Like many boys and girls growing up, I was a huge fan of the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles". I grew up watching the original animated series that ran during the 80s and 90s. I watched the movies, read some of the comics, and even watched some of the newer series from 2003 and 2012. One thing that has always remained consistent with each incarnation of the turtles has been my favorite character; Leonardo. However, when I grew up I was surprised to learn that Leonardo is widely considered to be the least popular member of the four turtles. Today I write to defend my favorite turtle and I hope I can show you all why he deserves as much respect and admiration as the other turtles. Leonardo is more that the Ninja Turtles equivalent of Ringo Starr.
Leonardo first became my favorite turtle for many of the same shallow reasons other characters from other shows became my favorites. Optimus Prime had a cool voice and was the leader. Green was my favorite color, so guess which Power Ranger was my favorite. Growing up, I gravitated towards Leonard because he was the leader of the turtles (other than Splinter) and he, in my opinion, had the best weapons of any of the other turtles (especially Donatello). However, as I grew older, I could see why the other turtles were more popular with the other kids than Leonardo. Each of the other turtles had more pronounced characteristics and personalities (Donatello was an intelligent tech nerd, Raphael was a hard hitting tough guy, and Mickey was a fun-loving party animal). By comparison Leonardo would seem kind of bland since he didn't have any real defining characteristic other than leader.
Despite this, Leonardo remained my favorite of the four turtles and I couldn't figure out why for the longest time. It didn't dawn on me until I watched the 2012 cartoon. The Leonardo in that show is one of the best I have ever seen. He has more character and personality than any of the other incarnations of the character (I love that he has a level of "geekiness" and hero worship for a show that resembles "Star Trek"). However, I discovered that it was his struggle to be an effective leader that made me care for him the most. Leonardo, unlike the other turtles, is constantly burdened with the task of leading his brothers into battle.
In the show we witness how stressful Leo's position is and how he's constantly afraid that he isn't good enough to lead them and that he might get them killed. This pressure often causes him to overwork himself and act too selflessly in combat (to the point where he almost gets himself killed to protect his brothers on several occasions). I realized that I related to those aspects of Leo's character more than any other. Growing up, I constantly pushed myself to do better in school and get good grades. This eventually turned into stress once I reached college. Like Leo, I know what it is like to work so hard at something that it effects your mental and physical well being. Despite the dangers and stress put on Leo due to his position, he still did them because he loved his family and didn't want to see any harm come to them.
I also loved that Leonardo was the most mature of the four turtles. He knew how to loosen up and have fun, but he also knew when a situation was serious and need to be treated as such. In some way it made me feel for him, because his position meant that he couldn't afford to as care free and fun loving as some of his other brothers could. Respect is always the word that comes to mind when I think about the reasons I like Leo. He is a strong person who takes on a position of responsibility and power, and treats that power with respect and seriousness. He is also a skilled warrior with a code of honor that drives him to do the right thing. These are the reasons I feel Leo deserves much more respect within the fandom, so the next time you talk about the turtles and which ones are your favorite don't forget to show some love to the geeky leader in blue who sacrifices a lot due to how much he loves his brothers.
