Jab’s Builds! (Lawnmower Man! Samus Aran! Metroids!)

[Jabroniville]

"You guys must be studying, the, uh, ABRIDGED book of ninja fighting."

RAPHAEL
Created By: Kevin Eastman & Peter Laird
First Appearance: The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 (May 1984)
Role: Cool, But Rude (gimme a break)
Other Roles: The Lancer, The Bad-Ass, The Grouch
Group Affiliations: The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Played By: Laurie Faso, Josh Pais & Ken Troume
Named For: Raphael Sanzio
PL 8 (132)
STRENGTH 3 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 5
FIGHTING 9 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 0

Bodacious Skills:
Acrobatics 7 (+12)
Athletics 5 (+8)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 3 (+13)
Close Combat (Sai) 2 (+12)
Deception 7 (+7)
Expertise (Ninja) 7 (+8)
Expertise (Pop Culture) 4 (+5)
Insight 3 (+5)
Intimidation 8 (+8)
Perception 6 (+8)
Sleight of Hand 8 (+8)
Stealth 6 (+11)

Gnarly Advantages:
Accurate Attack, Agile Feint, All-Out Attack, Close Combat, Daze (Intimidation), Die-Hard, Equipment (Twin Sai), Fascinate (Intimidation), Great Endurance, Hide in Plain Sight, Improved Critical (Sai) 2, Improved Critical (Unarmed), Improved Defense, Improved Disarm, Instant Up, Last Stand (Ignores Damage For 1 Round With HP Spent), Power Attack, Precise Attack (Close/Concealment), Quick Draw, Ranged Attack 5, Set-Up, Skill Mastery (Stealth), Startle, Takedown 2, Teamwork, Uncanny Dodge

Radical Equipment:
"Twin Sai" Strength-Damage +1 (Feats: Split, Improved Disarm) (3)

Tubular Powers:
"Turtle Physiology"
Movement 1 (Environmental Adaptation- Aquatic) [2]
Swimming 2 (2 mph) [2]

"Half-Shell"
Protection 1 [1]
Enhanced Dodge & Parry 1 [2]

Righteous Offense:
Unarmed +13 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Sai +12 (+4 Damage, DC 19)
Initiative +5

Awesome Defenses:
Dodge +10 (DC 20), Parry +10 (DC 20), Toughness +4 (+5 Shell), Fortitude +7, Will +7

Bummer Complications:
Rivalry (Leonardo)- Leo is calm, insightful and dutiful. Raphael is impatient, brash and rebellious. This obviously doesn't mix well, and the two frequently argue, and sometimes come to blows. Raphael deep-down DOES appreciate and respect his brother, but it's hidden under many layers of grief.
Responsibility (Master Splinter)- Raphael frequently chafes under Master Splinter's rules, and rebels against him. Even so, he feels Splinter's advice the hardest, and suffers the most for his loss, flying into an uncontrollable rage.
Secret (Must Remain Hidden From Public View)
Reputation (Jerk)- Raph to Foot Clan opponents: "You guys must be studying the, ahh... ABRIDGED Book of Ninja Fighting."
Responsibility (Rage)- Raphael possesses great anger at the world, and often turns it inward, towards himself. This makes him volatile, moody, and dangerous, in addition to putting him in dangerous situations. If he cannot learn to control his fury, it may destroy him.

Total: Abilities: 48 / Skills: 66--33 / Advantages: 32 / Powers: 7 / Defenses: 11 (132)

-Raphael has always been the most antagonistic of the four Turtles, shown pretty easily in the movie, where he was arguably the central breakout character. While Leo was always in charge and Mikey was always more flashy, Raph had more solo scenes than anybody, going off on his own, fighting Casey Jones, fighting the Foot Ninjas on the rooftop, getting injured and making his big comeback, etc. This is a pretty far cry from the borderline-suicidal Mirage Raph, the generic foulmouthed black-wearing Archie Raph (he said "Hell" once! In an ARCHIE book!), and the "just one of the guys but slightly more sarcastic and witty" Cartoon Raph. Thus, he had all the drama and character development, and even got a bit of a solo run in the SECOND movie, where he helped their New Buddy join the Foot as a spy... and then got captured. In any case, his sarcasm and bad attitude have earned him a LOT more of a fanbase among the adult fans, while the kids mostly like Michaelangelo. I know I used to not care for Raph, and now he's practically my favourite. If only because he's the only Turtle with a New Yorkah accent.

-But wow, that scene where he gets the crap kicked out of him by the Foot Clan, dragged across the rooftop, then thrown through the skylight? That was FRIGHTENING for a kid. You're used to watching cartoons where the laser blasts never hit, the weapons are used to cut down things that fall on the bad guys, and everyone just gets cartoon bruises or lumps on their heads, and you see THAT? A fight with ACTUAL CONSEQUENCES? It felt uncomfortable, scary, and REAL. It's this moment where even as a little kid you look at it and go "... this is DIFFERENT, isn't it? This is SERIOUS".

-Raph fits in pretty well with the others, having his own unique set of Advantages & Skills. He's slightly stronger than Leo and slightly more accurate (and the best overall Unarmed fighter of the brothers), to make up for his short-range, much weaker weapons (he was ALWAYS the worst guy to play in the video games, especially the first NES one, legendary for it's ridiculous "Nintendo Hard" difficulty- later games upped his strength to make up for it). And instead of Leo's high Mental Stats, Raph just gets more Combat stuff, especially using All-Out Attack & Power Attack, along with a bunch of Sai-related Disarming tricks. So he's actually a bit handier in a fight, but less useful overall- note that he has lower Parry than the other Turtles.

[MacynSnow]

Raph's brief street fight with THE GREATEST FIGHTER IN THE UNIVERSE Casey Jones in the first movie was Hilariously bad, but Awesome....
Casey(after being stopped from Mugging Muggers):"Who died and made you ref? These punks deserve it!"
Raph:"Not like THAT they don't, not from YOU..."

[Jabroniville]

"A fellow CHUCKER, ehh?!"
-Michelangelo, upon spotting a Foot Clan nunchaku-wielder

MICHELANGELO
Created By: Kevin Eastman & Peter Laird
First Appearance: The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 (May 1984)
Role: Party Dude
Other Roles: The Whacky Guy, The Surfer, The Dumb Guy
Group Affiliations: The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Played By: Robbie Rist & Michelan Sisti
Named For: Michelangelo Buonarotti
PL 8 (131)
STRENGTH 2 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 6
FIGHTING 10 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 3

Bodacious Skills:
Acrobatics 8 (+14)
Athletics 5 (+7)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 1 (+11)
Close Combat (Nunchucks) 2 (+12)
Deception 4 (+7)
Expertise (Ninja) 6 (+6)
Expertise (Pop Culture) 7 (+7)
Insight 4 (+4)
Intimidation 1 (+4)
Perception 6 (+6)
Persuasion 5 (+8)
Sleight of Hand 8 (+8)
Stealth 3 (+9)

Gnarly Advantages:
Accurate Attack, Agile Feint, Daze (Persuasion), Defensive Attack, Equipment (Twin Nunchucks), Fascinate (Persuasion), Hide in Plain Sight, Improved Critical (Nunchucks) 2, Improved Critical (Unarmed), Improved Defense, Improved Disarm, Improved Initiative, Improved Smash, Improved Trip, Improvised Weapon, Instant Up, Power Attack, Precise Attack (Close/Concealment), Quick Draw, Ranged Attack 5, Set-Up, Takedown 2, Taunt, Teamwork, Uncanny Dodge

Radical Equipment:
"Twin Nunchucks" Strength-Damage +2 (Feats: Split, Improved Disarm) (4)

Tubular Powers:
"Turtle Physiology"
Movement 1 (Environmental Adaptation- Aquatic) [2]
Swimming 2 (2 mph) [2]

"Half-Shell"
Protection 1 [1]
Enhanced Dodge & Parry 1 [2]

Righteous Offense:
Unarmed +11 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Nunchucks +12 (+4 Damage, DC 19)
Initiative +10

Awesome Defenses:
Dodge +10 (DC 20), Parry +11 (DC 21), Toughness +4 (+5 Shell), Fortitude +6, Will +7

Bummer Complications:
Responsibility (Master Splinter)- Mikey frequently disobeys and ignores the master, showing him the least amount of reverence, but when Splinter gives them a final goodbye from the spirit world, it is he who sheds a tear.
Secret (Must Remain Hidden From Public View)
Reputation (Joker and Fool)

Total: Abilities: 50 / Skills: 60--30 / Advantages: 31 / Powers: 7 / Defenses: 13 (131)

-Michaelangelo (spelled with or without the first "a", since the Renaissance artist didn't have it, but Eastman & Laird made a mistake when they wrote the first issue)... I have mixed feelings on him. As an adult, I recognize the need for kids to have a "class clown" type to be a fan of. He was pretty much the 'identify with this guy' character of the Turtles, but I hated him. Mostly because EVERY FREAKING KID IN MY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL was a Michaelangelo fan, and I was the only kid who liked Donatello the best. Stupid kids. Even back then, I knew Mikey was kind of a pandering character archetype (plus he was the most in love with pizza... and yes, I am the only person in the ENTIRE UNIVERSE who hates pizza), and his "Totally Radical" dialogue bugged me, especially when it made him the unofficial spokesman for the entire team, the only guy getting into that "Cartoon All-Stars To The Rescue" anti-drug special (itself an epic symbol of the '80s, by telling some dumb kid to not smoke weed). But nunchucks are still cool, and he fits in better in other continuities, whereas the first Cartoon kind of over-did it. He's still my least favourite, but I get the necessity.

-Mikey surprisingly matches up to his brothers, mainly by being very charismatic, having lots of Interpersonal Skills (he's the most likely to make pals with the New Kid Sidekick), and a few different Advantages. Mikey's the best at bluffing, messing guys up, and disarming people with his Nunchucks. He's also the most agile Turtle by a bit, though everyone on the team is a bit athletic, so it doesn't always mean that much.

[Jabroniville]

Raph's brief street fight with THE GREATEST FIGHTER IN THE UNIVERSE Casey Jones in the first movie was Hilariously bad, but Awesome....
Casey(after being stopped from Mugging Muggers):"Who died and made you ref? These punks deserve it!"
Raph:"Not like THAT they don't, not from YOU..."

Every line in that exchange is absolute gold.

"A Jose CANSECO bat?!? TELL ME you didn't pay money for this!"
"Oooohhhhh!"

And then you get the most "New York" moment ever:

*Raph nearly gets hit by a cab*
Patron: "What the hell was that!?"
Driver: "Looks like a... six foot turtle wearin' a trenchcoat. ... you wanted LaGuardia, right?"

[MacynSnow]

Raph's brief street fight with THE GREATEST FIGHTER IN THE UNIVERSE Casey Jones in the first movie was Hilariously bad, but Awesome....
Casey(after being stopped from Mugging Muggers):"Who died and made you ref? These punks deserve it!"
Raph:"Not like THAT they don't, not from YOU..."

Every line in that exchange is absolute gold.

"A Jose CANSECO bat?!? TELL ME you didn't pay money for this!"
"Oooohhhhh!"

And then you get the most "New York" moment ever:

*Raph nearly gets hit by a cab*
Patron: "What the hell was that!?"
Driver: "Looks like a... six foot turtle wearin' a trenchcoat. ... you wanted LaGuardia, right?"

"CRICKET?! You gota understand what a CRUMPET is before you understand Cricket!"
--Get's immediately knocked into a trash can by Casey--

I also loved how Casey saved 'em in the Apartment(i legit thought for a sec that JASON VORHEES had come to kill April)...
Casey(Palming a Hockey Stick):" You guy's wanna tell me why you beat-up my little friend over there, hm?"

And why don't you like Pizza anyway?

[betterwatchit]

There was even a TMNT concert tour: Coming Out of Their Shells

[M4C8]

Hah, yep Mikey was always my favourite, I don't remember much of the original cartoon outside of the theme tune so it must have been based on his appearances in the first two movies. I didn't really have anything tangible to point to for this favouritism until I saw the 2003 animated series, he was great in that show, I loved his jokes and pop culture references and he even got to be a genuine badass at times. I'm sure I remember reading somewhere that, despite being the biggest geek or the brothers he was actually the most natural athlete and therefore had to train the least to perfect and maintain his skill levels.

IIRC the order for me as a kid was
1) Mikey
2) Leo
3) Donny
4) Raph

As Mikey says 'All the good ones end in 'o'

Saying that, I'm sure I most often used to play as Donny on the classic side scrolling arcade game, I had this idea that his staff weapon was the most effective and therefore made the game easier, I'm now sure it made absolutely no difference.

[Batgirl III]

I remember, through the hazy fog of time, liking Michaelangelo a lot more in the beginning of the cartoon’s heyday than I did by the end. Donnie was always my favorite and Raph my least favorite, but I kind of remember Leo and Mikey switching places... I haven’t watched the original cartoon in half past forever, but I wonder if there was some sort of flanderization happening with him?

I do know that at some point his “nunchucks” were replaced by a lame turtle-shell grappling hook thing (rumor has it this was to placate “moral guardians,” but I don’t know) and that was definitely lame.

[Curbludgeon]

Here's a decent article on James Ferman, the U.S.-born British film censor, and his largely-arbitrary approach to the Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles. As for the characters, I liked Donatello the most since a lot of the episodes were based around his latest invention, but think Raphael's Rob Paulsen is my favorite voice actor in the show.

[M4C8]

I think the censorship started with the first movie, cutting the nunchuk scenes and changing the words in the song from 'ninja turtles' to 'hero turtles' (both of which continued with the the cartoon) and which also led to the 'sausage nunchuk' scene in the second movie.

Even as a young kid I always thought it was completely stupid, 'Oh let's not show nunchuks because kids might try to recreate them and hurt each other' but somehow large blades and sticks are perfectly fine.

[Batgirl III]

They were “Hero Turtles” in the U.K. from the start, something that my cousins and I argued over a lot as children...

[betterwatchit]

They were “Hero Turtles” in the U.K. from the start, something that my cousins and I argued over a lot as children...

I can vouch for that as well, I remember seeing it on Children's BBC on BBC1. It was quite popular here in Britain.

[Batgirl III]

They were “Hero Turtles” in the U.K. from the start, something that my cousins and I argued over a lot as children...

I can vouch for that as well, I remember seeing it on Children's BBC on BBC1. It was quite popular here in Britain.

And don’t even get me started on the whole G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero versus Action Force nonsense.

[Ares]

Oddly enough, it was the show airing in Britain that had the original 80s show stop having Mikey use his nunchakus and start using a grappling hook. Because apparently nunchaku are illegal in Britain . . . in a series with guns, swords, etc.

[Woodclaw]

Back when I knew jackshit about the Turtles, me and my sister received first wave action figures of Raph and Mikey, respectively, and we went completely nuts about them.
Raph was my favorite Turtle for a while, but later I gravitated toward Leo. In the end this is one of those rare cases of a "imperfect balance" where the characters work because they constantly act as a foil for each other.