Even Donatello, one of the four original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, isn’t immune to death within his own established universe, though even dying didn’t stop him from exacting his vengeance against those responsible–and in this case, Donatello avenges his own death by dying again.
Donatello is the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ resident genius whose inventive mind and tactical brilliance has gotten the team out of a number of bad situations. Unfortunately, in one specific instance, one of Donatello’s plans backfired horribly. In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #44 by Kevin Eastman, Tom Waltz, and Mateus Santolouco, Donatello betrays Shredder after teaming up with him to battle the even more villainous Krang. In response, Shredder orders Bebop and Rocksteady to kill Donatello, which they do in truly brutal fashion. While Donatello’s soul passed on to the afterlife, Splinter was able to retrieve Donny’s spirit through intense meditation resulting in astral projection, and Splinter returned Donny’s soul to his mind which was then transferred into an android while Donatello’s original body continued to heal from the assault. Essentially, Donatello was saved, but he was a robot for the time being (the classic TMNT robot, Metalhead, to be precise)–giving him the perfect vessel through which he could launch a revenge attack.
In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #50 by Kevin Eastman, Tom Waltz, and Mateus Santolouco, the Ninja Turtles have entered a deadly tournament with Shredder and his Foot Clan. Rather than continuing their bloody war in the streets of New York City, the two clans decided to have one final match here and now, with the winning team earning the right to stay in New York while the losers either have to leave, or will already be dead. While the TMNT are obviously the warriors fighting for their side, they aren’t going up against any old team of four Foot soldiers, but Shredder’s personal mutant strike force consisting of Koya, Bludgeon, Bebop, and Rocksteady.
TMNT’s Donatello Sacrifices Himself to Beat Bebop and Rocksteady
When the TMNT entered this tournament–known as the Gauntlet–Donatello was still in his android form, which actually came with a number of perks. Metalhead Donny was equipped with rockets in his arms, the ability to morph into a vehicle, had laser eyes, and a blinding-light attack. Essentially, Donatello became TMNT’s Transformer–and his best attack was used against the two villains who put him in this state: Bebop and Rocksteady. After injuring both of the brutish mutants, Metalhead Donny walked up to them and self-detonated–finishing them off with a powerful blast that took both of them out of the fight. Unfortunately, Donatello’s Metalhead body was destroyed in the explosion as well. Donatello once again had to die because of Bebop and Rocksteady, only this time, his ‘death’ meant the downfall of the dangerous villains rather than his own nearly permanent demise.
After the explosion that destroyed Metalhead Donny and eliminated Bebop and Rocksteady from the Gauntlet, Donatello’s organic form showed up to the fight as it was revealed that his consciousness was transferred back into his original body right before the explosion, since he was fully recovered by that time. This means that not only did the Ninja Turtle get revenge on Bebop and Rocksteady by defeating them, but he was also able to show them that they failed in their assassination attempt as Donatello stood over the defeated Bebop and Rocksteady in his original body, perfectly healthy and in peak physical condition. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' Donatello avenges his own death by technically dying again, and in both instances, he doesn’t stay down for long.