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Raphael Splinterson is one of the main protagonists of the 2003 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles TV series. He is the strongest of the team who uses his twin sai, other weapons, mastery of Ninjutsu to protect New York City from threats such as the Shredder. On top of being the strongest, he is the most temperamental and hostile, but his deep love for his family is what has him fighting the hardest.

Physical appearance[]

Raphael is represented by the color red, most prominently reflected by his red traditional bandana. His skin tone is a deep emerald green, the darkest of the Turtles. He wears the same brown knee/shoulder pads and belt as his brothers. His weapon of choice is twin sai, which he carries in his belt.

For the last two seasons of the show, due to the differing animation styles in Fast Forward and Back to the Sewer, Raphael suddenly appears taller than his brothers with a slightly lightened skin tone.

Personality[]

Raphael is a typical brash, street smart, no-nonsense, and headstrong New Yorker with a Brooklyn accent. His personality can be best summed up by the theme song from season 4 onward in which it's stated that you can always "count on Raphael to throw the first punch". His personality is similar to that of his original Mirage counterpart—he is aggressive and headstrong. However, he is slightly more sarcastic and moody. Despite being impulsive, he has better control over his anger, despite him being impulsive. When it's too much though, he is still prone to bursts blind rage. Throughout the series, Raphael is shown to struggle with his temper even though he is shown to be aware of the impact of it. Raphael has the hardest time with trusting enemies in situations due to fear they will harm him and his family again. Raphael's deep love for his family, outweighs his anger.

Raphael's hostility can sometimes cause tension, especially with Michelangelo and sometimes Leonardo. Raphael constantly gets frustrated with Michelangelo's constant taunting and teasing, causing them to clash frequently. Raphael and Leonardo usually somewhat get along, but when they argue, it can get very tense as both of them can have very strong opinions, as it especially was shown in City at War arc. Raphael's biggest fear is to lose himself to rage becoming no different than the Shredder.

Raphael is intensely loyal and is often the first to react when any of his friends or family are in danger. A more caring and concerned part of his personality shines through when one of them is harmed or in serious trouble. In the episode "Tales of Leo", he even cries when speaking to a heavily injured and comatose Leonardo. In the following episode, "The Monster Hunter", Raphael forgoes all the action in the episode in favor of caring for Leonardo and helping him forge new katana.

History[]

Childhood[]

Raphael's life began as ordinary baby turtle. He and his brothers were bought from a New York pet store by a young boy. They fell into a sewer drain when a teenager inadvertently knocked over their owner, smashing the bowl they were in and releasing them. The teenager was saving blind man from being hit by a out-of-control truck. When the truck swerved, a canister of mutagen flew out and fell into the sewers after the turtles. The container broke and covered them in mutagen.

Despite being an ordinary rat at the time, Splinter saw the four baby turtles and decided to take care of them—inadvertently covering himself in mutagen while doing so. He brought them to his burrow where they all fell asleep. When they woke up, they were all changed, physically and mentally. Now significantly more intelligent, Splinter decides to raise the turtles as his sons and train them in ninjutsu.

Raphael disposition as a child is similar to his disposition as an teen/young adult. He is adventurous and headstrong. He fearlessly attempts to take down an enormous albino alligator in "Tales of Leo" but has to be rescued by Leonardo.

In "The Lesson", it's revealed that Raphael and his brothers met Casey Jones as children, though none of them ever realized it. They attempted to teach him how defend himself against bullies, with Raphael taking the most violent approach, but all failed miserably. In "Fathers and Sons", Raphael and his brothers defend Splinter and the Ancient One from a demon, despite being scared to tears.

Seasons 1-4[]

Raphael is first introduced in episode 1, Things Change, in the midst of a training exercise with his brothers in which they are attempting to extinguish a candle in Splinter's hand. Despite his best efforts, Raphael fails to extinguish the candle. Instead, Leonardo is the only one of the turtles to succeed, leading to Raphael and Leonardo to clash. Suddenly a hoard of Mousers break through the walls in their home. Though they win the battle against them, their First Lair is destroyed and they are separated from Splinter. The brothers are forced to go above ground in order to make their way to their rendezvous point with Splinter. When the turtles stumble upon the Purple Dragons committing a robbery, Raphael foolishly jumps into the back of the getaway truck to hide. He's locked inside and subsequently kidnapped. His brothers soon rescue him, but they can't avoid a battle with the Purple Dragons. They win only to be accosted by a hoard of Foot Ninja. Unable to win against the sheer number of enemies, they have to flee. Raphael protests at first, but quickly concedes. They reunite with Splinter, who shares with them his discovery of a new home for them.

In A Better Mousetrap, Raphael teams up with Leonardo to salvage what they can from their old home. While Leonardo expresses sorrow for losing their home, Raph expresses anger and the desire for revenge. After collecting what they can, Raph drives Donatello's recent invention, The Sewer Slider, like a maniac back to the lair. Later that night, while watching the news, the Turtles learn that Stocktronics, run by Baxter Stockman, is responsible for the Mousers that destroyed their home. Soon after, Raph claims he's "turning in early" and heads to bed. Raph later attempts to sneak out, only to be stopped by Leo at the door. They begin to scuffle, only to be interrupted by Donatello's repaired Mouser running past them. All four Turtles give chase. They track Don's Mouser through the sewers, until they encounter another hoard of Mousers, which they fight and destroy. Just as Don is requesting that they leave one working, Raph is shown mercilessly and comically destroying the last one. They soon hear a woman screaming and make their fateful encounter with April O'Neil.

Ninja Tribunal (Season 5)[]

Raphael became one of the Ninja Tribunal Acolytes along with his brothers. He is the second of the ninja to focus his spiritual energy through the Amulet of the Acolytes and his spiritual avatar is that of a dragon. Although Raph gets annoyed with his brothers especially Mikey at times, Juto-Shisho thinks that protesting out of frustration suits him when he boldly steps into the spirit forge and is granted Banrai.

Fast Forward (Season 6)[]

In TMNT: Fast Forward, Raphael was the only one who hated the future. Mainly his frustration was aimed at the technique used in 2105, which was highly developed. Another complaint was that he and his family could walk the streets in broad daylight without worrying about people being afraid of them and his brothers often preferred staying in Cody Jones' apartment.

The only time he liked the future is in Headlock Prime as he got to attend a wrestling match since he can now go out in the open. Raphael also fought the villain Triple Threat, who sought to steal the belt and they fought in streets of the city where Raphael was cheered on by the crowd. Raphael earned the nickname "Turtle Terror" for defeating the villain.

Back to the Sewers (Season 7)[]

In TMNT: Back to the Sewer, the Turtles return to their present time, and even still Raphael is the tough talking New Yorker he's always been. However, in this series there are explicit facts that show that Casey and Raph are true best friends because in certain episodes, Raphael and Casey talk about the future wedding of O'Neil/Jones (April O'Neil/Casey Jones), and Raphael always seems to be there for Casey and actually quotes "So, ya think I'm best man material, or what?" Thus, in the series finale episode, "Wedding Bells and Bytes", Raphael stars as the best man in the wedding; actually catching Casey just as he's about to faint from nervousness twice. Raphael also helps defeat the Cyber Shredder. Raphael is happy to leave the future and be back in his own time, but Raphael hates talking about it. Raphael also seems to be the tallest turtle brother in this series.

Turtles Forever[]

In Turtles Forever, he would comment that he sees the 1987 Turtles as "fools, not ninjas". He thinks of the 1987 Turtles as “a group of Mikeys”. In addition would pick one of them up like a menace and the 1987 Turtles would get annoyed. Later he would jump in and save 1987 Leonardo, 1987 Raphael and Michelangelo from being crushed by a giant Utrom Shredder. He did, however, immediately take a liking to the Original "hardcore" Turtles, yelling "I love these guys!" He even said he would consider retiring to their world.

Biography[]

What can I say that hasn't been said a billion times before? Not much. I'm the "dark" one. The Cynic. The Pessimist. The Crazy. The Angry Young Man.

Or, for those of you who ain't Pollyannas, the Realist.

It's a dog-eat-dog world, and I'm a Big Dog... but I lie low unless somebody gets my back up. I don't start 'em, I finish 'em. I'm out of clichés... but those sum me up nicely.

I'm pretty anti-social and short-tempered, I admit. Most people just get on my nerves. I like to leave-alone and be left alone. If more people were like me, I think things would be better off. I know I'd be better off!

I guess I need to learn how to relax. To find my "center," as Splinter says. I'm workin' on it. Sometimes I envy Mikey his good-natured temperament. Sometimes I think I'd like to be that way. Sometimes...

The saying goes, "Ignorance is bliss"... as I grow older, I'm trying to grow wiser... kind of a contradiction, innit?

Skills, powers, and abilities[]

  • Mutant Physiology: As a mutant, the Mutagen ooze produced by TCRI heightened Raphael's physical attributes to considerable extraordinary levels. He possesses strength, speed, reflexes, agility, endurance, recovery speed, and stamina much greater than even the finest human specimen athlete. His mutant abilities has been listed as shown below:
    • Enhanced Strength: He is the strongest turtle, lifting people over his head. He is also the most violent, and so he can deal harder blows - though this is not a question of strength, more of morals, his brothers would most likely not hit someone as hard as Raphael would. His greater strength may be do in part to his ferocious temper.
    • Enhanced Speed: Raphael is able to move at great speed, able to free run on rooftops without losing momentum. He can also spin his sais at incredible speed.
    • Enhanced Reflexes:
    • Enhanced Agility: Raphael can coordinate his bodily to levels that are beyond then the finest human athlete.
    • Roller: In the first season episode 6, Raphael was shown to be a very gifted rollette skater.
    • Enhanced Healing: Raphael can heal faster than normal humans.
    • Enhanced Stamina: Raphael possesses a high stamina and much stronger than Olympic-level athletes. He is highly remarkable of continue to fight for more than several hours if necessary.
    • Enhanced Endurance:
    • Semi-aquatic Adaptations: He is able to swim long distances, dive deeply and hold his breath underwater for a long time.
  • Ninjutsu: Like his brothers, he has a great sense of balance and agility. He can jump farther and higher than a human, as well as move quicker and more easily on narrow surfaces. He is the strongest fighter of the group (this is certainly true when training) Raphael has beaten his brothers including Donatello before in fights, both with and without weapons.
  • Okinawan Kobudō (Sai):
  • Master of Stealth: Being taught by Splinter, Raphael, as well as his brothers, are able to be one with darkness and hide and move within the shadows without being noticed.
  • Roller sports:
  • Dragon Transformation:

Weapons and equipment[]

Relationships[]

Family[]

Leonardo[]

When Raph was a kid, he wanted to be the leader, and sometimes experiences envy over Leo's position over his brothers, although all he wanted to do is to please his family the best he could. When Raphael got a little older, he grew out of his envy and accepts and respects the fact that Leo is the leader. He doesn’t argue with Leo very often, but they can butt heads on occasion. Whenever they argue, it can be very tense, since Leo can sometimes have a hot temper of his own and both of them have strong opinions.

However, the two are closer than they appear at first glance. After Leo was almost beaten to death by the Foot, Raphael was driven to tears over his fear that his brother would die. As Leo recovered, Raphael helped him forge new katanas and served as emotional support, which continued throughout their next conflict with Shredder. In "The 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.

Donatello[]

Don and Raph along pretty well the most. However their relationship is quite simple. Raph occasionally can make remarks, but Don either responds sarcastically, or let it slide. However it doesn't get to the point where there's much conflict. Despite Raph being baffled by Don's technobabble (as well as others) in numerous occasions, there are times when Raph does understand what Don meant. In H.A.T.E. when Don was talking about a "thermonuclear device", Raph responds "What are these maniacs doing with a nuke?" just after the scientific name was dropped. Raph also is usually the first to compliment Don on one of his inventions. One of Raph’s favorite inventions that Don had invented is the Shell Cycle.

Raph also has Don's back and vice versa as they tend to look out for one another. This was shown shown in Outbreak when Raph saw Don got a nasty gash by one of the bugs during the fight. In Adventures in Turtle Sitting and Good Genes arc, when Don got sick through the mutations, Raph is seen very concerned for Don and he was seen wanting to go after Bishop for what happened, and once Don was cured, Raph is seen assisting Don to the helicopter.

Michelangelo[]

Raph's relationship with Mikey is the most strained compared to his other relationships with his brothers. Raphael is the frequent target of Mikey’s teasing, taunting, and pranks, often leading to him delivering a smack to the head or (on rare occasions) even beating Mikey up. However he does deeply care about Mikey, as evidenced by situations where it appears that Mikey has been endangered. When it appeared that Leatherhead had hurt Mikey in "Hunted", Raph pleaded with his brother to say something to them. This same up/down dynamic is seen during the battle between the two in the Battle Nexus Championship. Michelangelo is able to achieve victory by talking and generally being annoying to the point where Raph loses his cool, charging at the other but instead taking himself out.

However, Mikey’s aggravation towards the other is not without consequence. In The Shredder Strikes, Part 2 when Mikey injured and Raph rushed to his aid, Mikey tricks Raph into thinking he is dying, which angered Raph when he found out. In the episode “Meet Casey Jones” Mikey teases and enrages Raph to the point where he almost seriously injures the other in a blind rage. As soon as Raph snaps out of it, he is horrified by himself, showing he would never intentionally harm his brother despite their differences.

Master Splinter[]

Raphael is quite close to his father. In the earlier episodes, Splinter had a hard time letting his sons go topside causing Raphael’s frustration. Splinter does scold Raphael for his impatience at times. At other times Splinter would give advice. Despite all of this, Raphael truly has respect for his father and Raphael does listen to him. He even told Casey when he first met him one of the things his father told him.

Friends[]

Casey Jones[]

Casey and Raph are close friends. Before Raphael got to know Casey, he never met anyone as explosive as he can. They fought when they first met but then they became close. They may be buddies but every now and then they horse play.

April O'Neil[]

One of the Turtles' greatest allies, April is more like a big sister. Raph often gripes about assisting her around her shop, 2nd Time Around, such as in the episode "Nano" or the episode "Touch and Go". He is, however, quite close to her, often worrying about her while also admiring her character.

Angel[]

Where Raphael views April as a 'big sister', he sees Angel as a little sister. Raph will immediately come to her aid when she asks for help, comforting her when she is upset, such as in the episode "The Darkness Within" when he hugs her.

Quotes[]

Trivia[]

  • Like most of his incarnations, this version of Raphael (like Casey) speaks with a Brooklyn accent and its accompanying slang.
  • Like his brothers, Raphael is a practitioner of Chi Gong, as shown in "Turtles in Space, Part 3: The Big House".
  • "Banzai" is this incarnation of Raphael's favorite catchphrase.
  • Raphael's spirit totem is the dragon, the same as his brothers.
  • Raphael's favorite color is red.
  • Raphael's favorite book is Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park.
  • Raphael's favorite music genres are Rap, Metal, Hardcore, and Punk.
  • Raphael has a soft spot for children as is shown in "Lone Raph and Cub".
  • Raphael is gentle and polite with women and the elderly such as in Touch and Go.
  • Raphael is the first Turtle to cry in the series when Leonardo was badly injured after they found out that the Shredder returned.
  • Raphael likes his Shell Cycle so much that when Hun stole and wrecked it he stopped at nothing to get even with him.
  • There are similarities in "Same As It Never Was" and "Exodus, Part 2". Both times, Raphael charges and attacks Karai after she stabs his brother, Leonardo. However, Raphael only won once (in "Exodus: Part 2").
  • Raphael slaps Mikey on the back of the head when he says or does something stupid or annoying. In fact, in the episode "Identity Crisis", it was revealed that Raphael's favorite memory was shoving Mikey's face into his birthday cake and he and Leo laugh at him.
  • On the occasions that he and his brothers travel the sewers without use of vehicles, Raphael occasionally uses in-line roller-skates.
  • In "Tales of Leo", Raphael mentioned on how he was going to be the leader and implies that he wants to really impress his family.
  • Raphael has experience in blacksmithing, as he assisted Leonardo in forging new katana blades.
  • Raphael has a pair of inline skates, which he is highly proficient at using.
  • When Raphael gets angry and someone stops him, he usually listens and stops himself unlike his 2012 incarnation.
  • Raphael calls anyone younger than him “kid".

Gallery[]

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