People only care about Scratch because he was a rarity in the 80s line. His only appearance in other media was being a boss in Radical Rescue for the Gameboy. The idea of an Evil TMNT mutant cat might have "started with Hallocat in ARCHIE" but it wasn't until IDW made Old Hob an interesting character, that people began to show some interest in Scratch aside the rarity of the vintage figure.
But the problem with Old Hob is that he's so different from Scratch, that it's like they're two different characters. So, basically, we're back to square one. Scratch is a nobody. I mean his cardback has nothing about him other than he's a sneaky criminal and that he sometimes works for Shredder. Now. I'M TRYING to make Scratch work in the Neftyverse but I can't find a way. I mean, he's a cat burglar cat who has been arrested and is serving time in jail. It's the convict aspect what's causing me issues. First, how do jails work? Do they mix humans and Mutants in prison, or are there separate prisons for Mutants due to their animalistic strength and other abilities? Are the prison guards human, mutant, or both?
The reason I ask these questions is because I could see Scratch operating as a sort of Wilson Fisk type character, but he operates from within prison. Unlike Fisk, who's the Kingpin, Scratch still has a life debt to one Oroku Saki. So, Scratch does Shredder's dirty jobs from within Rikers Island. Scratch's first encounter with the Turtles would involve Casey Jones being incarcerated for a crime he didn't commit. In Jail, Casey meets Scratch after stopping a shank attack issued by another gang. (A chapter of the Comittee to Rebuild American Patriotism, who had become an anti-mutant hate group after an encounter with the Turtles.) Casey befriends Scratch not knowing the cat's alliance to Shredder. With Casey acting as a sort of bodyguard to Scratch, protecting him from CRAP, Scratch and Jailbird plot to take full control of Rikers. The Turtles find out about a plot to kill Casey Jones and bust into Rikers to save their friend. Casey is lured into an ambush, where he's forced to face Groundchuck and Dirtbag alone. The Turtles intervene and Scratch is outed as the Mastermind, thanks to la rata alada... (I wanted to make a The Batman reference), JAILBIRD. A riot ensues and Scratch has to flee Rikers to avoid the Turtles.
This causes Scratch to rely on petty burglary to support himself and to stay one jump ahead of Casey and the Turtles. (Yes, that was an Aladdin reference). He hopes to rack enough charges for multiple life sentences and be sent back to prison, where he'll become the apex predator inside, but he won't go down easily.
I tried to make sense of the Prison Outfit for Scratch. I tied him not only to the Turtles, but to Casey as well. Yes, I also visualized a Prisoner Jones variant. The only new body pieces would've been the Torso and accessories. The torso would be a sculpted wifebeater. Yes, he'd keep his masked head. His second head would be the same masked head but with Prison stripes spray painted on.
For accessories I pictured:
-Prison tray to smack inmates and use as a throwing weapon.
-Soap flail. Yes, it's a soap on a rope that Case can use to slap some sense into evil-doers.
-Prison Pizza square. This clandestine meal is full of Creativity and Sadness all rolled into one. Even Mikey feels sad for this desperate attempt at pizza.
-wet floor sign. Another unconventional makeshift prison weapon for Casey.
-Handcuffs. (These would be removable when changing hands) to have a prisoner gimmick but without copying Scratch's ball and chain gimmick. Canonical excuse, electromagnetic floors like in face/off that can hold Mutant inmates due to the heavy iron ball or in Groundchuck's case his metallic leg and face.
I'm purposely avoiding shivs for him, despite the notion that this is "a hypothetical variant for an adult collectible based on an 80s toyline" for story reasons. Like keeping him on a "moral high ground" since teaming up with the turtles.
But going back to Scratch:
Most of the random Mutants have to have some sort of relation to Shredder. I chose to have Scratch be honorbound to Shredder. While both are evil and have common interests, Scratch loathes being bound by an impossible to pay debt. By becoming the big man... uh cat in prison, he hopes to amass an army that can take over Shredder and then, Scratch replace Shredder as the true Apex Predator... by out-toughing the toughest and outsmarting the smartest. (Scrooge McDuck reference unintended) a Housecat dreaming of being a Lion...
For some reason I picture Maurice LaMarche voicing Scratch... something closer to his Mr. Wilson from Dennis the Menace voice but slightly hissier, while Jailbird sounds like Cam Clarke trying to make a bad Jersey Accent.
No comments:
Post a Comment