Michelangelo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)

Michelangelo (Mike or Mikey) is a fictional character and one of the four main characters of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics and all related media.^[1]His mask is typically portrayed as orange outside of the Mirage/Image/IDW comic series and his weapons are dual nunchaku, though he has also been portrayed using other weapons, such as a grappling hook, tonfa, and a three section staff (in some action figures).

More fun-loving than his brothers, Michelangelo was given a much bigger role in the 1987 cartoon series, directed at a younger audience, than in the more serious original comic books^[2] which was aimed at an older audience. He came to epitomize the late 1980s and early 1990s popular culture incarnation of the TMNT, coining most of their catchphrases. Like all of the brothers, he is named after a famous Renaissance artist; in this case, he is semi-obviously named after Michelangelo, a 16th century influential Tuscan sculptor, painter and architect who is best known for sculpting David, several Pietàs and painting part of the Sistine Chapel. The spelling of the character's name varies from source to source, and he has been alternately shown as both Michelangelo and Michaelangelo.^[3]

Because Kevin Eastman's original "ninja turtle" concept drawing (1983) portrayed an unnamed turtle with nunchaku strapped to its arms, some consider Michelangelo to be the first Ninja Turtle created. Although the first toys released (pre-Playmates) had Michelangelo using katanas and Leonardo using nunchaku.