Mighty the Armadillo

Mighty the Armadillo is a fictional character in the Sonic the Hedgehog universe. He is an anthropomorphic armadillo with a red shell, and in some continuities, he is a member of the Chaotix group. His character designer is 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 is voiced by Yusuke Numata.

History
Before Sonic was created, 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 Eggman along with Sonic the Hedgehog and Ray the Flying Squirrel. They were taken to Eggman Island and imprisoned, but managed to escape, 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.

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

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 eachother. 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. However, when the player selects him in SegaSonic Arcade, he flexes his arm and proclaims "Mighty Mighty!" indicating that at least he believes he possesses some degree of strength.

Sonic the Hedgehog (Archie comics)
In the Archie-published Sonic the Hedgehog comics, Mighty is quite impatient and has a bad temper. He has a strong rivalry with Espio the Chameleon and likes to lift weights and brag about his strength. Despite this, Mighty is actually quite humble, even if he doesn't show at times.

Mighty lived a regular life on the Floating Island as he grew up. He and Sonic are close friends as they met several years ago in an unknown base run by Robotnik that they shut down with the help of a squirrel named Ray the Flying Squirrel. Mighty also knows Fiona Fox quite well. Once, Mighty, Sonic, and Ray had tried to save her during their escape, but Ray got stuck to a power stone and disappeared. In frustration, Mighty started to throw Robotnik's machines around, causing Robotnik to flee the base, taking Fiona with him, saying he "had other plans for her." Mighty and Fiona were once a fanon romantic item, but this has been severely disrupted by Sonic's dates with Fiona.

Mighty later joined up with the Chaotix when Robotnik threatened the Happyland Amusement Park. Since then, Mighty has helped Knuckles in his task of guarding the Floating Island and is loyal to Knuckles' cause as one of the founding members of Chaotix. Mighty also had his hand in being the first to meet Charmy Bee upon his venture to the Floating Island and introducing the bee to all his friends there.

Sonic the Comic
In Sonic the Comic, the United Kingdom Sonic comic, Mighty is introduced alongside Vector, Charmy, Espio and Nack the Weasel in the 'Knuckles: Total Chaotix' storyline, with the group collectively being known as the Chaotix Crew. Mighty is portrayed as a strong and brave character whose main flaws are his lack of forethought and tendency to forget his own strength.

For instance, when Knuckles and Chaotix attempted to break into the Brotherhood of Metallix fortress, Mighty smashed in through the hull and set off several alarms, jeoporadising the mission. And he once punched a dinosaur through the wall of the Chaotix headquarters.

In this continuity, Mighty has proved to be a valuable asset to the team on a number of occasions and is one of the top fighters in the comic, running very close to Knuckles, making him an ally of Sonic the Hedgehog. He has an intense yet friendly rivalry with Espio. They remain close friends and allies, but neither one will ever admit the other is better and have gotten into some heated arguments and occasional fight over the matter. As with the rest of the crew, he often vents his frustrations on Charmy, though not in a physical manner.

Aside from Charmy, he is the only member of the Chaotix to have his family life revealed. He is the son of a senile super-strong superhero known as Blockhead Bill, who is constantly getting into trouble by mistaking random people (like Sonic) for his old enemies, much to Mighty's exasperation. His partner is Society Max, a similarly-elderly lizard who uses a serum to turn into a mighty dinosaur; unlike Bill, Max remains quite smart and affably points out when his friend is being daft.

Family

 * Father: Blockhead Bill (Sonic the Comic exclusive)

Friends

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

Foes

 * Dr. Eggman
 * Metal Sonic
 * Dark Legion (Archie exclusive)
 * Enerjak
 * Lien-Da
 * Mammoth Mogul (Archie exclusive)
 * Ixis Naugus (Archie exclusive)
 * Destructix (Archie exclusive)

Trivia

 * Mighty's name was misspelled "Mighity" in the Japanese manual for Chaotix.


 * It has been rumored that the reason Mighty no longer appeared in games was because 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, Mighty's picture is 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.