Death Egg cliché

Sonic & Knuckles Death Egg Zone. How is he even breathing?

The Death Egg! Fearsome overlord of the heavens; a vindictive, killing moon, testament to both the grandiose malice and grandiose megalomania of Doctor Ivo Robotnik. The iconic final stronghold of the early Genesis games could strike fear into the hearts of even the most hardened Sonic players, forming the backbone of the epic Death Egg Saga.

Since Sonic 2, the doc (along with other assorted supervillains) seem to have developed a taste for orbital fortresses, no matter how many times a thousand miles of vacuum proves insufficient defence from Sonic and pals. How the world has avoided Kessler syndrome, considering all the smashed bases floating around up there, is anyone's guess. Still, the space stations keep coming, and Robotnik shows no sign of losing interest in zero-g hideouts.

Often comes paired with an Outer Space cliché zone.

First appeared: Death Egg Zone, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (16-bit).

Also in:

• Death Egg Zone, Sonic & Knuckles
• Space Colony ARK levels, Sonic Adventure 2:
  • Hero story: Eternal Engine, Meteor Herd, Crazy Gadget, Final Rush
  • Dark story: Lost Colony, Cosmic Wall, Mad Space, Final Chase
• Space Colony ARK and Black Comet levels, Shadow the Hedgehog (game):
  • ARK: The Doom, The Ark, Space Gadget, Lost Impact, Cosmic Fall
  • Comet: Black Comet, Final Haunt, The Last Way
• Dead Line Zone, Sonic Rush
• Meteor Base Zone, Sonic Rivals
• Cosmic Angel Zone and X-Zone, Sonic Advance
• Egg Utopia and XX, Sonic Advance 2