an overwhelmingly extensive write-up of my incarnation of mighty the armadillo
Never once have I been asked "hey nikki!!!! whats your mighty like!!" but also I don't care!!! I like to write and roleplay him!!! So here's a short rundown of my version of the best Sonic character in the franchise, because I should post something with proper substance on here for once.
General Info
Mighty the Armadillo is a protector at heart. He's the first one to offer help, defending those who can't protect themselves or tanking hits for his teammates. While he carries intense remorse over his inability to save his parents or his sister, he uses it as fuel to overcome doubt or help drive his protective nature. Mighty deeply cares for everybody who joins his team, and takes it upon himself to make sure they can handle themselves prior to any adventure.
Having all of his immense strength, Mighty has become somewhat of a pacifist. While he enjoys a good fight, he worries that were he to unleash all of his power and actually try, he would seriously injure or incapacitate whoever was on the receiving end, leaving him to often try words first. He's taken to training his sidekick, Ray, in hopes that one day he could get as strong as himself. The desire for a good fight with no bruisers tough enough to give him one has lead him to develop a small Saitama Complex.
As an amalgamation of Fleetway, IDW's Annual, Pre- and Post-SGW Archie, he takes the best of all worlds and folds things together neatly. With an extended family and a few alternate zones below the fold, there's quite a lot for this silly shell boy.
A (relatively) Brief History
Born to a family of thieves, Mighty's upbringing was destined for some form of tragedy. While he would be soon accompanied by a younger sister, his family would be arrested and were set to be executed by the King of Mercia. He would strike a deal with the mysterious Mammoth Mogul, giving the armadillo unfathomable power in exchange for a nebulous 'favor' that would be forgotten due to the wizard's hypnosis.
Despite the newfound power, a lack of training and control would lead Mighty unable to save his parents from what looked to be their doom, leaving him to place his sister in foster care, exile himself, and wander the lands. Eventually captured by Robotnik, Mighty would be imprisoned alongside Ray the Flying Squirrel and Fiona Fox, and placed in special shackles to override his strength.
Once the blue blur had made his debut, him and Mighty would cause a riot that allowed themselves and Ray to escape via a power gem, though Fiona was captured and Ray was lost during zone-travel. Mighty and Sonic would part ways, but Mighty wasn't alone for long as he would soon come across Newtrogic High Zone. After realizing the island was in the process of being terraformed by Robotnik, he would steel himself and decide to take the mad doctor down!
Thankfully for him, there were another batch of people there ready to do the same! Knuckles, Espio, Charmy, Vector, Heavy & Bomb, all on the island for their own reasons, would join forces and use the Chaos Rings to free the island! Also, busting up Metal Sonic as a nice bonus. While the group would part ways after, they would all remain in contact. After a few more adventures involving the Dark Legion, Enerjak, and other fun activities, Mighty would come across Nic the Weasel.
Mighty and his new companion would meet Fiona once more, who was not pleased with not being saved back then, but would find and rescue Ray nonetheless. The squirrel had hardly aged since the initial zone-travel, leaving him much younger than Mighty and Fiona. After the reunion, he would adopt Ray as his younger brother and the two would begin to wander, just as Mighty had done before.
After a crisis against the Xorda, and then an attack on Angel Island to free Locke, then a massive battle against Mogul, Ixis Naugus, the Destructix and Arachne Clan, the whole Great Harmony thing, a mission with Charmy's old home, a brief scare with Snively's mech, Enerjak returning, launching a massive attack on Eggman's Empire, and then fighting the Iron Dominion and Dr. Finitevus... a lot happened, okay? I'm trying to be brief here and get to the fun part.
Mighty and Ray would return to wandering, as Espio had revealed the armadillo's sister was alive and working for Eggman! During their travels, the two would wind up coming across a calm sage named Moss the Sloth, where the three of them would get along swimmingly, and would begin to stay with the sloth while Mighty searched for traces of his sister.
His history ends with Moss, as everything afterwards is usually where the roleplaying or fanfiction comes in.
What makes him "Mighty"
With unrivaled strength and speed that used to keep up with Sonic himself, capped off by a shell that can take any punishment you could imagine, Mighty is a formidable lightning bruiser that can tear through tanks like a hot knife through butter. Heck, even without his shell he can take some heavier hits, it takes quite a lot to put him down. Thanks to training with Espio and generally sparring with the Chaotix, he is also a very skilled martial artist. Should he be enraged, his strength can soar even further off the charts.
In terms of proper techniques, he is capable of his trademarked Hammer Drop, the Homing Attack, the Spin Dash, and the Boost. Other moves include typical anime air-pressure punches and launching himself while curled in his shell like a railgun. While he may not have much in the way of range, he knows his way around a battle and can close a gap when he has to.
The Family
"Blockhead" Bill - Mighty's grandfather and a now-senile crime fighter of old, Bill is a stupid yet skilled fighter. With an ornate yellow shell on his back, he's pretty durable, but not as much as the rest of his family. While he used to have the super strength associated with Mighty's family, he's since lost it with age. He spends most of his day at home with his partner, Max.
"Society" Max - Mighty's basically-second grandfather, and a more refined crime fighter of old. Max is Bill's partner, in more ways than one, and is a red dinosaur of average heights. When consuming a strange vegetable known as a Mandrake Root, he can grow to a proper dinosaur that is very capable in combat and can carry Bill. He spends most of his day at home with Bill.
Hunter the Armadillo - Mighty's father, a former thief who's thought to be dead. Unbeknownst to Mighty and the rest of his family, he and his wife had escaped the clutches of the Mercian prison system, thanks to chaos caused by a Robotnik attack. With an orange shell and his family's typical super strength, he's a force to be reckoned with, and currently seems to be living in a town stationed in the Great Desert.
Hunter mostly takes bounties, and handily at that. He often wears a brown cloak and obscures his face, creating a persona known as 'The Hunter', hiding his true identity in plain sight. He's generally well-respected and a little feared by the rest of the residents of his town, but he's a well-meaning and caring guy who morally struggles with some bounties he has to take. Once he manages to save enough money, he's planning on moving his wife to a safer, nicer town and dealing with Robotnik himself.
Rose the Armadillo - Mighty's mother and Hunter's wife, Rose was able to escape the grasp of the Mercian prison system with her husband. She has a pink shell, but isn't nearly as strong as the rest of her family. She cares deeply for her children, and is deeply affected by their absence, believing she's failed as a mother and that the two of them have passed.
Overall a loving and peaceful woman, Rose is an excellent cook and spends her days tending to her house. A small part of her heart still holds out hope that her children managed to survive on their own, and that one day she'll be able to meet them again. She's loved by her town and often treats the nicer folk to food and hanging out, though her husband makes himself scarce when she does, in order to preserve his persona. The two of the make an okay living together, but fate may have other plans for the family...
Moss the Sloth - Moss is Mighty and Ray's current mentor, and has become somewhat of a father figure to the armadillo. Despite being a sloth, he's fairly fast, able to outpace Mighty when swinging through his jungle. He is extremely empathetic and capable of seeing what drives someone, or dark forces within someone. After his initial meeting with Mighty and Ray, he would offer the two housing within his humble abode, where the pair continues to live into current day.
Ray the Flying Squirrel - His best friend and now-brother, Ray is the most important person in Mighty's life at the moment. A blonde flying squirrel, he's the Tails to Mighty's Sonic, with a bond just as strong. The two of them go just about anywhere together, traveling through Mobius when they can, and searching for information on Mighty's sister. Him and Mighty continue to train with each other and take lessons from Moss.
Matilda the Armadillo - Mighty's younger sister (affectionately nicknamed 'Tilly'), who was long thought to be dead, is a green-shelled armadillo who is currently working under the Egg Boss; Beauregard Rabbot. Originally placed into an orphanage, then roboticized and de-roboticized, before finally being legionized, Matilda's stressful life has left her vacant emotionally and cold. While her natural strength isn't anywhere near Mighty's, her cybernetic arms allow her to get very close. Now that Mighty is aware of her, he spends a large majority of his time searching for information on her.
Stout the Armadillo - Only existing in X Years Later timelines or the occasional Silver's Future timeline, Stout is Mighty's son. His mother is unknown at this time. He is a brown-shelled armadillo who wanders Mobius, acting as a traveling hero. He has taken inspiration from his father's friends, specifically Bark and Amy, wearing a scarf and knowing how to grapple, and using a Mighty-colored hammer called the Shell Smasher. He's not as powerful as his father, but with the Shell Smasher, he can come pretty close.
Counterparts & Alternate Zones
Much like the main cast of the games, there exists several alternate universes which house their own variations of Mighty, each of them different than the last in a way. There are even some counterparts that come from Mobius... Some of them include...
Mobius
Metal Mighty - A robotic doppelganger created by Eggman after realizing how much trouble the solitary armadillo could prove, Metal Mighty is an equal to Mighty in every way, with only one flaw. The lack of emotions makes it so it cannot gain the same strength increase as Mighty when enraged. The two haven't met yet, as Metal Mighty has yet to be deployed.
The Boom Universe
Mighty - Within the confines of the lighthearted Boom continuity, Mighty is a treasure hunting powerhouse. He's very physically strong, much like Knuckles, though keeps his standard size and shape, leaving a comedic height difference despite the strength gap. Thanks to a custom-made set of Communicators, he can stay in contact with his Ray and Matilda at all times. They all contain their own Enerbeam functions, allowing the trio for easier exploration across ancient ruins.
Boom Mighty's life is marginally better than his prime counterpart's, as his Matilda is already with him and Ray as part of Team Traffic Light, and the lighthearted universe allows them to escape the tragic origins of the prime zone. His anime-esque rage boosts are more exaggerated, leaving most of the comic-relief villains in the zone afraid of him.
Camelot
Sir Galehaut - An extremely powerful and skilled knight, who conquered many lands. Called the 'Uncrowned King', he could best even King Arthur. The skirmishes between his knights and the Knights of the Roundtable would last for months. While he could've potentially usurped King Arthur, the events of Black Knight happened before he had the chance, leaving him to long for the chance to duel Sonic one day. Unlike Arthur, Galehaut is actually quite beloved by his people, and considered a benevolent knight. He refuses the throne until he can defeat Arthur in direct combat.
Classic
Classic Mighty - In the parallel dimension of the Classic timeline, where the Time Eater had never appeared and the timeline never split, Mighty is a young armadillo boy who doesn't quite have a grasp on his strength. He often accidentally sends his friends flying through walls, but he's also able to take out some weaker boss mechs in single blows, which is nice. Able to scare Metal Sonic himself into using a hostage, Mighty's still a force to be reckoned with, and he's a bit less pacifistic than most of his other counterparts, coming with a shorter fuse to boot.
Moebius
Malice, the Anti-Mighty - Within Moebius there lives a terrible, horrible scrapper who's taken to calling himself Malice. Whereas Mighty gives people affectionate nicknames, such as 'big guy', or 'lil dude', or what have you, Malice is often degrading and insulting, calling women 'sweetheart' and the like. He carries a fistful of powder to use as pocket sand in the rare case he's losing, and goes around Moebius picking as many fights as possible.
Malice, the menace he is, is an underhanded fighter. While the general 'power level' of Moebius' cast is higher than Mobius', Malice is still usually bored and able to beat down anybody he feels like. His unparalleled strength is still boosted by anger, and his temper is incredibly short. The Anti-Bark and him have a brutal rivalry, culminating in Malice's left arm being torn off during one of Malice's bounty hunting jobs, leaving him to force Miles to make him a cybernetic replacement.
No-Zone
Zighty the Zone Cop - Zighty is the top enforcer of the Zone Cops, able to quell entire riots with just a single blow. While he would be a valuable asset in taking on the terrible Dr. Nega, Zighty actively prefers keeping an eye on the prison, especially after Scourge's jailbreak. Overall, he's Mighty with a laser blaster, he's very deadly but has the discipline to restrain.
The Shatterverse
Molten Mighty - A one man army kept under heavy guard by the Chaos Council, who's usually powered down deep underground in a special facility. A cyborg Mighty who runs without a flicky, Molten Mighty is the most physically powerful thing in New Yoke City, acting as essentially their nuke. With all of Mighty's strength and cybernetic enhancements, he is a truly deadly foe. His Hammer Drop is capable of causing magma to erupt from the ground. Each member of the council has their own key, and he may only be unleashed with at least three of them.
Muscle - Mighty's counterpart for the Boscage Maze, Muscle is a powerful brawler who lives in the jungle. Muscle holds a deep respect for nature, and is allowed to stay in his own cave by Thorn Rose. He mostly goes about his day picking fruits for his family and Thorn.
Captain Might - Captain of the Royal's Bane, Might is a benevolent captain who shares all of his loot with his crew, consisting of a Ray and Matilda counterpart. While small, they are tightly-knit, and more than effective enough to make up for the number disadvantage. They pillage pirates they consider to be dangerous or evil, but leave others like the Angel's Voyage alone.
"Where was Mighty during ㅤㅤㅤㅤ-------?"
Sonic 1, CD, 2, 3 & Knuckles, Chaos, Triple Trouble, Spinball, etc.? - Wandering in his self-exile. While he had met Sonic, they were not a team yet. He would go on to meet the Chaotix after the events of Sonic 3 and Knuckles. After the events of Chaotix, he returns to wandering until otherwise stated.
Sonic the Fighters? - Between Chaotix and Fighters, Ray's rescue should take place. Mighty and Ray were actually invited to the Chaos Emerald tournament, but their invitations were stolen by Fang and Bean, starting a long-lasting grudge between Mighty & Ray and the Hooligans. Except Bark. Bark was already invited, we love Bark.
Sonic R? - He considered showing up to the Grand Prix, however him and Ray were busy trailing the Hooligans in order to teach them a lesson. After hearing about it later, he wishes he made it so he could've fought that Metal Knuckles guy. Perhaps the looming idea of Mighty showing up was what made Robotnik build Metal Mighty, though he was replaced by the Eggrobo in order to keep it secret after realizing Mighty wouldn't be making it?
Sonic Adventure? - Old habits die hard! During the start of the story, the two would be busy with the Hooligans. When Perfect Chaos' attack had happened, Mighty would hear about it from the news, and about how Super Sonic had saved the world. Mighty would consider meeting back up with his old friends, but decided against it for now.
Sonic Adventure 2: Battle? - Mighty and Ray were entirely unaware of the early plot, though would see the moon being blown up. They'd be unable to make a difference as by the time they could get anywhere close to Team Sonic, the story would've entirely gone to space. They'd intently listen to Sonic talk about it after the plot had finished and they met up again.
Sonic Battle, Advance 1, 2, 3? - Smaller scale plots, Mighty wouldn't be aware of them and would continue his wanderings with Ray.
Sonic Heroes? - While UNFORTUNATELY we didn't get the planned team of METAL SONIC and MIGHTY & RAY for Heroes' original release, perhaps the duo had stumbled across a certain scrapnik during the game's story, and merely never crossed paths with the main plot?
Shadow the Hedgehog? - Mighty spent most of the game's time trying not to get directly involved. Aside from a few scattered encounters with Black Arms, who were promptly blown away, and saving some villages or small cities, by the time Mighty decided to properly do something about it, Super Shadow and the Eclipse Cannon would destroy the Black Comet and kill Black Doom.
Sonic Rush, Rush Adventure? - Mighty would manage to hear about Blaze from Knuckles some time after the echidna was knocked out cold by the Sol Guardian. While this left Mighty with a vague distaste for the cat, and a vague urge to meet her at some point, he wouldn't be able to find her as the plot had long since wrapped up. Some time after Rush Adventure, he would be informed of Matilda's situation, and would be even less active than he already was.
Sonic Rivals, 2? - During these games, he should have found Moss and would thus be busy getting accustomed to his new home.
Sonic Riders, Zero Gravity, Free Riders? - While the idea of Extreme Gear really caught his eye, he would have found Moss by now and would be focused on his search for Matilda. For obvious reasons, he wouldn't want to distract himself from that. He has definitely marked Extreme Gear racing on his bucket list for once he does find Matilda, however.
Secret Rings, Black Knight? - he didnt read the books
Sonic '06? - The plot of 06 is quick, quiet, and involves a lot of time travel. Even if Mighty were to hear about it he wouldn't be able to even begin to find the main crew. Sonic's death would definitely be enough to fire him up, but that event caused the Last Episode and the subsequent retcon, leading Mighty no chance to intervene in the plot. He had minor deja vu that day though, he could've sworn he'd already read that archive...
Sonic Unleashed? - While this should fall under the Shattered World arc in the comics where Mighty scraps with the Werehog, if that's out of the question then he would be relaxing at Moss' place in the background, choosing to research Matilda rather than involve himself with the plot.
Sonic Colors? - Mighty and Ray... would actually take a trip to the theme park! They didn't believe Eggman's reasoning for a minute, obviously, but they still thought it could be fun. They got in early and had fun on a few attractions. Unfortunately the duo missed the plot, and had left by the time it was destroyed, though Mighty would be very annoyed at himself in the future due to not knowing about the wisps or trying to help them.
Sonic Generations? - As Eggman was using the Time Eater to erase his losses to Sonic, the encounter at Newtrogic High Zone with the Chaotix was untouched, leaving Mighty uninvolved in the main plot of the game. As for the birthday, he just showed up late, they celebrated with everyone after the credits. It's canon. Promise.
Sonic Lost World? - Home with Moss, this game's basically a filler arc anyway, who cares.
Sonic Forces? - The events of Forces are what finally get Mighty to take proper action. The Eggman Empire would waste a lot of fodder and even a few mass produced Death Egg Robots trying to squash out that small hut in the jungle, and briefly considered sending out Metal Mighty, but would decide to just leave it alone since Mighty wasn't directly attacking him and everything that was sent ended up as scrap. The trio of Mighty, Ray, and Moss would turtle down in their abode.
Once the Eggman Empire was defeated, Mighty and Ray would have managed to finally find Matilda's location, and they finally departed to find her in person. Now that all of Eggman's forces were unanimously weakened by the Resistance, he was more hopeful than ever.
Other Misc. Headcanons
Mighty and Ray carry two Chaos Rings. Mighty the blue one, and Ray the yellow one. Knuckles, Espio, Charmy, and Vector hold on to the other four. The Chaos Rings can also turn someone Super, because they're literally Chaos Emeralds formed around Power Rings.
Knuckles used Master Emerald Shenanigans to knock Sonic out of Super. Mighty can just do that with a full power attack.
Mighty is the strongest mobian! Big is not a mobian, he is Big.
Mighty would beat the hell out of Sonic. He's closer to Blaze, Shadow, Scourge or Silver in terms of power, rather than Sonic, Knuckles or Espio.
Mighty would enjoy TTRPGs, and any form of action video games. All the fun of a fight, with none of the maiming!
An angry Mighty is worth the same as a Chaos Boost Shadow or an ESP Silver. A Super Mighty is a force of nature.
Mighty could crush the Hooligans if he wanted to. His bitterness towards them is surface-level, and he genuinely enjoys sparring with Bark, he just wishes they would knock it off sometimes. If he was mad, he could just ping-pong off Fang and Bean, and rapid-fire homing attack Bark into next week.
Knuckles is as strong as Sonic is fast, but Mina is nowhere near as fast as Sonic, so why is Mighty so strong? Because his family was already really physically strong. He was already set to contend with Knuckles, and then he got the Mogul boost on top of that!
Voice claim is Joe Zieja, specifically as Claude from Three Houses.
Closing Thoughts
All art provided is credit to Fleetway Comics, Archie Comics, and SEGA.
Unfortunately there's no Secret Rings counterpart as I'm not familiar with arabic folklore, I didn't just forget about it or anything. If there are any questions or suggestions, my ask box is open and I am more than glad to respond and engage in Mighty discussion!
