Raphael

Raphael is 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 usually played the tough guy, but on more than one occasion could be seen showing how he really felt about his brothers. Unlike his brothers, his bandanna remains red.

Origin
See Origin.

Childhood
Raph's been shown to be a mischievous little boy with a knack for getting into trouble. He was not necessarily the "hot head" of the group during his childhood, but there was evidence shown Raph bullied Michelangelo (the youngest/ wise guy). Raphael is sometimes the second oldest; between Leonardo (the oldest/ leader) and Donatello (the cool-headed middle child/ tech-geek), and, only as portrayed in the 2003 series, Raph believes he should have been proclaimed the leader, and so through childhood, Raphael has always, starting from childhood, envied Leo's sense of leadership, believing that he could be just as great, if not better, a leader; if he'd only been given a chance when he was a meer tot.

Mirage Comics
In the original comics Raphael was shown to be the most aggressive, violent, and competitive of the turtles.

It is Raphael who is sent to issue a challenge to Shredder by Splinter, and as he infiltrates Oruku Saki's security business, he kills several thugs. It is clear that he does not like people, going as far as to kill more Foot Soldiers in the battle against Shredder than any other turtle. The turtles return to their sewer home after Shredder is killed by a thermite grenade.

When the turtles rescue April O'Neil, who is an assistant to Mouser developer Baxter Stockman, it is Raphael who knocks the gloating madman out. After Stockman has the Mousers destroy his building, the turtles return home to find destroyed Mousers and Splinter missing, April invites them back to her house, where the turtles befriend her.

Violent and battling Michaelangelo, Raphael nearly kills him and runs away, where he meets the vigilante Casey Jones. The two fight but eventually team up to fight some other thugs. Raphael starts trying to control his anger, but remains the hot headed member of the team.

While battling Foot Soldiers, the brothers notice a building that says T.C.R.I., the company that developed the mutagen that changed their lives and that of Splinter. When the brothers infiltrate the building, they find Splinter alive and well, but in a fight against alien Utroms, Michelangelo is tossed into a control panel and the turtles are beamed to another galaxy. There, they encounter the Fugatoid and Triceratons, and Raphael and his brothers defeat several of the aliens when they are beamed back to Earth. Splinter and the Utroms tell their story as a S.W.A.T. team attacks the building because of the two teleportation signatures.

Staying with April and a family again, the turtles are transported back to the 1400s, where they encounter the aardvark warrior Cerebus, and helping him, they are reuturned to their proper time. During Christmas, Leonardo is out alone and gets attacked and nearly beaten to death by many Foot Soldiers, who throw him through a window in April's apartment. After a vicious battle that destroys her home and a revelation that Shredder is still alive, Casey appears and takes the "family" to his grandmother's house for months of recuperation.

1987 series
In the 1987 animated series, Raphael is more sarcastic and witty as opposed to being angry and sullen. The show's theme song states "cool but crude", as opposed to being angry and sullen as in other versions, Raphael is a sarcastic wise-guy, and supplies comic relief alongside Michaelangelo, whose humor is usually attributed to his ignorance and spaciness. As a result, Michelangelo is the subject of Raphael's jokes more than any other Turtle. He frequently makes jokes that break the fourth wall.

This incarnation of Raphael is entirely different from other variations and has a far less confrontational relationship with his friends and fellow Turtles. The most striking example with this is his lack of a rivalry with Leonardo. Raphael has no desire to steal anyone's thunder or become a leader; he's perfectly content providing the wittiest of the cartoon's jokes, making him the funniest and least serious turtle of the group.

In the Season 4 episode "Raphael Knocks 'em Dead", Raphael was being a comedian for a comedy club while investigating.

In the Season 4 episode "Raphael Meets His Match", Raphael was paired off with a mysterious mutant female named Mona Lisa, who might have been considered as a potential girlfriend for Raphael. Despite following the Turtles back to New York City, Mona Lisa was never seen again.

In the season 5 episode "Raphael VS the Volcano", due to a malfunction in Donatello's Healthometer, Raphael was convinced that he soon was going to die and decided to end his life as a hero named the "Green Defender", saving people from dangers and stopping criminals when he thought he had nothing to lose. When the Healthometer malfunction was discovered, the other Turtles found his farewell note and tracked him down to tell him he wasn't going to die. He was voiced by Rob Paulsen, in the final season he was voiced by Michael Gough In the "Vacation in Europe" season, his lines were voiced by Hal Rayle. In the Japanese language dubs of the series, he is voiced by Hiroyuki Shibamoto in the TV Tokyo dub, by Kaneto Shiozawa in the first through twelvth Tōwa video cassettes, by Yoku Shioya in the Tōwa video cassettes as of the thirteenth volume and by Sukekiyo Kameyama in the BS2 dub.

Archie Comics
The Archie Comics series was titled "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures" and began as a direct adaptation of the popular cartoon series in the late eighties. As the series began to take on a life of its own, Raphael changed his costume, donning a black bodysuit (As opposed to his usual red bandanna and pads), which he claimed was more appropriate for a ninja, as well as a way for him to express his individuality.

Comin Out of Our Shells
Raph was the lead vocalist, who also played drums & tenor saxophone in the stage show.

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.

In the fourth film, he was voiced by Nolan North. In these films he behaved more like the Raphael of the comics rather than the cartoon at the time.

First Movie
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 when he tosses a sai between Donatello's legs. 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.

Fourth Movie
At the start of the 2007, CGI sequel TMNT, Raphael, growing increasingly frustrated and violent, has become a masked vigilante, the Nightwatcher, going to the surface at night and fighting crime in very brutal fashions. When Leonardo returns from Central America he confronts him in his Nightwatcher disguise, and toys with Raphael who, using the manriki, is not a match for Leonardo. Leonardo knocks off his helmet with an uppercut and then, seeing its Raphael, starts to lecture him. He and Leonardo then come to blows over this, and in a bout of focused rage he breaks Leonardo's ninjikens and pins him to the ground, his eyes showing bitter hatred, his sai striking an inch from his brother's head. Leo's staring causes him to snap out of it and retreat, unable to bear what he has nearly done. After Leo is kidnapped by the stone Generals and Foot Clan, Raphael attempts to save him, but fails, and returns to the lair, distraught at being unable to help. Here, it's stated that some of his jealousy towards Leonardo is because he was the apparent favored son of Splinter; after Splinter assures him that he is just as valued as all his brothers, he effectively leads the Turtles (joined by Splinter, April and Casey) in a rescue, giving Leo a new pair of swords to replace the ones he destroyed in their fight, effectively passing the baton to his brother and accepting him as leader.

Donatello was also angered by Raphael's personality, complaining that Raph wasn't pulling his weight around and does little to support the family and the team. This was explained earlier in the movie where Don and Raph argued. Like Leonardo, Donatello also disliked the Nightwatcher, because he wasn't sure whose side he was on.

Splinter describes Raphael as passionate, strong, loyal to a fault, and someone who takes on the burdens of the world, who would make a great leader.

In the TMNT movie prequel comics, Raphael becomes the Nightwatcher after failing to save an old man who was once a crime-fighter, and promising to take the man's gear and get his revenge. He starts this career in Harlem, which the comic vividly shows to be full of gangs and other illicit activities. Raphael actively feels that he has a responsibility to help the neighborhood, especially after the old man, David Merryweather, is shot while Raphael is on the phone with Leonardo, who is about to leave on his training pilgrimage. When Raphael admits his mistake to Splinter, his relationship to Michelangelo as an older brother gets a spotlight; Michelangelo, who admires the Nightwatcher and, by proxy, Raphael as a hero, is expressively let down in this scene by the vigilante anti-hero. His time as the Nightwatcher is one of the few during which Raphael uses a different ninjitsu weapon, the manriki: weighted chains that can be concealed in the hands and used from considerable distances. Unlike his sai, the manriki are typically not lethal weapons, though they could crush a skull if used with enough force. In the novelization of the movie, however, Raphael's weapons are incorrectly called bolos, referring to the weapon bolas.

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.

Image Comics
In the Image series that treated the first two volumes of the Mirage Comics as canonical, Raphael was blasted in the face and disfigured. After that, he wore one of Casey Jones' hockey masks for much of the time, and eventually just an eye patch. Later, Raphael wore Shredder's armor in an attempt to psychologically dominate a number of the New York Mob, with whom the Foot Clan was engaged in a losing gang war. He had accidentally stumbled into a battle between Foot members and these gun-toting Mobsters and was chased right into Shredder's old forge, where he crafted his armor and weapons by hand in Ninja tradition. He donned a slightly variant version of the armor (which had far more blades on the arms than just the two held on the hand by a type of brass knuckle band seen in other versions of the Shredder), and pretended to be the Shredder to get the advantage on his pursuers. He succeeded in defeating them and was then accepted into, and given control of, the New York faction of the Foot Clan for a brief time. The current series produced by Mirage Comics, Volume 4, does not treat the Image series as canon.

The Next Mutation
"Good night, Homie. Dream about babes."(Raph to Andre)

Raph became the rebel of the group, always sparring with Leonardo. It would also mark the first time Raph drives a motorcycle. Though it seemed Raphael despised Venus de Milo the female turtle, the two of them seem to spend a lot of time with each other on the show, though this is usually when they are sparring.

2003 series
In the 2003 TV show, Raphael's personality is more akin to his original incarnation-he is angrier and more sardonic, but not quite as violent (although he is still impulsive). One incident where he almost smashed Michelangelo's head in with a pipe is shown here, as it did in Raphael #1. He also talks with a similar Brooklyn accent used in the movies. He often argues with Leonardo and Michelangelo, although he is depicted as being very close with both at times. His angry personality may be a cover up for his true feelings towards his brothers. His relationship with Donatello consists of poking fun at his intellect or annoyance at his long-winded explanations, more or less thinking of him as somewhat of a dork, yet still his brother. His best friend is generally regarded as Casey Jones. In all incarnations of the turtles except for the 1987 cartoon, Raphael appears to live in the shadow of Leonardo and resents his brother's social position in the group. This was only confirmed in the new cartoon, and the reasons for so stated, where in his pre-teen years, he competed with Leonardo for leadership of the Turtles (because he is the strongest in might though he is the second youngest according to the creators) by virtue of the belief that the leader would also be the best and bravest fighter. However, his rivalry with his brother is heavily toned down in comparison to the comic books and rarely shows a deep hatred towards him as the series progresses. In later episodes from Fast Forward to Back to the Sewers, Raphael mellows out and starts retaining some of his sarcastic sense of humor, acting somewhat of a sarcastic hotheaded whose humor is based on his reckless decisions and impulsive actions which leads to him being easily humiliated. He also sometimes shares non-observant questions and conversations with Michelangelo. He is shown to be a skilled motorcyclist.

It has often been hinted that Raphael has entomophobia, the fear of insects. He has shown on many occasions an unrivaled hatred of bugs. Mikey once joked that there was a bug crawling up Raphael's back, causing him to panic until he realized he was tricked.

Raphael's relationship with Michelangelo is unique in this series. Michelangelo has a tendency to severely annoy his brother, from playing pranks, to taunting, gloating, and overall rubbing his accomplishments in Raphael's face (which leads him to knock Michelangelo down a peg and Raph would often slap Michelangelo upside the head). Though, it has been shown that he deeply cares for his brother. Raphael showed concern for him when he thought Michelangelo had been killed by a rampaging Leatherhead and was the first to try to come to his aid when he found out Michelangelo's Battle Nexus rematch was rigged. He also expressed his pain and fear of losing his leader and brother when Leonardo was nearly killed by the Foot to the point where he even started crying. As Leonardo recovered, Raphael was also the one who supported Leonardo the most, even helping him to create new swords and paying the greatest attention to the care of his brother. In the episode "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. Raphael continues to challenge Leonardo's decisions in this incarnation as well, as Raphael and Leonardo often argue over what to do in certain situations, Raph usually favoring a direct and confrontational approach. Despite differences, Leo and Raph arguably have the closest relationship of the Turtles emphasized in the series, as their conflicting views and care for one another is a key point in many episodes throughout the entire series. Raphael will often put the security of his family and sometimes friends in danger as far as disobeying Splinter and Leonardo, but will react immediately if they are in danger.

He has an extremely loyal side and is the first to react when another of his brothers is in trouble. This happens on numerous occasions, like when he stops a blow from hitting Donatello using only his sais or kicks the Shredder away from Leonardo when the latter is about to attack.

Ninja Tribunal
Raphael became one of the Ninja Tribunal's Acolytes along with his brothers.



Fast Forward
In TMNT: Fast Forward, Raph was the only one that was unhappy with the future, in many episodes you can hear his quote "I Hate The Future". Also even 100 years in the future, Raphael ignores all the hover vehicles and still rides the Shell Cycle.



Back to the Sewer
In this series, the turtles return to the future, and even still Raphael is the short-tempered turtle he's always been. However, in this series there is 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. Raphael is happy to leave the future and be back in his own time (even though he'll never admit it!)

(4kids TMNT Blog post with concept art of Raphael's various outfits here.)