Raphael (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)

Raphael
Raphael, the team's "rebel".
Publication information
Publisher	Mirage Studios
First appearance	Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 (May, 1984)
Created by	Kevin Eastman Peter Laird
In-story information
Full name	Raphael
Team affiliations	Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Abilities	Highly skilled in ninjutsu Olympic-level agility, speed and strength Mastery of kobudo Master of stealth Master of twin offensive/defensive sai

Raphael (or Raph), a fictional character, is one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT).^[1]

In the Mirage/Image comics all four turtles wear red bandanas over their eyes, but unlike his brothers in other versions, he is the only one who keeps a red bandana. Raphael wields twin sai as his primary weapon, although historically, sai were never used by ninja as the sai is a Kobudo weapon originating in Okinawa. (In the Next Mutation series, his sai stick together to make a staff-like weapon.) He is generally the most likely to experience extremes of emotion, and is usually depicted as being aggressive, sullen and rebellious.^[2] According to his creators he is the second oldest of the four and he is co-creator Kevin Eastman's favorite Turtle.^{[citation needed]} The origin of Raphael's anger is not always fully explored, but in some incarnations appears to stem partly from the realization that they are the only creatures of their kind and ultimately alone. He also has a somewhat turbulent relationship with his older brother Leonardo because he is the group leader. He is named after the Renaissance artist Raphael.^[3]

Comic books

Mirage Comics

In the earliest black-and-white Mirage Comics, Raphael was the most violent turtle and had a tendency for going berserk either in battle or when his temper flared up. He has a somewhat cynical and sarcastic sense of humor. In later issues, it's shown that he is not particularly fond of the supernatural, stating it up front in Tales of Raphael: Bad Moon Rising.

Raphael mellowed somewhat as the series went on, possibly a key moment for his character development was when he allowed Leonardo to go in alone to defeat The Shredder after nearly killing the villain himself in issue #21 of Volume 1. Since then, he has been less likely to challenge Leonardo's leadership, and on the whole is more friendly towards his family and allies.

Of his three brothers, Raphael is actually closest to Michelangelo, even having stated it in the fourth issue of the original TMNT comics. Raphael often shows a caring, more laid-back, side of himself when around his youngest brother, frequently indulging the younger turtle emotionally when at home and ferociously protecting him from harm when in battle. Raphael openly admits that the mere thought of his youngest brother being grievously injured causes him to experience violent rage. In his self-titled one-shot micro series, Raphael met human vigilante Casey Jones, his foil, who was even more violent and unstable than he was. Despite their brutal first meeting, the two have since formed a close bond.

In the comic book series' Volume 4, he is still the most violent turtle, but is more sociable. After having been bitten by a vampire-like creature, he experienced a further mutation, and became a large, dinosaur-like version of himself. He went into a state of berserk animal rage because of it, but with some guidance by an inner manifestation of Master Splinter, he regained his original mentality and later assisted Donatello and Casey Jones in tracking down the vampires who attacked him. This is also somewhat similar to an earlier storyline during Volume 1, where Raphael was attacked by a leech-like creature who, when sucking his blood, also drained him of the mutagen in his body and reverted him to a small turtle. The leech itself mutated and vanished, prompting the remaining turtles to follow it. Finally, after tracking down the creature, Raphael manages to bite it and pierce its skin, thereby drinking its blood and mutating back.

Image Comics

In the Image series that treated the first two volumes of the Mirage Comics as canonical, Raphael was blasted in the face and disfigured. After that, he wore one of Casey Jones' hockey masks for much of the time, and eventually just an eye patch. Later, Raphael wore Shredder's armor in an attempt to psychologically dominate a number of the New York Mob, with whom the Foot Clan was engaged in a losing gang war. He donned a slightly variant version of the armor, and pretended to be the Shredder to get the advantage on his pursuers. He succeeded in defeating them and was then accepted into, and given control of, the New York faction of the Foot Clan for a brief time.

The current series produced by Mirage Comics, Volume 4, does not treat the Image series as canon.

Archie Comics

The Archie comics series was titled Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures and began as a direct adaptation of the popular cartoon series in the late 1980s.

Cartoons

1987 animated series

Raphael's personality in the 1987 animated series deviates the most from all other incarnations. The show's theme song states that Raphael is "cool but rude", as opposed to being angry and sullen as in other versions, since the series is based on humor. Raphael is a sarcastic wise-guy, and supplies comic relief alongside Michelangelo, whose humor is usually attributed to his ignorance and spaciness. As a result, Michelangelo is the subject of Raphael's jokes more than any other Turtle. He frequently makes jokes that break the fourth wall.

This incarnation of Raphael is entirely different from other variations and has a far less confrontational relationship with his friends and fellow Turtles. The most striking example with this is his lack of a sibling rivalry with Leonardo. Raphael has no desire to steal anyone's thunder or become a leader; he's perfectly content providing the wittiest of the cartoon's jokes, being the most humorous turtle of the group. Despite this, Raphael usually served as a contrast to Leonardo's gung-ho do-gooder persona with his pessimistic sarcastic remarks.

In the Season 4 episode "Raphael Meets His Match", Raphael was paired off with a mysterious mutant female named Mona Lisa, who might have been considered as a potential girlfriend for Raphael. Despite following the Turtles back to New York City, Mona Lisa was never seen again.

In the season 5 episode "Raphael VS the Volcano", due to a malfunction in Donatello's Healthometer, Raphael was convinced that he soon was going to die and decided to end his life as a hero named the "Green Defender", saving people from dangers and stopping criminals when he thought he had nothing to lose. When the Healthometer malfunction was discovered, the other Turtles tracked him down to tell him he wasn't going to die.

In the original English language version of the 1987 series, Raphael's voice actor is Rob Paulsen; in the final 1996 season, he is voiced by Michael Gough. In Turtles Forever, the 1987 version of Raphael is voiced by Sebastian Arcelus.

2003 animated series

In the 2003 series he was voiced by Greg Abbey, Raphael's personality is more akin to his original incarnation-he is angrier and more sardonic, but not quite as violent. There is one incident where he almost smashed Michelangelo's head in with a pipe.

He often argues with Leonardo and Michelangelo, although he is depicted as being very close with both at times. His relationship with Donatello consists of poking fun at his intellect or annoyance at his long-winded explanations, more or less thinking of him as something of a dork, yet still his brother. His best friend is generally regarded as Casey Jones. In all incarnations of the turtles except for the 1987 cartoon, Raphael appears to live in the shadow of Leonardo and resents his brother's social position in the group. However, his rivalry with his brother is heavily toned down in comparison to the comic books and rarely shows a deep hatred towards him as the series progresses. He is shown to be a skilled motorcyclist.

It has often been hinted that Raphael has entomophobia, the fear of insects. He has shown on many occasions an unrivaled hatred of bugs.

Raphael's relationship with Michelangelo is unique in this series. Michelangelo has a tendency to severely annoy his brother, from playing pranks, to taunting, gloating, and overall rubbing his accomplishments in Raphael's face.

He also expressed his pain and fear of losing his leader and brother when Leonardo was nearly killed by the Foot to the point where he even started crying. As Leonardo recovered, Raphael was also the one who supported Leonardo the most, even helping him to create new swords and paying the greatest attention to the care of his brother. In the episode "Ultimate Ninja" Raph attempted to protect Leo from the Ultimate Ninja when he challenged him and lashed out in anger and fear when Leo was nearly hurt. Raphael continues to challenge Leonardo's decisions in this incarnation as well, as Raphael and Leonardo often argue over what to do in certain situations, Raph usually favoring a direct and confrontational approach. Despite differences, Leo and Raph arguably have the closest relationship of the Turtles emphasized in the series, as their conflicting views and care for one another is a key point in many episodes throughout the entire series. Raphael will often put the security of his family and sometimes friends in danger as far as disobeying Splinter and Leonardo, but will react immediately if they are in danger.

He has an extremely loyal side and is the first to react when another of his brothers is in trouble. This happens on numerous occasions, like when he stops a blow from hitting Donatello using only his sais or kicks the Shredder away from Leonardo when the latter is about to attack.

2012 animated series

Raphael will be voiced by Sean Astin in the new series.^[4]

Movies

Live-action

In the 1990 film adaptation, Raphael is voiced by Josh Pais. He speaks with a distinctive tough-sounding Lower East Side accent (that was imitated in the later versions of TMNT), is the turtle whose character is explored most completely. He has a quick temper, uses mild language, verbally challenges Leonardo

In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze, he is played by Kenn Troum, and voiced by Laurie Faso, and in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III film he is played by Matt Hill, and dubbed by Tim Kelleher. In the films, he is still angry and occasionally goes off by himself in the second movie, but has a soft spot for the young people the team meets. It is also shown that he has an appreciation for nature as it appears to calm him.

Animated

In 2007, CGI sequel TMNT, Raphael is voiced by Nolan North.^[5]

In the TMNT movie prequel comics, Raphael becomes the Nightwatcher after failing to save an old man who was once a crime-fighter, and promising to take the man's gear and get his revenge. He starts this career in Harlem, which the comic vividly shows to be full of gangs and other illicit activities.

His time as the Nightwatcher is one of the few during which Raphael uses a different ninjitsu weapon, the manriki: weighted chains that can be concealed in the hands and used from considerable distances. Unlike his sai, the manriki are typically not lethal weapons, though they could crush a skull if used with enough force.^[6]

Video games

In the first few video games, based on the 1987 cartoon, Raphael was an unpopular character because of the short range of his weapon. In later games, he was designed to be the fastest turtle to give him more of an advantage. In games based on the 2003 animated series, he is the strongest and toughest Turtle as opposed to the fastest. He appears in TMNT: Smash Up as a playable character, with Frank Frankson reprising his role. The Nightwatcher also makes an appearance as a separate playable character.

Reception

In 2008, Raphael shared the fifth place with Leonardo on TechCrunch's list of Top 10 Video Game Ninja Characters.^[7]

References

1. ^ Greenberg, Harvey R. (1990-04-15). "Just How Powerful Are Those Turtles?". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1990/04/15/movies/just-how-powerful-are-those-turtles.html?scp=8&sq=ninja%20turtles&st=cse. Retrieved 2010-08-07. 
2. ^ Simpson, Janice C. (1990-04-02). "Show Business: Lean, Green and on the Screen". Time. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,969727-2,00.html#ixzz0h91fnBrj. Retrieved 2010-03-03. 
3. ^ TMNT Origin Story, official site. Retrieved 2007-11-16.
4. ^ Sean Astin voicing Raphael in new 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' -- EXCLUSIVE
5. ^ Breznican, Anthony (2007-03-20). "Raising shell". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2007-03-20-ninja-turtles-inside_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip. Retrieved 2009-12-27. 
6. ^ "TMNT: The Rennaissance [sic] Reptiles Return". Kung Fu Magazine. http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=703. Retrieved 2009-12-27. 
7. ^ CrunchArcade: Top Ten Video Game Ninjas, ChrunchArcade, March 31st, 2008

External links

• Raphael profile on official TMNT web site