Behold the multiverse of accursed Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Leonardo leads, he's the leader in blue, he does anything it takes to get his ninjas through.
And for generations, he's been the iconic sword-wielding leader of the Teenage Mutant
Ninja Turtles but what makes Leonardo stand out significantly from his brothers is the fact that
he's never really written consistently. With every new incarnation of the Teenage Mutant
Ninja Turtles comes a new interpretation of Leonardo. Each with their own flaws,
relationships, and family dynamics. So, let's look lovingly at the lasting legacy of our limitless
leader Leonardo. There's not enough people with originality so here I am to save the day Jayniac.
Leonardo his swordsmanship is unmatched!
in 1987 we got our first on-screen look at Leonardo. Here, he plays the simple role of
leader even the theme song just kind of lumps him into that category while his brothers get the more
descriptive: does machines, cool but cruel, and party dude. On the surface this Leonardo is pretty
generic he's really good at everything he embraces Japanese culture occasionally and he reads a lot.
Through all 10 seasons of the show Leo never does anything to stand out and the writers must
have noticed this because they constantly try to give him quirks as the series progresses but
none of them ever stick. In the episode Leonardo lightens up, after being zapped by the personality
modifier Leo starts acting incredibly selfish and irresponsible pulling pranks on his brothers and
not caring about being a hero after he's turned back to normal the lesson given is that sometimes
we need people like Leonardo no matter how strict or bossy they may be. Now what exactly does the
personality modifier do? Donnie says that it hasn't been perfected yet but is it supposed to
make a person the opposite of who they already are or does it bring out hidden desires that a person
already has? Does Leonardo secretly wish to be as fun-loving as his brothers but feels he never can
because of his responsibility as their leader, does he fear not being taken seriously unless
he becomes a person consumed entirely by his own inhibition? We really gotta read between the lines
for this Leonardo the only other point of interest I could think of is his relationship with Lotus
Blossom from the episodes Beware the Lotus and farewell Lotus Blossom. Leonardo catches feelings
for her after she defeats him in combat. I love the kind of woman that can kick my [] This may be
the only character trait that carried over to another series but I'm getting ahead of myself.
no, we do not belong here above. Yes Master Splinter! Yes Master Splinter...
in 1990 we got our first film adaptation of Leonardo this is the first time the turtles
were each designed differently to reflect their personalities a bit more, a feature that would
carry over from this point on. This is also the first on-screen depiction of the iconic rivalry
between Leonardo and Raphael. I never said I was a great leader well you sure act like it sometimes.
Yeah? Well you act like a jerk sometimes, you know that? Which makes sense considering how
much of a change was made to Raph's personality but that's a video for another day anyway the
Leonardo we get in these movies is a lot sterner and more spiritual. Meditation has become a
bigger part of who he is and him having mystical intelligence helps separate him from Donatello's
technical intelligence. Another great thing the movies brought to Leo's character was humor
he's a teenager for crying out loud just because he's the leader doesn't mean he can't have any
fun. That being said his methods of leadership are brought into question a lot more in this series.
When plans fail Leo has a tendency to take his anger out on his brothers even when their failure
is kind of his fault. Fortunately as the movies progress he does mellow out, that is until the
fourth movie yes 2007's TMNT is technically the fourth movie in the franchise, after being sent on
an isolated journey of self-discovery Leo becomes quite the perfectionist and this only makes things
worse between him and rap ultimately resulting in the two fighting what's worth mentioning is
that Leo taunts Raph a lot during this fight even going so far as to say that he's better than him.
Fortunately, Leonardo loses the fight, ultimately learning a much needed lesson in humility
overall this Leonardo is a huge improvement over the previous interpretation though he never loses
his kind and considerate nature he's given a bit more edge to round out his personality
you break the bricks with your will, breaking the breaks is about focus and making a precise
strike! I can't concentrate if you're gonna keep blabbing and blowing stuff up!
in 1997 we got our first and as of writing the script only live action TV version of Leonardo.
Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation is easily one of the weirdest things the franchise has to offer,
featuring memorable things like: The first female Ninja Turtle Venus De Milo,
Raphael's transforming sai-staff, that one time where they meet the Space Power Rangers,
and wonderful zingers like: "booty call"
anyway in this series Leonardo wait where's Leo's other sword? Probably hiding under his
durag am I right? Look, all you need to know about The Next Mutation Leonardo is that he
has a weird love triangle with Raphael and Venus, he had a yellow bandana in promotional material
for the show, and any lesson he learns about being a better leader is immediately forgotten
the next episode. When it comes to character they didn't really try in this show, so why should I?
In 2003 we got the most powerful version of Leonardo seriously he's beaten all his
brothers and master splinter in combat, he's single-handedly taken down a number of Shredder
level threats, and he can turn into a dragon! But just when you think he might be too perfect to be
interesting the show does something pretty clever Leonardo spends a majority of the first three
seasons undefeated and even if he has to retreat he'll just come back and win next time but at the
end of season 3 Leo suffers a loss so grand that it causes him to develop post-traumatic stress
disorder. It's not long after that he starts taking out his anger on everyone around him
even Master Splinter who he respects so highly. Leonardo's so used to being the best that he just
can't cope with not being good enough. He gets legitimately afraid of ever losing again and
he slowly works his way back to being confident fearless and in control, but a bit more cynical
than before now that right there is an interesting character arc. What happens when the ace
loses? As far as him being the leader is concerned well I'll let Mikey take this one. I think all
of you should just lay off the poor guy, I mean, it can't be fun always being the responsible one
and we're the ones who really benefit. Because Leonardo is busy being responsible enough for all
of us. And as for his personality, he at one point mentions that no one is too far from redemption,
not Karai, or even her father The Shredder and in battle, he holds onto the Bushido moral code!
This right here is Leonardo at his peak, but is he the best written Leonardo? Let's continue!
those guys have no idea what kind of pressure I'm under and all they do is complain!
Is it too much to ask for a simple thank you?
In 2012 Nickelodeon gave us our first insecure Leonardo. Without removing any of his previously
established determination and spirituality, this series explored Leonardo's leadership
role in ways that no other series does. He lets his emotions get in the way,
he doubts his own credibility, and he rarely gets the respect he deserves from his brothers!
Which only adds to his insecurities. This gets so bad, that Leo gives the leadership
role to Raph in the episode New Girl In Town, which fails miserably by the way.
The show makes every effort to demonstrate why Leo was appointed leader by Master Splinter
despite his insecurities he never lets his enemies overwhelm him that is until...
my name's Karai
see you around. I love the kind of woman that can kick my [] yeah Leo falls for Karai after
she defeats him in combat which is only made worse once we discovered that Karai is actually
Master Splinter's biological daughter in this series. Making her his half-sister or stepsister,
yeah it's weird and kinda gross. She constantly betrays him but Leo just keeps coming back,
eventually she does become a hero and the two fight alongside each other. Through the
5 seasons of the show Leo goes through a very well thought out journey of self-discovery
and what it means to be a leader all while being a snarky, sci-fi loving, teen. He goes through
the worst of the worst but he still comes out on top. He also goes through three voice actors Seth
Green, Dominic Catrambone and Jason Biggs? Yeah, that Jason Biggs and if you think that's weird...
Thanks guys. Real team effort!
In 2014 we saw our second film adaptation of Leonardo. This time voiced by Johnny
Knoxville...yeah, that Johnny Knoxville. But only in the first movie. In the second
movie he's voiced by his motion capture actor Pete Ploszek of all the Leonardo's this one is
easily the most inconsiderate, often acting cold-hearted and putting down his teammates.
You may know a lot about strategy, but you know nothing about feelings!
You wanna know the one thing I am feeling? We may be brothers, but we are not a team!
Since there were only ever two movies in the series it's hard to get a full grasp on him,
he lacks the spirituality of his former selves so he seems exclusively driven by
guilt and nothing more. It's a shame we never got a third movie in the series, maybe it could have
explored what a more aggressive Leonardo could become. Looks like these fish are,
wait for it you're gonna love this, all washed up. Boo!
and in 2018 Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles gave us the most deviant Leonardo for
the first time ever Leonardo isn't the eldest brother. Because of this, he doesn't carry any
of the responsibilities of being a leader instead he's a wisecracking strategist who insists that
he's the face of the team, but has no interest in leading it. But beneath all of this comes a
very interesting addition to Leonardo, his guile! Leo outsmarts and manipulates villains into doing
things they wouldn't normally do, but with this new found genius comes a great deal of pride.
What kind of mellows out his pride however is his weapons switch.
Leo begins the series with twin katanas, but then starts using a mystical Ōdachi,
capable of creating portals...when Leo uses it right that is. Get me off this ride!
he does get better as the series progresses and so does his ego.
As far as his spirituality is concerned, this series actually emphasizes that part of ninjutsu
for all four turtles. Each gaining a unique ability while activating their Hamato Ninpo
Leo's involves teleporting anything he desires to the location of his katanas,
honestly gang this series is pretty wild it tries to be a prequel but it deviates significantly
but that's not a bad thing. Let me know which Leonardo is your favorite!
Leonardo is my favorite Ninja Turtle and anytime I think of the leadership type I always think
of him. It wasn't until making this video that I realized there's a lot more spiritual stuff going
on with Leonardo and fun fact I actually grew up watching all of these series except for Rise,
but watching Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was actually pretty fun.
But like what's up with Casey Jones? are April and Casey still gonna hook up?
Speaking of hookup, be sure to follow my social medias but especially Twitch if you want to see
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out the merchandise every purchase supports this channel. And Discord! so which other character
deserves this kind of treatment? Fred from Scooby Doo? Or like the Red Ranger from Power Rangers?
All of them! Or like maybe Casey Jones or Michelangelo or April O'Neil? They've gone
through a lot of changes. Raphael and Donatello would also be pretty cool, there's a lot to do
with Ninja Turtles, let me know in the comments down below until then I'll leave you with this!