Archangel Michael

And lo, it was tasked to Michael, "cast out ye rebellious brethren and whoop some monkey ass". And God saw that it was good.

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

— Badass of the Week, The Archangel St. Michael

The archangel Michael is one of the named angels in the Abrahamic tradition, and is ranked as the commander of The Armies of Heaven. Generally seen as the foil to Satan (former angel Lucifer), Michael is one of the most important Angels in the Company of Heaven, as well as a first-class badass. Unless Jesus (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 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 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" and Michael himself is strongly associated with the fire element. He's sometimes identified with the Angel of the Sword who guards the way back to Eden.

In occult grimoires, he is listed as the planetary angel of the Sun, ruling over the sign of Leo and being described as "arrogant and prideful". This is sometimes present as Genius Bonus in some works.

Being both a soldier and a representation of God's authority, Michael is venerated as the patron of professions of authority and warfare. He is specifically identified as patron saint of police officers and the military, and he was also venerated in the Middle Ages as the patron saint of chivalry. Many knightly orders were dedicated to him, including France's first chivalric organization, the Order of Saint Michael. Michael is also associated with soothing the suffering of the sick, so he's a patron of healers as well, specifically paramedics (who can overlap with other professions under his patronage, like combat medics). Michael is also associated with sailors. And, naturally, paratroopers.

In ecclesiastical art and icons, Michael is represented in Byzantine cataphract armor, usually wearing lamellar armor, helm and cloak, and armed with spear and Flaming Sword. Alternatively, he may be represented wearing 15th century full plate armor or a muscled cuirass and optional crested helmet. He is often shown slaying a dragon with his lance.

Michael is also the patron saint of various organizations and geographical locations. He's the patron saint of Germany, and of the cities of Brussels and Kiev (in Belgium and Ukraine, respectively). Most impressively, after the Battle of Lechfeld in the Middle Ages, Michael was declared patron saint of the Holy Roman Empire itself, which would probably make him the most venerated figure in Christianity short of God/Jesus and the Virgin Mary. The town of Mikkeli, Finland, is also named after him.

Because of 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. The name itself is "Who is like God" in Hebrew, possibly from a mocking question presented to Satan during his rebellion.

Subtrope of Celestial Paragons and Archangels. See his brethren in Archangel Azrael, Archangel Gabriel, Archangel Raphael, Archangel Uriel, and (possibly) the Fallen Angel version in Archangel Lucifer, aka Satan. Also take a look at Our Angels Are Different.

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Examples:

Anime and Manga

• 07-Ghost: A version of him appears. Teito holds the Eye of Mikhail while Ouka/Rosaemanelle Ouka Barsburg holds the Eye of Raphael.
• Angel Sanctuary: The Great Archangel is about a meter high and has an awful personality. This is due to his Astral powers rapidly maturing, at which point the growth of the Angel stops. The personality is due to his rage at his brothers' betrayal of Heaven. Heterosexual Life-Partners with Raphael.
• Bastard!! (1988): Michael is presented as an extremely busty female (as is Archangel Gabriel). 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. Angels in Bastard!!, however, are most definitely not genderless, even if they try denying it — much to Michael's chagrin when Heroic Comedic Sociopath and lech extraordinaire Dark Schneider decides to cop a feel or twelve.
• A Certain Magical Index:
  • Later volumes introduce Fiamma of the Right, leader of God's Right Seat. Aligned with Archangel Michael, he possesses the very power Michael used to defeat Lucifer and give the human world "one thousand years of peace": the Holy Right. Described as the greatest weapon in history, this power makes Fiamma one of the most broken characters in the series, surpassing even Archangel Gabriel (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 Cesare - Il Creatore che ha distrutto, Cesare Borgia's real-life Consigliere Miguel da Corella is compared to his namesake, especially since this manga gives him a Lighter and Softer counterpart named Angelo. Another character offers Miguel an escape from a dangerous situation, and when he chooses to stay by Cesare's side, the other character remarks that Cesare needs both of his angels. The statue of the Archangel on top of the Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome is also referenced.
• Code Geass: Akito the Exiled: There are Euro-Britannian knightly orders named after the Archangels, and the Order of Michael has quite a bit of upheaval going on in and around it.
• Devilman: In Amon: The Darkside of the Devilman, Satan has a flashback to his battle with Michael, or rather being 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.
• High School D×D: Michael appears as the leader of the angel faction as a result of God's death, and is far and away the single nicest guy in the entire series.
• My Balls: 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...)
• While she's not called such by name, Puella Magi Madoka Magica The Movie: Rebellion has Sayaka Miki become this. She along with Nagisa serves Ultimate Madoka as what she calls a "Private secretary", she fights using a sword, and after Homura rewrites the universe and outright calls herself the Devil, Sayaka is the only one who remembers what she did and is prepared to fight her for it, though Homura manually erases her memories before she can.
• Saint Young Men: Michael appears 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.
• A Gender Flip version appears in both Seven Mortal Sins (as an antagonist) and Seven Heavenly Virtues (as a protagonist). Ironically, despite being the Angel of Faith, she actually lost her faith in humankind at some point, and in Seven Mortal Sins, she's enacting God's plan to purge Earth and Hell as He, too, lost faith on humankind.
• Shaman King: The X-Laws use synthetic spirits named after various angels. Michael is the first one seen, being the guardian ghost of Marco.
• That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: The series has an interesting take on Michael in that, while angels do exist, there's not actually an Archangel Michael. Instead, it's the name of the most powerful of the Seven Virtue Series Ultimate Skills: "Justice King Michael". Once wielded by True Stellar Dragon King Veldanava and currently held by Emperor Rudra of the Eastern Empire, Justice King Michael possesses a myriad of abilities such as an absolute defense nothing can pierce as long as the user doesn't make any offensive moves, the ability to summon and control the entire angelic host (which numbers at a million-strong army where the lowest member is of Elite Mook status compared to everyone else), and the ability to exert dominance over those who are too Weak-Willed or who possess another Virtue Series Skill. Unfortunately, Rudra is an antagonist or rather, the will of Michael itself is actively malevolent, desiring to destroy the world and the mortals for their past actions in killing Veldanava while also bringing the dead god back to life. Rudra's soul has burnt out and forced to reincarnate over thousands of years suppressing Michael's full influence, but by the present-time at the climax of the war between Tempest and the Eastern Empire, Michael manages to excise the last fragments of Rudra's soul from his body in order to act with impunity in his goals, becoming one of major Big Bads of the story.

Comic Books

• Archangels The Saga: Michael appears in the final two issues, where he comes to the main characters' aid and faces off against Ballera, the series' Big Bad, doing so with a rather memorable Pre-Asskicking One-Liner:
  Michael: You must leave this earth realm and return to the pit, or face me in combat and suffer the same fate. Which do you choose?
  Ballera responds by attacking him without saying a word
  Michael: You have chosen poorly.
• Battle Pope: As commander of celestial host, Archangel Michael looks pretty much like a winged General Patton.
• The DCU:
  • Lucifer: Michael is a prominent character. He and the title character, his brother, are on surprisingly good terms. He and Lucifer both share the title of second most powerful being in the multiverse, being equal in power and surpassed only by The Presence. Specifically, Michael has the Demiurgic power to create out of nothing.
  • The Spectre: Michael handed the title character's ass to him not once but twice when he tried to break his way into Heaven.
• Lady Death: The Archangel Michael appears as an occasional ally, antagonist, and even love interest.

Fan Works

• Ain't No Grave: Steve Rogers (who was raised Catholic in this universe) makes Catholicism-inspired portraits of all his superhero friends. He chooses Michael for Sam Wilson because Michael is an angel associated with healing and warfare and Sam is a winged superhero and former Combat Medic.
• Chance Encounter: Michael appears at the end of installments one and two, and takes Balian on a tour of Purgatory so he can see his family again.
• Codex Equus: Ascending Dawn, the Sword of Equus, serves as a counterpart to the Archangel Michael in contrast to Morning Star representing Lucifer. He's the commander of the Alicorn Civilization's armies and their greatest warrior.
• Earth-27: Michael, called the Demiurge or Michael Demiurgos, is the most senior archangel and the de facto commander of the Heavenly Host in the Presence's absence since the exile of Lucifer. He is also the only archangel to father another archangel, having fathered a daughter: Elaine Belloc.
• A History of Heaven and Its Angels, as Understood by the Archangel Gabriel: The eldest brother of the main character Gabriel. He's turned into a Broken Bird over the course of the story.
• Manchester Lost: Michael is a well-meaning, demon-smiting Leeroy Jenkins and wants to be the one to kill Lucifer. Despite this, he and Lucifer have a good deal of sexual tension and, in the sequel Paradise Thwarted, the denizens of Hell's Fangirl Layer debate whether Michael should be slashed with Satan or the other brother, Gabriel. At the end Gabriel gets him during the week, and he goes to Lucifer at weekends.
• Sonic X: Dark Chaos: Michael is referenced as one of four Archangels (himself, Gabriel, Raphael, and Tephiroth) who lead the military forces of the Angel Federation. An attache of Metatron, he is a hotheaded and aggressive berserker who personally leads the armies of the Angel rebellion against the Demon Empire. He is willing to exterminate entire galaxies if the Demons control them.

Films — Live-Action

• 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.
• Ghost Rider (2007): Michael is name-dropped 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 grave keeper doing Jonny's stitches mentions "Saint Michael himself" banishing the Devil from Heaven.
• Good Satan: As a Foil to Satan, Michael is portrayed as the loyal son and Embodiment of Virtue. This doesn't make him likable, as he spends the entire story waiting for the opportunity to kick Satan out and micromanages his girlfriend's actions to keep her "virtuous" too.
• I, Frankenstein: Michael is the creator of the Gargoyles; he's only referred to, never seen. A line from the prayer the Gargoyle Queen recites while the cathedral is under siege is from the prayer to St. Michael the Archangel, composed by Pope Leo XIII.
• Joan of Arc: Early in the movie, the Archangel Michael appears to Joan to inspire her to take up arms against the English.
• Legion: Michael is the only angel on humanity's side, although he cuts his own wings off at the beginning of the movie and so winds up physically human. He gets eviscerated by the razor-edges of Gabriel's wings and dies, but gets better (ascended) and spares Gabriel's life.
• Michael: The titular archangel is found living on earth. While generally friendly, he's also portrayed as a Blood Knight completely unable to turn down any challenge (including winning a headbutt contest with a bull).
• The Prophecy II: Michael is shown as leading the good angels against Gabriel's rogue faction.
• Wishmaster 3: Beyond the Gates of Hell: Michael is summoned to fight the djinn.

Literature

• A Batalha do Apocalipse: Michael, the Prince of Angels, is the firstborn and the most powerful of the archangels. He was born before the universe and helped God to fight against Tehom, the Darkness. After God fell asleep, he took control of the Seven Heavens and is determined to end humanity, as he considers them evil and corrupt.
• C. S. Lewis: In one of his many essays, Lewis points out that that the Devil, who is (regrettably) intelligent and the most beautiful of all angels (things which are pretty much always Good) is not, in fact, the opposite and rival force of God, but he's in fact the Rival and Anti-Michael.
• Deryni: There's 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 St. Gabriel.)
• Dialogue With The Devil consists of a series of communications between Michael and Lucifer.
• Dora Wilk Series: Michael the leader of Archangel Council (Heaven's ruling body) and generally the Trio's ally. He seems to be rather good friends with Lucifer (although the Fall put quite a strain on that). Dora describes him as looking "too perfect to seem human".
• The Dresden Files:
  • The Flat-Earth Agnostic Knight of the Cross Sanya got his holy sword Esperacchius from Michael. Additionally, the first knight introduced in the story is named Michael Carpenter, and Dresden refers to him as "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".
  • In Changes, it's implied either he or Archangel Gabriel is the one to possess Murphy as the person lays a verbal smackdown to the Red Court before the mortal does the physical part.
    ''False gods! Pretenders! Usurpers of truth! Destroyers of faith, of families, of lives, of children! For your crimes against the Mayans, against the peoples of the world, now will you answer! Your time has come! Face judgment Almighty!
• The Guardians (Meljean Brook): Michael isn't the Michael but he was named after his father's best friend, who is.
• I, Lucifer has the Archangel Michael discussed in passing and eventually having a tense conversation with Lucifer himself.
• Monster Hunter International: In book five, most of the the book is Agent Franks giving an after-action report to a strange man in what is revealed to be the afterlife. Once it's time to leave, the yet-unnamed man tells him to get in contact with a vampire hunter named Michael, before specifying "No relation."
• A Net of Dawn and Bones: The archangel Michael is stated to provide divine protection for police from evil. The malursine cannot even touch Church while she has her police badge on her.
• Paradise Lost: Michael is the Good Counterpart to the Serpent. He cuts off the Devil's entire right side to introduce him to pain and helps Adam adjust to pain by showing him that salvation will be offered in the future.
• Ro.Te.O: Michael is the "angel of war" and is the chatty counterpart to his best buddy Uriel, with which he shares the original Flaming Sword. However, his power isn't over fire but rather over dragons. A new human alias for him has been listed in a Word of God-given list of characters which means he'll probably be showing up in the successor story Resurrected Angels: Rebirth.
• The Salvation War: Michael-lan-Yahweh (later: Michael-lan-Michael) is the de-facto Anti-Villain Protagonist of the second book. He is a duplicitous, scheming yet awesome chessmaster whose primary hobbies are drugs, running a night club/brothel in heaven, toying with humanity (which in this universe is as safe as poking a sleeping dragon), trolling Yah-Yah into shooting multicolored lightning, and organizing coups.
• The Shadowhunter Chronicles: Michael is one of the invoked angel names Shadowhunters use to power up the seraphic blades. He is briefly mentioned in The Shadowhunter Codex as having been personally responsible for the slaying of Sammael, a Prince of Hell, when he invaded the human world as part of the Incursion a thousand years ago.
• The Silmarillion:
  • Michael's roles are present in Decomposite Character fashion, with two distinct Valar receiving different traits associated with the archangel:
    • Manwë 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 Eru and being the good counterpart to 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 elemental arse-kicking, though. In that respect, he can be seen as stronger than his brothers and sisters, and he was the only one Morgoth was actively afraid of even before his powers diminished to the point that any of the other Valar could beat him in a fight.
  • Eonwë acts as the St Michael to Manwë's own Michael. He is the Chief of the Maia, the herald of the highest-ranked Vala, Manwë himself (and, in early versions, his son), the greatest of arms in Arda, and the one who led the Vanyar in the War of Wrath against Morgoth. While Manwë and Tulkas both contain aspects of Michael, Eonwë is defined by them.
  • In the original conception of the Silmarillion (Unfinished Tales), there was a Vala whose province was war and battle but he was edited out of the final cut, and his attributes transferred to Tulkas on the grounds that having a Vala of War would not have been appropriate in the good camp and who in any case would have been redundant in the original perfect world envisioned by the Creator.
• Sovereign: Michael, the Demiurge, is the leader of the angels. Possessing vast quantities of Creation energy, he is the singular being holding Creation together and can use that energy to defend it, so he tends not to be messed with. He's cited as the most optimistic and least Jerkass of the archangels, and presides over autumn.
• Stranger in a Strange Land: There are hints that Mike may actually be the Archangel Michael in human form.
• Wars of the Realm: Michael acts as the head of the Warrior order of Elohim's angels and also happens to be their absolute best fighter. Sadly, he only gets to use this once—to cut a path through a horde of Fallen so Gabriel can deliver a very special message.
• Young Wizards: "Michael" is one of the identities that humans have given to one of the primary Powers active in the stories; this entity has also been identified as Thor, Athena, and Prometheus.
  • In the first book of the series, 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 protagonists into the alternate New York. "Moonfire and noon forged metal — 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.
  • In the books themselves, the Michael Power has also appeared as a prophetic parrot, and while co-inhabiting the body of an Irish teenager.
  • In addition to Michael's traditional duties, they also have the duty of keeping God's True Name in two separate pieces, since if it was kept in one piece its raw power would destroy several universes.

Live-Action TV

• Death Note: In the J-Drama adaptation, the painting that provides the page image features prominently at Wammy's house. Near (and Mello) spend much time sitting under it before heading off to Japan.
• Dominion, as the TV sequel to Legion, continues to use Michael in the role of Big Good, now primarily serving as the guardian of the city-state of Vega (formerly Las Vegas) and the unwanted mentor of series protagonist Alex.
• Good Omens (2019): Michael appears as a recurring character. As angels in this series are stated to not have specific genders "unless they try very hard", Michael is played by an actress (Doon Mackichan) but still referred to by the traditionally male name. This Michael largely plays a subordinate role to Archangel Gabriel but is more willing to use unconventional methods to achieve angelic ends, such as secretly communicating with demons via "back channels" when Heaven becomes aware that Aziraphale and Crowley have been working together. When Gabriel goes missing in season two, Michael attempts to seize the position of Supreme Archangel in his absence, and butts heads with Uriel who also wants to be in charge.
• Lucifer (2016) finally introduces Michael in Season 5, revealing that he's Lucifer's twin. Much like Lucifer's Adaptational Heroism, Michael receives Adaptational Villainy, being presented as a petty Manipulative Bastard who sets out to destroy Lucifer's life on Earth simply because he can't stand people liking Lucifer better than him. Also, whereas Lucifer can compel people to share their deepest desires, Michael can invoke people's greatest fears (which helps with the manipulation). His name was supposed to be pronouned "Mikael" to match with Lucifer's original given name of "Samael", but he insists that people call him Michael to further differentiate them.
• Reaper: Michael is alluded to numerous times by demons, and his famous sword becomes an object of interest toward the end of the first season as well.
• Supernatural:
  • Dean Winchester, Michael's vessel, is described as "the Michael Sword." 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 finally makes 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. Also, he's just as much of a know-it-all dick as Lucifer. And then it turned out that Adam, Dean and Sam's paternal half-brother, could also be used as the vessel. While inhabiting Adam, Michael is thrown into Lucifer's Cage in Hell along with his brother in the Season 5 finale. By Season 11, he's apparently a catatonic wreck. And in Season 15, God himself Rage Quits the universe and opens every door in Hell, including the Cage... Michael eventually does walk out, but it turns out he's become friends with Adam during the aeons they spent in prison together. After some nudging from the latter, he helps the Winchesters with their plan to seal away God... until his daddy issues make him sell them out to try and please God, who just kills him anyway.
  • Season 13 introduces an Alternate Universe version of Michael who is even worse than his main universe counterpart. After killing Lucifer in the Apocalypse, he reduced the world to an eternal battlefield where angels continue to fight demons with humanity stuck in the middle. Then he learns about the mainstream universe and states his intention to conquer it; as he puts it, he's going to "trade up." Season 13 ends with Dean letting himself become Michael's vessel to defeat Lucifer on the condition that it's a one-time deal. Michael reneges once Lucifer is killed.
• Tokusou Exceedraft: Mika, the little girl Hayato keeps seeing, turns out to actually be the Archangel Michael.
• Xena: Warrior Princess: A recurring character in season 5. He comes off as a manipulative schmuck.

Mythology and Religion

• Latter-Day Saints believe that Michael assisted Jehovah (Jesus) 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 heavenly existence. Some people who subscribe to preterist interpretations of Revelation also identify Michael with Jesus.
• 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 — in this cases, Satan was defeated by one of the little guys, making this a precursor to the story of David and Goliath. The highest orders in these traditions are inhuman in appearance and have more metaphysical duties. Others differentiate between lower-case archangels 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."
• In the Catholic church, Michael is the Patron Saint of soldiers. St. Michael medallions are thus fairly popular in the armed forces, often attached to keychains or dog tag chains.
• In Islam, Michael (or Mikhail) is one of the four archangels — together with Gabriel/Jibril, Raphael/Israfil, and Azrael/Izrail — and is responsible for the forces of nature. He is sometimes portrayed as a warring angel, along with Gabriel. The Qur'an only mentions Michael once, with details about his role being explained in the hadith.
• According to Joan of Arc, Michael was one of the voices she heard urging her to take up arms.
• The Bogomils, a tenth-century Gnostic sect, believed Michael to be one of the two original sons of God, alongside Satanael. Satanael rebelled against God, created the material world and mankind, and enslaved the latter, so Michael incarnated as Jesus to free mankind, in the process defeating his brother and removing the "-el" ("of God") participle of his name to cut him off from his power.

Tabletop Games

• Anima: Beyond Fantasy: Michael is female and one of the seven Beryls, godlike spirits of light. Named there Mikael, she's the most powerful of them and represents hope and salvation, as well as the most benign and pious facet of God.
• In Nomine: Michael is the Archangel of War, the eldest of the angels made by God, and the one who personally threw Lucifer out of Heaven; in personality, he's a stubborn old soldier who isn't much impressed with the younger greenhorns. He's no longer in charge of the Armies of Heaven, however, after Dominic put him on trial for vainglory and for letting his followers promote heathen traditions such as trophy-hunting and warrior cults; God intervened directly to acquit Michael. Michael works with Laurence, Archangel of the Sword and the current commander, but Michael is patron of warriors, not soldiers.
• In Nomine Satanis / Magna Veritas: Michael is a converted Viking that sometimes relapses into some pagan practices (such as weapon worship or keeping trophies). Also, he still wields a battle axe instead of a "noble" weapon. But nobody says anything, because without him Heaven's forces would lose their best warrior. His earthly HQ is in the Mont Saint-Michel, Normandy.
• Old World of Darkness: Archangel Michael is a prominent figure in the fluff.
  • Demon: The Fallen: Michael succeeds Lucifer as the 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 Fallen Houses.
  • Vampire: The Masquerade: Michael delivered one of God's four curses upon Caine, the first vampire.
• Witchcraft: In the Armageddon expansion, Archangel Michael left heaven and founded The Alliance because she—that surprised her as much as everybody else—was pissed off at Gabriel. Gabriel is one of the setting's biggest pricks.
• Yu-Gi-Oh!: Lightsworn Arch Michael gets his name from the Archangel Michael, hence the "Arch" in the card name. He can retrieve his fellow Lightsworn from the grave and place them back in the deck, indicating his might.

Video Games

• Blue Archive: Michael here goes by the name Misono Mika. Mika is a student at Trinity, leader of the Tea Party Pater faction, her weapon is named Quis ut Deus, and her birthday coincides with Michael's feast day.
• Dragalia Lost: Michael is the Archangel Sigil-bound to the Apostle Basileus, whose full motives for aiding in the Archdemons' release and Satan's revival is as yet unknown.
• Final Fantasy XIV: The leader of the sin eaters, named Innocence, borrows heavily from depictions of St. Michael. It is a beautiful figure with flowing blond hair, armed with a long spear and wings made from swords. Its ultimate attack is "Flaming Sword", a reference to Michael's association with fire.
• Granblue Fantasy: Michael appears as a woman serving under the supreme primarch Lucifer, who in this universe is the games Big Good and the strongest of all the primarchs. Like the Archangel Michael, she is the primarch of fire who acts as a Cosmic Keystone to the element, regulating and keeping it in balance. She was an adjutant of Lucifer, being described as second only to him in leadership skills. Because of this, she was viewed as in command of the other primarchs in his place when he was not present. While strong, being among the strongest primals in existence, she's very arrogant, as shown by her rushing into battle against the Big Bad in "What Makes the Sky Blue" without preparation and facing a humiliating defeat. Even after being defeated, Her lust for battle doesn't extinguish. In terms of personality and mannerisms, she is tomboyish, having rough, masculine mannerisms and speech patterns, as well as a deep voice. This is in contrast to the primarch Gabriel, who is peppy and feminine.
• Guilty Gear: One of Justice's moves (and later its Overdrive variant) references Michael and his weapon (Michael Sword and its Overdrive version "Michael Blade"). It stands out amongst the series' myriad Shout-Outs to heavy metal bands.
• The Last Comer: The Archangel Michael appears under the name of Michel Sant'Angelo.
• Might and Magic: Michael is prominent character in the Ashan continuity and Might & Magic Heroes VI especially. Archangel Michael, celestial paragon that he is, former leader of the Children of Light (creations of the dragon-god-of-light Elrath) and general of the Holy Falcon Empire, good but not great tactician and strategist, son of the late Aurora and brother of Uriel. Unleashed his might and powers onto invading demons and more-of-neutral the Children of Darkness, the Faceless (opposites to angels). Known for good deeds, like saving the world from demonic conquest by defeating the notorious Azkaal, Demon Prince of Destruction, and far from good, like instigating the conflict between humans and the Faceless. Ended up in tragic death at the hands of Erebos (the evil Faceless and Master of Assassins), during the Elder Wars, but, both miraculously and suspiciously (by Uriel, sacrificing Pavel Griffin's soul) - got better. Michael became a manipulative adviser to fellow humans — Emperor Liam Falcon and Duke Anton Griffin, aided Anton in crushing rebellions, retaking some lands from Nagas, and repelling invading demons. Michael was concerned with Uriel controlling Anastasya's (Anton's younger sister) mind. During the Second Eclipse Michael defended the souls in Hall of Memories with his own life and may have been slain by Cate, the dragon knight, and her children. Which just might not be a very bad thing after all.
• Shin Megami Tensei: Michael appears as one of the Seraphs.
  • Shin Megami Tensei I: He commands the forces of Law and is the Final Boss of the Chaos route, or one of two in the Neutral route (you can take out him and Asura in either order).
  • Shin Megami Tensei II: He appears disguised as one of the Center elder leaders attempting to create the Thousand Year Kingdom and summon a false YHWH.
  • He is oddly absent from the story of Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne, despite the other three archangels appearing as bosses and followers of the Reason of Yosuga. He only appears as a summonable ally created by fusing said archangels during a full Kagutsuchi.
  • Persona: Michael is commonly a high-level Persona of the Judgment Arcana.
    • 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.
    • Persona 5: Michael is again a high-level Persona, created by fusing the other three archangels, and fought as a boss immediately prior to the Final Boss due to being the last of Yaldabaoth's heralds. He can be itemized into Makoto's strongest revolver, which grants her a sizable boost to all of her stats, turning her into a Lightning Bruiser.
• Rage of Bahamut: While Michael is a man, he is easily pretty enough to be mistaken for a woman.
• Trillion: God of Destruction: Although he doesn't appear in the game itself, Michael is mentioned a lot as the main character, Zeabolos', greatest opponent and the one he enjoyed fighting the most. He's only spoken of very highly, despite having been on the opposite side.

Webcomics

• Beyond the End: Michael is head archangel in Heaven and makes all the calls on God's behalf. He's ruthless in keeping order in Heaven, ready to cut out anyone who may disturb the peace. He runs on his sense of justice and truth being the only ones that follow the will of the Lord.
• College Roomies from Hell!!!: Mike might be him, according to a dream/flashback sequence, which would make this a late-established Meaningful Name.
• Forming: Michael came into existence solely to defeat Lucifer, but found himself unable to return to the Absolute once the universe had been created.
• Kill Six Billion Demons: 2 Michael^note the number indicates how many times he's incarnated; angels reform bodies if they're killed is a Prime Angel — the only one to have reincarnated fully since the slaughter of the Prime Angels in the past — and White Chain's superior. He's not very nice and doesn't think much of humans. The artificial body in which he appears in the mortal world looks a bit mummified and carries a sword, while his true form looks like a huge, human-headed bird.
• Lessa: Michael was one of Ra's Apostles, who opposed Luciel and ultimately gave up his life to intervene in the latter's schemes.
• Pokey the Penguin: The story arc in #250-253 involves Pokey dying, going to heaven, driving over the Archangel Michael with his new formula one racecar, and volunteering to be the new Archangel.
  "LET ME DO IT I AM A GOOD ARCHANGEL! I ALREADY HAVE THE WINGS AND THE GUN! JUST GIVE ME THE WHISKEY!!!"

  — POKEY THE ARCHANGEL
• Satan and Me: Michael is something of an arrogant prat but a good guy underneath it all and his relationship with Satan is riddled with them switching between acting like they hate each other and hints that they still care for each other in a brotherly fashion. More interestingly, there's a completely normal guy who has the same name and actually bears some resemblance to him in both looks and personality. Once Natalie meets Archangel Michael, she can't unsee the resemblance Human Michael has. But other than both knowing Natalie, there is actually no connection between them.

Web Originals

• Animerica: Michael was left in charge as God left to take a day of rest that lasted over one thousand Earth years. After appointing the twelve apostles to watch over Earth, Michael, along with Archangel Gabriel and Archangel Raphael, left to watch over Earth. However, they did a terrible job. Fearing God's return and punishment, Michael discovered the realm of Unoya, a realm that shapes itself to your pleasures that is outside God's jurisdiction. The three Archangels created three keys that would take them to Unoya, but the keys were rushed and thus incomplete. However, Michael still ordered that they be used. The resulting fusion with the keys caused a disaster, sending the three keys to Earth and trapping the Archangels in Limbo.

Western Animation

• Angel Wars: Unsurprisingly, he's The Captain of their squad. This version is a wise Reasonable Authority Figure with astonishing amounts of patience and forgiveness.
• Superbook (2011): Michael is a recurring character, and is in fact the very first Biblical character that the kids meet in the first episode (fittingly, they meet a distance away from Heaven's front gate mere moments before Lucifer's rebellion and fall). Like other warrior-angels in this show, Michael wears white and gold armor and carries a flaming sword, and we get to see an Adaptation Expansion of the fight between him and Lucifer, which Michael wins by blasting bright light from his armor's chest-plate and causing numerous rocks to fly out of the wall behind him to pelt Lucifer.

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