According to the leader of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles himself, Leonardo, one of his brothers stands above the rest as being the strongest.
Leonardo is the leader of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the most skilled in weapons combat and ninjutsu. This means that he is the most qualified of his brothers to accurately assess which of them is the strongest on the team, and according to Leo, one Turtle brother stands out above the rest.
The original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles consisted of Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Raphael, and all of them were led by their father and master, Splinter. While they started on an equal playing field, Leonardo quickly proved to be the most focused, which directly translated to him being more skilled than his brothers. So, once they started going out on patrol, Master Splinter decided that Leonardo would be the TMNT's leader, a position Leo took very seriously - and still does to this day. However, despite the fact that Leonardo was the most focused and skilled, he still wasn’t the strongest, as that title was inherent in one other Turtle brother: Raphael.
Leonardo Admits Raphael Is The Strongest TMNT Brother
In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #100 by Kevin Eastman, Bobby Curnow, Tom Waltz, and Dave Wachter, the Turtles are having their final showdown with a villain named Bishop, who’s been making their lives a living hell recently - which included murdering their brother, Slash, who was also arguably the original Fifth Turtle. Once Raphael had Bishop beaten, the Ninja Turtle went berserk on the villain. Raph slashed, stabbed, and otherwise beat on Bishop until the villain was on the brink of death, and Leonardo could see what this extreme, rage-filled violence was doing to Raphael. Before Raph murdered Bishop, Leonardo pulled him away from the villain, and forced his brother to snap out of it. When Raphael realized what he had almost done, he started to weep in Leo’s arms, at which point Leonardo tells Raphael that he’s, “the strongest of us all”.
Leonardo literally admits that Raphael is the strongest member of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but even if he didn’t say it, it’s a bit obvious that he always felt that way. Leonardo and Raphael are always butting heads, as Raph’s hot-headedness clashes with Leo’s rigid and structured way of thinking. Leonardo wants Raphael to apply himself within the parameters of a particular mission, and Raphael can’t bring himself to listen to Leo’s direction. However, the reason Leonardo pushes Raph so hard in the first place and gets on his case way more than their brothers is because Leonardo knows how strong Raphael truly is - both in terms of physical and mental/emotional strength - and he’s just trying to guide Raphael’s inherent strength in the right direction for the betterment of the entire team.
Every member of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has their strengths and their weaknesses, with Leo being the most skilled, Raph being the strongest, Donnie being the smartest, and Mikey having the greatest latent potential. However, when considering strength alone, that honor goes solely to Raphael, and even Leonardo has admitted that’s the case in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles canon.
Related Topics About The AuthorSpencer Connolly is a Staff Writer for Screen Rant. With years of writing and journalism experience under his belt, Spencer joined Screen Rant in 2020. Prior to writing for Screen Rant, Spencer was a Photojournalist and News Producer. Throughout his career as a journalist and even his entire life, Spencer always had a deep love for comics and is now applying everything he has learned throughout his career to the fun and informative articles he writes for Screen Rant. You can follow Spencer on Twitter: @TheSpencerVerse.
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