| abstract
| - Burned spy and all-around badass who loves his mom, sunglasses, yogurt, and things blowing up.
* Abusive Dad: Michael's dad used to beat him, in part because Michael antagonized him to keep his attentions off little brother Nate.
* Because of his tough childhood, Michael is fiercely protective of children (see Berserk Button below).
* In one episode, the Baddie of the Week is an abusive father, and Michael adopts the persona of someone who would have the motivation and opportunity to gutpunch the dude mercilessly and often.
* In another episode, a baddie takes advantage of Michael's history by pretending to be an abused wife trying to find her son. This works until she pulls a gun and tries to kill Michael and what is now his client.
* Often times when he has to act overtly angry or when he's giving a heart-to-heart to a client, Michael will get a Thousand-Yard Stare during or after, suggesting that though he's changing the names to protect his privacy, he's drawing upon his memories of his father.
* Of course, because he's a bastard, Anson reveals that Frank eventually had a Heel Realization and honestly wanted to make up with his son...but his organization killed him when he became suspicious of Anson's probing.
* Michael pulls out an impersonation of his father to help motivate his mother's performance during a case. Neither of them is okay with it.
* Anti-Hero: Type III, though some cases can push him toward type IV.
* Badass
* Badass Beard: His Cameo in The Fall of Sam Axe.
* Battle Couple: With Fiona.
* Berserk Button: Michael frequently talks about the need to stay emotionally detached, but he will always take clients solely because kids are involved. It's a sore spot for him and has happened no less than 8 times.
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* His other Berserk Button is Fiona, as anyone who harms her finds out.
* Big Brother Instinct: Michael has this toward Nate.
* Big Brother Mentor: Michael, as above. At least, when Nate is willing to be mentored.
* Blue Oni
* Combat Commentator
* Combat Pragmatist: "Spies are not trained to fight fair. Spies are trained to win."
* Consummate Liar: With an interesting subversion: he regularly lies outright to killers, thieves, and drug dealers, but he has trouble fooling his own mom. And when these occasions come up, it's pretty easy for the audience to see too.
* By season three, Michael has all but given up on trying to lie to his mom and resorts to vague language even though both of them know what he's talking about. By the season four premiere, he stops trying to lie to his mom altogether and simply tells her the truth, even the uncomfortable parts.
* Deadpan Snarker
* Even the Guys Want Him: If the art dealer from the pilot is an indication.
* Gentleman Thief: Michael promises to take care of your car if he steals it, and if he steals it during a workday, to bring it back by five.
* "Noble Gestures" reveals he's been abandoning them and having his mom report them. She wins an award for crimefighting, and Mike's a little irritated that she's getting credit for his work.
* Good Scars, Evil Scars: A pair of scars surrounding his left eye, a lasting memory of dear ol' dad.
* Guile Hero
* Hyper Awareness: Michael explicitly mentions the term but also says that it can play tricks on you, seeing into things that aren't really there.
* In the pilot Michael makes casual mention to Fiona that he was aware of the three FBI agents watching him at a club.
* On the flip side, during the first few episodes of season 5, Michael mentions that this can happen after an operation is over resulting in constant paranoia and troubled sleep even though you know everything is over, primarily due to having been on edge for so long.
* Indy Ploy: Michael is often forced to use these whenever something unexpected happens, all the time. Arguably, most of his apparent Xanatos Gambits are just him Indy Ploy-ing from one simple plan to another.
* Several episodes require Michael figure things out on the fly. The best example was probably an episode where he was being held as a hostage in a bank. He subtly sabotaged the bad guys' plan without them knowing that it was being sabotaged.
* Frequently, his cover is blown, so he keeps talking or takes a hostage while figuring a way to escape.
* In one case, he blew his own cover because the guy he was working with was really a Thief With A Heart Of Gold.
* Michael almost mentions this trope by name when, after Sam asks him what the plan is, replies with a hasty "I'm making this up as I go."
* Sam Lampshades it again in "Blind Spot" with the client, who doesn't think much of their plan: "We pretty much make it up as we go along."
* Jerk with a Heart of Gold: To anybody other than family and friends, Michael appears to be a pretty big jerk. However, he has a genuine soft spot for kids, especially when it comes to kids and their relationship to their fathers.
* Keep the Reward: Michael sure does refuse payment a lot, though he usually ends up keeping enough to cover expenses. A maddeningly frequent plot formula is "Michael grudgingly accepts a job because he needs the money. Michael does the job. Michael refuses to take any money."
* The Kirk: Michael is The Captain of the show's Power Trio, with Sam and Fiona rotating between the roles of The Spock and The McCoy.
* Married to the Job: A recurring theme is that Michael's obsession with spy work and helping others is an obstacle for most of his relationships.
* Not Even Bothering with the Accent: Jeffrey Donovan puts on a lot of different accents for Michael's guise du jour, but he doesn't bother to shed his native Boston accent when playing Michael, who grew up in Miami. Easily justified, as an accent is difficult to maintain long term and it's an Acceptable Break From Reality.
* Omniglot: Subverted. Michael is fluent in Arabic, Russian, Persian, and Czech, has recently learned French and German, and even speaks a bit of Urdu. However, even though he grew up in Miami, he doesn't speak a lick of Spanish.
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* The season 4 finale reveals Tagalog is also one he doesn't know (or at least
* Parental Abandonment: Due to his father's abuse, his mother's weirdness, his own dangerous line of work and his brother's gambling issue, Michael makes an effort to avoid his family. He mentions that a lot of spies are this way.
* Quick Draw: He's only demonstrated it once, as he prefers not to kill unless he absolutely has to, but he outdrew a man who already had his gun drawn and aimed. That's quick.
* Reluctant Retiree: Michael's feeble attempts at domesticity in season five.
* See You in Hell: Michael's dad's last words to him, and his last words to Anson.
* Sharp-Dressed Man: Oh yes. He tries to wear tieless light-colored Armani suits whenever possible.
* Showy Invincible Hero: The show is split into 2 storylines. A: Michael helps a Miami local with a problem and, B: Michael tracks down the expert spies and government officials who burned him. A main draw of the show is how well Michael conquers the everyday crooks in the A-line, often having to deal with unpredictable scenarios when the criminals don't do what he expects them to do. Still, he always comes out on top and with style.
* Shrouded in Myth: In Russia at least (and probably elsewhere). As far as the Russians are concerned, he's some sort of mystical bogeyman.
* The Spook
* Technical Pacifist: He's not averse to putting people in positions to get themselves killed, or to get them killed, but it's very rare for Michael to pull the trigger himself. If he does, it's usually to protect Fiona. This has been lifted slightly in S5 now that he's working for the CIA again but even still, he rarely gets an onscreen kill.
* Think Nothing of It: See Keep the Reward.
* Trademark Favorite Food: Yogurt.
* Tranquil Fury: If Michael's yelling, it's probably because he's pretending to be someone else. If he's not, it certainly doesn't mean he's not pissed.
* Demonstrated excellently in "Out of the Fire" (toward Larry, who knows exactly how much he's pissed off Michael), and in "Last Stand", when Vaughn reveals he has Madeline held hostage.
* Vigilante Man: Michael can seem like a more elegant form of this at times.
* Wig, Dress, Accent: Most of Michael's disguises, though he usually just restyles his hair instead of getting a wig. The personae he adopts are what sells them.
* Subverted in "Sins of Omission". Michael is facing a Dangerously Genre Savvy ex-CIA agent, so he and Fiona break into the man's house and wait for him as...themselves.
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