Greatest skilled turtle?
 

Greatest ninja-skilled turtle ranked from best to poorest? I made my list.

1987 cartoon: Leo, Raph, Don, Mikey.

2003 cartoon: Leo, Don, Mikey, Raph.

Mirage Vol. 1: Leo, Raph, Mike, Don.

I think it's a tough call on the first movie: I'd have to go with Leonardo in first, then everyone else is tied. Raphael's anger probably gets in the way, and Donatello and Michelangelo aren't as disciplined as Leonardo.

mmm ...
2003 cartoon...leo mike raph don

tales leo raph mike don

tmnt movie raph leo mike don

I think that in a fight leo vs raph raph wins..and if raph and mike fight mikes speed will defeat raph..but leo can defeat that same mike


i dont know if u get my point some of the skills are more efective in diferent turtles.....mm like pokemon jajaja:D

Dude, that's just wrong, and you know it.

It doesn't matter which TMNT universe, Leo will always be the top ninja. This is not debatable. Martial arts is Leo's passion. It's what he does best.

To even question that in any one universe that Leo isn't the top ninja would be like questioning if Don isn't the scientist in the group.
It's bloody canon.


If you're basing your innacurate assumption on that one little fight between Leo and Raph in the 2007 movie, it's pretty damn obvious that Leo was holding back.
Ask yourself, how is it that Raph had no chance against Leo in the first round dispite the fact that he had armor and was using chain weapons against Leo who was unarmed and had no armor, where as in round two, when the helmet came off, Leo eventually lost? Because he knew it was Raph, so he held back.
Leo didn't know it was Raph in the first round, so he easily took out Raph.
Do the math.


Now that that's cleared, as for what the order is below Leo, that's debatable.
I've seen Don, Raph, and Mikey toppling over eachother in different universes.
I'll have to think about this and drop my answers later.

I agree with you completely and I'm Raph fan, but some of the more hardcore fans are going to argue that helmet obscured his vision. And that he couldn't hear as well with it on.

First off, there's a difference between hardcore fans and delusional fans. Hardcore fans are the kind that rigidly stick to canon and facts. Delusional fans are the kind that come up with their own b*llshit because they're pussies and can't deal with reality. ...And the reality is Leo is the top turtle.

If anyone made that kind of argument you suggested, it would be a sad attempt at trying to put their turtle up on a pedestal.
That logic can't be aplied without countering it with the fact that Raph still manages to drive his motorcycle through the busy streets of NYC, beat up goons, and coordinate his acrobatical stunts with the helmet on.

I don't want to have to do this in another thread because people have backward logic going on in their heads or that they're just plain stubborn.

Leo is the best fighter. It's been established since the first comic, and it's been canon ever since. That's simply part of Leo's role. He's the leader, the alpha male, and Splinter's star pupil. This is all fact.


Now, as I said in my first post, I believe the real debate in this thread is who's the better fighter among Don, Raph, and Mikey.
Leo has been extremely well established that he's the best among the four. But it's never been clear how the order of the other three go.
I think this thread has alot of potential if people remain realistic.

Leonardo is definitely the most skilled one. He does the best work. He knows the widest range. And he is always seeking to learn something new, as well as to perfect his skills.

Of the other 3, I do not know. Donatello is the most intelligent and comes up with fantastic gadgets. Raphael puts up a good fight and is good with weapons. And Michelangelo is very athletic and has the natural ability. But Donnie does not seem to would have pursued the ninjitsu path if it were not for Splinter. Raphael's temper gets the best of him- and he's not interested in the theory. And Mikey is not very disciplined or mature.

*nod* Leo will always be the best. Like Ryona said, he'll always be the most passionate about his training than his brothers.

For me? Well, all I know is that Leo goes first. Raph... well, he's a tough one to pin. Nearly everyone places him second, but I'm not so sure. He's got talent and is a great fighter, but skill doesn't just rely on brute strength alone. Don also likes his technology, but that's no reason to say that he isn't a skilled fighter. Then there is Mike, who has so much potential, but mainly lets himself slacken off to persue other callings in life. I'm tempted to follow the heard and place everyone as "Leo, Raph, Don, Mike", but in all honest, I'm not too sure...

Heck, I'm with Mutant Man on this one. Everyone else is equal save for Leo. All I know is that all four would kick my ass if I pissed them off one magical day. :P

For me: Leo, Mikey, Raph, Don.

You wanna say Leonardo's the best in terms of skill, fine, no argument here, but don't push it with that stupid stuff again.

leo for sure. hes top ninja. out of the four, he is the most skilled and ninjitsu. may not be the fastest or the toughest, but definatly the most skilled.

The reality of a show about turtles mutated into a team of ninjas with a strange ooze?

If someone wants to think that Raphael could be the top ninja, that's great. It's like arguing over who would win between Mighty Mouse and Galactus. Anyone can come up with some theory for why one would win, because it's all been made up anyway. Who really cares?

Oh please, stop talking as if you made the movie or TMNT Bible. Anyone can come up with a theory as too who really won the fight in the movie. You can argue just as well that Leo lost the fight because he has lower endurance and adrenaline was making Raph stronger and faster. A numerous number of factors can go into who wins a fight so not all of them are as clear cut as you think they are.

Also, most skilled does not necessarily mean better. There are hundreds of examples in cartoons and comics where lesser skilled characters defeated people vastly superior to them.

Is Leo the most passionate and disciplined ninja? That's almost undeniable but even the most disciplined and passionate person has their weaknesses.

this is a pretty intense thread. i'm mostly about the old school mirage comics, and in mirage universe i'd have to go with leo first, raph second. leo is the first guy to do damage to the shredder, and then beats shredder one on one in return to new york. splinter comments on how hard raph trains. so i'd have to give it up to those guys. as far as don and mike, i don't know.

Leo is the most skilled. That's every medium. In the old toon Donwas just as skilled as Don. And I think Raph and Mike where about equal.

I've often assumed that despite Leo being the most skilled and dedicated ninja, the other three have the luxury of knowing his weaknesses. That can come in handy in a fight.

Take Mikey and Raph's fight during the Battle Nexus Tournament in the 2k3 universe. There's not doubt that between the 2 Turtles engaged in the battle Raph is probably the more dedicated to the arts, as the 2k3 Mikey is a bit of a slacker, and yet he beat Raph, not so much by being a superior fighter, but by exploiting Raphael's weaknesses.

If it came down to it, any one Turtle could probably take down any other Turtle, doing just this, using the years they have grown up together, trained together, learned together, to exploit the others weakness and defeat them, Leo included.

Yea, but Leo's a square, so he loses automatically.

Stupid how? I was just pointing something out. Where did you come off with that?

Funny, but no. You well know what I mean. I'm taking about people keeping it real and not dropping in false judgement based on some TMNT fanfiction they read where some biased writer showcased their turtle.

And I understand that any outcome is truly possible if the right circumstances were met.
If oneday Raph was to drop an atomic bomb on Leo, then yeah, naturally Leo wouldn't have a chance. So, yeah, I get what you're saying that even the great ones can fall depending on the situation.
But this thread is a debate on who's the most skilled. And by default Leo is the best. The other three below Leo? That's not as well-established and actually has potential for debate.



Easy there... If I'm coming off as some self-rightious TMNT know-it-all, that's certainly not my attention.
I'm just stressing the importance of fact over fiction and general TMNT comon knowlegde.
There's things in the franchize that are very well established and can't be challenged other than in the make-believe world of fanfiction.

Also, since you brought up the movie fight scene again, I'd like to point out that during round two, there was a point that Leo thrusted with his sword right by Raph's neck, deliberantly missing. That's a visible example of Leo holding back.

Regardless, Raph, as well as Don and Mikey have a tremendous amont of skill. So there's no need for fans to get hyper-sensitive just because Splinter's star pupil is on top.

Because you're wrong about it, it's been stated before Munroe had no intention of making it so that Leonardo held back and let Raphael win, and regardless of what you say about the math, how the fight went on before that point doesn't make it so. Both tried just as well to win, and Raphael won it fair and square, that's it and that's all. Not saying that proves Raphael better or proves anything else pertinent to this topic for that matter, but that's the "fact" of that matter.

That truly doesn't sound right. Honestly. And whether what you said actually is fact or not, it can't ignore the fact that Leo took out Raph with relative ease in the first round when he thought he was just fighting some "Night Watcher" punk; and how the playing feild got more evened after Leo's shock of discovering it was Raph.

It comes down to who wanted it more. Raph did. He really REALLY wanted to win. For Leo however, the fight was half-hearted.
Try playing a competetive sport with someone who's not enthusiastic to play. Don't expect the best from them, even though you're all hyped up to play.

Also, it's not the first time that Raph "won" a fight against Leo. In the Mirage comics (Return to New York), Raph managed to throw Leo against a wall after a virbal fight, and it made him think he was a big man. But then later, Raph gets royally f*cked, and Leo's there to save his ass, at which point Raph admits to Leo that he's #1, just before Leo goes off to batter Shredder alone (whom which Leo defeats).

Well, whether it sounds right or not, it's true. And I'm not ignoring the fact that he handled him well at the start, but that doesn't change how the fight concluded and that it was fair and square. It was evened out from the start because they were both caught up in themselves, Leonardo in pride and Raphael in anger, and both had to learn a lesson, and that's why I say they both wanted to win just as much.

In both ot and nt splinter claims leo being the best skilled.

C'mon this thread is about which turtle is the most skilled ninja, not who would beat who in a fight. And in any version of the turtles, Leo is the most skilled. There is no debating that. If you did try to debate this then you would be wrong, and you know what, its O.K. to be wrong.

Not on this forum:evilgrin: muhahahaha!

Splinter would pwn all of their asses.

There. Now everyone is happy. :)

Leonardo is the most skilled. Ryona points out a great example (though she means "Return to New York," not "City at War") in the comics... Raphael's rage gets the better of him time and time again, and Leo was there to save his ass and then go on to decapitate Saki for his second and final death.

Yeah, Andrew is correct. It was "Return to New York". I was typing out that post quickly and got the titles mixed up. I fixed the mistake now.

Anyway, Ra is totally right. Splinter would own them all. lol
Well, Splinter is after all the master. If anyone in the clan is the most skilled, it would be Splinter. Well above Leonardo.

In the finale ep of ot "Divide and Conquer" Splinter claims they've finally are equally matched to him, but the dude is a humble polite wise man, maybe he was overestimating them that pleasure:ohwell:

leo is the most skilled. 'nuff said. this isn't even a debate, it's the truth and it's canon in every medium of the turtles (except NMT, where Venus easily wipes the floor with all of them. :roll:)

Stupid NMT:P

I am such a newbie and missed all the chat about it but leo i think is the best, he always took his ninja training to heart plus splinters words. determination:D

Skilled in the martial arts?
>Leo - Mike - Raph - Don

Leo is the most skilled, hands down
Mike is agile, quick, flexible. well balanced
Raph is quite strong and seems to spend a lot of time weight training and not as much working on technique
Don has been said to overthink his moves too much and become predictable. Plus the 2k3 series seems to show him in distress most often

They all have their own skills though. Don is the most remarkable turtle IMO. He is smarter than most humans and he never spent a day in school. Awesome.

whats funny is skilled in what?

cos Leo ain't better than Raph in saijutsu, as Don ain't as good as Mikey with nunchaku....and Mikey ain't better than Leo with swords, etc...

^
that's a good point. There was an episode where Don was trying to twirl sai, and dropped one. I don't know if any of the others would have Mikey's speed on the 'chucks.

Old toon: Donatello

Movies: Hard to say.

New toon: Leonardo, definitely

Exaclty. What exactly is this thread about? Are we talking unarmed combat or is it meant to pit each turtle's specialty against the others' ?

Leo is obviously most skilled in Kenjutsu. Don in Bojutsu... etc...

Well, first off, when you train in Ninjutsu, you learn how to use all the weapons. And I've seen material where the TMNT have used other weapons other than their common speciality weapons.
It's pretty safe to say that each ninja turtle uses his speciality weapon with greater skill than the others would if they used his weapon.
Though, as far as the Mirage universe goes, I've seen some material that suggests that Leo may be equally skilled as the others with their weapons.

As for unarmed combat, as Neutrino mentioned, Leonardo is definetly without question the most skilled.