| “ | Nyet! I love Mama! | „ |
| ~ Rocksteady |
| “ | Da, being henchmen is no good for us. Maybe we become superheroes instead. Very hot right now! | „ |
| ~ Rocksteady |
Rocksteady is a major antagonist-turned-protagonist in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. He was originally a human Russian arms dealer with ties to Shredder and the Foot Clan named Ivan Steranko. He is now a mutant white rhinoceros who was one of Shredder's hench-mutants alongside his partner, Bebop. He made his debut in the episode Enemy of My Enemy. He reformed in The Big Blowout with Bebop and then became an ally of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
He was voiced by Fred Tatasciore who also voiced Yosemite Sam in Looney Tunes, Ripjaws, Cannonbolt, Ben 10,000 and Way Big in Ben 10, Shifu in Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness, Dingodile in Crash Bandicoot: N-Sane Trilogy, Nikolai Belinski in Call of Duty's Nazi Zombies, 8 in 9, AAARRRGGHH!!! in Tales of Arcadia and many incarnation of Hulk.
Appearance[]
As Ivan Steranko: Steranko is large, muscular and wears a black suit with spiked shoulder pads, a black dress shirt, a red tie, an Ushanka with a yellow star, and a pair of knuckle dusters (with the Soviet Russian symbol on them). He has blonde hair and a diamond right eye, as well as several scars on his face.
As Rocksteady: Rocksteady has a jagged horn ripping out of his hook-lipped nose and wears a beige tank top, brown bandoliers and camouflage pants. His shoulder pads and knuckle dusters are fused to his grey skin.
Personality[]
Rude and humorless, Ivan Steranko is shown to not care about others, but about rare and personal items, as he is willing to be reasonable in dealing when the opportunities present themselves.
As Rocksteady, he is even more aggressive and develops more fighting skills to suit his new form. He even likes the name Michelangelo gave him. Over time, Rocksteady's personality slowly changed from an aggressive bully to an ever-practical comedic relief, he didn't even blame Bebop for the loss of his eye and the two truly became friends.
History[]
One day, Ivan lost his right eye because of Anton Zeck, forcing him to wear a crystal protector and since then he has held a grudge against Zeck. Ten years before the events of the series, he met Shredder and became a business partner with the Foot Clan.
As Villain[]
In The Legend of the Kuro Kabuto, He sends Zeck to steal Shredder's mythical helmet, the Kuro Kabuto, to add it to his personal collection, also seeing this as a remedy for the loss of his eye. Zeck failed however due to interference from Shredder's mutant minions and Ninja Turles, pissing off Steranko to the point of promising that he would explode Zeck's head like a blueberry.
In Serpent Hunt, Steranko and Zeck have been stuck in the Steranko hangar in New York City since the Krang invasion, feeding only on dead cockroaches. Steranko then plans to capture Shredder's adopted daughter, now a mutant snake, Karai, to get a way out of New York safe and sound. Despite the interference of the turtles, the two criminals succeed in capturing Karai and meet Shredder at the docks to negotiate. Before reaching an agreement, the Turtles intervene and allow Karai's escape, leaving Steranko and Zeck to be captured and then taken to Baxter Stockman's lab to receive punishment for the recent events. After Zeck is mutated into a mutant warthog, Ivan tries to make his former business friend see reason that he would be more useful to him as a human, only for Shredder to remain indifferent. Steranko then tries to escape but Rahzar kicks him into the mutagen tube, transforming him into a mutant rhino.
Become a rhino and forced to serve Shredder, Steranko and Zeck perform several missions for the evil leader of the Foot Clan, also obtaining the nickname of Rocksteady by Mikey during the first mission, a nickname he greatly appreciated. His service to the Foot Clan finally came to an end after Shredder became an undead through the demonic magic of Demodragon Kavaxas and the creature then spiraled out of control only to be locked forever in the underworld with Shredder.
As Hero[]
In "The Big Blowout," Bebop and Rocksteady are upset that Shredder and Krang are treating them like servants. After finally being appreciated for their services, Shredder allows them to watch the destruction of the world. The two friends realize they don't want to destroy the world so they fight against Krang and destroy the rock minions. Bebop and Rocksteady then become super heroes instead of villains after they quit being henchmen.
In his resumé, it is shown that he fought as a volunteer in the wars in Iraq, Yugoslavia and the DR Congo before joining the Foot.
Powers & Skills[]
- Fighter: As a human, Ivan had to fight using golden brass knuckles combined with his brute force, although he never fought in the long run. After his transformation, he tried to charge Shredder but ended up on the ground by a cruel clang. Later, he was able to get used to his new form to fight more efficiently than in his human form although he was quickly overwhelmed by surprise attacks.
- Enhanced Strength: As a human, Ivan could waltz a Ninja Turtles barely half as heavy as him for several meters with a blow at full force. By becoming a mutant, his strength became superhuman. He was able to compete with a Triceraton.
- Enhanced Durability: As a human, Ivan could withstand the attacks of the Ninja Turles by barely flopping. Like a Rhinoceros, he could take more serious damage like punches from a Triceraton but he was still very sensitive to the pulling of his ears.
- Enhanced Speed: Rocksteady can run and charge as violently as a real rhino or even more.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- From the confession of the Ninja Turtles 1987, Rocksteady is stronger than his 80s counterpart.
- After his mutation, some fans are theorized that Steranko's diamond eye had merged with his optic nerve, giving him back sight. Numerous Rocksteady fight scenes showing him still fighting as if he still had his straight vision intact suggests that is a possibility.
- Rocksteady is very patriotic, loving his home country of Russia; affectionately calling it "mama".
External Links[]
- Rocksteady on TurtlePedia.
- Rocksteady on Villains Wiki.
