Karai (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)

Karai^{[Note 1]} is a fictional character in various installments of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) comics and related media, where she is usually a high-rank member of the Foot Clan outlaw ninja organization. She was originally introduced in Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird's comic book series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in 1992. Since then, she has appeared in several different TMNT comics, cartoons and films, as well as in about a dozen video games (including as a playable character in Tournament Fighters, Battle Nexus and Smash-Up).

In some incarnations of the character (including the 2003 cartoon, the 2012 cartoon, and the 2010s comics), she is closely related to the villain Shredder as his adopted daughter or biological granddaughter. However, in her original comic incarnation, Karai was completely unrelated to the Shredder and was actually higher in the Foot Clan's global hierarchy. In the animated and game adaptations, Karai is primarily voiced by Karen Neil, Zhang Ziyi and Kelly Hu, while Minae Noji and Brittany Ishibashi portray the character in live-action films.

In several versions, she is considered to be the love interest and on-an-off rival of the leader of the Ninja Turtles: Leonardo.

In Comics

Mirage Comics

Karai in the Volume One comics (art by Jim Lawson and Keith David)

In Mirage Studios' Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Volume One comics by Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird and Jim Lawson, she is introduced as one of the leaders of the mainstream Foot Clan in Japan (a member of its Council of Five) who came to New York City to restore order in the 1993 "City at War" story arc.^[5][6][7] Ever since Leonardo killed the Shredder (Oroku Saki), the Foot faction in NYC has been in chaos, with different groups warring with one another for ultimate control, save for Shredder's Elite, who have been carrying out seemingly motiveless attacks on the other factions. Shortly after arriving in New York, Karai captures Leonardo and offers the TMNT a deal: if the Turtles destroy the Elite, she will offer them a truce with the Foot Clan. After debate, the Turtles finally agree to seek Karai's assistance in dealing with the Elite.^[8][9] As they reach her skyscraper headquarters, they find dead Foot guards and the Foot's leader cradling a girl's corpse. It is revealed that the girl was Karai's daughter, and in despair, she makes Leonardo swear he will help her kill all of the Elite.^[10] During a final confrontation, five Elite face off against the Turtles, Karai, and her Foot Soldiers. The disguised Karai, wearing the Shredder's armor, orders the Elite to commit seppuku, but only one does. After an ensuing hard fight, the Turtles and Karai are the only ones left standing. Karai thanks the Turtles for their help, but they answer she owes them nothing but her word, to which she agree, saying that "no longer will the Foot Clan bother you", and returns to Japan.^{[11][12][13] [Note 2]}

Karai never properly appears in Image Comics' Volume Three TMNT series, despite Laird previously having considering an idea for Karai to return with "different types of ninja gear for her"^[16] as well as introducing a concept that "every new Foot soldier has a third eye ('the Eye of Karai') which is a video transceiver device that constantly relays data back to Karai's central processing computer."^[17] It is, however, revealed that she has been deposed as the leader of the Foot in Japan and is presumed to be dead.^[18] Had this series continued, Karai would have been revealed as the person behind the mask of Lady Shredder, a character introduced in the series' final issues as a third contestant vying for leadership of the Foot.^[19][20]

Karai on the cover of Volume Four #4 (art by Jim Lawson and Michael Dooney)

In the more recent, also abortive, Volume Four comics by Peter Laird and Jim Lawson (without Eastman's involvement), Karai has returned to settle in New York and is using a high-tech armor.^[21][22][23] She asks Leonardo to help capture alive one of the mysterious warriors that are giving much trouble for the Foot everywhere.^{[24][25][26][27][28]} When Leonardo sees right through her lie about certain mystic books, even as she is usually a good liar, he suspects that something is either greatly troubling her or something is controlling her.^[29] A few weeks later, Karai visits a local high-profile nightclub, meeting Casey Jones, still longing for his wife April O'Neil who has gone on a soul-searching pilgrimage.^[30] Karai brings Jones to her private condo, where he awakens naked and remembering nothing of the previous night. He later discovers a noticeably light-hearted Karai knows something of the night before, but is hesitant to tell him.^[31] (According to Peter Laird, who shared this issue of the comic online,^[32] "what's happening with Mike, and with Karai and Casey, will have significant consequences. And I can say no more than that."^[33] Laird also noted: "It's possible that at some point we may know more about Karai's origin and her daughter. I'm not sure exactly how old Karai is, but it might just be that her daughter was adopted. In general, I consider the time span between Volume 2 and Volume 4 to be about fifteen years."^[34])

Karai also appears in at least three stand-alone stories in the non-canon Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series, including the stories of her youth and possible future,^[35][36][37] as well as in the comic book adaptation of the 2007 animated film.^[38] According to Complex, "since her comic book debut, Karai has become an extremely popular character, serving as the sometimes villain, sometimes uneasy ally of our fearsome foursome."^[39]

IDW Publishing

A completely different and much younger Karai appears in IDW Publishing's ongoing, re-imagined Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot series by Kevin Eastman, Tom Waltz and Dan Duncan (later also Andy Kuhn and Mateus Santolouco). Duncan posted a character design sketch of her on his deviantART account, writing that he prefers to "refer to her as Shredder's girlfriend."^[40] IDW's Karai was introduced in the series' tenth main issue, published in May 2012. In 2014, Waltz said Karai is one of his favorites: "Such a cool character – tough, smart, mysterious… you just never know what she’ll do next."^[41]

The comic's Oroku Karai is a descendant of Oroku Saki (the Shredder) about 300 years^[42] after his supposed death in feudal Japan. Her backstory is told in Villain Mini-series #5: as a young girl, Karai found the Ashi no Himitsu, a book detailing the secret history of the Foot Clan, in the library of her father, Oroku Yori. From there, she began to learn about the history of her ancestors in the Foot Clan and used the detailed martial arts instructions to train in the clan's unique style of ninjutsu. One night, she had a vision where Oroku Saki appeared and guided her to rebuild the Foot Clan. Having killed her own father, Karai reverted the Foot from a business enterprise to a clan of ninja warriors, training and recruiting new soldiers. Karai assisted in Oroku Saki's resurrection and remained as Chunin (second-in-command) of the clan, until Saki convinced Leonardo to join him, displacing Karai. Karai, in her jealousy, begins to secretly recruit for the Foot, including the creation of Bebop and Rocksteady to earn Saki's trust. After the Turtles recover Leonardo, Shredder praises her for her actions and loyalty and reinstates her as Chunin.^[43] Later, Shredder sends her to steal more resources from Krang and uses that to create Koya and Bludgeon: a mutant hawk and hammerhead shark.

After Splinter kills Shredder in issue #50, Karai offers him her sword and the role of jonin (leader) of the Foot. He accepts and gives Karai permission to travel to Japan with select soldiers to study history in order to attain honor for the Foot.

Karai is the focal, titular character of the four-part issue "Karai's Path", where she attempts to thwart her own grandfather, the Shredder, from taking back the Foot clan from her. She will embark on a quest to recover an ancient object of great mystical power, but ends up starting an all-out war with the Ninja Turtles right in the middle of it.

On Television

2003 animated series

Karai (voiced by Karen Neil), inspired by the Mirage comics' version of her, is a major character in the 2003-2009 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series by 4Kids Entertainment and Mirage. The supervising producer Lloyd Goldfine envisioned the cartoon Karai as "sleek, no-nonsense, commanding, Japanese accent."^[45] The original comics' (and Karai's) original co-creator and the show's consultant Peter Laird agreed, but emphasised that she is also "a powerful and dynamic individual."^[46] Laird opposed having "all kinds of goofy, ludicrous weapons systems built into Karai's new Shredder armor"^[47] and to the proposal that the Heart of Tengu would give her an ability to teleport, as he thought it would be cheating.^[48] Regarding Karai being regarded by fans as "Leo[nardo]'s girlfriend" by the time of the show's third season, Laird noted that "contrary to what some TMNT fans might fantasize, Turtles don't mate/have love affairs with humans."^[49]

History

Karai as seen in the 2003 animated series' seasons 2-5

Abandoned by her parents at a young age in Tokyo, Japan, Karai was taken in and adopted by Ch'rell, the Utrom Shredder, (in the original comics, the Shredder's only daughter was a biological offspring named Pimiko and Karai had no relation to him whatsoever^[50]). Trained in ninjutsu and an aspiring practitioner of bushido, Karai first appears as one of the highest-ranking members of the Foot Clan, similar in status to the Shredder's adopted son Hun (who holds a grudge against her); eventually, she becomes the clan's leader. Throughout the series, she appears both as an ally and enemy to the Turtles, sharing a complicated love-hate relationship with Leonardo. Karai was the only Foot member who knew that the Shredder was really an Utrom.^[51] After Ch'rell's exile at the end of Season 3, Karai spent all of Season 4 and Season 5 trying to make the Turtles pay for this; especially Leonardo. When she appeared as a guest of April and Casey's wedding, her vendetta with the Ninja Turtles was confirmed to be finally over; though it is unknown exactly when.

Karai made her animated debut in Season 2, in the loose adaption of the three-part City at War saga. Karai arrives in NYC after hearing the news of the gang war taking place after the Shredder's reported demise, briefly capturing Leonardo ^{[Note 3]} and enlisting the aid of the Turtles to stop the war, with a promise an end to the Foot's feud against them in exchange for their assistance. Leonardo, believing that she is honorable despite her being Shredder's adopted daughter, convinces Donatello and Michelangelo to aid her (Raphael initially refuses). Together, Karai and the Turtles eventually retake control of the New York Foot and consequently its underworld. However, the end of the story reveals that Karai has been manipulating the Turtles and working with the not-dead Shredder all along.^[52][53][54]

Karai reappears as a fully healed Ch'rell retakes control of the Foot. Realizing that their agreement with the Foot had been retracted, the Turtles decide to face the Foot again. When forced to fight Leonardo, and despite his lack of resistance, Karai proved unwilling to kill him. Karai's internal conflict—loyalty to the Turtles vs. loyalty to her father—is the main thrust of her storyline in Season 3, as she is pulled from both directions to take a side during their various encounters, even working together with the Turtles at times.

An older Karai appears as a villainess in an alternate dystopian future episode "Same As It Never Was", in which she served the elderly Utrom Shredder following his successful conquest of the Earth. She duels Leonardo, begging him to leave or she would be forced that which her duty commanded her to. When the blind Ninja Turtle was distracted, she stabbed him and expressed Leonardo's forgiveness and regret in doing so. She herself is killed by the missiles fired by April. She says "Master, I am finished" and collapses, dead.

Karai manages to stay in the graces of both sides until the Turtles face the Shredder again in the two-part Season 3 finale, "Exodus" where she unintentionally stabbed Leonardo in the shoulder, although she later prevented the Utrom Shredder from killing the unconscious Turtle leader. In the end, the Shredder is taken prisoner and exiled while Karai and the young head of the Foot's scientific division, Dr. Chaplin, are also captured and taken back to Earth. She shouts to back Leonardo "This is not what I wanted!"

With her adopted father exiled and dead in the eyes of the world, an embittered and vengeful Karai takes over the Foot as well as the name and helmet of the Shredder (in a deleted scene she even says that "Karai no longer exists", completely replaced by the Shredder^[55]). This new Shredder "would retain the traditional iconic elements, but have a different treatment"^[56] Furious at what she saw as a betrayal by the Turtles, Karai spends the season plotting her revenge against them, first attacking them on the psychic plane via Foot Mystics, and later coordinating and leading an assault against them at their lair.^[57][58][59] She later once again duels Leonardo, who defeats her but then departs with the warning to leave his family alone, giving her one last chance for redemption.^[60] Karai next faces the Turtles during their attempt to retrieve a Foot amulet called the Heart of Tengu, but failing to stop them, regardless of her efforts which infuriates her.

Unbeknownst to the Turtles and Agent Bishop, who initially charged them with retrieving it, the Heart of Tengu was a mystical artifact that allowed the Foot to control its five Elemental Mystics, who are in reality the heralds for a man-demon that had centuries ago terrorized Japan as the Shredder. The destruction of the artifact unleash a chain of events that results in the resurrection of the demon, whose first target is Karai for "usurping" the Shredder's name. Despite her efforts and those of the Turtles (who believe her the key to stopping him), the True Shredder bests Karai in battle, seriously injuring her. It is soon learned that because she shares the Shredder's mantle, Karai has the latent psisonic ability to lower the Shredder's defenses through a shared mental link. This allows the Turtles an advantage in their final conflict with the demon, in which Karai helps pave the way for her namesake's destruction, while Dr. Chaplin helped to co-ordinate the battle. After the victory, Karai and Dr. Chaplin depart hand-in-hand, with her promising him to worry more about their immediate future.

Karai is not involved in any main plot lines in the Fast Forward sixth season, in which the Turtles and Splinter travel one hundred years into the future, which indicates that she had indeed grown old and died. However, she is seen during the events that would have occurred after the Turtles' return from the year 2105, as Karai has abandoned her grudge against the Turtles and is eager to become a student of the Ninja Tribunal, but Leonardo is obsessively distrustful of her, almost ruining Karai's burial ritual of the Shredder and accusing her of being a traitor, in effect leading to his own banishment from the Tribunal. As the events in this book were all fabrications written by Splinter and Cody to discourage the Turtles from knowing too much of their future, it is unlikely anything of the sort will ever occur.

In the seventh and final season, (which is titled Back to the Sewer) Karai makes her appearance in the episode "Something Wicked". Here, she is seen as cameos in a brief flashback with Ch'rell, the Utrom Shredder, both in her original and new appearance. In the series finale "Wedding Bells and Bytes" she makes several nonspeaking cameos at April and Casey's wedding as a guest, with Dr. Chaplin by her side. Although she has no speaking roles, she is seen underneath the collapsing farmhouse. After the cybernetic form of her adopted Utrom father was obliterated, she enjoyed the wedding and held hands with Dr. Chaplin.

Karai, in her newer and prettier look, returns in the 2009 special episode Turtles Forever, in which she frees her adopted Utrom father from the clutches of the 1987 series' Shredder, Krang, and Bebop & Rocksteady. She then aids the Shredder in modifying the Technodrome with Utrom technology.^[61] The Utrom Shredder, consumed with rage for revenge on the Turtles, wants to destroy every dimension where the Ninja Turtles exist even though it will most likely destroy himself, but Karai intervenes, rescuing the classic Turtles, the 1987 Shredder, Krang, and the 2003 Splinter. In the end, at the Turtles Prime dimension (Mirage Turtles), Karai fights alongside the Turtles, Splinter, as well as the 1987 series' Shredder and Krang, to stop the Utrom Shredder's insane plot.^[62] Even though Ch'rell is eventually destroyed, seemingly for good, Karai suggests that he may return again.

2012 animated series

Another iteration of the character appears in Nickelodeon's 2012 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series, where she is voiced by Kelly Hu.^[63] Nickelodeon published early character design sketches of their interpretation of Karai on the Internet.^[64] In the series, Karai is a 16-year-old teenager and rebellious member of The Foot and a master kunoichi with strong ties to the Shredder.^[65] According to the company's official description, "as lethal as she is beautiful, Karai brings a whole new level of chaos and complication for the Turtles."^[66] Executive producer Ciro Nieli said: "I really like what we’re doing with Karai the most. I mean, I know she’s been part of the universe before but I think the twists and turns we’re doing with her and just watching her evolve as a very key player in a series is really exciting. We’re not really interested in the old Karai canon so much."^[67] The Shredder's voice actor Kevin Michael Richardson said: "The daughter thing in my opinion to me that is Shredder's sense of humanity for Shredder. And it's the closest thing to a soft spot. But he doesn't treat her like your average daddy's little girl. He's pretty tough. But at the same time, Shredder with his attachment to her that is the only thing he really has that of course we've never really seen."^[68]

Karai's voice actress Kelly Hu has only learned later "about her and the different versions" from reading the TMNT wiki.^[70] She said that she "was pleasantly surprised at how edgy and cool she was -- and skinny!"^[71] and added: "I love the way she looks. I do not recall if I had a picture before I started. You know, it is really just my own voice though. I try pitching it up a bit to sound younger like more around 20."^[69] Hu also said that since she has never seen any other version of Karai, she has nothing to compare her to "which is kind of a good thing, because then I just get to play her as I see her myself. But she's sort of feisty, badass and kicks butt. She gets to have a little going on with Leonardo. What I like about playing this character is she's not all bad. She has a conscience that she has to wrestle with...But see, I don't know about the other Karais or storylines in other series, so I don't know how it matches up, if it's the same or different or what."^[71] Asked about what she thinks "makes Karai such a popular and unique character," Hu answered: "I think people love these little tough girls. She's got lots of attitude and she's sarcastic at times. You just never know what she's going to do. She's always surprising you – you think she's going to turn one way and she goes the other."^{[70] [Note 4]}

History

This 3D CG version of Karai was introduced in Episode 15, "New Girl in Town", which had aired on February 1, 2013. She used her cunning tactics to coerce Leonardo into shouldering less responsibility and live his own life. Wanting to see him at midnight, she showed him the mythical sword of Miyamoto Musashi and expressed a desire to have him steal with her. When he refused, she became "bored", saying how doing such dishonorable things were "fun". She then left him to fend off Snakeweed, but not before throwing her tanto knife near his head which allowed the Turtle leader to break free.

She had made her second appearance in "The Alien Agenda", where she first encountered the inter-dimensional aliens known as the Kraang. Curious about these extraterrestrials and their involvement with the Turtles, Karai had followed to retrieve an inactive Kraangdroid which she demonstrated to the Shredder and Baxter Stockman, thinking that the scientist could make use of such complex technology from space. Shredder then ordered her to learn more about the Kraang, as their highly advanced technology would prove quite useful in their centuries-old feud with Splinter and the Turtles.

In the Season 1 finale, "Showdown, Part 2" it is revealed that Karai is, in fact, Miwa, the only child and supposedly deceased infant daughter of Hamato Yoshi and his late wife Tang Shen, who was abducted by Shredder as an infant after the battle that resulted in Tang Shen's unfortunate demise fifteen years ago. The Shredder has since raised her as his own, renaming her "Karai" and telling her that Splinter was responsible for her mother's death. Turning to a shocked and shaken Splinter, she turned to strike him down in retaliation for "taking her mother's life." When he refused to battle her, she furiously voiced his cowardice.

Karai reappears in the second season's third episode, "Follow the Leader." She becomes very interested in the Turtles hunt for the dozens of mutagen canisters scattered across NYC and forms a plan to trap them. She is later seen looking at a torn photograph of her late mother when she is ambushed the new Footbots, a latest invention of the Kraang for Oroku Saki. Although overpowered by their impressive fighting techniques, Shredder emerges to inform her that he is leaving for Japan to take care of "urgent business." He warns her not to make any moves against the Turtles until his return to New York, that obedience comes with a stiff penalty.

In the two-part episode "The Manhattan Project", Leo tells Karai the truth that Splinter is her biological father, but she dismisses it as a lie. In "The Wrath of Tiger Claw", she begins to have doubts towards whether or not Shredder is telling the truth. She "lies" to Leonardo, saying that she believed she is Splinter's daughter and initially allows herself into the Turtles' lair in order to lead Tiger Claw there, but when she found out that she really was Splinter's child, she began to regret her actions and tried to make up for them by helping the Turtles fight Tiger Claw. She is overpowered and taken back to Shredder, who imprisoned her now that she knew the truth about her parentage and true clan.

Karai made a nonspeaking cameo in "The Legend of the Kuro Kabuto" when she was visited by Shredder who tried to explain that it would have been wrong for her to be raised by "scum like Splinter" and that he had done only what he had to do, what he knew was right. She turned away from her "father", refusing to even acknowledge his presence. Once he had left, she began hacking away at the bars of her prison cell, determined to escape.

In "Vengeance is Mine", Karai is rescued by the Turtles and brought back to the lair. However, after hearing the story of their rivalry and her mother's death from her biological father, she got so angry that she returned to Shredder's lair to put an end to him once and for all, only to be captured once more. Shredder's real plan was to use her as bait to mutate the Turtles into snakes- reasoning that, as the natural enemy of the rat, the mutated turtle-snakes would then eat Splinter, who would be unable to fight his sons- but he accidentally causes Karai to fall into the mutagen, turning her into a mutant snake that goes on a rampage before escaping as she regains control of herself when about to kill Splinter. Although Donatello hopes to create a retro-mutagen to cure Karai, it is revealed that she is a special kind of mutant and can almost completely change back to her human self, retaining only her greenish snake eyes, venomous fangs, and prehensile tongue.

In the second season's two-part finale, "The Invasion", Karai had two non-speaking cameos; where she appeared near an alley way to hide from the Kraang, and at the end when she had rescued her biological father from drowning to the death in the sewer. She checked his vital organs and warmly nudged him before taking off in the sewers. She also appeared in a flashback when Shredder was reminiscing her training as a young girl, to her unintentional mutation into a mindless purple-and-white snake.

In the third season's "Serpent Hunt" Karai is chased by Anton Zeck, Ivan Steranko, Rahzar, and Fishface to be given to Shredder. Donatello observes that her mind is becoming more snake-like as time goes on, as she can hardly even speak, but she still acknowledged her former enemies as friends and said goodbye to them before departing into the city. She is captured and given to Shredder, who has Baxter begin to work on a mind control serum to get Karai back on his side. In "The Deadly Venom", not only has Baxter successfully helped Karai control her mutation (allowing her to remain in human form but shape-shift her arms into snakes, as well as infect her enemies with various toxins, poisons and acidic venom), but he also brainwashes her into working for and obeying the Shredder once again, forcing her to call him "Father" against her will. She is forced to hunt down the Turtles, and their trusted human allies (April O'Neil and Casey Jones) to ultimately get to Splinter. After infecting April, Casey, Mikey and Raphael with her incurably lethal snake's venom, she faced Leonardo; one-on-one who managed to counteract her poison by utilizing his own healing manta. Although defeated, she managed to escape while Leonardo was distracted.

("Attack of the Mega Shredder") Many nights later, Karai is seen connected to a Kraang-like contraction that injects her brain with multiple brain-worms. She again staged a plan to capture the Turtles' and place in four separate traps. This would then force Splinter to fight her to the bitter end for his sons' lives. Fortunately, Splinter later used his "healing hand" mantra, which weakened the brain-worm inside her head, causing her to spit it out, therefore restoring her free will. Although the Turtles' searched long and hard, she had fled from the city of New York; presumably back to Japan.

Many months later, Karai is later used by Splinter and April as a motivation for the Shredder to aid in fending off the Triceraton invasion in Season Three's two-part finale "Annihilation: Earth!", but Shredder ultimately betrays and kills Splinter anyway in cold blood. Karai is then killed off-screen with the Earth's destruction, but she is saved when the Ninja Turtles create a brand-new timeline in "Earth's Last Stand".

Finally free of the vile brain-worm that had controlled her, a furious and embittered Karai focuses all her efforts on taking down Oroku Saki and his criminal empire with the help of her old friend Shinigami; a Shinto witch who possesses extraordinarily powerful dark magic. To give more thought to her new drive, new Foot soldiers are recruited for her own army which she herself commands. Unfortunately, she is later captured by the Shredder (who has now become an unusually strong bladed, muscular mutant himself) and used as a leverage to force Splinter into another duel to the death. Suspended in chains, Karai is forced to watch as her one true father is constantly pulverized by the Super Shredder's immense strength. She manages to use her mutant-snake abilities to break free of her restraints and joins up with April and the Turtles but are blocked by several Chrome Domes. Later, Karai runs off with April and the Turtles to the Undercity and is horrified to see her father, Splinter, barely holding his own against Super Shredder. Before she can rush to her father's aid, more Chrome Domes attack and she watches in horror as Splinter and Oroku Saki fall 1,000 feet; presumably to their deaths. Karai then joins with Leonardo and April, to attract Oroku Saki to the surface. Ambushed by Tiger Claw, she defends April and comes to assist Leonardo, who is begin torn apart by Super Shredder. She brutally attacks him with her tanto. She is almost crushed to death by a truck but is saved by April's strong telekinesis. She distracts Saki by "offering him the chance of redemption" without the need for vengeance, which was merely a ruse for a badly injured Leonardo to escape. She then took advantage of the Super Shredder's distraction to attack him directly by punching his pulsating mutated heart. She abandoned the chase to help April get Leonardo back for medical attention.

Some weeks later, Karai is shown to be working with the Mighty Mutanimals to plan her next move. She is shocked when they are interrupted by the sudden arrival of Super Shredder himself. She furiously attempts to attack him with her tanto sword but is blasted backward by his spiked mutated arm, is seriously hurt and knocked unconsciousness by the burning debris. She is saved by Leonardo (who desperately performed CPR to save her from more smoke inhalation) and is taken to the hospital by Shinigami. She eventually regains consciousness in a hospital bed, and is shown to be wearing a neck brace; attached to a life-support machine. The Turtles' sadly inform her of the death of her father at the spiked hands of Super Shredder. She weakly tells Leonardo to put an end to all of this, and that she will always believe in him. She is later shown next to Leonardo on the building of Stockman Industries with a broken arm. She Leonardo that there is nothing for him to apologize for, and thanks him for doing what no one else could: Finish off the Shredder. She looks on at the skies, where the spirit of Splinter watches over her and the others with pride.

In the fifth and final season ("The Forgotten Swordsman"), Karai and her good friend Shinigami were traveling in the dead of night in pursuit of Foot soldiers who had double-crossed her, as they accused her of not being worthy to rule the Foot clan. She was suddenly attacked by a mysterious, masked warrior. She was shocked her to discover that it was, in fact, her old teacher and mentor- Hattori Tatsu. After escaping (thanks to Shinigami's dark arts) she came to the Lair to warn the Turtles of Tatsu's desire to rule as the new Shredder, with the mutated, legendary Kuro Kabuto itself in his possession. She is angered and horrified when told that Tiger Claw and his Foot cult is seeking the Kabuto to return Oroku Saki to life. She resolved for them all to find Tatsu and take him down while recovering the Kuro Kabuto, as it is the key that gives its wearer full control over the entire Foot clan. With Leonardo to back her up, Karai appeared at the warehouse where the Kabuto laid and sneaked up behind Tatsu, ready to strike the swordsman down. However, her gambit proved foolish, as her old teacher sensed her presence and beat her again with little effort. In a fury, she knocked off his silver mask, revealing him to be blind. With Leonardo's aid, she was capable of putting him off guard and severely bite him with her snake fangs; thus infecting him with her lethal venom as well. She then turned to the Foot soldiers, stating that Tatsu had been merely using them and tarnishing the name of the Foot clan for his own glory, just as the Shredder had; that the Foot clan deserves a new destiny; one with honor and morality.

("End Times") Some nights later, Karai aided her April and the Turtles in recovering the fragments of Shredder's heart. She road with April on a motorcycle in pursuit of Bebop. When they were seen, she was saved from falling hard by April's incredibly strong telekinesis. Despite her best efforts, she was not able to stop the heart of her adopted "father" from falling into the hands of Tiger Claw and Kavaxas. She eventually shows up at the Lair riding on Leatherhead's back. She then went with Leonardo, Michelangelo and Leatherhead to stop Kavaxas and the revived, zombie-like Super Shredder. She watched as the two were dragged into the Netherworld via a mystic portal. As the sunset, she bed a final farewell to her father's spirit in the form a warm and loving hug. She wanted to appreciate the beautiful sunset with Leonardo and the others before going home.

In the two-part episode "When Worlds Collide", Karai seems to remain with the Turtles and her good friend April O"Neil in the Lair, where she frequently spars with Leonardo, whom she expressed her mutual romantic feelings for during their "playful" training sessions. She waited on the rooftops as the two Salamandrians arrived, and was obviously repulsed that Raphael had a thing for "a big newt." She agreed to work together with them to stop the Newtralizer from wiping out the Utroms. When the extraterrestrial bug Lord Dregg invaded, Karai was shocked at Leonardo's capture. She tried to hold off the hordes of Vreen, but was eventually taken to Dregg's spaceship as well. Once released, she fought alongside Leonardo, Donatello and April against Lord Dregg, but was easily beaten. Upon the destruction of the Newtralizer via electrocution, she expressed sadness when Michelangelo offered to use his temporarily acquired electric-generating abilities to buy her and the Turtles enough time to abandon ship; seemingly sacrificing his own life in the process. When Michelangelo reappeared unscathed, Karai assured him that today was a win and that they should celebrate. She expressed her exasperation when Raphael and Mona Lisa shared a loving hug.

Personality

2003 animated Show

Karai is serious, quick-witted and somewhat cold, as she was raised by the ruthless and merciless Utrom Shredder. However, regardless of her unfeeling and slightly negative attitude, she does have a sense of mortality and honor, and believes in taking less aggressive measures toward the Turtles and other certain threats. She expressed guilt in taking advantage of the Turtles' trust (especially Leonardo's) and controlling them for the benefit of her adopted father who was gradually recuperating. Her feelings of guilt and regret sometimes showed when she dueled Leonardo, which seems to imply that she does harbor somewhat more-than-friendly feelings for the Turtle leader.

Karai believes in staying in the heat of battle until seeing things through and does not fear death. She cares about the human race, as she was against the destruction of the millions of innocence that would have occurred had the floating city of Beijing came crashing down on Earth.

2012 animated Show

Karai is serious, willful and high-spirited and wants to do things her own way. She strongly believes in what she thinks is right and just. However, she also likes taking advantage of those that would benefit her or Shredder in the end. She even believes in stopping those who would make the centuries old feud between the Foot and Hamato clans seem pointless, like when she opted to fight the Kraang to stop their inevitable invasion of the world.

She also had the courage to defy her adoptive father's orders and act on her own, with no fear of the unfortunate consequences. Upon discovering the hard truth about her parentage and true heritage as a blood member of the Hamato Clan, she furiously disowned Oroku Saki as her father and attempted to escape his lair to return to her biological father. She then began to warm up more and grow closer to the Turtles; especially Leonardo. When she had learned the true tragic tale of her mother's untimely demise from Splinter, she wanted revenge on the Shredder so much that she fearlessly ran off to confront him. Unfortunately, for her, she was captured and used as bait to lure the Turtles and her father to Shredder's trap, which resulted in her falling into a vat of mutagen containing the DNA of a venomous purple-and-white snake.

Skills and Abilities

2003 animated Series

In this 2D hand-drawn animated show, Karai was trained during her adolescence in ninjitsu and high-level forms of hand-to-hand combat under the tutelage of her adopted father, "Oroku Saki." Her weapons include a katana, a tanto knife, several shuriken, and a long chain-like weapon. At one point, in her youth, she had demonstrated proficient use of the shortbow and arrow.

Having raised by the ruthless and vicious Utrom Shredder, Karai has natural leadership skills and was capable of taking full charge of the Foot clan after the exile of her adopted father and master once she donned his mantle to carry on his destructive and murderous legacy, which seemed to have further multiplied her natural fighting skills.

2012 animated Series

In this 3D computer-generated version, Karai is still highly trained in high leveled moves in ninjitsu and hand-to-hand combat ever since she was a girl. Her weapons are a tanto knife (which symbolizes her higher rank as a full-fledged kunoichi of the Foot clan) and several shuriken. Her natural fighting skills make her incredibly agile in battle, even equal to Leonardo's.

Unlike her 2D animated counterpart, Karai eventually gets mutated into a mindless purple-and-white snake by falling into a vat of mutagen containing snake DNA. However, due to a small addition of retro-mutagen included, she is able to transform back to her human form for short periods, retaining snake fangs, prehensile tongue and extended serpentine arms. Her face even had scaly parts and her eyes had remained a greenish color instead of their normal brown. Her snake form grants her several abilities attributed to her type of snake; such as further increasing her hearing, speed, agility, endurance, stealth and flexibility to superhuman levels, even giving her greater eyesight and night vision.

In addition, Karai can inject her victims with extremely strong and poisons and highly toxic venom that is quite fatal. They have no antidote but can be counteracted with "the healing hands" mantras. When she recaptured, Stockman Fly had used his scientific intellect to give her complete control over snake form, allowing her to appear fully human without any noticeable snake traits, and go full snake at will. When used in conjunction with her extensive ninjitsu skills makes her quite a formidable opponent.

Some time later, she learned how to use her mutant-snake abilities to heal severe injuries she has sustained (such as burns) by simply shedding her damaged skin and replacing it with brand-new skin.

Movies

TMNT

Unmasked Karai in the film TMNT

In the 2007 animated film TMNT, Karai is a new character^[72][73] inspired by the original Karai from the 1990s comics,^[74] designed by Jose Lopez^[75] and voiced by Zhang Ziyi. Shown wearing a red Noh^[76] mask and a full-body black armor with a hood on her head and a cape, Karai is the Japanese Foot Clan boss and has come to take over the New York Foot after the Shredder's death.^[77] Karai was one of favorite comics characters of the writer and director Kevin Munroe and he "was the one who really pushed for Karai" to appear in the film.^[78] This version of Karai may or may be not related to the Shredder.^{[79] [Note 5]} While making TMNT, Munroe wrote: "again, we’ll only see her sans-mask for one shot at the end. Up until that point, we’ll make her body a bit less curvy and less feminine to not raise unnecessary questions."^[81] Talking about a possible sequel to the film, as well as about comics, Munroe said he would "love to see us explore the Karai and Foot Ninja thing a little more."^[74][82]

Karai is the new leader of the Foot, hired by the mysterious billionaire Max Winters to help him and his Stone Generals hunt down the thirteen ancient immortal monsters.^[83] She fights with Leonardo (whom she clearly recognizes) and rejects his offer to help them, also engaging in battle with April O'Neil while the Foot battles the Turtles and their allies. During the tide of the battle, both the Foot Clan and the Turtles realized that Winters, revealing himself to be an immortal warlord named Yaotl, only wanted the monsters to be returned to their world to undo the immortality curse he and his Stone Generals had endured. Unfortunately, the Stone Generals have betrayed Winters by deliberately missing the final monster and intend to use the portal to finalize their conquest of Earth. When the Stone Generals offer the Foot a chance to join them in world conquest, Karai refuses, saying that they would honor their contract to Winters. Aided by April and Casey, she then leads her ninja in retrieving the last of the monsters. In the end, Karai parts ways with the Turtles peacefully, but gives a cryptic last word that Turtles "have passed" something (she refuses to elaborate) and "soon we will have further business together; the kind that involves familiar faces from your past", implying on the Shredder's inevitable return to life.

Live-Action Films

Brittany Ishibashi as Karai in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows

Minae Noji portrayed Karai in the 2014 film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.^[85] Noji, who said she "knew the character backwards and forwards"^[86] and described it as her "dream come true," also said she enjoyed the role because she has "always been magnetized to women who are strong women warriors — not necessarily physically, but as a spirit, as a soul, with inner strength."^[87][88] Noji said the casting was "unique in that, because the project was so confidential, none of the actors were given the name of character or the sides ahead of time. However, since I'm a fan of the franchise, I was able to piece things together and quickly knew it was for the role of Karai. I was elated."^[89]

Karai plays only a minor role in the film, ^{[Note 6]} which came as a disappointment for some reviewers and commentators. ^{[Note 7]} There was a filmed but unused scene of a fight between April O'Neil, Vernon Fenwick, Karai, and The Foot in downtown Manhattan that was cut from the finished film. Will Arnett, who played Vernon, said that in this scene his character "comes out just at the right moment [and] hits Karai with the gurney and knocks her off balance a little bit. Then April kind of finishes her off."^[95][96]

Karai reappears in the 2016 follow-up film, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, with Brittany Ishibashi replacing Minae Noji in the role.^[98] Ishibashi, a self-proclaimed "fangirl" of Karai,^[99] auditioned for the role code-named "Female Soldier", correctly predicting it would be Karai.^[100] Ishibashi said, "My version of Karai is a soldier first. She is Shredder’s right hand and will do whatever it takes to get the job done. She's fiercely loyal, smart, and a warrior when it comes to honoring the task at hand. Her Foot Clan is her family and she has the utmost respect for Master Shredder —although she does question his decision to recruit Bebop and Rocksteady!" Preparing for the role, she trained with the stunt team 87Eleven, in addition to her black belt in taekwondo, and also had two stunt doubles, Natalie Padilla and Ming Qiu.^[101]

In the first film Karai is depicted as Shredder's assistant who leads many of the Foot Clan's field missions. Karai is seen many times accompanying Eric Sacks and Shredder. Karai is last seen in a car chase with the Turtles where Raphael causes her jeep to crash into a tree. In the sequel she is still Shredder's right hand woman, acting as both a bodyguard and assistant. She also works closely with Baxter Stockman. Karai is last seen in a fight with April, which ends with April knocking Karai out.

In video games

Action Video Games

• Karai, voiced by Karen Neil (her 2003 cartoon voice actress), is a boss character and an unlockable player character in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: Battle Nexus (2004),^[102] in an encounter loosely based on the 2003 cartoon's episode "Rogue in the House Part 2". Her appearance is that from the cartoon series and she is armed with dual swords and also has a special move of unleashing multiple kunais in every direction. According to Prima Games, Karai is one of the toughest opponents in the game's Foot Fight tournament mode.^[103]

In the game's story mode, the Turtles meet Karai after she very uneasily decided to obey the Shredder's order to put them to death. After defeating Karai in combat, Leonardo pleads for her to choose honor over the loyalty to the Shredder, even going as far as allowing her to strike him down if she chooses so, but she finds unable to do so and asks him to kill her instead. Leonardo refuses in turn and leaves, telling her that he believes they will one day understand each other.

• In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3: Mutant Nightmare (2005), Karai, still voiced by Karen Neil, is the penultimate boss of the game. In addition, the Karai-inspired Amazonian Blade Bots (aka Karai-Bots) robots from the 2003 cartoon ^{[Note 8]} serve as a triple boss in one stage.
• Karai has only a cameo appearance in TMNT (2007), where only her voice (by Jennifer Morehouse) can be heard.
• In the other TMNT game for the Game Boy Advance, Karai serves as the second boss. She appears masked and displays more abilities in this fight than she does in the film (including duplication and teleportation).
• Karai is also a boss in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Arcade Attack (2009), her appearance reflecting her Back to the Sewer / Turtles Forever design.
• In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (2013), Karai, voiced by Renee Faia, appears as a recurring boss, teleporting around and throwing bombs. Her design in this game is based on her 2012 cartoon version.
• She makes a small appearance in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2013), voiced by Kelly Hu, but is not fought against at any point in the game.
• Karai appears as a boss in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Danger of the Ooze (2014), voiced by Kelly Hu and based directly on the second season of the 2012 cartoon.
• Karai is one of the villains in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan (2016). Her appearance is based on the IDW comic books. She has no interaction with Leonardo.

Fighting games

• Karai is the final boss in the 1993 Sega Genesis^[104] and Super Nintendo Entertainment System^[105] versions of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters, where she is fighting without the use of any weapon. Karai was notorious as an extremely^[106] difficult boss to defeat (especially on Genesis) and is a secret player character in the SNES version (in the Genesis version she is only unlockable with the use of a cheat device) where she can be unlocked by the use of a cheat code.^[107] Her appearance in the Super NES version is roughly based on this from the Mirage comics but her in-game design is androgynous and confusingly masculine, leading some players at that time to assume it was a new male character.^{[108] [Note 9]} The Genesis game's Karai looks much more feminine than in the Super NES game (one magazine compared her to Chun-Li^[112]), she is brown-haired and clad in skimpy samurai-style armor.^[113] Both versions wear a red bandana.

In the story mode of the SNES version, "Master Karai" (who is not known to the Turtles^[105][114]) arrives in New York with "the forces of the Shredder Elite" in order to avenge the Shredder, and kidnaps Splinter and April to lure the Turtles into fighting her minions (apparently including the Shredder); before her boss fight, Splinter says Karai "possesses super human powers." In the Tournament mode, "a very strong fighter by the name of 'Karai'" is announced by April to be "still alive" and challenges the winner of the titular fighting tournament to fight her (the final fight takes place on a moving train).

In the Genesis version, Karai has a different backstory, in which she in league with Krang has sent the Turtles' clones to kidnap Master Splinter into Dimension X.^[115] She suddenly reveals herself to be the true mastermind behind this at the end of the game, following the player's defeat of Krang (in addition, the regular ending has Karai saying that it was only her clone that has been destroyed, as she can be truly killed only in the alternative ending after finishing the game at the hardest difficulty setting).

• Karai (once again voiced by Karen Neil) is one of the selectable characters in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Smash-Up (2009).^[116] Her appearance is that of the 2007 film and she is described as being the Shredder's daughter. Karai's alternative costume resembles the Amazonian Blade Bots. An illustration created for the play's "Girls of Gaming 8" shows her with a longer hair and wearing the Shredder's armor.^[117] Karai is wielding a single sword and, while not the most powerful, she is the fastest and most agile character in the game.^[118] According to Prima Games' official guide, Karai (rated 10/10) is the best overall character in the game, thanks to her fastest speed and one of the top jumping abilities, as well as unique combo opportunities, but she is less adventagous against other agile characters.^[119]

In the game's story mode, featuring a motion comic with an original plot co-written by Peter Laird, Karai looks more like in Mirage comics and is the Shredder's daughter who appears to ally with the Turtles. But after they defeat the Shredder, Karai reveals that she used the Turtles to get rid of him so she could usurp the Foot Clan as a next in line. Unexpectedly, the Shredder rises up, but Leonardo kicks him into Karai, landing them into the alien Transmat device that then teleports them away and "that problem is solved."

Toys

• Playmates released an action figure of Karai from the 2003 cartoon in her Shredder armor (with a removable helmet) in 2005, packed with bonus DVD.^[120]
• Playmates also released a larger action figure based on as she has appeared in the film TMNT (featuring a changeable head, with or without the face mask and hood) in 2007.^[121]
• In 2014, the TMNT Lego set included two versions of Karai: from the ongoing TV show,^[122] and from the new movie.^[123]
• Karai from the Mirage comic series was included in the first wave of TMNT Blind Box miniature Funko Mystery Minis action figures.^[124]
• A "Karai Snake" action figure from the 2012 cartoon was released by Playmates in 2015.^[125]
• A "Human Karai" action figure from the 2012 cartoon was released by Playmates in 2016.^[126]

See also

• List of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles characters

Notes

References

External links

• Karai (comic book character) – Comic Vine
• Karai on IMDb