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Donatello

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All of my tech is standing by, and I mean all of my tech.

Donatello, during a battle with Shredder

Hamato Donatello, or Donnie for short, also addressed as Purple by Splinter, is a spiny softshell turtle (Apalone spinifera) mutant. Donnie and his four brothers were mutated by Baron Draxum, before being rescued and taken care of by Hamato Yoshi. He is demonstrated to have high intellect and skill in terms of technology and general sciences, playing a massive role in providing for the team as well as for his family.

Appearance[]

Donatello is presented to be a dark jade green skinned freshwater turtle mutant/yokai who possesses the features of a spiny softshell, he is the most moderate statured one, being the third tallest of his team. He, just like his other two brothers (Michelangelo and Leonardo), sports a human-like physique consisting of sculpted, yet somewhat leaner figure. Having three fingers on each hand, as well two toes on each foot. His turtle species consists of a tanned ochre-colored plastron, followed by a flattened olive-green carapace that has dark green marks sprawled across the shell. The vertebrae of his spine visibly protruding from the underside of his carapace, However, he often covers his carapace by perching his Battle Shell atop it, serving as a shield to prevent harm from coming on his sensitive carapace. Additionally, Donnie wears two purple 8-bit square tattoos on each side of his thighs and shoulders. Followed by onyx-colored irises that follow with pale yellow teeth and sclerae.

Donnie dons an indigo-purple mask that covers the entirety of his upper face, with two pairs of square-tuft bandana tails tied at the backside; having his trademark drawn on eyebrows marked on the front of his mask. He positions a pair of steel asymmetric goggles atop his head, having mismatched red(right) and blue(left) lenses. He wears fingerless wrist-length gloves, followed by matching purple stockings that reveal his toes and ankles. He has striped (?) knee and elbow pads, his left forearm sporting a silver tech-gauntlet. Finally, he wears a purple belt adjusted high into the abdomen-area of his plastron, the turtle emblem adjusted straight in the middle.

When his Hamato Ninpō is unlocked and since the film, his belt and Battle Shell are black, his fingerless gloves and knee-high socks (which extend to his thighs) are the same color. His left fingerless glove now has a purple holographic touchscreen.

Personality[]

While he is very adept when it comes to intellectual studies, Donatello is autistic, as confirmed by the creator, and demonstrates low Emotional Intelligence. This means that he struggles with understanding certain basic human emotions, in reacting appropriately to those emotions in others, and in controlling and managing his own emotions. This does not mean he feels nothing, but that his emotional experiences are very different from the average person.

Donnie values blunt honesty, and hardly ever lies. When he does lie, he's uncomfortable with doing so, being a very poor liar. And while not as innocently naïve as Mikey, he takes people and their actions at face value, which makes him easy to manipulate. If somebody is saying and doing nice things, then that means they must be a nice person, such as in "Bug Busters" when Big Mama flatters him - he knows she is deliberately flattering him to get him to make the web-shooter, but because she is polite and helpful to him and his brothers, he does not consider she may have ulterior motives, even though Leo is suspicious. Also his initial meeting with the Purple Dragons went poorly, and they took advantage of his trust. He has also been manipulated by his own family repeatedly, but he doesn't really hold grudges.

Despite that, Donnie has a passive-aggressive streak that takes people off-guard. While he clearly loves his brothers, he also finds them annoyingly predictable in their behaviors as expressed in "The Longest Fight" and "One Man's Junk", and struggles to deal with this in an emotionally healthy way. Instead of directly confronting his brothers about their bad fighting habits in “Donnie's Gifts”, he creates personalized gifts that he hopes would teach them to change for the better. And when he grew tired of them picking on him in "Smart Lair", he reconstructed the entire lair to be remote controlled for the family's convenience, with the catch that S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N would play favorites with him. He is often sarcastic and has a penchant for cynical humor and deadpan insults.

Donnie often brags to his brothers of his high intelligence, much to their annoyance. He will describe his latest inventions at length, not realizing he may be boring them. He hunts for praise anywhere he can get it, whether from parental figures or his own creations. However, he has confessed the fear that without his brains and tech, he'd mean nothing to his family and friends; as such he often invents extravagant technological gifts with personal touches without being requested, such as the Turtle Tank, and then talks them up even more. To some it may seem like boasting, but Donnie is effectively saying "I love you THIIIIS much." The presents in "Donnie's Gifts" were created with the misguided aim of protecting them, and he strives to use his intelligence to benefit and protect the whole team. He had also installed a Donnie Blocker on Aprils phone in “Hypno! Part Deux”, so she wouldn’t get hacked or find anything sketchy. Despite April being upset about this, the blocker is still Donnie’s thoughtful gift, and something that he obviously made to protect April, just like he protects his brothers. This shows that while Donnie is confident in his intelligence being his greatest asset, and yearns for his family's approval and love, he still has a low self-value.

Because he's so desperate to prove his intelligence (and by extension his value), Donnie has difficulty drawing the line of where to stop when it comes to science and technology, suc Albearto because of constant upgrades to impress April, installing lasers in the roombas in "Smart Lair", and creating the Donnie Pods and installing trackers in his brothers' shells to protect them without telling them first in the Movie.

While Donnie believes he has an image of an emotionally unavailable bad-boy, in reality he struggles with emotional outbursts, especially when he percieves insults against his intelligence or immature behaviour. He's excitable to the point of distraction such as when he sees Atomic Lass in Times Square and loses focus on the mission in “Mascot Melee”, or in "Mystic Library", where he loses track of himself and starts rapping loudly, despite familiarity with library rules. Of all the turtles, Donnie shows by far the most distress upon being emotionally manipulated, on the verge of tears when Splinter lied to him and Michelangelo in “Turtle-dega Nights: Ballad of Rat Man”, and enraged with the Purple Dragons for using him in "The Purple Jacket".

Despite his aforementioned emotionality, Donnie does have a tendency to seem aloof. He can be stubborn, refusing to budge his point unless he feels honestly convinced otherwise. He is especially staunch in his opinions on the sciences. However in Donnie vs Witch Town, he admitted that in truth he feared if mystic powers can do all he can, then his family won't need him, and even voiced his frustration that his brothers seemed to unlock and use their mystical powers without even trying, while he could not understand them at all. He feels the need to reinforce others’ faith in him, leading him to consequently panic if his tech goes awry such as when he is more concerned with the Turtle Tank working improperly being his fault in “The Mutant Menace” rather than the fact that it is working improperly.

Donnie seems unapologetic for his mistakes, but the truth is he refuses to make fake apologies just to gloss over a matter. He would rather avoid the issue altogether, such as in “Al Be Back” where he claims to Leo to have no memory of accidentally making Albearto evil just so they won't argue about it. However he still recognises when he is in the wrong, and makes a genuine apology to S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N. for treating him unfairly in "Breaking Purple". Becoming a 'dad' seems to have improved Donnie's understanding of others somewhat.

Donnie is still uncomfortable with being touched unless he is given warning, and still finds managing his emotions difficult. In Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie, Raph insists that him catching Donnie (and Mikey) after being launched out of the Technodrome is a rescue, and not a hug. Then, after seeing Leo getting trapped in the Prison Dimension, Donnie is shocked to realise that it's made him cry, since he generally does not cry impulsively as his brothers do.

Powers and Abilities[]

Powers[]

  • Hamato Ninpō: As a member of the Hamato Clan, Donatello has the ability to tap into his clan's energy to unleash his own mystic powers. Donnie was the last of the brothers to unlock his energy, but uses it with just as much skill.
    • Weapon generation: Donnie can use his mystic powers to generate his weapon, namely his bo.
    • Tech formation: While his brothers primarily use their powers to shield, and in ranged attacks, Donnie uses his Ninpo abilities to create complex and powerful weapons and even mystical versions of his advanced technology, so that he can go directly on the offence for them.

Abilities[]

  • Bōjitsu: Donnie has been highly trained in wielding a bō.
  • Genius Intellect: Donnie's intellect is incredibly advanced far greater than the average human, creating many inventions for his weaponry or for him and his family's convenience.
  • Enhanced fabrication: Donnie can create functional high-tech objects/weaponry, decorative art such as sculptures, and tools at varying levels of complexity with relative ease and at an astounding rate. This includes architectural work and construction using natural materials such as wood.
  • Enhanced memory: Donnie can mentally write lyrical songs to retain information immediately upon receiving it.
  • Animal communication: Donnie is able to speak with beavers and squirrels, ordering them to create whatever his asks.
  • Ninjutsu: Donatello is skilled in ninjutsu, making him a competent foe to fight against.
    • Stealth: Donnie is able to slip in and out of areas, unnoticed.
    • Speed: Donnie is able to move quickly without being seen.
    • Strength: Donnie posses greater strength than the average human.
  • Shurikenjitsu: Donnie has the ability to wield shuriken.
  • Lip reading: Donnie can understand what others are saying by merely observing their mouth movements.
  • Durability: Due to his mutation, Donnie is able to handle increased levels of pain and physical trauma.
  • Pressure points: By manipulating pressure points on others' bodies, Donnie is capable of reversing Marcus Moncrief's paralyzing nerve pinch technique.
  • Shell retraction: Donnie is able fully retreat inside his shell.

Major Inventions[]

  • Tech-bo: Donatello has created a techno-bo with a wide range of retractable weapon attatchments, far more advanced than just using a 'stick'. He uses it in battle rather than mystic tech like his brothers, but can also use it as a multi-tool. It has been constructed from high-grade titanium and is even effective against mystical enemies.
  • Battle-Shell: The Battle Shell protects Donatello's soft shell. He has multiple varients, and can activate them by remote, then summon them to his location.
  • Flight Attachment: Donatello's Battle Shells have a rotary attatchment and jet-pack that allows him to fly and hover, and is strong enough to carry a passenger.
  • Turtle Tank: The Turtles' preferred mode of transport, engineered from the Jupiter Jim Moon Buggy.
  • Goggles: Early in the series Donatello upgraded his goggles with a mystical crystal from Baron Draxum's lab so that he could also scan for mystical energy.
  • Mystic-Tech: Donnie eventually learned to merge mystical powers with his advanced technology, which he nicknames 'Donnie-Tech'.
  • The Drill: Donatello's pet ongoing project, the Drill is perpetually in and out of beta. Donatello does not seem entirely sure of what its final purpose should be, as it is constantly being upgraded into increasingly impressive forms. He has even constructed a giant mystical version of it with his Ninpo abilities.

Relationships[]

Family[]

Allies[]

Enemies[]

Trivia[]

  • This version of Donnie is the first to have an artificial shell in a TMNT TV series or film and the third time he has had an artificial shell in a licensed TMNT work overall.
    • The first is the Image version, whose shell was shattered from a high fall, but whose life was saved by a shape-shifting A.I. who, among its various forms, fashioned an artificial shell. The second is the IDW version, whose carapace is prosthetic after having lost his original biological one.
    • Donnie being a softshell turtle may suggest that his carapace is more susceptible than his brothers' as well as previous incarnations of the character.
  • Donnie retreats into his shell in "Lair Games" (his only difficulty being a leg cast), something real-life softshell turtles can't do due to their reduced plastrons and carapaces.
  • Raphael reveals in "Lair Games" that Donatello wears gloves when reading his comic books.
  • Donnie is stated to be a bit more confident than his previous incarnations and he also knows that he is good at what he does.
  • Donnie draws artificial eyebrows onto his mask with a marker. In "Lair Games" it is stated that he has done so for nine years.
  • Donnie has a peculiar phobia of beach balls as well as spiders and bees. When asked why Donnie fears beach balls in August 2020, Rise of the TMNT writer Russ Carney answered in a Tweet, "Just some strange affect that makes him weird(er).".
  • Donnie used to wear glasses when he was younger as shown in "Lair Games" and "End Game". For how long is currently unknown.
  • As mentioned by Raph in "Snow Day", Donnie sings all the musical parts of Jupiter Jim's Pluto Vacation IV.
  • Donnie's least favorite animals are monkeys.
  • Donnie doesn't like Hawaiian pizza as expressed in "The Hidden City Job", although his voice actor does.
  • Donnie is right-handed as he consistently wears his tech-gauntlet on his left wrist and operates it with his right hand.
  • In "Flushed But Never Forgotten", it is revealed by Raphael that Donatello seems to suffer from Middle Child Syndrome.
  • It was revealed in February 2020 from Rise of the TMNT writer Russ Carney in a Tweet that, "Two characters we looked at when thinking about the direction #rottmnt's Mikey and Donnie should go, were Troy and Abed from Community."
  • It was revealed in August 2020 from Rise of the TMNT writer Ron Corcillo in a Tweet that Donnie's Hamato Ninpō power was originally planned to be exclusively mystic like his brothers', stating, "Josh Brener himself deserves a lot of credit for this moment (as well as our amazing board team and story editor [Tony Gama-Lobo]). We originally had [Donnie] fully embrace his mystic power, but Josh felt it wasn't true to the character, so it was changed to a mystic-tech combo."
  • Donatello is demonstrated to have fairly low motor capacity skills, primarily in terms of sports such as basketball.
  • When asked on Twitter, Rise of the TMNT writer Ron Corcillo stated that he believes that Donnie falls somewhere on the Autistic Spectrum.
  • Donatello's plastron is canonically soft and squishy.

Gallery[]

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