Dan Berger answers about Leo's shell scar!

[Raph's Girl]

From the official site:

A lot of people have been asking how Leonardo's shell was scarred in season four - and unfortunately I've been giving the wrong answer (my sincerest apologies). After hearing numerous debates about it, I finally got the sense to e-mail series producer Lloyd Goldfine and ask him for the straight dope, and he wrote: "We always thought that Shredder carved that chunk out of Leo’s shell during their fight." (Leonardo fought with the super-sized Shredder in Episode #78, "Exodus" Part Two) I thought it was from the stab wound that Leonardo received from Karai, and it was drawn so large so viewers could see it - but I was wrong. Never assume!

Raph's Girl note: And there we have it...Shredder did it not Karai. :roll:

[Jester]

But that doesn't make sence....The scar diesn't appear in Exodus 2....*shrugs*

[zkarlette]

Indeed, after karai stabbed him he had all those bandages and after that you could see his shell was damaged

[Jester]

And between the time they were beten by Shredder, detinated the ships's star drive, and the bandaging Leo's shell was intact....

[Ryona]

Maybe the piece was there but just kinda loose, and Leo decided to just tear it off.

[Jester]

That had occured to me....and maybe the animater just didn't make it look loose. All we can do is guess and take Lloyd at his word....:P

[Aska_Badoura]

After hearing numerous debates about it,Dan's eavesdropping.. ;)

He assumed Karai did that? Tsk tsk... have more faith in the character designers than THAT, it's not even on the same side of his body.. :p

I'm so relieved to know that it wasn't a major production goof. Now if they'd just made the action that led to that wound a little more clear, I don't think we'd all have been scratching our heads so much.

I know the wound didn't show up at first, but I chalk that up to a delayed reaction. Buslady would know better, but I think maybe something can happen to part of a turtle's shell that can make it rot off? Like a necrosis? If you damage the blood supply to the area (through some traumatic incident, say, getting kneed across the room :p), the tissue can die. I could be wrong.. but it can happen to human nails and bones, and I think turtle shells.

[Jester]

Which would mean...that this is a permenent ficture to Leo, that won't heal. I dunna....


I had a wacky theory that it's a physical manifestation of his inner scaring. Have the others mentioned Leo's missing shell fragment?

[Turtle Dove]

poor Leo...he needs a hug!

[Masked Ninja]

Yes! The mystery is SOLVED! And in the way that makes for the least continuity errors. I dunno if Shredder kneed Leo high enough in the back for that, but I'm game for it. Now the only problem is that back view of Leo in "Cousin Sid" when he's at the window... the damaged side of his shell isn't bandgaged very heavily ('cuz Karai stabbed him on the other side, duh) but the piece isn't missing yet under the two or so bandage strands. But it's only a minor detail and I can definitely live with it.

Said too much, I'm out! :thyper:

[ThemanthatwouldbeRaphael]

I have to agree with Llyod on this. I belive Leo got that chunk of his shell missing when Shredder struck him in the back right before he got stabbed.

[Turtle Dove]

poor leo.. I feel so bad for him! Gezz I just wanna grab Leo give him a hug, a kiss on the cheek, make him a pizza feed him...kiss him then slap him and say..... pull that bug out of your butt and quite being such a seroius......*Something*!:evilgrin:

[Aska_Badoura]

Which would mean...that this is a permenent ficture to Leo, that won't heal. I dunna....If it's a necrosis, it can heal. In fact I think even if it isn't, it'll heal. If the bone's not severely damaged, the keratin layer will grow back, just leaving a scar (which probably wouldn't be even be worth drawing in, so it'll effectively disappear :)). Annnnd... well, this is animation, and if the production team wants his shell to heal, it'll heal. How's that for power? ;)

I dunno if Shredder kneed Leo high enough in the back for that, but I'm game for it.*shrug* I don't really think so either, but it's the only likely cause of the injury, unless something happened off-screen.

I had a wacky theory that it's a physical manifestation of his inner scaring. Have the others mentioned Leo's missing shell fragment?
Figuratively, I agree with that. I don't think it'll just magically go away when he finally snaps out of it, but probably very soon after, and it is pretty symbolic. Nobody walked away with (visible) scars of either the physical or psychological type but him. But, while his brothers have definitely commented on his attitude, no one's said anything about the carapace injury. And I kinda don't think they will; the psychological scar is much more important to them.

[Coola Yagami]

Any pics of Leo's scarred shell?

[Jester]

I have some Pics from the DVD releases of episodes from this season...so here...
http://photobucket.com/albums/a147/TMNTToonPics/
The view pasword is Splinter (be sure to Cap the "S")
You can see the Leo pics on pages....uh...well....all of um.

[Aska_Badoura]

Here's where we first see it, in "The People's Choice":
It's quite a bit more detailed in that shot than in most others. I think they really wanted you to notice it here.
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y73/Zakiyah/shellscar.jpg

Again I say, snap out of it, Leo... :|

[Serp]

Here's where we first see it, in "The People's Choice":
It's quite a bit more detailed in that shot than in most others. I think they really wanted you to notice it here.
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y73/Zakiyah/shellscar.jpg

Again I say, snap out of it, Leo... :|


goosh, thats a ripper

[Spitfire]

Well it's a cartoon can't expect it to make too much sense. I guess I can live with that explaination...Though it would be nice if that was made more clear.

[Buslady]

Dan's eavesdropping.. ;)



I know the wound didn't show up at first, but I chalk that up to a delayed reaction. Buslady would know better, but I think maybe something can happen to part of a turtle's shell that can make it rot off? Like a necrosis? If you damage the blood supply to the area (through some traumatic incident, say, getting kneed across the room :p), the tissue can die. I could be wrong.. but it can happen to human nails and bones, and I think turtle shells.

The way I'd see it, being as large and probably tougher than the average turtle shell, you'd have to take a couple whacks to get that much off...but if some was half cut off, living in the underground in not the most healthiest of places, infection could set into a shell and the rest of the scute would peel off; the infection could then continue on and totally ravage his shell. I'll bet Don stopped it and that was the result. :P
If they really got into it, it'd grow back grey-black with Keratin and look weird.

Really looking at it, that is a HUGE chunk. Took out the marginal scutes as well. those won't ever grow back. I can draw what it WOULD look like if it healed...it's look funky. I'd assume that is bone underneath. In reality, that would have bled too. under that keratin layer are blood vessels. When Jessie had her infection when I got her, I removed the infected parts of her scutes, it was gross...thick layered corners on her scutes with infection under them...bleah...but it went down to her bone and there was blood.

Here, I'll show you a deformed turtle shell. This particular animal is a female red ear slider, she's doing great at the rescue too. I'll be using her as an educational tool next week. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v431/buslady/Animals/LostValley003.jpg
Notch had an infection, shell rot...you can see how it scarred her shell..the white there was part of the infection..that's all healed but now it's greyish. I would assume something similar would happen to Leo's shell if infection got in there the way it is. UNless he's doing betadine dips and keeping it dry...he's set for infection :P

Here is Jessie's shell healed, there are 3 grey spots on her shell...that's what Leo's should look like if it healed. The green is just algea on her shell. :p she loves hanging out in the water side of their tank.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v431/buslady/Animals/DSC05769.jpg

[Turtle Dove]

Eww poor thing!! I see that scar & I feel so bad it must hurt him! I mean I take good care of my pets so if this was my pet turtle I'd be crying.

[LUCKFF]

Over All I Think The Producers, Directors, Animators And Even Laird Him Self Did A Poor Job Of Making This Clear. Either That Or They Tried Too Hard To Make Something Intriguing. I'm Really Disappointed In The Reason To Leo's Scar. I Was Hoping That They Made A Bigger Deal Of This Scar And Now We Come To Know That Its Just A Kick From Shred. I Dont Know, To Me Thats Not As Good Of Writing As Ive Seen These Guys Do.

[Turtle Dove]

Over All I Think The Producers, Directors, Animators And Even Laird Him Self Did A Poor Job Of Making This Clear. Either That Or They Tried Too Hard To Make Something Intriguing. I'm Really Disappointed In The Reason To Leo's Scar. I Was Hoping That They Made A Bigger Deal Of This Scar And Now We Come To Know That Its Just A Kick From Shred. I Dont Know, To Me Thats Not As Good Of Writing As Ive Seen These Guys Do.
Maybe......But it must be 1 of those things the animators,etc don't realy put into detail much....let it go

[LUCKFF]

I Wouldn't Make This Such A Big Deal, But It Since So Many People Have Been Anticipating The Big Mystery It Makes The Answer Alot Bummy-er.

Mikey's Girl I LOVE YOUR SWITCHING SIGNATURE. I WISH YOU COULD TEACH ME HOW TO DO IT WITH MINES WITH OUT LOOSING ANY QUALITY. IS THERE A SIZE LIMITATION?

[Jester]

Agreed...although I think that Lloyd might be purposfully keeping us in the dark, can't reveal all the secrets.

[Aska_Badoura]

Took out the marginal scutes as well. those won't ever grow back. That's what I thought (that's not just the keratin missing there, that's the whole BONE), but then, I don't think they'll bother to do that much research, and the whole thing'll grow back. Probably good as new, too. Oh well. :p Maybe it's a mutant thing. ;)

the infection could then continue on and totally ravage his shell. I'll bet Don stopped it and that was the result. :pEwwww. Here's where I think he must read up on turtle anatomy and care.. It's a funny mental picture, seeing a giant humanoid Turtle reading "Caring For Your Turtle"... :p

When Jessie had her infection when I got her, I removed the infected parts of her scutes, it was gross...thick layered corners on her scutes with infection under them...bleah...but it went down to her bone and there was blood.Poor baby.. :( At least she had a good mommy to take care of her. :)

Notch had an infection, shell rot...you can see how it scarred her shell..the white there was part of the infection..that's all healed but now it's greyish. What happen to the scutes on her side? Part of the infection, or just a strange shape from the beginning?

UNless he's doing betadine dips and keeping it dry...he's set for infection :pI'm sure at least Don and Splinter have been nagging him about that. ;)

"Take a daily bath with a Dr. Turtle Sulfa Block..." (I guess that's kind of impractical), and make him walk around with betadine-soaked towels on his carapace.. LOL, they'd have to get creative with their treatments, seeing as they don't live in a terrarium or anything.. ;)

Anyway, you can bet they've definitely addressed his carapace off-screen, at least.

I Was Hoping That They Made A Bigger Deal Of This Scar And Now We Come To Know That Its Just A Kick From Shred. I Dont Know, To Me Thats Not As Good Of Writing As Ive Seen These Guys Do.Yeah, I do think they should have made things more obvious as to what caused it.. but they may still try to patch up the confusion later. I think, like Jester said, it's more of a symbolism than anything. But it still should have been more firmly established first.

[Buslady]

Eww poor thing!! I see that scar & I feel so bad it must hurt him! I mean I take good care of my pets so if this was my pet turtle I'd be crying.

Naw, i felt bad for doing it but I had to remove Jessie's infected bits cause it would have gotten worse. She hated treatment!! Betadine to keep it clean then dry off for awhile. After 4-5 months of treatment it healed well.
Why she had the infection because when caught, turtles are thrown in a big box with a bunch of other turtles and bounced around and they get sick and infection spreads. She had it when i got her. She's a happy girl now...

the other turtle, she's fine too. actually the chlorine from her new owner's pool cleared her shell rot!!!!!!! hahaha!!! but all of the yuk is gone she's good as gold. She'll never look normal though. She's an adult and will be that way for good.

[Buslady]

What happen to the scutes on her side? Part of the infection, or just a strange shape from the beginning?


her side is deformed caused by improper feeding and no UVB and dirty enviroment. The scutes are there, she's just grown wrong. Her growth rates were uneven and too much protein, not UVB created that shape. I've seen it in other turtles who were kept in poor conditions as well. There's even turtles who's shells are too small for the fleshy part of their body.