A Simple Guide to the Heroes and Villains from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

I decided to make an easy approach for readers who have trouble understanding each and very main character from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle film/franchise. I go as far as describing some characters from all their previous incarnations such as the comic book versions and animated versions. For example, did you know Raphael had a major personality change for the original animated series because he was too violent in his original comic book form for children to watch? Also, did you know that Donatello had an awful fear of guns? I bet not, but little known facts such as these make the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles even more likable.

Michelangelo (Mike): He is the party animal of the four turtles. He can be immature at times, but greatly makes up for it during combat. He is widely known as the baby brother of the four turtles at 15 years of age. In the movie he sports the orange bandanna and uses his iconic nun-chucks to battle the foot clan. What makes his character so endearing to fans is his unconditional love for pizza which some may call it his fetish since he has added the most unusual toppings to them. Although a he has somewhat of a short attention span, he can show signs of sheer brilliance in critical moments. Too make the live action Michelangelo reach broader audiences, producers had to alter his personality a bit by making him less of an airhead and more apparent to his comic counterpart.

Raphael (Raph): The loner turtle who at times would become envious of his older brother Leonardo. He undeniably has the shortest temper of the four which proves to be his biggest weakness throughout the movie. He sports the red bandana which happens to be the original color of all the turtles as seen in the classic comics. His persona in the movie completely contradicts the one he had in the original animated series where he was much light hearted with a hint of sarcasm. His weapons of choice are the sai. According to many fans, Raphael is clearly the favorite of all the turtles and possibly the one who fans identify with most.

Donatello (Don, Donny): The intellectual turtle who is well known for making gadgets (turtle com) and vehicles (Turtle van and blimp). He sports the purple bandanna and his weapon of choice is the Bo Staff. The very unfortunate thing about Donatello's character in the movie is that his role is very minimal. Keep in mind that he is the brain of the four and without him; they would be lost or stuck with only primitive strategies for combat.

Leonardo (Leo): The leader/strategist of the shelled warriors and possibly the most skilled. He sports the blue bandanna and uses his deadly swords during combat. Leonardo is not much different from his cartoon counterpart, but he seems like a gentler character in the movie since he rarely made commands. He is Splinter's favorite son since they shared the strongest bond throughout the movie especially when he contacted him through the use of meditation.

Splinter (Sensei): The father /sensei of the turtles. In this film he's more of a father-like figure to the turtles unlike the original animated series where he was their teacher. Splinter taught the turtles the art of ninjutsu throughout their lives and turned them into the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Unlike, the animated series, Splinter is actually a rat that turned into a humanoid rat from the infamous mutagen. He learned ninjutsu from his human master Hamato Yoshi. Splinter's story does indeed become a deep story in the film and answers the mysteries of Shredder's origin.

April O'Neil: As a Manhattan news reporter from channel 3, April would go to great lengths to get the story of the century. April's character is nearly the same as the animated show, but instead of working for channel 3 News, she worked for channel 6 News. Throughout the film, she is seen as the damsel in distress and always gets herself into trouble only to be rescued by the turtles. Her character in the movie does not to justice for the April from the original comics who was a scientist with a little bit of brawn.

Casey Jones: Casey Jones was possibly the most unexpected character to appear in the film according to many fans at the time. It was a surprise treat for fans to see the turtles' interact with the hockey masked vigilante. Casey plays a large role in the movie by aiding the turtles and April throughout their journey and even rescues master Splinter with the minimal help of Danny Pennington. Not much can be said of Casey's background story, but one thing for sure is that he feeds on the abuse of criminals (as can be seen during the Central Park scene.). The deleted scenes from the first movie could have actually shown a little of Casey's background, but unfortunately we may never see them until the movie's 30^th anniversary DVD release.

Hamato Yoshi: Though he is mentioned several times by Master Splinter, Hamato Yoshi's appearance is brief yet meaningful. It is important to note that Yoshi was possibly a member of the Foot Clan stationed in Japan (similar story to the comics) prior to his departure to New York. Yoshi had an enemy by the name of Oruku Saki who was equally skilled in the art of ninjutsu. His raged stemmed from his jealousy of Yoshi's girlfriend who was a beautiful woman named Tang Shen. Out of murderous rage, Saki kills Yoshi and Shen with his katana where a baby Splinter watches through his cage. While Yoshi practiced his specific art of fighting before his untimely death, Splinter actually mimicked his abilities (very funny scene). The unusual thing about that scene was that Splinter hadn't touched the mutagen ooze to accomplish those feats which probably meant that he was intelligent creature prior to mutation.

Foot Clan: They are the Shredder's loyal army of ninjas that dramatically escalated the crime in New York City. They are headquartered in both the United States and Japan according to the comic books. The Foot Clan from New York City consisted of martial artists and children who were either abandoned or ran away from their families unlike the animated series where they were robots made by the Dimension X warlord Krang.

Shredder: The Shredder's story is quite complicated since much of his past was not revealed throughout the film. According to the flashbacks from Splinter, Shredder went by the name of Oroku Saki and held a deep grudge against Splinter's master Hamato Yoshi. After he murdered Yoshi in New York, the Shredder decided to assemble the foot clan in the same city. Some believe that the Shredder wore the metallic mask to hide the scars that were given to him by pre-mutated Splinter during his final altercation with Yoshi. Shredder built his army by recruiting children who were either abandoned by their families or just ran away from them. He also tries to put a hit on News Reporter April O'Neill because of her provocative reports regarding the foot clan. His plans were foiled twice by the Turtles, but instead his clan kidnapped Master Splinter.

Further information regarding the Ninja Turtles' characters can be found at www.ninjaturtles.com.

Other interesting information regarding the comic book characters was collected form Eastman and Laird's Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics.