Mighty the Armadillo

Mighty the Armadillo (マイティー・ザ・アルマジロ) is a character in the Sonic the Hedgehog universe. His character designer was Manabu Kusunoki.

Mighty is an explorer and a long time acquaintance of Sonic the Hedgehog, and he first appeared in SegaSonic the Hedgehog, where he was voiced by Yūsuke Numata.

History
Before Sonic was introduced, he was considered by Sega to be made into either a hedgehog or an armadillo, due to both species having the ability to roll into balls. Due to this, some believe that Mighty is the prototype of Sonic, or was evolved from the armadillo concept.

SegaSonic the Hedgehog
Mighty's first appearance was in the arcade game SegaSonic the Hedgehog, where he was captured by Doctor Robotnik along with Sonic the Hedgehog and Ray the Flying Squirrel. They were taken to Eggman Island and imprisoned, but they made their way through the island's defenses and escaped, destroying the island in the process.

In this game, Mighty played exactly like Sonic and Ray; he was fairly fast and could roll into a ball to perform the Spin Attack and Spin Jump.

Knuckles' Chaotix
Mighty reappeared in Knuckles' Chaotix for the Sega 32X. In the Japanese manual, he just happened to stumble across the island which the adventure is set on during his explorations. In the American manual, he is a friend of Knuckles the Echidna, and happens to visit "Carnival Island" when Eggman attacks.

In both manuals he is captured by Eggman, and imprisoned in his "Combi-Confiner" machine. When Knuckles arrives, he can pick Mighty out of the machine and use him as a partner. Mighty plays very much like Sonic from the previous Sonic games, using his Spin Attack and Spin Dash. He also has the ability to kick off walls in order to gain height.

His sprites are based on the Sonic sprites in the canceled game: Sonic Crackers.

Sonic Generations
Mighty makes a small cameo in Sonic Generations in City Escape. Mighty and Ray can be seen on missing posters dotted throughout the level, the poster mentions that they've been missing since 1993, referencing the game, SegaSonic the Hedgehog.

Others
Mighty made a cameo appearance in Gale Racer (the Sega Saturn version of the Arcade game Rad Mobile).

Sonic the Hedgehog (comics)
In the Archie comics, Mighty was born into a family of thieves. While he was still too young to realize his parent's actions, they were imprisoned by the law. Seeking a method to free them, Mighty was confronted by Mammoth Mogul. Mogul used his powers to grant Mighty his incredible super strength. However, even with his new power, Mighty was unable to free his parents. With failure heavy in his heart, he forced a guilty exile on himself. He later joined the Chaotix.

Sonic the Comic
In Sonic the Comic, Mighty was the strongman of the Chaotix Crew. He possessed super strength, making him a valuable asset, but he frequently acts without thinking. He has a rivalry with Espio, and the two sometimes bicker about which is the better fighter.

He is the son of a senile super-strong superhero known as Blockhead Bill, who is constantly getting into trouble by mistaking random people (including Sonic) for his old enemies, much to Mighty's exasperation.

Personality
In the games, Mighty is a gentle and caring pacifist, only using his strength and fighting abilities when there is no other option. He loves to travel, and his dream is to journey to all places of the world. According to the Japanese booklet of Chaotix, Mighty enjoys forest bathing, likes peace and nature, and detests violence.

Abilities

 * Like most characters in the Sonic series, Mighty has some super speed. Mighty can use the Spin Attack, where Mighty curls up into a compact ball and rolls into enemies. He also has the Spin Jump , during which Mighty jumps into the air as a ball. Mighty has the Spin Dash (originally named the "Super Spin Dash") as well, which allows him to charge up a Spin Attack from a standing position, and then shoot off towards enemies.


 * Mighty's unique move in Chaotix was a wall kick that let him kick off a wall, gaining some height and letting him traverse up shafts as long as the walls are close enough to each other.
 * Despite his namesake, Mighty has never demonstrated a single feat of super strength in the games continuity and it is never directly stated in any official literature related to Chaotix or SegaSonic Arcade that he has such an ability.

Friends

 * Chaotix
 * Espio the Chameleon
 * Charmy Bee
 * Vector the Crocodile
 * Ray the Flying Squirrel
 * Sonic the Hedgehog
 * Knuckles the Echidna

Foes

 * Doctor Eggman
 * Metal Sonic

Trivia

 * Mighty's name was misspelled "Mighity" in the Japanese manual for Knuckles' Chaotix. This is most likely a direct result of errors in translation.
 * It has been rumored that the reason Mighty no longer appeared in games was that his creator left Sega and took the rights to use the character with him. However, this rumor has been proven to be a hoax, as Sega of Japan recently had a poll regarding popular characters, with Mighty the Armadillo finishing in 10th place. Sega commented that this means a possible return for Mighty, which proves the rumor to be invalid. Adding to this, several pictures of Mighty are unlockable in Sonic Gems Collection. It is a possibility that Mighty was cut from the games merely so the Chaotix could fit into the three person team arrangement of Sonic Heroes, the first game in many years to include the Chaotix.
 * In the prototype of Knuckles Chaotix, dubbed in the thought-to-be ROM form as Sonic Crackers, Sonic the Hedgehog was originally playable along with Miles "Tails" Prower. Sonic's movements and standing animations are exactly the same as Mighty's, thus leading to the belief that Sonic was taken out of Knuckles Chaotix fairly late in game production and got replaced by Mighty.
 * If Mighty falls from a high location in SegaSonic the Hedgehog, his shell will comically stay in the air for a few seconds. He is completely black underneath.
 * Though Mighty is said to have super strength, being even stronger than Knuckles, in all of his appearances in the games he has not shown any feats of super strength. However, he has used it countless times in the comics.
 * According to an interview in Sonic Central, Sonic doesn't know the whereabouts of Mighty, Ray the Flying Squirrel, Bark the Polarbear, Bean the Dynamite, or Fang the Sniper. This explains why these characters haven't made a game appearance for a long time. As a joke, these characters appear in Sonic Generations on "Wanted" and "Missing" posters.
 * On Mighty and Ray's poster in Sonic Generations, Mighty the Armadillo is misspelled "Mighty the Armaddilo".
 * On the poster it reads "Have you seen them?" This may be a reference to the fact that most [new] Sonic fans do not know who they are.
 * Mighty has a similar color scheme to Shadow, being black and red. Both characters also slightly resemble Sonic.