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This subject appears in Serious Sam 4.  This subject is from the Mental War era. 

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"Amen!"
―Father Mikhail's catchphrase[src]
 

Mikhail Obruchev, commonly referred to as Father Mikhail, was a priest of the Eastern Orthodox Church who worked with the Earth Defense Force. He was assigned to the EDF's elite squad, the Alien Artifact Acquisition, to assist them in finding the Ark of the Covenant and the Holy Grail. He is a major supporting character in Serious Sam 4, and is posthumously mentioned in Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem.

Biography[]

Mikhail was born in the city of Murmansk, Russia. At some point in his life, he attended the St. Damianus Academy of Eschatology in Helsinki, Finland. During that time, he soon became interested in studying apocryphal and pseudoepigraphical texts.[1]

In his later years, he became a priest of the Eastern Orthodox Church, and his grand knowledge on ancient texts did not go unnoticed. The Earth Defense Force, seeing that Mikhail could be of use to them, was assigned to the Alien Artifact Acquisition team by General Brand to help the EDF locate an alien artifact which may be the origin of the Holy Grail myth.[1]

Appearances[]

Serious Sam 4[]

Sam Kenny and Mikhail

Sam and Kenny meet up with Father Mikhail.

Father Mikhail is the contact the Triple-A team are sent to rendezvous with in Rome, Italy. Being escorted in a convoy, the team consists of Serious Sam, Kenny, Rodriguez, Jones, and Carter.

All of a sudden, the convoy comes under attack by Octanian Raider. In the chaos, Sam and Kenny are separated after their car gets hit, forcing them to meet up with Father Mikhail on foot.[2]On the way there, Quinn informs Sam that she has received a signal from Father Mikhail, and transmits the location to his NETRICSA. Sam clears the area of any enemy forces and he and Kenny proceed to the church.

Mikhail is seen exiting the church, reciting the Christian Trinity as he blasts some Processed and a Belcher with his signature shotgun. Outside of the church, he is introduced to Sam and Kenny. A confused Father Mikhail mentions that he was supposed to be meeting a convoy, as he is unaware of the tragic event that had taken place beforehand.[2]

With introductions out of the way, Sam contacts Hellfire for extraction. She informs him that she will be picking up Rodriguez and Jones at the Piazza della Repubblica, and asks if she will meet him there. It is agreed, and Mikhail proceeds along with Sam and Kenny.[3] The three fight through the alien-infested streets and dealing with swarms of processed along the way. Eventually, Sam, Kenny and Father Mihkail make it to the plaza, where they meet up with Rodriguez and Jones. Heavy fighting soon takes place, and this soon gets the attention of a giant metal space snake which bursts out from beneath the ground. Sam kills it, and once the area is clear, Hellfire arrives in a city bus to extract Father Mikhail and the rest of the team safely out of Rome.[3]

Once the team have arrived on base, Mikhail thanks the EDF for his rescue, but Brand mentions that they still need to get back to the Vatican Library to find more information on the Holy Grail. However, with the Octanian Raiders dominating the airspace, the team decide to activate the HAARP satellite to trigger Mount Vevusius to erupt in order to ground the air fleet. The team agree and begin setting up beacons in the ruins of Pompeii, while Carter takes Father Mikhail back into Rome before "project Rock 'n' roll" goes live.[4]

Around the time Mount Vesuvius erupts, Father Mikhail and Carter are left to deal with the aftermath of the mission after Rome is hit by heavy seismic activity and earthquakes. The two seek shelter in the catacombs beneath the Colosseum. Around this time, they lose signal with headquarters, which prompts Quinn and General Brand to send Sam and Rodriguez back into to Rome to rescue them.[5] Once Sam and Rodriguez establish contact with Carter and Father Mikhail, he relays some vital information to Sam and his team; they are not actually looking for the Holy Grail, but an ancient text that he hopes will reveal the artifact's location. Mikhail explains in detail that once Sam gets to the Vatican Library, he has to find the statue of Saint George and activate a secret mechanism that will reveal the text that they are looking for.[6] Sam does as instructed and makes his way to the Vatican. Sam finds the text and he and the team make their way to Carcassonne, France. However, their plane comes under heavy fire from Octanian Raiders, forcing them to jump out.[7]

Father Mikhail and the others lose contact with Sam, but they are able to land south of Carcassonne, while Sam makes it to the castle on his own.[8]

Mikhail warns Sam

Mikhail warns Sam that the Grail may not be what it seems.

Later on, Sam meets up with Mikhail and Carter at the castle in Carcassonne, and they make their way to the abandoned church where the Grail is believed to be at. Lord Achriman suddenly appears and confronts Sam and his friends. Sam defeats and kills him to avenge Kenny, whom the latter had killed earlier.[9] Sam informs Father Mikhail that they should continue with their mission and get the Grail, but Mikhail warns Sam that he doubts the artifact they are seeking truly is the Grail, and he believes that it is something with a far more sinister purpose.[10]

Despite Mikhail's protests, Sam tells him they should continue anyway, seeing that they have made it this far. Mikhail and the others then enter the church. Once inside, he insists they perform a ritual that, according to the book, will reveal the Ark of the Covenant, despite thinking it is unwise to do so. Sam states that if Father Mikhail won't do it, he would rather do it "his way" and blow up the church with C-4. Hellfire, Rodriguez, Carter, and especially Father Mikhail, disagree with Sam's unorthodox methods, seeing as he had already blown up the Vatican to retrieve the book.[11]

Following the instructions from the book, Mikhail activates a few hidden mechanisms which eventually reveals the Ark. Mikhail mentions that can feel the immense power of the Ark. Sam opens it and reveals that the artifact they are looking is for is not the Holy Grail, but rather a sinister-looking golden scepter with the figure of a snake coiled around it.

Brand kills Mikhail

A monstrous Brand kills Father Mikhail using the 'Holy Grail'.

Sam is about the grab the artifact when Mikhail warns him not to touch it, as it was sealed away in the Ark due to the danger it possesses.[12] Suddenly, General Brand appears with his men, their guns trained at Father Mikhail and the rest of the team. Brand, revealing himself to be a traitor and intending to use the artifact to win himself over to Mental's side, grabs the scepter and allows the strange snake figure to bite him, transforming him into a monster. Mikhail attempts to intervene, considering Brand to be unholy and begins praying. Brand has had enough though, seeing as he is the religious type, and impales Mikhail with the Grail, killing him.[12]

Mikhail is mentioned by Carter during the game credits. Sam proposes a toast in rememberance of their fallen comrades, including Father Mikhail. Carter raises a drink to Father Mikhail to honor his lost friend.[13]

Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem[]

Father Mikhail is posthumously mentioned by Igor Ledov as a sign of respect and his admiration.[14] Ledov also mentions him whenever he is fighting Mental's forces in-game.

Appearance[]

Father Mikhail was a middle aged man of Russian descent with a bald head and portly build. He had brown eyes and a grey beard. He wore a leather jacket bearing the Triple-A logo on it, which signified his position as a member of the team. He also wore grey combat pants with a gun holster and black boots. His left had been bandaged up, due to an injury he had suffered at some point.

Relationships[]

Sam Stone[]

He and Sam were pretty close, though Mikhail didn't always approve of Sam's way of doing things, such as when he decided to blow up the Vatican Library to retrieve the sacred book instead of relaying Mikhail's instructions.[11] Mikhail was also impressed with Sam's skills when it came to fighting against Mental's forces, although he was a bit disturbed after he blew Lord Achriman's head clean off.[12]

Daniel Carter[]

Out of everyone on the Triple-A team, only Mikhail got along well with Carter and actually took his conspiracy theories seriously. Carter liked to share his theories with him whenever the two were together.[6][15]

Howard Brand[]

Not much is known about interaction between the two. Mikhail warned Brand about the properties of the Holy Grail, but Brand dismissed his beliefs. When Brand turned himself into a monster using the powers of the Grail, Father Mikhail tried to stop him, but Brand already grown frustrated with Mikhail's prayers and stabbed him with the Grail, which further tensioned their already tense relationship. When Brand asked what Mikhail did his God think of him, Mikhail's final words were, "He says, fuck you".[12]

Lord Achriman[]

Just like with Mental, Mikhail harbored deep resenment towards Achriman, though his hatred for him was not as strong as Sam's.[9] When he encountered Lorcd Achriman in person, he started mocking his legs, calling them "tiny".

Mental[]

He wasn't particularly fond of Mental, and considered his forces to be unholy. He even referred to the latter as a "false god".[6]

Personality and skills[]

Father Mikhail was a kind and compassionate man. He was friendly towards his friends and comrades, and was not one to judge other people's characters or morals, though he was encouraging to share his beliefs with others, even if they weren't considered very religious or had a more pragmatic nature.[7] Mikhail showed no fear or remorse towards Mental's forces, and would gladly kill any that stood in his or his friends' way.

While Mikhail did harbour a great amount of respect towards his friends and showed admiration and passion for helping the EDF finding the Holy Grail, he was also very intelligent and quick witted. His skills in deciphering ancient languages made him suspect that there was something more to their mission than they initially realized. An instance of this was, after reading from the old Slavic text, Mikhail had suspected that the Holy Grail was an "evil" artifact that was hidden and shielded away from mankind due to its unholy powers. His suspicions were later confirmed when the 'Grail' turned it to be a dangerous device of extraterrestrial origin with sinister purposes.[12]

Powers and abilities[]

Mikhail fighting Mental's Horde

Father Mikhail using his shotgun to take down some of Mental's forces.

  • High Intelligence: Having studied historical languages and texts while he was in Finland, Father Mikhail had gathered an extensive knowledge of archaic languages. He was very knowledgeable regarding human history and ancient texts, and was fluent in many languages, including Old Slavic, Latin, Ancient Aramaic, Ancient Greek, Biblical Hebrew, and Vedic Sanskrit.[1]
  • Weapon Proficiency: Father Mikhail was proficient with firearms, particularly shotguns, and was able to take down many of Mental's forces with it to protect his comrades.

Behind the scenes[]

  • Mikhail is modeled after Damjan Mravunac, the music composer of the Serious Sam franchise. The academy that Mikhail attended (St. Damianus), also sounds similar to his name.
  • "Mikhail" is a male given name of Hebrew origin. It means "who is like God?" or "there is none like God".
    • This is likely a reference to Father Mikhail being a member of the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Trivia[]

  • His shotgun was blessed by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople after Mikhail saved him from a Kleer Skeleton.[1]
  • Mikhail is very similar to Father Grigori from Half-Life 2, as both characters are Russian and members of the Eastern Orthodox Church. They are also of similar age and bear a resemblance somewhat.
    • Father Mikhail and Grigori also both use shotguns, though Grigori prefers to use his rifle Annabelle, and only uses a shotgun briefly before lending it to Gordon Freeman.
  • He can be selected as a player model in both Serious Sam 4 and Siberian Mayhem.
    • His model has a bigger collision hitbox than other player models, which may prevent a secret in the latter game from being obtained if the player chooses him as their player model.
  • In the "Sorcerous Samuel" game featured in the level The Package, Father Mikhail is parodied as a man named "Michel".
  • He died one day before his birthday, which fell on May 24.

Gallery[]

Artwork[]

Retail[]

List of appearances[]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 The Art of Serious Sam 4, page 168
  2. 2.0 2.1 Serious Sam 4 level: Death from Above
  3. 3.0 3.1 Serious Sam 4 level: Death from Below
  4. Serious Sam 4 level: Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
  5. Serious Sam 4 level: The Die is Cast
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 Serious Sam 4 level: When in Rome
  7. 7.0 7.1 Serious Sam 4 level: A Breakfast in France
  8. Serious Sam 4 level: Vive la Résistance
  9. 9.0 9.1 Serious Sam 4 level: One for the Road
  10. Serious Sam 4 level: Anathema Unto God
  11. 11.0 11.1 Serious Sam 4 level: Machina Ex Deus
  12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 Serious Sam 4 (basilica cutscene)
  13. Serious Sam 4 credits
  14. Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem loading screen quotes
  15. Serious Sam 4 level: In Carcassonne
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