Mike the Ox

"Oh. Neato."

- Mike the Ox, "Just a Guy"

Mike the Ox is a character that appears in the Sonic Boom franchise. He is an anthropomorphic ox who lives on Bygone Island. He runs a small shop in the Village which doubles as a pet shop and an everyday store.

Appearance
Mike is a humanoid ox of average height, about a head shorter than Knuckles, with a slightly large and round torso and head, relatively thin arms, a bushy tail with a black tip, and slightly stubby legs. He has grey fur with pale white skin on his front torso and wide muzzle, a medium-sized black snout, almost cylinder-like ears, a pair of short white horns with black tips, three bangs of hair sticking up on his head, and magenta eyes. For attire, he wears white gloves, a thin yellow neckerchief with flannel patterns, a green rope around his waist with a pouch attached, and green shoes.

TV series
Mike was one of the candidates who signed up to be Sonic's sidekick after he fired Tails, but did not make the cut. During a visit in the Village, Mike was about to have an ice cream, only for him and the villagers to be attacked by Dr. Eggman's Anti-fire Bot. Fortunately, he was saved by Team Sonic.

Having sold an umbrella to Eggman, Mike refused to take it back when the doctor later wanted a refund for it after destroying it, and called the police as Eggman left. The next day, he found Eggman's associates, Orbot and Cubot, at his shop whom he told to leave after telling them about Eggman. With life going on, Mike would also find the time to visit T.W. Barker's Circus of Wonders for a show. While in the Village one day, Mike and the villagers were rounded up by Dr. Eggman when he invaded the island. Just as they were left at the mercy for the Mega, Mike and the villagers were saved by Knuckles who had a serious case of bad luck that made the Mega destroy itself when he joined Eggman.

Later on, Mike took some time to see a colossal ball of twine where he was almost caught in a rockslide but was saved by Sonic. When Dr. Eggman sued Sonic for injuring him, Mike became a part of the jury to monitor the trial. However, after Mike and his fellow jurors had deliberated and were ready with their verdict, Eggman was revealed to uninjured, leaving their decision moot. While in the Village, Mike found Dr. Eggman selling his own Eggman's Tomato Sauce which Sonic unwillingly admitted was delicious. Mike soon brought some cans of the sauce for himself, but a few weeks later, he was attacked by his vacuum cleaner which had turned into a weapon by Eggman's sauce cans. Fortunately, he was saved when Team Sonic took down Eggman. Eventually, Mike paid a visit to Meh Burger, only for him and everyone else to be caught in a time loop created by Eggman. Mike would thus relive the same day over and over, without any recollection of what was happening, until the loop was broken. While Mike was in the Village, he and the other residents were attacked by Eggman's rampaging robots when the Lightning Bolt Society deployed them, until Team Sonic and Eggman put it to an end.

Mike was later at Meh Burger where he got sucked into the competition between Chez Amy and Meh Burger. Mike and the villagers regularly switched between these establishment, depending on their gimmicks, before settling at Chez Amy until Eggman destroyed it. Sometime later, Mike encountered Swifty the Shrew and was captivated by the hip shrew. Mike thus rooted for Shifty in his race against Sonic, who lost to the shrew and got banished from the Village in accordance to the rules. No sooner though, Mike was betrayed by Swifty when Eggman revealed he was a robot agent of his. However, Sonic came to Mike and the villagers' rescue after being unbanished and got rid of Eggman's forces as they tore down the Village. While Knuckles served as deputy mayor, Mike came to him to have a number of permits approved, right up until Team Sonic and Eggman came to stop Knuckles' reckless use of power.

When Mike was going see a movie with Knuckles, Sonic came to get Knuckles to battle Eggman. Mike wanted to join them, but Sonic refused since he was "just a guy." Believing Sonic was being insensitive, Mike was insulted (as was the rest of the village), but he accepted Sonic's apology when he convinced Sonic to let him join their next fight against Eggman. When it came however, Mike got his leg broken. Regardless, Mike gave Sonic a heads-up on a sneak attack from Eggman when he was handling a sheep stampede, which not only saved Sonic, but also let him herd the sheep in. Mike was then praised as a hero by Sonic for his help, much to his delight.

On New Year's Eve, Mike joined the party in the Village Center where he participated in an extensive conga line. Amidst the celebration, Dr. Eggman used his Slow Motion Machine to slow down time long enough for him to beat Sonic in something before New Year, though Mike did not see Eggman's victory as it happened too fast for him to see it. Mike later witnessed Eggman having a fit at the post office, but left after Eggman called in Decimator Bot. Back in the Village Center, Mike later had a laugh at Tails when he was performing a dating dance, only to run away again when Eggman began an attack, which Tails averted.

When Bro-Down Showdown was holding auditions, Mike attended with the Old Monkey. In the end, Mike was selected, although he let himself get paired up with Knuckles instead. Due to Mike's impairments and Knuckles' current grudge at Sonic though, the pair got eliminated after the first round. Mike would later follow Comedy Chimp's fan signing and photo shooting, during which Knuckles began a trash can head trend. Mike would thus adore Knuckles during his time of fame, eventually picking up his trend as well.

Archie Comics
Mike was among the villagers who came to the Eggtoberfest, hosted by Dr. Eggman. As Mike began to appreciate Eggman's efforts, it was discovered that none of the rides worked and Mike formed an angry mob with the villagers until Eggman made the rides operational. However, Mike and the villagers were soon after attacked by Eggman's army when Eggman became hostile with their dislike of him until they were saved by Team Sonic.

Personality
Mike is described as a "regular Joe." He is has a rather laid-back and easy-going attitude, remaining very relaxed in casual situations and even lying down near a fight to watch. Normally, Mike is rather unruffled towards others, holding little ill will at Sonic for being insensitive towards him or at Knuckles when he ruined their chances at winning Bro-Down Showdown. In his shop however, he is a strict businessman and has no tolerance for attempts to trick him.

Mike has a defined sense of responsibility, perfectly understanding the priority of handing Dr. Eggman over his own needs. While Mike likes to take his time, he does display a subtle degree of impatience which comes off as annoying to other people.

Dr. Eggman
As one of the villagers on Bygone Island, Mike does not trust Eggman the slightest under normal circumstances since he is an evil genius who is always destroying his stuff and has poor personal hygiene. He especially holds his own personal distaste of the doctor due to him trying to make him refund an umbrella he broke, which in Mike's opinion was Eggman's most evil scheme yet.

Orbot and Cubot
Because of their association with Eggman, Mike holds equally dislike of both Orbot and Cubot, telling them that they got some nerve coming to his shop after Eggman tried tricking him.

Knuckles the Echidna
Mike is friends with Knuckles the Echidna. The two seem to get along fine, having met up a couple of times to either hang out or compete together. Unlike most of Team Sonic, Mike does not get frustrated with Knuckles' bothersome nature, instead supporting him when things goes the wrong way as seen when they competed in Bro-Down Showdown.

Trivia

 * Mike_error.png Mike's debut in "The Sidekick", his attire, ears and horns were mis-colored grey, presumably due to an animation error. This error has since reappeared in later episodes such as "Hedgehog Day".
 * Mike uses a thirty day return policy for the products in his store unless the product is destroyed as revealed in "Dude, Where's My Eggman?".
 * Mike's character model is reused twice in the series, first as a party-goer introduced in "My Fair Sticksy", and secondly as the DangerCo Deadly Equipment Warehouse worker introduced in "Buster".
 * It is revealed in "Bro-Down Showdown" that Mike suffers from color blindness''.