Raphael

Raphael was the hard headed, quick to fight member of the turtles. He was quick to shoot down anything his brothers planned, and was impartial to running into a fight head-on. He always played the tough guy, but on more than one occasion could be seen showing how he really felt about his brothers.

Origin
See Origin.

Childhood
Not much is known of his childhood. Raph's been shown to be a mischievous little boy with a knack for getting into trouble; he didn't seem to be the angry young man of his teens.

1987 series
In the 1987 animated series, Raphael is more sarcastic and witty as opposed to being angry and sullen. He was voiced by Rob Paulsen except for the final season where he was voiced by Michael Gough.

2003 series
Unlike the 1987 series, Raphael was like his comic book counterpart in this series, brooding and angry.

Portrayal
In the first feature film, Raphael was portrayed by Josh Pais, both in the suit and the voice. Josh Pais is a native lower east side New Yorker, a natural to voice and also portray Raphael under the 80+lb costume. He described the headpiece with all of its noisy motors like, "Grand Central station at rush hour with a tin can on your head."

In the second film, he was portrayed by Kenn Troum and voiced by Laurie Faso.

In the third film, he was portrayed by Matt Hill and voiced by Tim Kelleher.

Behind the Scenes

 * Raphael's height and weight (5', 170 lb.) is considered canon for the films because it is from the T Files, from the DVD special features of the first film.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
One night while heading home from work, news reporter April O'Neil is attacked by a band of juveniles working for The Foot. Raphael throws his sai at the streetlight to cut off the section's source of light. While in the shadows, Raphael and his brothers attack and defeat the delinquents, and they also tie them up just in time for police to round them up.

Raphael though lost one of his sai, the one he had thrown, which he forgot on the ground. Luckily for him, April picked it up herself and put it in her bag. The turtles then retreated into the sewers back to their home. There they notified Splinter of their first battle against the recent crime wave. After a short speech about the way of the ninja, Raphael admits he lost one of his sai, but refuses to let it go. Instead he wishes to get it back, although Splinter says otherwise. For a second, he got into a shoving fight with Donatello, until it was stopped by Splinter.

Splinter then suggests meditation, in which the turtles begin to dance to some music instead, except for Raphael. He gets his disguise, which was a trenchcoat and a hat, and heads off to go to a movie. He goes to the theater and watches the film Critters, which he didn't like too much. On his way home, he encounters two teenagers robbing a purse. He trips them and returns the purse to the victim, as he scares the teenagers into running off. He follows them though.

As he follows them into the park, he encounters another vigilante by the name of Casey Jones who has also been upset by the recent crime wave. The two get into a fight with Casey's weapons, which are actually accessories used in sports, and eventually Raphael is knocked back into a trash can. Jones runs off, and Raphael tries to pursue him but fails. He returns home angry, where he is met by Splinter again. He then receives another lecture.

The next day April appears on the news interviewing the chief of police regarding the recent crime wave. Figuring out the reporter's location from the interview, Raphael heads to the police station to wait for her, hoping to retrieve his lost weapon. After she finishes with her interview, April heads into the subway station secretly follwed by Raphael. April just misses her subway train, and she frustratedly decides to wait on the next one when a gang of Foot ninjas jump her. She attempts to defend herself with Raphael's sai, which she had been carrying in her purse, but is easily disarmed. The sai is sent flying and April is knocked unconscious. Raphael retrieves his sai from where it landed and is able to defeat April's attackers. Using a speeding subway car to cover his escape he carries her through the subway tunnel to his home. A Foot ninja secretly follows Raphel and is able to discover the Turtle's hideout.

He receives negative feedback from his brothers and Splinter for bringing a human into their lair, but he is nodded at for saving her life. When April awakens, she is frightened by Splinter and the turtles, but when she is finally calmed down, Splinter tells her of their past. The turtles then walk April home, since it was getting late. They lead her through the sewers and eventually take her up the correct manhole. She then invites them all into her apartment for some pizza.

After their meal, the turtles and April have a fun time sharing jokes. After a while, the turtles leave and return home. But they find horror as they discover their home had been invaded and ransacked, and Splinter was taken prisoner. The turtles are outraged and saddened, but most of all Raphael as he lets out an angry holler heard throughout the sewers. The turtles then return to April's home, to tell her of the bad news. They then stay the night, to avoid being attacked by the Foot in their sewer lair.

The next morning, April's boss Charles pays her a visit. During the visit, Charles son, Danny, spots Michelangelo. Unknown to anyone, Danny also worked for the Foot. After they leave he goes and reports his newly found information to the Shredder himself.

The turtles can then do nothing but wait for some report on the Foot's whereabouts. April is probably their only hope, since she is a news reporter. During a broadcast on live television, April expresses her gratitude to Raphael for saving her. Raphael is somewhat embarrassed and teased by his brother Donatello, but soon their argument ceases. Raphael then tells Leonardo that he wants to go out there and find Splinter, instead of waiting for something to come to them. They argue and then Raphael leaves to the rooftops to blow off some steam. While there, he is jumped by many of The Foot ninjas. Because of Danny, their location had once again been revealed. Raphael then holds his own against the many ninjas for a short while, before being defeated and pummeled. After taking many hits, he is rendered unconscious and thrown through the window into the antique shop below. He can do nothing as his brothers fight The Foot to protect April and his unconscious body.

Across the rooftops, Casey Jones had spotted Raphael being jumped, and so he went over to help. He arrived in the middle of the battle, and helped out the turtles greatly. He managed to buy them enough time to get everyone out, including himself. Casey then drove April and the turtles to April's abandoned old house in the countryside. The turtles had suffered their first real defeat, and April had lost her apartment. The turtles tried to recover from their loss by relaxing and honing their skills in the farmlands. Raphael was still unconscious, and the turtles had put him in a bathtub to stay hydrated. When he awoke, he was greeted by Leonardo, who apologized for the way he'd acted before. Raphael and Leonardo reconciled and hugged, only giving Donatello an opportunity to make a joke. Finally, the turtles were four again.

The went out into the fields to work out and train, so that they could master their skills and defeat the Foot. Donatello and Casey had managed to repair a truck so that they eventually could return to the city. One day while Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo played a board game, Leonardo came rushing in to tell the turtles that he knew Splinter was alive. So that night, all four turtles went into the fields by a campfire, and meditated.

A ghostly vision of Splinter appeared to them, telling them that they'd succeeded and achieved the mastery of the mind. The vision's last words before fading away were an expression of love towards the turtles. The following morning, they informed Casey and April it was time to go back, and that they were ready to face the Foot and bring them down once and for all. And so, they took the long drive back home to their sewer lair. When they arrived, they realized something was wrong. When they opened a closet door, they saw the runaway Danny hiding out in the lair. Danny informed April he had ran away from home. The turtles, April and Danny then stayed the night in the sewer lair, but Casey, being a claustrophobic, went back to the surface to sleep in the truck. Later, in the middle of the night, Danny awoke and headed to the Foot warehouse. Casey too woke up and followed him.

Shredder later learned from Danny that the turtles were back. He then ordered the Foot to attack them, and he too would go to finish them off. Meanwhile, Casey and Danny had to free Splinter and stop Tatsu from killing the mentor. As the many Foot ninjas rushed into the sewers, the turtles prepared for them. The turtles hid April in the pipes above to keep her safe, as they opened the valves to unleash mist into the air, clouding the Foot ninjas' vision. Under the cover of the mist, the turtles easily defeated them. Raphael even ate an apple before it was all over. After the mist cleared, more Foot ninjas stormed in, and the battle continued. The turtles gained the upperhand and drove the Foot out of the sewers and into the streets. Eventually the battle led up through the fire escape of a building until they reached the rooftop. There they brawled with the last of the Foot ninjas and defeated them. Just when they thought victory was theirs, the Shredder came down and introduced himself to the turtles.

After a few quick jokes from Michelangelo and Donatello, Raphael took his turn against Shredder. He charged him but was easily tripped and knocked to the ground. The other turtles then took their turns and also failed. They tired out and then regrouped to try and make a gameplan. Leonardo then realized that the Shredder knew where Splinter was, and so the four turtles all charged Shredder, one by one.

Each one was knocked to the floor by Shredder's superior skills. They could barely touch him, except for Leonardo who managed to get one slash at Shredder's arm before being knocked down aswell. As the turtles regrouped again, they demanded to know where Splinter was. Shredder merely taunted them, and in a rage Leonardo attacked him but was easily knocked down to be at spearpoint.

Shredder threatened to kill Leonardo if the turtles did not get rid of their weapons, which they did. Shredder laughed at their "foolishness" and was about to kill Leonardo, but before the blow could be delivered, Splinter came to the rooftops to stop him. Splinter revealed to Shredder that it was he who scarred shredder's face fifteen years ago. Shredder became enraged and charged at splinter. Right before Shredder's spear impaled him, Splinter revealed Michelangelo's nunchaku, which Shredder had ordered thrown over the side of the building. Splinter used the weapon to entangle Shredder's spear and throw him over the side of the building. Shredder fell into a dump truck which was waiting below. After he had fallen inside Casey Jones activated the truck to cause Shredder to be crushed.

The turtles then rejoiced and hugged their master and father, happy to see him again. The police arrived on the scene and arrested many of the Foot ninjas. Casey and April finally shared their first kiss, as the turtles cheered them on from the rooftops. The turtles celebrated their victory and were happy to be reunited once again.