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Donatello is one of the main protagonists of the 2003 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles TV series. He is the smartest and most technologically-adept Turtle. His personality is still the traditional technology Turtle, but unlike most other incarnations, he is the most passive and is rarely aggressive. His trademark  is his primary weapon, but he has used other weapons such as laser guns and those of his brothers.

Physical appearance[]

Donatello is a mutant turtle with olive green skin who wears a purple bandana and brown paddings on his knees, elbows and wrists.

Personality[]

Donatello is the brains of the bunch. Like in the Mirage comics, Donatello has a complex personality. Several episodes concentrate on him, as well as his emotional and intellectual struggles. He is very book smart, a skilled technician, and has a tendency to think things through. He shows a greater interest in science and education than his ninjutsu training.

Donatello will defend his brothers at any cost, and he frequently assists the team in many ways through the technology he develops, mostly vehicles and communication devices. He also can use ninjitsu and his Bo Staff when necessary. Donatello is very prepared for situations especially with his gadgets. For instance during the Turtles' infiltration of the Shredder's tower, where Don carried all the equipment and gadgets they would need in his duffel bag.

Donatello is the calmest, peaceful and most pacifistic out of all his brothers. He's gentle, very peaceful, and doesn't really lose his temper. Sometimes he can be witty which rarely bothers his brothers, but overall, he is a gentle turtle who is well liked by all of his brothers never engaging in major confrontations with them. He is the turtle who brings peace with his brothers, as he was the one to reunite his alternate-dimension brothers against the Utrom Shredder in the episode "Same As It Never Was".

Leatherhead considers Don to be one of the most gentle-natured people he's ever met. In the fourth season, he was infected by a monster, and in the episode "Adventures in Turtle Sitting”, had mutated into a monster himself (which happened to Raphael in the Mirage comics). When he mutates into a monster, he loses his gentle personality and becomes violent and aggressive. However he does show signs of calming down whenever Master Splinter talks to him and is eventually returned to normal thanks to Baxter Stockman's cure.

History[]

Childhood[]

Don was an ordinary baby turtle along with his brothers, until they were exposed to a Mutagen that originated from the TCRI building. Since then Splinter trained them in ninjutsu and raised them as his own children.

When he was a little older, he went to Japan with Splinter and his brothers to bury Hamato Yoshi's remains near the home of the Ancient One. While there they encountered a Bone Demon that wore an amulet that blinds the wise, but the Turtle Tots were able to see him and helped Splinter and the Ancient One defeat him. Afterwards the Ninja Tribunal erased their memories of the trip and were taken home.

Seasons 1-4[]

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Ninja Tribunal[]

Donatello became one of the Ninja Tribunal Acolytes along with his brothers. He was the first ninja shown to focus his spiritual energy through his Amulet of the Acolytes. This is perhaps due to the fact that the Acolytes training began with studying in a library, where Don enthusiastically absorbed knowledge of the secret arts. His spiritual avatar is that of a dragon.

Fast Forward[]

A time window malfunction (that turned it into a time machine) caused Donnie, his brothers, and Master Splinter to be "fast-forwarded" to 2105, hence the show's name Fast Forward. Donatello was one of two Turtles, alongside Michelangelo, that adapted best to the new lifestyle of the future. He was extremely interested in the new technology and quickly bonded with Cody Jones. Using his ideas, Cody had made many new, high-tech turtle weapons and vehicles. In the episode "The Journal", which features the Turtles going back to their own time, he uses his knowledge of the future to build new gadgets such as a fusion generator.

Most of the episodes in this season is mostly centered around him due to the plot goals of them returning to their own time as well as adapting to future technology of 2105.

Back to the Sewer[]

Cody and Don were able to finish repairing the time portal and were finally able to back to their own time. However, Viral took over Serling and sent them jumping around time until Donny managed to repair Serling enough to create another time portal to their own time. But Viral took control of Serling again and was about to blast the Turtles, but Splinter took the blast.

Donatello was devastated by the loss of his sensei and father, and for some time was obsessive with gathering up all of Splinter's bits in order to restore him; constantly blaming himself for the incident. When Don was faced with the choice of saving his brothers or gathering more of Splinter's bits, he realized that he should be there for his brothers more often. In the episode "Web Wranglers", Raphael has stated that Don has an IQ of 637—a likely highly inflated stat. It should be noted that Don was the one who killed (with help from Splinter) the Cyber Shredder by blasting him with the same energy beam Viral shot at Splinter at the beginning of the season. After that, he witnesses Casey and April getting married.

This season mostly focused on his goals and progress of bringing Master Splinter back to reality from cyberspace as well as him destroying the Cyber Shredder. Thus, making him the main focus of this season overall.

Turtles Forever[]

In Turtles Forever, he helps his 1987 counterpart build a dimensional portal stick that they used to get to the 1987 universe and re-modify it to track the Utrom Shredder's trail towards Turtle Prime.

Biography[]

I've been described as the "brains" of the TMNT. I suppose that's because I'm fairly studious and industrious. I've become a reasonable "Mr. Fix-It." I can repair just about anything, and I'm also fortunate to have a knack for inventing gadgets and machines. Of the four TMNT, I suppose that I'm the most reserved. I tend to be a little too preoccupied with my own thoughts, but I think that I'm still very attentive to my family and friends' needs. It's hard not to get lost in thought, though! I'm working on it. There's just so much to do, it's sometimes hard to make time for everything.

I'd rather talk things out than fight, making me an unlikely combination of a Ninja warrior/pacifist. Unfortunately, in our lives, it's rare when talking things out is an option.

I long for the days when I can work in peace on my inventions and explore genetics and mutation in depth, minus all of the violent distractions provided by our various enemies. Some day I'll have the time that I need.

If you'll excuse me, I've got to get back to my laboratory. Take care!

Skills, powers, and abilities[]

  • Mutant physiology: As a mutant, the Mutagen ooze produced by TCRI heightened Donatello's physical attributes to considerable extraordinary levels. He possesses strength, speed, reflexes, agility, endurance, recovery speed, and stamina much greater than even the finest human specimen athlete. His mutant abilities include:
    • 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.
    • Enhanced speed: Despite being a turtle, he is not slow. Donatello is able to move at great speed, able to free run on rooftops without losing momentum. He can also move things at enhanced speeds too, such as twirling his bō. He can also spin his at incredible speed to momentum to his strikes.
    • Enhanced reflexes:
    • Enhanced agility: Donatello can coordinate his bodily to levels that are beyond then the finest human athlete.
    • Enhanced healing: Donatello can heal faster than the average human.
    • Enhanced stamina: Due to his ninjutsu training, Donatello has high-level stamina, which allows him to keep up with his training.
    • Enhanced endurance:
    • Semi-aquatic adaptations: He is able to swim long distances, dive deeply and hold his breath underwater for a long time.
  • Super intelligence and communication:
  • Ninjutsu:
  • Bōjutsu: Donatello was trained by Splinter in the use of the bō, 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 counterattack. Despite this, he also able to deliver powerful strikes that can send enemies flying and combine it with his physical combat skills.
  • 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.
  • Dragon transformation:

Weapons[]

  • Blasters
  • Byakko: A Japanese spear, it has the ability to whip out crescents of razor-sharp wind. Donatello, its owner, was so proficient with this weapon that he was able to suck in an entire lake just by generating a mini tornado. It is one of the Fangs of the Dragon, and was the weapon claimed by Donatello from the Spirit Forge.
  • Hi-tech bō

Relationships[]

Family[]

Leonardo[]

Donatello tends to look to Leo for guidance, sometimes calling him 'boss', as in the episode "Nano". Leo can tell Don off whenever he uses his gadgets instead of using his ninjitsu aspect of an exercise such as when Don cheated on their game of hide and seek for an exercise in New Blood and Leo and the others got annoyed with him. Overall Don and Leo rarely argue and they have a very close relationship.

Raphael[]

Donatello and Raphael are very close, though their relationship is simplistic. Raphael would call him 'Brainiac', out of fondness. Whenever Raphael does make a remark, Donatello either lets it slide or responds sarcastically. However it doesn't become confrontational. Raph is also the first to compliment Don's inventions and was extremely pleased when Don made the Shell Cycle in "Meet Casey Jones". They tend to share interests such as watching football, as seen in "The Shredder Strikes Back, Part 1" and playing video games, as seen in "Nobody's Fool". In "Wedding Bells and Bytes" Don is seen laughing as Raph was giving him a noogie as Raph was explaining to Casey and April about Don freeing Splinter out of Cyberspace.

Michelangelo[]

Donatello fills a more nurturing role and can be emotionally receptive with Mikey compared to stoicism of Leonardo or the disagreeableness of Raphael. An example of this can be seen in the episode "Membership Drive" where, at the prospect of an opening in the Justice Force, Don’s immediate reaction is to think of how excited Mikey will be compared to Leo who considers it an opportunity for collaboration against the Shredder.

Although the most easy-going of the turtles, Don also gets frustrated a lot with Mikey's antics. When Mikey wants something or his way, he would annoy and push Don's buttons, such as Mikey begging Don to transform an armored car into the Battle Shell in the episode "Meet Casey Jones" or Mikey testing Don and Leatherhead's patience when they were fixing the TV in Touch and Go. Whenever Mikey annoys Don, Don would make him do a task, help him out to keep Mikey busy, or sometimes Don would smack or hit Mikey with his bo staff. When they are together, Don tends to take Mikey's lead in situations, as seen during the episode "Junklantis", although Don looks out Mikey.

Master Splinter[]

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Friends[]

April O'Neil[]

April is seen to be the closest to Donatello out of all of the turtles. Although April has kissed Don once in " The Return of Nano ", their relationship is platonic and they are only really good friends. Donatello is also shown to be happy for April when she got to date and eventually marry Casey. They share many interests with science and technology and they have a common intellect

Casey Jones[]

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Leatherhead[]

Although having fought against Leatherhead during their first encounter due to incorrectly believing the crocodile meant Michelangelo harm, Don and Leatherhead eventually become quite close. Both share many interests and have a common genius level intellect. Leatherhead has mentioned Don is one of the most gentle souls he has ever met.

Angel[]

Donatello is very protective of Angel after their first meeting in "Fallen Angel". During the events of "The Darkness Within", it is shown that one of his greatest fears is that she will be injured or worse and he won't be in time to save her.

Professor[]

Donatello and the Professor have a great deal of respect for each other and share interests, as seen in the episode "Garbageman", when the Professor talks about the big bang theory and Donatello offers to bring him a book on the subject.

Quotes[]

Trivia[]

Gallery[]

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