Raphael (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)

Raphael, often shortened to Raph, is a fictional character and one of the four protagonists of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics and all related media.^[1]

In the Mirage/Image Comics, all four turtles wear red bandanas over their eyes; in other versions, Raphael is the only one who retains a red bandana. Raphael wields twin sai as his primary weapon. (In the Next Mutation series, his sai stick together to make a staff-like weapon.) He is generally the most likely to experience extremes of emotion, and is usually depicted as being aggressive, sullen, maddened, and rebellious.^[2] The origin of Raphael's anger is not always fully explored, but in some incarnations appears to stem partly from the realization that they are the only creatures of their kind and ultimately alone. He also has a somewhat turbulent relationship with his older brother Leonardo because Leonardo is seen as the group's leader. Raphael is named after the 16th-century Italian painter Raphael.^[3] In 2011 Raphael placed 23rd on IGN's Top 100 Comic Book Heroes,^[4] a list that did not feature any of his brothers.

Comic books

Mirage Comics

In the earliest black-and-white Mirage Comics, Raphael was the most violent turtle and had a tendency for going berserk either in battle or when his temper flared up. He has a somewhat cynical and sarcastic sense of humor. In later issues, it's shown that he is not particularly fond of the supernatural, stating so explicitly in Tales of Raphael: Bad Moon Rising.

Raphael mellowed somewhat as the series went on, possibly a key moment for his character development was when he allowed Leonardo to go in alone to defeat The Shredder after nearly being killed by the Foot Elite. Since then, he has been less likely to challenge Leonardo's leadership, and on the whole is more friendly towards his family and allies.

Of his three brothers, Raphael is actually closest to Michelangelo, having stated this in the fourth issue of the original TMNT comics. Raphael often shows a caring, more laid-back, side of himself when around his younger brother, frequently indulging the younger turtle emotionally when at home and ferociously protecting him from harm when in battle. Raphael openly admits that the mere thought of his younger brother being grievously injured causes him to experience violent rage. In his self-titled one-shot miniseries, Raphael meets human vigilante Casey Jones, his foil, who is more violent and unstable than he was. Despite their brutal first meeting, the two have since formed a close bond.

In the comic book series' Volume 4, he is still the most violent turtle, but is more sociable. After having been bitten by a vampire-like creature, he experienced a further mutation, and became a large, dinosaur-like version of himself. He went into a state of berserk animal rage because of it, but with some guidance by an inner manifestation of Master Splinter, he regained his original mentality and later assisted Leonardo and Casey Jones in tracking down the vampires who attacked him. This is also somewhat similar to an earlier storyline during Volume 1, where Raphael was attacked by a leech-like creature who, when sucking his blood, also drained him of the mutagen in his body and reverted him to a small turtle. The leech itself mutated and vanished, prompting the remaining turtles to follow it. Finally, after tracking down the creature, Raphael manages to bite it and pierce its skin, thereby drinking its blood and mutating back.

This incarnation of Raphael appeared in the crossover special Turtles Forever voiced by Sean Schemmel.

Image Comics

In the Image series that treated the first two volumes of the Mirage Comics as canonical, Raphael was blasted in the face and disfigured. After that, he wore one of Casey Jones' hockey masks for much of the time, and eventually just an eye patch. Later, Raphael wore Shredder's armor in an attempt to psychologically dominate a number of the New York Mob, with whom the Foot Clan was engaged in a losing gang war. He donned a slightly variant version of the armor, and pretended to be the Shredder to get the advantage on his pursuers. He succeeded in defeating them and was then accepted into, and given control of, the New York faction of the Foot Clan for a brief time. In the independent published series of the Image Comics #24, Raphael had an eyepatch and red bandana for the whole issue and was even more angry than ever. He killed Cheng who he previously was friends with in issue #25 and as soon as Pimiko was killed by the gauntlet of Lady Shredder, Raph removed his bandana and eyepatch to reveal his left eye was no longer disfigured but was back to normal. He later to Leonardo he had a thing for Pimiko and like Donatello with Baxters help on ridding him of cyborg parts, Raphael kept his hit on Pimiko a secret.

Archie Comics

The Archie comics series was titled Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures and began as a direct adaptation of the popular cartoon series in the late 1980s. After the second story arc, Raphael changed costumes and began wearing an all dark ninja outfit which he won during an Alien Wrestling Match. He would be the first member of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to have a girlfriend, meeting Ninjara in issue #28 and breaking up near the end of the magazine's 75 issue run. In the future, Raphael would lose an eye during a conflict with the Shredder, Verminator X, and Armaggon(in most of the future timeline incarnations of Raphael, his left eye is missing). He would time travel after his brother Donatello invents the technology and eventually retire on the island Turtleco (which used to be Manhattan) and become a bar owner.

Television

1987 animated series

Raphael's personality in the 1987 animated series deviates the most from all other incarnations. The show's theme song states that Raphael is "cool, but rude" (he takes a slice of pizza with his sai and shoves the rest of it onto the screen), as opposed to being angry and sullen as in other versions. His toned-down attitude was mostly due to the fact that this series was based primarily on humor. Raphael is a sarcastic wise-guy, and supplies comic relief alongside Michelangelo, whose humor is usually attributed to his ignorance and spaciness, whereas Raphael is more sarcastic and witty. As a result, Michelangelo is the subject of Raphael's jokes more than any other Turtle. He frequently makes jokes that break the fourth wall.

This incarnation of Raphael is entirely different from other variations. He has a far less confrontational relationship with his friends and fellow Turtles — the most striking example being his lack of a sibling rivalry with Leonardo. Raphael has no desire to steal anyone's thunder or become a leader; he's perfectly content providing the wittiest of the cartoon's jokes, being the most humorous turtle of the group. Despite this, Raphael usually served as a contrast to Leonardo's "gung-ho do-gooder" persona with his pessimistic sarcastic remarks. However, Raphael did challenge Leonardo's leadership once in the season 8 episode "Turtle Trek".

In the Season 4 episode "Raphael Meets His Match", Raphael was paired off with a mysterious mutant female named Mona Lisa, who might have been considered as a potential girlfriend for Raphael. Despite following the Turtles back to New York City, Mona Lisa was never seen again.

In the season 5 episode "Raphael Versus the Volcano", due to a malfunction in Donatello's Healthometer, Raphael was convinced that he soon was going to die and decided to end his life as a hero named the "Green Defender", saving people from dangers and stopping criminals when he thought he had nothing to lose. When the Healthometer malfunction was discovered, the other Turtles tracked him down to tell him he wasn't going to die.

In the 1987 series' original English-language version, Raphael's voice actor is Rob Paulsen from season one to season nine with Thom Pinto as the 1989 alternate, Hal Rayle as the 1993 alternate, and Michael Gough in the final season. In Turtles Forever, the 1987 version of Raphael is voiced by Sebastian Arcelus. Raphael also made a couple of appearances in the 2012 series in the episode, The Manhattan Project. He and the other turtles along with Casey and April are seen through a portal by their 2012 counterparts walking on a road and he made a speaking cameo along with the other turtles at the end of the episode when a space worm from the 2012 dimension started terrorising the street. All four turtles see the worm and spring into action while shouting their famous catchphrase, 'Cowabunga'. This would be Rob Paulsen's second role in the 2012 series, the other been Donatello while he reprised his role as Raphael for the cameo. This would mark the first time in over 28 years the 1987 TMNT cast would return to their roles.

Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation

Raphael appears in the live action series, Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation, as well as its crossover episode with Power Rangers in Space portrayed by Mitchell A. Lee Yuen and voiced by Matt Hill.

2003 animated series

In the 2003 series, Raphael was voiced by Greg Abbey (Eiji Miyashita in the Japanese version), and speaks with a Brooklyn accent. In this carnation, he has a dark, bright green skin color, much more vivid than those of his brothers. This version of Raphael has a personality which is more akin to his original incarnation - he is angrier and more sardonic, but not quite as violent unless extremely angry - as proven in one incident where he almost smashed Michelangelo's head in with a pipe after Mikey beat him in a sparring match. The theme song for season 1-3 did not have a part that actually described each turtle individually, but from season 4 onwards it was changed, and stated that "count on Raphael to throw the first punch".

He often argues with Leonardo and Michelangelo, although he is depicted as being very close with both at times. He is the first of the turtles to cry (or at least, shed tears) when Leonardo is gravely injured and might not survive. Raphael is generally very protective of his brothers, getting angriest when an enemy harms them or captures them. His relationship with Donatello consists of poking fun at his intellect or annoyance at his long-winded explanations. Raphael considers Donatello as something of a dork, yet still his brother, and he still cares for Donatello just as much as he does Leonardo and Michelangelo. His best friend is generally regarded as Casey Jones - and is the best man as Casey and April's wedding in the final episode of this series. In all incarnations of the turtles except for the 1987 cartoon, Raphael appears to live in the shadow of Leonardo and resents his brother's social position in the group. However, his rivalry with his brother is heavily toned down in comparison to the comic books and rarely shows a deep hatred towards him as the series progresses. He is shown to be a skilled motorcyclist. It has often been hinted that Raphael has entomophobia, the fear of insects. He has shown on many occasions an unrivaled hatred of bugs.

Raphael's relationship with Michelangelo is unique in this series. Michelangelo has a tendency to severely annoy his brother, from playing pranks, to taunting, gloating, and overall rubbing his accomplishments in Raphael's face. Despite his rivalry, Raphael also expressed his pain and fear of losing his youngest brother and leader when Leonardo was nearly killed by the Foot, to the point where he even started crying. As Leonardo recovered, Raphael was also the one who supported Leonardo the most, even helping him to forge Leonardo's two new katana, and paying the greatest attention to the care of his brother. In the episode "Ultimate Ninja" Raph attempted to protect Leo from the Ultimate Ninja when he challenged him and lashed out in anger and fear when Leo was nearly hurt. Raphael continues to challenge Leonardo's decisions in this incarnation as well, as Raphael and Leonardo often argue over what to do in certain situations, Raph usually favoring a direct and confrontational approach. Despite differences, Leo and Raph arguably have the closest relationship of the Turtles emphasized in the series, as their conflicting views and care for one another is a key point in many episodes throughout the entire series. Raphael will often put himself in danger, going as far as disobeying Splinter and Leonardo to protect his family and friends, but he will react immediately (and harshly) if they are in danger. He has an extremely loyal side and is always the first to react when another of his brothers is in trouble. This happens on numerous occasions, like when he stops a blow from hitting Leonardo using only his sai, or kicks the Shredder away from Donatello when the former is about to attack.

2012 animated series

Raphael is voiced by Sean Astin in the 2012 series.^[5] In this incarnation, he is described (in the theme song) as having "the most attitude on the team". During the first portion of the first episode, "Rise of the Turtles", it was shown that he has exceptional agility, able to dodge all of Donatello's bo staff strikes, before snatching the staff and breaking it. It is also implied that he has won several times before, as he says to Donatello "drop the staff, and no one gets hurt" to which Donatello replies, "I did last time, but you still hurt me." After defeating Donatello, Raphael then won the training tournament by throwing Leo with one of his sai. However, when Splinter congratulated them, Raph bragged about his victory, which caused Splinter to hit a pressure point on his neck and forced him to compliment his brothers. He is once again an impulsive hothead, and also has a normal pet turtle named Spike.

His relationship with Leonardo was generally tense, Leonardo's more patient approach contrasting with Raphael's aggression, but he developed a greater appreciation for Leonardo's skills when Raphael's own attempt to serve as the leader showed him that he couldn't cope with the pressure of taking responsibility for his brothers' safety, preferring to risk himself rather than them. With Michelangelo he insults him but he cares this is shown when in "New Friend, Old Enemy" he comforts Mikey when he is feeling down, by telling him that he is an awesome guy. Raphael's relationship with Donatello involves (rarely serious) threats, glares, hitting and insulting. Like in "I, Monster", where he throws a rat at him to get him to stop talking. However, Donatello cares for Raph, for instance having a hard time insulting him in "Turtle Temper", and trying to give him a hand when he his later in the van with the Kraang. Raphael is also petrified of cockroaches until he managed to defeat the mutant cockroach Spyroach.

Raphael's character design was updated, giving him green eyes as well as a small, lightning shaped chip out of his plastron across his left shoulder. His shell shows a great deal of distinct battle damage (considerably more than those of his brothers), and the tails of his mask are tattered and worn. In this sense, it is obvious that he does not care about getting hurt too much in a fight. In "New Girl In Town", he states that he has no problem risking his own life, but he cannot stand to, and therefore will not risk the lives of his brothers.

Movies

Original trilogy (1990-1993)

In the 1990 film adaptation, Raphael is voiced by Josh Pais. He speaks with a distinctive tough-sounding Lower East Side accent (that was imitated in the later versions of TMNT), and is the turtle whose character is explored most completely. He has a quick temper, uses mild language and verbally challenges Leonardo. This film focuses more so on his feeling of isolation from his brothers and sense of regret and anger when Splinter is eventually captured from the Shredder. Here, it is established that he shares a closer relationship with news reporter April O'Neil having saved her from the Foot Clan on several occasions.

In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze, he is played by Kenn Troum, and voiced by Laurie Faso, and in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III film he is played by Matt Hill, and dubbed by Tim Kelleher. In the films, he is still angry and occasionally goes off by himself in the second movie, but has a soft spot for the young people the team meets. It is also shown that he has an appreciation for nature as it appears to calm him.

2007 film

In TMNT, Raphael is voiced by Nolan North.^[6] In Leonardo's absence, he has spent his nights as an armored vigilante known as The Nightwatcher. His time as the Nightwatcher is one of the few during which Raphael uses a different ninjitsu weapon, the manriki: weighted chains that can be concealed in the hands and used from considerable distances. Unlike his sai, the manriki are typically not lethal weapons, though they could crush a skull if used with enough force.^[7]

In this movie, the animosity between Raphael and Leonardo is the most straight-forward due to Raphael's anger at his brother leaving. He resents Leonardo's bossing them around and treating them like "[Leo's] little soldiers" when he (at least in Raphael's opinion) abandoned them for at least a year. This leads to a physical confrontation between Raphael and Leonardo and resulting in Raphael almost mortally wounding Leonardo before retreating - suddenly realising what he was about to do, and running in fear from his anger. After Leonardo is kidnapped, Raphael then acknowledges his mistake to Master Splinter and confesses what happened and why he understood the reason Leonardo was chosen as the leader. Master Splinter then explains to Raphael that his tendency to put the world's problems on his own shoulders as a protector of the weak is a great quality and that while he may not be his favorite student, it does not mean he is his least favorite son. Master Splinter then tells Raphael that his strength, his passion, and his loyalty to the people he cares about are also merits of a great leader, if it can be tempered with compassion. After Raphael, the Turtles, as well as Casey and April rescue Leonardo, Raphael is shown to be eager to fight alongside his brother instead of against him.

Raph's relationship with Donatello is also explored more when Donatello makes it clear that he doesn't like the Nightwatcher. This is due to the Nightwatcher using tactics like Raph's and due to the reason that Donnie believes that the team still exists where as Raph does not. Donnie also doesn't support Mikey's admiration of The Nightwatcher and even though Donnie doesn't know that Raph is The Nightwatcher, believes that Raph should get a normal job to support the family. Donnie's dislike of The Nightwatcher alone seems to mildly anger Raph and then there's the fact that Splinter put Donnie in charge of the turtles while Leo was away. This factor annoys Raph a little more and leads to Raphael almost punching Donnie in the face; smirking when his brother flinches.

Reboot (2014)

Raphael appears in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles portrayed by Alan Ritchson.^[8][9][10] In the film, he is aggressive and struggles with following orders. He often loses his temper and has fierce independence, which does not suit well with his brother Leonardo. He is the first turtle April O' Neil sees after stopping the Foot, although she does not get a good look at him and thinks he's a man. When April takes their picture Raph threatens her, even after Donatello erases her phone's memory. In the battle at the Turtle's lair with the Foot, Raph is crushed under rubble and is presumed dead. Because of this, he is the only turtle not captured by the Foot. When he awakes, he finds a dying Splinter who tells him and April to save his brothers. They team up with Vern Fenwick to help him save his brothers from Sacks industries, where he fights Shredder to buy April and Vern time to save his brothers. After rescuing his brothers and defeating the Shredder, Raphael and his brothers use mutagen to save Splinter's life. He along with Donatello and Leonardo don't try to get April's attention unlike Michelangelo who does voice his feelings to April. Although in the end of the movie he does show appreciation to her for sacrificing everything for them. In this adaption, Raphael isn't as hot headed and doesn't clash with Leonardo over leadership although they have a brief argument over the Hatamishi which Raphael refuses to go to and claims he'll leave which Leo debunks. He is more close to his brothers in the movie than in most adaptions. He does still get annoyed at Donatello when he does talk of his calculations in a way the others don't understand. During the fight when the turtles escape Sack's Estate. He mocks Donatello over his constant talk than fighting by saying "Thanks for the traffic update Donnie, you doing sports and weather next?", to which Donnie replies, "If your going to be nasty about it than I guess you don't want to know that there's a 400 foot drop in 53 seconds". It should be noted he is the only turtle in the movie to stay true to his other adaptations by not wearing any footwear. Leonardo has custom made Japanese shoes, Michelangelo has trainers although you can partly see his toes and Donatello who has boots and you can partly see his toes too. He will appear in the sequel, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows.

Video games

In the first few video games, based on the 1987 cartoon, Raphael was an unpopular character because of the short range of his weapon. To make up for it in later games, he was the fastest turtle which gave him more of an advantage, however he has the lowest stamina of all the turtles, which means that every hit he took would cost him more health points than the others. In games based on the 2003 animated series, he is the strongest Turtle as opposed to the fastest. He appears in TMNT: Smash Up as a playable character, with Frank Frankson reprising his role. The Nightwatcher also makes an appearance as a separate playable character.

Raphael is one of the main playable characters in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, where he is voiced by Carlos Alazraqui. His damage and toughness stats were superior to the other turtles, but the short range of his sai remained, and he was the slowest turtle. His special move is Iron Fists, where he puts on iron gloves which have extremely high power, but little range. Raphael also appears in the 2014 film-based game, voiced by Roy Samuelson.

Reception

In 2008, Raphael shared the fifth place with Leonardo on TechCrunch's list of Top 10 Video Game Ninja Characters.^[11] As mentioned above, he came in 23rd on IGN's list of Top 100 comic book heroes.

References

External links

• Raphael profile on official TMNT web site