Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)
Leonardo (or "Leo"), a fictional character, is the official leader of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Leonardo Leads, quote from 1987 cartoon) (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 honour, and is a strict follower of the Bushido code. He tries to keep his brothers in line.
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, the Shredder's adopted daughter 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.
Inaccuracies
Leonardo's swords are called katana, but they are actually straight-bladed variants of the katana known as ninjatō (which are 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, who follow the different, less-known code of Nindo. However, little research went into authenticity during the creation of the TMNT, and the inaccuracies stuck.
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.
In the original North American version of the 1987 cartoon show, Leonardo's voice actor is Cam Clarke (who also voiced Rocksteady).
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 honour, ethics and Bushido; episodes that deal with the Shredder and honour 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.
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 honourable 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.
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
Video games
In the video games, Leonardo is the first turtle of choice. He is popular especially for beginner players of the TMNT games. Like Nintendo's corporate mascot Mario, 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 archtype.
See also
External link
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