Leonardo

the leader of the group

Leonardo, commonly nicknamed Leo, is a superhero appearing in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics and related media, and created by American comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. He is one of the four central characters of the franchise, along with his brothers, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo. Leonardo is often depicted as the leader and strategist of the turtles. Often shown wearing an ocean blue bandana, his signature weapons are a pair of swords (named katanas in many versions of the series). He is traditionally portrayed as the most mature and disciplined of the Turtles, displaying a stoic demeanor and a strong sense of responsibility. Like his brothers, he is named after an Italian Renaissance artist, in this case Leonardo da Vinci. In the original comics, all four of the Turtles wear red masks, but for the creators to tell them apart, he was written and redrawn to have an ocean-blue mask.[clarification needed] Comics Mirage Leo is the protagonist of the comics. He does not explicitly refer to himself as a leader in the early stories, except in issue #44 ("The Violent Underground"). He is the one to usually take charge of the turtles when Splinter is not present. He is often at odds with his more hot-headed brother Raphael. In Leonardo #1 (What Goes Around... ...Comes Around!), Leo goes out for a run on the rooftops of New York City and is ambushed by the Foot Clan. He puts up an fight against an army of Foot Ninja but is overwhelmed. Beaten to near unconsciousness, he is thrown through April O'Neil's apartment window. The remaining Turtles and Splinter are forced to continue the fight, but even with the aid of Casey Jones, the odds are against them. In the end, the building catches fire and the police arrive, but they secretly escape to Northampton, Massachusetts. Leonardo recovers from his physical wounds, but he lost his confidence. He repeatedly attempts unsuccessfully to hunt for deer. While out hunting, he sees April fall through ice into a lake, and he rescues her. In subsequent issues, it is implied that Leonardo has regained most of his confidence. In the Return to New York storyline (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (vol. 1) #19-21), Raphael demands that the Turtles return to New York to confront the Foot Clan and the Shredder. He accuses Leonardo of cowardice, and the arguing brothers fight. Leonardo is beaten by Raphael, who throws Leonardo through the wall of the barn and leaves. Along with his younger brother Donatello and his youngest brother Michelangelo, Leonardo returns to New York and reunites with his wayward brother in the old sewer lair. The three go along with Raphael's plan to storm the Foot Headquarters, where once again Raphael goes off on his own to fight the Shredder. He is ambushed and beaten by the Shredder's Elite guard but is rescued by Leonardo. This prompts Raphael to cede to Leonardo's leadership, leaving him to fight the Shredder. Leonardo engages in a bloody battle with Shredder that ends up on the rooftop of the building. Leonardo ends the battle by decapitating the Shredder just as the building implodes. The Turtles later burn the Shredder's corpse on a funeral pyre in a nearby Manhattan harbor. Leonardo captured by Karai on the cover of issue #57 (art by A. C. Farley) In the City at War storyline (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (vol. 1) #50-62), a feud between various factions of the Foot Clan over leadership breaks out. As fighting ensues in the streets of New York, the Turtles and the civilian populace get caught in the middle. Leonardo grows weary of constant battle with the Foot Clan and seems fraught with indecision. The Turtles are approached by Karai, the leader of the Foot Clan in Japan who has come to New York to unite the Foot. She presents the Turtles with an offer of a truce between the Foot and the Turtles if they help her kill Shredder's Elite Guards, which are a major obstacle to her reorganizing the Foot. Despite Raphael's objections, Leonardo persuades his brothers to accept Karai's offer and all four Turtles successfully work with Karai to eliminate the Elite Guard. In Volume 2 of the Mirage Studios comic, the turtles begin living in separate places. Leonardo decides to live in a newfound sewer lair. Michelangelo and Raphael notice a change in Leonardo and note that he seems more easygoing, though Raphael points out that his and Leonardo's natural order is to be "buttin' heads." Years later in Volume 4, Leonardo still leads his brothers (all four now in their thirties) in fights against crime. Leonardo and Raphael's conflict seems to have lessened. When the Utroms arrive on Earth and reveal alien life to humans the Turtles become free to mingle in everyday society. The Turtles help the Utroms acclimate to life on Earth and work alongside the Foot Clan as security. One Foot Clan member is Cha Ocho, who Leonardo has a rivalry with due to an encounter years earlier. Karai approaches Leonardo for help when a mysterious force begi