Mighty the Armadillo

Mighty the Armadillo is a Mobian armadillo from the mountains of Angel Island, though he was born planet-side in the Kingdom of Mercia. He has known Sonic the Hedgehog since his childhood, though they didn't meet again for roughly six years. After spending much of his youth wandering, he was brought to the Floating Island by Knuckles the Echidna and Vector the Crocodile. One of the original members of the Chaotix, Mighty has fought by their side in numerous battles. He followed the rest of the Chaotix and moved to Knothole to aid in the war against Dr. Eggman during Sonic's absence in space. Following Angel Island's liberation of the Eggman Empire's control, Mighty travels back and forth between the island and New Mobotropolis to fight with the Chaotix and assist the Freedom Fighters.

Early Life
Born in the Kingdom of Mercia to a family of thieves, Mighty and his younger sister were too young to realize the actions of his parents, "oblivious in [their] innocence" as Mammoth Mogul put it. After his parents were subsequently sent to prison for their crimes, Mighty sought a method to free them. Discovered by Mammoth Mogul, the ancient Mobian granted Mighty his tremendous strength. Even with his new powers, Mighty failed to rescue his parents however, and imposed exile on himself. (StH: #185)

At the age of ten, while wandering Mobius in exile, Mighty was captured by Dr. Ivo Robotnik along with Fiona Fox, Ray the Squirrel and other Mobians. Upon capture he was fitted with special shackles as a precaution against his unusual strength. Taken to a forced labor camp, the captured Mobians were also used as experiments towards the creation of the first Auto Automatons. When a young Fiona Fox was grabbed by robotic guards to be taken away for such an experiment, Mighty angrily lunged at the guard, causing a brief riot in which he, Ray and Fiona were quickly subdued. Fiona was taken away and Mighty and Ray were locked in isolation. The camp was later infiltrated by a young Sonic the Hedgehog, who helped free Mighty from his shackles, allowing Mighty to destroy the bars of his cell. The two went on to cause an uprising in order to free the camp's prisoners. After freeing Ray, the three somehow wound up in an alternate zone due to a Power Gem connected to equipment they'd hoped to disable. Due to a difference in time flow, they appeared to only be gone momentarily. However, Ray was not with them upon their return, and Mighty, angry at the loss of his friend, began to destroy the lab, forcing Robotnik to flee with Fiona. Having lost both Fiona and Ray, Mighty returned to wandering on his own. (KtE: #26, #27, #28)

Joining the Chaotix
Shortly after his escape from the prison complex, Mighty continued to wander the lands searching for a place to call home and soon encountered Knuckles the Echidna for the first time. Attempting to explain to the Echidna terms like "slave labor", "prison camp" and "lab rat", Mighty eventually found himself confused when Knuckles tried to explain what a crocodile was, as he was hoping to find Vector. After the two realized they both had something in common, each having lost their parents, Knuckles offered Mighty the chance to accompany him and Vector back to the Floating Island, which Mighty accepted. (StH: #120)

Mighty began his new life on the island where he was finally able to live in peace. However his peaceful life was disrupted when Renfield T. Rodent and Dr. Ivo Robotnik set up a base of operations on the island disguised as a carnival. Mighty was enlisted by Knuckles along with Vector, Espio the Chameleon and Charmy Bee to help him force Robotnik off the island. After Robotnik's rebuilt Metal Sonic was defeated, Mighty joined the newly formed group, the Chaotix. (KCX)

He later went on to enjoy a somewhat peaceful life with the Chaotix. However, this peace was disrupted repeatedly because of battles with Enerjak, a Chaos-powered version of Knuckles' distant uncle Dimitri; the Dark Legion, a group of cyborg Echidnas led by Enerjak's descendants; the Freedom Fighters, who fought the group after being tricked by a common enemy; and the Fearsome Foursome and Mammoth Mogul, who invaded Angel Island several times seeking first its Chaos Emerald and then the Sword of Acorns. Despite all these powerful enemies Mighty's super strength usually helped both he and his friends through. His home on Angel Island was a furnished cave (complete with weight-training equipment) up a cliff in a region called Rocky Hill. Things continued to change in Mighty's life, as the destruction of the Ultimate Annihilator Dr. Robotnik had built brought the city of Echidnaopolis back to Mobius, and a former Dark Legion soldier named Julie-Su joined the team. (KtE: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, KMS: #1, #2, #3, KCX, SSS: #1)

Fighting Crime and the Dark Legion
Once the Echidnaopolis crisis had been resolved, Mighty joined his friends in exploring the city, hanging out at the local food court. Not long after Enerjak, aided anonymously by Mammoth Mogul, returned to seek his revenge. Seemingly betrayed by Julie-Su, Mighty and the others were taken prisoner by the Dark Legion, who had sided with their ancestral hero. Escaping, they returned to Echidnaopolis just in time to save Dimitri from a sudden end after Mammoth Mogul used the Sword of Acorns to drain his powers. Mighty joined in the fight against the newly empowered Master Mogul, but the day was only saved when Knuckles, Sonic, and Miles "Tails" Prower received a power boost from the Chaos Emeralds and Power Rings to transform into improved forms that Mogul was defeated and sealed in the new Master Emerald. While Knuckles then departed to aid the Lost Tribe of Echidnas, Mighty and the Chaotix joined forces with Echidna Security Team Constable Remington to investigate their old enemy Renfield T. Rodent, who had refurbished his old theme park and begun tainting the food with an experimental seasoning designed to cause addiction and thus bring patrons back for more. Renfield accidentally put too much of the ingredient into some of his food, and the resulting overdose killed Charmy's friend Mello. The Chaotix themselves-Mighty included-were left disoriented by a similar poisoning, but recovered quickly enough. They then brought Renfield and his employer, Ebony Hare, to justice after defeating them and saving Julie-Su from their henchmen. (KtE: #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12, #13, #14, #15)

Following Knuckles' return, Mighty and the rest of the Chaotix would find themselves with no enemies to fight for a time. That ended when the Dark Legion resurfaced yet again, this time attempting to seize control of Angel Island through politics. Mighty and the other Chaotix defeated them, only for Knuckles to be spirited away briefly by his ancestors in the Brotherhood of Guardians to Haven. When he returned, the Guardian would struggle to come to grips with his feelings for Julie-Su. Mighty tried to support his friend during the ordeal, and was there with his first known date at Knuckles' birthday party when his old friend and Julie-Su kissed for the first time. Together with the other Chaotix, Mighty would then help his friend when Knuckles found himself switching bodies with Sonic due to a teamup between the Dark Legion and a mechanical duplicate of Robotnik. (StH: #80, #81, KtE: #22, #23, #24, #25, #26, #27, #28, SSS: #12

Rescuing Ray and Facing New Threats
After the demise of Ivo Robotnik, Mighty was approached by Nic the Weasel who made him an offer; if he would help her recover a treasure from the now-abandoned prison camp, she'd give him a lead on Ray's location. Using Nic's craft, they flew back to the outskirts of the old facility where they were met by, to Mighty's surprise, Fiona Fox. Mighty had assumed Fiona had died, and despite his claims that he and Sonic had tried to save everyone they could, Fiona was extremely bitter about what she saw as having been abandoned. Despite Fiona's attitude, Nic assured her that in order to reach their goal, a mine Power Gem, Mighty's help was necessary. Mighty reminded her that they also needed to look for Ray, but the weasel replied that she didn't know where he was, only where he might be found. After breaking into the abandoned facility and coming across inactive Auto Automations based on various Freedom Fighters, the trio came to their final obstacle; a sealed door of thick metal. Thinking the Power Gem would be locked behind it, Nic told Mighty to open the door. Tearing it down, they discovered not only the gem, but Ray clinging to it. Mighty was overjoyed when Nic destroyed the gem to free Ray, promising to compensate her for the loss of the gem. (KtE: #26, #27, #28)

Shortly after, the Chaotix found themselves in the Mysterious Cat Country after an attack by Dr. Eggman left Angel Island on the surface. With Knuckles gone to aid the Freedom Fighters and the local inhabitants eager to punish them, and it was only the Guardian Locke's timely intervention that saved them. Soon Mighty and the others were up against the Dark Legion again, but this time he and the Chaotix-except for Julie-were all transported to the Twilight Zone by the Quantum Beam. However, Mighty was soon brought back to Mobius, together with the other natives of Angel Island, by Chaos Knuckles. Having little to do with the attempted reunification of the Echidnas, he played an equally little role in Chaos Knuckles' battle with Mammoth Mogul, which resulted in Knuckles' death. Like the other Chaotix, he was present at Knuckles' funeral, and soon afterwards he and the other Chaotix found themselves telling a grieving Julie-Su stories of their early days with Knuckles. (StH: #107, #118, #121, #122, #14)

Assisting the Kingdom of Acorn
When the Xorda attacked Mobius, Mighty and the Chaotix joined in the assault on the Quantum Dial in the Southern Tundra. He was thus present when Knuckles made his miraculous return, though the Guardian was without his previous special abilities. During Sonic's year-long disappearance, Mighty relocated to Knothole when Dr. Eggman launched a full-scale attack on Angel Island. Following Sonic's return from space, Mighty took part in Operation: Triple Threat when he went to Fort Acorn with the Chaotix to help the Mes Braves Battalion and Paladin Team Sigma-Alpha 2 defend the slagged remains of Robotropolis from Eggman's SWATbot army. (StH: #125, #125, #132, #133)

Mighty also accompanied the Chaotix during their raid on Angel Island to liberate a Dingo-run concentration camp and rescue Knuckles' father Locke from captivity. Following this, Mighty and the others returned to Knothole where they would remain for some time and perform duties such as training in the Battle Simulator, acting as security for Mina Mongoose and her band, and protect Knothole from the army of Metal Sonic Troopers that had been commandeered by A.D.A.M.. (StH: #138, #139, #140, #141, #153,#159, #173)

After helping in the battle against the collective forces of Mammoth Mogul, Ixis Naugus, the Destructix, and the Arachne, Mighty and Ray were asked to interview Fiona Fox when Rouge appeared in Knothole via Warp Ring with information on Dr. Finitevus and indicated some seedy connections to Fiona. During a mission the Chaotix took to investigate Renfield T. Rodent's Casinopolis casino in Station Square, Mighty was responsible for destroying the new Auto-Automaton production machinery while he and Julie-Su rescued Knuckles. When A.D.A.M. used his Nanites to control Bunnie as part of his scheme to start the Great Harmony, Mighty and Knuckles were forced to subdue her until her cybernetic limbs could be disabled. (StH: #163, #164, #165, #166, #168)

Mighty was with the rest of the Chaotix in Knothole, playing video games with Vector, when the Egg Fleet attacked and destroyed the city. Enraged at the sight of Ray being captured by Snively's Beater (which appeared to disintegrate the target), Mighty viciously attacked, tearing the mech apart before he too was captured. Mighty, like the vast majority of Knothole's citizens, was transported to the Egg Grape Chambers in New Megaopolis. However, he along with everyone else was eventually freed and transported to New Mobotropolis. Mighty remained in New Mobotropolis with the rest of the Chaotix during the Enerjak crisis, though when Julie-Su wanted to leave the city and see if Knuckles was okay, Mighty readily assisted her and the rest of the Chaotix in attacking the city's airfield. However, when Sonic and Tails were dispatched to Angel Island instead, the Chaotix remained in the city. (StH: #175, #176, #177, #181)

Shortly after the Enerjak crisis was resolved, Mighty remained in behind to help rebuild Freedom HQ while the other Chaotix members went to Angel Island to comfort Knuckles. During this time, Mighty was mind controlled by Mammoth Mogul who still had a magical hold over him since he gave Mighty his strength as a child. Mogul controlled Mighty like a puppet, along with Tails, and Mina Mongoose, to force Sonic to give him New Mobotropolis' Chaos Emerald. While Mogul initially attempted to have the trio subdue Sonic, he then had each one put themselves in life-threatening situations, as for all his speed, Sonic would not be able to save all three at once. Mighty was "ordered" to walk openly into Eggman's territory without resistance, but after Sonic complied, he was released from Mogul's spell, fought off a few Dark Egg Legionnaires in Egg Mobiles and escaped safely. The spell's lingering effects were later completely erased by Merlin Prower as a precaution, though Mighty still possessed his strength. (StH: #185, #186, #187)

Following this, Mighty and the rest of the Chaotix launched an attack on New Megaopolis and successfully destroyed one of Dr. Eggman's communications relays while fighting off the Dark Legion. Later, after the Suppression Squad incident, Mighty and the Chaotix helped the Freedom Fighters in a direct assault on the Eggman Empire. Mighty and Bunnie Rabbot helped break into the Eggdome by using their super strength to smash through the wall and then assisted in fending off the Dark Egg Legion. However, both he and Espio were pinned down by the Legion's laser fire and ended up being saved by Charmy, Saffron, and Ray. After Mighty and Bunnie finished beating down the barricade the DEL set up, he and the others entered to find Eggman defeated and they all returned to New Mobotropolis to celebrate. (StH: #189, #190, #198, #199, #200)

Aftermath of Eggman's Defeat
Unfortunately for Mighty and his friends, they were soon forced to contend with a new enemy: the Iron Dominion. After Espio left his former teammates to serve the despotic group, Mighty teamed up with Vector to help the Freedom Fighters deal with a rampaging Monkey Khan, a cyborg ally of the Freedom Fighters corrupted by the Magitek of the Iron Queen. (StH: #201, #202, #204)

Later returning to Angel Island, Mighty joined Knuckles and Julie-Su in traveling to the Dingo camp to meet with Helmut Von Stryker, who provided the three with information on the whereabouts of Dr. Finitevus. After speaking with his old friend Harry and escaping from an ancient booby trap in some Sandopolis ruins, Mighty passed through a Warp Ring to Downunda, where he and his friends found and attacked Finitevus. In the midst of their battle, chains reached up to capture Angel Island, and Finitevus offered the trio the chance of saving their home by working with him. While Knuckles and Julie-Su were immediately antagonistic, Mighty played the part of voice of reason to try and calm things down. After being joined by Vector and Ray, he and his friends-along with Finitevus-then prepared to face a wave of Wing Dingoes who were quickly defeated by the resistance group, the Downunda Freedom Fighters. After that, the Downunda Freedom Fighters told them of the betrayal of their former member, Duck "Bill" Platypus, and what had happened in Downunda for over the past year. Mighty, Knuckles, and Vector went with Guru Emu to release Angel Island from the chains but were attacked by Wing Dingoes and the Platypus Legion at the rim of the Great Crater. Mighty was soon knocked out cold and captured by the Legion, who then brought him and his friends to their base in chains. After Finitevus revealed his reasons for siding with the Legion and departed, Bill surprised the group by freeing them and explaining that he had been acting the part of Eggman's ally. Once the two teams staged a breakout, Mighty assisted Knuckles in getting to Angel Island to confront Dr. Finitevus by literally heaving him up into the air so he could fly right to Shrine Isle before moving on to help confront the Legion. (SU: #9, #10, #11, #12)

Later, Mighty and Vector arrived in New Mobotropolis and helped evacuate civilians as the Iron Dominion invaded with the help of a reprogrammed NICOLE, taking the people out through a Warp Ring. Once the Iron Dominion had been defeated, Mighty and the other Chaotix gathered to welcome back Espio, who revealed that his clan had dispatched him to observe Knuckles. Espio also revealed that he had come across information about the other Chaotix, and reluctantly revealed to Mighty that what he had found indicated that the Armadillo's parents were dead, while his sister was now a member of a Dark Egg Legion chapter somewhere on Mobius. Mighty stormed off, and the next morning Ray found him packing supplies for a journey. Mighty announced his intention to find his missing sister, allaying Ray's concerns by remarking that Vector and Knuckles could fill in for him as the power element of the team. Ray pleaded to be taken along, and Mighty agreed, the two bidding goodbye to the others before departing Angel Island. (StH: #208, #212)

Abilities
Mighty has incredible strength, bestowed upon him by Mammoth Mogul when he was a child. He is able to easily rip apart metallic objects and can lift incredible masses with relative ease. Once, upon waking up in a hospital, he thought exercise would improve his condition and began lifting weights -- holding his bed (with a nurse perched atop) up over his head with a single hand. He and Bunnie Rabbot were the only ones able to manage even superficial damage to their chambers when held captive in the Egg Grapes, and during other incidents, Mighty is often held by stronger-than-average means to prevent him from escaping. Mighty's powers can fluctuate depending on his health and emotions; when enraged, he's especially destructive. However, his strength has its limits. During a silly play for the children of Knothole, Mighty needed help from Jules Hedgehog and Espio to hoist Rotor (who somehow was cast as Tails) into the air so that Rotor could "fly". (StH: #148, #185, #176, KtE: #14)

Mighty's shell is also capable of deflecting laser blasts. (StH: #199)

Personality
Mighty is not particularity aggressive, though he enjoys physical activity and is willing to fight for a good cause, especially for the safety of the weak or small. He is extremely protective of his allies, often quick to shield them or ensure they're uninjured. He is so protective of Ray that when the squirrel is threatened Mighty falls into a terrible rage, as he sees Ray as somewhat innocent. His protective trait of his allies stems from the lingering guilt of his failure to find his parents and his previous abandonment of Ray. Unlike his friend Vector, Mighty holds no grudges and is able to get along with anyone. He tries to only see the good in others and is somewhat sensitive of hurting their feelings.

Background Information

 * Writer Ian Flynn stated in his 'unofficial' character Q&A that Mighty provided Vector with personal training following Sonic's disappearance that led to Vector's transformation from his Knuckles Chaotix look to his Sonic Heroes look. This was later confirmed in print in StH: #212, where Mighty remarked to Ray that Vector had become nearly as strong as he was due to going through his training course.


 * Mighty actually first appeared in the 1992 arcade game "Segasonic the Hedgehog" (1)

Appearance


Mighty is a black-and-yellow armadillo with a red shell. His design is based on that of his appearance in the video game Knuckles Chaotix rather than SegaSonic Arcade, the latter in which he had more of a peach tone than the light yellow used elsewhere. He wears simple white gloves and red and white shoes similar to those worn by Sonic; however, the white stripe doesn't cross the entire shoe and they lack the gold buckles. His black nose is somewhat longer and more pointed than usual. As with the rest of the Chaotix, he was given light blue eyes; however, since he never received an updated game design, this never changed.

Some artists add his small black tail (as seen in SegaSonic Arcade) but he otherwise typically lacks one. Artist Renae De Liz gave him a segmented shell reflecting real-life armadillos. The color of his eyelids varies between yellow and red, and some artists incorrectly place his ears atop his shell rather than beneath it. As a child, he was briefly forced to wear heavy-duty metal cuffs. He once wore a Dark Legion robe, and for the wedding of Antoine and Bunnie he sported a black tuxedo jacket with red cummerbund.