Warning: Spoilers for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #6As enjoyable as theTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' current era has been thus far, I can’t help but notice one glaring flaw in how Donatello has been treated. The brothers have reunited at last after a lengthy separation, yet Donnie is unrecognizable due to the recent traumas he’s experienced. His heartbreaking condition doesn’t mark the first time he’s been broken in IDW Publishing’sTMNTcontinuity, but I sincerely hope it’s the last.
Jason Aaron’s daring relaunch ofTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles- featuring artists Juan Ferreyra, Chris Burnham, and more - has already established itself as one of thebest comics of 2025thanks to its gritty take on the titular turtles. However, as a die-hard Donnie fan, I’m disappointed in how he seems to be the emotional punching bag of the series once again.
While darker storylines are to be expected in a series likeTMNT, Donatello has been struck with tragedy more frequently than his brothers.It’s become exhausting to watch Donnie get put through unimaginable hardships, and he deserves a break from his vicious cycle of suffering.
Donatello Has Endured His Worst Trauma Yet in TMNT’s New Era
After Being Imprisoned in a Mutant Zoo, Donnie Is Shaken to His Core
As mentioned before, this new era for the TMNT kicks off with an issue dedicated to each turtle, depicting their current status quo. InTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles#4 by Aaron and Burnham, Donatello gets captured andimprisoned in a mutant zoo. He takes on the most arduous burden of the captives by ensuring he fights in the ring each day so that the weaker mutants can be spared, subjecting himself to brutal beatings on their behalf. Over time, he starts to forget who he is and only maintains any sense of self by clinging to a rat he mistakes for the deceasedMaster Splinter.
Donatello’s tenure in the mutant zoo was first depicted in “Long Way from Home” by Jason Aaron and Chris Burnham, a story fromTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Alpha#1.
Thankfully,Donatello has escapedthe zoo and joined forces with his brothers once more, but that doesn’t end his anguish. He’s clearly been left traumatized by the ordeal, as he continues to carry around his rat’s dead body with an eerie smile plastered on his face. Moreover, his brothers are disturbed by his disheveled and frail state when they cross paths, and they are still walking on eggshells around him inTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles#6. Donatello struggles in the aftermath of his physical and psychological torture, and I’ve noticed that this continues a troubling pattern for him.
TMNT Consistently Torments Donatello More Than His Brothers
IDW Publishing’sTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtlescontinuity has been no stranger to inflicting harm upon Donatello in the past. Most notably, he was killed off inTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles#44 by Kevin Eastman, Tom Waltz, Cory Smith, Ronda Pattison, and Shawn Lee.Bebop and Rocksteadybeat Donnie in horrific fashion and break his shell, then murder him in cold blood. Thedeath of Donatelloremains one of the darkest moments inTMNThistory, and he still has a prosthetic shell to show for it, though it’s far from the only time that he has struggled.
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Donatello dying at the hands of Bebop and Rocksteady kicks off a never-ending cycle of trauma for the poor turtle, which continues into theArmageddon Gameevent. During this period,Donatello trades science for magicto master the mystic art of Kuji-kiri. Unfortunately, his stance on magic changes when he comes face-to-face with hisfuture counterpart. This variant of the ninja turtle prioritizes magic to the point where it overpowers all else, causing him to become isolated. In his loneliness, Donnie ends up in a mentally broken state - much like he is now after the mutant zoo incident.
Every Ninja Turtle Faces Dark Moments, But The Others Emerge Unscathed
Unlike Donatello, The Rest of the TMNT Experience Levity
Of course, I’d be remiss not to acknowledge that Donatello’s brothers aren’t immune to difficulties. In Aaron’s ongoing run on the series, every ninja turtle has been caught up in challenging circumstances that they’ve navigated alone in the absence of their usual support system. For instance, Raphael gets framed for a crime in prison, whileMichelangelo’s festering grudge against his brotherscauses him to turn against them. Even Leonardo, as calm and collected as he strives to be, tries togive up being a ninjaaltogether in the wake of the family’s lore-changing split.
The rest of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles get to bounce back from their struggles, whereas Donatello is knocked back down every time he picks himself up.
With that being said, there’s a vital difference at play between Donatello and his brothers. The rest of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles get to bounce back from their struggles, whereasDonatello is knocked back downevery time he picks himself up. At present, the other turtles seem to be back to their old selves - albeit with shorter fuses around each other - yet Donnie shows no sign of recovering.If Donatello’s brothers can experience respites from their pain, then so should he.
Listen Up, TMNT: Donatello Doesn’t Need to Suffer to Stand Out
Donnie’s Stories Must Stop Revolving Around His Constant Anguish
I understand that the tone of thisTMNTeraaims to be darker than that which preceded it, butthere’s a limit to how much suffering a character can endure before it becomes excessive.Kicking Donatello while he’s already down only lessens the impact of his adversity. He only recently gave up magic in the aftermath of encountering his haunted future self, so a proper distance between these two incidents would have given his confinement in the zoo more weight. As a reader, I feel that Donatello’s bleak circumstances have fallen flat as of late because they’re occurring in quick succession.
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TMNThas a habit of subjecting Donatello to harsh conditions, but there’s no real reason to do so to this redundant degree.Donnie is a compelling character without the bombardment of trauma he’s been stuck at the receiving end of for years, and it’s about time that writers gave him stories that don’t involve perpetual torment. Instead, Donnie should return to his roots as the team’s resident genius, putting his mind to work rather than having it shattered by horrors. Donatello is a fan-favorite character for a reason, after all, and he deserves happiness just as much as the rest of theTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
