#turtlecage25

[yellowhollyhock]

Rise Raph vs 1987 Donatello

Raph likes to smash. He wants to go in there and smash things. Most often his plan is to smash, smash, and smash again. And this is because he loves to do it, not because he can’t think of other plans. Like, he faked defeat when Big Mama made them all fight different guys for I don’t remember why. Very clever plan. He also dealt quite handily with what’s her rabbit. But mostly he chooses to smash because he loves to so much and he is so so good at it.

Donatello likes to triangulate the position of something or other and be almost finished with his new machine. But when it comes down to fighting, he likes to BONK. And sometimes poke. Or even launch. Anyway for a little guy he can sure get in a lot of force. If anybody can outsmash Raph I really think it might be 87 Donatello.

Raph gets a definite advantage for passion. He loves to smash (did I mention that he loves to?). Donatello does enjoy some bonking once he gets going, but it’s not like, his first choice of activity. He would rather be triangulating to be honest. He is likely riding the high of so thoroughly beating Next Mutation Raph though, and he does love attention. Like a lot. No like you guys think Rise Donnie loves attention. Rise Donnie mainly wants attention specifically for being smart with science. 1987 Donatello has to give himself a silly voice when he dresses up in an outfit. He gives speeches unprompted about the nature of their existence and the woes of being a turtle. He stole a tank. He also just? Mocks Michelangelo? Unprovoked? Wakes his brothers up to see what he made, or has them waiting at the door because he’s been talking up what he is about to unveil but NO ONE IS ALLOWED TO SEE UNTIL THEN. He is the definition of are uncomfortable when conversation is not about me?? He has more restraint as far as technological capabilities compared to application but the thing is you see I think he does that for attention.

So anyway I’m back to them being equally motivated to win, Raph for his love of the game and Donatello for praise and adoration. They both have cartoonish durability. Donatello will be better at seeing the big picture, Raph will be better at seeing and responding to what happens in the moment.

Who prevails?

Raph SMASH

Donatello BONK

Voting ended onJun 6, 2025

[iztarshi]

If the Leo vs Venus fight actually comes out as a tie, I'm just going to assume that between Venus throwing goo and Leo redirecting it with portals they both wound up stuck to the floor.

[majachee]

Aa an archie fan/hater i NEED archie raph to win so bad

Istg in every tmnt poll its either rise or 03 that wins, i NEED this. I need my niche little 87-based comic series to WIN. Like... yeah I get it, rise and 03 are the most popular ig, but COME ON. The 87 turtles never win, and archie is such a niche piece of the franchise that it winning would be funny! AND ALSO I WANT ARCHIE RAPH TO WIN CUZ I LIKE HIM. HE'S MY PROBLEMATIC BLORBO.

Pleeeaaaaase. Archie sweep. PLEASE.

[yellowhollyhock]

Archie Raph vs 2003 Leo

@majachee contributed pics ❤️

Raphael has been having fun at this tournament, and he fights well when he's having fun.

He also has his favorite outfit this round--which is not the one he thrifted with COOTS Donnie, that's his, uh, second favorite. For a fight against an icon like 03 Leo, he needs his shadow suit.

Confidence is high going in. Raphael is a hard hitter when it comes to that, but his fighting style actually is pretty sneaky. He's being a goof about the shadow suit but he really will blend in as well as he can and wait for the best moment to strike. One of my favorite moments fighting-wise is when he returns (from being with the Mutanimals iirc) unexpectedly and saves Master Splinter from being dropped off a roof. The sneaking was good, the altitude and quick...ness... was also impressive. And he had a red hood which suits him. Overall, he's got a lot of tenacity and creativity.

He will need it.

Because this guy will drop you off a roof if you give him half a chance.

Leo has also experienced a lot. He came to a place of better emotional regulation and self-esteem than Raphael ultimately landed, but in this fight I don't think that's particularly relevant, they both have been having a great time.

Actually, the most relevant moment for Leo, imo, is beating Ue when he first challenged him. Always coming back, getting his enemy's guard down, staying calm enough in crisis moments to still turn the tide. And that was in a fight he had no chance to prepare for.

They both had impressive matches last round. Now they are the only ones standing in each other's way of victory--a dangerous place to stand, in either case.

Who is our Turtle Cage Champion of 2025?

Archie Raphael

2003 Leo

Voting ended onJul 1, 2025

[yellowhollyhock]

2003 Leo vs Rise Mikey

Leo has had landslide victories, while Mikey had ehh like 60-70%, but here's the thing

Leo beat: Next Mutation Donnie and CDH Michelangelo. The audience doesn't know them as well and neither of them are, ah, the most serious ninjas of their families

Mikey beat: IDW Donnie (has served as a diplomat on other planets and had a huge hand in his family being able to beat Shredder and save the earth from being terraformed) and 2012 Raph (has quit his team multiple times out of frustration with them not taking fighting seriously)

So like. Leo's had it pretty easy thus far compared to Mikey

But! He is incredibly disciplined and not one to underestimate his opponents. The fact that his previous fights haven't demanded much from him means he's coming into this fairly fresh--and with a high intimidation factor, boosted by his entire family making it to Round 3.

I can see Rise Mikey being intimidated. Also, because his fights were closer, Leo's had more opportunity to observe his style.

A small, agile opponent isn't usually the type Leo faces. Ch'rell got away from them pretty quickly when in tiny scuttling form. The closest he's faved to someone like Mikey is Karai, and she uses the same weapon as him and exercises a lot of restraint. Limited space to hit and speed could certainly be a problem. He does have experience with aliens and robots and an evil snake ninja, though; he can learn and adapt quickly.

Let me just throw in there

Mikey: clapped to get the sun to turn off. Major points deduction for stealth, and not a bad planner but defs not 03 Leo level

Leo: Stepped on a mine. Clunkier movements than Mikey. Also gets hit from behind, stop being so trusting dude

Who advances to Round 4?

03 Leo

Rise Mikey

Voting ended onJun 18, 2025

[yellowhollyhock]

1987 Donatello vs 03 Leo

Two of the toughest turtles of the multiverse, and only one can go on.

Donatello has the Jumbotron at his disposal, and is very likely to go that route again. Let's also not forget, he's a great fighter as well. He does very well in training, and this being low stakes (no lives on the line), I think he'd similarly shine. Incredibly strong, literally cartoonishly durable.

Leo has probably put more hours into studying and practicing his craft than anyone else, with the possible exception of: 1987 Leonardo, Donatello's pal. His skills are sharp, his swords are plural, his mind is calm. He has worked hard to be a formidable ninja. He won't strike until the right moment, saving his energy.

Which means Donatello will have time to set up the Jumbotron, likely improving on his previous design.

And he will need it.

This is gonna be a tough fight for both of them.

Who will advance to semifinals?

1987 Donatello

03 Leo

Voting ended onJun 24, 2025

[yellowhollyhock]

Mirage Leonardo vs 2007 Mikey

First of all, Mikey definitely leads with "So, are you gonna take me out for ice cream too?"

Leonardo throws his head back and laughs. "Not this time, kid," he grins, dealing the first kick

And the fight is on

2007 Mikey has had a really good tournament so far. He got a solid win against bayverse Raph, proving his courage and skill against a resourceful, determined, and very large opponent. Then he beat COOTS Leo, who we assume is a disciplined fighter like his counterparts, proving that he also isn't going to underestimate opponents (COOTS turtles are definitely not known for fighting).

Mirage Leonardo has beaten Rise Donnie, mystic powers and all. His match against IDW mostly just taught us that he's a total softie, but it did also demonstrate an ability to read his opponent, and a lot of brute strength and cunning to destroy the arena like he did.

Let's look at some categories

Skill (ie has learned the moves): adv Leo

Speed: equal

Stealth: adv Leo

Determination: adv Mikey (last 07 turtle in the fight)

Resourcefulness: adv Leo (considering what we just saw last match)

Yeah this is really adding up in Leo's favor, Michelangelo is a very skilled turtle, but--

WAIT everybody stop Rise Donnie has just been spotted in the Jumbotron! Which he has reprogrammed to--cheer Mikey on? And zap Leo? Where is Rise Raph?

Oh, his other two brothers are finishing their fights. We, ah, probably should have gotten a substitute to watch Rise Donnie--especially during this particular fight.

Welp. The Jumbotron is now cheering for Mikey and zapping Leo. I'm not sure how Mikey would feel about that, they might have to team up against the Jumbotron and then fight. Unless Leo insists on seeing it through, zaps and all.

I can tell you the other 07 turtles are mortified that someone cheated for Mikey, especially since Rise Donnie is Leo's new friend. Yyyeah his Raph and Don are grilling him about what he said to that child. And yeah he may have lectured a bit about patience, cunning, and honor, but he intended to motivate his fellow ninja to improve and come back stronger next year! He wasn't talking about cheating!

It is oddly sweet that Donnie is trying to help his new friend's little brother while he's humiliating the turtle who beat him. Definitely illegal, but sort of sweet.

Don't worry Rise Donnie has been escorted out he can't interfere anymore

So, here's the thing: Leo's narrative would up the stakes, turn the odds against him, and then give him a victory. Make him the hand of justice to teach cheaters a lesson, defeating both the Jumbotron and his assigned opponent

Mikey's from a movie; his narrative, with upped stakes, would have him team up with his opponent, defeat the big bad guy (Jumbotron) together, and then be rewarded for forgoing victory in favor of justice, with victory. Because that's how movies work. I'm actually kind of imagining Leo giving him the victory out of respect when he sees that he won't take any advantage

Mikey also now has his brothers to prove himself to, because he can see they're embarrassed, and of course he's also mortified that anyone is trying to 'even the playing field.' Donnie doesn't think anyone's incompetent, he's just a sore loser, but Mikey doesn't know that. In fact from what he understands about Donatellos, being protective of new friend's little brother would make more sense than being vengeful (he has a lot to learn about Donatellos ajdhaja)

What happens?

Leo defeats the Jumbotron and Michelangelo

Mikey defeats the Jumbotron to make the fight fair, and then wins

Voting ended onJun 19, 2025

[yellowhollyhock]

Turtle Cage Round 2 Highlights below the cut

Round 3 schedule here

Closest Fights

87 Donatello v Rise Raph 51.9/48.1

Batman Leo v 07 Raph 53.3/46.7

IDW Mikey v 12 Mikey 54.5/45.5

Rise Leo v NM Venus 57.1/42.9

90s Raph v 07 Donnie 58.3/41.7

Biggest Landslides

03 Mikey v arch Mikey 88.2/11.8

03 Leo v CDH Mikey 88.9/11.1

03 Raph v CDH Don 92.3/7.7

Mir Don v 90s Mikey 93.3/6.7

03 Donny v NM Leo 100/0

Wow okay 03 go off 💅

Sibling Moments

All 4 2003 turtles are still in the game! They are thoroughly enjoying congratulating each other, reliving their fights and correcting one another about the details. Master Splinter is beaming with pride.

Archie turtles cheer and chant for their Raphael, who looks a bit surprised and maybe even a little green knowing who he will have to face next.

90s Mikey joins his Donnie sitting with the Batman turtles--which is now all of them except Leo. So lovely to see them socializing

2012 turtles are very proud of Leo--and also very worried about him considering his upcoming match against the Jumbo Turtle (Donatello seems to be trying his best to help that nickname catch). Raph insists it's nothing to worry about, Leo has beat worse before. He's insisting a little too much, in fact. He's clearly worried. With all that going on, 2012 Mikey doesn't mention his own worries about his new friend who didn't want to fight last match... and who is also the only one out of his group still in the running

Funny Moments

Mirage Leonardo is technically in breach of contract and brought IDW Leonardo down with him, however we are overlooking this in light of it was funny. After all, this is for entertainment

Rise Leo very nearly tied with NM Venus when they both got stuck in her goo balls. He still had his swords, however, and between the ability to reach across the arena to poke her and the incessant puns about a sticky situation, he ultimately prevailed without lifting a foot.

And of course we have to talk about the Jumbo Turtle! Cheers from the crowd encouraged him not to give up when it looked as if he was going to be smashed right out of the tournament, and in classic Donatello fashion, he used what was on hand to create--a gun? No wait he says it's a remote. Just hit the power button and your opponent gets knocked out? That sounds like a stun gun but I guess he's getting around censors. Sure okay it's a remote controller. Controls opponents from a distance. You can turn their volume down? Okay I'm afraid to ask more questions

Loser Shout Out

Rise Raph is one to watch for next year; he got unlucky this time being Donatello's opponent when it occurred to him to reprogram the Jumbotron. He showed a lot of grit as the tides turned against him, and now that the rule about the Jumbotron is in place, he'll know what to expect next year. Also we are letting him choose any advantage he can think of to give to exactly one fighter in every annual tournament starting next year, as a thank you for keeping his enraged brother, who did not think of using the Jumbotron, from killing anyone so far. We appreciate your leadership, Red Angel

NM Venus was up against one of the sharpest manipulators in the tournament--and she held her own for some time. The goo balls were an unfortunate choice against portals, but she shows promise--if she gets some training to help her make better combat decisions, she could be a serious contender in upcoming years

2007 Donnie is kind of known for holding back--I don't think we saw his best fighting this time around. Is a more focused and brutal Donatello a turtle who could advance to the final rounds in future tournaments? Only time will tell. He seems kinda happy to be out of the fighting, honestly--he beelined for his Leo and thank goodness for that because while his shame and anger seem to have faded, it can only be good for him to have a brother with him in the audience, and frankly we are not equipped to handle a Leo off the rails after we just put the Jumbotron back together