Every Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Fighter Ranked From Weakest to Strongest

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have fought everything from street level criminals and mutant monsters to alien warlords and some of the greatest martial artists on the planet. I decided to take 20 of the biggest characters in the franchise and rank them from weakest to strongest, and the character who ends up on top might surprise you.

20. April O'Neil holds her own against Footbots but not much else

April O'Neil might be a core part of the Turtles franchise, but at the end of the day she is a reporter at her absolute best. She has been able to hold her own against Footbots, and that is about it. She would not walk away from a fight with anyone higher on this list. She is here because I could not really make the list without her, not because she is an amazing fighter.

19. Hun depends entirely on which version you mean

Ranking Hun really depends on which version I am talking about. The 2003 Hun has been able to fight all four turtles at once and hold his own, making him genuinely dangerous and an elite fighter. The 2012 Hun, on the other hand, loses fights to Casey Jones repeatedly and is really just a minor villain. That is a pretty big discrepancy between the two, so for this spot I am using 2012 Hun, which is why he lands so low.

18. Casey Jones fights mutants and ninjas with nothing but sports gear

Casey Jones is just a regular guy in a hockey mask battling with sports gear. No powers, no ninja training, yet somehow he is constantly able to battle against mutants and ninjas, hold his own, and win the fight.

17. Baxter Stockman might be the turtles' original nemesis

While Shredder is obviously the Ninja Turtles' most iconic villain, you could argue that Baxter Stockman is actually the turtles' original nemesis. Sometimes Stockman transforms into a mutated fly and battles the Ninja Turtles himself. Most of the time he just ends up making their lives miserable thanks to his mouser robots and other mechanical monsters.

16. Agent Bishop brings gunfu skill and a mysterious background

Agent Bishop is part of the Earth Protection Force, formed to protect the Earth from alien threats and battle against the Utroms, the Triceratons, and even the Turtles. He is a genuinely skilled fighter, especially with his gunfu fighting style, and has been able to battle against Casey Jones, the Turtles, and even Shredder. Agent Bishop has always been a bit of a mystery, and in some versions that mystery is even revealed to be an Utrom in disguise himself.

15. Bebop tosses cars around but keeps losing to the turtles

Bebop is a mutant warthog strong enough to toss cars around and open up with automatic gunfire. On paper he sounds like he should be a lot higher and stronger on this list. Here is the problem: Bebop consistently loses against the turtles. For all his power and all his feats, he is just a dumb pig who struggles to win a fight, and that is the whole character.

14. Rocksteady gets the slight edge over Bebop as the rhino of the pair

Rocksteady has the same story and the same losing record as Bebop. It is kind of hard to get a clear read on which one of these two is actually more powerful. They are kind of a package deal, but I give the slight edge to the rhino over the warthog.

13. Karai can hang with the turtles but not with Shredder

Karai is Shredder's top enforcer as well as his daughter, and in some versions occasionally Master Splinter's secret daughter. Either way, she is one of the greatest swordsmen out there, and her feats back it up. She has been able to battle against all the turtles, consistently squares off with Leonardo, and in some versions is enhanced further when mutagen turns her into a snake woman.

Even so, Karai clearly has her limits. She has a whole lot of trouble landing a single hit on Shredder even when he is holding back, and as soon as he stops holding back, the fight is over in one move.

12. Tigerclaw beats every turtle except the two at the very top

Tigerclaw is known as the greatest assassin in all of Asia and Shredder's most dangerous enforcer, and he has the feats to back that up. He has beaten all four turtles on their own, and he has taken on the entire Mighty Mutanimals, including Leatherhead and Rockwell, all at once. He has also been able to fight against Alopex, a bullet timing opponent.

Really, the only two fighters able to consistently beat Tigerclaw are the two at the very top of this list.

11. Jennika went from human assassin to fifth turtle

Jennika's story is a little bit crazy. She started out as a fully human Foot Clan assassin, no mutation at all, and was already a dangerous enough fighter to take on all four turtles simultaneously. She was then injured and needed a blood transfusion from the turtles, and Leonardo's blood actually turned her into the fifth turtle. So basically she was a human who could already hang with the whole team, and now she is a super mutant turtle on top of that.

10. Leatherhead has briefly overpowered Shredder himself

Leatherhead is typically a gentle giant, but do not let that fool you, because he is an absolute wrecking ball when he wants to be. He has beaten all four turtles in a straight fight, and he has briefly overpowered Shredder himself, the guy who casually stomps all four turtles at once. Every time Leatherhead has been put down, it typically takes extra tools or weapons, or Splinter personally stepping in and stopping it.

9. Krang is nearly impossible to rank because of his different forms

Krang might be the hardest character on this entire list to rank, because it is not clear what exactly is being ranked. The little pink brain, the giant android body, and the Technodrome are all different answers. Krang himself is basically helpless. Put him inside his android body, though, and now he is strong enough to actually throw down with the turtles.

If I were ranking the Technodrome and everything that comes with it, forget number nine, that would be a threat that could be number one easily. For this list I am ranking Krang with his standard exo suit, otherwise it gets pretty ridiculous pretty quickly.

8. Metalhead overpowers other machines but can be overwhelmed by enough of them

Metalhead is basically what happens when Donatello decides the team needs a fifth turtle and then builds one out of metal. He is a reprogrammed combat robot designed to go toe to toe with threats that would normally overpower the turtles, and because of that he has been able to overpower other Mechazoids and literally throw them around.

We have also seen his limit. Get enough machines on him at once and Metalhead can be overwhelmed and torn apart, since he does not have the skill to fight all of them at once. So he is stronger and tougher than the average turtle in a straightforward fight, he is just not the better fighter, and he is not completely unstoppable. Everyone else on this list, though, is genuinely dangerous.

7. Donatello's real advantage is his brain, not his fighting

Somebody has to come in last among the four brothers, and most of the time it is Donnie. That is not meant as an insult, because at the end of the day Donatello is still a Ninja Turtle trained by Splinter. He is stronger, faster, and more dangerous than almost everyone else in the franchise. Compared specifically to his brothers, though, Donnie usually is not seen as the powerhouse.

Raph has the strength, Leo is the best fighter, and Mikey has the most talent. Donnie's real advantage is the brain between his ears. Give him his staff and nothing else and he is still elite. Give him five minutes in a lab, though, and now he is building something that can fight anyone else.

6. Slash is stronger and tougher than the turtles, full stop

Slash is what happens when Raphael's pet turtle gets mutated and apparently decides that violence is the answer to everything. This dude is massive. He has punched Raph through walls, he carries a mace that April cannot even lift, and his shell can shrug off gunfire. He can straight up tear into a tank with his claws, and he has even beaten Leo and Raphael at the same time.

When the turtles finally do bring him down, they still cannot overpower him. Instead they have to use pressure point techniques, basically outskilling him because trying to out muscle him never works. At the end of the day, Slash is just stronger and tougher than the turtles.

5. Michelangelo is the most naturally gifted fighter of the four brothers

Mikey is the turtle everybody underestimates. He acts like an idiot, he acts like he does not care, but do not let that fool you, because underneath all the pizza jokes, Michelangelo might be the most naturally gifted fighter out of the four. He has beaten Raphael one on one, and his speed and agility let him compete with pretty much anyone.

It is not that Mikey can never reach Leonardo's skill level. It is that he does not have Leo's discipline, and that is a huge difference, because when Michelangelo actually locks in, the goofy little brother suddenly becomes one of the hardest turtles to beat. He is not the strongest, and he is not the most technical, but for pure natural talent, Mikey is number one.

4. Raphael has the most raw strength but also the most temper

If I am talking raw strength and physicality among the brothers, I have to take Raphael. He is the bruiser of the group, the guy who is totally fine ending fights as violently and viciously as possible. Against pretty much any version of the Ninja Turtles, Raphael consistently has some of the best pure strength feats among the brothers, and when he gets angry, he can easily overwhelm fighters who can normally keep up with him.

Ironically, that anger is exactly why he is not number one. Raph can hit harder than Leo, he can overpower Donnie and Mikey, and he can turn around any fight just by getting mad enough, but then five seconds later he will make a terrible decision because he is just too angry to stop. That has always been the trade off: more strength than almost anyone, but without control that strength can get him into trouble.

3. Leonardo is the best fighter, not the strongest or the smartest

Leonardo is not necessarily the strongest turtle, the smartest, or even the most talented, but he does not need to be, because he is the best fighter. He is the most disciplined, the most consistent, and the turtle Splinter trusts most when everything goes completely sideways. Leo has some absolutely ridiculous feats, like dropping Tigerclaw and holding off Krang Prime, and ultimately he is the turtle who defeats Super Shredder.

That is the difference between Leo and his brothers. Raph hits harder, Mikey has more talent, Donnie is obviously smarter, but when everybody is exhausted and everything has gone wrong, somebody has to finish the fight. It is Leonardo, and that is why he is the leader.

2. Splinter does not need to be stronger, just better

Splinter is the guy who taught the turtles everything they know. He might not be the strongest, fastest, or toughest fighter out there. He is obviously strong and fast, but he is not tossing tanks around like some of the other mutants covered on this list. Watch him actually fight, though, and it suddenly makes sense.

Remember Tigerclaw, the guy who can fight the entire Mighty Mutanimals at once? Splinter can embarrass him. Tigerclaw struggles to even touch Splinter unless Splinter is distracted. That is the point: Splinter does not need to be stronger, faster, or tougher than you, because he is just better than you. That is why Splinter can walk into fights and look completely untouchable. He is not the most physically powerful character, but he is arguably the best martial artist. Unfortunately, there is one guy who has spent basically the entire franchise proving he can beat Splinter.

1. Shredder combines almost everyone else's strengths with zero hesitation to kill

It has to be Shredder. He is the one guy the turtles are never ready for. We have watched him take on all four brothers simultaneously and win, we have watched him do it even while injured, and we have watched elite fighters like Karai look completely embarrassed the second he actually starts trying in a fight. He is strong enough to overpower you and skilled enough that you probably are not going to hit him anyway.

Then you get versions like IDW, where Oroku Saki is literally a warrior from feudal Japan resurrected in the modern era, bringing centuries of history, brutality, and experience with him. Everybody else on this list has their one thing: Mikey has natural talent, Raph has strength, Leo has discipline, Splinter has mastery and skill. Shredder combines almost all of it, then adds zero hesitation about killing you, and that is why he takes number one.

Where would you put Shredder, Splinter, and the rest of this list?