10 Mind-Blowing Facts You Didn't Know About The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
8. The Shredder Was Inspired By A Cheese Grater
The main appeal of The Shredder as a character, like the turtles themselves, is his versatility. He can either be goofy, serious or somewhere in between, but it always feels like the same character. However, all characters must come from somewhere.
While some antagonists get awesome origins, such as the Terminator coming from a horrific nightmare that James Cameron had one night, of a robotic human stepping through fire and approaching him, the Shredder has a less dignified backstory.
To set the scene, creators Eastman and Laird had the idea for the comic they wanted to produce nailed down, but they needed a central antagonist to tie it all together. They were spitballing names while doing dishes, when Eastman spied a cheese grater, and stuck his arm through it, holding the handle from the inside and calling himself the Shredder as a joke.
The name just kinda stuck, partly because they knew they wanted to make a parody so it made sense to have a goofy name for the villain, and also likely because they didn't have any other ideas. Considering the size and power of Shredder's blades in certain TMNT media, it makes one wonder what sort of cheese grater Kevin Eastman has in his house.