Hamato Jade
'The Caregiver'
Nickname(s): J, Kitty, Pink/Pinky, Sis (by the Turtles), and the Healer
Species/Race: Mutant Cat (formerly human)
Birthday: January 28, 1996
Age: 16 years
Gender: Female
Code Color(s): Pink
Voice Actor: Michelle Ruff
Physical Appearance
Jade is a humanoid mutant cat of about average height (as tall as Raph, not counting her ears), with a petite yet athletic and feminine physique. She has caramel-brown fur; her tail, which is long and fluffy, is white with a black tip. Unlike most other mutants, Jade still has her hair, which is auburn (dyed rose-gold auburn during Season 2) and wavy, ending at her shoulders; she usually has her hair down, but ties it back into a ponytail while fighting. She has chocolate-brown eyes; like the Turtles, when in combat, her pupils and irises vanish, leaving behind empty white eyes.
One of her most prominent traits is the strawberry-pink eyeshadow-like markings located on her eyelids and extends just past the corners of her eyes, which she's had since before her mutation; she tells others that it's a 'birthmark'. She also has a light pink nose. Similar to cats in real life, Jade has five fingers on each hand, and four toes on each foot.
Before her mutation, as a toddler, Jade was a regular human with a fair complexion, ear-length hair that was a slightly lighter shade of auburn, and the same pink eyeshadow-like markings she has today. Due to a strange genetic quirk, Jade turns into a human once a month for a day, reverting back to her previous appearance until the next day, though she's usually scrawnier and tired-looking whenever she does.
Unlike her brothers, Jade wears clothes besides her ninja gear. (Outfits to be revealed during the story)
Personality
Jade often displays a free-spirited and optimistic demeanor. Despite being physically the weakest of her siblings, she is still very sociable and friendly around her family. When first around new people, Jade tends to be a bit quiet and socially awkward, but is still kindhearted nonetheless, and will show her cheery side once she's warmed up to them.
Being the lowest ranked in terms of physical strength, she admires her brothers and father, and holds them in high regard. Her abilities don't hinder her from getting along with and fighting alongside them, happy to find ways to bounce her own strengths off of them. She's also shown to be humble and honest, often downplaying her own skills and admitting that she's accident-prone. On top of this, Jade appears confident around her loved ones, claiming she doesn't need to be a powerful kunoichi to be happy. Despite this, Jade is insecure about the fact that she cannot contribute in battle the same way her brothers do, causing her to feel lonely and disconnected from them at times.
One of Jade's most prominent traits is her compassion and ability to see the beauty in everything, no matter how disgusting. While not the leader, she takes her role as the Turtles' older sister seriously, occasionally bordering on motherly. She's also been shown to be quite persistent, refusing to stop something before she's finished it, even to the point of recklessness.
Jade has been shown to be a people-pleaser, usually wanting to keep the peace with others and avoid unnecessary tension. Because of this, she has a hard time saying 'no', even if the request makes her uncomfortable; while her brothers certainly aren't above taking advantage of this from time to time, they will quickly shut down anyone who tries to manipulate her.
Jade seems to have mild autism, along with Alexithymia (difficulty recognizing and responding to emotions). Thanks to this, she can get hyper-fixated on whatever she's doing, often to the point of obliviousness. Her senses are very high, which can cause her to get overstimulated easily and lash out instinctively. Though she is usually calm, Jade can still get flustered and overwhelmed when confronted by the unknown or when her plans fail, which can lead to her judgment being clouded or cause her to act on impulse instead of rational thinking. For a brief period of her life, Jade had trouble controlling her emotions and was prone to outbursts; she's mellowed out by now, mostly thanks to an incident in her past, though she still has the occasional outburst in response to intense emotions.
Her Alexithymia makes it hard for her to read the room, causing her to be innocently insensitive at times. Because of this, she's usually quiet in certain situations, due to her fear of unintentionally saying the wrong thing and making everything worse by hurting others. This is actually one of the contributing factors of her being a people-pleaser.
Like her other versions, Jade is a devout Christian, ever since finding a Bible in the sewers when she was eight. Her faith is one of the most important things to her, and has helped her through the darkest and scariest times of her life. Though she struggles with her own insecurities and shortsightedness, Jade tries to bear the Fruit of the Spirit whenever she can: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Of course, she loses this fight more than once, causing her to temporarily grow anxious and beat herself up from time to time.
Another one of Jade's more prominent traits is her femininity. She is sweet, gentle and nurturing towards her loved ones. She delights in being a homemaker, and seems to enjoy making baked goods and keeping things clean and comfortable for her friends and family. Though she has admitted that baking, cleaning and sewing are also good outlets for stress and irritation. Despite her gentleness, Jade can be assertive when a situation calls for it, with the authoritative nature of a mother. She also takes pride in beauty and fashion, saying that she can prove you can look good while kicking butt.
Jade's also been shown to be playful and somewhat sassy, as she's not above taking advantage of her brothers' tempers and egos by teasing them. She even enjoys responding to Raph's angry remarks with a soft smile and a cheery glow, just to annoy him. Though she only shows this side to people she's comfortable around.
Similar to her brothers' love of pizza, cartoons and comic books (which she also shares), Jade has a liking for sweets/desserts, stuffed animals, anime and manga, to the point of obsession.
Likes: Her friends/family, fashion and sewing, baked goods, video games, anime and manga, adventures, having fun, bubble baths, the color pink, stuffed animals, rainy days, snowy days, singing, ramen, and helping her friends/family out.
Dislikes: Her enemies, spiders, spicy foods, hot coffee, anything dirty, hypocrisy, her loved ones getting hurt, injuring herself while sewing, being overstimulated, her emotions getting the best of her, feeling weak, and feeling useless.
History
Fifteen years before the start of the series, Jade was once an ordinary human toddler. She was found by the benevolent Hamato Yoshi not long after he first came to New York, wandering the streets alone and with no family looking for her, only able to say her name and a few other words. Despite her unusual appearance, Yoshi took her in, seeing her as a second chance to raise a daughter after losing Miwa. To this day, he still has no idea who her birth family is, where she came from, or how she ended up alone.
Not long afterwards, Yoshi and Jade visited a pet store, where the former purchased four baby turtles while the latter was preoccupied with petting the kittens there. While walking home, Jade spotted a stray cat and excitedly chased after it, eventually leading her to an alleyway with a few strange men and a container of mutagen. The men didn't notice her at first, but did when Yoshi, who was pursuing her, gave away their position when he accidentally stepped on a brown rat's tail. The men (Kraang) attempted to kill the pair, but Yoshi fought back, keeping his adoptive daughter safe. During the scuffle, the Kraang dropped the container of mutagen. Jade, having been only in contact with cats and Yoshi at that point, mutated into a humanoid cat, while the four turtles became humanoid, and Yoshi mutated into a brown rat by the name of "Splinter".
Splinter knew they would never be accepted in society, and with the Kraang hot on their trail, the six of them lived in an abandoned water tower and a warehouse avoiding detection. During all of these trials, Jade bonded with the four turtles and quickly took on the role of a big sister, though being a toddler, she tended to act like they were her little baby dolls.
Jade and the turtles starting mimicking Splinter's ninjitsu training, causing him to further the opportunity to turn his new life around. After the last fight against the Kraang in the sewers and ending up in an abandoned subway relay station, Splinter overheard the Kraang talking about how it became impossible for them to track the six of them there, thus making it a safe environment to raise his adopted children. Knowing the world would be dangerous and there would be a time where they want to explore the outside world, Splinter started to train the five in the art of Ninjitsu. He would later give Jade her signature weapon: the Tessen he had planned to one day give to Miwa.
And now, fifteen years later, is where our story truly begins…
Powers/Abilities/Skills
Overview – while not as strong as her brothers, Jade's physical abilities are still nothing to sneeze at. What she lacks in strength, she more than makes up for in terms of dexterity, quick-thinking, and stealth, the latter often being the reason why she's chosen for missions that require stealing something. Her dainty figure also makes her come off as unassuming at times, which she often plays to her advantage.
Mutant Physiology – As a mutant, the Mutagenic Ooze heightened Jade's physical attributes to extraordinary levels. She possesses strength, speed, reflexes, agility, endurance, recovery speed, and stamina much greater than even the finest human athletes.
Ninjutsu – trained as a kunoichi, Jade is a skilled fighter, especially when it comes to hand-to-hand combat and weaponry.
Healing Powers – though it's currently unknown how or why, Jade has the ability to heal others of injuries and sickness. It can be done through her tears, blood, a strand of hair, mucus and/or saliva being consumed by the person. Since the others aren't fond of the idea of Jade sneezing on or spitting in their food, she prefers to heal via putting her tears/blood in baked goods. Depending on the severity of the injury/sickness, it usually takes anywhere between 1 to 24 hours after consumption to be fully healed. However, she cannot heal scars, cure any disabilities, or reverse any mutations. And the treats must be eaten within 12 hours of being made, otherwise they will lose their healing properties.
Enhanced Senses – thanks to both her autism and her cat DNA, Jade's sight, hearing, touch, taste and sense of smell are all much greater than a normal human's and even the Turtles. While this does allow her to pick up on things that others might not notice, see well in the dark, and identify someone by their scent, her senses can get overwhelmed easily, which is painful and disorienting for her.
Fusion – another unusual ability; Jade is able to fuse with others, combining their physical forms into a single, new being. However, she is only able to do this with anyone who has her blood in their veins (i.e., via a transfusion). The first person she ever did this with was Mikey; it isn't until later in the series that the reason why is discovered, allowing not just Jade to fuse with the others, but also for the other Turtles to fuse with each other.
Human Form – ever since her tenth birthday, every month on the 28th, Jade reverts to her human form against her will for 24 hours. The transformation leaves her weaker and scrawnier than in her mutant form, and she cannot use any of her powers during this time period. It's currently unknown why this happens, but Donnie just chalks it up to yet another 'weird genetic quirk'.
Claws and Fangs – thanks to being a mutant cat, Jade possesses sharp claws and teeth. She normally keeps the former sheathed unless she's in battle, in which she'll use both to scratch and bite her opponent.
Baking Skills – while not a skilled cook like Mikey, Jade is a talented baker, often being the one to whip up savory sweets and desserts for her friends and family. Jade combines these skills with her Healing Powers to make 'Healing Treats' for her loved ones, usually after harsh battles.
Sewing Skills – Jade is a skilled seamstress, able to create and repair clothes and stuffed animals, with dresses and plushies being her favorite to craft.
Artistic Skills – Jade has been shown to be skilled at drawing, mostly using it to sketch out different designs for clothes. She's also a talented cake decorator.
Weaponry – Jade has shown that she can learn to adapt to her surroundings and use other non-weapons in combat, such as the broken pieces of a wooden box.
Bilingualism – Jade is fluent in both English and Japanese.
Weapons
During most of the series, Jade wields a Tessen, with which, like her brothers with their chosen weapons, she is highly skilled. She's also skilled in using shuriken, tanto, and a Yumi bow from time to time.
Relationships
Hamato Yoshi/Master Splinter – Jade's adoptive father. Despite him being a rodent and her being a feline, Jade and Splinter deeply care for each other and have a healthy father-daughter relationship. Splinter admits, though, that sometimes he sees Miwa when he looks at Jade
Leonardo – Jade and Leo get along fairly well. Jade admires Leo's leadership skills and dedication to his training, admitting that she could never be a good leader like him. As the eldest son and daughter, they seem to mellow each other out, and work together to make sure their brothers stay safe.
Raphael – Raph isn't above teasing or messing with Jade, and he seems to bring out her sassy side. Jade often enjoys making Raph mad by responding to him with kind words and a cheery glow. However, they deeply care for each other. Jade admits that she admires Raph's strength and bravery, though gets annoyed at his tendency to get physical with their other brothers. Of his four siblings, she is the most nurturing and understanding towards Raph, as he feels comfortable enough to tell her about his anger or go to her after a nightmare.
Donatello – Jade and Donnie have a good relationship. She's the only one willing to listen to his "technobabble" (as the others call it), which has led to her picking up a few things about technology and understanding him, especially as the series progresses. Alongside Mikey, Jade is usually the one to bring Donnie food whenever he's working in his lab.
Michelangelo – Jade and Mikey are very close. Out of all of his older siblings, Jade indulges Mikey the most, often listening and even going along with his crazy ideas. She usually has the patience of a saint, though admits that she has a lot of fun hanging out with him. Mikey brings out Jade's confident and fun-loving side. She's also aware of Mikey's high EQ (emotional intelligence), and more often than not goes to him whenever she needs advice.
Trivia/Fun Facts
This version of Jade enjoys manga adaptations of classic literature (Conceit and Chauvinism, Charlotte in Dreamland, Vlad the Vampire, etc.)
Theme Song(s)
Rebecca Sugar – Love Like You