Leatherhead (TMNT)
Encyclopedia
Leatherhead is a fiction
al character
in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
series. He was created in 1987 by Mirage Studios
artist Ryan Brown
, who also went on to create the Saturday morning cartoon
series Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa
for the ABC
television network. He is a mutated
, anthropomorphic
alligator
and appears in all TMNT versions except for the movies
and live action series
.
which caused him to mutate into a humanoid and intelligent being.
Living with the Utroms, Leatherhead ended up being separated from his "family" when the TCRI building self-destructed. The now homeless Leatherhead was forced to live in the sewers where he was continually attacked by a big-game hunter called Mr. Marlin. During one attack by the hunter, Leatherhead met the Turtles. Aiding Leatherhead in defeating the hunter, the Turtles decided to allow Leatherhead to live in their old home.
Eventually four Foot Clan
ninjas encountered an eye-patch-wearing Leatherhead in the sewers. Fearing that Leatherhead would kill them, the ninjas tried to get on Leatherhead's good side by promising to aid him in creating his Transmat Device. Accepting the help, Leatherhead and the ninjas set to work creating the Transmat, only to be interrupted by the Turtles. After a brief skirmish, the Turtles learned that the Foot ninjas were actually helping Leatherhead. Embarrassed by the incident the Turtles decided to aid the mutant alligator. Eventually the Transmat Device was complete, so Leatherhead could finally reach the Utrom Homeworld. Unfortunately instead of teleporting Leatherhead, the device simply blew up in his face. This failure was too much for Leatherhead to handle and in a fit of rage, Leatherhead killed his two Foot assistants and vowed revenge on the Turtles, whom he blamed for wrecking his attempt to get "home."
Leatherhead later resurfaced in Volume 4. He makes an appearance at Master Splinter's funeral. He is then seen wrestling a mutated Raphael in the sewers before swimming off. It is unknown what his current relationship with the Turtles is, but Raphael's comment that he hopes he didn't hurt Leatherhead would make it seem as if they're at least on good terms.
He has also appeared in two issues of Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Volume 2. In issue eight, a mentally unstable and delusional Leatherhead is discovered by Raphael to be building another Transmat Device. Leatherhead seems to harbor an insane grudge against Donatello, and nearly kills Raphael when he mistakes him for Donatello (all four TMNT wear red bandanas in this version). Once the Transmat Device was finished, it suddenly kicked into operation and causes three Utroms to appear; these Utroms blast Leatherhead with a ray gun, and take him away, destroying the Transmat Device as they leave.
In issue twenty-three, the Turtles are recruited by the Utroms to save Leatherhead from a renegade group of Utrom radicals called "The Illuminated," the same ones who took him away in issue eight, in attempts to clone him into an army of mutants to aid in their world "cleansing" agenda. It is revealed that the Illuminated where secretly drugging Leatherhead, which caused him to subconsciously build the second Transmat Device he was working on in issue eight, then wake up and remember little. It also caused his missing eye to heal and gave him a massive increase in size. The Turtles rescue Leatherhead, defeated the clones, and aided in the destruction of the Illuminated. Leatherhead returns to Earth with the Turtles rather than going back to the Utrom home world. These events all take place between Volumes 2 and 4 of the Mirage series.
It is interesting to note that in the past, at several comic conventions, Leatherhead creator Ryan Brown has said he initially intended to kill the character off at the end of Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Vol. 1, #6 by having the gator-man tumble into the underground gorge with the evil big game hunter but Turtle's creator Peter Laird nixed the idea opting to have Leatherhead survive and return to the sewers with the Turtles.
Brown returns to plot his creation after 19 years in the September 2007 issue of Tales of the TMNT. Out for a swim, Leatherhead encounters a group of aliens called Sigmurethites and attacks them. The alligator-man's Utrom guardian Dr. X also appears in this issue in a female scientist's exoskeleton.
After two children are found slain and half-eaten in the sewers Leonardo comes to believe that Leatherhead may have been responsible. Tracking down Leatherhead, Leonardo was surprised to find the mutant alligator unconscious and bound. Before he could free Leatherhead, Leonardo was attacked by King Komodo and his Monitor lizard
minions, the actual killers of the children.
Engaging King Komodo in battle, Leonardo successfully managed to kill King Komodo's minions, only to end-up being knocked unconscious with his hand bitten off. Waking up hours later, Leonardo managed to free Leatherhead and the two, with help from Michelangelo and Casey Jones managed to defeat King Komodo.
Afterwards Leatherhead, his feud with the Turtles forgotten, introduced them to Dr. X, an Utrom left behind from when the TCRI building collapsed. Together with Dr. X and the Turtles, Leatherhead managed to assemble a new Transmat Device, unfortunately, energy projected from the device ended-up luring a group of Triceratons to Leatherhead's lair.
Engaging the Triceratons in battle with the Turtles, Leatherhead managed to viciously maul several of them. Unfortunately, while battling the last remaining Triceraton, Dr. X and Leatherhead's Transmat Device malfunctioned and transported Leatherhead and the unnamed Triceraton to parts unknown.
, Leatherhead is an enemy of the Turtles who fought them on several different occasions. He started off as a giant alligator until he swam through a Mutagen-polluted (thanks to a previous botched mission by Krang
& Shredder, the one that gave birth to the Punk Frogs) part of the swamp where he mutated to his current humanoid form. He resides in the swamp area of Florida, commonly known as the Everglades. He hunted the turtle's allies, the Punk Frogs (Napoleon, Ghengis, Attila, and Rasputin) and then went after them. He then hunted the Turtles on their own turf in the sewer. While he searches for the Turtles, he also meets the Rat King
(whom he describes, in a Cajun
accent, as "a few shrimp shy of a boatload") and wrestles him to the ground before he tried to fight against the Turtles. Later, he partnered up with the Rat King
, after their attempts to kill each other failed, to eliminate the Turtles. In one episode called "Night of the Rogues," Shredder hired him and the Rat King
along with Slash, Tempestra, Antrax, Scumbug, and Chrome Dome to help him and Krang destroy the Turtles. His overall clothing is a vest, rubber waders (rubber pants that go over boots & regular pants, held up by straps over shoulders), and a beat up hat; he speaks in a cajun
accent. He usually carries bear traps & large crayfish on his person. He is depicted as survivalist and tracker. Original creator Ryan Brown
went back and redesigned his Leatherhead character for this particular incarnation of the Ninja Turtles.
Leatherhead was originally voiced by Jim Cummings
who also, coincidentally, went on to voice more of Brown's characters, such as the Dakota Dude and Saddlesore Scorpion from the Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa. Peter Renaday
voiced him in the episode "Night of the Rogues".
, where he starts as a poor human named Jess Harley who lived in the swamp
s, and became transformed when the "witch" Mary Bones used the Turnstone on him. At first Shredder lures Leatherhead to work with him until Leatherhead discovers that the Shredder is a villain
. Leatherhead later becomes a wrestling hero at the Stump Asteroid and later a member of The Mighty Mutanimals
. He and the other members of that group were killed before the end of the Archie Comics run with the Turtles characters.
Ryan Brown, at different convention appearances, has stated that his character Jess Harley is an homage
to his favorite actor, Lance Henriksen
, and is named after two characters from his favorite films, Jesse Hucker in Near Dark
and Ed Harley from Pumpkinhead
.
in season 4 and 7 as the voice doubles of Michael Clarke Duncan
.
Going back to his original black and white beginnings in the 6th issue of the 1987 Mirage Studio's comic Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Leatherhead was originally an exotic pet who got flushed down to the sewer, somehow ending up in an Utrom base. After being exposed to the same mutagen that would eventually change the Turtles, Leatherhead became a massive, humanoid croc. With intelligence mirroring that of Donatello's, he lived with the Utroms whom he considered his family. He was accidentally left behind during the Shredder's attack, which forced the Utroms to flee Earth. In his desperation to return to his family, he befriended Baxter Stockman
and helped him create a new body while working on a transmat device so he could rejoin the Utroms. Leatherhead eventually met and befriended Michelangelo who found him living in the Turtles' old lair. After a battle between the Turtles and Stockman, Leatherhead learned that Stockman worked for the Shredder and attacked him. The resulting battle caused a cave-in, and despite Michelangelo's pleas for him to follow them, Leatherhead seemingly gave his life for his new friends.
Leatherhead later reappeared, surviving because of his tough skin, as a prisoner and object of experimentation in the lab of Agent Bishop. After being freed by the Turtles, he helped his old friends escape, and for a time lived in the Turtles' lair. However, Leatherhead's animal rages, already dangerous, were made more so by Bishop's experimentation. While in blind animal rage, Leatherhead struck Michelangelo, and woke up to believe that he had killed his friend.
Leaving the Turtles, a depressed Leatherhead found himself hunted by an extreme game hunter, Mr. Marlin, through the sewers. Luckily, he was saved by his friends who refused to give up on him and was delighted to discover Michelangelo was alive and well. In the end, he chose to live away from his friends due to his affliction, living in a nearby chamber (an abandoned subway station resembling the Turtles' lair from the second and third TMNT movies) so he would always be nearby, but still able to ensure their safety.
Leatherhead appeared several more times to help the Turtles, primarily in their battles with the Foot and Agent Bishop. He even joined them in attacking the Shredder's secret launch pad, and attacked his family's enemy with unmatched fury. However, the Shredder's minion Hun got in the way, and the two fell into the silo. Both survived, and Leatherhead returned to his lair. He is later revealed to have helped Donatello create the Monster Hunter gear used by the Turtles against Bishop's mutant creatures. He is also shown to have formed a deep friendship with Don, and is deeply saddened when his friend is mutated and he cannot cure him.
Leatherhead worked together with the other Turtles to capture Donatello. Soon after, he helped them penetrate Bishop's headquarters at Area 51. There, he was forced to fight the mutated Donatello. Reminded of the trauma he had suffered, he was tempted to extract revenge on Bishop but managed to control his anger with the help of his friends. He then went on to prove his brilliance by using Bishop's resources to devise a cure for Bishop's outbreak, despite his personal grudge against the man.
Leatherhead appears in the Season 7 episode "Wedding Bells and Bytes" as a guest at Casey and April's wedding at Casey's grandmother's farm. He remarks to Angel that he always cries at weddings. During the Foot attack, he helps save the other guests as the barn collapses and then helps fight the Foot.
Leatherhead is, here, rather reminiscent of another sauran scientific genius in comicdom, The Lizard
. Both are brilliant scientists who struggle constantly with a bestial nature and violent outbursts. Also, Leatherhead wears a lab coat that is torn a bit at one sleeve, very reminiscent of Dr. Connors' missing arm (in human form).
as a boss in the sewer level; his appearance is that of his action figure. He also appears in both the arcade & SNES versions of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time
, as the boss in the train level; in the Xbox Live
Arcade remake, he is voiced by Michael Sinterniklaas
. He also appears as the first boss in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist
. In these appearances his appearance is that of his cartoon counterpart from the original animated series.
Leatherhead has also made an appearance as a boss in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: Battle Nexus
, although the cutscene shows him as an ally. We see the cave-in caused by Stockman that causes Leatherhead to be buried beneath what remains of the Turtles' old lair. He also is the final combatant in the Monster open Tournament.
In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3: Mutant Nightmare
, Leatherhead is shown in the background in a cutscene
near the end of Episode 1. There is no reason given why he is there in space with the Turtles, Casey, and April. In reality, this is because the scene was taken directly from the cartoon, where he was with them for some time. Leatherhead does appear in the DS version of the game as a boss fight and in a level or two where he teams up with the TMNT.
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
al character
Character (arts)
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are a fictional team of four teenage anthropomorphic turtles, who were trained by their anthropomorphic rat sensei in the art of ninjutsu and named after four Renaissance artists...
series. He was created in 1987 by Mirage Studios
Mirage Studios
Mirage Studios is an independent American comic book company founded in 1983 by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, based in Northampton, Massachusetts and best known for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic book series.-History:...
artist Ryan Brown
Ryan Brown (comics)
Ryan Brown is a comic book artist best known for his work on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.-Career:Brown began inking the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in 1985 and continued until 1988, when he and partner Steve Lavigne began producing artwork for licensed TMNT products...
, who also went on to create the Saturday morning cartoon
Saturday morning cartoon
A Saturday morning cartoon is the colloquial term for the animated television programming that has typically been scheduled on Saturday mornings on the major American television networks from the 1960s to the present; the genre's peak in popularity mostly ended in the 1990s while the popularity of...
series Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa
Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa
Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa is an American animated television series created by comic book artist Ryan Brown, known for his work on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The show was produced by King World and ABC's Greengrass Productions and animated by Gunther-Wahl Productions for its first season...
for the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
television network. He is a mutated
Mutation
In molecular biology and genetics, mutations are changes in a genomic sequence: the DNA sequence of a cell's genome or the DNA or RNA sequence of a virus. They can be defined as sudden and spontaneous changes in the cell. Mutations are caused by radiation, viruses, transposons and mutagenic...
, anthropomorphic
Anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is any attribution of human characteristics to animals, non-living things, phenomena, material states, objects or abstract concepts, such as organizations, governments, spirits or deities. The term was coined in the mid 1700s...
alligator
Alligator
An alligator is a crocodilian in the genus Alligator of the family Alligatoridae. There are two extant alligator species: the American alligator and the Chinese alligator ....
and appears in all TMNT versions except for the movies
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (film series)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a film franchise based on the comic book series of the same name by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird.- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles :...
and live action series
Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation
Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation or Saban's Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation is an American live-action television series produced by Saban Entertainment, which ran on the Fox Kids network from 1997 to 1998. The short-lived series was based loosely from Mirage Studios' Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles...
.
Mirage Comics
Originally Leatherhead was nothing more than an infant alligator which had somehow found its way into the sewers. While in the sewers, Leatherhead was found by a group of TCRI Utroms who decided to bring the creature to their headquarters. During his stay with the Utroms, Leatherhead was exposed to MutagenMutagen
In genetics, a mutagen is a physical or chemical agent that changes the genetic material, usually DNA, of an organism and thus increases the frequency of mutations above the natural background level. As many mutations cause cancer, mutagens are therefore also likely to be carcinogens...
which caused him to mutate into a humanoid and intelligent being.
Living with the Utroms, Leatherhead ended up being separated from his "family" when the TCRI building self-destructed. The now homeless Leatherhead was forced to live in the sewers where he was continually attacked by a big-game hunter called Mr. Marlin. During one attack by the hunter, Leatherhead met the Turtles. Aiding Leatherhead in defeating the hunter, the Turtles decided to allow Leatherhead to live in their old home.
Eventually four Foot Clan
Foot Clan
The Foot Clan is a fictional ninjutsu clan in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles universe and the Turtles' main antagonists. It is usually led by the Shredder. The Foot Clan was originally a parody of the criminal ninja clan the Hand in the Daredevil comics...
ninjas encountered an eye-patch-wearing Leatherhead in the sewers. Fearing that Leatherhead would kill them, the ninjas tried to get on Leatherhead's good side by promising to aid him in creating his Transmat Device. Accepting the help, Leatherhead and the ninjas set to work creating the Transmat, only to be interrupted by the Turtles. After a brief skirmish, the Turtles learned that the Foot ninjas were actually helping Leatherhead. Embarrassed by the incident the Turtles decided to aid the mutant alligator. Eventually the Transmat Device was complete, so Leatherhead could finally reach the Utrom Homeworld. Unfortunately instead of teleporting Leatherhead, the device simply blew up in his face. This failure was too much for Leatherhead to handle and in a fit of rage, Leatherhead killed his two Foot assistants and vowed revenge on the Turtles, whom he blamed for wrecking his attempt to get "home."
Leatherhead later resurfaced in Volume 4. He makes an appearance at Master Splinter's funeral. He is then seen wrestling a mutated Raphael in the sewers before swimming off. It is unknown what his current relationship with the Turtles is, but Raphael's comment that he hopes he didn't hurt Leatherhead would make it seem as if they're at least on good terms.
He has also appeared in two issues of Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is an anthology comic book series published by Mirage Studios presenting additional stories featuring the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and their supporting cast as a companion book to the main Turtles series filling in the gaps of continuity in the TMNT...
Volume 2. In issue eight, a mentally unstable and delusional Leatherhead is discovered by Raphael to be building another Transmat Device. Leatherhead seems to harbor an insane grudge against Donatello, and nearly kills Raphael when he mistakes him for Donatello (all four TMNT wear red bandanas in this version). Once the Transmat Device was finished, it suddenly kicked into operation and causes three Utroms to appear; these Utroms blast Leatherhead with a ray gun, and take him away, destroying the Transmat Device as they leave.
In issue twenty-three, the Turtles are recruited by the Utroms to save Leatherhead from a renegade group of Utrom radicals called "The Illuminated," the same ones who took him away in issue eight, in attempts to clone him into an army of mutants to aid in their world "cleansing" agenda. It is revealed that the Illuminated where secretly drugging Leatherhead, which caused him to subconsciously build the second Transmat Device he was working on in issue eight, then wake up and remember little. It also caused his missing eye to heal and gave him a massive increase in size. The Turtles rescue Leatherhead, defeated the clones, and aided in the destruction of the Illuminated. Leatherhead returns to Earth with the Turtles rather than going back to the Utrom home world. These events all take place between Volumes 2 and 4 of the Mirage series.
It is interesting to note that in the past, at several comic conventions, Leatherhead creator Ryan Brown has said he initially intended to kill the character off at the end of Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is an anthology comic book series published by Mirage Studios presenting additional stories featuring the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and their supporting cast as a companion book to the main Turtles series filling in the gaps of continuity in the TMNT...
Vol. 1, #6 by having the gator-man tumble into the underground gorge with the evil big game hunter but Turtle's creator Peter Laird nixed the idea opting to have Leatherhead survive and return to the sewers with the Turtles.
Brown returns to plot his creation after 19 years in the September 2007 issue of Tales of the TMNT. Out for a swim, Leatherhead encounters a group of aliens called Sigmurethites and attacks them. The alligator-man's Utrom guardian Dr. X also appears in this issue in a female scientist's exoskeleton.
Image Comics (Volume 3)
Monitor lizard
Monitor lizards are usually large reptiles, although some can be as small as in length. They have long necks, powerful tails and claws, and well-developed limbs. Most species are terrestrial, but arboreal and semiaquatic monitors are also known...
minions, the actual killers of the children.
Engaging King Komodo in battle, Leonardo successfully managed to kill King Komodo's minions, only to end-up being knocked unconscious with his hand bitten off. Waking up hours later, Leonardo managed to free Leatherhead and the two, with help from Michelangelo and Casey Jones managed to defeat King Komodo.
Afterwards Leatherhead, his feud with the Turtles forgotten, introduced them to Dr. X, an Utrom left behind from when the TCRI building collapsed. Together with Dr. X and the Turtles, Leatherhead managed to assemble a new Transmat Device, unfortunately, energy projected from the device ended-up luring a group of Triceratons to Leatherhead's lair.
Engaging the Triceratons in battle with the Turtles, Leatherhead managed to viciously maul several of them. Unfortunately, while battling the last remaining Triceraton, Dr. X and Leatherhead's Transmat Device malfunctioned and transported Leatherhead and the unnamed Triceraton to parts unknown.
1987-1996 animated series
In the 1987 seriesTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987 TV series)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is an American animated television series produced by Murakami-Wolf-Swenson. The pilot was shown during the week of December 28, 1987 in syndication as a five part miniseries and began its official run on October 1, 1988...
, Leatherhead is an enemy of the Turtles who fought them on several different occasions. He started off as a giant alligator until he swam through a Mutagen-polluted (thanks to a previous botched mission by Krang
Krang
Krang is a fictional supervillain who appears in the Sonic The Hedgehog TV shows and most frequently in the 1987 STH cartoon and its associated media, such as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures comic book and most of the classic TMNT video games....
& Shredder, the one that gave birth to the Punk Frogs) part of the swamp where he mutated to his current humanoid form. He resides in the swamp area of Florida, commonly known as the Everglades. He hunted the turtle's allies, the Punk Frogs (Napoleon, Ghengis, Attila, and Rasputin) and then went after them. He then hunted the Turtles on their own turf in the sewer. While he searches for the Turtles, he also meets the Rat King
Rat King
The Rat King is a fictional character from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles multimedia franchise. The character was created by Jim Lawson and first appeared in the comic Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #4 written by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird and has made various appearances since, in...
(whom he describes, in a Cajun
Cajun
Cajuns are an ethnic group mainly living in the U.S. state of Louisiana, consisting of the descendants of Acadian exiles...
accent, as "a few shrimp shy of a boatload") and wrestles him to the ground before he tried to fight against the Turtles. Later, he partnered up with the Rat King
Rat King
The Rat King is a fictional character from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles multimedia franchise. The character was created by Jim Lawson and first appeared in the comic Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #4 written by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird and has made various appearances since, in...
, after their attempts to kill each other failed, to eliminate the Turtles. In one episode called "Night of the Rogues," Shredder hired him and the Rat King
Rat King
The Rat King is a fictional character from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles multimedia franchise. The character was created by Jim Lawson and first appeared in the comic Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #4 written by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird and has made various appearances since, in...
along with Slash, Tempestra, Antrax, Scumbug, and Chrome Dome to help him and Krang destroy the Turtles. His overall clothing is a vest, rubber waders (rubber pants that go over boots & regular pants, held up by straps over shoulders), and a beat up hat; he speaks in a cajun
Cajun
Cajuns are an ethnic group mainly living in the U.S. state of Louisiana, consisting of the descendants of Acadian exiles...
accent. He usually carries bear traps & large crayfish on his person. He is depicted as survivalist and tracker. Original creator Ryan Brown
Ryan Brown (comics)
Ryan Brown is a comic book artist best known for his work on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.-Career:Brown began inking the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in 1985 and continued until 1988, when he and partner Steve Lavigne began producing artwork for licensed TMNT products...
went back and redesigned his Leatherhead character for this particular incarnation of the Ninja Turtles.
Leatherhead was originally voiced by Jim Cummings
Jim Cummings
James Jonah "Jim" Cummings is an American voice actor who has appeared in almost 100 roles. He has appeared in classic animated movies such as Aladdin and The Lion King, as well as taking on roles in more current films, such as Bee Movie, Princess and the Frog, and Winnie the Pooh.-Personal...
who also, coincidentally, went on to voice more of Brown's characters, such as the Dakota Dude and Saddlesore Scorpion from the Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa. Peter Renaday
Peter Renaday
Peter Renaday is an American voice actor.-Film:*The Aristocats as the truck driver*Scooby-Doo and the Witch's Ghost as Mr.McKnight-TV series:*Angel as The Beast's Master...
voiced him in the episode "Night of the Rogues".
Archie Comics
Leatherhead starts as an animal mutated by mutagen in all versions except from the Archie TMNT Adventures ComicsTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures was a comic book series published from August 1988 to October 1995 by Archie Comics. It is mainly based on the stories of the mutant turtles Donatello, Leonardo, Michaelangelo, Raphael, and their rat sensei Splinter...
, where he starts as a poor human named Jess Harley who lived in the swamp
Swamp
A swamp is a wetland with some flooding of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water. A swamp generally has a large number of hammocks, or dry-land protrusions, covered by aquatic vegetation, or vegetation that tolerates periodical inundation. The two main types of swamp are "true" or swamp...
s, and became transformed when the "witch" Mary Bones used the Turnstone on him. At first Shredder lures Leatherhead to work with him until Leatherhead discovers that the Shredder is a villain
Villain
A villain is an "evil" character in a story, whether a historical narrative or, especially, a work of fiction. The villain usually is the antagonist, the character who tends to have a negative effect on other characters...
. Leatherhead later becomes a wrestling hero at the Stump Asteroid and later a member of The Mighty Mutanimals
The Mighty Mutanimals
Mighty Mutanimals was a comic book spin-off from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures distributed by Archie Comics. The Mutanimals were a team of mutant animals who were allies of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles....
. He and the other members of that group were killed before the end of the Archie Comics run with the Turtles characters.
Ryan Brown, at different convention appearances, has stated that his character Jess Harley is an homage
Homage
Homage is a show or demonstration of respect or dedication to someone or something, sometimes by simple declaration but often by some more oblique reference, artistic or poetic....
to his favorite actor, Lance Henriksen
Lance Henriksen
Lance James Henriksen is an American actor and artist best known to film and television audiences for his roles in science fiction, action, and horror films such as the Alien film franchise, and on television shows such as Millennium....
, and is named after two characters from his favorite films, Jesse Hucker in Near Dark
Near Dark
Near Dark is an American vampire/Western horror film, written by Eric Red and Kathryn Bigelow, and directed by Bigelow. The story follows a young man in a small midwestern town who becomes involved with a family of nomadic American vampires...
and Ed Harley from Pumpkinhead
Pumpkinhead
Pumpkinhead is a 1988 supernatural horror film. It was the directorial debut of noted special effects artist Stan Winston. While Pumpkinhead received mixed reviews, the film has built up a cult following in the years since its release.-Plot:...
.
2003 animated series
In the 2003 series, Leatherhead is shown as a friend of the Turtles and is often referred to as "LH." He is voiced by F.B. Owens in seasons 2 and 3 and by Gary LewisGary Lewis
Gary Lewis may refer to:* Gary Lewis , son of Jerry Lewis and lead singer of Gary Lewis & the Playboys* Gary Lewis , Scottish actor...
in season 4 and 7 as the voice doubles of Michael Clarke Duncan
Michael Clarke Duncan
Michael Clarke Duncan is an American actor, best known for his breakout role as John Coffey in The Green Mile, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe.- Early life :...
.
Going back to his original black and white beginnings in the 6th issue of the 1987 Mirage Studio's comic Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Leatherhead was originally an exotic pet who got flushed down to the sewer, somehow ending up in an Utrom base. After being exposed to the same mutagen that would eventually change the Turtles, Leatherhead became a massive, humanoid croc. With intelligence mirroring that of Donatello's, he lived with the Utroms whom he considered his family. He was accidentally left behind during the Shredder's attack, which forced the Utroms to flee Earth. In his desperation to return to his family, he befriended Baxter Stockman
Baxter Stockman
Dr. Baxter Stockman is a fictional scientist who has appeared in several versions of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles shows, videogames, and comics. In each version, he is depicted as the creator of the Mousers, machines meant to seek out and destroy sewer rats...
and helped him create a new body while working on a transmat device so he could rejoin the Utroms. Leatherhead eventually met and befriended Michelangelo who found him living in the Turtles' old lair. After a battle between the Turtles and Stockman, Leatherhead learned that Stockman worked for the Shredder and attacked him. The resulting battle caused a cave-in, and despite Michelangelo's pleas for him to follow them, Leatherhead seemingly gave his life for his new friends.
Leatherhead later reappeared, surviving because of his tough skin, as a prisoner and object of experimentation in the lab of Agent Bishop. After being freed by the Turtles, he helped his old friends escape, and for a time lived in the Turtles' lair. However, Leatherhead's animal rages, already dangerous, were made more so by Bishop's experimentation. While in blind animal rage, Leatherhead struck Michelangelo, and woke up to believe that he had killed his friend.
Leaving the Turtles, a depressed Leatherhead found himself hunted by an extreme game hunter, Mr. Marlin, through the sewers. Luckily, he was saved by his friends who refused to give up on him and was delighted to discover Michelangelo was alive and well. In the end, he chose to live away from his friends due to his affliction, living in a nearby chamber (an abandoned subway station resembling the Turtles' lair from the second and third TMNT movies) so he would always be nearby, but still able to ensure their safety.
Leatherhead appeared several more times to help the Turtles, primarily in their battles with the Foot and Agent Bishop. He even joined them in attacking the Shredder's secret launch pad, and attacked his family's enemy with unmatched fury. However, the Shredder's minion Hun got in the way, and the two fell into the silo. Both survived, and Leatherhead returned to his lair. He is later revealed to have helped Donatello create the Monster Hunter gear used by the Turtles against Bishop's mutant creatures. He is also shown to have formed a deep friendship with Don, and is deeply saddened when his friend is mutated and he cannot cure him.
Leatherhead worked together with the other Turtles to capture Donatello. Soon after, he helped them penetrate Bishop's headquarters at Area 51. There, he was forced to fight the mutated Donatello. Reminded of the trauma he had suffered, he was tempted to extract revenge on Bishop but managed to control his anger with the help of his friends. He then went on to prove his brilliance by using Bishop's resources to devise a cure for Bishop's outbreak, despite his personal grudge against the man.
Leatherhead appears in the Season 7 episode "Wedding Bells and Bytes" as a guest at Casey and April's wedding at Casey's grandmother's farm. He remarks to Angel that he always cries at weddings. During the Foot attack, he helps save the other guests as the barn collapses and then helps fight the Foot.
Leatherhead is, here, rather reminiscent of another sauran scientific genius in comicdom, The Lizard
Lizard (comics)
The Lizard is a fictional character, a supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe and enemy of Spider-Man. The Lizard first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #6 , and was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko...
. Both are brilliant scientists who struggle constantly with a bestial nature and violent outbursts. Also, Leatherhead wears a lab coat that is torn a bit at one sleeve, very reminiscent of Dr. Connors' missing arm (in human form).
Video game appearances
Leatherhead made an appearance in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan ProjectTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project, released as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: The Manhattan Project in Japan, is a side-scrolling beat-'em-up released by Konami for the Nintendo Entertainment System in North America in...
as a boss in the sewer level; his appearance is that of his action figure. He also appears in both the arcade & SNES versions of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time, released as Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles: Turtles in Time in Europe, is an arcade video game produced by Konami. A sequel to the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles arcade game, it is a scrolling beat 'em up based mainly on the 1987 TMNT animated...
, as the boss in the train level; in the Xbox Live
Xbox Live
Xbox Live is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft Corporation. It is currently the only online gaming service on consoles that charges users a fee to play multiplayer gaming. It was first made available to the Xbox system in 2002...
Arcade remake, he is voiced by Michael Sinterniklaas
Michael Sinterniklaas
Michael Tremain Sinterniklaas is a Dutch American actor, voice actor, ADR Director and script writer who has worked for Viz Media, Bandai Entertainment, Funimation Entertainment, DuArt Film and Video, 4Kids Entertainment, and Tripwire Productions...
. He also appears as the first boss in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist, released in Europe as Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist and in Japan as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Return of the Shredder is a side-scrolling beat 'em up based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise, and was also the...
. In these appearances his appearance is that of his cartoon counterpart from the original animated series.
Leatherhead has also made an appearance as a boss in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: Battle Nexus
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: Battle Nexus
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: Battle Nexus is a video game of the top-down beat 'em up genre released in 2004 by Konami. The game is based on the 2003 TV series....
, although the cutscene shows him as an ally. We see the cave-in caused by Stockman that causes Leatherhead to be buried beneath what remains of the Turtles' old lair. He also is the final combatant in the Monster open Tournament.
In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3: Mutant Nightmare
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3: Mutant Nightmare
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3: Mutant Nightmare is a video game published by Konami for the PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox, and Nintendo DS, featuring the crime-fighting heroes, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It is the last TMNT game to be made by Konami.It is the first Teenage Mutant Ninja...
, Leatherhead is shown in the background in a cutscene
Cutscene
A cutscene is a sequence in a video game over which the player has no or only limited control, breaking up the gameplay and used to advance the plot, strengthen the main character's development, introduces enemy characters, and provide background information, atmosphere, dialogue, and clues...
near the end of Episode 1. There is no reason given why he is there in space with the Turtles, Casey, and April. In reality, this is because the scene was taken directly from the cartoon, where he was with them for some time. Leatherhead does appear in the DS version of the game as a boss fight and in a level or two where he teams up with the TMNT.