The Evolution of Michael Myers (Animated)

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It seems the only thing that can defeat Michael Myers is a retcon. But just how have he and his looks evolved through the Halloween series? From the 1978 classic to the latest 2018 sequel-reboot, let's slash our way through.

warning: spoilers ahead!

Michael first appears in Halloween (1978) as a murderous blond boy wearing a clown costume. He's sent to a mental institution and 15 years later he breaks out and dons the iconic spruce green jumpsuit and a Captain Kirk mask, painted white with darkened hair. He goes on a bloody massacre, and is then shot multiple times and falls off a balcony.

In Halloween 2 (1981) - taking place within the same night - Michael Myers is somehow stockier. His mask has aged and now has reddish hair. He sets out to kill the surviving victim from the last film, who happens to be his sister. She shoots him in the eyes, and he's set on fire.

Michael does not appear in Halloween 3: Season of the Witch (1982), except briefly on a TV commercial… but that doesn't count, so on to the next film.

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In Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988), Michael awakens from a coma covered in bandages. He's taller, bulkier, and finds a greasy blue jump-suit and a new mask to wear. This one is less detailed, and features a shocked expression and slicked orange-ish hair... that briefly turns pink and blond. After learning of his sisters death, he instead hunts his niece, but is shot and falls down a mine-shaft.

In Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989), he is nursed back to health by a hermit. His mask has elongated, with hair that's grown out. Once again he searches for his niece, but he's put in jail – and breaks out soon after.

Halloween VI: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995) features a more classic looking mask. His jumpsuit has also been slightly updated. In this film, it is insisted that Michael needs to kill his family because of a druid curse. He yet again hunts down his family members, but this time he's tranquilized to sleep.

Ignoring the plots of movies 3 through 6, in Halloween: H20 (1998), Michael is looking for his sister again. He switches between a variety of masks, settling on one with frizzier hair and eerily revealing eye-holes. Once he meets up with his sister she decapitates him for good.

In Halloween: Resurrection (2002) it's revealed Micheal faked his own death, his mask is similar to the original, but with the addition of very noticeable makeup. This time he manages to kill his sister, but later on is electrocuted and presumed dead...OR IS HE?!

....but that doesn't matter, as the films were rebooted in 2007.

In the reboot – Halloween (2007) – Michael is again introduced as a murderous blond boy, but when fully grown appears to be built like a hulking dump truck. He eventually dons a greasy jumpsuit, and a near-original but much dirtier mask.

In the reboot sequel, H2: Halloween 2 (2009), the mask is falling apart, and Michael is now donning new hobo-esque attire. But this bum would succumb to a barrage of bullets.

The latest sequel, Halloween (2018), disregards every film but the original and introduces an older, camera-shy Micheal in all white prison garb. Michael is put on a prison bus, but, surprise! It crashes, and he breaks out, steals a dark-blue jumpsuit and his original, much more weathered mask. A slaying or ten later, he's taken down, and in a brief moment of unconsciousness, his new psychiatrist tries on the trademark Michael mask.

But don't worry, Michael promptly comes to and nips that twist in the bud, moving on to go head to head with his now-not sister. She - and her family - trap him in her heavily guarded house and set it on fire... which, as we've seen before, is a super effective way to kill him.

… Does anyone else hear that breathing?

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