Who's older? Donatello or Raphael?

[Xav]

Originally Posted by Storm Eagle

What do you mean? There have been sources that mention their ages. They've even been mentioned in this thread, and they all somehow put Leonardo first.

Actually the RPG books list Leonardo the same age as everyone else.

[Donatello19]

The only thing I know about their ages is that Mikey is the youngest (IMO)

[Jester]

Originally Posted by Xav

Actually the RPG books list Leonardo the same age as everyone else.

Yep, they're all 15. Splinter's listed as...are you sitting down?...25. Yep, far to old to take on Saki himself.

EDIT: April's 27, Casey's 22, Shredder's 34 and Baxter is 36, according to the RPG guide.

[Candy Kappa]

Odd age for Splinter, since Saki is 7 when Nagi was murdered

[Xav]

Originally Posted by Jester

Splinter's listed as...are you sitting down?...25. Yep, far to old to take on Saki himself.

You got to remember that's in rat years.

[FoxZerro]

The antagonistic nature of Raphael always made me think he was the second oldest.

Using the argument from JLS about feeling inferior because of his older brother's accomplishments and accolades also fits in better if its only Leonardo ahead of him. I don't think that he would look at Donnie's accomplishments and question his worth to the team, it just doesn't feel like Raph. However living under the shadow of his perfect brother would make sense, its like when you are the younger sibling and have the same teachers as your older sibling, they assume that you will be just like them.

Raphael as the second oldest also explains why he would so badly believe he would be a better leader. I just don't see the third child having that kind of ambition, it just feels better and more real coming from the second banana. Especially you consider the "I understand now why he's the better son" line from TMNT

Also the protective nature he displays towards Donatello and especially Mikey (His best bud) makes it feel like he is older. Plus always living in the shadow of Leonardo would make him more sympathetic to the plight of Michelangelo living in the shadow of Don (both intelligent but one academically and one artistically) and give him cause to take his younger brother under his wing to protect him.

Still I have always placed Don and Raph at the same level where if Leo were 16 and Mike were 14 they are both 15. Especially when they appear to be twins in the IDW series. In that argument even if one is older than the other the difference is negligible.

[Slade]

Originally Posted by FoxZerro

The antagonistic nature of Raphael always made me think he was the second oldest.

Using the argument from JLS about feeling inferior because of his older brother's accomplishments and accolades also fits in better if its only Leonardo ahead of him. I don't think that he would look at Donnie's accomplishments and question his worth to the team, it just doesn't feel like Raph. However living under the shadow of his perfect brother would make sense, its like when you are the younger sibling and have the same teachers as your older sibling, they assume that you will be just like them.

Raphael as the second oldest also explains why he would so badly believe he would be a better leader. I just don't see the third child having that kind of ambition, it just feels better and more real coming from the second banana. Especially you consider the "I understand now why he's the better son" line from TMNT

Also the protective nature he displays towards Donatello and especially Mikey (His best bud) makes it feel like he is older. Plus always living in the shadow of Leonardo would make him more sympathetic to the plight of Michelangelo living in the shadow of Don (both intelligent but one academically and one artistically) and give him cause to take his younger brother under his wing to protect him.

Still I have always placed Don and Raph at the same level where if Leo were 16 and Mike were 14 they are both 15. Especially when they appear to be twins in the IDW series. In that argument even if one is older than the other the difference is negligible.

Completely agree.

[BubblyShell22]

I also agree with FZ's assessment here. It makes sense in a way for Raph to be second oldest when you put it like that.

[Warhorse]

Originally Posted by FoxZerro

The antagonistic nature of Raphael always made me think he was the second oldest.

Using the argument from JLS about feeling inferior because of his older brother's accomplishments and accolades also fits in better if its only Leonardo ahead of him. I don't think that he would look at Donnie's accomplishments and question his worth to the team, it just doesn't feel like Raph. However living under the shadow of his perfect brother would make sense, its like when you are the younger sibling and have the same teachers as your older sibling, they assume that you will be just like them.

Raphael as the second oldest also explains why he would so badly believe he would be a better leader. I just don't see the third child having that kind of ambition, it just feels better and more real coming from the second banana. Especially you consider the "I understand now why he's the better son" line from TMNT

Also the protective nature he displays towards Donatello and especially Mikey (His best bud) makes it feel like he is older. Plus always living in the shadow of Leonardo would make him more sympathetic to the plight of Michelangelo living in the shadow of Don (both intelligent but one academically and one artistically) and give him cause to take his younger brother under his wing to protect him.

Still I have always placed Don and Raph at the same level where if Leo were 16 and Mike were 14 they are both 15. Especially when they appear to be twins in the IDW series. In that argument even if one is older than the other the difference is negligible.

Maybe. But, just because someone is older in the sibling rank, does not mean they are automatically going to assume that protective order. I grew up next to a family where there were 3 boys, 3 girls.
Boys:
18
16
14
Girls:
12
10
8.

The 14 year old was the most responsible of the group, not the 16 or the 18 year old. The elders were complete jerks, and took after their abusive father sadly. When the 14 year old turned 18, he tried to get his younger sisters away from his parents, but he was killed by his father in a drunken rage. After his death, it was the 8 year old (she was 12 at the time) became the responsible one, and got her older sisters the hell away from her family to save them. So, sometimes, age doesn't neccesarily mean much in the grand scheme of things. Raphael could very well be younger than Donnie, but he is more emotional than Donnie will ever be, so he takes on that duty that it is up to him to protect his brothers when Leo and Splinter are not around.

But, I can totally see Raph being the second oldest with the whole rivarly thing with Leonardo.

[Zog]

Thread Resurrection....

I always saw it as Leo, Raph, Don, Mikey.

As others have stated I think Raph's attitude stems from being the "second best" or next in line turtle. Still though I see them all hatching around the same time so actual age is negligible but if we had to choose in order this is how I have and most likely will always see it.

[jenna]

They both seem to have "middle child" syndrome, but to me Raphael feels emotionally young. I have always understood Don to occupy the second-in-command role (by virtue of a combination of his left-brained, sensible logic and by rank as the second oldest).

But, and I suppose not unexpectedly given the age of the property and the multitudes of fingers in the TMNT pie, official sources differ. So I guess there will never be a definitive answer.

But I will always think of Donnie as older than Raphael - if only a hatchling's minute.

[Mellie]

I always pictured Don as second oldest.

Leo
Don
Raph
Mikey

makes most sense to me.

[Coola Yagami]

Originally Posted by Jester

Yep, they're all 15. Splinter's listed as...are you sitting down?...25. Yep, far to old to take on Saki himself.

When you think about it... it could be true. I mean, Splinter could have been a 10 year old rat.... then add the 15 years as a mutant training the Turtles.... 25 years sounds about right.

[BabyTurtles]

I'd say Raph because of his complex with Leo

and because he seems more dominant over Don (at least in the 2012 version)

[Warhorse]

Wouldn't it be funny if Raph and Donny were twins in the same egg and burst out of it at the same time? My mom thought that way back when we watched the 1990 movie, cause she thought Raph and Donnie looked like twins while Leo and Mikey were obviously different in their features.

[Hannurdock]

Originally Posted by Coola Yagami

When you think about it... it could be true. I mean, Splinter could have been a 10 year old rat.... then add the 15 years as a mutant training the Turtles.... 25 years sounds about right.

Rats don't live that long. One of the main issues I faced as a rat owner was limited lifespan. Pet rats bred by unreliable sources and inherant disease means only a short life expectancy.

[Shark_Blade]

2k12: Raph is older than Donnie. It won't make sense for a younger sibling to bully the elder. I would give em a good smacking.

OT:
Leo
Raph
Mike
Don

[Candy Kappa]

Originally Posted by Coola Yagami

When you think about it... it could be true. I mean, Splinter could have been a 10 year old rat.... then add the 15 years as a mutant training the Turtles.... 25 years sounds about right.

Not when Yoshi killed Nagi when Saki was 7 years old, when Saki is listed as 34.

34-25=9

Which means Splinter was -2 years when Nagi was killed?

[Technogeek29]

I always saw it as Don being the 2nd oldest he shows the quirks most 2nd born children have. The main one being not following in their parents foot steps as the eldest normally does. Raph on the other hand strikes me as the middle child or youngest because of how imature he acts at times. And the youngest of the family tend to fight which each other or click the most.

Leo
Don
Raph
Mike

(Imo)

[MsMarvelDuckie]

Originally Posted by jenna

They both seem to have "middle child" syndrome, but to me Raphael feels emotionally young. I have always understood Don to occupy the second-in-command role (by virtue of a combination of his left-brained, sensible logic and by rank as the second oldest).

But, and I suppose not unexpectedly given the age of the property and the multitudes of fingers in the TMNT pie, official sources differ. So I guess there will never be a definitive answer.

But I will always think of Donnie as older than Raphael - if only a hatchling's minute.

The funny thing is, in the TMNT comic strip, Donnie is stated as having hatched LAST! The others were already "trying to escape" their terrarium when he hatched just in time to be bought along with the others.

But my own thoughts echo most here- that Raph suffers from the type of emotional issues of a "second child", always being measured against the "perfect" older sibling. Donnie doesn't have that problem, since he not only has his own area of expertise, but is not scrutinized as heavily- probably because he is lower in the age-ranking. (And if that comic strip is to be believed, even Mikey is older than Donnie, so it explains Mikey as well- he's the "middle-child" AND the "baby" of the family!!)

Originally Posted by Coola Yagami

When you think about it... it could be true. I mean, Splinter could have been a 10 year old rat.... then add the 15 years as a mutant training the Turtles.... 25 years sounds about right.

If that was the case, that's one really OLD rat- even when Nagi was killed. no wonder he has to walk with a stick!

Originally Posted by Hannurdock

Rats don't live that long. One of the main issues I faced as a rat owner was limited lifespan. Pet rats bred by unreliable sources and inherant disease means only a short life expectancy.

Agreed. Rats typically live about 5-6 years, MAYBE 7 if they're really healthy. Most rodents have a short life-span, which is one reason they breed so quickly- their reproductive life is relatively short compared to other animals.