Donatello - Same As He Never Was

[Time Mistress]

Spinning out of the Raphael thread, this is the thread for Don since he's so underapreciated and a lot of people thought he should be next. Hmm, so what can I saw about Donny? He's elusive for one thing. Of all the TMNT he's one of the hardest to know, for me at least. And I want to know more about Donny because I think he deserves it. I don't buy that he's a pacifist, peacefull and least likely to resort violence yes, but Don can kick butt just as well as his brothers. So I'll start with how Don has come across in the other mediums to me at least.

OT - This Don could fix anything from a toaster to an interdimentional space portal. He was no slacker in his skills at all. He was open and friendly and less of an introvert than other versions. But he had a dark side as well that came out in the one ep I think. He seemed closest to Leo in this version I think.

Movies - Unfortunately, they haven't done Don much justice so far. 2 tried to deal with Don's feeling towards their origin and the new movie gave his some great indiviual moments. The greatest achievement of the movies for Don though was the recognition of the Don/Mike dynamic being potentially equal to the Raph/Leo dynamic.

New Toon - One of the more well-rounded portrayals of Donny so far. He is genius but can have an ego at times. He kicks butt, but also plays peacemaker. And we've seen how the team would be lost without him. The Don/Mike relationship is also the most prominant and well as Don/April.

Mirage - There is something a little mysterious about Mirage Don (Baxter's fate anyone in Vol. 4) that again hints at a darker side. He's not as close to Mike (though it has been introduced in Vol. 4) and seems closer to Leo again. He butts head with Raph more. His infinate curiousity and intelligence are glimpsed more here as well. And he enjoys designing video games in his spare time.:) Seeing as he is Laird's favorite Turtle Tales seems to finally be giving him his due in terms of exposure.

I'm not too good at anayzing Don yet. Let the Don discusion begin!

[Jo Dawn]

*twitches*

So... much to... say about Don... But.... must... get to bed...





...Seriously, I'll post my probably very long thoughts later.

[DonatelloDomeHead31]

Two things to say about Donatello: Inventor of the Turtle Van and Turtle Blimp!

Ninja Turtles' greatest modes of transportation.

[Time Mistress]

Yea! Jo can get this topic moving in the right direction, when she wakes up of course.;)

[Buslady]

actually right now in the comics little Don seems to be getting along with GameRaph pretty well.

Don's my 2nd fave cos I like all that sciency stuff.

[Cascadia]

actually right now in the comics little Don seems to be getting along with GameRaph pretty well.

Don's my 2nd fave cos I like all that sciency stuff.

nods...he is getting along with Raph in Volume 4. In the recent movie, he sort of was picking a fight with Raph.http://www.thesmilies.com/smilies/cartoon/donatello.gif

[ThemanthatwouldbeRaphael]

like Don's characters. I can somewhat relate to his quiet and sarcastic personality.

I also really love that mysterious side of Don, he's peaceful and good natured, but you're right there is that sort of dark side, and out of all the Turtles, he has the most potential to turn bad.

I just love it that, contrary to mainstream belief, the Turtles aren't one dimensional characters.

[triplexxx]

I also really love that mysterious side of Don, he's peaceful and good natured, but you're right there is that sort of dark side, and out of all the Turtles, he has the most potential to turn bad.
You know, if I had to choose which two turtles are the scariest to their brothers, I'd choose Raphael and Donatello. Raphael 'cause he's the strongest, the most fearless, and when his buttons are pushed will lash out harshly. Donatello 'cause he does indeed have a dark side hidden under his calm and quiet personality, and when it comes out, like at the beginning of Return to the Underground, it seems to intimidate the others simply 'cause it's so surprising to them.
Leonardo, well, while his brothers are submissive and look up to him in battle, they don't seem frightened by him in any way whatsoever, especially not Raphael; when he acts angsty or something, they tend to do one of three things: accept it and agree with him without acting intimidated, shrug it off, or yell back at him when they think he's wrong. And Michaelangelo is too light-hearted to be scary to them.

[Scandia]

I had not seen this thread. I just started another one "baka".

Here's what I put in the other one:

Everyone seems to agree that poor Donatello does not get much attention. And that goes for both positive and negative attention.

I wonder if Donatello likes it that way. He causes no trouble- so he is not being reprimanded like his two younger brothers. But he is not the leader, so he is not in a position of huge responsibility like his older brother.

When doing the personality analysis, I noticed that Donatello is in some ways like Splinter, but different from him in others. He is neither "Splinter Jr." nor so different from him that Splinter does not know where to start. This alone can make Donatello be the most interesting Turtle. The one with the most potential.

And yet, in all of the universes, he seems to get the least attention. Except perhaps the comics- but it makes sense that he stays behind taking care of the injured Splinter while Leo takes care of his two younger brothers who need more supervision. So that is a logical decision that shows no favoritism or special attention towards Donatello.

In an old thread in this forum many people agreed that Donnie would be the last Turtle to die- or possibly even the survivor. However, Mirage Volume 4 does not seem to be headed in that direction given what happened to Donnie recently. He does get in some bizarre adventures. His easygoing personality can tolerate them- but he has even more potential.

In the Best Friends thread, Donatello shows the most inconsistency about who is his best friend. Seems like he is closest to a different character in every medium. Out of all 4 brothers he had the strongest crush on April- but he is not seen showing interest in anyone else. Unlike Raphael, Donnie does not seem jealous of his older brother getting the most praise in his ninjitsu- but his laid back personality and other non-martial arts interests alone should not account for this, so I suspect that Raphael may have gotten a head injury when being dropped by Chester.

Donatello is my second favorite Turtle. He's an iNtuitive Thinker like myself. I am scientific in some ways- though being a scientist did not work out for me. My favorite color is purple- but I'm almost 30, so that is NOT a valid reason for me to favor him given my age!

Please talk more about our favorite underdeveloped Turtle. Donatello does machines. Donatello the smart one. Donatello the quietest Turtle. Donatello, Donatello, Donatello!

[aabxx]

Some suggestions (I'm not claiming they're all neccesarily true).

- Donny struggles with a superiority complex. He doesn't neccesarily want to believe he's better than other people but when he sees how dumb most of them are compared to him in so many different ways, it's hard for him not to feel he's a superior being. This conflicts with his morale beliefs of equality or something. Especially in OT he seems to think much of himself although I'm uncertain if he does this in a struggling manner (it seems more like he's happy considering himself to be superior without second thoughts). In the comics, I recall a drunk Casey asking Don if he thinks he's better than him (or them?).

- Donny doesn't always find good support/company in Splinter and his brothers because they're unable to fully appreciate many of his joys and worries. Therefore he can have the tendency to withdraw himself. I think when he saw how smart April was with computers in the 2k3-series, something in him rejoiced because finally, he had someone who he could relate to on a level he could not with his brothers. The same when he met Leatherhead (in the 2k3-series at least). And honeycutt. And it's no wonder he's spending a lot of time with some of the utroms in volume 4. As you can see from this pattern, the people he befriends tend to be very smart people...

- Donny's moral beliefs are in conflict with his curiosity. His scientific side doesn't want to have any limits, but morales are there to set limits. I think sometimes he gives in to his scientific side and forgets about ethics and then later regrets it. Actually, I know that feeling myself. Although I'm in no way a genius, sometimes I mess with things I no I shouldn't be messing with from an ethical viewpoint but I still do because the "scientist" in me wants to... know. Ultimately, Donny might become a mad scientist if he doesn't learn to control himself. However, maybe working with the utroms might allow him that sort of control?

I'll discuss the Baxter issue seperately. Basically, Donny was not only holding Baxter hostage but also keeping him in a condition that can only be called torture (or am I wrong?). This is extremely sinister, no doubt, but less so if he first did it because of compassion (ie. not wanting to let Baxter die). But maybe, just maybe, he kept him for the sake of curiosity? To learn things from him? To experiment on him? Basically, the stuff a mad scientist would've done... and the way Don took something from his dead Sensei while apologizing to him... I don't really know what's going on, but maybe that does imply that Don's gone over to the dark side and chosen science without moral boundaries?

And the way he killed Baxter in cold blood. Either he did it because he realized showing him compassion was wrong, or that he realized he really wasn't showing compassion but torturing him... or... he killed him simply didn't need Baxter anymore for his curiosity's sake? I don't know.

So what do you reckon? Is the comics turning him into a mad scientist sort of figure? Actually, remember that 15 years have passed in volume 4... maybe he's already gone mad scientist a long time ago and we just haven't been shown the full extent yet (but seen two glimpses ie. the Baxter and the Splinter incidents). And nobody else (at least not his brothers and April and co) have picked this up because he's able to keep this side of him very private. Intriguing isn't it?

[Coola Yagami]

Well, in all fairness, Baxter himself surgically removed his brain and placed in that robot, so he got what was coming to him. I mean, what did he expect putting himself into such a vulnerable position, did he really think his robot form would never get destroyed leaving his brain exposed?

Don did kill Baxter in cold blood, but c'mon. He needed help on how to cure April, as she was close to dying due to nanorobots Baxter himself injected into her years ago. Baxter basically told him there is no cure, April's as good as dead and laughed in his face. Driven by the thought of April dying and not being able to save her, and being laughed at with actual joy that she's dying, he flipped and blasted that sick bastard to pieces.


BTW the aspect of the story was real interesting. Talk about major foreshadowing. I mean waaaaay back in volume 2, robot-Baxter basically injected April with some unknown something, and then the Turtles and the rest took him down and stuff. I don't think it was ever explained what it was he injected her with, nor did April seem to show any effects to it. Now yeaaaars later in volume 4 (I know volume 3 wasn't canon anymore, but even then, the Image guys seemed to have forgotten that issue completely), we finally reveal that April was injected with nanorobots all those years ago and was just now taking effect (considering the TMNT are teens in volume 2 and in their 30's in volume 4). Wow, just wow. I mean, how did it happen? Did they just make Baxter inject April with whatever and leave it open for some future story to see what they can come up with, or was Volume 2 supposed to be longer than planned (all it was, was basically one long-ass story involving Baxter, Nobody, DARPA and Triceratons) or were the Volume 3 guys supposed to adress it and overlooked it????

[iris]

I think that people have a difficult time saying who's Don's best friend because he's equally close to all his bros. That is to say, he loves them all, but he seems a little detached from all of them.

As for the whole Dark Side, I think this actually ties into the fact that Don is a sentimental fool. That sounds strange to say, but I think it's true in every incarnation but the OT. The boy has massive emotions that his intellectual and introspective nature keeps on lockdown better than a thousand hours of Leo's meditation ever could. When strong (or painful) feelings surface, he doesn't know what to do. So he locks them down harder. And voila, Don goes completely cold so that he can think clearly. When this reaction is caused by a threat, all that cold calculation comes to bear on eliminating that threat. And we know that when Don focuses, he doesn't hold back. Whether that's good, bad, dark, or awesome depends on the situation.

However, I'm not convinced that taking that clipping of fur represents anything but plain, unscary sentimentality.

[The Shelf]

BTW the aspect of the story was real interesting. Talk about major foreshadowing. I mean waaaaay back in volume 2, robot-Baxter basically injected April with some unknown something, and then the Turtles and the rest took him down and stuff. I don't think it was ever explained what it was he injected her with, nor did April seem to show any effects to it. Now yeaaaars later in volume 4 (I know volume 3 wasn't canon anymore, but even then, the Image guys seemed to have forgotten that issue completely), we finally reveal that April was injected with nanorobots all those years ago and was just now taking effect (considering the TMNT are teens in volume 2 and in their 30's in volume 4). Wow, just wow. I mean, how did it happen? Did they just make Baxter inject April with whatever and leave it open for some future story to see what they can come up with, or was Volume 2 supposed to be longer than planned (all it was, was basically one long-ass story involving Baxter, Nobody, DARPA and Triceratons) or were the Volume 3 guys supposed to adress it and overlooked it????

Firstly, I'm pretty sure Volume 2 was supposed to go on indefinitely, but by that time TMNT was diminishing which is why it ended at the end of that story arc. Secondly, Image was doing their own thing with Volume 3, so they weren't obligated to address anything they didn't want to.

Personally, one of my favorite things about TMNT comics that you don't see very often in comics in general is how they can drop a tiny thread early on that can be easily overlooked. Then years later they bring it back and expound upon it much more. Three examples spring to my mind: Baxter still being alive (side note: that entire scene between him and Don is my favorite Don scene ever), April's injection turning out to be nanobots that were just dormant for a long time, and Kirby's crystal (come on, even if you don't like April being a drawing you have to admire how Laird brought back a crystal that only appeared in one of the very first issues, as far as I know, and used it to explain the origin of a main character). Those are the most obvious examples I can think of, but I'm pretty sure there are several more lesser ones. I can't wait to see what results from Karai's offer to Shadow to join the Foot. If Karai dies at some point and Shadow and Cha Ocho both try to take over the Foot... Can anyone say City at War 2? :D

Sorry, I got off topic. Back to Don...

Don locks down his feelings and has the potential to go ice cold. That's the first step in becoming a mad scientist -- numbing your emotions. He may have killed Baxter due to his emotions toward April, but the way he handled it afterward is where the coldness really shows itself. He just walks quietly back to the hospital (or wherever she was being held) and acts like it was no big deal. He doesn't even bother to say anything about it to anyone. Of course, Baxter was more machine than man, so I can't really blame Don for not feeling remorse for killing him.

I don't really think Don would completely go mad scientist, though, unless April and the guys all died. He might come close to it in the meantime, though. I can even see him making some unethical choices in order to heal one of them (such as April and the nanobots).

[Scandia]

I honestly think that Donatello is the most independent Turtle- not Raphael as some say.

Also, I think that if the Turtles had been mutated and there had been no Splinter, Donatello would have been the one to cope the best. Donnie would have been likeliest to raise himself. Raph and Mikey would be totally lost without his guidance and discipline- and they would have been likely to get into trouble. And Leo would not have his best friend and mentor- so it would have been harder for him to find his true passion of martial arts. But Donatello would have been easily able to raise himself and be completely self-sufficient.

[jenna]

Thrilled you started this thread Time Mistress! My contribution:

Donatello, as the second eldest turtle, is often called upon to provide support for Leonardo in his role as leader, largely because he has a fantastic intellectual capacity that Leonardo lacks. Historically, Donatello’s character has suffered the most inconsistency when represented on the screen. The main character traits that define him are an above average technical ability, a gentle nature and a pacifistic tendency, and a sensible second in command role to Leonardo’s leadership. He is also always the turtle shown to have the closest relationship with April O’Neil. However, various distortions have been used to manipulate his character in the past.

The 1987 cartoon places emphasis on his technical wizardry, giving him a level of genius that enables him not only to create wonderful inventions, but also to provide most of the plot’s solutions. He is also shown to exhibit a very low tolerance to characters less intellectually able, especially to humans whom he sees as inferior and often labels them “stupid”. He often becomes frustrated at his brothers if they do not fully understand his plans. He is frequently the butt of his brothers’ jokes as many of his inventions prove to be dangerous and quick to malfunction.

The 2007 cartoon also echoes his superior technical abilities, but rather than be of low tolerance, Donatello is portrayed as being of extremely gentle character, rarely argumentative, non competitive and less skilled in ninjitsu than his brothers. As a consequence he is has a greater vulnerability about him than his brothers, is the most likely to suffer a quick defeat or to be captured by hostile enemies. With a slight tendency towards pacifism, Donatello prefers to find the solution with his mind than through violence. His technical abilities have provided much in the way of strategies and solutions to their battles. He is very much a worrier in this incarnation, and seems to exhibit a greater understanding of their isolation than his brothers. He is also very compassionate to others and tolerant of his brothers.

The 1990 film radically adapts Donatello’s character, giving him less technical abilities and pairing him up with Michelangelo as a companion. He has a tendency to be on the quiet side, and has a longing to be able to walk the streets above with the humans. He is very intelligent but fools around with Michelangelo a great deal. He is very friendly and has a close platonic relationship with April, with whom he often holds hands. There are indications that Donatello has placed himself along side Michelangelo to ease his own worrisome attitude. This is exposed when Michelangelo becomes depressed: Donatello seeks an alternative humorous character to pair off with, which he finds in Casey Jones. Donatello’s role as something of a geek is expanded in the subsequent films, which for the purposes of this essay are not viewed as Canon.

In the new film Donatello carries the weight of the responsibility as the eldest son remaining whilst Leonardo is absent, deals with the frustrations of applying his genius to mundane life – a life in which he has become disillusioned with the life of heroics. But of course he flourishes when his technical abilities are required once again. It’s a shame we don’t see more of him, but what we did see was pure gold!

[Aignatius]

Hmm. I don't think it's necessarily the people Don gravitates toward have to be super smart, but simply those who can understand and appreciate the way he thinks. And that share his interests. :)

[Scandia]

Having gotten access to all versions of TMNT recently, I will have to say that my favorite incarnation of Donatello would be that of the Old Toon. He has the coolest, most in-character voice. His inventions and inventiveness are a major part of the show. In the movies this got often neglected. And in the New Toon he does not seem to be particularly nerdy- and I like his nerdiness. But in the OT, Donnie is all of his shining glory.

[aabxx]

Having gotten access to all versions of TMNT recently, I will have to say that my favorite incarnation of Donatello would be that of the Old Toon. He has the coolest, most in-character voice. His inventions and inventiveness are a major part of the show. In the movies this got often neglected. And in the New Toon he does not seem to be particularly nerdy- and I like his nerdiness. But in the OT, Donnie is all of his shining glory.

I don't know if I can agree with this. Don's pretty nerdy in the new toon too and spends a lot of time alone doing geek stuff.

[Scandia]

Yes, but so far (I have watched the first 20 episodes), it does not manifest itself as much as in the OT. But I may just need to watch some more.

He's still cool. But I want to see more of his "doing machines".

[aabxx]

Yes, but so far (I have watched the first 20 episodes), it does not manifest itself as much as in the OT. But I may just need to watch some more.

He's still cool. But I want to see more of his "doing machines".

And it never will manifest itself as much as in OT. That would've looked ridiculous on the NT.

I objected to you saying he's not particularly nerdy in NT which I disagree completely with. He's very nerdy in NT IMO.

[kerfootw]

Don was my favorite old school Turtle. That is of course until the new series Leonardo came around...I'm also getting into the old Raph too.

[Warhorse]

In the Best Friends thread, Donatello shows the most inconsistency about who is his best friend. Seems like he is closest to a different character in every medium. Out of all 4 brothers he had the strongest crush on April- but he is not seen showing interest in anyone else. Unlike Raphael, Donnie does not seem jealous of his older brother getting the most praise in his ninjitsu- but his laid back personality and other non-martial arts interests alone should not account for this, so I suspect that Raphael may have gotten a head injury when being dropped by Chester.
]

What's this crap about Raph having a head injury and that is why he is angry? This is the most obsurd thing I have ever read. There really is no reason to bring down Raph's character to make whatever point you were trying to make.

Raph is a very agressive personality, while Don is passive. And personalities have nothing to do about someone assumed to be dropped on their heads. Raph's reactions towards Leo I think revolve around more out of natural competiveness. Both Leo and Raph are very agressive by nature, and agressive natures tend to be naturaly competitve as well.

Donny has a very passive personality, laid back and easy going most of the time. Most people get along with Donny as much as they do with Mikey, because he is easy to talk to. And despite his ultra genious personality, I find him to be well grounded. Most of the time, he's quiet about his intelligence, not throwing it in people's faces, but when challenged, he is quick to put lesser intelligent people in their place. (Remember that short clip about the Turtles jumping up to get to that pipem and it ended being a main sewer line) And while Donny is a smart ass, and rightfully so, I also find him to be not as arrogant in his expertise or accomplishments as the other Turtles are.

[Scandia]

While the movies overall focus on Raphael and Leonardo to a certain extent, the second one is quite Donatello centric. The scientific theme behind it lends itself to focus so much on Donatello. And that is a good thing. Not just because I like science a lot- but because in most other versions, Donatello seems to get the shaft. However, this movie lets Donnie and his knowledge and interests and passion shine through.

[MoreCowbell5263]

I love the Ninja Turtles, but I probably have less exposure than most of you. I've never gotten into the comics, but I like both cartoons and the movies. Donnie has always been my favorite character. I like how he doesn't always rub it in people's faces that he's the smart one, but when someone questions him, he puts them in their place. I liked in the new movie that Don was always relatively separate from the other turtles when he was talking about his scientific stuff like Winter's plan and his job and he just started working on his little gadget at the table without like having Mike come join him or anything. I love all the Don-centered plots in the cartoons, and when I was younger, Ninja Turtles II was my favorite because of Don's major role in it, but now I like the first one the best.

I'd like to see more cartoons or movies where one turtle is absent and you see how the others deal with it. I like in the OT in Take Me To Your Leader, Leo leaves because he questions his instincts, and the others take turns being leader and they all make mistakes. I also like the NT episode where Don morphs into that big snapping turtle monster thing and the other three have to rely on Leatherhead and stuff. As much as I like Leatherhead, I would've liked to see how they planned to cure him had Leatherhead not come into the mix. But, I like in the beginning of one of the part 2 or part 3 episodes with Leo narrating in the beginning about what had happened, and I just love what he said, it really filled me with this warm, fuzzy feeling to hear the Turtles talk about how much they depended on Don to help them out of a lot of their problems, and had it been another Turtle that had turned into the monster, they would've turned to Don. It really shows exactly how much pressure Don always has on him in times of crisis being the intellectually superior of the Turtles.

If this recent TMNT movie has a sequel made, I'd love to see more Donatello, and more Michelangelo too, I like Leo and Raph and all, but they're usually the center of attention, I'd like to see a more Don/Mike-centered plot with emotional development and stuff where you can see how much depth these overlooked characters have, and that they're not just 'comic reliefs.'

[Spitfire]

Don is my favorite overall turtle.

In the TV series he saves his brothers asses so many times I can't even count. In every episode he figures out what to do and beats the villain. Very rarely he's not the one to defeat a bad guy if all 4 of them are up against it.

In the new series he has less screen time. But he's no less Don. He's smart and figures things out but unlike the old toon he doesn't save everyones butt nearly as often. His relationship with Mikey is fun to watch.

In the comics Don is a psychopath. He's very dark, to himself, and almost tortured. In Mirage I get that vibe from him when his brothers split up, when he's keeping Baxter's mangled body in the old lair closet, and in Image it comes full form.

Archie Don is by far my favorite. Epically Future Don, I just love future Don. He still kicks major ass but is still a genius.

Oh almost forgot the movies. Well he's the comic relief in all of them but the new one which he's hardly in so not much to say there.

[MoreCowbell5263]

I never knew Don was such a dark character. I never read the comics, but I knew how dark it was, I just never imagined Don being like that, but I've been wrong and surprised before.

[The Shelf]

I never knew Don was such a dark character. I never read the comics, but I knew how dark it was, I just never imagined Don being like that, but I've been wrong and surprised before.

Well, I think the only thing Don has done in the Mirage comics that is darker than any of the things the other turtles have done is keep Baxter locked up in the sewer for 15 years without anyone else even knowing about it. Everyone thought Baxter had died 15 years prior, but Don kept him around to study him and learn from him. It is, however, unclear whether Don was only keeping Baxter around just to study him or if he did it partly out of pity because he has such a respect for life. Don certainly has the potential to turn into a mad scientist if things go bad in his life. I think he's just as caring as the other turtles and even more respectful of people and life than them, but in typical mad scientist fashion, he has a bad side that can be utterly cold and emotionless. He shows no emotion whatsoever when he blows up Baxter and never says a word to his brothers when he returns to them. It's as if he was only dismantling an old machine of his.

This is just going off the Mirage comics, though. I haven't read the Image series, but that series was much darker overall, anyway.

[CJStyles]

He kept Baxter locked in a closet for 15 years?

In "Trapped In The Closet" Fashion

Baxter:: Now I'm stuck in a closet. I've been here for 15 years. No sign of the outside world....SO I PULL OUT MY GUN!!

[jenna]

Well, I think the only thing Don has done in the Mirage comics that is darker than any of the things the other turtles have done is keep Baxter locked up in the sewer for 15 years without anyone else even knowing about it. Everyone thought Baxter had died 15 years prior, but Don kept him around to study him and learn from him. It is, however, unclear whether Don was only keeping Baxter around just to study him or if he did it partly out of pity because he has such a respect for life. Don certainly has the potential to turn into a mad scientist if things go bad in his life. I think he's just as caring as the other turtles and even more respectful of people and life than them, but in typical mad scientist fashion, he has a bad side that can be utterly cold and emotionless. He shows no emotion whatsoever when he blows up Baxter and never says a word to his brothers when he returns to them. It's as if he was only dismantling an old machine of his.

This is just going off the Mirage comics, though. I haven't read the Image series, but that series was much darker overall, anyway.

Is Baxter just a brain like in 2k3 or did he.... remain intact in the comics?

[The Shelf]

Is Baxter just a brain like in 2k3 or did he.... remain intact in the comics?

He's just a brain inside a machine. I think that's partly why Don was keeping him around to study; although, I do think he wanted to just talk to him as well. They apparently debated the possibility of time travel during one of Don's visits to Baxter. Baxter supposedly figured out how to do it during the 3-4 year gap between Don's last two visits (apparently, Baxter must have created his machine body to sustain his brain without food, water, or oxygen). It's a shame Don didn't get it out of him before he blew him up. Oh well. :dead:

[Sonic x 20]

Donny, the genius of the turtles and I love him as well!! He maybe is a peacemaker, but like what weas posted before, he can fight just as well as his brothers. The turtles will be in trouble without his smartness to help them out in certain tough situations. Alot of his inventions helped them out alots of times and they sometimes can backfire as well/ Always expect Donny to do his best to solve alot of tough problems. 8) 8)

[MoreCowbell5263]

I've never been too familiar with the comics, so I wanted to know from people who are, has Don had much experience with other weapons? I've seen Leo use other weapons and I've seen Mikey use others because nunchuku were illegal and all, but has Don been shown used other weapons other than his bo?

[Coola Yagami]

It's funny how life-saving or over-complicated things like the Turtle Van, the Blimp and even transdimensional portals and whatnot work, and yet stuff like some kind of pizza-toaster would always explode in Don's face!

[odupianist]

In "What a Croc" he tried using Raph's sais. While twirling, he lost one of them lol

[MoreCowbell5263]

Haha, pure Don.

[Cascadia]

other than that incident, he only has used his beloved bo staff.

[Andrew NDB]

other than that incident, he only has used his beloved bo staff.

In the "Return to New York" comics Don, within the Foot's Hudson Block HQ Don picked up a bo-staff with a blade built onto the end of it off the wall of an armory/training room. We see him twirling it around and cutting up some Foot with it for a minute.

In the original Triceraton arc, though it technically still counts as just his normal bo-staff, when a Triceraton breaks his bo-staff in half, he uses the broken end of one part of it as a knife and jams it into a Triceraton's neck to kill them.

[Cascadia]

In the "Return to New York" comics Don, within the Foot's Hudson Block HQ Don picked up a bo-staff with a blade built onto the end of it off the wall of an armory/training room. We see him twirling it around and cutting up some Foot with it for a minute.

-->actually that is Raph that used the weapon that you speak of unless I am mistaken. I am looking at my comic and Raph lost his sai when he was near the weapons rack. He grabbed a different weapon.

In terms of the other scene that you speak of, that is technically his bo-staff, but only half of it.

[Blithe]

I've never been too familiar with the comics, so I wanted to know from people who are, has Don had much experience with other weapons? I've seen Leo use other weapons and I've seen Mikey use others because nunchuku were illegal and all, but has Don been shown used other weapons other than his bo?
Although as far as I can recall, this is an atypical example, but Don used a gun to shoot a big ol' hole in one of Shredder's Elite guards back in City at War. It was a jarring moment to say the least because there was such a raw violence about it - not something usually associated with Don.

[Scandia]

I was wondering if out of all the TMNT universes, the Mirage comics was the most Donatello-centric one. This would make sense, especially since he's Laird's favorite Turtle as well as the one most like him.

I was also wondering if Splinter calls Donatello's name the least out of all 4 Turtles. After all, he's neither the apple of his eye nor a pain in his neck. And had Splinter not been around, would Donatello be the most successful Turtle, or would he have turned into a ruthless mad scientist without somebody to provide him a moral compass.

[Blithe]

I was wondering if out of all the TMNT universes, the Mirage comics was the most Donatello-centric one. This would make sense, especially since he's Laird's favorite Turtle as well as the one most like him.

I was also wondering if Splinter calls Donatello's name the least out of all 4 Turtles. After all, he's neither the apple of his eye nor a pain in his neck. And had Splinter not been around, would Donatello be the most successful Turtle, or would he have turned into a ruthless mad scientist without somebody to provide him a moral compass.
I can't speak for the Archie comics, but Mirage certainly doesn't neglect Donatello. Geez, I'm so not a detail-oriented person and it's been awhile since I've read through my collection, but I know there are a number of Don-centric stories. I feel like overall he has a strong presence even when the plot doesn't specifically focus on him so he's never left to the background as much as he is in the movies.

There are a lot of little Don things too that add great depth to the comics and you get a lot of insight into him from even small comments or scenarios.

I'll have to dig into my books to be more specific.

[MoreCowbell5263]

Would anybody else like to see Don's darker, "mad scientist" side in a future Turtles movie? I think that would be awesome, it would show how the Turtles would be without Don's intellect to help them out, and they'd actually have to fight him or something. I think that would be cool to see Don as an antagonist or even one of the other Turtles. Raph was kinda an antagonist in a couple of the movies, but that's kinda his character, but I'd like to see Don or Mike or Leo be a little on the darker side at times.

[PipingPringle]

Would anybody else like to see Don's darker, "mad scientist" side in a future Turtles movie? I think that would be awesome, it would show how the Turtles would be without Don's intellect to help them out, and they'd actually have to fight him or something. I think that would be cool to see Don as an antagonist or even one of the other Turtles. Raph was kinda an antagonist in a couple of the movies, but that's kinda his character, but I'd like to see Don or Mike or Leo be a little on the darker side at times.

I could not agree more. I needs some emoturtle from these two!

[Revan]

I think it would be cool to have Don make a big mistake. We always see them do the right thing... for the most part. It would be fun to see him pull an Anakin and slice someone's head off or something like that. Perhaps not that gruesome but you get the point. Then they have to deal with their actions.

[General Traag]

In the OT Donatello built a portal to other dimensions, that allready makes him a bit off a mad scientiest in my view.
Knowing his other inventions which went nutzoid on a usual basis that portal could have very well ported nasty creatures out of dimension-who-knows right into their lair. :teek: :kgrin:

[Scandia]

Donnie has done an awesome job as leader when Leo is not available. But it is still not his true nature. I do agree that Donnie seems to make the least amount of blunders. While he is not serious all the time, he is not a clown like Mikey or Raph either. But he does know how to have fun.

It would be interesting to see one of his plans or inventions backfire. I saw one interview where someone from the TMNT comics staff was asked if it seemed that Donatello was Splinter's favorite son. He said no- but as an individual, Donnie seems the most well-balanced very often.

[jenna]

Don strikes me as the sort that could very easily break if the pressure got too great in terms of working too hard. What was the OT episode where Donatello worked so hard and didn't sleep that his bros thought he was going crazy? Even though he turned out to be right, he was still acting pretty mad. I can imagine him depriving himself of sleep for endless hours if he is working on something.

[MoreCowbell5263]

Ugh, someone on imdb claimed that Don must be gay because of the scene in the new movie between him and Raph. I hate when people think that just because someone prefers to talk things over than to start a fist fight, that the someone must be gay. Don's my favorite turtle, and I remember all my friends thinking he was gay watching the OT just because of his voice. His voice! Apparently, a person's voice is all you need to know to tell whether or not a person is homosexual in today's society. Don isn't gay, and I'm not a homophobic or whatever, I'm all for equal treatment for all races, genders, sexual orientations, and religions. Maybe I'm just overreacting, but whatever. I like Don because of his pacifist personality for the same reason I don't like Raph for his aggressive personality. Again, it might just be me overreacting.

[Scandia]

Stereotyping like that irks me just as much. I think in every incarnation, it is pretty clear that Donnie has a thing for April anyway. So that should prove people wrong.

[MoreCowbell5263]

Yeah I've noticed he kinda likes April in a way the others don't. Wikipedia says it later proved he loved her like a sister, so that makes sense to me, her being similar to him with technology and stuff.