Michelangelo

Hamato "Mikey" Michelangelo did not prank, joke or gag as much as he did in later adaptations of the series. In this version, however, Mikey was still the happiest and most open Turtle, which frequently brought him problems. In the original comic books, Michelangelo was initially depicted as fun-loving, carefree, and, while not as aggressive as Raphael, always ready to fight. He was much more seriously natured than other incarnations such as his film self, which was portrayed as a permanently "cool"-talking youngster. It was Michelangelo's one-shot in this series that fleshed out most of the traits that have become synonymous with the character, such as his playfulness, empathy, and easygoing nature. In the one-shot story, Michelangelo adopts a small stray orphaned cat (which he lovingly names Klunk) and also stops thieves from stealing toys meant for orphaned children.

It is during this time at the farm we learn that Michelangelo also has an interest in comic books, specifically ones involving superheroes such as "The Justice Force" (comic book heroes based on The Justice League and The Fantastic Four). He also found solace in writing fiction and produced a story depicting himself a ronin in Feudal Japan. (TMNT Volume 1 # 17).

In the story arc "City at War", Michelangelo instantly bonds with Casey Jones' adopted daughter Shadow, who nicknames him "Rooish". In the second volume, the Turtles decide to try to live apart from one another. Michelangelo, being the social creature that he is, moves in with April and Casey so that he can be close to Shadow. Throughout the first two volumes, Michelangelo seemed to act as peacemaker of the team. These stories also laid the foundations which demonstrated his closeness with Donatello; their laid back natures separating them from the more contentious Leonardo and Raphael.

In Volume 4, Michelangelo gets a job as a tour guide showing alien visitors around Earth. His first (and only) tourist is the Regenta (or "princess") Seri of the Styracodon race. Michelangelo convinced Seri to sneak away from her bodyguards so that he could take her on a tour of the northwest coast of the U.S. During their time together, Mike and Seri eventually became intimate, and Seri soon laid a clutch of eggs strongly implied to be the children of their mating. Soon after, Seri's bodyguards returned, overpowered and detained Mike, carted up the eggs, and secretly smuggled them off the planet to their home world. Mike found himself in an extrajudicial prison where he was starved and tortured for weeks. With the help of his Triceraton cell mate Azokk, he managed to escape, though Azokk died in the process. Michelangelo was then rescued by a group of Triceratons who had come to rescue Azokk, and became friends with their Captain T'Zirk. Mike decided to join forces with the Triceratons, becoming one of their commandos, and helping train them to fight the way the turtles fight. Thereafter, Michelangelo's story took an even darker turn, with him participating in acts of genocide in the Triceratons' war against the Styracodons, and bitterly seeking revenge against Seri for the events that led him there. All the while, none of Michelangelo's family or friends on Earth appear to be aware of anything that has happened to him since he took off with Seri to New England, and he is still a missing person.

Michelangelo was not given an especially large role in Volumes 1 and 2, did little to advance the plot, and was often not portrayed as an especially skilled fighter. His relatively small role was probably due to the need to establish Leonardo's role as "leader" along with the fact that Donatello was Peter Laird's favorite Turtle, and Raphael was Kevin Eastman's favorite. By contrast, among the characters in Volume 4, Michelangelo experienced some of the most complex character development, undergoing harrowing experiences that have hardened and embittered him, in stark contrast with his once irrepressibly carefree and fun-loving personality.

This incarnation of Michelangelo appeared in the Turtles Forever crossover special, voiced by Bradford Cameron.

This Mikey briefly appears in Trans-Dimensional Turtles.

Known Superhuman Powers
Michelangelo has the species wide adaptions that one would find in reptiles classified as turtles (chelonians).

He: Though it has yet to be confirmed, Michelangelo’s mutation has most likely converted him into a warm-blooded organism (unlike normal turtles).
 * possesses a durable bony shell that originates from his ribs and protects his chest and back
 * can hold his breath underwater for approximately 10 minutes
 * can draw his neck down into his shell
 * can operate for extended periods in below-freezing conditions with little or no protection from the elements

Abilities
Michelangelo is a formidable hand to hand combatant. Over his short lifetime, he has mastered of both the and  martial arts styles. He has displayed a level of skill in both that one can only find in cinematic  martial artists.

In addition, he is a superb athlete and world-class acrobat.

Finally, Michelangelo has mastered the art of ninjutsu. His skills of stealth and deception are so polished that he can virtually hide in plain sight.

Of the four Turtle brothers, Michelangelo is the most physically gifted. If he trained as hard as or had the raw intensity that  possesses, he would achieve a level of skill and prowess that surpassed the others.

Description
Like all of his brothers, Michelangelo appears to be a large bipedal turtle. His body is hairless, his skin is deep green colour and he has no visible nose or ears. Both his hands and feet are three fingered/toed, and his eyes are jet black.

Unlike a normal turtle, his eyes point directly forward and are distinctly human in appearance (if not unusually large).

Michelangelo has a large and pronounced shell situated in the centre of his back. It is clearly a part of his body, and extends across the entirety of his torso. The portion of the shell that covers his chest, stomach and crotch area is a light brown in colour.

With his shell protecting his modesty as well as his vitals, Michelangelo doesn’t normally wear cloths unless he is attempting to hide his mutated features from humans.

The only clothing that he normally wears is a battered leathern belt that he utilizes as a harness/holster for his weapons, light strips of cloths around his joints (wrists, elbows, knees, and ankles) and a red strip of cloth that he wears around his eyes when expecting combat.

The cloth resembles a domino mask while on, but in truth does little to protect his identity.

Personality
Michelangelo is the quintessential fun-loving “dude”. He has a gentle (yet mischievous) nature and would rather be out just fooling around rather than fighting.

This isn’t to say that he doesn’t enjoy a good brawl; he enjoys the rough and tumble stuff as much as any of his brothers. He just doesn’t enjoy the constant training that his father (and Leo) expects of him. Fortunately for Mikey, his natural athletic prowess and luck make up for any lack of discipline he exhibits.

Quotes
“Hah ! Heard ya coming, pal ! What did that good for nothing bum, the, teach you guys anyway ? Too bad I can’t stop to give you a few pointers ! Bye, Bye NOW !” [crack !]

Michelangelo: “Not today, Chumley — lights out !”

Stop fooling around ! The manriki-gusari is not a weapon to be trifled with !” [macks Michelangelo with his staff] Michelangelo: “OW !”

Splinter: “… and you, Michelangelo — stop GOOFING AROUND !” [smacks Michelangelo with his staff] Michelangelo: “OW !”

“Look at all this neat stuff ! Action figures, models, masks, galactic ray guns — WOW !”

“Zounds ! It’s Capt. Demento and his killer robot cat Klunk !”

Michelangelo: “I’m shaking in my mukluks pal — don’t scare me any more, okay ?”

“And as for you ’Mack the Knife‘… your blade’s a lot sharper than you are !”

“I hate these guys, Mr. Foot meet Mr. FIST ! “

“Don’t worry. No one will hurt you as long as we’re alive !”

Trivia

 * Kevin Eastman developed the personality of him based on his good friend Steve Lavigne.
 * Mikey is ambidextrous (both left and right handed), however he usually writes with his right hand.
 * He is the youngest of the four turtles.