Michaelanglo

[Time Mistress]

He's the only one left to discuss so here it goes?

My thoughts

I love Mike.

I love his creativity, his raw talent, his easygoing attitude. I think Mike is a character who we know a lot about, but also don't. We see a lot of Mike in the spotlight, but it always seems to be from the same angle. He's the funny one, the little brother, but the things I love most about Mike are the things that go beyond that surface.

I love seeing Mike writing. It represents the intelectual and creative side of Mike, a more serious side that allows him the keep a journal of his most private thoughts, show off his artistic talent, or partake in the fringes of the human world by writing a bestseling novel.

I love seeing Mike fighting. It represents his skill and dedication to martial arts that we don't see enough of. His natural talent makes his a force to be reckoned with against his enemies and his brothers.

I love how Mike is caring. He's the one who can make the others laugh when they feel like crying, lend a supportive ear when the just need someone to listen, and remind all of them that being a mutant turtle makes you special, not a freak.

[Roseangelo]

Mike has always been my favorite from day one. But just as randomly as my fandom was born out of seeing a whole 30 seconds of the original cartoon, I think my pick of Mike was nearly as random. He was funny and goofy, and for whatever reason, I was drawn towards that.

Then, just as I discovered the deeper levels of the general TMNT story thanks to the movie and eventually the comic books, I discovered the deeper levels to Mikey. But poor Mikey, he seems to probably get the least attention of the four. The Leo/Raph A-type personalities and resulting conflict are a natural focal point, and while Don may have been passed over in the recent movie, as Peter's favorite he does get a lot of attention in the comics.

And what all that boils down to is your comment about how Mike is a character that we know a lot about.. but at the same time there's a whole lot we don't know about him. While there are a lot of conclusions that we can come to about Mike, it still feels like there's a missing puzzle piece.

Mike's the goof who loves life and wants all of the people around him to be happy, but at the same time he seems to use his easy-going behavior as a defense mechanism because the serious parts of life are uneasy for him to deal with.. uncomfortable, and probably frightening on a certain level.

Perhaps he uses writing as his outlet for being serious, because he is uncomfortable with it in the real world. If you look at the story he wrote in Vol. 1 #17, there was nothing goofy or happy about it.

Mike is probably the one of the four who could be underestimated the most by someone who doesn't know him. He may act goofy, but he's not stupid. He may not train on the same level as Leonardo or weight train to the extent of Raphael, but he's certainly no slacker when it comes to his own skills and it seems universally accepted that he has the most natural ability out of the four.

And let's not forget that Mike loves kids. He's drawn towards Shadow the moment he first meets her. This could be for any number of combination of reasons... perhaps he's generally more embracing of humans than his brothers, maybe it's the innocence of childhood where the most serious thing to happen might be a stubbed toe, or just a shared love of life. It was very fitting that in the Archie series Future Mike is shown working with an orphanage.

I think we tend to pick our favorite Turtle based on who we are most like. More often than not, I am told I am most like Donatello, but to this day Michaelangelo earnestly remains my favorite. While I love my computers, I love Mike's love for life and can relate to how he tends to avoid the serious things. I like the different layers that Mike has and that he's so much more than just what he usually lets you see on the surface (although I think that can probably be said of all four, on some level or other).

I really wish he'd get more spotlight in the comics.

[Scandia]

I do not think Mikey gets the least attention of the four. Donnie takes that prize. The OT is extremely Michelangelo centric.

However, it seems to me that Mikey suffers from inconsistent writing. Often he is the most concrete and simple one. Yet in some episodes you see him with hobbies and interests that you would expect only Donnie or Leo fancy.

Mikey was my first favorite- maybe because he can be loud and unintentionally funny like I am at times. At times he could be the healthiest Turtle. There is a reason why he is the one who has had the most girlfriends- and not just because he is the most girl-crazy of the four (while at the same time not being a huge part of his personality, as compared to Irma's boy-craziness). I do not know if he or Raph would be Splinter's worst student- but Mikey is certainly a good son.

[jenna]

Ahhh, Michelangelo.... what can I say? I know I rattled on for hours about the other three but Mikey is the one I find the hardest to talk about. My favourite Mike is movie 1 Mike, because as well as being a lovable clown, he is clearly a lethal fighter.

I will try and pull some more analytical / insightful thougts together about our youngest turtle, but it will have to wait til tomorrow as I have a passion fruit bath waiting.... laters.....

[CyberCubed]

Michaelangelo is great, however its noticeable that his personality is tweaked greatly depending on which medium we're talking about.

Original cartoon Mikey was addicted to pizza and very subdued in terms of making jokes. He had a fun personality, but that was about it.

New toon Mikey is an attention-seeker and tries to make jokes whenever he can, but he's also serious when he needs to be and is an excellent fighter. He can also gloat to hours on end, such as with his Battle nexus victory.

Movies 1-3 Michaelangelo seemed the most like comics Mike to me, at least. And 2007 movie seems to treat him like the most naive of the Turtles. It also seems to me that the writers (of all the mediums) tend to market him toward kids the most, which probably accounts for the silly stuff he does.

[Warhorse]

Well, on an emotional level, I relate mostly to Raph, but when I'm not pissed about something, I am just like Mikey, in that I like my entertainment, playing, not being serious about stuff, wanting to have fun and good times.

I also think, despite Leo's and Raph's more agressive attention getting notions, and Donnie's witt, Mikey has some sort of charisma that makes it hard to not like the dude.

But I agree with one of the above posters, the first movie portrayed a perfect Mikey. He was funny, a joker, liked to have fun, but was clearly a threatening presence when challenged. But then again, the first movie seemed to not be restrained from showing Mikey's trwirling nunshucks.

And he has his moments in the toons. I especially loved the OT episode that had Mikey and Raph pitted againt Leo and Don, on trying to get to the top of a garbage mound. Mikey was content to let Raph do all the work while he scarfed down a pizza. But when a contraption that Don invented catapults garbage onto Mikey and his pizza, Mikey gets pissed and beats all to the top. (Funny, you can screw around all you want with Mikey, but mess with his pizza and he'sll f%^&*() you up!

In the new toon, he cracked me up in the one episode when they get lost in Jurassic Park. I just get dismayed that they dont show enough of his witty humor. That's when he's portrayed the best. I really dont care for the times he's going all ballistic over a comic book.

[Time Mistress]

I can't believe I misspelled Mike's name for this topic and I don't mean the extra "a." It was 1:00am when I started the topic and I was tired. So sorry for anyone who noticed.

I like that Mike loves comics as someone who loves comics myself especially TMNT comics. I think it's a nice tribute/in joke to Eastmans & Laird themselves. But I don't like when it seems like Mike ONLY likes comics. Mike is a voracious reader of a lot of genres, especially fiction, and showing kids that he is well-read would be an encouraging thing for little kids to see. I don't like the EXTREME video game obsession either. If anything, before FF I always thought Don to be the most video game obsessive since he invents his own in Mirage.

I think movie 1 Mike is probably the best all-around screen (small or big) portrayal of Mike so far.

Another thing I don't like is that Tales seems to have been taking some of the goofy aspects of 2k3 Mike and working them into Mirage Mike. He still seems fine in Vol.4, but I've noticed a few trends in Tales. I don't mind him being fun and goofy, I just don't want his to become a characacture of his TV self in the medium where he has always been the most well-rounded.

[Sage Ninja]

I think that i'm probably the only one that wasn't completely wowed by Michaelangelo's portrayal in the Live Action Movies, like most people here seem to be. To be honest I wasn't really all that impressed with Michaelangelo in the movies, I mean I agree that he was entertaining and showed that he was a compentant fighter but I didn't get the impression that he was a deadly warrior that shouldn't be triflled with (mostly due to the slap stick tactics he used while fighting)...just very confidant. Its probably because the focus was mostly on Raphael in the first movie that Michaelangelo just seemed in the back ground that I wasn't all that "wow what a cool incarnation of Michaelangelo!"

I've always liked Michaelangelo but I feel he get pushed in the back more often than any of the other turtles when it comes to the serious or emotional stuff for the most part. I notice all the turtles are given this facet to their personalites of seriousness that gives the viewer a deeper or more muli-demencinal look to their characters. In my opinion this isn;'t always given to Michaelangelo in favor of making him more light hearted or something. Which is a shame because Mikey should be given that facet that he isn't just a easy going fun loveing social butterfly that nothing phases him, but a well rounded indivdual that has other emotions, and when pushed to far can get depressed or angry or angsty as any other person. And I get suck of when he isn;t allowed to have this sort of light shined on him. I was really pissed that Michaelangelo's freak out scene in the barn in the movie gets cut out/edited, where he gets all angry and serious because of what has happened to Raphael, or the scene where he is standing on the Barn and screams out Splinter's name in the night in anguish gets dubbed over into Raphael's voice. That was such a disservice to his character in the movie. All the other turtles where given these lengthy despitions to how they where handling the tragidy of the foot attack and Splinter's capture but not really Michaelangelo. And I know they kept in the touching scene where Michaelangelo is crying when the find out Splinter is alive, but I notice that as far as deep emotion goes they only like to have Michaelangelo show the "sensetive" emotion. I guess to keep, with him being the youngest and more innocent of the turtles, which is fine. But why can't any medium other than the comics show Michaelangelo showing any strong emotion? They couldn't have kept the few scenes with him showing raw emotion intact that would have added a bit more to his character?

This a gripe I have with Michaelangelo's character in any serious meduim of the turtles. They don't know how to write him serious or show deeper emotion. And when they do it comes off a bit forced or unconvincing.

[ThemanthatwouldbeRaphael]

Mikey is a very interesting character. Even though out of the Turtles, he's my least favorite, out of every comic charcter, he's my 4th favorite. I love his creativity, I like the fact that the comics have done alot to establish his status as both a talented artist and an accomplished writter. I really wish that would have carryed over into the movies and cartoon shows, it would have made Mikey more than just the party dude.

There are probably some people out there that wonder what purpose Mikey serves with Leo bing the leader, Raph being the muscle, and Don being the brains. Mikey is the definate heart of the team, he's the one that keeps the other Turtles in check. Without Mikey, Leo would be way too stiff and stern, Don would be so into his work that he loses his connection with his brothers, and Raph would have gone of the deep end. Mikey's youthful enthuseaism and easy going attitude that makes him easy to be around and keeps the others grounded. I guess Mikey can be seen as the most improtant Turtle, he's the one that reminds them that they're still teenagers and they're stilla family.

[Sonic x 20]

Ah Mikey, my favorite turtle(even though I love the other turtles as well)!! He's really cool and I like his attitude and humor as well. I do act like all of the turtles, but I act like Mikey the most because I love to make everyone happy and everything else just like him. Mikey maybe the goof ball of the bunch, but he's not a pushover. He's very deadly when he's serious and truely has the most natural talent out of he and his brothers. He's the fun-loving, but he does have alot more about him that we don't know about. Hopefully, alot more will be revealed about him.

[Sage Ninja]

personaly the core element about Michaelangelo's character that i've always been attracted to is that he is warrior and a freak of nature that lives under ground in seclusion leading an abnormal life but seems to be the one that wants normality the most. In the comics he actually goes off and gets him self a job and tries to intergrate into every day day society in Volume four of the Mirage comics. In almost every official version of him in most mediums Michaelangelo has always tryed to emulate social human behavior and act normal despite the fact that he isn't. In some mediums he acts quite postively about his predicament and acts quite obliviuos to the fact that he is a large walking, talking, freaking turtle and goes about life. Despite the weridness and craziness and danger that he encounters from day to day he still carries on as if those where just minor bumps in life that are just things to bear with and then and still carries on with his bussiness. In this sence I think Michaelangelo is very much like his brother Raphael in that he wants to be able to interact with the above world and be apart of society, expect in michaelangelo case I think he just wants to be able to do the every day things other people take for granted and make friends and maybe have a life that isn't so fettered with danger and death and "gray" situations. Just that unlike Raphael who becomes angry and angsty Michaelangelo seems to try do and act as much like humans do up above as if he was actually apart of them.

you would almost get the impression that Michaelangelo is a bit deluded about his situation, since he tries so hard to be something he can't ever fully be. It maybe why he doesn't take the whole warrior bit as seriously as his brothers and why they get so aggravated with him for "goofing off" or not implying himself as much as he should. He is is basically an extravert in a family full of interverts (or one that has no choice but to be interaverts) and so his prioities are diffrent and clash with his more "warrior/stoic" oriented brothers, which could make him appear lazy. I believe the cartoons show Michaelangelo's urge to be just a normal teenager than any other mediums. This also could be in part why michaelangelo seems to lack a definable niche in the group (other than being over shadowed by his brothers more prominent talents), is because--if given the chance, he would probably be something other than a warrior if he could.

Its really quite sad, some mediums (like the old toon) he isn't as blase about this as he is in the comics and even shows pained frustation and grief over being a freak.

[TurtleTrails]

Personally, I think Mikey has the healthiest personality of the four. By being easy going and laid back he tends to let things wash off his back more so then the other turtles. (Water off a turtle’s back? ) Leo would/have had a nervous breakdown, Donnie would lock himself in his lab and cut himself off from all social contact, and Raph would just go berserk get himself killed and probably a couple of gangs with him. Mikey makes a strong effort to be happy and whether that’s because he doesn’t want to deal with uncomfortable issues or whatever it’s still a good attribute to have. Studies have shown that cancer patients with an optimistic view on life have a shorter recovery period. My point being that persons with an overall more positive outlook on life tend to bounce back faster/better then those who don’t.

With that said, I do believe that Mikey has a very serious side to him. He knows a lot more of what’s going on then what he lets on to. I recall in one episode from 2k3 season 4 where he says to Don and Raph to lay off Leo because Leo is being responsible enough for the four of them so that the other turtles can follow their dreams. When heard him say that I thought wow, he really gets it. I haven’t had too much exposure to the comics but from what I’ve seen Mikey tends to trickle in wisdom in a way that is so gentle that the other turtles don’t know how right his is until later. It’s his subtle nature of handling things that I love about Mikey. (When his being serious that is.) He has the potential to be a lot of things..a great ninja, some sort of artist/writer, etc. but he chooses to enjoy what he has around him. Sometimes it’s nice to be around that personality and think, hey, life isn’t so bad.

You’re welcome to disagree with me but that’s my view of Michalengelo~

[Time Mistress]

Well said Sage and TurtleTrails. I agree with a lot of what both of you said. I think Mike's desire to be normal is one of his most interesting characteristics and it's interesting to contrast that with Raph who also is drawn to the human world, but responds to it in a very different way. I like Mike's optimism, and that way of looking at the world, sometimes I can get as frustrated as Raph, but I tend to take Mike's aproach to life and problems, so that's another big way I relate to him.

[Ava Collier]

I think Mikey is the product of what happens when you give a baby, three-fingered, humanoid turtle a weapon he can hit himself on the head repeatedly with...

Okay, in all seriousness here I go XD

I only know the movie, and cartoon versions of these characters...well and the versions Ava interacts with.

Mikey is the "Mystic Wise Turtle". He's the empath. He knows exactly how to read people, and what makes them tick. This is how he got Raph to kick his own ass in the battle nexus. This is how he gets under everyone's skin.

I've noticed each of the boys represents Master Splinter in some way. I believe Mikey represents his wisdom...and perhaps even his patience, and tolerance although he seems to test that on a regular basis.

Michelangelo definately has something the other turtles do not...GENUINE self esteem. He can say things like "I'm the pretty one!" and I think he actually means it. I don't think being WHAT he is happens to bother him at all. Mikey's brothers are likely a bit jealous of him for that, even if they won't ever admit it.

[Drtooth]

I have always been a huge Mikey fan. He's always been my favorite. I do admit, I really appreciate Raph the older I get, but Mikey has been my fave since the beginning of the series. in fact, his was the first Turtle action figure I ever got.

I love his childishness and goofiness in all forms, comic, 80's toon, and 2k3! I remember back in the day, I wanted to be that dude with sunglasses beach bum type that was the rave when the show came out because of him. I still prefer Mikey merchandise to any other turtle, and usually buy him first.

I guess he's one of my main childhood heroes, allong with Darkwing and Inspector Gadget. I still love the character, but I guess its mostly nostalgic of me to still love him. I've been thinking alot about Bart Simpson lately for the same reason. i liked Bart before I liked Homer, I liked Mike before I liked Raph.

[Swany]

Originally Posted by Ava Collier

I think Mikey is the product of what happens when you give a baby, three-fingered, humanoid turtle a weapon he can hit himself on the head repeatedly with...

Lol, hes our drunken baby.

Anyay, theres nothing I could really say here that hasnt already been said.
Mikey is a bit of and odd one out. (Although my knowledge is pretty much of 2K3 Mike) He's so laid back. But also serious when the need arises. And hes not a complete idiot, he has intelligence, but he just wants to be happy and enjoy life.

[Scandia]

I do not know if Mikey is wise. In the NT's theme song, I think "wise" means "wisecracker" or "smart-aleck". He seems pretty naive to me.

But he sure does have Splinter's tolerance and patience.

Although if Splinter were to say "Sometimes your child is absolutely nothing like you", he would be referring to TWO Turtles. And Mikey would be one of them!!!

[triplexxx]

He could say that, but it would be denial, because whether he thinks so or not, he has things in common with all his sons. For instance with Leonardo, he believes in seriousness and diligence. With Raphael, Splinter can also experience anger (especially considering his Master's tragedy) and feels passionate about protecting his family. With Donatello, well, he believes in thinking things through and making violence a last resort. With Michaelangelo, Splinter does believe a positive mental attitude is beneficial.

[Scandia]

What I mean is that when the Turtles ask who is his favorite, he would say something like:

"Sometimes you get a child who is just like you."
"Sometimes you get a child who is extremely different from you...or two!"
"And sometimes you get a child who is neither completely like you or totally different either."

[triplexxx]

Well, that would be somewhat more ethical than actually using a name, but a more ethical and simpler (and his most definite) response would be:

"I don't have a favorite, I love you all equally and I always will."