Since Iām doing little appreciation posts for each of the 2012 turtles, itās Donnieās turn.
My favorite Donnie used to be 2003. He seemed like the sweetest, most down-to-earth Donatello. He still kinda is, but I canāt help but adore 2012 Donnie. Maybe itās the cute little gap in his teeth, or the fact that I can relate to him in a lot of ways, but something about him just sets him apart.Ā
Think of where the overall plot of the show would be without him. If it werenāt for him, April and her dad might not ever have been saved from the Kraang. The turtles wouldnāt have gotten involved with the Kraang at all, and with April in custody, the whole world could have been taken over.Ā
It was Donnie who went against Splinter and Leo to try and go save April and Kirby before they got thrown in the van. It was Donnie who convinced Splinter to let him and his brothers go back above ground to free them from the Kraang facility.
Ā It was Donnie who rescued April from the helicopter. Ā
After that, he was completely dedicated to reuniting April with her father. He even broke into a Kraang facility alone!Ā
When her dad got turned into a bat, he did what no Kraang or scientist had ever done before and invented retromutagen.
When Aprilās dad and most of New York City were mutated into Kraang-headed mutants, Donnieās retromutagen saved them all (of course, Mikey had something to do with that).Ā
When he gets an idea in his head, he sticks to it. He hates to leave a task unfinished and he keeps his word.Ā
Heās also quick to own up to his mistakes.Ā
How many young people have the humility to admit they were wrong and apologize? Not many. (If youāre one of them, good for you. Youāre a rarity.)Ā
Heās an incredibly strong person. With everything that happens to him, youād think he would have cracked by now - but he hasnāt. Of course, no strong person got to be as strong as they are without going through adversity.Ā
He does have his bouts with anxiety though, and he can be a little high-strung.Ā
But honestly, who doesnāt find Rob Paulsenās screaming Donnie voice completely endearing? (My only question is, why do Donnieās mask tails suddenly get super starchy when he yells?)
His sass is also quite fabulous.
Heās a total sweety, though. Just look at the way he treats April. Yes, he was awkward in season 1, and yes, he felt threatened by Casey in season 2, but whatās so abnormal about that? At any rate, heās really calmed down around her. And while he used to be awkward, he never forced April into anything. Most hugs were initiated by her, as well as all five kisses so far.Ā
He also does that cute tongue thing we all adore.Ā
Heās even cute when heās sad.Ā
Now. About how smart he is. Heās not just a mechanic.
Heās also a computer hacker,
Ā a chemist and pharmacist,
Not to mention he knows plenty about physics and biology, and a plethora of random facts.
Letās face it, the whole team would be dead by now without him. Actually, like I said earlier, the whole world would have been taken over without him (and yet he blamed himself for the invasionā¦ poor wee babby doesnāt realize how awesomesauce he is).Ā
Anyway, the whole physician thing - itās emphasized a lot more in this show than others.Ā I love that. I mean look at the posters in his lab.
He doesnāt have access to any medical information about his familyās kind(s), so he makes due with what he can. He doesnāt have mutant medical diagrams, so he has turtle, rat, and human diagrams. He wants to make sure he knows how to take care of those closest to him, so he gathers whatever information he can find. He has the heart of a care-giver.Ā
He seems to have more thoughts and feelings than most peopleā¦ or rather, he thinks and feels more deeply than others. I know thereās no real way to gauge that, but he cares so much about what others go through, and he goes through a lot himself. Heās also always thinking, always analyzing and over-analyzing. No wonder heās anxious. Thereās a lot swirling around in his head and heart all the time.Ā
Overall, Iād say 2012 Donatello is a very well-rounded, fun, sweet, quirky character. Weāve seen him grow up so much in season 3, and I look forward to seeing his story continue to unfold.Ā
If I could describe 2012 Donatello succinctly, Iād say:
jacobvanloon
tangentwithtanner
amandla
titsay
prguitarman
vaporwave
romaincrisis
