Shredder (real name, Oroku Saki) is a fictional character and primary antagonist from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise. At one point or another in every incarnation of the TMNT stories, he has been the archenemy of Splinter and the Turtles. He is also known as the leader of the Foot Clan.

Shredder's physical appearance remains fairly consistent in all incarnations of the character. Saki is a muscular Japanese man, most frequently seen in the Shredder persona, wearing a suit of armor vaguely based on that of a samurai, with a cape. The armor consists of blade-covered metal plaques on his shoulders, forearms, hands (sometimes just his left hand, as he is left-handed), and shins; he wears a purple, gray, blue, or red robe that variously appears to be simple fabric or a form of chain mail. Sometimes he wears a metal silver (Utrom Shredder), black (Cyber Shredder), or blue (2007 action figure) suit of armor.

He also wears a metal helmet with a trident-shaped ornament on top, and a metal mask that covers his face, leaving only his eyes visible. He sometimes wears a purple or silver cape. Kevin Eastman got the idea for Shredder's armor from large trapezoidal cheese graters which he envisioned on a villainous character's (originally named "The Grater" or "Grate Man") arms. He then said, "Could you imagine a character with weapons on his arms like this?"

DEPICTION:

In his early appearances, Shredder was presented as extremely cunning and was described by Splinter himself as the most dangerous adversary he ever faced. Shredder's intelligence persevered throughout his various portrayals, and in several instances it is claimed that Shredder has an IQ of 300. As the 1987 cartoon series was more light-hearted than the comics, Shredder was later depicted as an evil but incompetent villain rather than the dire and lethal ninja he was originally shown to be.

He and Krang are constantly arguing about tactics and take pleasure in the other's failings (and often intentionally sabotage each other). His two henchmen Bebop and Rocksteady are incompetent and fail miserably at everything they do; they are mostly used for comic relief in the show; however, the Turtles certainly consider them to be formidable (despite their stupidity) in combat due to their great strength and endurance, and as such, often use their intelligence to outwit them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shredder_(Teenage_Mutant_Ninja_Turtles)