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Leonardo 000
Leonardo
Aliases: Leo
Continuity: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Notability: Main character
Type: Superhero
Gender: Male
Race: Mutant turtle
Location: New York City, New York
Associations: Ninja Turtles
Known relatives: Donatello [1]
Michelangelo [1]
Raphael [1]
Splinter [2]
Status: Alive
First: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1
Actor: Cam Clarke
David Forman
Brian Tochi
Mark Caso
Gabe Khouth
Michael Dobson
Larry Lam
Michael Sinterniklaas
James Arnold Taylor
Jason Biggs
Seth Green
Pete Ploszek
Johnny Knoxville

Leonardo is a fictional mutant reptile superhero and one of the main characters featured in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles multimedia franchise. The character was introduced in the first issue of the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ongoing comic book series by Mirage Studios. The character has appeared in every iteration of the "Ninja Turtles" franchise, including cartoon programs, live-action films, video games and more.

Overview[]

Leonardo was once just a regular turtle along with his siblings, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo. After being exposed to a strange green ooze called mutagen, he experienced accelerated growth, enhanced intellect and above-average physical characteristics. The brothers lived in the sewers beneath New York City where they were raised by a mutated rat named Splinter. Splinter possessed keen knowledge of the art of ninjitsu and taught it to all of the turtles, preparing them for the day when they might finally rise to the surface world to fight in the cause of justice.

Leonardo 004

Leonardo as seen in the original TMNT comics.

Leonardo inherited the mantle of leadership of the Ninja Turtles. A pragmatic individual, Leonardo was the most level-headed and the most disciplined. Although he usually commanded the respect of his brothers, he often had great difficulty keeping them focused in the field. Although he took the position of leadership very seriously, Leonardo was not above having some fun himself once in a while, and enjoyed nothing more than spending time with his brothers, training, racing around the subterranean drainage pipes near their home and eating pizza. Lots and lots of pizza.

Of all of the siblings, Leonardo had the most difficulty with Raphael, who constantly bucked his authority and tended to let brute violence lead the way in favor of strategy. The two have come to blows on numerous occasions, which often resulted in Raphael threatening to leave the team. Ultimately however, the bonds of brotherhood always drew them back to one another.

Alternate media[]

Leonardo has been presented in various forms of media, both on the small screen and the big screen, as well as in video games.

  • Leonardo appeared in an arcade video game in 1989 based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise, which was produced by Konami Ultra Games. Leonardo is visually indistinguishable from the other turtles in this game, as they are all wearing red masks and belts.
  • Leonardo appeared in the second animated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles television program, which aired on FOX 4Kidz from 2003-2009. Leonardo was voiced by Michael Sinterniklaas and appeared in all 155 episodes of the show. Sinterniklaas also provided the voice for Leonardo in the video game based on the show.
  • Leonardo was one of the main characters in the 2007 animated feature film TMNT. This time around, the voice of Leonardo was provided by James Arnold Taylor.
  • In the original comics, Leonardo was the first character to deliver a mortal blow against Shredder when he impaled him with his katana, but it was actually Donatello who delivered the kill-shot when he hit Shredder with his bo staff, knocking him off the top of a building. [3]
  • In the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic series, Leonardo was thirteen-years-old when he first ventured out on surface adventures. In most other forms of media, the Ninja Turtles were all fifteen-years-old before embarking on their first adventure.

Abilities[]

Powers[]

  • Superhuman agility: Leonardo's physical strength and extensive training allows him move at great speeds and with improved reflexes and reaction time.
  • Superhuman durability: Leonardo is physically heartier than a normal human being. This is enhanced by his turtle shell, which can withstand many forms of conventional weaponry. In the 2014 live-action film, his shell is even shown to be bulletproof.
  • Superhuman stamina: Leonardo can remain active for extended periods of time without tiring. This ability was developed through his extensive martial arts training.
  • Superhuman strength: Leonardo is stronger than the average human being of his relative age and size, and many times stronger than a regular turtle.

Skills[]

Notes & Trivia[]

  • All of the Ninja Turtles are named after famous Renaissance-era artists. Leonardo was named for Leonardo da Vinci, an Italian inventor and painter who lived from 1452-1519.
  • Preferred weapon of choice: Katana (2)
  • Originally, all of the turtles wore similar attire, which consisted of a tie-mask, arm-bands, knee-pads and a leather belt and/or strap to hold their weapons in. It wasn't until the 1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon series that the group began wearing different colors. From that point onward, Leonardo's mask and belt have always been colored blue. In the 1987 cartoon, Leonardo had a capital letter "L" on his belt buckle. This is the only version of the character to have this additional costume design.
  • In the 2007 animated film TMNT, Leo actually left the group to study abroad in Central America in the hopes of becoming a better leader. Ironically, his departure actually caused the team to break up for a while.
  • It is possible that Leonardo may have been the first turtle to actually speak. In the original comic series, the first word spoken by a turtle is "Splinter". In the original film series, the first word was "Pizza".
  • Franchise co-creator Peter Laird expressed dissatisfaction with the visual design of the turtles as seen in the 2014 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot film. He specifically pointed out the extraneous costume details and the "beakless" faces of the turtles. In particular, he cited Leonardo's bamboo top. [4]

See also[]

External Links[]

References[]



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