Stupidity: There's no way April would mistake Slash, his debut episode in Season 4, for one of the turtles as he's got spikes on his back, dressed differently too.
Invasion of the Punk Frogs - S2-E8
Stupidity: Shredder uses a holographic projector to appear as a normal person. He could have just taken off his armor.
Answer: Although the series creators have never confirmed this, it seems fairly obvious that MACC is inspired by Johnny 5.
BaconIsMyBFF