On Fanlore, users with accounts can edit pages including user pages, can create pages, and more. Any information you publish on a page or an edit summary will be accessible by the public and to Fanlore personnel. Because Fanlore is a wiki, information published on Fanlore will be publicly available forever, even if edited later. Be mindful when sharing personal information, including your religious or political views, health, racial background, country of origin, sexual identity and/or personal relationships. To learn more, check out our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Select "dismiss" to agree to these terms.
Heavy (Team Fortress 2)
| Character | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Heavy (real name Mikhail) |
| Occupation: | Mercenary |
| Relationships: | Other mercs (coworkers) |
| Fandom: | Team Fortress 2 |
| Other: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
The Heavy is one of the nine playable classes in Team Fortress 2.
Canon
The Heavy (real name Mikhail) is a mercenary from Russia. Following the murder of his counter-revolutionary father, Heavy and his family were imprisoned in a gulag for three months before escaping. Heavy does mercenary work to send money to his mother and sisters in Siberia. Heavy has a deep love for the various miniguns he uses in combat, having nicknamed them all. In addition to TF2 and its tie-in media, Heavy stars in the crossover game Telltale Games' Poker Night at the Inventory, where he mentions having a PhD in Russian Literature.
Fandom
Heavy is perhaps the most widely recognized character from Team Fortress 2, as he is the most prominent character in the game's box art and appears in several of the Meet the Team promotional videos.
Popular Tropes
- Unlike other characters, Heavy's fanon characterization is influenced largely by his most popular ship: Heavy/Medic. It was once rare to see him focused on in works that weren't Heavy/Medic, though as of the 2020s this has changed somewhat with better filtering tools on Archive of Our Own and Twitter making it easier for fans to find TF2 fanworks in general, including for non-Heavy/Medic works, for him.
- Smart Heavy: where Heavy has a PhD in Russian Literature is considered canon.
- Pootis Heavy: One of Heavy's in-game voice lines, "Put dispenser here", can be shortened to sound like "Pootis", a fact that many in the TF2 community find hilarious. As such, the term has found its way into multiple Heavy-centric fanworks. Notable examples include POOTIS ENGAGE (an SFM in which two Heavys break into Area 51) and Lil' Pootis (in which a Heavy-like bird goes on small adventures).
Relationships
See List of Team Fortress 2 Relationship Names For All Heavy Relationships
The most popular pairing for Heavy by a wide margin is Heavy/Medic (AKA Red Oktoberfest). This pairing is the most popular ship in the TF2 fandom, with over 1100 works on Archive of Our Own (as of January 2024), and it has even been referenced by Heavy and Medic's respective voice actors. Heavy has been shipped to a lesser extent with every other playable character, including himself.
Common Pairings/Polys
- Heavy/Heavy
- Heavy/Scout
- Heavy/Soldier
- Heavy/Pyro
- Demoman/Heavy
- Engineer/Heavy
- Heavy/Medic
- Heavy/Sniper
- Heavy/Spy
- Heavy/Medic/Scout
- Heavy/Medic/Spy
Common Gen Relationships
Example Fanworks
| Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples. |
Fan Art
- battling sickness by drawing cringe by peachdalooza, Archived version by peachdalooza (2023)
- Heavy commission by GhostBerry__, Archived version (2023)
- TF2 CRACK SAILOR HEAVY by toriiichan, Archived version (2011)
- bathing heavy by yang, Archived version (2012)
Fan Fic
Fan Videos
- Heavy is a great Doctor! by Misan
- Heavy is a Millennial by ItalianNinja
- POOTIS ENGAGE and the sequel Pootis Engage // EXTREME, by ceno0
- Steamed Toast by The Winglet
Fan Mixes
- Some People Think They Can Outsmart Me by KentBrockman, Archived version (2014)
- They Call Me Heavy by stonedbear, Archived version (2015)
- USE YOUR FIST AND NOT YOUR MOUTH by Gonna Be Queen, Archived version (2016)
Meta
- Canon vs Fanon (TF2 Edition) by solid-white, Archived version (2024), comparing canon Heavy with fanon Heavy.
- So. You kin a TF2 mercenary by onionfortress, Archived version (2020), includes a section on Heavy fictionkin.
- TF2 in Historical Context: Heavy’s Age and Qualifications by lagomorphique, Archived version (2025)
Wikis
- Heavy on the Team Fortress 2 Official Wiki.