The Leonardo Thread

FearlessLeader · 03-28-2011, 07:24 AM

Why doesn't Leo have one of these yet?

I have wrote why Leonardo is my favorite Turtle so many times in so many places but really Michael Dooney summed it up for me perfectly in a quote from him from Fan Expo in Canada a few years ago:

"I think I'm with Jim, I've always liked Leo for a lot of the same reasons, I've always liked the idea, I don't think he's so much serious; he's got to be a notch above the other guys. Just to kind of keep them in line and when you think about it and I don't think Pete has ever committed to the fact that they are biological brothers and biologically the same age I have always though of them as that way. So for each of them to be so distinctly individual and for him to act like the oldest one even though he's not really I think that is a strong character point.

Taken from this video here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZPRMxmk1AU

*Powder* · 03-28-2011, 07:39 AM

OT Leo is what made him my favorite, as that's what I was first exposed to. I love him there, though I'll agree that he does have his dull moments. Even Cam Clark said *note that I'm paraphrasing* "All I ever really got to say was 'Turtles fight with honor!' & 'We've got to do something!' ". In Archie he's more or less the same, and appreciated the same. I loved how emotionally in touch & spiritual Leo was in the first film, and in parts of the comics. The Leo I like most is one who meditates. I'm hoping to get the shot of him meditating against the tree from the first film tattooed on me one day. 2k3 was pretty much a spot on amalgamation of Mirage & OT, so he's definitely a top player. I named my album after a characteristic we both share, taking on others burdens. In one of the City At War episodes Splinter says to Leo "My son, you bear the weight of the world on your shoulders." (or something to that degree) & I tend to do the same. I also try to model myself after Leo's good characteristics at times, as he's what I've always aspired to be. Proud, noble, honorable, loyal, spiritually and emotionally in touch with himself, fearless, loving, & so forth. In my eyes he's got all the qualities an ideal person should. I have some of those, but not all. Nobody's perfect! He's been my idol since I was little. Some find imaginary idols stupid, I don't. Blue is my favorite color, swords are the raddest weapon, too.

ANYWAY, after all that sidetracking...

In image he's kinda just there, that's cool. I liked the character growth that Mikey got most of all from the series, and the attention was more or less focused on all the right things anyway. In the Next Mutation he was alright, a little indecisive about himself though, maybe. Sometimes he was overly serious, other times too goofy. I guess that's the writers fault. Thought he looked awesome though, and the double edged swords were kinda neat. TMNT gave a fairly accurate depiction but he was a little too fearless leader for my taste. I'm sure I don't need to elaborate on that one. He always played well in games, the swords have good reach.

Overall... it's a hard choice to make. Picking a favorite iteration, that is. I guess I'm gonna go with the first film version, though.
He seems the best there, I suppose, because he's a little bit of all Leos there. If that makes sense.

In case you couldn't tell, Leonardo has been and always will be, my favorite turtle.

Icegaze · 03-28-2011, 07:47 AM

Where do I begin.

There is so much to be said about Leonardo despite what many on these boards seem to think; I've read various posts saying Leo is a "boring" character. Really?

I know it's a question of opinion (and TMNT version/medium) but Leo has always been the most interesting turtle for me. He is calm, passionate about what he loves which are his siblings, master and ninja arts. He is very respectful and good at what he does (his ninjutsu/kenjutsu attributes are what attracted me to him at first). He also has a very strong code of honour in the old fashioned way. And most importantly, he constantly burdens himself with expectations, whether they were put on him or not. He is always ready to make sacrifices. I admire his virtue.

I'm really glad that at the age of 4-5 I picked Leo to be my favourite turtle. The colour blue is my favourite but I cannot quite remember if this was because Leo was my favourite turtle or if I chose Leo because blue was already my favourite colour. Teehee. I guess that will remain a life-long mystery for me.

All in all, Leo will always have my vote. I wish Nick's version will do him great justice. I already have high expectations...

**Jester** · 03-28-2011, 07:47 AM

Ahh Leo. What's to say. He's the TMNT equivalent of Cyclops of the X-men only a bit more tolerable. As a Raphie fan boy, of course Leo is on the other end of the spectrum. I like him 3rd followed only in recent years by Mikey, because lets face it 2k3's Mikey could get on your nerves. I'll admit, 4kids Leo was better then the OT Leo, who was very dull and at the time was my least favorite Turtle. With the new series Leo got some depth, we saw how he dealt with failure and worked harder. We know he cares for his brothers and that's why he rides them so hard.

deadpoolRKO · 03-28-2011, 07:54 AM

Leonardo has always been my favorite , I admire his leadership , his seriousness , Blue is my favorite color , I love him in the live action movies , especially the first one. I always wanted to be like him. Raph is my second favorite because he's who i relate to the most. Im easily frustrated , impatient , spontaneous , ect.

Leo has all the qualities i strive to have.

Icegaze · 03-28-2011, 12:36 PM

The following video pretty much summarises what I think of Leo, especially battle-wise. http://revision3.com/deathbattle/tmnt

Warning: the content around the mid-end of the video is somewhat violent.

LEOOOOOO!!!

*Donnie* · 03-28-2011, 12:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Icegaze

The following video pretty much summarises what I think of Leo, especially battle-wise. http://revision3.com/deathbattle/tmnt

There goes 9 minutes of my life that I will never get back. That was horrid...those guys are annoying! They clearly don't know much about the comics.

Concerning Leonardo, I think he's great. Some find him overly annoying in his discipline habits, but I find it rather admirable. The amont of focus he puts towards his training is highly commendable. I think my favorite adaption of Leo would have to be the 2k3. I think he's a great balance between Mirage and movie 1.

bridgegrn · 03-28-2011, 01:10 PM

There was only a taste of it in TMNT but I like the idea of the pressure behind Leo. Splinter looks to him as the one to lead the way for his brothers in battle. I'm sure he recognizes the turtle's 'weaknesses' (Raph's anger, Don's lack of a killer instinct, Mikey's laid back personality) and saw Leo as the one most likely to be able to keep everyone focused and, well, alive. But can you imagine the pressure of being put out there and being expected to have the answers, and the plan, and to have to guide 3 very distinct personalities through life or death situations. People tend to **** on Leo for being the straight edge but really, would you act differently if you were trying to save lives, keep your brothers alive and focused on the mission while avoiding an army of ninja assassins looking for blood?

Sword Slicin' Leo · 03-28-2011, 01:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jester

Ahh Leo. What's to say. He's the TMNT equivalent of Cyclops of the X-men only a bit more tolerable. As a Raphie fan boy, of course Leo is on the other end of the spectrum. I like him 3rd followed only in recent years by Mikey, because lets face it 2k3's Mikey could get on your nerves. I'll admit, 4kids Leo was better then the OT Leo, who was very dull and at the time was my least favorite Turtle. With the new series Leo got some depth, we saw how he dealt with failure and worked harder. We know he cares for his brothers and that's why he rides them so hard.

Bull$hlt! Cyclops is a self absorbed douchebag....Leo is the man,end of story

*Donnie* · 03-28-2011, 01:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sword Slicin' Leo

Bull$hlt! Cyclops is a self absorbed douchebag....Leo is the man,end of story

Easy there, tiger. I never thought of Cyclops in that way, Cyke is a very capable leader who has his own issues that he has to deal with. Yeah, there's differences between him and Leonardo, but there's also similarities.

Sword Slicin' Leo · 03-28-2011, 01:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DonnyTMNT

Easy there, tiger. I never thought of Cyclops in that way, Cyke is a very capable leader who has his own issues that he has to deal with. Yeah, there's differences between him and Leonardo, but there's also similarities.

Thats a fair assumption...But Cylcops is'nt really a one on one fighter... just X's lil bitch LOL!

FearlessLeader · 03-28-2011, 01:42 PM

I never really thought Cyclops was like Leo at all (pass the obvious they are both leaders of teams of mutants) they at least in my opinion have vastly different personalities and outlooks on life, if anyone in the Marvel universe is like Leonardo (and this is once again just my opinion) I think it's Captain America.

I just always found his sense of justice and his caring, protective nature reminded me the most of Leo out of everyone.

Sword Slicin' Leo · 03-28-2011, 01:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reira

I never really thought Cyclops was like Leo at all (pass the obvious they are both leaders of teams of mutants) they at least in my opinion have vastly different personalities and outlooks on life, if anyone in the Marvel universe is like Leonardo (and this is once again just my opinion) I think it's Captain America.

I can agree with that

*Donnie* · 03-28-2011, 02:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sword Slicin' Leo

Thats a fair assumption...But Cylcops is'nt really a one on one fighter... just X's lil bitch LOL!

Actually, Cyclops is trained in martial arts.

Leonardo Mystic · 03-28-2011, 02:38 PM

Where do I start? Oh, gosh, I may never be able to say enough about him.

Leonardo has been my favorite since I was six or seven. It started with the '87 cartoon. While I don't quite know all the reasons why I attached to him out of all the turtles then, I think it had something to do with the fact he always wanted to do what was right.

He was always trying to help people and it appealed to me. He sort of represented the Saturday morning cartoon hero for me. He also always seemed like he got the short end of the stick a lot and I identified with him that way too because I know what it was like. I also thought twin katana was the coolest weapon and though blue wasn't my favorite color at the time, it is now.

It wasn't until the first movie that I saw other sides to his personality, like his spiritual nature and the meditation, and a lot more emotion in general. He just didn't feel quite so... flat to me as like I was watching in the OT. Consequently, it is this Leo until 2k3 that became my favorite version. There was a period of several years, however, when I lost interest in the Turtles from 1996 until 2004, about almost a year after the 4Kids' series debuted.

It didn't take long after watching a few episodes though for me to remember why Leo had been my favorite. Even that I had grown older, I was still able to easily identify with him. It's also a little disturbing because I could watch him and go "Wow... I've done that." Especially his ability at taking a problem and letting it consume him. City At War comes to mind "If one bears the weight of the world, all one will accomplish is to be crushed by the weight" and then half of Season 4 all the way up to the Ancient One. It's a lot less painful after watching through it several times after the first, but I still really don't like to see him that way. I'm always glad when I reach the Ancient One episode.

2k3 Leo had so much depth to his character and it is why he is now my favorite version. When I finally found out about the Mirage comics and read those, I liked him a lot there too, but 4Kids' just seems to have a perfect balance. He's okay in TMNT, but he's a little OOC at times to me.

His strong sense of honor and nobility I have always admired about him. He's loyal, kind, gentle, compassionate, loving, protective and spiritual. He's usually calm and focused, brilliant at strategy and thinking on his feet.

*laughs* See? I get going and I usually can't stop. Like I said before, I may never be able to say enough about him.

To sum it, Leonardo has always and forever will be a part of me.

*TheCanadiandrome* · 03-28-2011, 05:13 PM

Leonardo, both from the OT and 2K3 series..awesome!

Doc_ock_4mugen · 03-29-2011, 06:49 AM

While not my favorite Turtle, I can see the appeal Leo has. As a Leader he HAS to carry his team (issues, burdens, strengths, weaknesses, the whole thing) in order to survive. That's a HUGE amount of pressure. To some he may seem plain, but he's the Crust. without him all you have is a mess!

Sword Slicin' Leo · 03-29-2011, 12:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DonnyTMNT

Actually, Cyclops is trained in martial arts.

I have never seen any sign of that...But i only watched the Fox show....never really got into comics...

*Donnie* · 03-29-2011, 01:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sword Slicin' Leo

I have never seen any sign of that...But i only watched the Fox show....never really got into comics...

Yeah, in the cartoon he didn't do much hand to hand as far as I can remember, but in the comics he's a trained martial artist and a hell of a fighter.

*Redeemer* · 03-29-2011, 01:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sword Slicin' Leo

Bull$hlt! Cyclops is a self absorbed douchebag....Leo is the man,end of story

Yeah sounds about right

These r some great post, I agree with a lot of what u guys have said. Leo is my hands down favorite always has been. I loved Leo and TMNT sense the OT and the first movie in the early 90's My favorite adaption of Leo is the 2k3 series, loved him. I will admit the OT Leo is Dull during season 3-6, but had his moments. And I think Cared more about the dual Katanas he carried and less about the character himself.

My reason-Passion, Leadership, Ability to overcome adversity, honor, respect, his screw u mantality (When it comes to failure) thats what I love most about him probably.

03-28-2011, 07:24 AM	#1
FearlessLeader Mad Scientist Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Watching Space Heroes Posts: 1,048	The Leonardo Thread Why doesn't Leo have one of these yet? I have wrote why Leonardo is my favorite Turtle so many times in so many places but really Michael Dooney summed it up for me perfectly in a quote from him from Fan Expo in Canada a few years ago: "I think I'm with Jim, I've always liked Leo for a lot of the same reasons, I've always liked the idea, I don't think he's so much serious; he's got to be a notch above the other guys. Just to kind of keep them in line and when you think about it and I don't think Pete has ever committed to the fact that they are biological brothers and biologically the same age I have always though of them as that way. So for each of them to be so distinctly individual and for him to act like the oldest one even though he's not really I think that is a strong character point. Taken from this video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZPRMxmk1AU __________________ Artwork by Jim Lawson

03-28-2011, 07:47 AM	#3
Icegaze Hench Mutant Join Date: Mar 2011 Posts: 283	Where do I begin. There is so much to be said about Leonardo despite what many on these boards seem to think; I've read various posts saying Leo is a "boring" character. Really? I know it's a question of opinion (and TMNT version/medium) but Leo has always been the most interesting turtle for me. He is calm, passionate about what he loves which are his siblings, master and ninja arts. He is very respectful and good at what he does (his ninjutsu/kenjutsu attributes are what attracted me to him at first). He also has a very strong code of honour in the old fashioned way. And most importantly, he constantly burdens himself with expectations, whether they were put on him or not. He is always ready to make sacrifices. I admire his virtue. I'm really glad that at the age of 4-5 I picked Leo to be my favourite turtle. The colour blue is my favourite but I cannot quite remember if this was because Leo was my favourite turtle or if I chose Leo because blue was already my favourite colour. Teehee. I guess that will remain a life-long mystery for me. All in all, Leo will always have my vote. I wish Nick's version will do him great justice. I already have high expectations... __________________

03-28-2011, 07:47 AM	#4
Jester Rat-faced Dude-guy Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Arkansas Posts: 26,298	Ahh Leo. What's to say. He's the TMNT equivalent of Cyclops of the X-men only a bit more tolerable. As a Raphie fan boy, of course Leo is on the other end of the spectrum. I like him 3rd followed only in recent years by Mikey, because lets face it 2k3's Mikey could get on your nerves. I'll admit, 4kids Leo was better then the OT Leo, who was very dull and at the time was my least favorite Turtle. With the new series Leo got some depth, we saw how he dealt with failure and worked harder. We know he cares for his brothers and that's why he rides them so hard. __________________ "Clearly, you're Ninja Turtling incorrectly." - Leo656

03-28-2011, 07:54 AM	#5
deadpoolRKO Stone Warrior Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: I can't wait until i can have a custom user title Posts: 782	Leonardo has always been my favorite , I admire his leadership , his seriousness , Blue is my favorite color , I love him in the live action movies , especially the first one. I always wanted to be like him. Raph is my second favorite because he's who i relate to the most. Im easily frustrated , impatient , spontaneous , ect. Leo has all the qualities i strive to have. __________________ ( TMNT Clothes , DVD's , Accesories , ect. ) Red Bubble ( My Tee Shirt Designs )

03-28-2011, 12:36 PM	#6
Icegaze Hench Mutant Join Date: Mar 2011 Posts: 283	The following video pretty much summarises what I think of Leo, especially battle-wise. http://revision3.com/deathbattle/tmnt Warning: the content around the mid-end of the video is somewhat violent. LEOOOOOO!!! __________________

03-28-2011, 07:39 AM	#2
Powder 40 Years of TMNT Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Shell-Ri-La Posts: 26,945	OT Leo is what made him my favorite, as that's what I was first exposed to. I love him there, though I'll agree that he does have his dull moments. Even Cam Clark said note that I'm paraphrasing "All I ever really got to say was 'Turtles fight with honor!' & 'We've got to do something!' ". In Archie he's more or less the same, and appreciated the same. I loved how emotionally in touch & spiritual Leo was in the first film, and in parts of the comics. The Leo I like most is one who meditates. I'm hoping to get the shot of him meditating against the tree from the first film tattooed on me one day. 2k3 was pretty much a spot on amalgamation of Mirage & OT, so he's definitely a top player. I named my album after a characteristic we both share, taking on others burdens. In one of the City At War episodes Splinter says to Leo "My son, you bear the weight of the world on your shoulders." (or something to that degree) & I tend to do the same. I also try to model myself after Leo's good characteristics at times, as he's what I've always aspired to be. Proud, noble, honorable, loyal, spiritually and emotionally in touch with himself, fearless, loving, & so forth. In my eyes he's got all the qualities an ideal person should. I have some of those, but not all. Nobody's perfect! He's been my idol since I was little. Some find imaginary idols stupid, I don't. Blue is my favorite color, swords are the raddest weapon, too. ANYWAY, after all that sidetracking... In image he's kinda just there, that's cool. I liked the character growth that Mikey got most of all from the series, and the attention was more or less focused on all the right things anyway. In the Next Mutation he was alright, a little indecisive about himself though, maybe. Sometimes he was overly serious, other times too goofy. I guess that's the writers fault. Thought he looked awesome though, and the double edged swords were kinda neat. TMNT gave a fairly accurate depiction but he was a little too fearless leader for my taste. I'm sure I don't need to elaborate on that one. He always played well in games, the swords have good reach. Overall... it's a hard choice to make. Picking a favorite iteration, that is. I guess I'm gonna go with the first film version, though. He seems the best there, I suppose, because he's a little bit of all Leos there. If that makes sense. In case you couldn't tell, Leonardo has been and always will be, my favorite turtle.

03-28-2011, 01:10 PM	#8
bridgegrn Foot Soldier Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 247	There was only a taste of it in TMNT but I like the idea of the pressure behind Leo. Splinter looks to him as the one to lead the way for his brothers in battle. I'm sure he recognizes the turtle's 'weaknesses' (Raph's anger, Don's lack of a killer instinct, Mikey's laid back personality) and saw Leo as the one most likely to be able to keep everyone focused and, well, alive. But can you imagine the pressure of being put out there and being expected to have the answers, and the plan, and to have to guide 3 very distinct personalities through life or death situations. People tend to **** on Leo for being the straight edge but really, would you act differently if you were trying to save lives, keep your brothers alive and focused on the mission while avoiding an army of ninja assassins looking for blood?

03-28-2011, 01:42 PM	#12
FearlessLeader Mad Scientist Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Watching Space Heroes Posts: 1,048	I never really thought Cyclops was like Leo at all (pass the obvious they are both leaders of teams of mutants) they at least in my opinion have vastly different personalities and outlooks on life, if anyone in the Marvel universe is like Leonardo (and this is once again just my opinion) I think it's Captain America. I just always found his sense of justice and his caring, protective nature reminded me the most of Leo out of everyone. __________________ Artwork by Jim Lawson

03-28-2011, 02:38 PM	#15
Leonardo Mystic Stone Warrior Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Georgia Posts: 904	Where do I start? Oh, gosh, I may never be able to say enough about him. Leonardo has been my favorite since I was six or seven. It started with the '87 cartoon. While I don't quite know all the reasons why I attached to him out of all the turtles then, I think it had something to do with the fact he always wanted to do what was right. He was always trying to help people and it appealed to me. He sort of represented the Saturday morning cartoon hero for me. He also always seemed like he got the short end of the stick a lot and I identified with him that way too because I know what it was like. I also thought twin katana was the coolest weapon and though blue wasn't my favorite color at the time, it is now. It wasn't until the first movie that I saw other sides to his personality, like his spiritual nature and the meditation, and a lot more emotion in general. He just didn't feel quite so... flat to me as like I was watching in the OT. Consequently, it is this Leo until 2k3 that became my favorite version. There was a period of several years, however, when I lost interest in the Turtles from 1996 until 2004, about almost a year after the 4Kids' series debuted. It didn't take long after watching a few episodes though for me to remember why Leo had been my favorite. Even that I had grown older, I was still able to easily identify with him. It's also a little disturbing because I could watch him and go "Wow... I've done that." Especially his ability at taking a problem and letting it consume him. City At War comes to mind "If one bears the weight of the world, all one will accomplish is to be crushed by the weight" and then half of Season 4 all the way up to the Ancient One. It's a lot less painful after watching through it several times after the first, but I still really don't like to see him that way. I'm always glad when I reach the Ancient One episode. 2k3 Leo had so much depth to his character and it is why he is now my favorite version. When I finally found out about the Mirage comics and read those, I liked him a lot there too, but 4Kids' just seems to have a perfect balance. He's okay in TMNT, but he's a little OOC at times to me. His strong sense of honor and nobility I have always admired about him. He's loyal, kind, gentle, compassionate, loving, protective and spiritual. He's usually calm and focused, brilliant at strategy and thinking on his feet. laughs See? I get going and I usually can't stop. Like I said before, I may never be able to say enough about him. To sum it, Leonardo has always and forever will be a part of me. __________________

03-28-2011, 05:13 PM	#16
TheCanadiandrome Big, Bad & Bold Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Inside the Technodrome; Shredderville; Saskatchewan Posts: 19,719	Leonardo, both from the OT and 2K3 series..awesome! __________________ Add me: PSN/XBL; Nintendo Network ID: BDS-3.1.6; Switch FC: SW-3378-5206-8020 TMNT Fan Club: http://sot.ag/4jZR0 Visit My Wish List: http://forums.thetechnodrome.com/showthread.php?t=30904 My Collection: http://forums.thetechnodrome.com/showthread.php?t=40276

03-29-2011, 06:49 AM	#17
Doc_ock_4mugen Hench Mutant Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Puerto Rico Posts: 389	While not my favorite Turtle, I can see the appeal Leo has. As a Leader he HAS to carry his team (issues, burdens, strengths, weaknesses, the whole thing) in order to survive. That's a HUGE amount of pressure. To some he may seem plain, but he's the Crust. without him all you have is a mess! __________________ Mikey might be part of Nick now, but he still loves Miley... I mean Hannah... Stupid Secret Identity!!