Scratch is a mutant cat burglar in a prison uniform, best known for Playmates’ 1993 TMNT action figure. His concept is linked to Archie Comics’ Hallocat, but Scratch built his own identity through toys and video games rather than becoming one of the classic cartoon’s regular villains.
He appears as a boss in the Game Boy game Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Radical Rescue, which is included in The Cowabunga Collection. His attacks center on his chain and claws.
Scratch also turns up as a boss in the fan game TMNT: Rescue-Palooza!, drawing on his Game Boy appearance and attacks.
The 1993 figure’s packaging supplies much of his character profile. It plays with the idea of a cat’s nine lives: Scratch has received nine life sentences and escaped from prison nine times. He is a trickster who works for the Foot Clan, and his favorite cereal is “mouse granola.”
His partner is Jail Bird, a small mutant bird in prison stripes with a coin under one wing. The original toy included this cellmate as an accessory. There is another joke in Scratch’s name, too: “Old Scratch” is a traditional nickname for the devil.
The vintage figure became a sought-after collectible, often associated with a small original supply. Prices quoted for Scratch have included more than $1,500 for loose examples without accessories and over $5,000 for sealed ones. Treat those as historical asking-price examples, not verified sale values or a current appraisal: condition, completeness, authenticity, and actual completed sales matter much more than a seller’s headline price.
Customizers have also made their own Scratch figures, offering alternatives for collectors who do not want to spend vintage-figure money. A custom is a different collectible from an original 1993 Playmates release.
A manufacturer archive photograph shows Scratch confronting Mighty Bebop from the Sewer Heroes line. That image suggests a possible connection to the superhero-themed figures, but a photograph alone cannot establish that he was officially intended as a villain for that subline.
Playmates released the original Scratch in 1993. Super7 later brought Scratch and Jail Bird into its ULTIMATES! line, with the release associated with the 2022 wave. The larger interpretation includes accessories such as his money bag and birthday-cake gun. Super7’s product page identifies the figure and its included accessories.