#shredder raph

I think first (personally) it would take a LOT to push Raph over the edge. I trust Raph with my life so he would have to go through something really traumatic, have little to no support for it, and then grow callous and cold toward everyone around him before I'd be able to believe he'd turn. (Again, this is for me personally)

The first thing that came to my mind is (you probably could guess) the death of either Mikey or Donnie. Both of them are innocent babies that Raph fiercely protects, and their death would send him spiraling downward into a deep depression, especially if he was there and couldn't do anything about it. Plus, it would leave him with less support for said trauma and depression.

In my head it's sort of a Raph-centric Same As It Never Was AU. (Also, I'm gonna go with Mikey's death for this since it 1) adds more differences, and 2) i feel like Raph and Mikey were really close and it would affect him differently than if it was Donnie).

Anyway, then he would go through the stages of grief, without his little clowning brother to lighten the mood or crack a joke to make him smile. There would also be a lot of remorse since their brotherhood centered on roasting one another and poking fun at each other. I do think Raph could get by without going to the dark side with Splinter, Leo, Donnie, Casey, and April supporting him, but if he couldn't and he did go to the dark side...

He'd start by pushing them away. Working out more. Ignoring the sickening ache in his stomach. Maybe he'd go out as an alter ego vigilante like his little brother loved doing (and like the Nightwatcher from the '07 movie). He'd ignore any pleas for him to get help and get defensive if they asked if he wanted to talk. He'd grow cold.

The tragedy with Mikey would probably have been at the hands of the Shredder, so Raph would definitely be judge, jury, and executioner for any and all poor Foot soldiers within his sight. He'd target them specifically, rage building up in his bones for the day he meets Shredder face to face.

And then it would happen. Raph feels unprepared, Shredder's laughing his evil laugh, they fight and Raph knows he can't beat him.

...honorably.

So he doesn't. He uses dirty tricks and unfair circumstances. Shredder's been defeated somehow, and Raph picks up the helmet that fell off Shredder's head, staring at his own reflection.

He puts it on.

It doesn't fit.

So he takes it home as a trophy to show his family. And they're... not nearly as supportive of him murdering Shredder as he thought they'd be. Aren't they just as angry? Didn't they care about Mikey? Why can't they accept the victory and join him in celebration?

So he locks it away. They don't like it, fine. He won't let them see it.

The Foot and Purple Dragons, without a leader, would of course fight amongst themselves and make things worse for the city in general. (Similar to what happened in the show).

Raph's opinion of the matter isn't "should I have killed him or should I have let him live?" Instead, it's "they're a gang without a leader. They need a leader." And then it becomes "wouldn't it be helpful if we had an army of our own?"

So he pulls out the Shredder helmet. He puts it on.

It fits this time.

He goes to the centers of the action, helmet and armor on. The Foot, the Dragons, everyone looks like they've seen a ghost.

Good.

He takes over, still not nearly as cruel as the Utrom Shredder or Demon Shredder. He starts by telling them to only hunt down and hurt the really bad people.

Then it becomes "kill them."

Then again, who's to define which is worse between crimes? Criminals deserve justice. Raph has the power to deal out justice.

So he does. He thinks it's justice. One step out of line, bam! You're kaput.

His family is worried, terrified for Raph. Leo tried talking to him. But Leo was the one who questioned killing the original Shredder in the first place. Raph won't hear him. Maybe they fight, maybe Raph simply tells him to get out.

Their worry increases.

It's been years since Mikey's funeral. Raph is a completely different person now. April and Casey are caught committing a crime of some kind, Raph waves a hand and says "they chose to do it." With a swipe of a sword, they're gone too. Raph feels something inside him, something he hasn't felt in a long time.

He buries it under more anger. More hate. More justice.

One by one, his armies pick off more and more people. Some days it's better, some days it's worse.

Donnie manages to sneak into his throne room.

"Is this what Mikey would've wanted?"

The words soak into his skin like an antibiotic. Healing hurts too much.

So he won't.

He fights Donatello, doing the unthinkable.

I haven't read the comics but I've seen spoilers for 'em and they do look really good! I'm certain if any TMNT content could pull it off, the Mirage comics could.

Tbh I'm not seeing how Raph could become the Shredder in 2003, simply because they balanced him and showed his character development so well and we saw him keep his cool with Emo Leo in season 4. Raph was angry, yes, but he knew when to back down, and his anger was justified. However, if things turned out differently, maybe he could. It'd be an interesting story.

As far as 2012 Raph... I definitely see the similarities between Raph/Saki and Leo/Yoshi. The resentment, the jealousy... it could totally take a turn for the worse. Especially since Raph was really problematic in 2012 (letting his anger control him, abusing Mikey, etc.)