ecial Section
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May 18, 2005
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Ninja Turtles
Michelangelo is radicool
Mike Guidice
| Michelangelo
In my opinion, it’s clear who the true leader of the Teenage Mutant
Ninja Turtles is. If not leader, then hands down the superior teenage
turtle anomaly. It is Michelangelo, representing the orange pride of the
group.
The obvious selection as to who the leader of the gang is would be
Leonardo. Since the TMNT’s inception in the mid ’90s he’s been labeled
as the group’s battle commander and overall head honcho.
He has a glaring fault as far as I’m concerned though. His superiority
complex is something that is detrimental to the team. Being Splinter’s
“star pupil,” he feels like he is the chosen one, and therefore thinks he’s
better than he really is. Learn some modesty, Leo.
Donatello is the creative mind behind much of the Turtles’ combat
strategy and weapons. Sure he’s nice with designing things, but would
you really want him watching your back on the battlefield? I think not.
Rather than use his weapons or brawn, he prefers to be a thinker. This
passive-aggressive nature can only be presented as a weakness.
I’m not even going to get into the fact that he is clad in purple.
What legitimate warrior would ever sport purple? He might
as well be wearing pink. On that choice of wardrobe
alone, you can’t help but question his character and
overall makeup as a true man—or mutant turtle for
that matter.
'v
• Some might even argue the case for Raphael,
it
He has skill with the Sai, I’ll give him that,
—.
but is inferior in other aspects.
When things aren’t going his way
he becomes very witty, to an extreme
i
though. His demeanor turns extremely
{
sarcastic which can only aggravate and
annoy the hell out of the rest of
’
the turtles. He’s selfish and struggles
with insecurities that he is in denial
This is where I now make the
case for who I believe to be the cho-
sen, superior, “turtle in a half-shell,”
SL
Michelangelo. Mike holds it down for all the charismatic and carefree
turtles and humans alike. This attitude is a direct reflection on his char
acter and personality.
No matter the circumstances, Mike remains cool as the other side of
the pillow. Where most would panic, Mike just chills, and chooses to
be secure in his position. This attribute is what makes him above and
beyond the rest in my opinion.
You can always count on him to boost morale
and ease the tension no
matter how intense
the situa
tion may
be. Under
duress is where
this cool, calm, and
collected turtle shines,
and that is a great quality
to possess.
When engaged in battle,
his unparalleled skill with the
nunchakus and fierce, unrelenting
attack mentality are a force to be reck
oned with. His talent with his particular
weapon alone is unmatched by any of
the other turtles and their own per
sonal abilities.
What other turtle can fend off
the filth of the streets, with one
nunchakus-equipped hand, all
along holding a slice of pep
peroni? No other turtle is on
Michelangelo’s level, and if
pepple took the time to recog
nize his skill they would give
him the props he deserves
and ultimately appoint him
the prestigious leader
of the TMNT. Can
I get a “cowabun-
ga, dude”?
Leonardo: turtle with honor
Isaiah Creel
Leonardo
UF
Although all four Teenage Mutant
Ninja Turtles are radical, one stands out
Kr
amongst their ranks as a turtle of power,
honor, integrity and ability. He is a turtle
■r
of no fear, few words and numerous actions.
That turtle is none other than the honorable
M^^
Leonardo, leader of the Ninja Turtle Clan.
. For the sake of continuity amongst these opin
ions, we must assume that the Ninja Turtles of refer
ence are from the cartoon series which aired from Dec.
10, 1987, through Nov. 2, 1996 (Note: if we were going by
the comic book series, I would remind everyone that Leonardo is
the one who ultimately decapitates Shredder).
Keeping that in mind, we must also remember that Cam Clarke
(voice actor for the 1987 cartoon Leonardo) also did the voice of
Liquid Snake of Metal Gear Solid fame, giving Leo badass points
through proxy.
His weapons are far and away the best of the four turtles. The
Japanese long-sword combines length with speed, versatility, deadli
ness and shininess, and is vulnerable to blows only from the side.
Since Leo is so serious about Bushido, we can assume that he is a fol
lower of not only ninjutsu, but of the teachings of Miyamoto Musashi
as evidenced by his use of not one, but two, katana simultaneously.
Musashi is heralded as the best swordsman in the history of
Japanese sword-fighting, and in some circles he is known as the best
swordsman anywhere. It is said that by age 30, he had fought 60
duels and was not once defeated. There were some who thought him
to be invincible, and still others who thought him a demon, but one
thing is for certain: he wrote his philosophies down so that others
could learn his unstoppable fighting ways.
Even though he has the best weapon/style of his compatriots,
therein lies his only downfall. In the cartoon (again, the basis of this
character analysis) Leo tends to save the cutting ability of his razor
sharp blades for robots which would otherwise dull them, while
merely deflecting laser fire at his humanoid enemies (in reality it
would prove far more efficient to simply rend his enemies in two with
the blade which made
feudal Japan
the
respected
place/era that it
was).
Leonardo
is the most dedicated to
Master Splinter, and as such has
at his disposal the sage wisdom of
that wise old rat. Bare in mind
that in the cartoons, Splinter
was at one time an honorable
(human) ninja master by the
name of Hamato Yoshi who
upon contacting a rat and some muta
gens was transformed into that world-
renowned wizened old (rat) codger.
While the other turtles go swill sodas
and gorge themselves on pizza, both of
which Leonardo is fond, Leo can be
found either in quiet meditation or
boning up on his ninjutsu. He is
the only one of the tur
tles who takes
h i s
training, ability, sensei and mission
seriously enough to devote his whole being. All
of that is not to say that Leo doesn’t kick
back from time to time; he only relaxes
after the work is done.
Besides which, Leonardo’s name
sake was one of the most brilliant art-
ist/inventors of all time, and without his
ideas, modern marvels like the Turtle Van or the
Turtle Blimp would not be possible.
•