Raphael (TMNT)

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Raphael (or "Raph"), a fictional character, is one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT). His bandanna is red (his favorite color), and he carries two sai. His personality is usually aggressive or sullen, and he tends to be the "rebel." He is named after Raphael Sanzio, the Renaissance painter.

Raphael's anger is not always fully explored, although in certain incarnations of the TMNT, it seems his anger stems from realizing, more than his brothers do, that they are the only creatures of their kind and are ultimately alone. Furthermore, he is often shown as feeling jealous of his brother Leonardo, who leads the TMNT. He is generally the most likely to experience extremes of emotion.

Contents

1 Comic books

1.1 Mirage Comics
1.2 Image Comics
1.3 Archie Comics
1.4 Ninjara

2 1987 animated series
3 2003 animated series
4 Movies
5 Video games
6 See also
7 External link

Comic books

Mirage Comics

In the earliest black-and-white Mirage Comics Raphael was the most violent turtle and had a tendency for going berserk either in battle or when his temper flared up. He has a somewhat cynical and sarcastic sense of humor.

Raphael mellowed somewhat as the series went on; possibly a key moment for his character development was when he allowed Leonardo alone to defeat The Shredder in Issue 21 of Volume 1. Since then he has been less likely to challenge Leonardo’s leadership, and on the whole is more friendly towards his family and allies.

Of his three brothers Raphael is closest to Michelangelo, even having stated it in the fourth issue of the original TMNT comics. In his self-titled one-shot micro series Raphael met human vigilante Casey Jones, his foil, who was even more violent and unstable than he was. Despite their brutal first meeting, the two have since formed a close bond.

In the 2001 comic book series (Volume 4), he is still the most violent turtle, but is also more social and less bitter. After having been bitten by a vampire-like creature, he experienced a further mutation, and became a large, dinosaur-like version of himself.

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’s 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 then was actually accepted into and given control of the New York faction of the Foot Clan for a brief time. The current series (Volume 4) produced by Mirage Comics does not treat the Image series as having happened.

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. The comic later branched out on its own; changes for Raphael included him wearing a skin-tight black outfit for a time, and having a girlfriend in the anthropomorphic fox Ninjara. His personality was closer to how he was represented on the television show at the time.

Ninjara

Ninjara, Raphael's girlfriend in the TMNT Archie comic series, was once a part of an ancient race of humanoid foxes living on a hidden island off the coast of Japan. She ended up becoming a thief and assassin for the villious dog-man Chien Kahn, but then had a change of heart when she met the Turtles and fell in love with Raphael. She was a powerful member of the team from issue #29 until issue #70, when the relationship between her and Raphael came to end due to personal differences. She still lives on in issues of Furrlough, a comic from Radio Comix in which she makes occasional appearances.

1987 animated series

In the original North American version of the 1987 cartoon show, Raphael's voice actor is Rob Paulsen in all seasons except the final 1996 season, in which he is voiced by Michael Gough. In some episodes of the United Kingdom's "Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles" version of the 1987 show, his lines were redubbed by Hal Rayle.

As opposed to being angry and sullen, Raphael is a sarcastic wise-guy, and comic relief alongside Michelangelo, whose humour is usually attributed to his ignorance and spaciness. He frequently makes jokes that break the Fourth wall.

In the 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, Mona Lisa was never seen again. She has a mild fanbase, despite her one appearence. In the italian dub his name was Raffaello

2003 animated series

Raphael in the 2003 animated series

In the 2003 TV show, Raphael is voiced by John Campbell, at times under the pseudonym Frank Frankson.

Raphael's personality is more akin to his original movie incarnation - he is angrier and more sardonic, but not quite as violent as shown in the earlier Mirage comics (although he is very impulsive). 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 just a cover up for his true feelings towards his brothers. His best friend is generally regarded as Casey Jones. In all incarnations of the turtles, 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 by virtue of the belief that he was the best and bravest fighter.

Movies

Raph from the first film.

In the 1990 film adaptation, Raphael, who speaks with a distinctive tough-sounding Brooklyn accent (that was imitated in later versions of the TMNT), is the turtle whose character is explored most completely. He has a quick temper, uses mild profanity, verbally challenges Leonardo, and is the first one to meet the human characters, April O'Neil and Casey Jones; an unexplored romantic subplot between him and April O'Neil, limited because of their difference in species, is hinted at. In the middle of the film, he is ambushed by the Foot and severely injured (this happens to Leonardo in the original comics and the 2003 series); after this, his role is lessened somewhat, although he recovers. At the end of the movie in the battle with Shredder, Raphael is the first to get rid of his weapons upon request of The Shredder in order to save Leonardo's life. This demonstrates an obvious, though perhaps subconcious, loyalty to Leonardo, and a newfound acknowledgement that they are in it together. He is acted and voiced by Josh Pais. 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 it's noisy motors like, "grand central station at rush hour with a tin can on your head."

In the movie, he is acted by Kenn Troum and voiced by Laurie Faso. In this film and the third film, his personality is explored no more than the other TMNT. He is still angry and occasionally goes off by himself, but has a soft spot for the young people the team meets.

Video games

Raph attacks in Turtles In Time.

In the first few video games, Raphael was an unpopular character to utilize because of the short range of his weapon. In later games, he was designed to be the fastest turtle (Donatello, popular due to the length of his staff-type-weapon, was established as being slower) to give him more of an advantage. In games released after the 2003 animated series began, he is the strongest and toughest Turtle as opposed to the fastest, reflecting his "tough guy" personality.

External link

[Raphael profile on official TMNT web site]