Donatello Hamato

In *Mutant Ninja Turtles Gaiden*, **Donatello Hamato** (usually known simply as **Donnie**) is one of the four adopted mutant turtle sons of Hamato Splinter, and brother to Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo. Donnie was once a brother, friend and ally, but at 34 years old he now lives alone, seldom practices ninjutsu, and has become an increasingly mentally-ill mad scientist.

## Appearance

In the Prologue, Donatello appears similarly to his Mirage counterpart, though like his 2003 version he wears a purple bandana.

But after Splinter's death, Donnie starts also wearing a white labcoat and an electronic monocle over his right eye. His eyebrow ridges have also developed a permanent scrunching expression to them, making him appear more sullen in general.

## Personality

Donatello lives with overwhelming psychological trauma that has driven him insane and evil.

It began in the Prologue, when his brother Leonardo became gripped with the Curse of Yamata-no-Orochi and tried to kill the other turtles. During the battle, Donnie was knocked unconscious, and was not awake when their father Splinter returned, temporarily neutralized Leo's curse, and ordered Leo to kill him with the cursed Tōtsuka Sword. Instead, Donnie regained consciousness at the worst possible moment—when Leo killed their father. This incomplete understanding of the situation was extremely traumatizing to Donnie, who immediately hated Leo and wanted never to see him again. In addition, Donnie too had become stricken with the curse, and these strong negative emotions were locked in place, making him colder and more distant.

At some point, Donnie broke with reality. Like a schizophrenic, he began to struggle with delusions and false beliefs, reinforced by an evil voice in his head whom he believes is his father Splinter. He now believes the real world is actually a "fake" reality trying to encroach itself on the "real" reality reinforced in his mind. As such, he believes the rest of his real world surviving family are actually "fake" versions of his family, and that only his memories from before Splinter's death are actually "real." And the voice has encouraged Donnie to blame Leonardo for "stealing" his "reality" from him.

The Donatello of today is complicated, to say the least. Since he still has to live in the "fake" world he rejects, he adopts an assimilated façade whenever he interacts with "fake" family. Underneath it all, the cursed, tormented Donatello has grown extremely selfish and indifferent to the concerns of the real world, except where it can help him accomplish his desires or he perceives it as threatening his secret plans. And to this end, he has become capable of great acts of evil, including cold-blooded murder of innocent people.

But this Donnie is also somewhat lonely, usually having only the evil voice of "Splinter" to keep him company, and finds he still desires the comfort of loved ones—even those perceives as "fake". As such, he has long since fallen in one-sided love with the "fake" April O'Neil (even while despising her husband Casey Jones and their stepdaughter Shadow Jones), and has also come to increasingly trust the "fake" Michelangelo's counsel. Even so, Donnie has kept his entire family in the dark about the full extent of his twisted world view and the secret cloning research he has been conducting.

Since Donnie usually fails to conceal 100% of his untold self, his family has come to view him variably as eccentric, selfish, antisocial or mentally ill. April and Mikey have kept on best terms with Donnie, whereas Leo's very presence unfailingly triggers Donnie's panic attacks.

## Biography

In the Prologue, Donatello Hamato is still a 17-year-old turtle living in a lair in the sewer with his brothers Leonardo, Raphael and Michelangelo and their father Splinter. Eikichi Gotoh had anonymously dropped a package containing the Tōtsuka Sword and some Japanese scrolls into the sewers, and it was later found by Splinter, who took the package's contents into his room.

In the Prologue, Donnie calls Splinter over Shell Cell and asks if Leo is nearby and available to run an errand for him. Splinter volunteers himself to run the errand instead and temporarily leaves the lair.

While Splinter is still out, Mikey comes to Donnie with a shoulder wound given to him by Raph. Mikey and Raph had snuck into Splinter's room and found the sword, but Raph wielded the sword, came under its curse, tried to plant the sword in Leo's room, and attacked Mikey for trying to stop him. While Donnie is treated Mikey's wound, they hear the clashing of swords, and Donnie leaves Mikey behind to investigate.

Donnie finds Raph, who pleads with Donnie for help. But Donnie is suspicious, and assumes a battle stance against Raph. Raph warns that Leo has gone insane and needs to have his katana taken from him, which only convinces Donnie that Mikey is correct about Raph. But Leo attacks Raph from behind, dealing another wound with the cursed sword. Donnie asks why Leo is harming Raph, but Leo prepares to kill Raph, prompting Donnie to intervene and protect Raph from Leo. Leo now declares that Donnie too must die, and the two briefly spar before Donnie advantageously knocks Leo off a ledge. Leo appears unconscious, and Donnie descends the ledge to investigate as Raph leaves to find a Shell Cell to contact Splinter.

When Mikey and Raph return together, they find Donnie unconscious and Leo nowhere to be seen. Raph insists Leo must have subdued Donnie, but Mikey still thinks Raph has gone insane. Leo appears from the shadows, and lies, saying that Raph attacked Donnie. Raph pleads for Mikey to stay away from Leo, but Mikey dismisses him. Leo then lunges to attack Mikey, but Raph leaps in front of Mikey as a human shield and takes many deep katana wounds. Donnie regains consciousness and, upon seeing Raph's bloody defeat at Leo's hands, calls on Mikey to fight together with him against Leo. Leo's sword slices Donnie's bō in two, but Mikey dropkicks Leo and sends him sliding head-first into a wall. Donnie and Mikey rush to Raph's side, both now fully realizing that Raph was right about Leo. But the scratched and bloodied Leo soon gets back up, and rants how only he is Splinter's worthy son, and he resentfully declares that he threw his life away to be the perfect ninja, deriding his brothers' life pursuits as selfish—this makes the other brothers realize that Leo has long been simmering with envy. As Leo tries to advance on them again, Donnie volunteers himself to buy time for Mikey to get away with Raph. Donnie tries to stop Leo's cursed sword with his hands, but the sword burns his bands to the touch, distracting Donnie enough for Leo strike Donnie unconscious again.

Donnie regains consciousness again just in time to watch in horror as Leo kills Splinter with the cursed sword, causing Splinter and the sword to burn up and disintegrate in a pile of ashes. It is tragic for them all, but it is especially difficult for Donnie who was not conscious to see Splinter return, absorb Leo's curse or command Leo to kill him to save the rest of them. Donnie does not want to accept what he has seen as real, declaring it all to be a nightmare he desperately wants to wake up from. As Leo goes to collect the ashes, Donnie attacks Leo, forbidding him from touching them. Mikey tries to break up the struggle, trying to tell Donnie that it wasn't Leo's fault. Raph asks Donnie to blame him, as he was the one who originally wielded the cursed katana, and Leo had become cursed while disarming him. Mikey tries to speak, but Donnie shuts him up, complaining that they want him to accept what happened as real while not holding Leo responsible. But Leo speaks, insisting that Splinter's death is his sin, and that he must immediately leave for Japan to learn more about the package. Raph protests, but Donnie pronounces Leo a killer and wants nothing more to do with him. As Leo leaves and Raph tries to hold Mikey and himself jointly responsible for what happened, Donnie is inconsolable and demands to be left alone.

As Donnie somberly gathers Splinter's ashes into an urn, he remembers one of the last lessons Splinter ever taught him. Donnie had once made a virtual world simulator, but Splinter is concerned with Donnie's dislike of reality, cautioning him never to deny what is real. Donnie holds the urn close, promising never to leave Splinter.

The family quickly disintegrated. Splinter and Leo were gone, Mikey forsook his ninja past and moved in with April O'Neil the very same day. According to flashback sequences in Chapter 3: *Broken Brotherhood - Burden from "Back Then"*, Donnie threw himself completely into the pursuit of science, and his relationship with Raph soon deteriorated as Donnie no longer cared to have Raph around. Raph finally moved out of the family lair, leaving Donnie alone to convert the former family home into a giant laboratory of his own.

According to flashback sequences in Chapter 19: *Fragments of Truth Inside His Mind*, Donatello's own descent into mental illness continued to advance with time, and at some point he rejected the real world as fake, preferring an imagined reality in his own delusional mind. He became guided by an evil voice inside his head, who he believed to be Splinter. Donnie started secret cloning research and experimentation. He tried to clone Splinter, but the clone not only did not survive, but its skeleton was actually an object cursed of Yamata-no-Orochi. Still, believing the skeleton to be the real Splinter, Donnie mounted it inside a giant glass tank, providing a stand-in Donnie could talk to as the evil voice spoke back inside his head. After dozens of failed attempts, Donnie cloned himself. But in his delusion, he came to believe the clones were actually his brother Leonardo. Additionally, the clones were imperfect with various defects, and Donnie angrily took out his frustrations on the living clones, slaughtering many of them over the years. Even worse, he would only feed the clones corpses of previous clones in a continuous cycle of cannibalism and death. Still worse, each clone could recall the memories of previous dead clones along with Donatello's own memories. Donnie has kept all of this secret from everyone, including his own family.

In Chapter 1: *Enter the Renoir*, it is 17 years after Splinter's death, and the brothers are 34 years old. Donatello receives a telephone call from Michelangelo at the Jones Apartment, telling him of the appearance of a new wild mutant turtle who apparently killed and ate a childhood friend of their niece Shadow Jones. Mikey asks Donnie to stay away from the new mutant, and to pass the same message on to their brother Raphael, with whom Mikey is not on speaking terms. Donnie dials Raph and passes along Mikey's message, but Raph immediately rejects Mikey's admonition wants to break the new mutant out of police custody. Donnie volunteers his assistance and technical expertise, albeit with the ulterior motive of scientific curiosity—one of the only things Donnie seems to care about anymore.

On the way to the police laboratory, Donnie and Raph encounter Shadow, who has been coping with her grief through vigilante street fighting. Shadow explains her relationship to Augustus Amherst, her friend who was killed. But when it becomes clear that her uncles are actually on some kind of mission, she asks if they're going after the new mutant. But Donnie improvises an elaborate lie, saying that he and Raph are collecting psychedelic mushrooms to feed to Raph to try to alter his mutation. Raph does not care if Mikey learns of their actions, but Donnie fears that Mikey will start pestering him if he finds out.

With Donnie's help, they sneak into the lab, and find the teenaged mutant turtle in a giant tube. Donnie drains and opens the tube, and Raph explains that he wants the turtle to be his ninjutsu student.

Donnie and Raph carry the turtle back to Raph's Lair, where he eventually wakes up on Raph's couch. It is quickly evident that the mutant is sentient and can speak, but insists he is the human boy Augustus Amherst himself. When the boy cuts himself using one of Raph's sais to remove the turtle "mask" from his own head, Donnie patches him up with a bandage. As the new mutant is told more about his mutant nature and the reported death of Augustus Amherst, he refuses to accept it all, wanting to wake up from the nightmare. This display immediately unsettles Donnie, reminding him of his own reaction to Splinter's death 17 years before, and abruptly leaves the lair, leaving Raph and the new mutant Renoir alone to their new life together.

In Chapter 2: *Reminiscence - Living Memories Beyond Death's Illusions*, it is the next day, and Raphael has Renoir dial Donatello at home to corroborate the outlandish information Raph has been telling the young turtle. Donnie confirms Raph's story, but also opines that Raph is trying to brainwash Renoir, which provokes fury from Raph who is listening on a second telephone. Renoir loathes living with Master Raphael and asks to live with Donnie instead, but Donnie refuses. Finally, Donnie asks about Renoir's wound, but Donnie is startled to learn that it had healed overnight. As the call ends, Donnie is very pleased with this news—Donatello's scientific obsession with Renoir's biology has begun.

In Chapter 3: *Broken Brotherhood - Burden from "Back Then"*, Raphael visits Donatello's lair. They have arranged to meet because a hologram generator in Raph's possession has short-circuited, and Donnie—who originally built it—is the only one who can fix it. Donnie is no longer an altruistic person, so he requests a sample of Renoir's blood in exchange. But Donnie is dismayed that Raph has only fished Renoir's discarded bandage from out of the trash, and it contains only a thin layer of dried blood. Donnie accepts the bandage's limited forensic usefulness, but considers Raph incompetant for not bringing a proper blood sample. Raph angrily asks Donnie if he expected him to drain slit Renoir's throat and empty his blood into a bucket. Donnie becomes sardonic, saying that Raph's suggestion fits his low intelligence. Raph becomes enraged and strikes Donnie. Raph picks up a table intending to bash it over Donnie, but pauses when he realizes it is a familiar old family table, and observes its many katana cut marks, remembering a time when Leo cut up a watermelon and served it to his brothers. Now that Raph is calm again, Donnie pronounces Raph worthless and tells him to leave. Raph sadly laments how much their family has disintegrated and leaves. Donnie examines the table, observing how the mere presence of the katana marks had been so effective at calming Raph's rage. Later that night, Raph has a serious emotional breakdown over Donnie's disdain for him.

In Chapter 6: *The Actor Who Has Never Performed Before*, Donnie is in his laboratory, examining some of Renoir's cells under a microscope, observing that they regenerate twice as fast as those of the Hamato brothers. Donnie swears to collect even more samples from Renoir.

Unexpectedly, the electrical fuse for Donnie's lair overheats and fails, and the laboratory automatically switches to a three-hour supply of emergency backup power. Donnie must quickly surface and scavenge for a replacement fuse, but broad daylight is the worst possible time to do it.

Donnie rummages through a junkyard, thinking to himself how much he hates the outside world, daytime, humans, and especially cops. Donnie finds his replacement fuse, but two police officers show up and instantly start firing their guns at him. Donnie tries to escape through a manhole, but the police throw in a gas canister to try to either suffocate him or flush him out. The New York City police immediately begin Operation "Turtle Soup", scrambling officers in a five mile radius from the junkyard.

As the sewer tunnels fill with gas, Donnie has no choice but to find another manhole and emerge. He thinks to himself how this situation only further vindicates his hermit lifestyle. Donnie's eyes are stinging from the gas, but he spots a drinking fountain and approaches it to wash his eyes. But before he can use the fountain, a human little girl speaks to him—it is Carole Amherst, who identifies Donatello as another "actor" like her older brother Augustus. (Raphael and Renoir had run into Shadow and Carole at Augustus' own funeral, but Shadow told Carole the white lie that they were actors in turtle costumes.) Confused children and a frightened adult stare at the turtle as Carole tells him that the playground's water fountains are out of order. It is apparent that Donnie has surfaced in the middle of an elementary school playground. Donnie soon senses two police officers (Tony Howard and Eva Campbell) sneaking up behind him, and he grabs Carole to use her as a hostage. Donnie notices as Eva points her gun at him and prepares to fire. But instead of allowing Carole to take the bullet, other reflexes kick in and he takes a bullet wound in the shoulder to protect Carole from harm. Tony tries to tackle him, but Donnie punches the officer and escapes down the manhole. By now the playground is filling with gas coming out of the manhole, and the officers decide to escort the children to safety instead of chasing after the mutant.

Fortunately, much of the gas has cleared the sewer tunnel during the standoff in the playground, and Donnie takes a moment to assess his situation. By now, Carole is passed out from the gas, and Donnie wonders why he took a bullet for her and then escaped with her, annoyed with himself for allowing a protective instinct from his younger days to make her useless as his hostage. Donnie thinks he will end up being killed if this girl remains with him, so decides to kill her to protect everything he has been working for. He picks up a pipe and prepares to bludgeon her with it, but stops when Carole talks in her sleep, saying she misses her brother. Donnie stops himself, feeling like he's becoming a maniac like his brother Leonardo. Wanting to be better and smarter than Leo, he decides to think the situation through harder, and decides that the girl is not a danger to him as long as he can leave her someplace on the surface. But he wants to protect his laboratory from discovery, so he wants to leave her somewhere further away. However, this involves carrying her through other sewer tunnels that are still full of gas.

Donnie returns to his lair, having dropped off Carole. He replaces the burned-out fuse, and normal voltage is restored. He quickly checks on all his active laboratory equipment, and is relieved to find that his "Project A38" is still "Active." Donnie watches the television news, reporting that Carole Amherst has been found alive, and insisting that the man who held her was an actor rather than a mutant. Donnie considers how accurate this description is—this world he lives in is fake to him, and he is an actor in it, but soon he believes he will see it fade away and regain the reality that Leonardo stole from him. He laughs maniacally even as tears roll down his eyes.

Donatello's actions on the surface have consequences. It was reported on the news, which was watched by Shadow, Michelangelo, Renoir and Raphael, and they know it was Donnie from the description Carole gave in her comments to the media. Mikey sends Donnie an angry telephone voice message. Carole also suffered from gas inhalation, and later that day she had to be rushed to the hospital, where she would be treated for *weeks* and be diagnosed with new asthma.

In Chapter 9: *Deeper in the Abyss*, Donatello is in his laboratory examining a cell culture under his microscope when he is unexpectedly visited by Renoir. Figuring that Renoir has finally left Raphael, Donnie puts on his friendly face and immediately invites Renoir to move in with him, offering him a "vacant spot" in his lab. Donnie looks at Renoir's face and suspects he has a lot on his mind, so he invites the younger turtle to talk. Renoir tells Donnie what happened tonight:

Master Raphael learnt for the first time that their brother Michelangelo had been using their younger memories together with Splinter as source material for his novels. (Raph had not already known because he was not in the habit of reading books.) Raph became enraged and savagely beat Mikey within an inch of his life. Shadow had to attack Raph to save Mikey's life, and endangered her own life trying to calm Raph down. Renoir already came to hate Raph, so he used the opportunity to cut all ties with him. Shadow and Mikey were furious at Renoir for this, forbade him to stay with them in the Jones Apartment, and instructed him to return to Raph's side and be there for him. Instead, Renoir went to Donatello.

After hearing the story, Donnie explains that Raph had another "rage fit." These have been happening episodically ever since their father died. In his self-hatred, he would accumulate negative emotions until they would push him over the edge and make him lose control. If there are other people around, Raph lashes out against them. But if he's alone, he takes out his rage against himself through binge drinking and cutting. Renoir is unsettled by this, and Donnie asks the younger turtle (who has been living with Raph for a few months now) if he hasn't seen Raph have of these episodes before. But Renoir hasn't seen this happen to Raph before now. Donnie realizes and explains that Renoir has given Raph a distraction and a reason for living. Renoir asks why it had to be him and not someone else. Donnie opines that, as another mutant turtle, Renoir is the only one who could be with Raph all the time, since the Hamato brothers live apart and all of Raph's other friends live on the surface. Donnie adds that Renoir has been a good influence on Raph, and it is because of him that Raph and Mikey are finally on speaking terms again.

With their discussion finished, Donnie reaches for his scalpel and asks Renoir to come over. But Renoir has already gone to return to Raph's lair. Donnie realizes that he spoke too much, but he figures he will have more opportunities to harvest Renoir's biological samples in the future.

In Chapter 12: *...The Crimson Christmas*, Donatello is the first extended family member to arrive at the annual Christmas Eve party at the Jones Apartment. Donnie lounges as April O'Neil serves him a cup of hot cocoa. Raphael arrives next, and Donnie asks why Renoir is not with him. Raph explains that Renoir will join them later. Raph asks about Mikey, and April says Mikey is still in his bedroom wrapping the family's Christmas presents. Donnie sardonically comments on how "Santa" is missing "his little helper," angering Raph who recognizes it as a reference to Mikey's now deceased cat Klunk. Raph points out that Mikey loved that cat—and so did Donnie once. April firmly admonishes Raph and Donnie from fighting.

A little later, Donnie is decorating the Christmas tree, patiently waiting for Renoir's arrival as another chance to harvest the young turtle's biological samples. April asks Donnie why he's scowling, and encourages him to smile and sing some Christmas songs. Donnie blushes, as he has a longstanding crush on April, and the two sing "Good King Wenceslas" together, just as they did years ago in What Goes Around... ...Comes Around!.

Later, it has started snow hard outside, and Renoir still hasn't arrived, and Mikey hasn't come out of his room or made any noise in some time. Raph is losing patience and wants to break down Mikey's bedroom door. But they are all interrupted when the fire escape window opens and Renoir arrives carrying Shadow—both of them seriously wounded.

In Chapter 13: *Back into the Shadows*, Renoir and Shadow have explained what happened to them. In Chapter 11: *A Prelude to...*, after Raphael parted with Renoir at the hospital where they were visiting Carole, Renoir observed Shadow and their friend Davianna Wallace both being snatched from the sidewalk into a car by NYC Foot Ninja. Shadow learnt that their kidnapper was a surviving Foot Elite (later identified as Eikichi Gotoh) who kidnapped them to lure out and kill her Uncle Michelangelo over a grudge. Renoir jumped rooftops to follow the car, in the process being discovered by one of the ninja, who violently ripped out Renoir's left eyeball during their struggle. Renoir caught up with the car's destination at an abandoned port, and witnessed ninja brutally beating a bound-up Shadow before dumping her into the water to drown. Renoir pulled Shadow out of the water and carried her back to the apartment. Mikey was still walking into a trap, and Davianna was still with the kidnapper.

Raph breaks open Mikey's bedroom door (again), only to find that he has already gone alone out through the window to rescue Shadow and Davianna. Raph becomes very angry and tries to leave alone to go after Mikey. But Donatello ridicules Raph for trying to head out with no weapons or leads, sardonically assessing that Raph's chances of finding them are low—if he happened to be a telepath. Raph becomes enraged and lunges after Donnie, but is blocked by Raph's friend Casey Jones. April and Shadow help calm Raph down, and he apologizes to Donnie, who declares the apology insincere but accepts it anyway. Casey asks Shadow where Renoir found her, but Shadow doesn't remember. They then realize that Renoir might know, but Renoir panics when they confront him, not wanting to get killed. Raph for once shows Renoir mercy, quickly ruling him out as a lead so as not to put him at further risk. Donnie bluntly points out that Renoir is their *only* lead and must come anyway. Raph protests, but Donnie points out Raph's double standard of treating his own brother Mikey with so much abuse for 17 years while choosing to protect Renoir for no other reason than personal want. Donnie's logic cuts to the bone, and Raph decides to ask Renoir to tell them where he last saw the NYC Foot. Renoir only remembers that it was at a port near a factory. Donnie declares the information inadequate, and says Renoir must come with them and use familiar landmarks to find the location again. Renoir repeatedly protests, but Raph finally convinces him through an alternating mix of angry commands and calm reason. Finally, Donnie takes charge and announces a coordinated plan. Casey will leave together to locate the exact spot, and meanwhile Donnie and Raph will return to their lairs, gather their weapons, and use the Shell Cells to track down Casey and Renoir's location to rejoin them and help save Mikey and Davianna.

As Donnie and Raph run together through the sewer tunnels, Raph asks Donnie why he suddenly seems to care so much about his family. Donnie unconvincingly explains that it is because he loves his brother Mikey. Raph recognizes Donnie's insincerity and suspects he has an ulterior motive for helping. Donnie unrepentantly confirms Raph's intuition—Donnie is in it for Donnie.

In Chapter 14: *Dogfight!! Up Close and Personal with Remnants of the Foot Clan!*, Raphael and Donatello are on Raph's motorcycle, with Raph operating the vehicle and Donnie using his Shell Cell to navigate to the location of Casey Jones and Renoir. But on the way to their destination, the two turtles are intercepted by four Purple Dragons on two motorcycles, armed with bats and chains, seeking revenge against Raph for defeating them in Chapter 5: *Raph Strikes - How to End a Conflict and Start a New One*. Donnie tells Raph to steer slightly right as he stands up on the motorcycle seat for mobile combat. One enemy bike comes close, but Donnie swings his bo and knocks the passenger, leaving only the bike's operator. The operator swings a chain at Donnie, but the other end of the chain wraps around Donnie's bo, giving the turtle an opportunity to yank the chain, pulling on both person and bike and causing them to fall over. The other Purple Dragon bike approaches from the opposite side of Raph's bike, and its operator rams his shoulder into Raph's shoulder. But Raph is unfazed, and he simply punches the bike's operator to knock down his bike and both humans riding it. Donnie observes that, as usual, Raph lacks finesse.

Raph and Donnie on their bike finally catch up with Renoir and Davianna. As Raph asks about Mikey and Casey, Donnie fixates on Renoir's blood. Seeing an opportunity to collect samples, Donnie insists on staying with Renoir and treating his wounds. But Raph forbids it, demanding that Donnie come back up Mikey and Casey. Furthermore, Renoir declines medical help. Donnie, disappointed that he is losing this opportunity, tells Renoir to come to him any time he wants to talk or have his wounds treated.

In Chapter 15: *And So the Pages Turn...*, Raphael and Donatello help turn the tide in the battle. Raph single-handedly defeats Eikichi Gotoh, and his NYC Foot Ninja start to flee. Donnie emphasizes the importance of an immediate discreet exit. But Raph instead takes a severely wounded and bleeding Michelangelo and speeds away on his motorcycle. Donnie is the first to recognize how bad the situation has become, as Mikey is leaving behind a trackable blood trail in the snow. Casey tells Donnie to track down the bike as he gets Renoir and Davianna to safety. Donnie is irritated that everyone's actions are keeping him away from his "specimen" Renoir.

Donnie catches up with Raph and Mikey, finding them stranded in an alley after Raph crashed and totaled his motorcycle. After taking a moment to ridicule the heart-to-heart Raph and Mikey have just had, Donnie reveals that someone diverted the police away from Mikey's blood trail, and asks Raph if he knows who it was. Raph assumes Donnie was the one who saved them and is fishing for compliments. Donnie sarcastically takes credit, then irritatedly insists it wasn't him, which is why he is asking. Raph considers that it could have been "him", and this implication immediately makes Donnie uncomfortable.

In Chapter 16: *The Leader*, Casey Jones, Renoir and the three Hamato brothers have returned to the Jones Apartment and are continuing their Christmas party. As Casey starts getting Renoir drunk on beer, Donatello foresees an opportunity to exploit the situation. But Donnie himself starts getting drunk too, and eventually they all fall asleep in the apartment—Donnie under the Christmas tree, and Renoir on Shadow Jones' bed.

In Chapter 17: *Between Cops and Ninjas*, Donatello is still passed out in front of the Christmas tree, and his brothers are trying to wake him up. Inside Donnie's head, the evil voice of "Splinter" starts warning Donnie that "he" has arrived, and that Donnie must reject "him" or become permanently trapped in this "reality of deceit and illusion."

Donnie wakes up in an agitated state. His brothers and Casey Jones have good news for him, but Donnie ignores them and desperately tries to find Renoir. Donnie then hears the calm voice of Leonardo, whose very presence causes him to feel panic. Donnie tries to maintain a semblance of calm, but it is now painfully obvious he is trying to suppress a panic attack. He does not acknowledge Casey or Michelangelo, repeatedly muttering to himself that this is not his reality and he will "reject him." Raphael explains to Leo that Donnie never got over what happened 17 years ago. But Leo does not want to ignore his family, so he walks over and touches Donnie on the shoulder. Donnie immediately turns around and reaches for the scalpel in his lab coat, vowing to "erase" Leo. Leo tries to tell Donnie about their curse, but Donnie brushes Leo's hand off his shoulder and declares that they are all fools. Leo admits to his other brothers that he actually anticipated this kind of behavior from Donnie, and does not want to give up, but must give him space for now until Donnie accustoms to Leo's presence.

Donnie bolts into Shadow Jones' room and shouts at Renoir, demanding the young turtle get up and immediately return with Donnie to his lab. Renoir asks why, and Donnie promises he'll listen to Renoir's problems, unlike Raph. Renoir says he doesn't want to talk right now, but Donnie further promises that Renoir can eat unperished food, unlike what Raph feeds him. Renoir, now increasingly unnerved and frightened, tells Donnie he's not hungry right now. But Donnie promises unlimited access to pornography from his personal computer, and also panties which the womanizing Renoir has such a fetish for. Donnie is interrupted by Mikey's voice, as Mikey asks Donnie if his computer really "gives out panties." But Donnie can only think about how his display has raised too much suspicion, so he manhandles Renoir and tries to force him to accompany him. By now Renoir is fully protesting Donnie's "invitation," but Donnie swears Renoir will come to his lab even if it's in a body bag. Hearing this alarms and infuriates Raph. Raph almost punches Donnie in the face, but is stopped by Leo, whose influence immediately helps Raph restrain himself from violence. Still obviously angry, Raph calmly asks what Donnie meant when he said "body bag." Donnie, still feeling panic, stops and frantically ponders a way out of this situation. He puts on his friendly face, and lies his way out, saying that he meant that *if* Renoir were brought to him in a body bag, Donnie would use science to revive him. Renoir tells Donnie he appreciates the offer, but still declines. As Donnie's feelings of doom increase, he yells that he has left his oven turned on and must hurry home.

As Donnie runs into the hallway, he sees April O'Neil, who has brought Shadow home. As Donnie prepares to climb out the fire escape window, April tells him to take care. Donnie, who is actually infatuated with this "fake" April, immediately stops, blushes, and reciprocates April's words before hurrying out the window.

In Chapter 18: *A Little Deeper in Donatello's World*, Donatello returns to his lair and descends into his secret cloning laboratory. He is conversing with his "master," the evil "Splinter" voice inside his head. Donnie acknowledges the as-of-yet unseen presence of an intruder who has arrived before him—it is actually the human NYPD officer Tony Howard, who has found Donnie's lair and lab by chance, and is hiding to avoid discovery. Donnie takes a moment to address "Leo", a seemingly feral mutant chained to the wall. Donnie accuses "Leo" of deceit and false righteousness in helping an intruder in, all as part of some plot to deny Donnie the "reality" "Leo" stole from him. Donnie then speaks to a giant tube containing the skeletal remains of a dead clone of Splinter, whom Donnie associates as the bodily form of his "master." Donnie asks the "master" if the "disgraceful son" must be "punished." Outside of Donnie's delusion, the skeleton does nothing—it isn't alive. But in Donnie's head, "Splinter" has given him an order to subject "Leo" to more "punishment." As Donnie takes some moments to savagely bludgeon the chained-up "Leo", Tony tries to sneak out of the lab. But Donnie notices him, and swiftly knocks the human down with his bo staff to prevent him from escaping with knowledge of his secrets. Tony uses his handgun and desperately fires bullets at the fast-moving turtle, none of which manage to hit anything but one end of Donnie's bo, causing it to break off in splinters. Donnie's quick attack strikes Tony in the face, but the sharp broken splinters instead gruesomely brush Tony's face across his eyes, instantly blinding him. As Tony lies on the floor writhing in immense pain, Donnie then forcefully steps down on Tony's arched knee, breaking it and further crippling the human. Donnie's head is then hit hard from behind—"Leo", who is actually sitting in a pile of the bones of whatever Donnie has been feeding him, has thrown a skull at him. But Donnie, who has not actually been harmed, accuses "Leo" of trying to ruin his life again, and furious lunges toward the chained-up turtle.

In Chapter 19: *Fragments of Truth Inside His Mind*, Donatello has just savagely stabbed "Leo" many times, and "Leo" is lying in a pool of his own blood. Donnie chides "Leo" for making him spill "Leo's" "repulsive blood" all over the floor, and for forcing "Master Splinter" to stare at him while he's "recovering" in his giant pod. Donnie promises he can further "punish" "Leo" to assuage "Leo's" guilt for killing Splinter. Donnie then dares "Leo" to speak, if he can. "Leo" does indeed speak, asking if he's really Leo. Donnie observes that "Leo" has regained the ability to speak, as the vocal cords Donnie had surgically removed have finally grown back with "Leo's" mutant healing. Donnie then mocks "Leo," asking him to say something philosophical.

You must not allow its illusions to distort your vision of reality.
You must never deny reality, no matter how harsh it may be.
Life at best is bitter sweet.
"Leo's" words deeply penetrate and unnerve Donnie, because they are *Donnie's* memories from the "real world"—things only he remembers. The first two quotes were Splinter's final lesson to him, and the third quote was the personal message he had one received from Kirby so many years ago. Donnie demands "Leo" tell him how he knows these things.

I’m...you.
This is too much for Donnie. He is too delusional to realize that "Leo" has always been a clone of Donatello himself, with copies of Donatello's own memories. Donnie immediately brutally stabs his own clone in the face, demanding he stay away from his "precious memories." Donnie agitates into a frenzy, repeatedly stabbing his clone in the face and repeatedly demanding him to "get out" of his head. Finally, the clone is dead. Donnie, who is still shaking from this experience, proclaims to his "master" that he successfully rejected "Leo" after he tried to "pry into" his mind and "taint" it. Donnie asks his "master" if he is proud of him, and laughs maniacally.

But in all this, Donnie has ignored Tony, who though blinded with a broken knee, swears that if he must die in this place, so will the skeleton in the pod. Before Donnie can stop him, Tony fires one more bullet at the pod, shattering it and spilling its contents. Donnie loses all composure and erupts into his most primal fury as he *literally* rips Tony apart with his bare hands.

Now that both "Leo" and Tony Howard are quite dead, Donnie hears an unsettling voice descend from the upper reaches of his lair—an unannounced visit by the "fake" Michelangelo. Mikey, who has only today finally reconciled with his ninja past and funloving personality, is childishly teasing Donnie that he's coming to "get" him. Donnie panics, not wanting "fake" Mikey to discover and disrupt everything he has been working for. Donnie frantically tries to calm himself down and reassume his usual façade as the "fake" Donnie in this "fake" world. As Donnie races to rinse the blood off both himself and his labcoat, Mikey picks up a flashlight, intending to shine it upward below his head and try to frighten Donnie, "old Mikey style." Mikey starts descending the staircase that now leads to Donnie's secret lab. But Donnie turns on the lights and ascends to intercept, and his water-soaked appearance instead manage to frighten Mikey. Donnie quickly offers to serve Mikey pizza, and Mikey enthusiastically accepts. Donnie escorts Mikey back up the stairs, successfully keeping Mikey away from the secret cloning lab.

In the kitchen, Donnie prepares a pizza in his microwave oven as Mikey waits at the table. Donnie asks Mikey why he's here, and Mikey replies that he needs to collect another Shell Cell to give to their recently returned brother Leonardo. Mikey observes that he smells the scent of rust, and then asks why Donnie took a shower and got his labcoat wet. Mikey comments that Donnie himself seems to be clean, but the labcoat looks reddish. All this makes Donnie deeply uncomfortable. Out of Mikey's view, Donnie sprinkles rat poison all over the pizza. Donnie observes that Mikey really does seem to have reverted back to his old mischievous, curious self, but adds that, now, in this world, he finds it disturbing and wrong for Mikey to act this way. As Donnie places the deadly pizza on the table, Mikey reverts to his more mature conciliatory tone, and offers to leave Donnie alone again. Mikey candidly observes that they have all changed over 17 years, and Donnie seems to need his privacy more than the rest of them. Mikey also adds that the way his relationship with Donnie has matured over the years is still quite real, and that it doesn't have to change if Donnie doesn't want it to. Clearly conflicted by this situation, Donnie quickly topples the entire table before Mikey can eat the secretly poisoned pizza. Mikey is stunned, and Donnie nervously feigns that he did that to prevent Mikey from becoming even more fat. Even as Mikey's feelings are hurt by this, Donnie stops and ponders to himself. Donnie considered "fake" Mikey expendable if he had tried to act like his "real" brother Mikey. But over the years, Donnie has come to consider "fake" Mikey the most reasonable and understanding of his "fake" brothers. In Donnie's mind, he asks his "master" permission to trust "fake" Mikey for much-needed counsel to ease his tortured mind. Donnie interrupts Mikey, asking him a serious question.

If you wanted to reclaim something very dear to you and you were the only person who could reach for it... ...Do you think it’s acceptable to use any means necessary? Mikey, do you think... I’m doing the right thing?
Mikey speaks with calm sincerity, asking Donnie if *he* thinks it's for the greater good. Donnie affirms this, and Mikey smiles and declares Donnie has his unconditional support as a brother. Mikey thanks Donnie for the extra Shell Cell and leaves.

Mikey cannot realize the terrible things he just given his assent to. As Donnie cleans up the mess in his cloning lab, he again feels comforted and reassured in his goals. In his mind, "Splinter" agrees that it was right to trust Michelangelo, but warns that time is running out to keep avoiding his "evil" brother Leonardo—"Splinter" must be resurrected so Donnie can reclaim his reality. Donnie lovingly hugs the skeleton. But it appears it is indeed more than it seems—not only does the skeleton actually have more than one head (with many tiny skulls growing out of its neck), but the parts of Donnie's head that touch the main skull become instantly covered with a supernatural vein-like energy—the same kind of evil energy that once emanated from the Tōtsuka Sword—the cursed vessel of the ancient demon Yamata-no-Orochi now trying to reawaken in modern times.

## Weapons

Donatello's standard weapon is a bō staff. He also carries a scalpel around with him which is both a medical instrument and an improvised close range weapon.

## Relationships

### Augustus Amherst / Renoir

In Chapter 1: *Enter the Renoir*, Donatello originally helps Raphael break Renoir out of police custody after Renoir's first appearance on the roof of Shadow Jones' Private School. As such, Donnie is one of the first mutant faces Renoir ever sees. Donnie is initially satisfying his basic scientific curiosity about Renoir, but is quickly turned off when Renoir's identity crisis uncomfortably reminds Donnie of his own struggles with accepting reality. Later, in Chapter 2: *Reminiscence - Living Memories Beyond Death's Illusions*, Donnie's scientific interest returns with gusto when he learns that Renoir's injuries healed *overnight*, demonstrating an even better mutant healing ability than that of the Hamato brothers.

From then on, Donnie becomes obsessed with collecting as many of Renoir's useful biological samples as he can. However, since neither Renoir nor the rest of Donnie's family are likely to condone the kinds of unethical specimen study Donnie has in mind, Donnie instead starts to act like Renoir's best friend, repeatedly offering him friendly company and hospitality if only Renoir would move into his lair with him. And in Chapter 9: *Deeper in the Abyss*, Renoir even considers accepting Donnie's offer after witnessing Raph almost murder Michelangelo, but it is Donnie's own words that actually convince Renoir to remain with his needy Master Raphael.

Donnie's friendly façade with Renoir all but completely crumbles on Christmas Eve in Chapter 17: *Between Cops and Ninjas*, when Leonardo abruptly returns into the family's lives, which triggers Donnie's panic attack and drives him to try to bring Renoir home with him by force. Donnie awkwardly tries to salvage his façade, but whatever trust Renoir had in him seems beyond repair.

### Carole Amherst

Donatello meets Carole in Chapter 6: *The Actor Who Has Never Performed Before* when he *kidnaps* her while trying to evade the police on the surface during daytime. Donnie's interest in Carole is simple—he needs a hostage, a human shield until he can reach safety. But when officer Eva Campbell shoots at the turtle, his old heroic instincts kick in, and he takes the bullet in the shoulder to save Carole's life. Donnie escapes with Carole into sewers and contemplates killing her to protect his secrets, but instead abandons her elsewhere on the surface. For all this, Carole inhales a dangerous amount of toxic gas and develops asthma, but by Chapter 19: *Fragments of Truth Inside His Mind* she has come to consider the "actor" Donatello her hero for protecting her from the police bullet.

### Eva Campbell

In Chapter 6: *The Actor Who Has Never Performed Before*, when Donatello is holding Carole Amherst as a human shield, NYPD officer Eva Campbell shoots him in the shoulder.

### Eikichi Gotoh

In Chapter 14: *Dogfight!! Up Close and Personal with Remnants of the Foot Clan!*, Donatello helps his brothers and Casey Jones defeat Eikichi and rescue Michelangelo and Davianna Wallace, but Donnie only participates because he sees it as a chance to harvest Renoir's biological samples.

### Leonardo Hamato and "Leo"

Donatello's relationship with Leonardo is *beyond* complicated. In the Prologue, Donnie witnesses Leo killing Splinter, but was not awake when Splinter came home, tried to free Leo from the Tōtsuka Sword, and finally took the curse within himself and ordered Leo to euthanize him.

With Donnie under the Curse of Yamata-no-Orochi himself, the evil voice of "Splinter" in his head has encouraged him to blame Leonardo for all the pain and misfortune in his life. According to Chapter 19: *Fragments of Truth Inside His Mind*, Donnie has since cloned himself many times, but delusionally believes those clones to be his hated brother Leo. Donnie violently treats "Leo" as a punching bag to take out his frustrations, killing clone after clone and feeding the dead clones to the living clones to cannibalize. In Donnie's eyes, Leo is damned, and there is no amount of punishment that can ever absolve Leo of killing Splinter. When one of the clones manages to heal his own surgically removed vocal cords and reveal himself to possess Donatello's own memories, Donnie's rage and paranoia only amplify, seeing "Leo's" words as an attempt by Leo to invade and taint his most precious memories.

When the real Leonardo abruptly reappears in Chapter 17: *Between Cops and Ninjas*, his presence immediately threatens Donnie's entire manufactured world view. From then on, Leo's every attempt to visit or speak with him triggers Donnie's panic attacks, and Donnie refuses to acknowledge Leo as anything more than an evil apparition that does not deserve to exist.

### Michelangelo Hamato

Though Michelangelo is the second Hamato brother to leave on the very night of Splinter's death, Mikey has remained in touch with Donatello, almost entirely over telephone. Like the rest of Donnie's family, Donnie sees Mikey as the "fake" version of the "real" brother from his precious memories of the past, and therefore ultimately expendable like the rest of the "fake" world. However, Donnie also considers "fake" Mikey to be the most reasonable and understanding of his "fake" brothers, and in Chapter 19: *Fragments of Truth Inside His Mind*, Donnie even seeks Mikey's counsel to find peace of mind after "Leo's" unsettling revelation of possessing all of Donnie's old memories.

### Raphael Hamato

Raphael is the last of Donatello's brothers to move out of the Hamato Lair, giving Raph a front row seat to the earliest days of Donnie's descent into madness. According to Chapter 3: *Broken Brotherhood - Burden from "Back Then"*, Raph tried to remain out of loyalty to family, and only moved out when it became clear that Donnie had thoroughly cut all emotional ties with him.

In the years that follow, Donnie and Raph remain on speaking terms, and they sometimes collaborate if there's something valuable in it for Donnie. But Donnie holds Raph in the utmost disdain, with Donnie not only seeing Raph as a "fake" version of his brother, but a worthless replica lacking useful intelligence or finesse. For the most part, Raph puts up with Donnie's emotional abuse, but Raph's patience is not limitless, and in Chapter 3: *Broken Brotherhood - Burden from "Back Then"*, after a particularly nasty argument, Raph later has a tearful emotional meltdown, admitting that Donnie is one of the few people whose opinion of him he actually cares about.

Where Raph lacks intelligence, he still has a unique intuition and rapport with Donnie that makes him uniquely qualified to tell when Donnie is being insincere, as demonstrated acutely in Chapter 13: *Back into the Shadows* when they are alone together in the sewer tunnels.

Leonardo's return in Chapter 17: *Between Cops and Ninjas* finally drives an even greater wedge between Donnie and Raph, as Leo has moved into Raph's Lair, Raph has re-acknowledged Leo as their leader, and Leo accompanies Raph whenever Raph tries to visit Donnie anymore. Since Donnie always has a panic attack in Leo's presence, Donnie and Raph are effectively no longer on any useful speaking terms.

### Hamato Splinter

Donatello's relationship with Splinter lies at the heart of his madness. When Leonardo kills Splinter in the Prologue, Donnie does not witness the entire event, and comes to see Leo as the unfaithful son who murdered their father. And with the Curse of Yamata-no-Orochi which Donnie contracted from the incident, an evil voice claiming to be Splinter is everpresent in Donnie's mind. Ironically, the real Splinter's final lesson to Donatello was not to believe in illusions and not to deny reality, even when it is very painful.

According to Chapter 19: *Fragments of Truth Inside His Mind*, after Raphael finally moves out of the Hamato Lair, Donnie sets up a secret cloning lab deep within the lair's lower reaches. Donnie attempts to clone Splinter, but the clone is flawed and dies. Donnie subsequently keeps cloning himself instead to perfect his cloning technology, and keeping the skeleton of Splinter's clone in a giant pod, all the while delusionally believing that his own clones are actually Leo, and that the skeleton in the pod is merely "Splinter" gradually "recovering" from death. As it turns out, "Splinter" is not only an abnormal clone—having many small heads growing out of his neck in addition to his normal head—but actually appears to be a cursed object just like the Tōtsuka Sword, strongly suggesting that Donnie's cloning efforts are being directed to revive the ancient multi-headed demon Yamata-no-Orochi.

### Tony Howard

Donatello and NYPD officer Tony Howard first encounter each other in Chapter 6: *The Actor Who Has Never Performed Before*, when Donnie grabs Carole Amherst as a human shield to prevent Tony from tackling him. Though Tony fails to capture the mutant, he remains determined to eventually do so.

In Chapter 18: *A Little Deeper in Donatello's World*, Tony discovers the Hamato Lair by chance while exploring the Brooklyn sewers looking for mutants. But Donnie discovers Tony's presence and brutally blinds him and breaks his knee to prevent him from escaping with Donnie's secrets.

In Chapter 19: *Fragments of Truth Inside His Mind*, Tony manages to get back on his feet and shoot his handgun at the giant tube containing the skeleton of Splinter's failed clone, shattering it. Donnie does not hesitate to savagely rip Tony apart with his bare hands. Tony never makes it out alive.

### Casey Jones

Donatello is generally polite and civil to Casey as a member of the "fake" version of his family. But according to Chapter 23: *Following the Leader*, Donnie feels as much disdain for the "fake" Casey as for anyone else.

### Shadow Jones

Even as Donatello politely plays the role of Shadow's uncle, according to Chapter 23: *Following the Leader*, Donnie still sees her as the meaningless child of "fake" Casey and "fake" April, and ultimately as expendable as Casey is. Donnie is also annoyed by Shadow's futile attempts to understand and empathize with him.

### Karai

Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo briefly worked together with Karai during the *MNT Gaiden* timeline's version of the City at War incident, helping secure a pact of nonaggression with her Foot Clan.

### Captain Longer / Nobody

Donatello and Nobody knew each other years ago when they met in Springfield, Massachusetts, when Donnie was still a teenager. They have not met again since Splinter died, and have not yet interacted in the events of *MNT Gaiden*.

### April O'Neil

Donatello has long been secretly in love with April, an affection that has successfully carried over to the "fake" April of today's "fake" world. April was originally most similar to Donnie, as they both have a strong affinity for science and technology. Though April since married Casey Jones and adopted Shadow Jones as her stepdaughter, Donnie and "fake" April remain on excellent terms, and "fake" April is one of the few people the duplicitous Donnie always treats with genuine kindness and good will, provoking some of his only sincere smiles.

### Davianna Wallace

Between Chapter 13: *Back into the Shadows* and Chapter 15: *And So the Pages Turn...*, Donatello is instrumental in helping rescue Davianna from Eikichi Gotoh, but only cooperates because he sees it as a chance to harvest biological samples from Renoir.