Donatello is a mutant soft-shell Turtle, and the third oldest of the four ninja sons raised and presumably trained by Hamato Yoshi (a.k.a. Splinter), along with his brothers, Raphael, Leonardo and Michelangelo. He is the team's resident tech-head. He wields a high-tech version of his traditional bō, which is also a "Transforming tech-bo".
Physical Appearance[]
Donatello has jade green skin with purple pixel designs painted on his upper arms and thighs, a light brown plastron and dark brown carapace. He also has a large head (to indicate his intelligence), thick black eyebrows, black eyes, three fingers on each hand and two toes on each foot.
Donnie wears a purple mask that pulls over the top of his head (with short square-cut mask tails), silver convertible goggles with a red and blue lens and a purple battle shell that fits over his real shell. He also wears purple fingerless gloves with matching socks on his feet, a silver tech-gauntlet with a blue touchscreen, purple elbow and knee pads, and a purple belt with color-matching pouches and Turtle emblem.
Personality[]
Donnie is prone to recklessness, reveling in dangerous activities such as when he tests the Turtle Tank’s taxi rocket and enjoys the experience despite having no control of the vehicle and traveling hundreds of feet into the air in “Late Fee”. He also has a violent streak, as Donnie regularly attempts to physically attack others with little hesitance and can be wild, typically acting more like a deranged scientist than a heedful man of knowledge.
Donnie loves the dramatic as much as he himself is dramatic, at times erupting into song, generally talking in a grandiose manner about himself and events, and prone to being extravagant with his plans, such as when he asks for uranium for his inventions in “Down with the Sickness”.
While Donnie perceives himself as being emotionless, he is actually quite passionate as well as being easily irritated, especially when others don’t listen and/or appreciate his intelligence. He can be excitable, sometimes the point of distraction such as when sees Atomic Lass in Times Square and loses focus on the mission in “Mascot Melee”, and deeply saddened upon discovering that Splinter lied to him and Mikey in “Turtle-dega Nights: Ballad of Rat Man”. He also longs for genuine praise, particularly from adults. Despite this, Donnie does have a tendency to be aloof.
Donnie can be argumentative, contradicting others' viewpoints with his own and insistently trying to convince others that he is correct. He is especially committed to his opinions on science, seeing them as superior to mystic powers and as such refusing to utilize them throughout the series, unlike his fellow Mad Dogs. This is derived from Donnie’s cocky nature. He has a great amount of confidence in himself and his skills and enjoys reinforcing others’ faith in him as well, leading him to show off and consequently panic if things go awry such as when he is more concerned about whether or not the Turtle Tank working improperly is his fault in “The Mutant Menace” rather than the fact that it is working improperly.
Donnie can be irresponsible, blaming others for his mistakes or denying his part in a problem such as in “Al Be Back” where he claims to have no memory of accidentally making Albearto evil. However, he has shown improvement in this as he acknowledges that he was wrong to treat S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N. so harshly in "Breaking Purple" and apologizes to him.
Donnie has a tendency to be passive-aggressive, whether he intends to be or not. Instead of directly confronting his brothers about their bad habits, he presents "gifts" that would force them to give up their habits in “Donnie's Gifts”. Donnie is often sarcastic and has an inclination for cynicism as well. As such he can often be rude, unintentionally so. He often insults his brothers, especially when he is not in the mood for their company, and tends to find them to be annoyingly predictable in their behaviors as expressed in "The Longest Fight" and "One Man's Junk".
while he can be self centered, snobbish, controlling, and have a huge ego no less, He still cares about his family Mikey especially, and he needs them as much as they need him, because without them for him to love and take care of, Donnie would probably stray more into villain territory than anything else. Or, he would least do whatever benefits himself the most without thinking of anyone else.
Donnie is also shown to be uncomfortable with being touched and unfamiliar with extreme emotions. In Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie, Donnie is shown to be against hugging to the point where Raph insists that him holding Donnie in after being launched out of the Technodrome is a rescue and not a hug. Then, after seeing Leo getting trapped in the Prison Dimension, Donnie is surprised when he realizes that he was crying, implying that he rarely cries.
Powers and Abilities[]
Mutant Soft-shell Turtle Physiology[]
Donatello has mutated Soft-shell turtle Physiology, Giving him athletic abilities beyond even the most dedicated training as well as all of the abilities of a turtle but to a heightened mutated level. Donnie still has some kind of durability enhancement like his brothers, despite being a soft shell turtle.
- Varied weapon proficiency: Due to his transforming Tech-bō, Donnie is proficient with many types of weapons, including blades, rockets, hammers, and drills, all of which are produced by his bō.
- Bōjitsu: Donnie has been trained in wielding a bō staff, and is highly proficient with it
- Genius intellect: Donnie is the team's resident tech-head, and his intelligence allows him to understand and apply whatever he studies with a high level of proficiency. Donnie’s knowledge spans a vast array of disciplines including, but not limited to: chemistry, literature, cryptology, physics, engineering, biology, mathematics, and to a lesser extent, mystic properties.
- Engineering: Donnie is a whiz when it comes to making things. He can create high-tech weaponry, gear and tools at an astounding rate. He is also shown to be good at sculpting, much like his historical namesake. Donnie has a gift for construction, as he built an entire park/sanctuary for Todd Capybara and his puppies in the episode "Repo Mantis".
- Enhanced Memory: In "Mystic Library", Donnie was shown to be able to take information and rewrite it into mental lyrics to help memorize things.
- Ninjitsu: Donnie is trained in basic ninjutsu skills, some of which include:
- Stealth
- Speed
- Agility
- Strength
- Hamato Ninpō: As a member of the Hamato clan, Donnie is able to tap into his clan's energy to unleash his own mystic power.
- Shell Retraction: In the episode "Lair Games", it was shown that Donnie can fully retract into his shell. However, being a spiny softshell, only his head should be retractable.
- Dancing: Donnie has expressed his love for dancing multiple times throughout the series, one of them being through his online gamer tag and computer password: Bootyyyshaker9000.
- Singing: Donnie is also shown to have some musical talent throughout the show, some moments being when he sang the instructions through the Mystic Library, and explaining his love for science in "Donnie vs. Witch Town".
Equipment[]
- Arm remote: Donnie connects many of his gadgets, and weapons to his Arm remote which can usually deactivate or activate the intended creation with the push of a button.
- Transforming Tech-Bō: At some point, Donnie built his best weapon, a high-tech version of his traditional bō. He calls it the "Transforming tech-bo". This weapon seems to be suited for everything, However it's mostly used for different methods of fighting besides Bōjutsu. Donatello can easily transform his staff into various different shapes and forms to aid him. Donnie prefers to use his Tech-bō instead of a magic weapon.
- S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N: Donnie has a drone "sidekick" named Shelldon.
- Battle Shells: Battle shells that he creates originally to aid him in battle because of his species. But he also uses them to pick up objects, play music as well as grant him the ability of flight.
- Goggles: has goggles, but doesn’t have a stated use, but used one of Draxum's crystal to make his goggles detect mystic powers.
Relationships[]
Allies
- Raphael: Oldest Brother
- Leonardo: Older Brother
- Michelangelo: Youngest Brother
- Splinter: Master/Father
- April O'Neil: Best Friend
- Baron Draxum: Creator
- Karai:
- Mayhem
- Todd Capybara
Enemies
- Kraang
- Shredder
- The Foot Clan
- Big Mama
- Hypno-Potamus
- Ghostbear
- Albearto
- Meat Sweats
- Mrs. Cuddles
- The Purple Dragons
- Repo Mantis
- Warren Stone
Quotes[]
- "Sorry! Sorry. Data collection calms me down." - To April, in "Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie"
- "Loom 16 take corridor B, down the stairs past the ibis tapestry. Sliding bookcase after bookcase shows the way to the hall, up the pole, through a hole to the waterfall! Donatello, with a book in his hands, saves the day and proves to everyone that he's the man!" - Rapping about directions in "Mystic Library"
- "You did this! You'll do anything to win! My ankle, my moment!" - To Leo, in "The Lair Games"
Trivia[]
- According to the Rise of the TMNT concept art reveal live stream, Donnie's field of study revolves around engineering, robotics, and technology.
- According to the Rise of the TMNT Concept art reveal live stream, both Donnie and Leo are 14 years old in season 1.
- In this series, Donnie is a Softshell turtle, which means that he may have a more sensitive shell than his brothers, as well as previous incarnations of the character.
- To compensate for his soft shell, he built an entire fleet of Battle Shells.
- He's a little bit more confident than previous incarnations and he knows he's good at what he does.
- Donnie is a huge science fiction fan.
- In the episode "Lair Games", while April is interviewing Donnie, it's stated that he's had drawn on eyebrows for nine years.
- Donnie has a big love for dancing. It was hinted at in the episode "Stuck on You" where his computer password (and gamer tag) is Bootyyyshaker9000, implying that he loves to dance.
- Fans have dubbed Donnie & Leo as the "Disaster Twins".
- Donnie falls somewhere under the Autism spectrum as confirmed by Ron Corcillo on a Twitter Q&A.