tmnt

Main characters * Leonardo (Blue) — Leonardo is known as the leader of the group. He is courageous, decisive, deadly, and a devoted student of martial arts. As a strict adherent to Bushido, he has a very strong sense of honor and justice. He wears a blue mask and wields a pair of ninjaken. He is named after Leonardo Da Vinci. * Raphael (Red) — The team's anti-social bad boy, Raphael has an aggressive nature and seldom hesitates to throw the first punch. He is an intense fighter. His personality can be alternately fierce and sarcastic. He is intensely loyal to his brothers and sensei. He is good friends with Casey Jones, after having met him one night on patrol and challenging him to a fight. The two have since frequently patrolled together. Raphael wears a red mask and wields a pair of sai. He is named after Raphael Santi. * Michelangelo (Orange) — The easy-going and free-spirited Mikey provides much of the comic relief. While he loves to relax, this Turtle also has an adventurous and creative side. He wears an orange mask and wields a pair of nunchaku. He is named after Michelangelo Buonarroti. His name was originally misspelled "Michaelangelo" by Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman -- at the time they were using a typewriter and had no way to perform spell-check. * Donatello (Purple) — The brilliant scientist, inventor, engineer, and technological genius. He is perhaps the least violent Turtle, preferring to use his intellect to solve conflicts. He wears a purple mask and wields the bō. He is named after the sculptor Donatello. * Master Splinter — The Turtles' sensei and adoptive father, Splinter is a mutant rat who learned the ways of ninjutsu from his own master, Hamato Yoshi. * April O'Neil — A former lab assistant to the mad scientist Baxter Stockman, April is the plucky human companion of the Turtles. She embarks on many of the Turtles' adventures and aids them by doing the work that the Turtles themselves cannot do in public. During the early height of TMNT popularity, April was depicted as a television news reporter. * Shredder — A villainous ninjutsu master called Oroku Saki. In every incarnation of the TMNT franchise, he has been the archenemy of Splinter and the Turtles. He is also the leader of the Foot Clan. * Casey Jones — A vigilante who has become one of the Turtles' closest allies, Casey fights crime with an assortment of sporting goods (baseball bats, golf clubs, hockey sticks, cricket bat etc.) while wearing a hockey mask to protect his identity.