Why U Mad Bro?
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Raphael has issues. A huge part of what makes him such a compelling character, and one who is beloved by TMNT fans everywhere, is that fact that he's flawed. And while his brothers clearly have developed ways of dealing with their anger, Raphael frequently lashes out, both in the comics, movies, and television shows.
Where exactly Raphael's anger comes from isn't ever really pinpointed (it's most likely just how he is), but one prevalent theory is that it stems from the isolation and loneliness that go along with being one of only four of your kind in the world. It's not hard to see Raphael going down a more villainous path, lashing out against the rest of the world to deal with his own misplaced aggression. Thankfully, he's on our side. Chalk that one up to Master Splinter.
19 🌺 No Cure For the Broken Shell
In 2014's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Raphael suffers the unfortunate fate of having his shell cracked by the Shredder. While the rest of the turtles are being held captive, and amidst a bold rescue effort carried out by April and Vern, Raphael attempts to take on Shredder himself, a campaign that obviously should not be entered into lightly. The results are... not great. Shedꦗder pins Raph to the ground and steps on his shell, cracking it and causing him permanent damage. If you watch this scene with the subtitles, you'll even see the words "cracking noises" displayed on the screen during this portion of the film.
The solution to a cracked shell? Well, according to science wiz Donatello, it's duc♔t tape. It 🌊really can fix everything.
18 🐷 ♐ Bite Me, Dude
ꦉIn one of Raphael's more bizarre storylines, in volume 4 of the Turtles' Mirage Comics run, he once got bit by a vampire-like creature. The bite somehow furthered his mutation, turning Raph from the friendly neighborhood N❀inja Turtle we all know and love, into a sort of large, dinosaur type...thing. As if he wasn't angry enough already, this sent Raphael into a total even more animalistic rage. The only thing that eventually calmed him down was, you guessed it, Master Splinter, who manifested in his mind to bring him back to his original, still angry, but way less angry, form. With the help of Leonardo and Casey Jones, Raphael was able to track down the biter-in-question and punish them for their crimes.
Sure, because a comic book about giant turtles w꧙ho🔥 know karate wasn't weird enough already.
17 ꦬ 🐎 Sibling Rivalry
Look, not all brothers get along all the time. Most of the time, brothers gotta hug. But sometimes, brothers gotta fight. Enter the relationship between Raphael and Leonardo. There's so much to unpack here. Leonardo is the ol🎶dest of the turtles, but Raphael is the second oldest, which, while nobody's fault, is already pretty fertile ground for a sibling rivalry. In addition, Leonardo is cool, calm, and collected under pressure. He's the leader of the Ninja Turtles, and while not everyone always agrees with him, he's the best fit for the job without question. Raphael believes with every fiber of his being that HE should instead lead the turtles, but undoubtedly doesn't have the disposition or temperament for it. Poor Raph. Always a Wolverine, never a Cyclops (when you put it like that, I suppose it could be worse).
16 🦋 Hi🍸s...Face...
I'm sure a lot of people get that the title for this installment on this list was taken from The Secret of the Ooze, right? When Shredder takes off his mask? Look, if you didn't get that, stop reading now. I'm kidding. Please keep reading, then share this with a friend💃. Boy, that took a quick turn, huh?
During the Turtles' Image Comics run, Raph once had most of his face blown 🃏off. True🌞 story. To cover it up, he first wore one of Casey Jones' iconic hockey masks, then switched to just an eyepatch. At one point. Raphael even started wearing a version of Shredder's armor to get a one up on the New York Mob. Oh, Raphael. Always jumping from "Plan A" to "Plan Crazy McInsane."
By the way, the plan totally worked.
15 𝓀 Headed For Disaster ꦿ
The Ninj𒅌a Turtle costumes in the original 1990s movies were groundbreaking in so many ways. Not only did they allow the entire film to be shot in live action, something that you rarely see how with CGI being so big, but they also gave the films a sort of gritty realism. When you looked at the Turtles on screen, it really felt like that's what they'd look like if you ran into them in real life. In fact, the costumes were so intense, actor Josh Pais, who played Raphael, actually had to remove the head after each shot. Pais suffered from claustrophobia, and leaving the costume on for long periods of time was extremely difficult for him.
Kind of seems like maybe he should have passed on t𒊎he role, but hey, I get it. Getting the opportunity to play Raph in some of the greatest superhero movies ever made is a tough gig to pas🥀s up.
14 Ninja Vanish! 🎃
When it comes to costuming, The Ninja Turtles generally like to keep things pretty simple. A bandana around the eyes, maybe a few handkerchiefs around the arms, you know, just enough so we can tell which one is which. But for a while, bad boy Raphael♛ totally🐼 bucked that trend, and donned a fully black, more traditional ninja costume.
After coming out victorious from an alien wrestling match (and really, who can't relate to that), Rapha🏅el won the costume and procee🃏ded to wear it for most of the run.
This really fits with Raphael's character. He constantl🏅y is trying to set himself apart from his brothers, while at the same time bares a level of internal shame because he's differ🌺ent from everyone else. Changing up his look covers both those bases.
13 Soft Spot For The Party Dude 🎐
While Raphael may clash heads with his eldest brother from time to time, that doesn't mean he doesn't get along with all his siblings. Take, for example, his relationship with goofy younger brother Michelangelo, which gets expanded upon in their🥃 Mirage comics line.
Raphael makes🍌 it clear that Mikey is the brother he feels closest to, and the reader gets a lo🐼ok at a softer, more caring version of Raphael when the two of them are together. But, of course, this is Raphael, so it's not all sunshine and roses. Raphael also makes sure to stay close to his youngest sibling in battle so he can protect him, as just the idea of any injury coming to Michelangelo causes him to go into a violent rage.
So yeah,🌊 if you're attacking the turtles, maybe take a swing at Donny first.
12 🌟 Hello Ladies 🐻
Everybody knows the ladies love a rebel, and Raphael is no exception. In fact, he was the first of his four brothers to have a girlfriend (take that, Leo). Raphael met his main squeeze, Ninjara, during the Archie Comics run in issu♒e #28. They had a long and passionate romance, that sadly ended with Raphael calling it off towards the end of comic's 75 issue run. Which brings to me to my question: what are you thinking, Raphael? That girl is stu🥀nning like a fox (you know, for obvious reasons). How did you just let that one go? You find somebody in this world who can tolerate your garbage, you gotta hang onto them, ESPECIALLY if they're a super jaw-dropping ninja fox. I guess this is why I'd never cut it as a Ninja Turtle. Too easily distracted...by mega humanoid foxes. What? I'm fine. Stop asking. Next entry.
11 𒆙 Raph...Are you Pondering What I'm Pondering?
Ever listen to Raphael's voice in the classic, 1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated TV series (you know, the one that was on in the background for probably most of your childhood) and think, "wait, isn't that Pinky from Pinky and The Brain?" Well, if you did, first of all, you have some weird ESP because Animaniacs didn't come out until 1993, so that's just weird. But, if you said this sentence post 19෴93, yeah, I mean, I think you see where I'm going with this.
Acclaimed voice actor Rob Paulsen, also known for his work as beloved characters like Pinky and Yakko from Animaniacs, voiced Raphael for the fi😼rst nine seasons of the show. Too bad we never saw a Warners/Turtles crossover.
10 ༺ 🅺 Cool But What?
Everyone remembers the theme song to the classic 1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon, especially if you, like me, shoved every quarter you could get your hands on into the classic arca🌄de game. Ever notice how on the cabinet of that game, there was a drawn picture🦄 of the Turtles with an actual actor playing April in the middle of it? That was weird, right? Why not just use the cartoon character? Moving on.
In the theme song, each turtle gets a little fact about their personality. Leonardo leads, Donatello does machines. And Raphael is cool but...crude (Michelangelo is a party dude, for anyone who was wonderinꦍg)! As a kid, I always thought this line was "cool but rude!" But it's not! Crazy, right? This was more of a fact for me, I guess. But I hope it helped some of you out there, too.