View source for Morten the Earthworm

{{Infobox character
|name = Morten the Earthworm {{BookOfGallowmereCategory|Friendly}}
|image = MediEvil2019-MortenTheEarthworm-BookOfGallowmere.png
|gender = Male
|appearances= {{Appearances
|medievil1998 =
*[[9AV]]
|medievil2019 =
*[[9AV]]
}}
}}{{Trophies
|{{Trophy/MediEvil|Morten Would Be Proud}}
}}'''Morten''' ({{fl}} 1386) was a friendly worm that lived inside [[Sir Dan]]'s skull. He was thus forced to join Dan on his quest to defeat [[Zarok]].
==History==
Nothing is known about Morten before he came to inhabit the skull of Sir Dan. It is said that he was "happy when Dan died," perhaps suggesting that he was alive before Dan's death in 1286.{{Gameref|MED2019}}{{Gameref|MED2019-Bestiary|Morten the Earthworm}} In 1386, Dan was resurrected (and if Morten was dead, then so was he). Morten did not interact with the returned Dan much, only making his presence known when Dan was being chased by the [[Jabberwocky]]. After Zarok's defeat, it is likely that he remained inside Dan's skull.
==Characteristics==
=== Appearance ===
Morten was a purple earthworm who was about the length of Dan's finger. Like all earthworms his body was segmented. He had purple eyes and a little smile.
=== Personality ===
According to the [[Book of Gallowmere]], Morten was happy when Dan had died, as it gave him a new home. He was mostly unbothered by Dan coming back to life and was willing to help him, but mostly so Dan could go back to his eternal rest.
==Gameplay==
===''MediEvil'' (2019 remake)===
====Book of Gallowmere entry====
Morten was so happy when Dan died. Surely, he initially had a lot of housework to do, but now he's got the place to himself, and just how he likes it.

Of course, Dan coming back to life was a bit of a shock, but Morten will do anything he can to keep his home-buddy safe (and get him back to the earthy darkness as quickly as possible).

==Behind the scenes==
===Development===
====''MediEvil''====
{{Cut content|section|''[[MediEvil (1998)|MediEvil]]''}}[[File:MediEvil1998-7AV.webm|thumb|right|Morten's debut.]][[File:MediEvil1998-ConceptArt-AsylumMorten.jpg|Concept art of the original Inside The Asylum level by [[Jason Wilson]].|thumb|right]]The idea of a friendly worm living in Dan came from ''MediEvil's'' producer [[Chris Sorrell]].<ref name="atomiccity">{{cite web|site=atomic-city|title=''MediEvil'' concept design|url=http://web.archive.org/web/20080321020515/http://www.atomic-city.co.uk/pages/artwork/Medievil_gallery/medievil_morten_concept_design.htm}} Archived at the [http://archive.org/web/ Wayback Machine Internet Archive].</ref> According to an overview of the game from the [[Sony ECTS 1997 PlayStation Press Pack]], Morten was going to be playable in two game sections. He was going to be introduced in the [[7AV]] FMV played just before his first level, where Dan would have pushed him through a keyhole into the [[Inside The Asylum (Morten version)|Asylum]] in order to obtain a door key.<ref name="atomiccity"/> However, Morten was going to be mentioned as early as [[The Graveyard]] by one of the [[Information Gargoyles]]: {{Quote| Hey Book worm, yes: the one living in your empty eye socket, remember to keep up on your reading!|[[MediEvil books#Book 9 2|Information Gargoyle]]}}
[[Jason Wilson]], who worked as both art and game designer on ''MediEvil'', said the following about Morten's first playable level: "Morten would have had to navigate a range of obstacles and there would have been a few funny moments such as inching your way across the bare feet of prisoners (tickling them in the process) who would have been hanging upside down in racks."<ref name="atomiccity"/> The [[MediEvil/Music#7 (UNUSED)|unused track]] simply known as 7 or IG4 was also written for this level.<ref>{{Icon|Twitter}} {{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/AndrewBarnabas/status/1405531824760049683|published=June 17, 2021|title=Andrew Barnabas|site=Twitter|quote=Feck, I never saw that but wrote the track just for Morten!}}</ref> However, this version of Inside The Asylum never materialised and was instead replaced by Smash TV style attack rooms as seen in the final release.{{Siteref|MediEvil-Boards|12662|MediEvil developers - Q&A;|May 7, 2013}}

Much less information is known about the second Morten level. One hint towards its nature comes from ''MediEvil's'' resource file, [[MEDRES.MWD]], where among textures for [[The Entrance Hall]] level appear textures for both Morten as well as a [[Beetle]] and [[Woodlouse]].

While unimplemented, Morten's model and animations do appear among the files of the ''[[MediEvil ECTS Pre-Alpha]]'':
<gallery mode="slideshow">
File:MediEvilECTSPreAlpha-Morten-WalkAnim.gif|Movement animation.
File:MediEvilECTSPreAlpha-Morten-SlowWalkAnim.gif|Idle animation.
File:MediEvilECTSPreAlpha-Morten-IdleAnim.gif|Head scratching animation.
File:MediEvilECTSPreAlpha-Morten-DashJumpAnim.gif|Dash jump animation.
File:MediEvilECTSPreAlpha-Morten-RecoilOrAttackAnim.gif|Recoil (or attack) animation.
File:MediEvilECTSPreAlpha-Morten-JumpAnim.gif|Jump animation.
File:MediEvilECTSPreAlpha-Morten-DashAnim.gif|Dash (or attack) animation.
File:MediEvilECTSPreAlpha-Morten-TurnAroundAnim.gif|Turning around animation.
</gallery>

====''MediEvil: Resurrection''====
While Morten does not appear in ''[[MediEvil: Resurrection]]'', the character [[Al-Zalam]] fulfils a similar role to him in the game; he lives inside Sir Dan's skull and serves as his sidekick.{{Siteref|MediEvil-Boards|12847|MediEvil developers - Q&A;|author=Angelo Bod|quote=That is correct, Al Zalam lived in Dan's head and was our new sidekick character (based on the previous character)|June 16, 2013}}

===Name===
The name "Morten" is an {{w|Old Danish}}, {{w|Old Swedish}} and modern variant form of Martin.<ref>[http://www.nordicnames.de/wiki/Morten Morten - Nordic Names Wiki - Name Origin, Meaning and Statistics]</ref> Martin is derived from the Roman name Martinus, which was derived from Martis, the genitive case of the name of the Roman god {{w|Mars (mythology)|Mars}}.<ref>[http://www.behindthename.com/name/martin Behind the Name: Meaning, origin and history of the name Martin]</ref> Mars is possibly related to maris, the genitive case of Latin mas, meaning 'male'.<ref>[http://www.behindthename.com/name/mars Behind the Name: Meaning, origin and history of the name Mars]</ref>

==Gallery==
{{Empty section|Gallery}}

==References==
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