2003 Leonardo

Appearance

Leonardo appears to be a normal, healthy teenage mutant turtle. He is muscular and stocky like his brothers. His skin tone is forest green and he wears a blue ninja bandana. As of the season 3 finale, part of his shell by his left shoulder was broken off during the final fight with the Shredder, after Karai stabbed him in the shoulder.

Eye color

White

Skin color

Green

Species

Mutant turtle

Affiliation

Teenage mutant Ninja turtles

Personality

Leonardo is the leader, whose key attributes consist of honor, sensitivity, patience, and encouragement. He is the most "spiritual" of the four brothers. Despite being a teenager, he acts kind of like a grown-up due to all his seriousness, but can still have fun with his brothers. Leo may be the most mature but don’t be fooled. When Leonardo loses his temper, he would have emotional outbursts just like Raphael would if he was upset. Sometimes his explosive outbursts can be more violent and raging than Raphael’s. The first half of the fourth season shows a more traumatized, dark Leonardo, due to his feelings of failure, as did a short period in season one after the Shredder returns, in which he became depressed and angry. It wasn’t until he accidentally injured Splinter and subsequently received training from the Ancient One that his personality returned to his normal calm, happy, and reassuring self.

Childhood

Leonardo was a pet turtle bought by a young boy along with three others, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo. The boy was waiting at the crosswalk when a teenager noticed a blind old man crossing the street while a truck sped toward him. The teenager bumped into the boy with the turtles, causing him to drop the jar in which he held them. The turtles fell into the sewer. Meanwhile, the teenager had successfully saved the old man's life. While the truck veered away from the scene, the doors flew open and a canister fell right into the sewer with the turtles, covering them with an odd substance. A rat by the name of Splinter was passing by and picked up the turtles, touched the odd chemical as well, when one of the turtles shook it all over him. When Splinter woke up the next morning some point later, he found he and the turtles had grown taller, and slightly more intelligent. Splinter thought it wise to train them in ninjutsu, just as his Master Yoshi had unknowingly done for him. Leonardo and his brothers were taken by Splinter to Japan when they were children to bury Hamato Yoshi's ashes with Tang Shen's remains, and alerted the Ancient One of his and Yoshi's condition. The turtles constantly noticed an odd demon visible to them, but invisible to the Ancient One and Splinter. Finally, when the Ancient One went to consult with the Ninja Tribunal, Splinter noticed an odd smell in the air, believing it to belong to the demon the turtles continued to see, and they secretly followed the Ancient One. The two ninja masters finally were attacked by the demon, but Don managed to throw a stone at the amulet, causing it to shatter and reveal the demon. The Ancient One and Splinter quickly killed the demon. The Ninja Tribunal applauded the turtles' efforts, though eradicated all memories of the trip. The Ancient One gave the turtles bandanas, Leonardo's being blue. The Tribunal used their connection with nature to wrinkle space and open a portal to the turtles' current lair.

Memories

Leonardo was introduced in the first season where he and his brothers are fighting Purple Dragons for the first time. In The Shredder Strikes, Part 1 Leonardo is almost tricked by the Shredder when the latter offers him to join the Foot Clan. After consulting Master Splinter, he then rejects the offer. In The Shredder Strikes, Part 2, The Shredder battles them, and plots to destroy Leonardo but is defeated. In The Shredder Strikes Back, Part 1, and The Shredder Strikes Back, Part 2, Leonardo goes out for a morning run where he is ambushed and defeated by the Foot Ninja, Hun, and the Elite Foot Ninja and finally the Shredder. He lands in April's apartment where the others help to evacuate him out. After the Shredder burns down April's apartment the gang retreats to a farmhouse. During this time Leonardo is in a coma but his driving spirit frees him. In The Monster Hunter, while Donatello, Michelangelo, and Casey Jones are helping a creature escape a scientist, Raphael helps Leonardo, by helping to forge him new katana swords. The gang eventually returns to New York in the Return to New York trilogy and at the end Leonardo uses the Sword of Tengu to defeat the Shredder. After that Master Splinter goes missing, and the Turtles infiltrate the T.C.R.I Building to find him but are found out by the Utrom and are teleported into outer space.

Memories

After arriving in space Leo and his brothers help Professor Honeycutt in a series of mayhem against the Federation and Triceratons. The are blasted back to earth were the battle the Shredder and his army in the T.C.R.I building. Leonardo becomes angry that with the Shredder's defeat, the Foot, Mob, and Purple Dragons have engaged in a war for control of New York. Raphael tells Leo not to get involved in the war but Leo ignores him. Leo also meets Karai in this arc. Leo also battles the Ultimate Ninja, and wins. In the Season 2 finale arc the Turtles get sent to the Battle Nexus tournament. Leo befriends Usagi, a samurai rabbit who is also honorable and shares Leo's interest in swords and Bushido. In Season 3 multiple things happen: the Triceratons invade Earth, the Fugitoid returns, the Turtles meet Agent Bishop, and meet Renet in which they travel through time with the Time Scepter. Ultimate Drako returns and plots to scatter the turtles across time and space. Leo gets sent to the world of his best friend Usagi. In the Season 3 finale, Exodus, Part 1, and Exodus, Part 2, the turtles confront Shredder for the final time. The Shredder is planning on leaving Earth to control galaxies, but is stopped by the Utroms and is sent to permanent exile. This event causes a dramatic change in Leonardo.

Memories

For the first half of the fourth season, Leonardo develops Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) when he becomes mentally damaged because of the turtles final fight with the Shredder. He believes he wasn't good enough a leader to save his family without the Utroms rescuing them. This goes on until he injures Master Splinter out of rage. He is then sent to train with The Ancient One in Japan. He returns in Prodigal Son where Karai supposedly "killed" his family in Scion of the Shredder. Leonardo eventually rallies his family and finds a new lair. In the episode Outbreak, Donatello gets infected by a Monster, and mutates into one in Adventures in Turtle Sitting. In the Good Genes duo log Leo, Raph, Mikey, Leatherhead, and Splinter travel to Agent Bishop's base to demand a cure for their brother. After that the Turtles now go out on the rooftops again but are kidnapped by wooden ninja, the explanation of which expands in the next season.

Skills

Leonardo is extremely skilled and is very effective with his swords. He displays balance in physical strength and mental strength. He is the most responsible as he has to obey Master Splinter and keep an eye on his brothers.

Weapons

Leonardo primarily fights with his twin katana swords, but has used shuriken, grappling hooks, claws, and those of his brothers.

Relationship with Donatello

Leonardo and his brother, Donatello have been shown to get along well. Leo knows the value of Donnie's intelligence and like all of his brothers, he often relies on his engineering skills to get them through any situation. Leonardo and Donatello rarely argued in this series.

Relationship with Raphael

Raphael and Leonardo can be competitive and butt heads at times, but other times the two have shown to care about each other, and will help each other. They are brothers.

Relationship with Michelangelo

Like Donatello and especially Raphael, Leonardo gets really annoyed with his brother, Michelangelo’s pranks and wisecracks, and scolds him for his lack of focus but does show love towards his little sibling. Despite his stoicism, Leonardo is still able to laugh with and have fun with his youngest brother, joining the others to poke fun at his cowardice and obnoxious behavior. Despite the extreme contrast in their personalities, the two are seen to get along and will split off from the other two to spend time together as seen in the episode “Nobody’s fool”. Leo is the only one to support and train Mikey in the episode “Grudge Match” but is noticeably harsh, projecting his own insecurities to the point where Michelangelo questions “Are we still talking about me?”.

Relationship with Master Splinter

Leonardo is the closest turtle to Master Splinter and is loyal to him. He knows what master Splinter expects of him and will do anything to meet his expectations. Splinter is a father figure and teacher to Leonardo.

Relationship with Usagi

Leonardo is the turtle closest to Usagi in all versions. Stemming from the original Mirage comics where Leo was the first turtle Usagi met. Usagi has appeared in three out of the four of the TMNT cartoons, and is close to Leo in both the 2003 and 2012 series. Due to Usagi's repeated appearances throughout all seven seasons in 2003, Leo and Usagi are arguably the closest in that series. With the two becoming close rather fast, Leo's closest friend in the series. Usagi and Leo's relationship is really close in the series. Many note how Leo acts a lot happier whenever he gets to see Usagi, and is more relaxed compared to when he's around his brothers or any of their other friends. Splinter even called on Usagi when Leo was dealing with PTSD from his fight with the Shredder. A favorite scene for many 03 shippers is in the Christmas special where they exchange katana's gifts. Given how happy and surprised they both were with the gifts, it was often interpreted as the two being nervous to give their crush a gift. They are very close. On AO3, Leosagi is the most written ship for Usagi and the tenth most written for Leonardo. It is also the ninth most written ship in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2003) tag and the most written in the Usagi Yojimbo tag.

Leonardo’s nickname

Leo