Donatello (2012 TV series)

Donatello
Biographical information
Home	New York City, Turtle Lair
Nicknames	Donnie D. {Mikey} Donniepedia {Casey} Dorkatello {Raph}
Date of birth	c. 1997 (mutation year)
Abilities	Mastery of Ninjutsu High Logic Genius Level Intellect Durability Acrobatics Semi-aquatic Adaptations Master Bō Stick Fighter Chemical and Mechanical Engineering Computer Specialist Medically Inclined Sarcasm
Weapon of choice	Bo Naginata Smoke Bombs Shuriken
Occupation	Ninja Inventor
Affiliation	Ninja Turtles
Physical description
Species	Mutant turtle
Gender	Male
Height	5'10"-5'11"
Bandana color	Purple
Eye color	Red-Brown
Hair color	None
Out of universe information
Era(s)	2012 TV series, New Animated Adventures
First appearance	Rise of the Turtles, Part 1
Voiced by	Rob Paulsen
Teachers and Students
Teacher(s)	Hamato Yoshi
Student(s)	Timothy (ninjutsu, formerly) 80s Turtles

"Donatello is a fellow, has a way with machines!" — 2012 TV series Theme song

Donatello or Donnie is one of the main protagonists of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2012 television series. He is the adoptive son of Splinter, and the biological brother of Leonardo, Raphael, and Michelangelo. He is also the younger adoptive brother of Karai. He is the team's scientist, mechanist, inventor and weaponry who is in charge of the design and manufacture of all the tools, gadgets, armor, vehicles and weapons in Turtles' arsenal and is also a gifted hacker. Wearing a purple mask, he fights with a bō (rokushakubo) which also converts to a naginata (a Japanese halberd) via a switchblade inside one end of the wooden staff. In this version, Donnie has a huge crush on April O'Neil (who is also in teenage years in this adaptation), and later develops a rivalry with Casey Jones because of it.

In the 2012 series, Donatello is still the brains of the team, but the results of that role as a teenager are played up considerably. He’s constantly being teased by his brothers (especially Raphael), his social skills are less than adequate, and his feelings for April are unnoticed by the girl because he just can’t find the words to express his feelings. However, his ninja skills gain a boost as well. His bō staff now transforms into a naginata, giving him mastery over yet another skill of ninjutsu.

Despite being book smart, he sometimes does not understand and/or has a hard time grasping the lectures of Master Splinter. His character design was also updated, giving him a gap in his teeth and a taller, leaner appearance with a skinny body shape than his brothers.

Physical Appearance

Donnie is a mutated anthropomorphic teen ninjutsu turtle warrior with brownish green skin. Unlike all his previous incarnations, this newer, updated version of Donnie has a gap in between his teeth in addition to having a much taller and skinnier body shape with brown/red eyes, but like his brothers when they're in combat or being stealthy, he has whited-out eyes (like the 2003 incarnation).

Just like most incarnations, he wears a purple mask where the tails of the mask are longer than any of his brothers, except for Raph's. His ninja gear consists of brown knee and elbow pads, light brown bandages wrapped around his ankles, wrists and white bandages wrapped around his fingers.

Personality

Donatello is incredibly book smart. He is incredibly skilled, having "a way with machines". He is a pro scientist, mechanist, and mathematician. He devotes more of his time to studying technology, biology, physics, chemistry, mathematics, metallurgy, and eventually astronomy (as of Season 4) over ninjutsu. He invents a lot of machines and gadgets that are often helpful in battles.

Although he is a skilled martial artist, he often puts more faith in his high-tech gadgets and machinery than listening to more spiritual advice with traditional ninjutsu methods taught to him by Master Splinter. Despite his genius-IQ level, Donnie often tends to over-analyze, overthink, and over-complicate things (especially Splinter's advice), ultimately putting too much of a burden on himself and making bad decisions. However he believes science and over-reliant on modern tech-gadgets than spiritual and religious tactics.

Donatello is loving and romantic. He has a crush on April and it’s very hard to talk to her at times. April frequently kisses him at times (first seen in "Target: April O'Neil"). His friend and rival, Casey Jones, also has a crush on April and it often causes tension between the pair (though it's much less after "Race with the Demon").

Donnie is also very nerdy and socially awkward which causes his brothers (especially Raphael) to mock him. Sometimes, Casey does this as well. Overall, he gets nervous in social situations. Communication also causes problems. When he tries to explain his invention or part of a plan to the team, the team would not understand what he’s saying, which could get frustrating at times.

Despite Donnie’s smarts, he can be high-strung. He hates being rushed by his brothers, especially Leo or Raph in certain situations. This would get him easily annoyed as he would snap at his older brothers when they nag him to go faster.

Donnie is tense under pressure. When something goes wrong, especially with his gadgets and technology, he will snap. Donnie has picked up some of Raph’s bad temper, although Donnie is not as angry and violent as Raph. Donnie can get frustrated a lot and become argumentative, especially when his intellect is challenged (though ironically with Fugitoid, they both get along really well). Donnie would often lash out at Mikey whenever he messes with his inventions and technology, but it's often verbal rather than physical. Despite this, Donnie is overall a compassionate character and would support either way.

Skills, Powers and Abilities

• Super Intelligence and Communication: Donatello is a extreme scientific genius in multiple fields. He is able to invent impressive machines, including, but not limited to, the Shellraiser, T-Phone, Metalhead, Ninja Smoke Bombs, Turtle Racer, and Turtle Blimp, all out of trash found in junkyards, garbage dumps, etc. He is also an master biologist, chemist, and geneticist, as he was able to create the first ever successful Retro-Mutagen and has often been seen in his lab experimenting with chemicals. Additionally, Donatello is able to plan out strategies, as well as build, fix, take apart, and hack into machines. His super intelligence is also his greatest advantage in battle. In Follow the Leader, it is revealed that Donatello is able to use impressively quick logical thinking and mathematical calculations while in combat. For example, he is able throw shuriken at nearby objects and/or surfaces, in order to make them bounce off objects again and again in the exact directions he predicted and calculated previously. He is incredibly intelligent able to calculate complex equations in his head, create different machines and handle the creation of medicines and other chemical compounds. He enjoys tinkering with items he finds in the junkyards and in the abandoned part of the sewers, which have allowed him to make the Shellraiser, the T-phone and T-pod. Although Donatello is not a great tactician like his brother, Leonardo; however, he can assist Leonardo in difficult situations and complex missions. Touched by his father as human given the power to speak and understand perfectly human English. Furthermore, Donatello's super intelligence is so great that he created many tech machines throughout his career, such as Turtle Mech, Turtle Flyers, Metalhead, Patrol Buggy, Turtle Sub, Shellraiser, and many others.

"Slowly. Keep your hands near your center and switch sides. Smooth. Fluid, right?" — Donatello to The Pulverizer

• Bōjutsu: Donatello was trained by Splinter in the use of the bō staff, in which he twirls, swings and stabs like a spear. As Donnie's fighting relies more on defense than offense, he makes use of his bō's versatile nature to block as well as counter attack. Despite this, he also able to deliver powerful strikes that can send enemies flying, and combine it with his physical combat skills.
• Naginatajutsu: Donatello skills with his bō staff translate to his proficiency with the naginata. His staff possesses a retractable blade that is mostly used in cases when he is fighting robots.
• Shurikenjutsu: Donatello can throw shuriken with remarkable accuracy and even make calculations to have them bounce off surfaces and strikes multiple enemies.
• Master Weaponry: In The Pulverizer Returns!, Donatello learned to adapt his surroundings and shown to use other non-weapons, such as a broom to fight Dogpound and the Foot Clan.
• Expert Combatant: Donatello is an excellent fighter. In Monkey Brains, he was taught by Splinter to fight without using his head, as he defeated Victor Falco without thinking in unarmed combat.
• Teaching: Donatello is skilled in teaching others. In Wanted: Bebop & Rocksteady, he shown his 1987 counterpart the accurate way of fighting in armed combat during the basic training.
• Enhanced Strength: Donatello possesses an adequate level of strength. He and his brothers have been mutated and have had years of training under a grand master of martial arts, so their strength has been amplified as a result. In The Pulverizer Returns!, Donatello overpowered the Foot Clan humans with no difficulty.
• Enhanced Speed and Reflexes: Donatello is able to move at great speed, able to free run on rooftops without losing momentum. He also possesses great reaction speed, allowing him to dodge projectiles such as lasers the Kraang's blasters, and enemy attacks. He can also spin his staff at incredible speed to momentum to his strikes. Despite being a turtle, he is not slow. He can run fast enough to avoid laser fire from a Kraang weapon. He can also move things at enhanced speeds too, such as twirling his bo staff. In Rise of the Turtles, Donatello was able to dodge laser fire from Snake's weapon designed by Kraang at very close-range.
• Enhanced Agility: Donatello can coordinate his bodily to levels that are beyond then the finest human athlete. In New Friend, Old Enemy, he has shown to acrobatic flips from one building to another building at further distance.
• Master of Stealth: Being taught by Splinter, Donatello, as well as his brothers, are able to be one with darkness and hide and move within the shadows without being noticed. Like his brothers, he is stealthy, can hide in the shadows, sneak around without being detected, and use hand to hand combat.
• Enhanced Healing: Donatello can heal faster than normal humans. He was able to take numerous hits from mutants like Dr. Tyler Rockwell, Dogpound and Slash, seriously injuring himself and was still able to fight. He also was able to fight Shredder, but was hurt by him. In Slash and Destroy, Donatello healed from severe injuries including his broken arm from Slash's brute attacks in several days.
• Enhanced Stamina and Endurance: Due to his ninjutsu training, Donatello has high-level stamina and endurance, which allows him to keep up with his training. A good exhibition of his enhanced stamina is when Donatello is training the Pulverizer. He able to take hits better than Mikey can take, but not as good when compared to Leo and Raph.
• Retractable Limbs into Shell: He has the normal ability of a turtle to get into his shell.

Biography

Fifteen years before Rise of the Turtles, Part 1, Donatello and his brothers were once ordinary turtles; when they were infants the benevolent Hamato Yoshi purchased the four as pets. When their soon-to-be father walked passed a strange man, he felt something odd about him and followed. Unfortunately Yoshi gave away his position when he accidentally stepped on a brown rat's tail. The Kraang found him and attempted to kill him, but Yoshi fought back hard. During the scuffle, the aliens dropped a container of mutagen, Yoshi, having to have stepped on that rat, thus mutated into a humanoid brown rat by the name of "Splinter", While Donnie and his brothers, after having been in contact with Yoshi and the clerk of the pet store where they were bought, mutated into humanoid turtles. Yoshi raised the turtles as his own children and to train them in Ninjutsu.

Splinter knew they would never be accepted in society and with the Kraang hot on his trail, the five of them lived in an abandoned water tower and a warehouse avoiding detection. During all of these trials, Splinter and the Turtles bonded and after he noticed the baby turtles trying to copy his Ninjitsu training, Splinter decided that there was an opportunity to turn this new life he was thrust into to his advantage, Taking one of his favorite books about the Renaissance art named them after the Artists he admired the most.

After last fight against the Kraang in the sewers in Splinter overheard the Kraang talking about how it became impossible for them to track Splinter and the Turtles there, Splinter decided to remain there. Thus making it that Splinter had found the safe environment where he could raise his adopted sons. Knowing the world would be dangerous and there would be a time where they want to explore the outside world, Splinter started to train the boys in the art of Ninjitsu.

Donatello's character design was also updated, giving him a gap in his teeth and a taller, leaner appearance than his brothers.

Weapons

In this version, Donatello wields a wooden 6-foot long Bo Staff (rokushakubo) which, like his brothers with their individually chosen weapons, he is highly skilled with, twirling it like a spear and swinging it like a baseball bat. His bo staff can also convert into a Naginata spear via a switchblade inside one end of the staff.

However, in battle, his wooden staff is often broken, snapped in half, or destroyed (disintegrated by lasers), which implies he has stashed several identical bo staffs at the lair. Several examples occur in Metalhead - and a great deal of the episode being dedicated to Donatello's annoyance with this. i.e: Donatello hits a Kraang robot with his staff, which does absolutely nothing. Donatello exclaims in frustration at his staff (furious at how useless it seems to be against the robots) just before Raphael destroys the same robot by throwing and stabbing one of his sai through its head. Donnie watches helplessly as Leo (with his katanas), Raph (with his sais) and Mikey (with his nunchucks) deflect the Kraang droid's laser blaster (since their weapons have metallic stainless steel while Donnie's bo staff is made out of wood). Raphael then turns to Donatello and says that "When we're done here, there's a matching band who needs a majorette." implying that he isn't particularly impressed with Donatello's bo staff either. Soon after this, half of Donatello's staff is burnt away by an energy canon, once again causing him to exclaim angrily at the apparent ineffectiveness of his weapon. Donatello dives behind a crate to avoid the canon, and screams, "How am I supposed to fight advanced alien technology, with a stupid stick?!" Later in the episode, Raphael is tending to Spike and says, "Look Spike, Donatello got another stick to break." just as Master Splinter is handing Donatello another bo staff. (Donatello then tells the Sensei that he wishes to upgrade it with modern technology, to make it more effective, and the rest of the episode follows his endeavors, and eventually, he does fight alien technology - and win - by using the so-called "stupid stick".) Despite this, he later upgraded his staff by equipping it with a rocket launcher, though it malfunctions and backfires.

In The Pulverizer Returns!, Splinter says that the boys are getting too reliant on their own weapons, telling them to swap for once. After this exercise, Donatello is left with Raphael's sai. During a later, more serious fight, the turtles become way too uncooperative with their new weapons and in the end decides to swap back. Afterwards, when Splinter finds out, he confiscate all their weapons, stating that anything can be useful for true fighters. When Donatello and his brothers are trying to save Timothy, he uses a broomstick, holding and fighting with it in a style similar style to his regular bo staff. In Turtle Temper and The Gauntlet, he also used a Yumi bow and like the rest of his brothers wields shurikens.

From "Beyond the Known Universe" until "Bat in the Belfry", Donatello used a space bo staff and a laser blaster created by Fugitoid.

Throughout much of the fifth and final season, Donnie continues using his regular bo staff. In the 4-episode Monsters and Mutants story arc, his staff has a mystical seal of protection, capable of shining a bright white light when held at the correct angle, and as long as he has faith in it.

Inventions

• T-pod
• T-Phone
• T-Rawket
• Shellraiser
• Turtle Sub
• Patrol Buggy
• Stealth Bike
• Metalhead
• Mutagen Tracker
• Ooze Specs
• Ninja Smoke Bomb
• Turtle Flyers
• Turtle Mech

Relationships

Family Members

• Leonardo - Donatello's oldest brother. He and Leonardo sometimes fight, but it's rare. They do tend to argue and tease each other. In fact, there are points in the series where Leo tends to nag Donnie while trying to fix mechanical problems which drives Donnie mad. Like Raph, when Donnie argues with Leo, Donnie would either challenge Leo’s authority and leadership or talk back to him. This is shown especially in "The Fourfold Trap", when Leonardo blames Donatello for not working hard enough to save Karai. It shows how much pressure Leo puts on his brothers (especially Donnie) to get things done. However, they seem to get along well in general. They often blame themselves for situations that are beyond their control (Leonardo thinking he's failed everyone as a leader; Donatello burdening himself too much while working on his inventions/medicines/etc).
• Raphael - Donatello's second-oldest brother. He and Raphael do fight occasionally, but they taunt each other more. Raphael tends to taunt Donatello about his dorkiness, while Donatello is not above insulting Raphael about his temper. Like Leonardo, Raphael would also nag Donatello to move faster and Donatello would also yell at him too. Overall, they still have each other's backs and care about each other, as they are brothers, though they hardly show that kind of affection. Although Raphael refers to Michelangelo as his little brother more, he does express his protective big brother side to Donatello, going as far as directly blaming Leonardo for his injuries ("Broken Foot"). Raph also cares about Donnie's feelings, as seen in "The Invasion, Part 1", when Casey asks if April likes him back in a romantic way. Raph refuses to answer that question, knowing that Donnie has a huge crush on her. During their stay at the farmhouse, Raphael is often seen encouraging his younger brothers, especially Donatello, to keep training ("A Foot Too Big").
• Michelangelo - Donatello's only younger brother. He and Mikey fight the most out of all his brothers, though he's the closest to him, since they're the "B-Team", plus he's the one who usually takes Mikey under his wing. However, they drift apart in Season 2, perhaps because Donnie internally blamed Mikey for April refusing to talk to them. This matter is left unsaid even after April forgives them. His frustration towards Michelangelo grows during Season 3 while they're staying at the farmhouse. Donnie hates it whenever Mikey doesn't use his common sense or touches his equipment. Donatello often treats him poorly, but not as much as Raphael does. There are several instances where Donnie tends to lash out at Mikey for screwing up his inventions or not acting as smart as he should be, but Donnie refrains from hurting Mikey physically, especially later in the series ("Mutant Gangland"). Michelangelo, on the other hand, looks up to Donatello, often teasing him about his huge crush on April. Despite that, he always tries helping Donatello due to his compassionate nature, trying to impress him with his own expertise and comforting him whenever April rejected him. After "The Creeping Doom", their relationship improves significantly. During Season 5, Donnie rarely gets annoyed by Mikey's tactics.
• Splinter - Donatello's adoptive father and sensei. Donatello tries his best to listen to Splinter's advice, but most of Splinter's words tend to confuse him, which is ironic, because Donatello is never confused once it comes to words. It is shown that Donatello questions Splinter's advice the most, despite being the smartest. Splinter also enjoys teasing him in a playful manner, especially in Season 1, which annoys Donnie a little, but he understands that his father means well. Though Donatello isn't as close to Splinter as Leonardo is, he loves his father very much, as seen in the Season 3 finale, when Donnie silently mourns over his temporary death. When Donatello realizes Splinter's death is permanent in "Requiem", he openly weeps over his father's body while sadly reminiscing over happier times they've shared together. In "Owari", he vows to avenge Splinter's demise by ending Shredder's life once and for all (though Leo's the one who actually kills Shredder).

Friends/Allies

Donnie in his battle with Raph

• April O'Neil - Donatello's best friend and crush. Donatello instantly developed a crush on her when he first saw her, despite her sometimes not knowing how to react, to his immense attraction towards her. There are several episodes where Donatello actually shows his feelings for her, but he quickly takes it back or makes up an excuse, fearing that she'll not accept him and their friendship will go awry. When she discovers that the turtles caused her father's mutation and becomes outraged at them (in The Mutation Situation), he is devastated. However, after he and his brothers save her from Karai and her talk with Casey, April reconciles with the turtles and she gives Donatello a hug and a kiss on the cheek as an apology. After it becomes clear that Casey is also in love with April, Donatello's attempts to earn April's heart become even bolder than before, as he keeps trying to one-up Casey's attempts to impress her. In Fungus Humungous, it's revealed that his worst fear is April hating him and leaving him for Casey. In The Invasion, Part 1, as the Kraang are invading New York City and the world seems to be ending, the Turtles have sought cover in the O'Neils' apartment, and April is in the process of tying off an injury to Donatello's arm, Donatello finally tells April that he wants to tell her his feelings. April, who was almost certainly never ignorant of Donatello's feelings towards her, quickly shuts him up before he can speak, telling him to stop talking as it will only make things hurt more, while trying to make it look like she's referring to Donatello's injury. In The Invasion, Part 2 (which picks up immediately after the events of the previous episode), Casey arrives at April's apartment, and April embraces Casey and tells him "I was scared I'd lost you forever," in front of Donatello. Donatello is briefly fazed by this display, but quickly shrugs it off as their crisis isn't over yet. By Within the Woods, Donatello has become paranoid of April and Casey spending any time alone together. In A Foot Too Big, Donatello still tries to keep earning April's heart, but is increasingly frustrated. After Raph tells him that Bigfoot's one-sided obsessive crush on Donatello is just like Donatello's crush on April, Donatello confronts April. He tells her that he intends to give up on seeking her heart, and that he's "just a mutant". To his surprise (and extreme confusion), April calls Donatello her mutant, and gives him a very affectionate kiss. Their friendship has a slight rift during Season 4, when April acquires the Aeon crystal. During "The Power Inside Her", April's powers (though she was mind-controlled by Za-Naron) cause Donnie to literally disintegrate, thus technically killing him. In season 5 the two of them have grown closer. With him having lost all awkwardness around her. In "When Worlds Collide", the two of them are seen hanging out, messing about and having fun with each other. April is also there to console him after the Newtralizer blew up Michelangelo.
• Casey Jones - Even though he didn't officially meet Casey until The Good, The Bad and Casey Jones, Donatello didn't like what he observed of Casey with April. At first, he's jealous of how close Casey is with April and doesn't like him because of it (the feeling is mutual). In Fungus Humungous, he gets upset with him when he tells the turtles that he lost April on their way over to the lair. When he and Raphael pinned Casey to the wall, he admitted he enjoyed it, proving how much he doesn't like him. In addition to April hating him, Donatello's worst fear involves her falling for Casey. He does view him as an ally and occasionally friend, but their rivalry gets in the way. After the events of The Invasion, Part 2 when it became clear that there was a real possibility April was falling in love with Casey, Donatello started to treat Casey with even greater hostility and spite. In Within the Woods, a normal training session at the O'Neil Farm saw Donatello and Casey drop their discipline and start brawling, for which April said the two were acting like "caged animals". Donatello was also paranoid and opposed to letting April and Casey spend any time alone together. In "Race with the Demon", his relationship with Casey improves after they work together to build the Turtle Racer and take down Speed Demon. However, it seems that Donnie and Casey continue to show a bit of resentment towards each other in the following episodes, though the reason is left unsaid. By Season 4, their friendship evolves significantly, having witnessed their home planet being swallowed by a gigantic black hole. During "The Power Inside Her", Casey is visibly shocked and horrified after seeing Donatello disintegrate. He also silently mourns behind Donnie after witnessing Splinter's death ("Requiem"). Donnie also feels sympathy for April during earlier episodes whenever Casey was thought to have been killed. During the 3-part series finale, Donatello was visibly concerned about Casey's internal injuries, suggesting that he should remain behind and rest.
• Fugitoid - Donatello first met Professor Zayton Honeycutt (a.k.a. Fugitoid) after the devastating events that occurred in "Annihilation: Earth! Part 2". Unlike Donnie's other scientifically-inclined counterparts, he doesn't have a problem working alongside Fugitoid. In fact, these two get along really well. However, there are moments when Donatello feels inferior (intelligence-wise) to his D'Hoonibian friend, as seen in "Revenge of the Triceratons", when Donnie expressed his self-doubt over whether he could fix Fugitoid's robot body. Later on, during "Earth's Last Stand", Donatello temporarily distrusted him, despite understanding that Fugitoid attempted to change his ways in spite of building the Black Hole Generator in the first place. During the final battle against the Triceratons, fighting alongside his alternate past self, Donnie finally realized why Fugitoid "banned" him (and the others) from his ship, thus regaining his trust in the android. Once Fugitoid sacrifices himself, Donnie watches sadly as he "dies" and permanently destroys the Black Hole Generator, unaware that Fugitoid actually survives the fall.
• Leatherhead - Donatello has neutral feelings about Leatherhead. While he sees him as a valuable ally, Donatello's terrified of Leatherhead; mostly because the running gag where whenever Leatherhead looses control, he grabs Donatello by the face and shakes him like a rag doll. Leatherhead has regretted this action though and he sees Donatello as a good friend like he does all the turtles. After Leatherhead is rescued from Dimension X during Into Dimension X, Leatherhead appears amicable to all of the Turtles, and does not attack Donnie again after this.
• Timothy - At first, Donatello was annoyed by Timothy as the Pulverizer in The Pulverizer, but in Pulverizer Returns, Donatello develops a friendship with him. He thought Timothy was a hopeless guy in over his head at first, but then he realized there was more to him. Timothy tries to mutate himself, hoping that he'll turn out to be like Donatello and his brothers. Fortunately, Donatello tries his best to stop him, warning Timothy that the mutagen is dangerous, and could even kill the Timothy if he came in contact with it. Unfortunately, Timothy doesn't listen to him, and optimistically exposes himself to mutagen. Donatello then promises that he'll find a cure for Timothy. Donatello puts the mutated Timothy inside a body tank and indefinitely parks the tank in Donatello's lab in the Garage. From then, Donatello would frequently talk with Timothy about how much he loves April; but this only causes Timothy to develop a crush on April as well. In Mutagen Man Unleashed, Donatello's friendship with Timothy rapidly disintegrates as Timothy siphons entire canisters of mutagen into his tank (becoming Mutagen Man), his tank becomes mobile, and he breaks out of Donatello's lab and returns to the surface, obsessively seeking out April. When Donatello and the other turtles confront him, he fights them, declaring they are no longer his friends. Timothy as Mutagen Man is finally subdued, and Donatello has Timothy's tank indefinitely frozen, putting Timothy into suspended animation. In The Invasion, Part 1, the Kraang discover and partially destroy the Turtle Lair, which must be abandoned. In The Invasion, Part 2, Donnie is briefly returning to his lab for what may be the very last time, and is unable to take the still-frozen Timothy with him. He tells Timothy that he'll try to come back for him later, but that if he can't, that his frozen tank will thaw in about 70 years, hopefully to meet a better world.

Enemies

• Shredder - Donatello's arch-nemesis. Donatello has heard a lot about the Shredder from Splinter ever since he and his brothers were younger. Even though he never met him until The Gauntlet, he knew the Shredder was dangerous. When he does officially meet him, he is rightfully afraid of him and tries his best to fight him. This encounter does make him and his brothers realize how inexperienced they are in contrast to the Shredder. However, when they encounter the Shredder in Enemy of My Enemy, he, Raphael and Michelangelo are able to stand their ground against him much better.
• The Kraang - Donatello's targeted archenemies. From their Dimension X, the Kraang are partially aware of Donatello's inventions spying on them for information, but never focus on them. Meanwhile, he invents gadgets to spy on the Kraang to gather the exact information that he and his brothers need in order to get rid of them. Donatello is very impressed with their technology. Donatello also has a strong crush on April, and they both discover in The Kraang Conspiracy that she is actually a half Kraang mutant.
• Rahzar - One of Donatello's enemies.
• Fishface - One of Donatello's enemies.
• Dr. Falco/Rat King - One of Donatello's enemies. Falco is an enemy Donatello was able to defeat on his own.
• Newtralizer - He is the Kraang prisoner who escaped with Donatello's help. Also he is the first and only enemy of the turtles whose name was given by Donatello, and not by Michelangelo.
• Snakeweed - Snake made his debut in the first episode of the series Rise of the Turtles, Part 1, before he mutated into a mutant weed he was a henchman for the Kraang.
• Spider Bytez - Yet another of Donatello's enemies.
• Anton Zeck/Bebop - One of Donatello's enemies.
• Ivan Steranko/Rocksteady - One of Donatello's enemies.
• Baxter Stockman - One of Donatello's enemies.
• Triceratons - One of Donatello's enemies. When Michelangelo gets kidnapped by the Triceratons ("Annihilation: Earth! Part 2"), Donatello (along with Leonardo and Raphael) attempt to rescue him, threatening the Triceratons in the process.
• Don Vizioso - One of Donatello's archenemies. Though Casey Jones encountered Don Vizioso earlier in the show ("Casey Jones vs. The Underworld"), they barely interacted. However, Donatello (along with Mondo Gecko) was one of Vizioso's ultimate victims due to kidnapping him in "Mutant Gangland". Vizioso attempted to dissect him, which caused Donnie to hold a massive grudge against him, as seen in "Heart of Evil". Despite Donnie's normally merciful nature, he attempted to murder Don Vizioso with his naginata blade, uttering the words, "This is the end!" However, Leonardo (Donnie's oldest brother) begged him to spare Vizioso, because he's not a murderer. Horrified by his actions, Donatello retracted his naginata blade and threatened to call the cops instead, ultimately leading to Vizioso's arrest.

Trivia

Donatello's Bo staff, plus Naginata upgrade

• Donatello is named for the famous Renaissance master, Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi, (better known simply as "Donatello").
  • Donatello's name is Italian, a diminutive form of the name Donato, from Latin Donatus, which means "Gift from God".
  • In Katakana, Donatello's name is spelt: ドナテッロ (Donaterro).
  • Given the fact that he was adopted by Hamato Yoshi/Splinter, Donatello's full name would be "Hamato Donatello". In Western order for Japanese names, it would be "Donatello Hamato".
• Donatello is the tallest amongst his brothers, presumably at around 6 ft tall as seen on concept art of the Pulverizer scale refers to the Turtles' maximum height.
• Donatello has Diastema, (a noticeable gap between two of his front teeth).
• Donatello has OCD: According to J.R. Ventimilia (executive producer) Donatello is "(...)a little fussy, nervous, and obsessive-compulsive.
• In this incarnation, Donatello has a crush on April O'Neil, having fallen for her at first sight.
• While Donatello still fights with his weapons of choice, a Rokushakubo, (a Bō staff), in this incarnation his staff can be converted into naginata, (a "pole-blade"), via a retractable blade inside one end of the staff. It has been seen as early as the events of I Think His Name is Baxter Stockman. The other episode being The Alien Agenda.
  • In the third season episode, "Vision Quest", Donatello arms himself with a weapon which is a combination of Stone Hammer & Ono Axe.
• His mastery of Ninjutsu includes: Taijustu, Qigong, Bōjutsu, Sōjutsu, Naginatajutsu, Bōryaku, Intonjutsu, Tenmon, Chi-mon, Shinobi-iri, Shurikenjutsu, Archery, computer hacking, and building machines.
• His eye color tends to refract between red and brown.
• He's the third-oldest/second-youngest of his brothers; Leonardo, Raphael & Michelangelo.
  • He's younger than Leonardo and Raphael, yet older than Michelangelo.
• Donatello is an expert in fields of metallurgy, chemistry, physics, biomedical sciences, and various other subfields of science and technology.
  • In "Revenge of the Triceratons", he admits to Fugitoid that he doesn't have enough knowledge in the astronomical fields (i.e. astrophysics and cosmology).
• Rob Paulsen, Donatello's VA, voiced Raphael in the 1987 TV series.
• It is revealed at the New York 2012 Comic Con that Donatello has a pet cockroach named Chong, who has already been through one of two mutations and will become a villain.
• Before "Heart of Evil", he was the only Turtle that didn't have an archenemy that he personally disliked as Leonardo's archenemy was Shredder, Raphael's archenemies were Xever Montes, Spider Bytez, and Chong, the Spy-Roach, and Michelangelo's archenemy was Chris Bradford.
  • His archnemesis became Don Vizioso after he tried to dissect him (as well as Mondo Gecko) in "Mutant Gangland".
• Donatello is the first turtle other than Michelangelo to use the catchphrase "Booyakasha!"
• In Leatherhead's first two appearances, he repeatedly grabs Donatello by the face and shakes him around "like a rag doll."
• Due to his behavior in I Think His Name is Baxter Stockman (and other episodes), he is the second to Raphael in temper and anger.
  • Donatello has picked up some of Raphael’s aggressive behavior, despite him thinking that Raphael’s behavior is ridiculous.
• Like Raph, he often makes fun of Michelangelo's intelligence.
• Despite being opposites (personality-wise), Donatello has been shown being really close to Michelangelo.
• When Donatello's T-Phone rings, it has the tune of the intro of the 1987 series.
• In this incarnation, he has a strap over his ninja belt, while in the other incarnations besides the 90s films, he does not; this is the second incarnation other than the 90s films that Donatello has a strap over his ninja belt.
• The first two humans who have entered the lair (April and Timothy) have been closer to Donnie out of the four turtles.
• Donatello appears for the first time without his mask in Slash and Destroy.
  • He is also the first turtle to be seen without his mask.
• He is the third Turtle to hide completely in his shell as seen in The Lonely Mutation of Baxter Stockman.
• He is right-handed.
• Donnie did challenge Leo’s leadership in two episodes. In The Invasion, Part 1, after Leo stated that the Turtle Mech would harm more than help the situation, Donnie and Leo almost got into a fight. In The Fourfold Trap, he lost his patience with Leonardo and told him that as the leader, Leo should find the solution to their problems.
• Donnie often blames Mikey whenever things go awry in his lab, unaware that sometimes, it's actually his own fault due to expressing his frustration.
  • Once, he slammed his fists on the table, which caused Mikey to lose his balance, thus shaking the table, allowing the pink ooze Donnie was currently developing to accidentally fall onto his hand ("The Creeping Doom").
• Donatello's relationship with Casey Jones has evolved the most out of all the Turtles' friendships, though Donnie's best friend is April, whereas Casey's best friend is Raphael.

Quotes

Donatello (2012 TV series) / Quotes

Gallery

Donatello (2012 TV series)/Gallery
Donatello (2012 TV series)/Animations