Orange, Baby!
Rise Ramblings #316
When I think about Mikey, this scene always comes to mind.
As soon as they step foot in the library to save Mayhem, Angelo instantly disqualifies himself…hilariously.
On first watch, I found it interesting that he made this decision with no hesitation, especially given the stakes.
At the time I just resigned to him being a silly silly boy, but now I know better.
Yet, before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s explore who Mikey is.
Michelangelo Hamato is the youngest turtle in the family, and it shows.
Consequently, he seems to possess a certain “youngest brother privilege" that his other brothers just can’t help but reinforce. This is the role that Mikey was born into. Therefore, he doesn’t have to push himself to be the smartest, or cleverest, or strongest turtle.
Instead, he decides to be the artist of the family. He’s a creative! He expresses himself everywhere, from stickers on his own shell, to tagging the lair, as well as on paper. The world is his canvas!
Michelangelo also expresses himself in virtually everything he does, so it’s easy to understand why he’s the most open, honest, caring, and emotionally expressive turtle of the bunch. To some it could be seen as a weakness, yet Mikey uses his emotional intelligence as a pillar of strength, of which he utilizes to uphold his brothers when they need support the most.
In the show, Michelangelo often takes on certain personas; Doctor Feelings and Doctor Delicate Touch.
(For some reason, they are all doctors, but that’s beside the point.)
At first glance, the personas could be seen as silly bouts of make-believe. But I think that placing these roles upon himself for his brothers' sake is Michelangelo’s way of helping them cope with the world by offering them what they each individually lack.
For instance, Raph, Leo, and Donnie have trouble voicing their discomforts when someone does something they don’t like.
In other words, they have trouble putting their foot down.
But here is Mikey to the rescue!
Dr. Delicate Touch has no such hang-ups.
Similarly, when Donatello runs into trouble, as he is unable to recognize his own emotions, it’s up to Doctor Feelings to help his desperate client in need.
Through taking on these roles, Mikey is able to support his brothers and fill the emotional gaps in his teammates, which, inevitably makes them all stronger.
How is Mikey able to do this and how does he have the strength to take on these roles?
You could think that it’s just in his character, meaning, it’s just how he is. I don’t think so, though. He’s a free thinker, and a creative, but there’s something about these roles that is specifically catered to the needs of his family.
Then I realized, the only reason that Mikey is able to help his brothers in this way is because they first helped him.
Let me explain.
All four of the boys grew up in the same household. Although Splinter tried his very best (there is no Splinter hate here), a single depressed parent doth not a stable child make. Raphael struggled with the burden of his responsibilities as an ad hoc leader (see Being Big Red), Leo struggled with expressing his natural talents as a middle child (see Being Baby Blue), all while Donnie struggled with carving out his place on the team and his feelings of uselessness (see Being Purple Part One and Part Two).
Well, what does Mikey struggle with?
In my humble opinion, nothing.
The struggles of his brothers all related to each turtle coming to terms with themselves and coming to terms with their place on the team.
Yet, due to the love and support of his brothers and father, Michelangelo never had to ask himself if he belonged, struggle with his role on the team, or make huge life-changing decisions that could affect everyone.
Michelangelo is free to just be Michelangelo.
And as a free spirit who is completely in tune with his own emotions, he is able to do things like this:
and this,
and this.
Let’s get back to the scene in the library.
Angelo sees the high stakes of his friend’s pet disappearing forever if they fail but makes the decision to disqualify himself anyway. Why? Because he knows that no matter what he does, it will all be ok.
He has complete faith in his brothers and their ability to solve the problem at hand, so he might as well have some fun.
This not the first time he’s come to this conclusion.
Through out this entire scene, Michelangelo plays in the background.
It’s scenes like this that makes me believe that Mikey’s faith in his family knows no bounds.
Altogether, his brothers and his father were everything he needed to become who he is. Reciprocally, he is free to be everything that they need him to be and more.
Over…
and over,
and over again
he trusts them completely.
And through this unwavering trust in his family, he is able to trust himself and his instincts. He knows that with everything they’ve poured into him, he can save them from, well, everything. Over…
and over…
and over again.
Hence, due to all of this evidence, I believe that through the collective love of his family, Michelangelo became the best version of the Hamato spirit, and thus, the best Mystic Warrior of all time.
All because, he’s Orange, baby!
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Previous | Being Big Red • Being Baby Blue • Being Purple ○ Part One • Being Purple ○ Part Two
Finale | Being Hamato Yoshi
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Tim gives Bernard an old puzzle box with a morbid history and ties to a few conspiracy theories as a birthday present.
Naturally he calls in a favor or two to make sure that it isn't cursed or anything before he gives it to his boyfriend.
Bernard is in love with the thing, and when he's not working or spending time with Tim he's trying to crack open the box.
That's fine, all well and good; until Bernard actually manages to open the thing.
Inside is a glowing, crystalline sphere that radiates cold.
Bernard loves it.
Tim's freaked out by it.
Bernard starts to...get weirdly obsessed with it. Treating it like it's a baby or something.
Buying a crib for it and onesies and toys and stuff.
Tim's convinced he accidentally cursed his boyfriend with some horrible demon or something that'll kill Bernard the second Tim lets his guard down or leaves him alone with it.
Then he has to leave Bernard alone with the sphere to deal with an Arkham breakout
When he come back...
The sphere is gone.
That's a baby in Bernard's arms, wearing one of the pun-onsies he'd bought for the sphere.
Or: Danny, ages ago and many dimensions away, got seriously hurt and reverted to his Core form. The damage was so severe that Clockwork warned Jazz and his friends that even once he came out of his Core form, he would most likely be a child.
So Sam, Tucker, and Jazz designed a box with the help of Clockwork that would protect him until he was with people who would keep him safe.
Time passed, and the box exchanged many hands, until it came into the possession of one Bernard Dowd.
The One Who Proved Himself Worthy.
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