Michelangelo was given a much bigger role in the 1987 cartoon series, directed at a younger audience, than in the more serious Miragegi comic books which were aimed at an older audience. He often coins most of their catchphrases, such as "Cowabunga!". Like all of the brothers, he is named after an Italian Renaissance artist; in this case, he is named after Michelangelo Buonarroti. His name was originally spelled Michaelangelo by the original creators, possibly misspelling his name sake's name wrong due to the name "Michael" and how the name "Michael" is spelled. In the Mirage comics, all The Turtles wear red masks, but to tell them apart, he was given an orange mask instead.