If one Turtle had to die, who would it be?
 

https://i.ibb.co/nrWPmSP/Teenage-Mut...-Mirage-h1.jpg

(and NO, it can't be one of the "extra" Turtles like Slash or Venus or Jennika)

Like let's say a bad guy kidnaps all four Turtles and has his men put a gun to all of their heads. You have to pick one to die, or he'll execute all of them.

What? nooo I don't want to choose one!

Then they all die. You have to choose.

Hey you didn't pick one :lol:

Going with Raphael. His anger isn't an asset and makes him unpredictable.

That's actually my vote, too. Lose the unreliable hothead, it should impact the team less than any of the other three.

I would pick Leonardo because his death would be the most impactful on the dynamic of the team, and we would get some interesting stories in the aftermath.

According to IDW it should be Donatello!

They all die and I replace them with the Battle Toads. Plus Gex.

But to take this question seriously....thats tough. Donatello is too useful. Mikey is more useful than Raphael (i guess) because he isn't perma-mad. Leo is the leader...sssoooo. Dang I guess Raph is the weakest link.

But FWL brings up a good point that Leo dying could have an interesting effect on the other three. Perhaps Raphael would get his **** together if Leo died.

Leo would naturally choose to sacrifice himself, tell the thugs they can do whatever they want with him but let his brothers go.

Raph would act out of anger and that could put his life at risk.

Donnie would try to reach the thugs diplomatically.

While Mikey would try to appeal to their humanity.

In most universes isn't Raph the first to die?

Oh that's easy, I'll pick Jenn...

... ****....

Well, I guess you're right to do that. Slash was killed off by both Waltz and Murphy, it almost seems like he exists for the sole purpose of getting killed off. And I suspect Jennika might not exactly get killed off but it seems likely she'll get written out somehow.

If I have to pick one of the "proper" ones...

... I guess killing Mike might work for dramatic purposes, he's kind of the emotional center.

Only picked Leo because I'm interested to see a storyline where they don't have a leader and need to work together as a group without him. Otherwise I wouldn't drop any of them.

Plot twist- one of the turles dies, but then during the aftermath one of the 'extras', Slash, Jennika or whoever steps up and becomes the 4th permanent turtle and stays with the team til that series ends.

Raph. Despite his popularity for being "da angry wun", his stories are almost always sh*t tier in any incarnation. No one ever seems to know what to do with him besides make him the black sheep of the family.

They're all important to the team, and without one of them the dynamic sort of falls apart.

I suppose Mikey is kind of the most expendable, though? Donnie is the brains, Raph is the muscle, Leo is the cohesion between the rest of them. Mikey is flashy and fun, but. . . kind of a screw up? At least, that's how he's typically portrayed in a lot of the animation I've seen him in.

Outside Mirage. When is he not a screw up?

I'm going to go by universe.

Classic 90's cartoon:

Either Raphael or Michelangelo. Leonardo and especially Donatello seem way to important than Michelangelo and Raphael who often seem like they are just making up the numbers. Maybe Raphael is slightly more useful than Michelangelo because things a bit more seriously than him and Michelangelo seems to be a weaker fighter in this version than the other turtles.

2k3 cartoon:

Mikey. You often get the impression that missions would go on without a hitch and even more smoothly if Mikey stayed home or something. I'm not kidding, he seems to cause more issues than Raphael's immature anger issues and occasional insubordination. Plus sometimes you get the impression that Mikey could fall off a bridge and the others would fail to notice except that it been too quite for a long time.

2012 cartoon:

I really say I didn't get to watch this as much as I wanted after season 2. It seems unfair to say Mikey again, but I think this version was equal parts screw up and capable of getting down to business.

current cartoon:

I don't watch it...

For story reasons? It would depend on what has been established and where the story is going.

From scratch? I'd be inclined to go with Leo, because of the "leader" vacuum it could potentially open up being a fun potential story or character element.

I said Raph, for much the same reasons as others gave. Mikey, for all his apparent "screw-ups", is still more than capable in any universe of getting down to business when he needs to, and he couples Raph's unpredictability with a cooler head and more raw talent, so he's more of an asset than Raph even when he's goofing off. And as SAINW showed, he's got untapped potential in spades.

Leo might be a second choice, simply because it might make for a dramatic turn of events, and motivation for the others to work even harder to get free/avenge him. And the change in dynamic would be interesting, as others pointed out.

Donnie tends to suffer the most of the four in the various incarnations. He's been nearly killed off on at least a few occasions in the mirage. Shrunk to the point where he's six inches tall.

Brutally shot, falls out of a helicopter, and becomes a cyborg in the image comics.

He is held down and has his shell smashed in by Bebop and Rocksteady and when his friends and family do find him he's basically dead. In the IDW The Fugitoid is able to detect some traces of life and that was able to download his consciousness into Metalhead until a new metal shell could be grafted onto his body. Even then he never fully recovers from this event.

In the OT he's nearly eaten alive by a mutant plant, tried to escape to get help when Leonardo and Splinter are abducted by mobsters only to nearly get crushed by building facade falling on him. There are probably other instances but the OT was largely slapstick, so other than maybe abductions here and there and the turtle's mutations becoming unstable I can't name much in that series.

The 4 Kids version again, various abductions some of which were unintended. Being tortured by the Triceratons, finding himself in a world where he his Missing and assumed dead. Seeing his brothers killed one after the other before his very eyes. Undergoing a second mutation that turns him into a monster.

The 2012 version he's had so many near-death moments (and one literal death moment) Witnessed people he's personally come to see as friends, family, and teachers mutated, hurt, and killed. It's a wonder he doesn't need therapy by the end of the series.

2018 creates a robot drone that is supposed to be his servant, and then when his brothers reprogram it they first find it amusing to see Donnie have a taste of his own medicine. However, when Sheldon drone tries to literally kill their brother so it could take his place they realize they've gone too far.

(Talking by the 4 Kids Show side)

The most important is most likely Donatello, due to the fact that he basically creates the plans (as it's shown in The Same as it Never was).

Leonardo keeps together the team and he is probably the most mature and psychologically stronger (just imagine someone like Michelangelo having the same struggle as Leonardo after the Exodus).

Michelangelo is phisically the strongest one, just as Splinter says (also adding the fact that he 100% won the Battle Nexus Tournament after Kluh's revenge).

Raphael just looks really weak compared to the others. He is phisically strong yes, but most of the times he is the less careful. He has no psychological strenght, he can't build anything, and looks really naive sometimes.

Michelangelo. He hasn't been tolarable in nearly 3 decades now. Which makes me question his usefulness.

"He's the life of the group!" well that may be the case, but if I had to off one turtle it would be him.

I would be sad if either of them were to be killed out...but since it has kinda happened....maybe Donatello?

I can already see "Donatello Dies (and probably revived)" becoming a recurring thing in future versions of the franchise. I'unno, for some reason I can see that being A Thing going forward.

If they had done that back in the day already, then the FW series would have only lasted for 4 episodes or something.

"OMG they killed Donatello! Those bastards!"

Considering the ramifications, I can see any of the four dying.

Firstly, Leo dying or being out of commission has the biggest storytelling potential. The others have to step up, and potentially become stronger physically and mentally. For example, Mikey growing up or Raph forced to mellow out. That, and who will be the new leader or if that position is retired out of respect.

It pains me to say it as he's my favorite Turtle, but Raph is the most expendable. Depending on the incarnation, he doesn't get a lot of solid moments compared to his brothers. Considering his temper, he puts his team the most at risk. Especially if more stealth-oriented.

Of the four, Don's usually the last one standing or suffers near-death experiences. 2k3, IDW, and Image all come to mind, respectively; that, to me, shows his importance. Without Don, the team doesn't have as much in the way of navigating the sci-fi element present in TMNT. Aside from acting as a meditator too, I think we've seen more than enough Don dying. It's uninteresting personally.

Finally, Mikey is the glue of it all. However, I feel of all the Turtles, he'd benefit the most from someone else dying. His death could force some major emotional themes (specifically for Raph). At the same time, he can grow into his own past what a casual TMNT attributes him as: the fun-loving goofball. I know Mikey is more than that (the comics prove that).

If held at gunpoint, I'd go with Leo for the story development potential. If based on skill however (and it pains me), then Raph.

I ended up choosing Leonardo because of the chaos that would happen :tlol:

Raphael, he's already taken up like 30% of the franchise "learning his lesson" over and over, tired of it.

This guy gets it. Not that I want any to die. This is basically just a "who's your least favorite turtle?" thread with an edgier coat of paint.

Considering that Raph is one of the most popular turtles and the drome isn't an accurate representation of what the mass media would prefer. I doubt killing off the most popular characters would be anything but silly (besides the Last Ronin of course). Also in warrior cultures, anger is pivotal to survival as most warriors utilize anger as expendable energy that enhances adrenaline to ferocious levels. The disparaging of Raph's anger is another side note of western ethos framing human emotions as negatives. In some Indigenous cultures anger is respected as what makes us human and is a combat power that must be tempered with caution. Being unpredictable is also incredibly useful in combat scenarios but it too goes against the western ethos of a so called civilized aristocrat. I really think TMNT needs to abandon its outdated tropes and redefine itself by changing how they view their characters.

Back to the main topic, I think Leonardo should die because he is the leader and he would rather sacrifice himself than any of his brothers. Character wise Leonardo is probably the most destructive towards good storytelling as his characteristics are pitfalls of logic and story cohesion. Lastly, Leonardo is the most spiritual so the idea of him using his spiritual powers in the after life would be interesting.

Man, you're always coming out with the most baseless comments. Where do you come up with this stuff?

And my slightly older female cousin called them the Teenage Moron Nerdy Turdies...so what?

My Grandma has always adored Mikey for being the sweet one. /shrug

I don't think my neither my mother nor my grandmother ever learned to tell each Turtle apart. They've only watched a few episodes with me and the 1990 movie, and it's not like they ever became "fans", so they probably just didn't bother.

My mother was kinda like April in Turtle Tracks though. She'd get the turtles names mixed up and I usually had to correct her haha

I went with Leonardo, mainly because he'd most likely sacrifice himself anyway for the sake of sparing his brothers' lives. Honor can be a real double-edged sword in these kind of situations.

As many have pointed out, Leo would self sacrifice in a situation that allowed, though to be fair I wouldn't want to say none of them would in the opportunity to save one of the other brothers. On the other side of this, failing to do so would also really impact Leo, if a writer wanted to go in that direction.

I'm a little bias with Leo being my favourite, he's off the table for me :lol: Each would have a different impact though and be a loss, for which out of the 4, it would also depend on the story and characterisation of that version.

It would have to be Leo. I still like him but he had the least interesting personality.

Mikey..... Yeah I said it.

It's good to be the class clown but at some point you gotta just mature, and let the story get more serious.