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Summary
While theTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ’ differently coloured masks have become an iconic vista of their overall aesthetic ( with most fans never even know any other choice ) , they to begin with all wore red bandana , in both the classic Mirage Studios comic that embark on it all , and the newly - launch IDW Publishing continuity - and both apparently apportion the same deeper significance .
Though technically black and white , the TMNT all wore ruby bandannas in the originalMirage StudiosTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtlesby Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird . This was made evident by the one-sided covering nontextual matter appearing throughout that first serial , as well as the colored reprints . The reason this was the case was due to the fact that the TMNT were n’t originally fun - loving , chill dudes who studied ninjutsu and were basically superheroes -the TMNT were assassin .
The Turtles were only raise by Splinter ( who was not a kind begetter at the time ) to do one thing : kill Shredder . The full first issue was a complete report , one of vengeance , bloodshed , and dying . The Turtles were n’t high - fiving and eating pizza pie , they were slicing and prod their overlord ’s ancient enemy to death on a NYC rooftop before throw him off the side , thereby completing their colored commission . So , why did they all jade red bandannas ? Well , because they were hardened killer who were all evoke to carry out a singular purpose , one that would only end in blood .
IDW Publishing’s Reason For TMNT’s Red Bandannas Was A Bit Less Intense
For the first five issues of IDW Publishing’sTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtlesby Kevin Eastman , Tom Waltz , and Dan Duncan , all four of the Ninja Turtles wore red bandanna just as they had in the original Mirage Studios comic , but for a altogether dissimilar reason . Rather than red representing them being hardened Orcinus orca with a bally queer goal , the color Red River was simply Raphael ’s favorite color during his former life as a child in Feudal Japan , before he , his brothers , and his father were reincarnated into this life .
The Turtles were n’t merge at first , as Raphael was missing throughout their adolescence and into their teenaged yr follow their initial mutation . So , Leonardo , Donatello , and Michelangelo all bust red bandanna as they searched for their lost brother , and they did so in his honour . Then , when they found Raphael , Splinter gifted him his own red bandana - one he would keep after his brothers finally get their own favorite colour in issue # 5 .
TMNT’s Red Bandannas Make Raphael’s Character More Interesting
The TMNT assume crimson masks in IDW Publishing ’s continuity because it was Raphael ’s favored colour , and while that differentiation was n’t made in the original comedian , Raphael still kept the red , even after the dealership shifted away from the dark and gritty aesthetic of its origin . Raphael has always been the heavy - striker , the overstrung - brute , the loner . And now it makes more sense why that is . In the current IDW Publishing continuity , his attitude can be explained by the fact that he literally grow up without a family until he was a teenager . But when look at the previousTMNTcontinuity immediately following the Turtles ’ masquerade party - color changes , it ’s as if Raphael was the only one who still kept those original dark and gamey characteristic all his brothers once shared , but now he alone carried with his last - remaining red mask .
Originally , the TMNT wore red bandanna because they were assassinator with a common goal of violence and battue . In IDW Publishing , they assume crimson bandanna because red was Raphael ’s favorite coloration . In both continuities , Raphael kept the red , and continued to embody what it originally stood for by being the last stay appendage of theTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtleswho has remained dark and gritty , just as all of them were when they all wore red bandanna .