10 Badass Characters Inspired By Ridiculous Things

6. The Shredder Was Inspired By A Kitchen Utensil

Shredder Cheese Grater
IDW

If you were born in the 1990s then you probably remember the Shredder. He was the iconic villain of the Teen-aged Mutant Ninja Turtles. But, what made the Shredder stand out from other bad guys of the time was his costume.

Not only did he wear purple- possibly the coolest color- but he was also festooned in blades. He had blades on his shoulder pads, blades on his wrist gauntlets, blades on his shin guards, and what’s that on his helmet? Oh, more blades.

It makes a person wonder- what could have inspired such a deadly costume? Lucky for us one of the character’s creators, Kevin Eastman, has answered that question. The original idea came while he was washing dishes. Eastman decided that a large cheese grater would be a hell of a weapon in the wrong hands. He even wanted to call the character- the Grater.

Luckily, his writing partner, Peter Laird suggested the Shredder instead.

Contributor
Contributor

John is a teacher and writer living in Texas. He spends far too much time watching Star Trek. Check out more if his work at artofnarrative.com