Leonardo, nicknamed Leo, is a

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

appearing in ''

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' is an American media franchise created by the comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael, four anthropomorphic turtle brothers (named after It ...

'' comics and related media, and created by

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...

artists

Kevin Eastman Kevin Brooks Eastman (born May 30, 1962) is an American comic book artist and writer best known for co-creating the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with Peter Laird. Eastman was also formerly the editor and publisher of the magazine '' Heavy Meta ...

and Peter Laird. He is one of the four central characters of the franchise, along with his brothers,

Donatello Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi ( – 13 December 1466), better known as Donatello ( ), was a Florentine sculptor of the Renaissance period. Born in Florence, he studied classical sculpture and used this to develop a complete Renaissance st ...

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of composition, and visual ...

and

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was ins ...

. Often depicted wearing a blue bandanna, his signature weapons are two

katana A is a Japanese sword characterized by a curved, single-edged blade with a circular or squared guard and long grip to accommodate two hands. Developed later than the ''tachi'', it was used by samurai in feudal Japan and worn with the edge ...

. In all iterations, Leonardo is the leader of the turtles. He is traditionally portrayed as the most mature and disciplined of the Turtles. Like his brothers, he is named after an

Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( it, Rinascimento ) was a period in Italian history covering the 15th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Europe and marked the trans ...

artist, in this case,

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially rested on ...

. In the original comics, all four of the Turtles wear red masks, but for the creators to tell them apart, he was written and redrawn to have an ocean-blue mask.

Comics

Mirage

Leonardo is the main protagonist of the comics. He does not explicitly refer to himself as a leader in the early stories, except in issue #44 ("The Violent Underground"). He is the one to usually take charge of the turtles when Master Splinter is not present. He is often at odds with his more hot-headed younger brother

. In ''Leonardo'' #1, Leonardo goes out for a run on the rooftops of New York City and is ambushed by the Foot Clan. He puts up an fight against an army of Foot Ninja but is overwhelmed. Beaten to near unconsciousness, he is thrown through

April O'Neil April O'Neil is a fictional character from the ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' comics. She is the first human ally of the Ninja Turtles. Her main love interest in the series is Casey Jones. April made her first appearance in the Mirage comi ...

's apartment window. The remaining Turtles and Splinter are forced to continue the fight, but even with the aid of

Casey Jones John Luther "Casey" Jones (March 14, 1863 – April 30, 1900) was an American railroader who was killed when his passenger train collided with a stalled freight train at Vaughan, Mississippi. Jones was a locomotive engineer for the Illinois ...

, the odds are against them. In the end, the building catches fire and the police arrive, but they secretly escape to Northampton, Massachusetts. Leonardo recovers from his physical wounds, but he lost his confidence. He repeatedly attempts unsuccessfully to hunt for deer. While out hunting, he sees April fall through ice into a lake, and he rescues her. In subsequent issues, it is implied that Leonardo has regained most of his confidence. In the ''Return to New York'' storyline (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' (vol. 1) #19-21), Raphael demands that the Turtles return to New York to confront the Foot Clan and the Shredder. He accuses Leonardo of cowardice, and the arguing brothers fight. Leonardo is beaten by Raphael, who throws Leonardo through the wall of the barn and leaves. Along with his younger brother

and his youngest brother

, Leonardo returns to New York and reunites with his wayward brother in the old sewer lair. The three go along with Raphael's plan to storm the Foot Headquarters, where once again Raphael goes off on his own to fight the Shredder. He is ambushed and beaten by the Shredder's Elite guard but is rescued by Leonardo. This prompts Raphael to cede to Leonardo's leadership, leaving him to fight the Shredder. Leonardo engages in a bloody battle with Shredder that ends up on the rooftop of the building. Leonardo ends the battle by decapitating the Shredder just as the building implodes. The Turtles later burn the Shredder's corpse on a funeral pyre in a nearby Manhattan harbor. In the ''City at War'' storyline (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' (vol. 1) #50-62), a feud between various factions of the Foot Clan over leadership breaks out. As fighting ensues in the streets of New York, the Turtles and the civilian populace get caught in the middle. Leonardo grows weary of constant battle with the Foot Clan and seems fraught with indecision. The Turtles are approached by Karai, the leader of the Foot Clan in Japan who has come to New York to unite the Foot. She presents the Turtles with an offer of a truce between the Foot and the Turtles if they help her kill Shredder's Elite Guards, which are a major obstacle to her reorganizing the Foot. Despite Raphael's objections, Leonardo persuades his brothers to accept Karai's offer and all four Turtles successfully work with Karai to eliminate the Elite Guard. In Volume 2 of the Mirage Studios comic, the turtles begin living in separate places. Leonardo decides to live in a newfound sewer lair. Michelangelo and Raphael notice a change in Leonardo and note that he seems more easygoing, though Raphael points out that his and Leonardo's natural order is to be "buttin' heads." Years later in Volume 4, Leonardo still leads his brothers (all four now in their thirties) in fights against crime. Leonardo and Raphael's conflict seems to have lessened. When the Utroms arrive on Earth and reveal alien life to humans the Turtles become free to mingle in everyday society. The Turtles help the Utroms acclimate to life on Earth and work alongside the Foot Clan as security. One Foot Clan member is Cha Ocho, who Leonardo has a rivalry with due to an encounter years earlier. Karai approaches Leonardo for help when a mysterious force begins attacking various Foot Clans; only the New York branch is left intact. His investigation takes him to the Battle Nexus, where he meets Oroku Yoshi (who wears armor similar to the Shredder's). This incarnation of Leonardo makes an appearance in the '' Turtles Forever'' crossover special voiced by

Jason Griffith Jason Adam Griffith is an American voice actor, known for his voice over work for NYAV Post, 4Kids Entertainment and DuArt Film and Video. He is best known as the voice of Sonic the Hedgehog and Shadow the Hedgehog in the English dub of '' Son ...

Image Comics

In Volume 3 of the

Image Comics Image Comics is an American comic book publisher and is the third largest comic book and graphic novel publisher in the industry in both unit and market share. It was founded in 1992 by several high-profile illustrators as a venue for creator-o ...

series, Leonardo was initially portrayed as similar to his Mirage counterpart (at the time, Image was picking up where Volume 2 left off). In the later issues, he lost a hand when it was eaten by King Komodo, although this did not seem to deter him. He tried to use a prosthetic hand, which was given to him by Donatello, but he preferred to wear a steel cap which came with a retractable blade. In the IDW-published conclusion, ''TMNT Urban Legends 25'', after an altercation with Lady Shredder which smashed his steel cap beyond use, Leonardo's hand was found to have grown back.

Archie Comics

The

Archie Comics Archie Comic Publications, Inc., is an American comic book publisher headquartered in Pelham, New York.

IDW Comics

Although the IDW series is a re-imagination of the franchise, Leonardo is initially portrayed as similar to his Mirage counterpart. Leonardo is the eldest brother and the leader of the four. In the ''Cityfall'' saga, he gets captured by the Foot while he and his brothers try to save Casey and is taken to a Shinto witch by the name of Kitsune, who uses her dark magic to brainwash him into working for Shredder as his chunin (second-in-command), which infuriates Karai. He is saved by his brothers and their allies, however, after the death of the Shredder at the hands of his father, Splinter, who took over the Foot Clan after the battle, Leo once again became the chunin, but, like last time, it did not last. The relationship between Splinter and his sons deteriorated after he decided to take another life, going against the philosophy he taught them to always follow. He revealed that this was, in fact, an intentional way of pushing them away from him, as he believes being around him would be too much of a threat to them, as shown during the events of the comic book. Leonardo assumed leadership over the Clan Hamato, and since then, they have come into conflict with the Foot Clan several times.

Television

1987 animated series

In the 1987 TV series' theme song lyrics, Leonardo is stated to be the leader of the turtles; his orders are usually followed, and he is a serious do-gooder who does not joke around. He was attracted to a young kunoichi named Lotus, a swordswoman prodigy from Japan who was hired by

Krang Krang (also spelled Kraang) is a fictional supervillain appearing in ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles''-related media, most frequently in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987 TV series), 1987 animated series and its associated merchandise, suc ...

to replace Shredder, whom she defeated (along with Rocksteady and Bebop). She and Leonardo dueled to a standstill before she resorted to a trick sword to knock him out. When they met the second time, she tried to convince him to join her as a "ninja for hire", but he refused. She turned on Krang and escaped to continue her mercenary lifestyle, telling Leonardo that there was little good in goodness, though she hoped that they would one day be on the same side. Leonardo takes his role of being a leader seriously. He can be bossy which annoys his brothers. Mostly they will obey, but sometimes they will not. In a Season 4 episode "Leonardo lightens up", his brothers got so annoyed that they used a personality alternator to make him loosen up, which lead to huge problems but ended up going back to normal in the end. When the cartoon series starts out, he is shown with having a level head, akin to his leadership qualities in the comic. However, as the series carried on, he became more of a hero of a group of superheroes and spoke in a high pitched voice, which was very different from the original, deeper pitch in the first season. Leonardo seems to enjoy reading. For example, many times when the Turtles are at home, Leo is reading a book. In the episode ''Four Musketurtles'', he is the only Turtle that read ''

The Three Musketeers ''The Three Musketeers'' (french: Les Trois Mousquetaires, links=no, ) is a French historical adventure novel written in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is in the swashbuckler genre, which has heroic, chivalrous swordsmen who fight f ...

''. Another good example is in "Leonardo is Missing"; while the other Turtles go to an arcade, Leonardo stays at the lair and reads. In the Season 6 episode "Snakes Alive", it is revealed that Leonardo has

Ophidiophobia Ophidiophobia (or ophiophobia) is a particular type of specific phobia, the irrational fear of snakes. It is sometimes called by a more general term, herpetophobia, fear of reptiles. The word comes from the Greek words "ophis" (), snake, and "phob ...

, but confronted it later. In the Season 3 episode "Take Me to Your Leader!", Leonardo gives up his leadership and walks away after a dream he believes convinces him he is no longer a good leader. The others have to find him, and stop Shredder,

, and

Bebop and Rocksteady Bebop and Rocksteady are a fictional duo of a mutant warthog and mutant rhinoceros that have made appearances as characters in various media releases of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise. The two characters are henchmen who follow the ...

from draining energy from the Sun with a Solar Siphon and store it in solar batteries. However, Leonardo returns when he spots a bridge collapsing due to snow. After a man says that everybody talks about the weather but nobody does anything, Leonardo realizes his responsibility and begins to search for his brothers. He later finds them, and together they save the Earth. Leonardo's

voice actor Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talen ...

was

Cam Clarke Cam Clarke is an American voice actor, known for his work in animation, video games and commercials. Among his notable roles are Leonardo and Rocksteady in the 1987 ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' animated series, Shotaro Kaneda in the 1989 ...

, in the actor's "breakout role" and is still one of his best-known roles in the 1987 cartoon. In the crossover film '' Turtles Forever'', this version of Leonardo is voiced by Dan Green. Leonardo made a couple of appearances in the 2012 series in the episode, "The Manhattan Project". He and the other turtles along with Casey and April are seen through a portal by their 2012 counterparts walking on a road and he made a speaking cameo along with the other turtles at the end of the episode when a space worm from the 2012 dimension started terrorizing the street. All four turtles see the worm and spring into action while shouting their famous catchphrase, 'Cowabunga'. Clarke reprised his role as Leonardo for the cameo. This would mark the first time in over 28 years the 1987 TMNT cast would return to their roles, with the sole exception of

Rob Paulsen Robert Frederick Paulsen III (born March 11, 1956) is an American voice actor, known for his roles in numerous animated television series and films. He received a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program and three Anni ...

who returned to the TMNT franchise as Donatello in the 2012 series. The 1987 turtles then had a crossover with the 2012 turtles in the season 4 episode, " Trans-Dimensional Turtles" then in the three-part series final " Wanted: Bebop & Rocksteady".

Coming Out of Their Shells tour

The live-action "Coming Out of Their Shells" concert tour kickoff event at

Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue and theater at 1260 Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Nicknamed "The Showplace of the Nation", it is the headquarters for ...

would see Leonardo cast as the band's bass player, taking a secondary role while Michelangelo would take the role of lead singer and guitarist. However, once the Turtles are confronted by the Shredder and his forces during portions of the show, Leonardo again takes his role as the Turtles' battlefield commander, as they begin to defer to his orders during the various fight scenes in the show.

would reprise Leonardo's voice during non-musical segments of the show, though the VHS tape of the event leaves him uncredited.

1997 live-action series

From 1997 to 1998, Leonardo along with the other Ninja Turtles was featured in a short-lived live-action series '' Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation'', as well as a crossover episode with '' Power Rangers in Space''. In it, he carried one double-bladed ninjaken instead of two and his sibling rivalry with Raphael drove many episodes. In one episode where they were sparring, Raphael took advantage of Leo's apparent physical weakening, insulting, mocking and taunting his brother to make him more reckless, until finally, Leo lost his temper and angrily kicked Raph so hard that he sent Raph flying across the sewer den. They spent the rest of the episode arguing and challenging each other to tests of skill (some of them quite absurd) until finally using arm wrestling to decide who would live in the sewer and who would leave. Although Leo won, it was decided that Raph should stay. In this series, Leonardo was portrayed by Gabe Khouth and voiced by Michael Dobson.

2003 animated series

In the Mirage Studios and

4Kids Entertainment 4Kids Entertainment, Inc. (formerly known as Leisure Concepts, Inc. and later known as 4Licensing Corporation) was an American licensing company. The company was previously also a film and television production company that produced English- dub ...

2003

animated TV series An animated series is a set of animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can have either ...

, Leonardo is voiced by

Michael Sinterniklaas Michael Tremain Sinterniklaas (; born August 13, 1972) is a French voice actor, ADR director and script writer who has provided voices for a number of English language versions of Japanese anime films and television series, as well as cartoons ...

in the English version,

Tetsuya Kakihara is a Japanese voice actor and singer. He was affiliated with 81 Produce before he became a freelancer in June 2013. He set up his own agency, Zynchro, in July 2014. Since 2010, Kakihara has been affiliated with Kiramune, a music label by Banda ...

in the Japanese version, and Samuel Harjanne (seasons 1 and 2) and Markus Blom in the Finnish version. Leonardo is the eldest brother, and leader of the group, quiet and the most serious of the four. He has a very close bond with Splinter, and has a strong sense of honor, ethics, and

Bushidō is a moral code concerning samurai attitudes, behavior and lifestyle. There are multiple bushido types which evolved significantly through history. Contemporary forms of bushido are still used in the social and economic organization of Japan. ...

. Leonardo's twin swords are slung across his back. Episodes that deal with the Shredder and

honor Honour (British English) or honor (American English; see spelling differences) is the idea of a bond between an individual and a society as a quality of a person that is both of social teaching and of personal ethos, that manifests itself as a ...

usually also focus on Leonardo, and he is often the Turtle who "saves the day". Leonardo is a more self-doubting character than in previous incarnations. His younger brother

often quarrels with him and resents his leadership, sarcastically calling Leonardo "Fearless Leader", although the two are shown to be very close at times. Though Leonardo's relationships with his younger brothers

and

are not as volatile, both have made comments alluding to the high standards the former has set, and his tendency to make them look bad. Despite this, his brothers view him as a pillar of strength and are at a loss when he is injured or absent. One of Leonardo's most prominent qualities is his determination to believe in the good and the best in people, even potential enemies; such as Karai. At times, Leonardo is shown to be very hard on himself, as he feels that a lot is expected of him. As in the Mirage comics, Leonardo is ambushed and seriously injured by the Foot Clan and he feels he let his family and himself down. He has the same feelings after the final battle with the Shredder-his anger and self-doubt were caused by Karai, who he believed was an honorable ally, but she was unable to go against her master's orders, eventually causing her to stab Leonardo (albeit unintentionally). Leonardo also feels extremely inadequate, as he believes that again, he let himself and his family down, this time by finding no other way to destroy the Shredder than to blow up the spaceship that both the Turtles and the Shredder were on; the Turtles and Splinter would have perished if they had not been rescued by Utroms. Eventually, Leonardo finds inner peace under the guidance of the

Ancient One The Ancient One is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He was the mentor of Doctor Strange and was his predecessor as Sorcerer Supreme. The character was voiced by Michael Ansara in the 1978 telev ...

, who trained Splinter's sensei,

Hamato Yoshi Splinter, often referred to as Master Splinter or Sensei by his students/sons, is a fictional character from the ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' comics and all related media. A mutant rat, he is the grave and stoic sage of the Turtles, their ...

. From their final battle with the Shredder, Leonardo was the only Turtle to sustain truly lasting damage; part of the shell on his upper left shoulder had its edge shorn. Nevertheless, he is the most skilled of the Turtles, being the only one trained by two ninja masters, capable of facing and defeating Karai, the new Shredder, in a one-on-one fight, as well as defeating all three of his brothers at once in a sparring match. Through much of the fourth season, while the other turtles are fully healed and recovered from their battle with the Shredder, Leonardo still could not get over his failure. He becomes bitter and increasingly stern with himself and adopts a greatly aggressive personality, which has been likened to Raph's previous impulsive and hotheaded ways on many occasions. Leonardo also shows considerably less reluctance in using violence to interrogate people, and devotes himself to even greater lengths of training in order to protect his family. Not wanting his family to worry about him, Leonardo chose to never tell them about his true feelings about their final battle against the Shredder, although he open up to April and Usagi about his problems. However, Leonardo ended up making his brothers worry for him anyway and Splinter feels he must move on. It comes to a head when Leonardo loses his temper and nearly causes Splinter a serious injury during a training session. Leonardo was sent by Splinter to find Master Yoshi's own sensei, The Ancient One since there is nothing more he could do for his troubled son. Leonardo encounters a strange short man, as well as obstacles that echo his own anger. In the end, Leonardo admits that he was angry over failing his family while fighting the Shredder and that his only option was to self-destruct the ship to stop him. Leonardo comes to terms with his anger, accepting he did everything in his power, and begins training under the short man, who turns out to be the Ancient One. Leonardo only leaves when he learns that his family is in danger, a result of Karai's vengeance, which destroys the lair and presumably eliminates them. Leonardo returns to the city, reunites his family in a safe location, and confronts Karai. He defeats her, but after Karai tells him to finish her, he refuses. Leo magnanimously gives her one last chance to leave the Turtles in peace, believing it is still good in her. In the fifth season, of the eight acolytes under the Tribunal's training, Leonardo is the only one who does not receive a weapon from the Spirit Forge. It is implied that his spirit is his weapon, and anything he holds is merely an extension. (This was hinted at in previous seasons.) His otherworldly form is that of a dragon, a rare form, unheard of in someone his age. It is shown destroying evil guarding the second artifact. This avatar is first shown in "More Worlds Than One". His brothers later exhibit dragon avatars as well. In the fifth episode "Beginning of the End", he is given the sword "Gunjin" (one of the Fangs of the Dragon that commands the "White Flame of the Dragon King") by the wounded Faraji, who believes the sword was meant to be Leo's. Leo returns Gunjin in episode 12 "Enter the Dragons" when Faraji returns to help battle the Tengu Shredder because he believes the sword truly belongs to Faraji. In the Fast Forward season and the Back to the Sewers season, the damage that occurred to Leonardo's shell as stated above has somehow been repaired. Leonardo is trained not just by Master Splinter but the Ancient One himself, Hamato Yoshi's trainer and adoptive father. From then on, Leonardo is far more experienced and skillful at even more complex ninjitsu moves than even Splinter, Raph, Mikey, and Donnie all at once. In the third part of the first season episode series "Return to New York", he cuts the Shredder's head off in a one-on one-duel in Shredder's domain. Leonardo is the most skilled at

ninjutsu , sometimes used interchangeably with the modern term , is the martial art strategy and tactics of unconventional warfare, guerrilla warfare and espionage purportedly practised by the ninja. ''Ninjutsu'' was a separate discipline in some tra ...

and other forms of

hand-to-hand combat Hand-to-hand combat (sometimes abbreviated as HTH or H2H) is a physical confrontation between two or more persons at short range (grappling distance or within the physical reach of a handheld weapon) that does not involve the use of weapons.Hun ...

he all learned from his adopted father and master,

Splinter A splinter (also known as a sliver) is a fragment of a larger object, or a foreign body that penetrates or is purposely injected into a body. The foreign body must be lodged inside tissue to be considered a splinter. Splinters may cause initia ...

. As his weapons are dual katanas, he is proficient in "the ways of the sword" and basic knife-throwing techniques. If need be, he can use Qi Qong to slow his own bodily functions to survive temporarily without oxygen. After training sessions with "the Ancient One" he developed an intuitive/psionic-like ability to see what has previously transpired by "allowing thought to flow out and within."

2012 animated series

Leonardo again leads the team in Nickelodeon's 3D computer-animated series. In this latest version, Leonardo seems to be less experienced and still perfecting his fighting skills and leadership abilities to make more solid decisions and gain more trust from his three younger brothers. He regularly watches an animated science fiction show called ''Space Heroes'' (a parody of '' Star Trek: The Animated Series'') and uses it as a guide for his leadership skills, often attempting to quote from the show in an attempt to sound intimidating and heroic, even if most of his attempts fall flat due to him sounding too cliché. Leonardo's weapons here are purely dual katanas, which he uses in the Niten Ryu style of

kenjutsu is an umbrella term for all ('' ko-budō'') schools of Japanese swordsmanship, in particular those that predate the Meiji Restoration. Some modern styles of kendo and iaido that were established in the 20th century also included modern forms ...

, making him an excellent swordsman. Despite the fact the other three turtles have added traits in this series, Leonardo is almost completely normal but now has blue eyes. Upon the sudden demise of his adopted father and master, he reluctantly steps up as sensei in addition to being the leader, which puts even more pressure on him. He is visited, on occasion, by the spirit of Splinter who encourages him to lead his family and friends to stop new evils. In addition to his natural ninjitsu skills, he eventually developed the strong innate ability to heal via an enchanted mantra known as "the healing hands." By chanting the incantation and making the right hand seals, Leo is fully capable of revitalizing his inner strength and counteracting even the most lethal of poisons and venom of "the healing hands." He managed to develop and utilize it to counteract the lethal venom of Karai, and attempted to use it on her to release her from the Shredder's control but failed. He then succeeded in saving Casey and Michelangelo from death. According to

, he shows great gifts as a healer, and that being at the edge of his life had given him "a power that few martial artists can tap." The character was voiced by actor Jason Biggs up until "The Wrath of Tiger Claw". Biggs then departed the series and was replaced by Dominic Catrambone for the remainder of the second season;

Seth Green Seth Benjamin Green ( ''né'' Gesshel-Green; born February 8, 1974) is an American actor, producer, and writer. Green's film debut came with a role in the comedy-drama film '' The Hotel New Hampshire'' (1984), and he went on to have supportin ...

then took on the role for the remainder of the series.

2018 animated series

In the 2018 animated series, '' Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'', "Leonardo, the self-professed "coolest" brother possesses irreverent charm and a rebel heart". Unlike past versions, he is not the official leader of the turtles until the second season finale, and boasts a less serious, more laidback, charming, sardonic and joke-cracking personality. This incarnation of Leo is the second born brother, with Raphael being the oldest. Despite his apparent immaturity and goofiness, Leo is quick-witted and strategic by nature, and also initiatively leads his brothers whenever something has happened to Raphael, who is the group's de facto leader throughout the first two seasons. Despite coming off as somewhat arrogant, he also demonstrates insecurity and self-doubt. At the end of the season 2 finale "Rise", Splinter appoints Leo the new leader of his sons, much to the shock of him and his brothers. He is voiced by

Ben Schwartz Benjamin Schwartz (born September 15, 1981) is an American actor and comedian. He has guest starred as Jean-Ralphio Saperstein on the NBC sitcom '' Parks and Recreation'' and Clyde Oberholt on the Showtime series '' House of Lies''; voiced Rand ...

. In '' Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie'', Leo ends up doing more harm than good when his growing ego ends up causing an alien race called The

to invade and Raphael to be captured. Over the course of the film, Leo becomes the leader he was meant to be and nearly sacrifices himself willing to trap the Krang in their prison dimension and stay with him to keep him there, being content knowing that his family was safe from a future where The Krang decimate the planet. He is saved at the end, thanks' to Mikey's new mystic powers and Leo reconciles with Raph.

Films

Original trilogy

In ''

'', Leonardo was fairly modest and sensitive, rarely issuing direct commands and seemingly much more relaxed around his brothers thinking of himself as more of an equal than a leader. It was he who first communicated telepathically with a kidnapped

and seems the most anxious about Raphael's health after his ambush by the Foot Clan. He fought alongside his brothers against The Shredder in the climactic battle and was the only one of the four to actually injure The Shredder, but, like his brothers, could not defeat him. Due to the focus on Raphael in the film's plot, Leonardo's personality was rarely explored and his leadership position in the team took a back seat. Leonardo was portrayed by David Forman and voiced by Brian Tochi. In ''

The Secret of the Ooze ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze'' is a 1991 American superhero film directed by Michael Pressman and written by Todd W. Langen. The sequel to ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' (1990), it is the second installment in th ...

'', Leonardo was much more prominent and his leadership position was brought to focus. He is seen on many occasions bickering with Raphael as their sibling rivalry begins to become much more serious. He, like his brothers, was astonished at the return of the Foot but he found that their current homelessness due to their last battle was a more pressing issue and soon he convinced his brothers that they needed to move. Leonardo is once again sensitive, caring, and humorous in this adaption but he now appears much bossier and controlling. In '' Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III'', after traveling back in time to feudal Japan, Leonardo leads his brothers to help a village in trouble from the villainous weapons trader, Walker, and to return home.

2007 film

In '' TMNT'', Leo was sent away by Master Splinter to hone his skills in becoming a more efficient leader after Shredder's defeat. April finds him in Central America and while he was hesitant to return to New York City, he does at the right time to take on a new force of evil. His brotherly relationship with Raphael is strained due to Raphael feeling abandoned by Leo as well as feeling less appreciated by Splinter. Leonardo's vision of the world is perhaps wider than Raph's. In the first movie prequel comic, Leo becomes angry with Raph for trying to leave them in order to save a man from being mugged because 4 heavily armed Triceratons in the sewers could cause devastation to the city. He becomes further angered when Raphael deserts them mid-battle to help an old man. This conflict suggests that the two brothers operate on different levels of morality, though neither is necessarily wrong. Raph states in the comic that he was tired of waiting for disaster to fall on his family and tired of fighting aliens while people in their own neighborhood are being mugged and murdered. Leo, on the other hand, believes that the world of men is the responsibility of the police, while Utroms and Triceratons are their domain... that they should fight only when there is no one else to solve the problem. This also engages Leo in a contradiction when he stays in Central America, using violence to fight local lawlessness and effectively deserting his brothers because he believes as Raph believes, that others need him more. Such parallels suggest that the two brothers are experiencing the same dedication to justice but in a different mentality, albeit in very different locales and using different tactics. In fact, when Leo tracks down and scolds the Nightwatcher (not knowing that he is Raphael), he remarks that he is well aware of the Nightwatcher's good intentions but cannot simply approve of the latter's methods. Raph challenges Leonardo after arguing about their own individual sense of justice and the reasons for their actions. Leonardo discovers that Raphael is the Nightwatcher and the two engage in an emotional fight. Raph almost kills Leo out of anger and then retreats due to shame and his brother's deep and confused stare. Leo is captured by the Stone Generals and the Foot Clan but is rescued by his family later before the final battle where Leo and Raph finally resolve their differences, Raph accepting Leo as their leader while Leo confesses to needing Raph. Leo is voiced by

James Arnold Taylor James Arnold Taylor (born July 22, 1969), also known by his initials JAT, is an American voice actor, writer, producer and podcaster. He is known for portraying Ratchet in the '' Ratchet & Clank'' franchise, the main character Tidus in '' Final ...

in this film.

Reboot series

Leonardo appears in ''

'', portrayed by

Pete Ploszek Peter Daniel Ploszek (born January 20, 1987) is an American actor best known for his role as Leonardo in the ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' films. He is also known for his role as Garrett Douglas on the MTV supernatural drama series ''Teen Wolf ...

in motion capture and voiced by

Johnny Knoxville Philip John Clapp (born March 11, 1971), best known professionally as Johnny Knoxville, is an American stunt performer, actor, writer, producer, and professional wrestler. He is best known as a co-creator and star of the MTV reality stunt show ...

. In this movie, he is dedicated to perfecting his ninjutsu skills and will stop at nothing to defend his brothers and the entire city. There are times when his cautious nature makes him clash with his brothers. Leonardo firmly believes it's his ninja duty to protect all people. He tends to have a similar personality to his '87 counterpart where he is determined to help people and keep his brothers in line. He and Raphael, unlike in their other adaptions, do fight over leadership although they have a brief argument over the Hamatshi and Raphael talking about leaving which Leo debunks Raph's claim. In the movie, he, like Donnie and Raph, does not seek April's attention, unlike Mikey who does. He also appears in the sequel, '' Out of the Shadows'', although Knoxville didn't return to voice him, and Ploszek provided both motion-capture and voice.

DC crossover film

Leonardo appears in the direct-to-video crossover film ''

Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ''Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' is a 2019 American animated superhero film directed by Jake Castorena and written by Marly Halpern-Graser, based on the comic book miniseries '' Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' by James Tynion IV a ...

'', voiced by

Eric Bauza Eric Bauza (born December 7, 1979) is a Canadian-American voice actor and comedian. His most-known roles include Stimpy on '' Ren and Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon"'', Foop on '' The Fairly OddParents'' and its reboot '' Fairly Odder'', Thunderbol ...

Mutant Mayhem

Leonardo is shown to appear in the upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, the first

computer-animated Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating animations. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both static scenes (still images) and dynamic images (moving images), while computer animation refer ...

flim since '' TMNT (2007)''. Leonardo's voice hasen't been comfirmed. He's shown to have braces and is comfirmed to be voiced by an actual teenager.

Video games

In the video games, Leonardo is portrayed as well-balanced, having strong but not extreme abilities in all areas and no glaring weaknesses. His range is rather long, but not as long as Donatello's; however, Leonardo can usually inflict more damage. In the '' Tournament Fighters'' games, his moves are the closest to a

Ryu is a Japanese masculine given name and family name meaning "dragon", "noble", "prosperous", or "flow". Ryū, Ryu, or ryu may also refer to: Fiction * ''Ryū'' (manga), a 1986 series by Masao Yajima and Akira Oze * , a 1919 book by Ryūnosuke Aku ...

Ken Ken or KEN may refer to: Entertainment * ''Ken'' (album), a 2017 album by Canadian indie rock band Destroyer. * ''Ken'' (film), 1964 Japanese film. * ''Ken'' (magazine), a large-format political magazine. * Ken Masters, a main character in ...

archetype from the ''

Street Fighter , commonly abbreviated as ''SF'' or スト (''Suto''), is a Japanese media franchise centered on a series of fighting video and arcade games developed and published by Capcom. The first game in the series was released in 1987, followed by six ...

'' franchise. He appears in '' Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Smash-Up'' as a playable character, with

reprising the role. Leonardo is one of the main playable characters in '' Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows'' video game, where he is voiced by Scott Whyte. Leonardo also appears in the 2014 film-based game, voiced again by

. Leonardo is featured as one of the playable characters from ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' as DLC in '' Injustice 2'', voiced by Corey Krueger. He is the default turtle outside the gear loadout, while the rest of his brothers, Michelangelo, Raphael and Donatello can only be picked through the said loadout selection, similar to premier skin characters. In their single-player ending, Krang had sent them to the world where the war between the Insurgency and Regime was taking place. After the victory over Brainiac,

Harley Quinn Harley Quinn is a character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Quinn was created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm as a comic relief henchwoman for the supervillain Joker in '' Batman: The Animated Series'', and debuted in i ...

serves some pizza with 5-U-93-R. With this, they became powerful enough to return home and defeat Krang and Shredder. Leonardo is featured as a TMNT season pass in '' Smite'' as an Osiris skin, voiced by Matthew Curtis. He is also available as a skin in ''

Brawlhalla ''Brawlhalla'' is a free-to-play fighting game developed by Blue Mammoth Games and published by Ubisoft for macOS, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series S & X, Android and iOS, with full cross-pla ...

''. Leonardo is also a main playable character in the sequel to '' Turtles in Time'', titled '' Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge''. In the game, Leonardo once more plays the role of the "standard" character, with equal statistics in range, speed, and power. This is the first official ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' game in which will be played by his original voice actor,

. Leonardo also appeared in ''

Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl ''Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl'' is a crossover fighting game developed by Swedish developer Ludosity and Costa Rican developer Fair Play Labs, and published by GameMill Entertainment. It is the first console game in the '' Nickelodeon Super Braw ...

'', with Cam Clarke reprising his role.

References

External links

TMNT Community Site – Leonardo BioOfficial Ninja Turtle website
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