It’s hard to overemphasize just how enormous Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was in the early 90s. I wasn’t even allowed to watch the show as a kid, and I still knew pretty much everything about it. This meant lots and lots and lots of toys, but eventually, the gravy train ran out of gas. There are only but so many times you can put the Turtles in sports gear or dress them up like they’re in the military before kids move on to other things like Power Rangers. This means that some of the action figures are extremely hard to find now, but none of them are more valuable than that classic TMNT villain…Scratch?

Who the fuck is Scratch?

As far as I’m aware, Scratch has never appeared in a Ninja Turtles cartoon or movie. The reason he’s so rare is because he came out near the very end of the original toy line just as the franchise was finally coming to a halt, but he also…doesn’t really look like a TMNT character. In fact, he looks more like someone’s Lackadaisy OC that could easily be mistaken for fetish art. In other words, this guy looks like…well, I’m not sure if it’s politically correct to say this these days, but Scratch looks like a furry.

Scratch is, as you can probably tell from his wardrobe, a convict. According to his official bio, he has been sentenced to nine life terms in prison, and has….God damn it, I just now got that joke. Anyway, Scratch is very skilled at escaping from the hoosegow with help from his partner in crime “Jail Bird” (who came with the figure as one of his yellow accessories). I guess he hates the Ninja Turtles, and maybe the Ninja Turtles try to recapture him, and they probably banter and exchange cat and turtle puns with one another. Also, I don’t think Scratch gains anything from wearing a mask. You’re a giant mutant cat, Scratch. Wearing a disguise is pointless! Oh wait, I suppose the same applies to the Turtles…

Even if you own Scratch out of his packaging, you can still make upwards of a thousand dollars off of him. And if you have him in mint condition, he can sell for as much as $8,000, or at least he can if you’re feeling optimistic on eBay. Or you could just keep him, which is probably what I would do, because I’ve watched Toy Story 2, so I know toys have feelings.

Have a great day, y’all!