Leonardo (TMNT)
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Leonardo (or "Leo"), a fictional character, is one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT). His bandanna is blue, although originally all four Turtles had red bandannas, and his weapons are two katana. He is named after Leonardo da Vinci, the Renaissance artist and inventor.
Leonardo takes after his sensei, Splinter, in taking Ninjutsu very seriously. Of the four turtles, he is the closest to Splinter and spends much of his free time in practice and meditation. He has a strong sense of honor, and is a strict follower of the Bushido code. He tries to keep his brothers in line and often has the leading role in the characters' adventures.
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[edit] Comic books
In the original comic series by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, Leonardo plays an important role. He comes up with the most ideas (except those related to technology, Donatello's field) and speaks for the team. As the series progresses, his confidence builds and he is accepted more and more as the group leader (to Raphael's annoyance); it also becomes clear that he is willing to give his life for his family. After the Turtles initially defeat the Shredder, Leonardo is ambushed alone on Christmas Eve by the Foot Clan and severely injured. He requires a good deal of recuperation, feeling he let down his brothers, but eventually, it is he who finishes off the Shredder by decapitation.
In Volume 4 of the series, Leonardo continues to deal with the Foot Clan, now not explicitly his enemies, and their leader Karai (who was at one time the head of the Japanese Foot). His conflict with Raphael seems to be greatly lessened as both characters have "mellowed."
Leonardo was given a similar personality in the Image comic books; he was fairly sure of himself as a leader but also on more easygoing terms with his more difficult brothers, Raphael and Michelangelo. He lost a hand in the series, although this did not seem to deter him significantly as he was given a prosthetic one by Donatello. However, in the current Mirage series, this and other events in the Image comic books are treated as though they had never happened.
In the Archie comic series, Leonardo had a rather strong dislike for all forms of firearms. Also, a future version of Leonardo was depicted, having founded a ninja school. 4 of his top students where depicted, Nobuko, possibly his love interest, Miles, a young black man, Carmen, a Latino woman, and Bob, an anthromorphic baboon. These students seemed to have an "extended family" relationship with the Turtles, Bob in particular refering to them as uncles.
[edit] Inaccuracies
Leonardo's swords are called katana, but they are actually straight-bladed variants of the katana known as ninjatō (and they are able to resist impossible pressure, being sharp enough to slice almost any material, including steel and alien metals). He carries two of them, both of the same size and strapped to his back; all of these customs are virtually unheard of traditionally, although other ninjas have been portrayed the same way in the TMNT universe (such as Karai). Leonardo is often portrayed more as a "typical" samurai, following Bushido and valuing his swords very highly, than as a ninja. However, little research went into authenticity during the creation of the TMNT, and the inaccuracies stuck.
[edit] 1987 animated series
In the 1987 TV series' theme song lyrics, Leonardo is said outright to be the leader of the TMNT, and there is little disputing this; as such, his orders are usually followed, and he is a very serious do-gooder who hardly ever makes wise cracks, unlike his brothers (in one episode, his brothers actually hypnotized him to make him lighten up, only to find that he was too hyper and too much of a practical joker in his "relaxed" state and returned him to normal). In one episode, he suffered a crisis of confidence and left the group to do some soul searching; his brothers all tried their hands at being the leader in his stead, only to find that none of them could match his leadership skills, and he came back to them. He is often shown as the primary driver of the Turtles' van. He was attracted to a mercenary young woman named Lotus, a swordswoman prodigy from Japan who was hired by Krang to replace Shredder, whom she easily defeated (along with Rocksteady and Bebop). She and Leonardo dueled to a standstill before she resorted to a trick sword to knock him out. When they met the second time, she tried to convince him to join her as "ninjas for hire", but he refused. She turned on Krang and escaped to continue her mercenary lifestyle, telling Leonardo that there was little gold in goodness, though she hoped that they would one day be on the same side.
Leonardo also seems to enjoy reading. For example, many times when the Turtles are at home, Leo is reading a book. In the episode Four Musketurtles, he is the only Turtle that read The Three Musketeers. Another good example is in Leonardo is Missing; while the other Turtles go to an arcade, Leonardo stays at the lair and reads a book.
In the original North American version of the 1987 cartoon show, Leonardo's voice actor is Cam Clarke (who also voiced Rocksteady).
[edit] 2003 animated series
In the new Mirage Studios and 4Kids Entertainment 2003 animated TV series, Leonardo is voiced by Mike Sinterniklaas. He is the de facto leader of the group and the most "spiritual" of the four TMNT. He has a very close bond with Splinter, and has a strong sense of honor, ethics, and Bushido; episodes that deal with the Shredder and honor usually also focus on Leonardo, and he is often the Turtle who "saves the day." Leonardo is a more sensitive, self-doubting character than in previous incarnations. Raphael often quarrels with him and resents his leadership, sarcastically calling Leonardo "Fearless Leader," although the two are shown to be very close at times. Though Leonardo's relationships with his other brothers Michelangelo and Donatello are not as volatile, both have made comments alluding to the high standards the former has set, and his tendency to make them look bad. Despite this, his brothers view him as a pillar of strength, and are at a loss when he is injured or absent. One of Leonardo's most prominent qualities is his determination to believe the best in people, even potential enemies (i.e., Karai, Traximus, Quarry).
At times, Leonardo is shown to be very hard on himself, as he feels that a lot is expected of him. As in the comics, Leonardo is ambushed and seriously injured by the Foot Clan, and he feels he let his family and himself down. He has the same feelings after the final battle with the Shredder - his anger and self-doubt was caused by Karai, whom he believed was an honorable ally, but she was unable to go against her master's evil orders, eventually causing her to stab Leonardo (albeit unintentionally). Leonardo also feels extremely inadequate, as he believes that again, he let himself and his family down, this time by finding no other way to destroy the Shredder than to blow up the spaceship that both the Shredder and the Turtles were on; the Turtles and Splinter would have perished if they had not been rescued by Utroms. Eventually, Leonardo finds inner peace under the guidance of the Ancient One, who trained Splinter's sensei, Hamato Yoshi. From their final battle with the Shredder, Leonardo was the only turtle to sustain truly lasting damage; part of his shell on his upper left shoulder had its edge shorn off. Nevertheless, he is arguably the most skilled of the Turtles, being the only one trained by two senseis, and is capable of facing and defeating Karai, the new Shredder, in a one-on-one fight.
In the alternative fifth season, of the eight acolytes under the Tribunal's training, Leonardo is the only one who isn't given one of the Fangs of the Dragon, which are upgraded versions of each acolyte's weapon. This may be due to the fact that his otherworldly form is that of a dragon, a rare form, unheard of in someone his age. It is shown destroying all the evil guarding the second artifact. This avatar is first shown in "More Worlds than One". In the fifth episode "The Beginning of The End," he is given Feragi's sword as the warrior dies.
In the Fast Forward season, the damage that occurred to Leonardo's shell as stated above has somehow been repaired.
[edit] Movies
In the three released TMNT movies, Leonardo was fairly modest and sensitive, rarely issuing direct commands; he also joked around with his brothers much more than in other versions of the TMNT. It was he who first communicated telepathically with a kidnapped Splinter in the first movie, but he was not ambushed by the Foot Clan (Raphael was), nor did he kill the Shredder. He was acted by David Forman and voiced by Brian Tochi.
In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze, he was acted by Mark Caso and voiced again by Brian Tochi.
He is featured in the teaser poster of the next TMNT film, looking angry and holding one of his Katanas.
[edit] Video games
In the video games, Leonardo is the first turtle of choice. He is popular especially for beginner players of the TMNT games. Leonardo is portrayed as the well-balanced fighter, having, in all areas, strong but not extreme abilities and no glaring weaknesses. His range is rather long, but not as long as Donatello's; however, Leonardo can usually inflict more damage. In the Tournament Fighters games, his moves are the closest to the Ansatsuken-using fighters of the Street Fighter games, such as Ryu and Ken Masters, a fighting game archetype.
[edit] See also
[edit] External link
| Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles |
| The TMNT Franchise |
| Comics: Eastman and Laird's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures | Daily comic strip TV series: 1987 cartoon (episode list) | The Next Mutation | 2003 cartoon (episode list) (allusions) Films: TMNT (1990) | TMNT II | TMNT III | TMNT (2007) Games: Role-playing games | Video games Other related articles: Comparisons within TMNT | Food tie-ins | Action figures | Cultural references |
| The TMNT Universe |
| Characters: Leonardo | Michelangelo | Donatello | Raphael | Splinter | April O'Neil | The Shredder | List of characters Races and organisations: Foot Clan | Utrom | List of races and organisations Objects and places: Battle Nexus | Dimension X | Magical objects | Planets | Robots | Technodrome |
