Michelangelo (TMNT)
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Michelangelo (or "Mike" or "Mikey" or "Rooish") is one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT). His bandanna is typically portrayed as orange, his favorite color (although all four Turtles originally wore red bandannas) and his weapons are nunchaku (variously either one or two); however, he has also been portrayed using other weapons like grappling hooks and tonfas, as nunchucks are illegal in many places, so some of the TV show creators avoided using them. He is named after Michelangelo Buonarroti, the famous Renaissance sculptor, architect, painter, and poet.
Michelangelo is probably the most light-hearted/relaxed of the Turtles. Being more fun-loving than his brothers, he was given a much bigger role and was more popular in the 1987 cartoon series, directed at children, than in the more serious original comic books. He came to epitomise the early 1990s popular culture incarnation of the TMNT, coining most of their catch phrases; hence, he is possibly the most famous Ninja Turtle. In some sources he is also referred to as being the youngest of the turtles, although they are traditionally all the same age (fifteen).
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Name spelling
The character's name was originally misspelled as "Michaelangelo", with an additional "a". This misspelling had stuck until 2001 with Volume 4 of the comic series from Mirage Studios, when the spelling was officially changed to "Michelangelo". The 1996 anime also used the "Michelangelo" spelling.
Romance
Throughout the various versions of the TMNT, Michelangelo has had the most romantic relationships (three), despite being possibly the most immature Turtle. All of his girlfriends have been aliens; the first in the original cartoon was the Neutrino, Kala; his second was the inappropriately-named Horridus ("Sara") in the Image comic series, and his third is an alien humanoid-dinosaur princess (known as a "Regenta") named Seri, in Volume 4 of the comics; as of 2005 she has laid eggs containing their children. The only exception to the alien rule was his defacto girlfriend Oyuki Mamisha in the Archie Comics, a young girl whom the turtles rescued from the warlord Chien Kahn and who became April O'Neil's camerawoman when she took up freelancing.
Comic books
In the comic books, Michelangelo was usually depicted as fun-loving, playful, and empathic, although he was not given an especially large role in Volumes 1 and 2; he certainly did little to advance the plot, and was often not portrayed as an especially skilled fighter. (His relatively small role was probably the result of the necessarily larger roles of the other Turtles; Leonardo was the leader, Donatello was Peter Laird's favorite Turtle, and Raphael was Kevin Eastman's favorite Turtle.) Michelangelo's easygoing attitude did make him the team peacemaker, however, and it was established that he was a writer. In the Image Comics incarnation of the TMNT, he was braver and more mature, gaining an important place in the group, and he became a published author.
In Volume 4, the TMNT are unofficial adoptive "uncles" to their friend Casey Jones's daughter, Shadow; Michelangelo is particularly close with her, and she nicknamed him "Rooish."
1987 cartoon
Michelangelo's personality became strongly established in the 1987 cartoon show. He was often seen as a "Party Dude," which, though accurate in the 1987 series (which gave him this title in the theme song), accounts for only part of his personality otherwise. As such, he rarely had any input or interest in the team's plans, spending much of his time joking and socializing with other characters. He had a fondness for pizza beyond even that of his teammates, and was essentially comic relief. Michelangelo also received his distinctive voice in the 1987 series, which has been imitated in other portrayals of him; he customarily spoke with a unique hybrid of a Californian surfer accent and, possibly, a stereotypical "stoner" accent (although certainly no reference is ever made to illegal drugs in the series). He also used a good deal of surfer slang.
Michelangelo's trademark phrase in this series is the (in)famous "Cowabunga, dude!" In the North American version of the 1987 series, Michelangelo's voice actor was Townsend Coleman.
2003 animated series
In the 2003 TV series, Michelangelo is voiced by Wayne Grayson. Still the comic relief, he often makes statements that spoof pop culture, although he uses less surfer slang than in the 1987 cartoon. He likes to tease and annoy his brothers, especially Raphael, whom Michelangelo is the foil of, but he is also depicted as having an innocent empathy for others. He also seems to be very close with Donatello. He is regularly treated as the youngest brother; little is expected of him, he tends to be easily spooked, and he is always called "Mikey" by everybody but Splinter. Although not particularly focused on ninjutsu, he is quite an effective fighter, and in the Season 2 finale, he became the Battle Nexus Champion, considered the best fighter in the multiverse. Although his victory was due in part to some very lucky breaks, Michelangelo later won a rematch against the last finalist, and earned a medal of honour for his behaviour during the battle. In early profiles of the 2003 animated series, Michelangelo is regarded as being the most athletic of the four, although unfocused on training mentally. (Though those are admitedly old profiles and may have been early plans for the character, he has certainly proven he is an effective fighter when the need arises.)
Movies
Michelangelo is depicted in the movies as a warm-natured character, based mostly on his goofy 1987 cartoon but slightly more emotional. Owing to his popularity with children, he is given many lines, and comes up with several (slightly outrageous) plans to advance the plots. In the first movie he and Donatello were regularly paired together while Leonardo and Raphael were arguing. In the first movie, he was acted by Michelan Sisti and voiced by Robbie Rist. In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze, he is acted and voiced by the same actors, respectively.
Video games
In the video games based on the 1987 cartoon show, Michelangelo is usually the slowest but strongest of the Turtles. However, to reflect his flashy personality, this trend was reversed and he became the fastest Turtle in the video games based on the 2003 animated series; Raphael became the strongest.
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Categories: Animation stubs | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles characters | Fictional mutants | Fictional ninja | Fictional turtles
