View source for Archangel Michael

{{Useful Notes}}
[[File:stmichael-angels.jpg|frame|''And lo, it was tasked to [[Badass|Michael]], "cast out [[The Devil|ye rebellious brethren]] and [[Sophisticated As Hell|whoop some monkey ass]]". And [[God]] saw that it was good.'' ]]

{{quote|''"But instead of handing over St. Peter's keys like some kind of two-dollar pussy carjacking victim, [[God]] takes one look at [[Satan|this thing]] and is just like, "Mike, show this fucking douchebag the door". The Archangel Michael calmly nods his head, slowly takes the [[Smoking Is Cool|cigarette]] out of his mouth and flicks it onto the floor, [[Knuckle-Cracking|cracks his knuckles]] and confidently strides towards Lucifer."''
|''[[Badass of the Week]]''}}

{{quote|''"And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer."''
|''[[The Bible]]'', [[Book of Revelation|Revelation]] 12:7-8}}

The '''Archangel Michael''' is one of three [[Nominal Importance|named]] [[Our Angels Are Different|angels]] in Abrahamic tradition, and is ranked as the commander of the army of [[God]]. Generally seen as the [[Foil]] to [[Satan]] ([[Fallen Angel|former angel Lucifer]]), Michael is one of the most important Angels in the Company of [[Heaven]], as well as the most [[Badass]]. Unless Jesus ([[Mama Bear|or Mary]]) does it personally, Michael will be the one who finally banishes or kills Lucifer for good. Interestingly though, while the [[Book of Revelation]] (as quoted above) depicts Michael as leading the heavenly host in this fight, the iconic image of him standing over a defeated Lucifer and kicking him out of heaven ''personally'' actually comes from non-canonical texts, and [[Word of Dante|got folded into popular mythology over time.]]

Michael has commonly been depicted banishing Lucifer from heaven by using the sword, so the Sword of Michael may show up in fiction quite a bit. Said sword is often granted the epithet "[[Flaming Sword|Flaming]]" and Michael himself is strongly [[Playing with Fire|associated with the fire element]].

Because of [[Meaningful Name|meaningful names]], most characters simply named "Michael" will generally be good guys. Since they are Michael [[In Name Only]], please don't list them here.

Not that this means that Michael ''himself'' has to be a good guy; banishing your own brother to [[Hell]], even under orders from [[God]], can still be seen as [[Good Is Not Nice]].

See also [[Archangel Gabriel]], [[Archangel Raphael]], [[Archangel Uriel]], [[Satan]], and [[Our Angels Are Different]].

{{examples|Appearances of {{PAGENAME}} in fiction include:}}
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
* In ''[[Bastard!!]]'' Michael is presented as an extremely busty female because, you know, [[All Anime Is Naughty Tentacles|Japan]]. As a point of interest, some religious sources say that angels are genderless, so Michael would not be partial to what form he/she/it takes when on Earth.
* In ''[[My Balls]]'' (of all places) Michael accidentally seals Emmaniel, The Queen of Terror, into one of Kouta's ... family jewels. He ''does'' come back later to defeat [[Satan]], in a sense. (Let's just say it brings a whole new twist to Michael using his "Sword" to defeat Satan...) Needless to say, this is a raunchy comedy.
* He is the guardian ghost of Marco in ''[[Shaman King]]'', and the first [[Our Angels Are Different|Angel]] seen there.
* Later volumes of ''[[A Certain Magical Index]]'' introduce Fiamma of the Right, leader of [[God|God's]] Right Seat. Aligned with Archangel Michael, he possesses the very power Michael used to defeat [[Satan|Lucifer]] and give the human world "one thousand years of peace": [[Holy Hand Grenade|The Holy Right]]. Described as the greatest weapon in history, this power makes Fiamma [[Story-Breaker Power|one of the most broken characters in the series]], surpassing even {{spoiler|[[Up to Eleven|Archangel Gabriel]]}} ([[Person of Mass Destruction|who is confirmed as being able to wipe out every life form on the planet with a single spell]]).
** There's also the sword Curtana Original and its replica, Curtana Second, said to grant its wielder(s) the same type of power as that of Archangel Michael so long as they're within the borders of England. They still won't be as powerful as Fiamma though, since Curtana is a mere human imitation of a divine power and not a direct bestowal like Fiamma's is, and Fiamma isn't limited to wielding Michael's power alone.
* In ''Amon: The Darkside of the [[Devilman]]'' Satan has flashback to his battle with Michael, or rather being [[Curb Stomp Battle|kicked in the head by him so hard he felt on Earth]]. Michael is probably the only angel in Devilman that looks like his classic portrayal.
* Michael appears in "Saint Oniisan" along with Gabriel, Raphael and Uriel. He constantly worries that Jesus might be persecuted while on his vacation on Earth. It's been mentioned that he has a slight temper, but can be appeased by cute pictures of cats. He is also not good at telling lies. At all.

== [[Comic Books]] ==
* He shows up in ''[[Lucifer (comics)|Lucifer]]''. He and the title character are on surprisingly good terms.
* Archangel Michael is a character in ''[[Battle Pope]]''. As commander of celestial host, he looks pretty much like winged [[Four-Star Badass|General Patton]].

== [[Fan Works]] ==
* In the ''[[Good Omens/Fanfic Recs|Good Omens]]'' fanfic ''[[Manchester Lost]]'' by JA Moczo, Michael is a well-meaning, demon-smiting [[Leeroy Jenkins]] and wants to be the one to kill [[Satan|Lucifer]]. Despite this, he and [[Satan|Lucifer]] have a good deal of [[Foe Yay]] and in the [[Paradise Thwarted|sequel]], the denizens of [[Hell]] debate whether Michael should be slashed with [[Satan]] or [[Archangel Gabriel|the other brother,]] [[Deadpan Snarker|Gabriel.]]

== [[Film]] ==
* In ''[[End of Days]]'', Jericho Cane, currently possessed by [[Satan]], impales himself on a sword held by a statue of Michael to stop [[Satan]] from having sex with Christine York.
* Michael is summoned to fight the djinn in one of the ''[[Wishmaster]]'' movies.
* Naturally, the [[John Travolta]] movie ''[[Michael]]'', in which said archangel is found living on earth in the American Midwest.
* In the ''[[The Prophecy (film)|Prophecy]]'' trilogy, Michael is leading the Good Angels in the second part.
* He's the only angel on our side in ''[[Legion]]'', though he cuts his own wings off at the beginning of the movie and so winds up physically human. {{spoiler|He gets eviscerated by the razor-edges of [[Archangel Gabriel|Gabriel's]] wings and dies, but gets better and spares [[Archangel Gabriel|Gabriel's]] life.}}
* Michael is name-dropped in the 2007 ''[[Ghost Rider (film)|Ghost Rider]]'' film, when Johnny takes refuge in St. Michael's church. The stained glass windows in the church depict Michael in his traditional spear-wielding pose. The gravekeeper doing Jonny's stitches mentions "Saint Michael himself" banishing [[Satan|the Devil]] from [[Heaven]].

== [[Literature]] ==
* Has a ''huge'' part in ''[[Paradise Lost]]''.
* In ''[[The Dresden Files]]'', [[Flat Earth Atheist]] Knight of the Cross Sanya got his holy sword ''Esperacchius'' from Michael. For bonus points, the first knight we're introduced to is named Michael [[Meaningful Name|Carpenter]], and Dresden refers to him as "[[Church Militant|The Fist of God]]".
** Michael has been alluded to on several other occasions, such as by Queen Mab in ''Small Favor'', who knows him as "the Prince of the Host".
* There are hints that Mike, [[The Protagonist]] of ''Stranger in a Strange Land,'' may actually be the Archangel Michael in human form.
* In the first book of the ''[[Young Wizards]]'' series, [[Satan|The Lone Power]] has Archangel Michael ''on the phone'' as he sits at his office desk, casually calling him Mike and asking if he sent [[The Protagonist|the protagonists]] into the [[Crapsack World|alternate New York]]. "Moonlight and starfire - you know, your kind of stuff." While they seem to be on generally good terms with each other, it's clear that they're still officially at war.
** [[All Myths Are True|"Archangel Michael" is just one of the identities s/he's been given by humans]]. The books so far mention s/he's also been identified as Thor, Athena and Prometheus, and s/he most probably shows up in a lot of other mythologies.
*** Within the books themselves, the Michael Power has also appeared as {{spoiler|a prophetic parrot, and while co-inhabiting the body of an Irish teenager.}}
** In addition to Michael's traditional duties, s/he also has the duty of keeping [[God]]'s [[True Name]] in [[Pieces of God|two separate pieces]], since if it was kept in one piece [[Apocalypse How|its raw power would destroy several universes]].
* ''[[I, Lucifer]]'' has the Archangel Michael discussed in passing and eventually having a tense conversation with [[Satan|Lucifer]] himself.
* Michael from ''[[The Guardians]]'' isn't ''the'' Michael... {{spoiler|But he was named after his father's best friend, who ''is''.}}
* Manwe from [[The Silmarillion]] isn't ''exactly'' Michael, but he's very clearly positioned as Middle-Earth's counterpart to him, down to being the highest ranked divine being after [[God|Eru]] and being the good counterpart to [[Satan|Morgoth]].
** Tulkas is more alike in terms of personality, as he's the Vala who likes to wrestle and fight, though he's a comparatively low-ranked Vala rather than anything close to a leader or "[[God]]'s right-hand".
*** He is the embodiment of [[Badass|elemental arse-kicking]], though. In that respect, he can be seen as stronger than his brothers and sisters, and Morgoth was actively afraid of him.
* In Katherine Kurtz' [[Deryni]] novels, there is an order of warrior-monks, many of whom are also powerful sorcerers, called the Order of St. Michael; you don't mess with the Michaelines. (They are contrasted with a pacifistic order of healer-monks called the Order of [[Archangel Gabriel|St. Gabriel]].)
* In one of his many essays [[C. S. Lewis]] points out that that The Devil, who is (regrettably) intelligent and [[Light Is Not Good|the most beautiful of all angels]] (things which are pretty much always Good) is not, in fact, [[Evil Counterpart|the opposite and rival force]] of [[God]], but he's in fact the Rival and Anti-Michael.
* The cosmology of ''[[Stationery Voyagers]]'' would agree with [[C. S. Lewis]] above. Martarel is so obnoxious that the Vile Chameleon desires his overthrow almost more than God's overthrow. While Minshus finds the Chameleon absolutely annoying, balancing the budget sheet of Volition Dilemma is a much bigger deal to him.
* Mihka'il is an [[Anti-Villain]] in [[Storm Constantine]]'s novel ''[[Burying the Shadow]]''.

== [[Live-Action TV]] ==
* In ''[[Supernatural (TV series)|Supernatural]]'' Dean Winchester, Michael's vessel, is described as "The Michael Sword". In this form Michael is destined to slay his brother Lucifer (who will occupy Sam's body) to end the Apocalypse and bring about Paradise on Earth. Michael himself has finally made an appearance by way of the 1970s version of John Winchester, revealing that the Winchester bloodline is made up of his vessels. Dean is not happy to learn this. [[Good Is Not Nice|Also, he's just as much of a know-it-all dick as Lucifer.]] And then it turned out that {{spoiler|''Adam'' could also be used as the vessel. While inhabiting Adam, he's thrown into Lucifer's cage along with his brother in the season 5 finale}}.
* A recurring character in ''[[Xena: Warrior Princess]]'' season 5.
* Michael is alluded to numerous times by demons in ''[[Reaper]]'', and his famous sword becomes an object of interest toward the end of the first season as well.

== [[Oral Tradition|Oral Tradition, Folklore, Myths and Legends]] ==
* [[Mormonism|Latter-Day Saints]] believe that Michael assisted in the creation of the world, and subsequently came to earth as the first man, Adam.
* Seventh-Day Adventists and Jehovah's Witnesses believe that Michael is another name for Jesus Christ, used in his pre-Earthly existence.
* While Michael is commonly perceived as one of the highest-ranking angels, some Christian traditions place archangels at the ''bottom'' of the angelic hierarchy, as [[God]]'s lowly messengers and soldiers. The highest orders in these traditions are inhuman in appearance and have more metaphysical duties. Others differentiate between lower-case and capital-A Archangels, with the latter being above ''all'' the ranks and Michael being the highest of ''them''. However, angelic hierarchies are [[Word of Dante]], as angel talk is extremely limited in both the Hebrew scriptures and the Greek scriptures. Hebrew [[Canon]] never even uses the term "archangel."

== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
* Michael is the Archangel of War in ''[[In Nomine]]''.
** In ''In Nomine Satanis / Magna Veritas'', he's a converted Viking that sometimes relapses into some pagan practices (such as weapon worship or keeping trophies). Also, he still wields a [[An Axe to Grind|battle axe]] instead of a "noble" weapon. But nobody says anything, because without him [[Heaven]]'s forces would lose their [[Bunny Ears Lawyer|best warrior]].
* Archangel Michael was a prominent figure in the ''[[Old World of Darkness]]'' fluff. In ''[[Demon: The Fallen]]'', he succeeds [[Satan|Lucifer]] as the [[Our Angels Are Different|Voice of God]] after his Fall but loses to him in the first engagement of the War of Wrath, despite wielding what is likely the very first weapon Created specifically to fight (his [[Flaming Sword]]). Later, he was the one to announce God's curses upon the [[Our Demons Are Different|Fallen Houses]]. In ''[[Vampire: The Masquerade]]'', he delivers one of [[God|God's]] four curses upon [[Our Vampires Are Different|Caine, the first vampire]].
* In the Armageddon expansion of ''[[Witchcraft]]'', Archangel Michael left [[Heaven]] and founded [[The Alliance]] because [[Gender Bender|she]] was pissed off at [[Archangel Gabriel|Gabriel]]. Gabriel is one of the setting's biggest pricks.

== [[Video Games]] ==
* Appears as one of the Seraphs in the main ''[[Shin Megami Tensei]]'' series.
** Commonly a high level persona of the Judgment Arcana in the ''[[Persona (video game)|Persona]]'' series.
*** In Persona 3: FES, personas can be infused into a certain material to make special weapons. Most personas give rise to a generic weapon whose power depends on the starting level of the persona, but Michael is one of the few exceptions – his weapon is a very powerful one-handed sword that enhances magic.
* In the ''[[Guilty Gear]]'' series, one of Justice's moves (And later its Overdrive variant) reference Michael and his weapon (Michael Sword and its Overdrive version "Michael Blade") It stands out amongst the series' myriad [[Shout-Out|Shout Outs]] to heavy metal bands.

== [[Web Comics]] ==
* He's the principal of the school in ''[[Evil Diva (webcomic)|Evil Diva]]''.
* The story arc in #250-253 of ''[[Pokey the Penguin]]'' involves Pokey dying, going to heaven, driving over the Archangel Michael with his new formula one racecar, and volunteering to be the new Archangel.
{{quote|"''LET ME DO IT I AM A GOOD ARCHANGEL! I ALREADY HAVE THE WINGS AND THE GUN! JUST GIVE ME THE WHISKEY!!!''"|[http://www.yellow5.com/pokey/archive/index251.html POKEY THE ARCHANGEL]}}
* He takes a role in ''[[Thunderstruck]]''.
*  {{spoiler|Mike}} from ''[[CRFH]]'' might be him, according to a recent dream/flashback sequence,  {{spoiler|which would make this a late-established [[Meaningful Name]].}}

== [[Web Original]] ==
* In ''[[The Salvation War]]'', Michael is a [[Magnificent Bastard]] trying to make it look like [[God Is Evil|Yahweh]] is subjugating the angelic population of [[Heaven]], so that when [[Rage Against the Heavens|the armies of Earth invade Heaven]], they'll think the angels were just as much victims of Yahweh as the dead humans that the angels are using as domestic slaves.

== [[Western Animation]] ==
* The main angel seen in ''[[South Park]]''.
* One-shot character Groovy makes mention of "The Sword of Michael" in a second-season episode of ''[[The Venture Brothers]]''. An [[Expy]] of Scooby that only the [[Expy]] of Shaggy believes can talk, it tells him that he is the sword, says something about cleansing fire, and was likely prompting him towards serial murder a la Son of Sam.

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