Donatello

One of four ordinary turtles mutated by a mysterious ooze into humanoid form, Donatello was raised in the sewers of New York by the rat sensei Splinter, who trained him and his brothers in the art of ninjutsu.

The brainy purple-masked member of the world's most famous quartet of reptilian heroes, Donatello made his Archie Comics debut in 1988's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures, arriving at the crest of the Copper Age's wildest pop-culture wave and never really looking back. Across an impressive 36-year publishing footprint — spanning TMNT Adventures, the Giant Size Special, and the fan-favorite Mighty Mutanimals — he's shared countless adventures alongside Splinter, April O'Neil, and the villainous Shredder and Oroku Saki, making for some of comics' most colorful ensemble storytelling. With 86 cataloged appearances and at least one key collector-significant issue to his name, Donatello's Archie run is a warm, action-packed corner of the TMNT universe that rewards anyone willing to dig into its pages — a genuine time capsule of late-'80s and '90s comics energy at its most exuberant.