Summary[]
Michael "Mike" Ehrmantraut is one of the main characters in the Breaking Bad crime drama franchise. He is a major character in Breaking Bad, one of the two deuteragonists in its prequel/sequel series Better Call Saul, and a minor character in its 2019 sequel film El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie.
Mike is a former Philadelphia police officer who becomes a private investigator, fixer, and enforcer in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He works primarily for Gus Fring's drug operation and is associated with lawyer Saul Goodman (Jimmy McGill) and chemistry teacher turned drug manufacturer Walter White. His motivation is to provide his family (daughter-in-law Stacey and granddaughter Kaylee) with a stable financial future.
Moral Statistics[]
Moral Ranking: 4-, 3+,
Origin: Breaking Bad
Names and other aliases: Pop Pop
Classification: Honorable Enforcer
- Sub-Classifications
- Status: Deceased
- Occupations:
- Hitman, cleaner, fixer, private investor, drug enforcer
- Right-hand man of Gus Fring, Head of Security for Los Pollos Hermanos, Philadelphia police officer, various others (all formerly)
- Hobbies: Spending time with his family, handiwork
Gender: Male
Size:
- Height: 5′ 9″
- Weight: Unknown
Age: 58-62 ("Uno"), 65-69 ("Say My Name")
Life Involvement:
- Lives Saved: 2
- Lives Taken: 18
Primary Motive: Ambition, Revenge
Alignment: Neutral Evil (with some Lawful Neutral leanings)
Allies: Gus Fring, Saul Goodman, Nacho Varga, Jesse Pinkman, Kim Wexler, Werner Ziegler, Victor, Tyrus Kitt
Enemies: Walter White, Hoffman & Fensky, Tuco Salamanca, Hector Salamanca, Lalo Salamanca, Lydia Rodarte-Quayle
Morality Standard: Common Hostility Negative, Safe Nobility Positive
- Multi-Inconvenient (helped Gus and Walt build their massive drug empires, killed 18 people in total, and killed Werner Ziegler, a mostly innocent man, helped rob a train full of methylamine, assaulted and threatened to kill or hurt many people, and covered up many drug-related crimes, including the murder of a child)
- Noble (dedicated his entire existence to providing for his family, avenged the death of his son by killing Hoffman & Fensky, tried to kill Hector Salamanca, got Tuco Salamanca arrested to protect Nacho, saved Jimmy McGill's life from a Colombian cartel gang, saved Jesse from Gaff's gunshots, protected Jimmy and Kim from Lalo Salamanca, helped Gus destroy the entire cartel partly out of moral conviction, unlike Gus himself)
Resourceful Capability: Skilled (highly intelligent and possesses many skills, including expert marksmanship and tactical strategy)
Competency: Partially Successful (succeeded in almost all of his goals and activities until his death at the hands of Walt, thereby failing his ultimate goal of providing for his family, rendering most of his success futile)
Tone Presence: Neutral, Pleasant (sometimes, usually when spending time with his family)
- Noble Prevention (has done some heroic acts, sometimes putting his life at risk for others, is affable, honorable and has standards, cares about his family, feels remorse for his acts and life in general)
- Nasty Prevention (is a lethal hitman and enforcer for a drug empire who commits many murders, alongside many other severe crimes, and is often a jerk to other people)
- Ruined (He's tragic, as after his son died, Mike blamed himself and became a very broken and cynical man who believes that he cannot escape the road that he is on. He is also very insecure and his death is played for heavy sympathy given Walt shot him out of petty spite)
- Complete Moral Agency