Some Mickey Mouse HCs I have and just want to share for the sake of it
Mickey is actually a good artist. He likes to sketch in his free time and create art as gifts to his friends. His art ranges from silly gag comics to really beautiful intricate designs. He doesn't plan to become a professional artist, but prefers it as a hobby
Mickey has no fashion sense whatsoever. He just wears whatever he finds in his closet which is usually the same or a very similar outfit to what he typically wears. Which is probably for the best because if he tries to experiment, it tends to end in disaster.
Mickey actually doesn't like wearing shirts. He finds them a bit uncomfortable to wear. But he unfortunately (depending on the media) has to, despite his protests. Minnie tries to help him find shirts that are more breathable and less irritating for him to wear.
Mickey isn't the best chef in the world. But he is able to make himself and others a decent meal if he reads the instructions or a recipe card. He's know for having a really good Mac and Cheese though and grilling some of the best Hot Dogs around.
A lot of people on the outside think Donald looks up to Mickey as the more "well-liked" one and feels lucky to be connected to him, but it is actually the other way around. Mickey has such deep respect and admiration for Donald and greatly appreciates their friendship
Though it might be surprising, Mickey has a deep seated fear of being replaced or abandoned by his friends. This is actually why he tends to be so against Mortimer Mouse (outside of the bullying) and why he would probably would feel a bit odd around José. He can't help but to be partially jealous and see them as competitors for his friend's (or lover's) affection. He feels guilty about this, but will never talk about it.
If Mickey were to ever get into a fandom (which isn't often though it happens) he 100% would be the lore heavy fan who tries to solve the core mystery and secrets of the series.
I also HC that Minnie really gets into making cosplay for her favorite shows (I imagine she would like magical girl shows) and Mickey LOVES helping her into her outfits and doing a photoshoot. It's one of his favorite things to do as he gets to see his girlfriend in cute dresses all day.
Mickey and Casey's rivalry is so funny and underrated because it is so one-sided. Like girly, you didn't need to laugh at him.
Like leave him alone bro, he's trying to help
That's his big brother friend, dude!
But even though it can get tiresome at times, I always do found the one-sided rivalry neat since, as big as jerk Casey can be, Mickey would definitely rather deal with him than Mortimer.
Quick question for you cuz you seem to know very well the little guy
Do you think Mickey has any bad sides? Bad qualities/Habits
Ooh! I was hoping someone would ask this question. It was sitting in my mind for a while. I love sharing my thoughts on this little guy.
I do think it is important to remember that when it comes to characters like Mickey it can be challenging to ascribe specific traits to him since there are so many interpretations with differing personalities. Mickey in the black and white shorts is different from Mickey in the Gottfredson comics who is different from Mickey in the Paul Rudish shorts and etc. So some traits may fit better for some versions than others.
I don't know if I can say I am the Mickey expert. But I do think about him a lot and if I came up a list of what I think are bad habits or flaws that he has, based on how is generally portrayed and my own personal interpretation, I would say:
Stubborn - To start off, I feel like a common flaw for Mickey is his stubbornness. Once he sets his mind on a certain idea or situation, he has a hard time being convinced of anything else. It can be really difficult to change his mind, though not impossible. I don't think it comes from a place of seeing himself as better than anyone though, but rather from his desire to hold fast to what he believes in. And in some cases, it can have beneficial results. Such as when he is investigating some kind of mystery he tends to drop everything else, unable to change focus until he finally solves it. This usually gives him the push to solve problems most people give up on. But unfortunately, it tends to result in him ignoring the world around him which can be frustrating at times, especially for Minnie. Sometimes I think Mickey even uses these situations as an excuse to push aside things he doesn't want to do and focus on something he would much rather do.
Untamed Curiosity - I feel like this is actually an offshoot of his earlier personality. He was much more mischievous in his earlier appearances, but that was somewhat tamed over the years. However, I do think one element that has remained is this mouse's curiosity for the unknown. It seems like Mickey can't help himself but stick his nose into things he probably shouldn't. Whether it is listening to a conversation, checking a locked room, testing out a weird machine, or even following an odd feeling. I also feel like his stubbornness doesn't really help as it seems like once a curiosity is in his focus, he can't let it go. Mickey rarely likes to cause problems, but if his curiosity overtakes him, he usually ends up being a troublemaker. Sometimes this usually leads to him catching a crook. But other times it results in a big mess that he would have to clean up. I do think though that his mischievousness isn't entirely gone and does pop up every once in a while. Especially when trying to get out of things he finds boring or doesn't want to be in. And sometimes he just wants to be a prankster and have fun with his friends and family. Which is funny until things get out of hand.
Overthinks - Mickey is very intelligent and can come up with pretty clever plans when trying to solve problems. Unfortunately, this comes with the side effect of him overcomplicating even simple situations. This is usually why Goofy is such a vital friend for Mickey. Mickey tends to come up with complex solutions while Goofy tends to show the easier option Mickey tends to overlook. I think part of this does come from Mickey being afraid of being wrong and making mistakes, so he tries his best to be as thorough as he can be, which unfortunately can lead to more mistakes.
Lack of Self-Protection - One positive about Mickey is that he cares about others and would stand up to protect them. But unfortunately, this doesn't always extend to himself. He is not a doormat but tends to lean more "Turn the other Cheek" approach when he is the only one getting bullied (unless things go too far or if others get involved). To be fair, it is important to know when to pick your battles, but this tends to lead into other areas as I feel like he doesn't really share his problems and tends to keep personal issues to himself. I personally see him as the kind of guy you really have to pry to get him to talk about what he is feeling as he would much rather bottle it up to not cause any trouble. I also feel like he rarely is one to ask for help and tends to try and solve it all on his own, especially if he is worried that others may get hurt. The issue is, he doesn't seem to worry about whether he would get hurt.
Takes on Too Much - I also feel like this connects to another flaw as he tends to take on too much and constantly puts himself in risky situations. Whenever a life-threatening situation comes up that could help everyone but is extremely dangerous, he is usually the first in line to do it. It feels like Mickey doesn't even consider his own safety or limitations at all. Sometimes it feels like he is overconfident in his abilities and just believes that he will be okay, which works until it doesn't. It also doesn't help that Mickey has a hard time saying "No", so even if he didn't want to do something or knows he is not capable of doing it, he would probably still do it, not wanting to disappoint anyone. He rarely thinks of himself. And seldom considers what would be best for him. Usually, his friends are the ones to think about his safety and needs.
Need to be Perfect - Though I feel like part of the reason Mickey takes on so much is his need to be the hero. He feels like he has to be a perfect, selfless, and brave role model who does everything without a single complaint. I feel like he overexerts himself because he is afraid of what happens if he doesn't. He is afraid of not being needed or wanted. He is usually the underdog, a small mouse in a world with characters twice his size, and if he isn't constantly proving himself people will leave him behind. I also feel like he has a hard time admitting to mistakes (which connects to his stubbornness) because he feels like he can't make mistakes, or that would show that he isn't as capable as people think. I also think this explains why he has more of a heated rivalry with Mortimer. Mortimer somehow taps into his insecurities in the ways others don't. I feel like Mickey is kind of jealous of Mortimer because he tends to be taken seriously (at first) while Mickey usually needs to earn it. I also kind of wonder if he is worried that if he starts messing up, Minnie and the others will leave him for someone like Mortimer, so he feels like he can't mess up. Ever.
Lack of Self Worth - Unfortunately this means that he is very reliant on others for his self-worth. Luckily Mickey is really good at making friends. But he tends to rely on the existence of his friends for his worth. I can imagine that if for some reason they all stopped existing, I don't think he would even know what to do with himself. While he doesn't need everyone to like him. He does need at least one person to like him to help ground him or I can see him going into a deep depression. I feel like he would really struggle with being alone for too long unless there was some hope of being able to be with his loved ones soon.
But yeah these are the bad qualities that I feel like Mickey generally has. There are probably more, especially ones more specific to certain interpretations, but these are the ones I was able to come up with. As nice as Mickey is, he isn't perfect and his insecurities, overthinking, stubbornness, and curious nature tend to get him in trouble. But fortunately, he is also just as capable of getting out of trouble.
I would honestly love to see other people thoughts on this as well.
I think it is kind of funny how the idea that Mickey doesn't make any money from his adventures or solving crime was supposed to make him come across as a humble selfless person who doesn't need money to do good... but as an adult in America it oddly has the opposite effect, or rather a different one.
I'm not the only one who made this observation, but I still think about how on earth he is making money and finding time to go on all these adventures when I read his stories. I know we joked about him having a normal job, like stocking shelves, that we dont see or some stories add journalism or detective work to the mix. But still this doesn't happen often.
I'm aware that I'm not the target audience and it is probably more relatable and aspirational for kids who don't really have jobs. But even then Spongebob has a job and in many comics Donald is usually doing some kind of odd job mostly for Scrooge in his comics, and they don't feel any less relatable for kids. If anything jobs can be sort of a stand in for responsibilities in general like chores.
And I get that these are comics that are meant for fun and not really realism. But to be honest it kind of makes him feel a rich kid who has all the money and free time in the world to do whatever he wants, which I don't think is the effect they're trying to make. I don't really get that from Donald who also goes on wacky adventures. But again I feel like it is just solely from my own experience. It's kinda like the Simpsons where they were initially seen as a modest lower income family, but now is living at a standard that is better than most adults.
I guess that's why I appreciate comics where he has to pick up an odd job every once in a while to pay the bills or do something nicer than usual. Anything that shows that he's just a guy trying his best in this world even though he doesn't have much. Personally I feel like it makes him more relatable and gets across the whole modest aspect of Mickey across better.
Something I've been thinking about is when villains and heroes are usually either mirrors of eachother in some ways and direct opposites in another.
And I feel like Mickey and the Phantom Blot have quite a bit of both.
For Mirrors, they both are extremely stubborn and dedicated to their goals, not willing to give up until they literally can't anymore. They also both tend to have very complex plans or ways if thinking that sometimes causing them to overcomplicate or overthink things, but also work in a way that not everyone can understand.
For Opposites, it was talked about by @the-scanlation-bin in their post about how many artists tend to emphasize size differences. But there are other opposites such as how the Phantom Blot tends to be excessively Selfish while Mickey is excessively Selfless.
Though another one I feel based on my interpretation of the two is that The Phantom Blot is good at getting strangers to trust him at a surface level (usually to manipulate them), while many strangers usually have to have Mickey prove himself. But Mickey is able to easily build connections with people on a deeper level while I feel like the Blot would struggle with that.
What are some other ways they are either Mirrors or Opposites of eachother?
Still love the idea that everyone thinks Mickey is just happy-go-lucky and doesn't let anything bother him... But really he's just a master of hiding his emotions and almost never tells anybody if something upsets him.
The only person who he does talk to about his feelings sometimes is Minnie, but even he still hides stuff from her.
