Michelangelo Splinterson (2003 TV series)

In the 2003 series, Michelangelo is voiced by Wayne Grayson. Known as 'Mikey' to his brothers, his personality is more akin to the Mirage comics than the 1987 show. Still the comic relief, he often makes statements that spoof pop culture, although he uses less surfer slang than in the 1987 cartoon series. His trademark nunchaku are once again his primary weapons, but he has used other weapons such as grappling hooks and those of his brothers.

Personality
Michelangelo is slightly more immature than in the 1987 series and likes to tease and annoy his older brothers, especially Raphael, for whom Michelangelo is the foil. In fact, a running gag is that whenever Michelangelo says or does something excessively outrageous, usually involving a catch-phrase from the 1987 show, one of his brothers (usually Raphael) will slap him on the head. Other characters such as Master Splinter and the Ancient One have picked up on this habit but usually use it only whenever he disobeys. In the Fast Forward episode "Timing is Everything," when Michelangelo was talking too much, Splinter flipped over his seat he was sitting on causing him to fall on the ground, replying afterwards that "somebody had to do it. It was...time."

Raphael and Michelangelo mostly have a love-hate relationship in which Michelangelo frequently antagonizes Raphael (it especially hurts Raphael's pride that Michelangelo has bested him more than once, both times because Raphael's anger got in the way; specially in the Battle Nexus match, the result of that match seems to have been an oil on their love-hate relationship), but Raphael shows that he cares about him whenever he's in danger. He also seems to be very close with Donatello.

Michelangelo is regularly treated as the youngest brother and little is expected of him, although he has shown to have superior speed and agility over his brothers. He has shown innocent empathy for others, as shown in particular by his adoption of Klunk the stray kitten, to whom he is very close, and also by his relationship with Leatherhead. It is his initial awareness of Leatherhead's humanity which ends up forging the bond between the crocodile and the other Turtles. He enjoys Leatherhead's company, although he does tease him on occasion, against his better judgment. However, he cares greatly for the crocodile and is quick and willing to forgive and reassure him when a rampaging Leatherhead injures him in a blind, nightmarish rage in the episode "Hunted." Leatherhead also appears to care greatly for Michelangelo and is distraught when he believes he has fatally injured him.

In some episodes, Michelangelo takes on the role of a costumed super hero called "Turtle Titan." While having no superpowers and gadgets, he proves himself quite effective in his own right and even befriends other superheroes, such as the Silver Sentry and the Justice Force. As Turtle Titan, Michelangelo uses grappling hooks as both a weapon and a mode of transportation, and a small shield used for protection and as a throwing weapon.

Although not shown as particularly focused on ninjutsu, preferring to spend his time reading comics or watching movies, Michelangelo is quite an effective fighter. In the Season 2 finale "The Big Brawl," he became the Battle Nexus Champion, the best fighter in the multiverse. Although his victory was due in part to some very lucky breaks, Michelangelo later won a rematch against the last finalist and earned a medal of honor for his behavior during the battle. In some episodes - particularly Return of the Justice Force, Touch and Go, Reality Check, Membership Drive and The Unconvincing Turtle Titan -, Mikey even demonstrates unusual (for him) smarts, aiding his allies and brothers with decisive ideas. While this proves he is actually more intelligent than he lets on, it is implied that he has very little interest in seriously focusing his intellectual development.

In early profiles of the 2003 animated series, Michelangelo is regarded as being the most athletic of the four, although unfocused on training mentally (though those are admittedly old profiles and may have been early plans for the character, he has certainly proven he is an effective fighter when need be). This profile statement has since been repeated in the profile of Michelangelo in the lead-up to the debut of the Fast Forward season, which began airing on July 29, 2006.

Ninja Tribunal
Michelangelo became one of the Ninja Tribunal's Acolytes along with his brothers. It should be noted that although Michelangelo tends to goof off, his spiritual avatar is that of a dragon along with his brothers as seen in the episode "New World Order, Part 2." It was seen, that he was advanced when it came to the stealth training with Hisomi.

When Mikey was a kid, he and his brothers went with Master Splinter to Japan to bury Master Yoshi's ashes next to his beloved. While there, they helped Master Splinter and the Ancient One win a fight against a demon and that was when they gained their ninja masks ("Fathers & Sons").

Fast Forward
In this series, Michelangelo, along with his brothers, traveled into the year 2105 and met the great-grandson of April and Casey, Cody Jones. Mikey continued his videogaming in the future, completely awestruck by the new video games, especially since most of the games were virtual reality pieces. When the Turtles and Master Splinter reached the future, they were provided with tech-upgraded weapons, curteusy of O' Neil Tech (which Cody owns). Michelangelo first chose a giant power armor suit, which kept Mikey happy for five seconds before he found out that it was too cumbersome for him to operate; so he returned to his (though upgraded) nunchaku standards.

Overall, Michelangelo continued being the obnoxiously annoying little brother. He kept his addiction for video games and it even increased and he became even more obsessed with them, which proved to be a hazard during Graduation Day: Class of 2105 which almost got him to not graduate as he missed a month's worth of training just for playing video games. He made up for it, however, when he passed the three tests to graduate and get back his nunchucks: Invisibility (where the first handle bar was guarded by Leonardo), Strength (where the second handle bar was guarded by Rapahel), and Insight (where the chain was guarded by Donatello). He also passed the hidden test of humility after admitting that he did not deserve to graduate just because he passed three tests after missing so much training.



Back to the Sewer
In this series, Mikey continues to be obnoxious and pestering as he always has been in the 2k3 series. Mikey was sad to leave behind all of his stuff in the future, including his video games and weapons. Michelangelo still loves his video gaming, and this becomes an important factor in the episode 'SuperQuest' where the turtles must enter one of Mikey's video games to collect more of Master Splinter's data bits that were lost in the beginning of the series. In "City Under Siege", Mikey defeats the Cyber Shredder by destroying the platform they were on and burning Shredder to a crisp. Mikey also goes to Casey and April's wedding at the end of the series where he battles Foot ninjas and helps beat the Cyber Shredder. Afterwards he see's Casey and April getting married. By this point he seems to have matured a little bit.

Turtles Forever
In Turtles Forever, Mikey gets along just perfectly with the 1987 turtles and usually always remarks "I love these guys!" When the 1987 turtles go to far with playing around, even Mikey yells at them, proof that even he can be serious. The 1987 turtles also give Mikey noogies. Mikey is fond of the 1987 turtles belt buckles. Mikey was in the final battle with the Shredder in Turtle Prime and was happy to see Shredder destroyed for good.