Post deleted by I'M GERMAN-IRISH

There are a few points along the way where people have speculated as to the "Magic Moment" when Michael became his father's son for the first time.

The scene immediately preceeding McCluskey's jawbreaker, when Michael moves his father's bed to another room, and tells him "I'm with you now, Pop."

Or, the scene in the study when Michael proposes rather matter-of-factly, but very seriously, that he go to the meeting with McCluskey and Sollozzo and kill them both.

Also, while in exile in Sicily, it can be argued that Michael still hadn't fully made the committment to return and someday head the family, but the moment he learned of Sony's death, or, a bit later with the murder of Appolonia.

In the book, after recovering consciousness from the car explosion, Michael says to Don Tommassino "Tell my father to get me home. Tell my father I wish to be his son."

There are others which I don't recall off the top of my head.

The first time he sits in a room with Tessio and/or Clemenza talking about anything business related....

He makes his bones at that Italian joint, anybody know how the Italian food is there? - I hear great thinks about their historic toilets

When did Michael become part of the "Family?"

The day he was born. (Remember Vito's adage - a man has but one destiny. It was Michael's destiny to head up the Family someday).

The moment Michael see his father there lying there unprotected, Michael TOTALLY realized that Sollozo/Barzini would again attempt to kill his father. Then when he hears the footsteps coming down the hospital hallway, his thoughts become very real to him that they are going to kill his father as he is thinking that those footsteps are coming from someone sent to kill Vito. As soon as he realizes that it is Enzo, what is the next thing Michael does? He takes Enzo outside and they stand there acting as though they are guarding the outside of the hospital. These sequences of action by Michael upon his arrival at his unguarded father's hospital bedside leads me to believe that at that very moment Michael relaizes that he must make the
transformation from the son who did not want to get involved to the son who would now have to take care of his father and protect him and the Corleone empire. The confirmation of if he could do it was when the hitmen in the car pull away, Enzo's hands are shaking badly and yet Michael is as calm as a cucumber. That is the defining moment for Michael. "Hey, I can do this!" The ability to hate those who want to hurt his father becomes a realization and consumes him personally when McClusky hits him and breaks his jaw. I view these scenes as a series of events that transform Michael from a civilian to a killer.
1) His calmness and realization that he must be the one to protect his father and be the son to "stay by his side",
2) The defining moment that he can live this life when the hitmen in the car drive away and he is calm and
3) His realization of his ability to hate and do what is neccessary to save the family when McClusky breaks his jaw.

These scenes and events are in my opinion what convey the transformation of Michael's character from civilian to being a part of the family.


Don Cardi