Master Splinter, or simply Splinter, is a fictional character from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics and all related media. Splinter has three origin stories, and which one is used depends on the medium. In the original version of the tale, he was Hamato Yoshi's pet, in others he is Hamato Yoshi himself, but always having been mutated into the form of a man-sized rat. In the 2014 film he is a mutated rat who learned Ninjutsu from a book he found in the sewer. In both the original comics and the live-action movies, Splinter was the pet rat of a ninja named Hamato Yoshi in Japan. Intelligent for his species, Splinter was able to learn his master's art by mimicking his movements while he practiced. Yoshi became embroiled in a dispute with a fellow ninja by the name of Oroku Nagi, and was eventually murdered by Nagi's brother Oroku Saki. Additionally in the 1990 film, Splinter escapes from his cage during the murder, and attacked Saki, clawing at his face, while Saki sliced his ear o...