Alright, finished my bio of Slash! Now I just need a good image for him!… I’ll type “ninja turtles slash” into Google Image Search to see what pops uOOOOOHHHHHHHH MMMYYYYYYY GOOOOOOOOODDDDDDDDDDDD!!!!

SLASH:
-Well short of Metalhead, you weren’t getting a more obvious character than this- Slash: The EVIL Mutant Turtle! And of course, following the rule of “Evil Counterparts”, he needed to have the same outfit as the heroes, but black. And of course, it works EVERY SINGLE TIME.
-However, Slash was made a bit odd in the cartoon, lacking the menace of the “Black-Costumed Mirror Image Villains” of most established super-heroes- he didn’t look like his toy, nor the video game versions (was he deemed too threatening or something?). Here, he was Bebop’s pet turtle, which had lived in a small terrarium with a palm tree. He was mutated, and became a palm-tree obsessed Evil Turtle. The Archie Comics version resembled the toy, but had the cartoon version’s quirks- however, he was an alien from a world of palm trees, and was obsessed after losing them all. This version ended up sympathetic and heroic, despite a murderous streak a mile wide- he sacrificed himself to save Earth from the Malignoid invasion.

Slash returned in the Nick Toon as Raphael’s pet turtle, rather than Bebop’s, and became an obsessive, dangerous vigilante. In the IDW Comics, he was an experiment by StockGen- he was initially a savage, uncontrollable beast- he attacked the Turltes and was thought dead. He was rescued and nursed back to health by a kindily mutant cat-man named Old Hob, and this changed him into a force for good- the simple-minded Slash ended up helping the Turtles (especially when Mikey offered him a chocolate bar). He joined the Mighty Mutanimals in this continuity, but was mind-controlled by Agent Bishop and implanted with a nuclear bomb. He eventually sacrificed himself in this continuity as well, blowing up a safe distance from innocents.

SLASH (1980s Cartoon):
-Slash was a GREAT idea in the TMNT-verse, but sadly was done as kind of a dopey, dumb villain with an odd obsession (Palm trees? Really?). In the cartoon, he was the adorably-cute pet turtle of Bebop, and then they mutated him into a big ‘ol evil Turtle, obsessed with his palm tree. When it was lost down a vent, he went on a rampage in the Technodrome, and they exiled him to New York, where he beat up all four Turtles at once and had to be sent away on a rocket ship into outer space (where he found a palm tree in some garbage, and was thus content). Alas, only the toys & Archie Comics version wore black- the cartoon version had a weird metallic-looking set of guards, and a buffoonish expression with a dopey overbite. Slash was bad-ass, had weapons all over the place (fist-spikes, sharp kneepads, jagged blades everywhere), and kicked some shell, but he didn’t really recur that often.

-In his second appearance, he was found by some aliens, who hooked him up to a device that increased his intelligence exponentially (with a mandatory British accent). He attempted to turn everyone on Earth into Turtles, so he could be the supreme turtle- he started with Vernon & Burne, but Donatello tricked him into reversing it and the boys knocked him off a rooftop… which made him dumb again. The Turtles sent him back into space, and his only other appearance was in Night of the Rogues along with a score of other villains.

-In the Archie Comics, Slash was an alien obsessed with the lost palm trees of his homeworld, he encountered Krang, who immediately allied with him. However, he soon split off and was arrested during a rampage in New York. The Mighty Mutanimals, mistaking him for one of the TMNT, broke him out of jail and he attacked them, but they soon made peace when the revealed he could stay on their homebase, which was on an island full of his beloved palm trees. After this point, he became an ally. Later, when their book was cancelled and they were all murdered, Slash joined the TMNT on a rampage of revenge- he killed the Gang of Four who were responsible and then went to attack Null and the Malignoids, who had ordered the killings. Slash ultimately sacrificed his life killing the Malignoids, flying their mothership into the sun.

-Slash is a fearsome enemy, packing Tokka & Rahzar-level power, and he’s a serious ass-kicker, though his mental stats hold back his points cost by quite a ways. He’s strong enough in the Archie Comics to injure people resistant to the Turtles’ attacks, like Scul & Bean. He’s certainly no Skillmonkey, but he’s dangerous. In the cartoon, he’s strong enough (between him and the Rat King) to throw a PIZZA PARLOR at someone!

SLASH (Spike)- Nick Toon

-Slash was reintroduced in the 2012 Nick Toon, but under different circumstances- he was a beloved pet turtle of Raphael’s now, and a sounding board for Raph’s innermost thoughts. When he was accidentally mutated, he became violently possessive of Raphael. The two made plans to be a vigilante fighting team, but Slash was jealous of Raph’s brothers and plotted to kill all of them. He savagely beat Mike & Donnie, but Raphael used a lesson from Splinter to touch a pressure point on Slash’s arm to defeat him nonviolently. Slash, however, fell off a rooftop and disappeared. He would return a little more sane (the mutation had affected his mind too much at first), but carried a grudge, feeling betrayed by Raphael.

-He reappeared teaming with the Newtralizer, still rebuffing Raphael, but when Raph saved him when the Newtralizer started using Kraang gear to attack everybody, Slash realized who his true friends were. Slash decided to be a solo operative after that, but was more friendly to the others. He later forms the Mighty Mutanimals with a handful of other side characters (Pigeon Pete, Dr. Tyler Rockwell, and Leatherhead), helping the Turtles beat the Kraang invasion of Earth. However, he is quickly ignored in the narrative after the Shredder takes out all the Turtles & Mutanimals at once- Earth is destroyed and the Turtles have to go back in time to save it, and Slash is now a minor backgrounder.

-All in all, it seems like they had a big one-off episode for Slash, then kind of bounced around with him as a “Side Hero” kind of thing- a “Lancer” to the main heroes, forming his own group of side guys. The early insanity brought on by the Mutagen was kind of a weird twist.

-This version of Slash was absolutely MASSIVE, and very strong, but not much stronger than other versions of Slash (who was always oddly powerful compared to other Turtles). He is also very fast and can dodge attacks handily, putting him just a notch higher than any of the four Turtles in this continuity.