Michelangelo

Michelangelo is voiced by Wayne Grayson. Known as "Mikey" to his brothers, his personality is more akin to the Mirage comicsthan the 1987 TV series. Still the comic relief, he often makes statements that spoof pop culture, although he uses less surfer language than in the 1987 cartoon series. His trademark nunchaku are once again his primary weapons, but he has used other weapons such as grappling hooks and those of his brothers.

Personality
Michelangelo is slightly more immature than in the 1987 series and likes to tease and annoy his older brothers, especially Raphael, to whom Michelangelo is the foil. In fact, a running gag is that whenever Michelangelo says or does something excessively outrageous, usually involving a catch-phrase from the 1987 show, one of his brothers (usually Raphael) will slap him on the head. Other characters such as Master Splinter and the Ancient One have picked up on this habit, but usually, use it only whenever he actively disobeys.

Raphael and Michelangelo mostly have a love-hate relationship in which Michelangelo frequently antagonizes Raphael, but Raphael shows that he cares about him whenever he's in danger. With Raphael's attitude, and Leonardo's extreme discipline, Mikey seems to be closest to Donatello (however, he is still very close to his other brothers).

Mikey is regularly treated as the youngest brother and little is expected of him, although he has proven to have exceptional speed and agility. He has shown empathy for others, as proven in particular by his adoption of Klunk, a stray kitten and his friendship with Leatherhead.

In some episodes, Mikey takes on the role of a costumed superhero called "Turtle Titan." While having no superpowers and gadgets, he proves himself quite effective in his own right and even befriends other superheroes, such as the Silver Sentryand the Justice Force. As Turtle Titan, Michelangelo uses grappling hooks as both a weapon and a mode of transportation, and a small shield used for protection and as a throwing weapon.

Although not shown as particularly focused on ninjutsu, preferring to spend his time reading comics or watching movies, Michelangelo is quite an effective fighter. In the Season 2 finale "The Big Brawl," he became the Battle Nexus Champion, the best fighter in the multiverse. However, when fighting in the Tournament, he only actually won one fight properly. His first was against Splinter, who surrendered, his second was against Raphael, whom Mikey 'beat' by just being annoying and causing Raphael to charge into a wall by accident. Michelangelo actually won his third, but his fourth was won out of pure luck.

On the other hand, Michelangelo later won a rematch against the last finalist completely fairly, and earned a medal of honor for his behavior during the battle. In some episodes - particularly Return of the Justice Force, Touch and Go, Reality Check, Membership Drive and The Unconvincing Turtle Titan -, Mikey even demonstrates quick wits and intelligence, aiding his allies and brothers with decisive ideas. While this proves he is actually more intelligent than he lets on, it is implied that he has very little interest in seriously focusing his intellectual development.

According to Splinter, Michelangelo has the most raw talent of the four, but because of his incredibly limited attention span, it's very unlikely he will ever meet his true potential. In Same As It Never Was, the dystopian version of Michelangelo has devoted his whole life to surviving without the Shredder's detection - so it is very possible that the Michelangelo seen in this episode is the Michelangelo who has reached his full potential.

In early profiles of the 2003 animated series, Michelangelo is regarded as being the most athletic of the four, although unfocused on training mentally (though those are admittedly old profiles and may have been early plans for the character, he has certainly proven he is an effective fighter when need be). This profile statement has since been repeated in the profile of Michelangelo in the lead-up to the debut of the Fast Forward season, which began airing on July 29, 2006.

As far as this incarnation of the Turtles goes, Michelangelo is so far the best (possibly the only) cook in the group. In The Shredder Strikes Back (Part One), Mikey is shown cooking breakfast. Though he does mess up the fried eggs and asked "Hey, scrambled's okay with everybody, right?" (this is met with a chorus of "Again?") Raphael later comments "Say what you will about Mikey; the guy knows how to scramble an egg."

Trivia

 * Like his brothers, Mikey is a practitioner of Chi Gong. Turtles in Space, Part 3: The Big House.
 * Mikey defeats the Cyber Shredder one on one in City Under Siege.
 * The Unconvincing Turtle Titan was the first episode to focus on Mikey.
 * Unlike his other incarnations, this Michelangelo screams effeminately (like a girl).
 * He is said to be the one with the most raw talent at ninjutsu.
 * It was revealed in Graduation Day: Class of 2105 that Mikey named his nunchaku in Fast Forward 'Chuck' and 'Chuck 2: The Sequel'.
 * He is right-handed.