Michael Lee (The Wire)

Michael Lee
First appearance	"Boys of Summer" (episode 4.01)
Last appearance	"–30–" (episode 5.10)
Created by	David Simon
Portrayed by	Tristan Wilds
Information
Gender	Male
Occupation	Drug Dealer, Soldier for the Stanfield Organization, Stick-up Man
Family	Bug (half-brother), Raylene (mother)

Michael Lee is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by Tristan Wilds. He is a middle school pupil and is friends with Namond Brice, Randy Wagstaff, and Duquan "Dukie" Weems. He is more soft-spoken and composed than his friends, and appears to have a leadership role among his peers. Michael is very protective of his younger half-brother Bug, to whom he is effectively a parent, and Dukie, who is often ridiculed by his peers for his poverty and poor hygiene. Michael and Bug's mother Raylene is a drug addict, and Michael avoids any adult interest in his home life because of the precarious nature of his situation. It is strongly implied that he was sexually abused by Bug's father Devan, who is returning from prison. Because of this, Michael has little trust in the adults in his life and, rather than trust or confide in any of the law-abiding men who try to mentor him, becomes a protégé of Marlo Stanfield's enforcer Chris Partlow's.

Biography

Season 4

Michael is interested in boxing and often works out at Dennis "Cutty" Wise's local gym. Michael distrusts male authority figures; he rebuffs both Cutty's offer to train him in boxing and Marlo Stanfield's offer of a cash handout with no strings attached. Michael tells his friends that he is reluctant to feel like he owes anyone.

Regardless, Stanfield is impressed with Michael's strength of character in denying a handout and not budging, even after Stanfield personally confronts and insults him. In order to provide new school supplies for himself and his brother, Michael temporarily takes over Namond's job as a runner for drug dealer Bodie Broadus. Bodie takes a strong interest in Michael and offers to employ him permanently, but Michael turns him down.

Cutty continues to encourage Michael to take an interest in boxing and even takes him to a professional fight, but Michael avoids conversation and physical contact with Cutty. Marlo orders Chris Partlow to find out more about Michael, so Chris offers Michael cash and protection to join Stansfield's organization. Michael turns down the offer, claiming that he must look out for his family first. Michael also turns down Randy's offer of paid work delivering fliers on Election Day. He also refuses to work with Namond selling drugs.

Michael gets into trouble with his math teacher Roland "Prez" Pryzbylewski, because he will not do his homework nor participate in classroom exercises. Prez gives him detention, which Michael skips in order to pick up Bug from elementary school. Prez learns from Randy why Michael skipped detention and approaches Michael directly with an appeal to discuss any problems he might have. Michael does not confide in Mr. Prez but begins to work harder in the class and is a quick study when Prez uses games of cards and dice to teach probability. Michael also completes his homework.

Michael continues to be wary of Cutty when using the boxing gym. He attends a professional fight with Cutty and Justin but refuses to let Cutty drive him home after Justin is dropped off. He is suspicious of Cutty's motives and, when Cutty asks why, implies it's because he tends to get involved with and then drop the mothers of boys who use the gym.

Cutty continues to try to break down Michael's defenses, but Michael remains suspicious of him and later hints to his friends that he suspects Cutty is a pederast (which isn't true). This could be because of trust issues Michael has with adult men stemming from his treatment by Bug's father.

When Namond is attacked by rival drug dealers, Michael is there to support his friend. However, when Cutty asks Michael what Namond is getting into, Michael tells him it is none of their business.

Later, at Cutty's gym, Michael beats Namond for teasing Dukie and runs out when Cutty breaks up the fight. Cutty tells Michael no one wants him there but later feels guilty about it. When Cutty decides to apologize and catches up later with Michael, who is standing on a street corner with other members of Marlo's crew, Michael initially rebuffs him, and Monk shoots Cutty twice in the leg for not leaving Michael alone. Finally understanding Cutty's worthy character, Michael stops Monk from delivering a third, fatal headshot, then offers to wait with Cutty until the ambulance comes. Cutty, to protect Michael, tells him to go with "his people".

Over the course of season 4, Michael evolves from a soft-spoken introvert into a cold-blooded killer. When Devan is paroled and returns to their home, Michael becomes desperate to get rid of the man. While not stated explicitly, it can be assumed from Michael's reactions that Bug's father sexually abused Michael before going to prison, and Raylene didn't protect nor stand up for him. This is hinted by Michael's distrust in adult males, the negative attitude he displays when subjects involving sexuality are brought up, and his interactions with his mother. It is also made more clear in the episode "Took" (season 5, episode 7), when while reviewing the case files of the bodies in the vacants, Bunk comes across Devar's prison record and says, "Look at you, you baby-bumping motherfucker."

The abuse is further hinted at later in the same episode while Bunk is interviewing Michael and says, "Look at you...not even blinking. Not that I blame you, after what this heinous motherfucker did to you." Michael asks Randy what would happen if he were to call social services on his stepfather, and Randy, speaking from experience, says that Michael and Bug would be split up and would both be placed in group homes.

Out of options, Michael turns to Marlo and Chris for help. Chris murders Devar, after asking if he likes to "fuck little boys" and telling him that he knows why he is going to be killed. Chris deviates from his normal style of killing by savagely beating Devar, demonstrating Chris is consumed with anguished rage. This and Snoop's reaction imply that Chris, too, was once the victim of abuse.

Marlo provides Michael and Bug with their own apartment. In return, Michael becomes a drug dealer and soldier in Marlo's operation. Marlo refers to Michael as Chris' "pup" when Michael is not around.

When Michael moves on to a new life within the drug trade, he offers "Dukie" a place to live, although with the apparent price of enlisting Dukie into Marlo's crew.

Season 5

More than a year later, Michael continues to work with the Stanfield Organization and still reports to Chris Partlow. His crew has changed somewhat, and while Duquan "Dukie" Weems and Kenard remain, Spider and a young dealer named Marcus now work for him. The other dealers do not respect Dukie nor respond to his requests for status updates. For that reason, and - Michael tells Dukie, because there'd be no one to look out for Bug if Dukie were arrested - Michael decides to withdraw Dukie from the corner and pay him to look after Bug, instead. He promotes Spider to act as his second.

Partlow and Snoop continue to train Michael as an enforcer. Michael is brought along to kill Junebug after Marlo Stanfield hears that Junebug has been making disparaging remarks about Marlo's sexuality. They arrive over an hour early to do the hit; Chris and Snoop explain to Michael it's important to arrive early for a murder to scope out the scene and make sure there are no surprises. Michael questions the necessity of the murder, since the rumors are unfounded and have not been proven to have originated with Junebug. However, Snoop angrily rebukes Michael, as hearsay matters more than facts.

Partlow orders Michael to watch the back of the house and kill anyone who tries to escape, while Partlow and Snoop enter from the front. Once inside, the older enforcers kill three adults, but a small child runs out of the house. Michael cannot bring himself to shoot the boy.

Following his involvement in the Junebug triple homicide Michael becomes socially withdrawn. Duquan, Michael, and Bug take a day trip to Six Flags. They enjoy their day, but when they return Monk confronts Michael about leaving his corner unattended.

Michael and his crew are arrested by Officer Anthony Colicchio, but no charges are filed. Raylene signs Michael out of jail and chastises him for not bringing Bug to see her more often. She asks Michael for money, stating she deserves it for signing him out of jail, but he refuses to pay her to act as his mother.

Bunk Moreland questions Michael about his stepfather's murder, saying he doesn't blame Michael for having him killed because of the sexual abuse he suffered, but knows that Michael lacked the size and strength to commit a brutal murder like that himself and asks who killed Devan. Michael refuses to tell Bunk anything.

Along with Chris, Snoop, and O-Dog, Michael participates in defending against Omar Little's botched ambush in Monk's apartment. Michael is frightened when Omar tells him to send a message to Stanfield, fearing that Omar might recognize him from the shootout in Monk's apartment.

With Omar in the streets terrorizing Marlo's corners, Michael questions why Chris and Snoop don't inform Marlo that Omar is casting aspersions on Marlo's reputation, so Marlo can take action. This, and his questioning of other orders displeases Chris and causes a perceptible rift between Michael and Snoop.

When Marlo, Chris, Cheese, and Monk are all arrested due to the Stanfield investigation, Monk suspects Michael of being an informant. Although neither Marlo nor Chris believes Michael is a snitch, Marlo reluctantly orders Snoop to kill him, not wanting to "stake his future on" that belief.

Snoop tells Michael that with everyone locked up, she needs him for some "serious business" and tells him there is no need for him to bring his gun, because she has a "clean one" for him. Michael follows Partlow's advice to show up early so as not be caught by surprise and catches Snoop talking to the target. In Snoop's SUV, en route to the supposed hit, Michael pulls out his gun and kills her.

Michael now has a vehicle for the night, and he, Dukie, and Bug hurriedly pack and drive to Michael's aunt's house in Howard County. Michael walks Bug to the door with a shoebox full of cash for Aunt Carla.

Back in Baltimore, Michael tells Dukie that it would be too dangerous for them to stay together. At Dukie's' request, Michael drives him to the squalid stables where the arabber (junk man) lives among homeless people and junkies. Dukie tries to make light of the situation, but Michael is too depressed, and they part. Dukie hesitates when he sees the junk man injecting heroin and turns back to Michael, but he has already left.

Michael goes into hiding, then returns and robs Vinson in his rim shop, shooting him in the knee with a shotgun. His actions parallel those of Omar Little.