worms that fed on his body. And lest you forget, the reanimated worm-Shredder's defeat was only short-lived, as he was brought back to life yet again as a Shark-like monster.

Shredder's classic look is samurai-inspired armor, with metal plaques on his shoulders, forearms, hands, and shins. The armor, creator Kevin Eastman says, was inspired by cheese graters. He sports a cape. And Shredder's face, except for his eyes, is obscured by a metal mask.

The Archie Comics version of Shredder, whom most children of the '80s would have come to know before discovering Eastman and Peter Laird's early work, is more of a goofball bad guy.

These issues were initially based on the animated series which saw Shredder take on several different wacky incarnations, including the Ch'rell Utrom version (a gooey stomach-brain creature who lived inside a fighting robot), in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series.

Shredder has appeared in all of the original TMNT videogames, often as the "boss" of the final level.