Daniel "Danny" R. Pennington is the son of April O'Neil's boss Charles Pennington in the first movie. He joined the Foot Clan and was involved in the crime spree.
History[]
He was first seen passing a stolen wallet to a Foot Ninja. He was then seen at the Foot headquarters inspecting stolen items while eating a Whopper.
While visiting with his dad in April's apartment, he stole some money from her wallet. When April was assaulted in the subway by the Foot, Danny may have been the one to tip them off, or the other Foot soldiers may have been stalking her as Danny was not present during the encounter. Later, he was seen cuffed and taken away by two NYPD officers during April's report. This also gave NYPD Chief Sterns the leverage over Danny's father, Charles, to keep April from butting into his duties under the threat of putting Danny in Juvenile Hall or Rikers Island Penitentiary. In exchange for not having his news crew press him about the unsolved issues of the Foot Clan, Chief Sterns would go easy on Danny.
In another visit to April's residence the next day when Charles was telling her she was reassigned, Danny stands still and does not misbehave (likely out of intimidation from his father and being detained by Chief Sterns). Michelangelo was under the kitchen table When Charles looks Michaelangelo is gone, replaced by a stuffed panda. However, Michaelangelo's presence was indeed spotted by Danny, who noticed him while looking in a wall mirror.
On the way to his school, he got into an argument with his dad over him trying to steal a car stereo (which may have been the reason for his arrest earlier). Believing his dad doesn't care about him at all, he ran away, finding refuge at the Foot's hideout at the east warehouse with the other teenagers working for them.
When The Shredder tells the Foot of the Turtles, who must be stopped, Danny loyally tells the Shredder of their whereabouts. He soon regrets it after seeing April's apartment and antique store become engulfed in flames from the Turtles' battle with the Foot as the NYPD and NYFD arrive to battle the blaze and evacuate the area. After seeing Tatsu beat up several clan members for their failure, he begins to question himself about joining the Foot in the first place. Danny returns to the Foot headquarters where he discovers Splinter has been kidnapped. He discovers Splinter can talk and the two began speaking to each other, where Splinter tries to get Danny back on the right track.
Casey and the Turtles return to the city sewers, where they find Danny. He's been hiding in the Turtles' lair for days, and his disappearance did not go unnoticed by both Shredder and Tatsu. Danny convinces April not to call his father until the next day. While trying to sleep, he has nightmares about the Shredder and Splinter playing tug-of-war with his conscience. He wakes up and heads for the Foot headquarters to look for Splinter.
He finds Splinter and they talk; mainly about Splinter's family, his past and first meeting with Shredder. After Splinter tells him the truth about Shredder, he decides to leave the Foot for good. However, Shredder and Tatsu find him near Splinter and demands where he was though Danny tries to tell him he didn't go anywhere, Shredder knows he's lying and finds a drawing of Leonardo in his pocket and learns the Turtles have return. He and Casey Jones, who followed him, free Splinter after he overheard Shredder ordered Splinter's death. They convince the other teenagers working for Shredder to defect and make amends for their misdeeds when in the Foot. When the NYPD show up and demand an explanation, one of the teens says that much evidence is to be found in the warehouse east of Lairdman Avenue.
Danny returns the money he stole from April. However, since she was unaware of the theft to begin with, she is unsure of this gesture, with Danny simply remarking "I owe you". He is reunited with his father, and the two reconcile.
Trivia[]
- According to Danny's police criminal record, his birthday is May 24, 1976 and his middle name begins with the letter R.