Leonardo?

[heretic888]

Nope Michelangelo is not the best fighter of them... The best comes close between Leo and Raph.

Really? Well, look at it this way: Michelangelo, out of all the four, has by far the greatest level of physical prowess. That's agility, dexterity, reflexes, flexibility, quickness (as opposed to speed), grace, accuracy, precision, and a couple of other things as well. In other words, overall physical skill with the body.

In a fight this manifests as the ability to connect with your hits, as well as dodge and/or block the opponent's hits. This would also account for one's ability to roll with a punch or knockdown to 'cushion' the impact of the attack. In a martial art that emphasizes full-bodied 'flowing' movement (as opposed to crude bone and muscle 'snapping' movement) such as ninjutsu or tai chi, this would also manifest as the level of damage and power that each attack has behind it.

Regardless to what you may believe about fighting, the turtles are ninja--- NOT boxers. Actual physical strength and speed are next to nothing when fighting with truly skilled fighters. Timing, distancing, rhythm, angling, flow, and the ability to use full-bodied momentum to utilize the power of the ENTIRE body in movement (as opposed to a single limb) and to utilize the speed of the ENTIRE body in a spontaneous instant (as opposed to just moving the legs alone) is what is key among higher-level martial artists.

In addition, the ability to utilize creative response and adaptability (as opposed to a primal animalistic 'hit and then think' response [Raphael] or a learned habitual response [Leonardo]) is what enables the true fighter to achieve victory.

So, tell me: who is really the better fighter???

now if you go by the comics alone, it could be equal, of course leo killed shredder both times, the peters favorite character is raph, and who knows maybe one ish they will fight, i think someone should ask dan berger to ask peter that... WHO WOULD WIN LEO OR RAPH!

Technically, the Shredder killed himself the first time and it was Donatello that knocked him off the building (not Leonardo). Besides, just because Leo killed Shredder does not mean he is the best fighter. Who is to say that Michelangelo or Donatello couldnt have done just as well? Leo just happened to be at the right place at the right time.

Peter Laird's favorite character is Donatello. Kevin Eastman's favorite is Raphael. Leonardo and Raphael did fight one issue (#19) and Raphael won, but then again Leonardo was holding back considerably (such as when he stopped short of plunging the bokken into Raph's throat) and Raph was not.

Leonardo would win in a fight with Raphael because he has higher physical prowess, more creativity, and more self-discipline. Raphael, when angered (which is relatively easy to do) fights to much like an animal; a serious weakness when battling against skilled martial artists.