Leonardo Is My Favorite Ninja Turtle (And Always Will Be)

Growing up in the 90s, I was routinely asked a few pressing questions that nearly caused an existential crisis each time: Do you like pogs? How many cans of Surge can you drink in one sitting? Do you have any clothes that aren’t a windbreaker? These questions were sometimes tough to answer because being a kid in that crazy decade was like being a hyperactive dog inside a trampoline park. There were just too many things going on at once to sit still and decide. However, there was one question that I always knew the answer to regardless of the situation. No matter the time and place, my conviction never wavered. Who was my favorite Ninja Turtle? That’s easy. Of course it’s Leonardo.

Leonardo has always been my favorite Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle and will always be because for me, it was simply a match made in heaven since the very beginning. When I was six years old, the Ninja Turtles were all anybody was talking about in kindergarten. So if I wanted to survive the chaos of recess and the deafening silence of nap time, I needed to draw a line in the sand and pick a favorite Turtle. And out of the four options, only one of the Turtles sported my favorite color. To my tiny child mind, this had to be fate.

Leading the Way

But Leonardo wasn’t my favorite Ninja Turtle only because of his choice of color. Leonardo was my favorite because he was known as the leader of the group and the Turtle who usually had all the answers. Leonardo isn’t just another one of the Turtles. He is the one that Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo all turn to when they need help. Leonardo was the one that Master Splinter could rely on the most to get the job done and to make sure his brothers followed his example. And for a young boy who was the middle child in his family and often felt like their voice was always drowned out by everyone else, Leonardo was one of my heroes.

As the leader, Leonardo was oftentimes overwhelmed with the stress of commanding his brothers and the responsibility of making sure that they completed their mission. Yet through all that, Leonardo remained cool and calm. He wasn’t a jerk or a bully. He was the type of leader that the rest of the Turtles could look up to and rely on for support when they needed it the most. Leonardo was and still is my favorite Ninja Turtle because he is able to learn from his mistakes and apply his newfound knowledge to challenges that he faces. He’s not perfect and sometimes makes his fair share of mistakes, but as the leader, Leonardo is still capable of understanding that he can’t do everything by himself.

Weapon of Choice

If Leonardo’s leadership abilities aren’t enough, he also comes equipped with the two best weapons in the group. I mean, for a young boy looking for his next hero, I was immediately drawn to a talking turtle with not one but two katanas. What could honestly compete with that? Raphael uses two sais, which are cool in their own right. But they still don’t pack the powerful punch that duel-wielding katanas have. Raphael was always a close second for me, especially when compared to Michelangelo.

Two nunchucks? Heck yeah, that would be fun to play around with. But even as a kid, I thought about the impracticality of nunchucks as a weapon. What if you get them tangled? What if you bash yourself in the face while twirling them around? I know the Ninja Turtles are highly trained, but a nunchuck to the nose still hurts, even if you are an expert. That leaves us with Donatello. He uses a bo staff, which is a nice weapon to have because it has a decent enough range. But c’mon, the Turtle with the neatly carved tree branch isn’t exactly a selling point. Nope, it’s gotta be Leonardo.

Leonardo is and will always be my favorite Ninja Turtle. From the first time I saw him I knew he was going to be my go-to character not just because he’s cool, but because he’s a strong, capable leader and one with a cool weapon, too. All the Turtles are cool but for me Leonardo is where it’s at.