Freak the Mighty

"I never had a brain until Freak came along and let me borrow his for awhile, and that's the truth, the whole truth. The unvanquished truth, is how Freak would say it, and for a long time it was him who did the talking."

—Max Kane

The story of Freak the Mighty is narrated by Maxwell Kane, a large boy who is self-described as stupid. He describes the time when he met and became friends with another boy named Freak. The two first briefly meet in daycare, where Freak is shown having to wear braces on his legs and uses crutches to walk. Skipping ahead a few years, Max is about to enter the eighth grade when Freak moves in a house on the same street. After going to Fourth of July fireworks together, where Max is able to save Freak from getting beaten up by a bully and his gang, the two become best friends. They are both able to help each other, with Max protecting Freak and Freak teaching him how to read, and end up going on several adventures together.

A 1993 young adult novel by by Rodman Philbrick. The book has a sequel called Max the Mighty, which takes past post Freak the Mighty‍'‍s events. There is also a movie based on the book called The Mighty, even though it's very different from the book.

For more by Rodman Philbrick see The Last Book in the Universe'

Tropes used in Freak the Mighty include:

Badass Boast: “Were Freak the Mighty that's who we are. We're nine feet tall, in case you haven't noticed.”
Brains and Brawn: Max and Freak, of course. For crying out loud, Freak has read almost the whole dictionary and was smarter than the teacher in his advanced placement class, but he's crippled and pretty much physically weak. Max is said to be dumb from appearance, couldn't even read that well until Freak taught him how, but is big and has strength on his side. Together, with Freak being the control of Max of course, they make Freak The Mighty.
Cloudcuckoolander: Freak
Complete Monster: Max's father, Kenny. Killing his own wife was just the beginning, he even arrives at kidnapping his son and even trying to shoot him.
Disappeared Dad- Both the protagonist's fathers. Max's dad had been arrested for killing his mom but eventually though, he came back at Christmas and kidnapped him. Freak's dad, although he never gets mentioned again, was said from Loretta to disappear right after he heard that his son had a birth defect.
Death by Newbery Medal: Exactly what happens at the end. Freak dies, which was Max's first and perhaps only friend, who taught him valuable knowledge and life lessons. Except his childhood doesn't get ruined, he just ends up very depressed.
Domestic Abuse: Max's dad strangled his wife when Max was very young.
Downer Ending, or at best Bittersweet Ending
Gentle Giant: Max. Although he inherited his father's literally big genetics, and is according to Freak's Dictionary, one hundred eighty centimeters tall (six feet tall), he doesn't like fighting when it's completely necessary. Also, it's been told from Gram that he has his mother's heart and emotions. This is especially true in the movie, since as Freak says to him, he"pass on the fists" when he describes the definition of pacifist to him. Also, he only fought to defend himself and Freak.
Heterosexual Life Partners: Max and Freak
Ill Boy: Freak He has some type of birth defect in which his internal organs grow too large for his body and do not function correctly. He does not survive.
Manic Pixie Dream Girl: Freak qualifies as a rare male example of the non-romantic variety.
Meaningful Nickname: Max's grandpa, "Grim" rarely smiles. Freak even asks if he calls him Grim because he always looks grim. Freak himself could also qualify, he calls himself Freak because well, he's a freak.
Missing Mom: Max's mom, ever since before the beginning of the story. The grandparents were even talking about their "dearly departed" daughter every so often. Turns out that she was strangled by his dad when he was a toddler.
Odd Friendship: Freak and Max.
Older Than They Look: Not exactly as huge as other characters. According to Freak's Dictionary at the end of the book, Freak is exactly seventy centimeters. That's only two feet and four inches. He still wears kid-like clothes. With that blond hair all over him, he looked like a five year old from the back, just like he was in his preschool days. Justified on the fact that he has morquio syndrome.
Punctuated! For! Emphasis!: One of the front covers has a caption underneath their picture saying, "Max. Freak. Best Friends. Forever.
Teen Genius: If Freak knowing more than the teacher isn't one, then what is?
Trademark Favorite Food: Freak loves American Chop Suey.