Mike (Samurai)

Mike is Samurai Ranger Forest, the Green Samurai Ranger in Power Rangers Samurai. He loves video games and is a bit of a rebel. As Green Ranger, he pilots the Bear FoldingZord and controls the element of forest.

Mike is a slacker who also likes hanging out with his friends. He is effective as a Ranger, though his sense of humor and lazy tendencies don't always line up with the ways of the Samurai.

Character History
Mike first appeared in Origins, where Mentor Ji's call to arms took out a hot dog he was eating. He was revealed to be the Green Ranger, and soon proved that despite his slacking, he was a very capable fighter.

Not much has been revealed about Mike's past. It was established early on, however, that he was far different from his fellow rangers. Unlike the others' unwavering dedication, Mike had no problems stopping for a bite to eat, and putting his training on hold for fun. While this keeps him one of the more well-adjusted members of the Samurai team, it does show during battle, as he is commonly depicted as rushing in early, and being knocked out quickly.

However, Mike has been shown to be a hard worker when given the right motivation, as he trained tirelessly to get strong enough to master the Beetle Disc in Forest for the Trees, when it is given to Mia instead of him. It eventually pays off, and he earns the Beetle Disc to keep.

His greatest time to shine came when four of the Rangers get switched with inanimate objects leaving just him and Emily. Ji gives him the Black Box, and with it's power he and Emily prevail.



Jayden
Mike's relationship with Jayden is very professional, mostly from Jayden's end. Jayden tends to take Mike's joking with a grain of salt, and simply smiles in amusement when he makes a fool of himself. Jayden respects Mike, however, and took his side when Mentor Ji took away his Samuraizer in Forest for the Trees.

Kevin
Kevin is often on the receiving end of Mike's verbal jabs. They are good friends, despite how intrinsically they clash; Mike's carefree attitude tends to conflict greatly with Kevin's workaholic attitude. They still get along well, even if they tend to lecture each other.

Emily
Emily shares possibly the deepest bond with Mike. It has been hinted that they were closer than the others throughout the series, but the end of Clash of the Red Rangers - The Movie, he expresses disdain at how Scott Truman looks at her. (Emily is quick to point out that he was wearing a helmet, so there was no way he would be able to tell how he was looking at her.) At the end of the movie, Scott advises Mike about his potential relationship with Emily, something that Mike stated opened his eyes.

Mia
Mike is probably the most vocal when it comes to Mia's lack of cooking ability, though like the others, he is quick to spit it out or throw it away when she isn't looking. Outside of this, his interactions with her are limited.

Lauren
Like the other rangers, Mike had difficulty dealing with Jayden's departure from the team when his older sister, Lauren, took his place as Red Ranger. He did, however, make it clear that he respected Lauren's abilities. He was the first one to challenge her to a one-on-one sparring session (against Kevin's wishes, as Jayden apparently disliked doing this), and Lauren happily agreed. Despite Mike's unique fighting style and sometimes tricky swordplay, Lauren quickly gained the upper hand, taking Mike down hard. Mike hasn't shown any problems following her orders, and has expressed how impressed he is with her skills.

Mentor Ji
Mentor expressed difficulty early on in training Mike, because he did not behave in as dedicated a manner as the other Samurai Rangers. In the episode Forest for the Trees, this came to a head, as the events of the episode led to Mike disobeying orders, and allowing a Nighlok to escape. Seeing him as a danger to the team, he confiscated Mike's Samuraizer, effectively removing him from the team.

Soon, Jayden pointed out to Ji that Mike was not like the other Samurai, and that he never would be, meaning Ji needed to adjust the way he taught to match Mike's learning style. He compared Mentor's tactics to "trying to push a door that was meant to be pulled". Mentor Ji tracked Mike down and took him to the forest, helping him to understand his power symbol. Upon the return of his Samuraizer, it was proven that this worked, as Mike's renewed understanding of the forest earned him a win in the next battle.

Samurai Ranger Forest, the Green Samurai Ranger
As the Green Ranger, Mike has access to multiple modes.

Trivia

 * Mike is the second Ranger to use the Green Samurai Ranger title, after Cameron Watanabe in Ninja Storm.
 * He is also the second ranger to be named Mike, after Mike Corbett, Lost Galaxy's second Magna Defender.
 * The character on his helmet is the kanji character for "wood", but the writers for Samurai decided to translate it to "forest", perhaps to avoid double entendre remarks. However, it works, because the kanji for "forest" (森, mori) is practically three "wood" kanji.
 * Early scripts listed his name as "Parry."
 * Like his Sentai counterpart Chiaki, Mike is a big video game player and he has somewhat of a rebellious nature as well. However, Mike is a more toned down version of Chiaki.
 * It is revealed in Something Fishy that Mike is claustrophobic.
 * A Shogun Mode was designed for Mike, but went unused in the toyline, and is only seen during the Shogun transformation sequence in the show.