NAME: Michaelangelo, named after Michelangelo Buanorotti the Renaissance sculptor, architect, painter and poet, by Master Splinter.
Age: 15.
Height: 5 foot exactly.
Weapon: The Nunchukus. A chain connected to 2 wooden handles, that can swing about with great skill. They were infamously censored in the original cartoon and movie. So after it was banned in cartoon, he yielded grappling hooks or tonfas.
Good or Bad Guy?: Good guy.
No. of appearances?: He appears in every episode of the original & new cartoon, all 3 TMNT movies, all TMNT: Next Mutation eps & most issues of the comic.
Words that Describe Michaelangelo: party-loving, fun, confident, boisterous, cool, positive, immature, easy-going, comical, funny, good dancer, lazy, sociable, people-friendly, pizza-loving, surfer talk, empathetic, warm, goofy, creative, imaginative, skilled, athletic & charming.
Favourite Quote?: What else? "Cowabunga!". there's also "Cowabunga dude!", "awesome!", "Exactamundo dude", "Holy Guacamole!", "Pizza dude", "I hunger for cowabunga!", "Bummer dude", "Correctamundo dude", "Primo to the extremo!" and "most untriumphant dude".
Status: Main Character. The least serious acting turtle.
Voiced By: By Townsend Coleman in the original cartoon, Wayne Grayson in the 2003 cartoon, by Robbie Rist in all 3 TMNT movies and acted by Michelan Sisti in TMNT 1 & 2 and David Fraser TMNT 3.
TMNT Review HQ Analysis: Michaelangelo represents everything that a casual cartoon fan would think of first when Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is mentioned, things like pizza and his famous catchphrase "Cowabunga". You could say he is the most iconic of the turtles thanks to the original cartoon portrayal of him. He is the most obsessed about pizza, but not the best ninja which is Leonardo. He is the most livliest of the turtles and would never become "Mr.Boring". However he was portrayed quite differently in the other mediums of comic and movie, but most adults today will have that "surfer talking dude" voice in their head.
One of the most important things to note is for some reason, his Nunchukus were deemed the most offensive of all the turtles weapons, and to them being erased eventually from the 80s cartoon, and edited out of the first TMNT movie in the UK. In the new cartoons, however, he is free to use them.
The name Michaelangelo is actually a spelling mistake by creator Kevin Eastman, which the right spelling is "Michelangelo". The right spelling was in place for 2001 when the new Volume 4 TMNT comics came out.
In the comics, Mike is still the fun-loving one, but he tries to be a mediator to stop ramblings between Leonardo and Raphael. He wasn't greatly involved in the first two volumes of the comic. He also had a secret passion for writing which easily snuggles in with him generally being the most creative turtle.
In the original cartoon, Mike has this large bandwagon of catchphrases synomonous with the programme. He could be seen as the lazier one in negative moments and a bit doubtful of things, but he was given this big aura of being a party dude. He was one of the funnier turtles, along with Raphael. However, you could not trust the tandem of Mike and Raphael to complete a simple task for you. They would lark about too much.
In the new 2003 cartoon, his character is calmed down a little but still acts as comical relief. He seems more closer to Donatello like in the movies. He still holds back when it comes to training, but could be the best ninja fighter and mybe not Leonardo.
The movies were more closer to the 80s cartoon version of him, and was totally obsessed about pizza. However, we do see going on a downer at times and crying. In the old-school computer games, (like SNES and arcade) Michaelangelo was the strongest, but in the new 2003 games, the makers have swung it around and is infact speediest turtle.
Michaelangelo's lively, interesting look on life makes him one of the most popular character in TMNT history.
