Actions

Dr. Eggman

From Sonic Retro

Revision as of 16:35, 11 March 2010 by Jamesoleruster (talk | contribs) (Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog)

Template:CharacterSheet

"Robotnik" redirects here. Maybe you were looking for Gerald Robotnik (Ivo Robotnik's grandfather) or Maria Robotnik (Ivo Robotnik's cousin).

Dr. Eggman, also known as Dr. Ivo Robotnik, is the main antagonist of the Sonic the Hedgehog series of games and related media. Introduced along with the title character in 1991, he has been featured in nearly every Sonic the Hedgehog title since.

Character Conception

File:S1concept-eggman.jpg
The earliest known drawing of Dr. Eggman.
Eggman's realistic design in Sonic '06.

At the dawn of the 16-bit gaming war, Sega had resolved that they would do whatever they could to topple the gaming giant Nintendo, and sought to create a franchise that would rival the Super Mario Bros. games. While it was Naoto Ohshima's design of Sonic the Hedgehog that won the internal competition for corporate mascot, it was only one of many designs he had come up with for Sega. One of the other designs that had been considered in the final deliberations, but was ultimately passed up on, was a roundish, moustached man in pajamas. Bearing a striking resemblance to another of America's presidents, Theodore Roosevelt, Ohshima didn't want to discard the design outright. Sega's AM8 division (which would eventually christen itself "Sonic Team") also loved the design, and decided to still use it within the game itself, albeit as the villain. While concept art for the game shows Eggman originally as one of many enemies, as they progressed through making the game the team decided to drop the other characters and focus on the Sonic and Eggman dynamic, making Dr. Eggman the primary antagonist of the game, and subsequently the sequels that were to follow.

Dr. Eggman's finalized design was an extremely simplified version of his earliest sketch, loosing the bulky look of his pajamas and gaining a more primary color scheme of red, black and yellow. This was done in an effort to differentiate the two characters in the game, and place emphasis on the subtle nature/technology dynamic the two represented. His simple design was also done so that young children would be able to draw him easily.[1]

When the Sonic characters were revisited for production on Sonic Adventure, Dr. Eggman was originally meant to look more or less the same as he did in the classic games, receiving small alterations as Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles would. However, Yuji Uekawa ultimately decided to drastically redesign the character. While maintaining the red and black color scheme, his wardrobe was completely changed, and his egg-shaped body became slightly less pronounced, giving him a more realistic proportion. This was taken a step further in Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 when he was redesigned once more to match the realistic humans in the game. However, this even more extreme redesign was only used once, the Sonic Adventure design returning in later console releases such as Sonic Unleashed.

Dr. Eggman (Video Game)

Origin of Dr. Eggman

File:Classic eggman orthographic.svg The grandson of Professor Gerald Robotnik, Dr. Eggman was born Ivo Robotnik. While much of his past is unknown, it is known that in his early years Eggman looked up to his grandfather, hoping to one day be as great a scientist as he was. However, since Eggman's age is unknown, it can not be stated if he looked up to him because he knew his grandfather before he went crazy, or only by stories that he heard.

It was later on in life that Dr. Robotnik would meet his long-time rival and arch-nemesis Sonic the Hedgehog. It is unknown how long they knew each other before the events chronicled in Sonic the Hedgehog, but it is known that it was these occasions where Dr. Robotnik gained the nickname "Eggman" from Sonic. Instead of being angry, Robotnik decided to adopt the nickname as his own, calling himself "Dr. Eggman" and pasting the name on everything belonging to him, such as the Wing Fortress he used in Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Embracing his Eggman persona, he tires endlessly to achieve his ultimate goal - the establishment of the Eggman Empire.

Personality and Traits

Dr. Eggman's profile from Sonic Jam.
The original unveiling of Dr. Eggman's redesign. From Sonic Adventure.

Dr. Eggman is a male human, whose age is currently unknown. With a recorded IQ of 300 (though it may possibly be greater), he is one of the most intelligent beings on the planet Earth, as proven by his mastery in robotics and its related fields. Why he could be anything, Dr. Eggman has set his sights on the highest prize of them all - global domination. Dreaming of the day he will be able to erect Eggmanland, Eggman tires endlessly at accomplishing this, though his plans are foiled time and again by his arch-nemesis, Sonic the Hedgehog.

Although he wants to rule the world, his desires are not for total destruction but instead to have the world focus on him and his image. This desire for recognition is not necessarily evil, but the ways he has gone about it can only be interpreted as such. Even with his IQ, he often acts childish, his need for attention and the desire to get his way paving the way for such behavior. Even so, Eggman is more than just a man with a dream, being described as a "romanticist, feminist, and self-professed gentleman."[2] But above all, he is someone who does not give up easily, no matter how many setbacks he runs into or how many times Sonic and friends stop him.

Because of his obsession with ruling the world, it only makes sense that he would be obsessed with the seven items that could allow that to happen - the Chaos Emeralds. Ever since he learned that they were more than just legend, Eggman has tried endlessly to access the special stages they are often hiding in and claim them for himself. Although there have been times when he has been close to getting them all, never once has he succeeded in beating Sonic, making the Eggman Empire still nothing more than his vision of the future.

Although Eggman rarely goes up against Sonic without his Eggmobile, the times he is outside of it has shown just how athletic he is. Though his physical appearance would suggest otherwise, Eggman is capable of sprinting at immense speeds, able to even outrun Sonic for a few seconds - long enough for him to run into his latest weapon. Aside from this, his physical abilities are limited to those of normal humans, though he has an extreme streak of luck for the fact that he's been able to survive time and again the destruction of his bases, air ships, and Eggmobiles.

Dr. Eggman, in his quest to take over the world, has also looked for allies outside of his own making. These allies are often creatures who existed in the distant past, sealed away because of their powers and the havoc they could cause. Since Sonic Adventure, Eggman has awoken and tried to control the likes of Perfect Chaos, Biolizard, Solaris, and Dark Gaia, every time the arrangement blowing up in his face. While anyone else would have learned to avoid such actions the first time around, Eggman's determination gives the impression he will continue looking toward ancient legends of otherworldly creatures as a tool to succeed.

It must be noted that while Eggman has tried time and again to defeat Sonic, often in acts that could potentially kill him, the doctor does not necessarily hate the hedgehog, almost looking fondly at their rivalry. This doesn't mean that Eggman enjoys losing; it merely hints that he might not know what to do with himself if he succeeded in taking over the world.

Mechanical Creations

Being the robotics genius that he is, Dr. Eggman is not only defined by his personality but by his many creations. Perhaps the most widely recognizable of these would be his Eggmobile. Also known as simply "Eggman's Mobile," this hovercraft has been seen in nearly every Sonic the Hedgehog game, piloted by the elusive doctor. The mobile is often used as the center for the many boss encounters that occur in the Sonic games, with wildly different attachments used in an effort to defeat Sonic, Tails, and the rest. When inevitably defeated, Eggman uses the same pod to make a hasty getaway, preparing for the next encounter he'll have with his rival.

When not fighting against Sonic himself, Dr. Eggman has developed numerous robot enemies to do the fighting for him, used to defend his bases, attempt to rule areas of the planet, search for the Chaos Emeralds, and of course to attack Sonic the Hedgehog. The earliest of his robot army, sometimes called badniks, had designs based on real animals, each with Eggman's own twist. Most of these early enemies were powered by the animals that resided where Eggman's latest base was, though some robots were powered by alternate sources. The enemies on the Little Planet, for example, were powered by flowers, and those found the game Chaotix were powered by grey versions of the most common Sonic item of all, rings. While modern members of Eggman's army have been built to function without any such power source, he still uses animals from time to time.

The Sky Sanctuary of Sonic & Knuckles was the first place where Eggrobo, an enemy built in the image of Dr. Eggman himself, was introduced. While still part of his standard robot army, Eggrobo was designed to be the strongest of the fleet, with speed and power comparable to his most famous creation, Metal Sonic. While they were unable to stop Sonic, they were used as the inspiration for Eggman's future robot enemies, which eventually phased out the unique animal-based fleet he had been using up to this point. The first line of robots based from this mold, the E-100 series, were introduced in Sonic Adventure. Armed with advanced weaponry, they were meant to carry out missions his other creations were unable to, but the most successful of these, E-102 Gamma, turned on his master and destroyed his early brethren. The final of the line, E-123 Omega, was also given a staring role in Sonic Heroes, but only seven of the implied twenty-four have been featured in the games. Sonic Heroes also saw the introduction of the Egg Pawns, based on the Eggrobo design but meant to fill the role of the early robots that had by now been phased out.

As mentioned before, though Eggman has had many robots and other creations at his disposal, his most famous would have to be Metal Sonic. Designed to be the hedgehog's equal, Metal is one of Eggman's most advanced robots, and subsequently been used more than once to stop Sonic the Hedgehog, although Metal Sonic has never been able to stop his living counterpart. There have also been other such creations based on Eggman's other foes, such as Metal Knuckles and Tails Doll, and even less advanced robots like the Mecha series - Mecha Sonic and Mecha Knuckles - but none have been used with such fervor as Metal Sonic. Also, while not part of either the Metal or Mecha series, Eggman did create a fleet of robots based on Shadow the Hedgehog, first unveiled in Sonic Heroes but featured in the Shadow the Hedgehog game. As one final note, the enemy robot that may be his inspiration for Metal Sonic, Mecha Sonic, and the rest is Arma (also known as Roller), an Armadillo-based enemy who shares Sonic's hue and his spin ability. Though extremely primitive compared to his later outings, it can be considered Eggman's first attempt at creating a robotic duplicate of his adversary.

On top of all of this, Eggman has also had numerous flying fortresses and bases that he's used during the course of the games. Among his bases are Scrap Brain from the first Sonic the Hedgehog, Metropolis from Sonic 2, Launch Base of Sonic 3, Final Egg from Sonic Adventure, and the Pyramid Base of Sonic Adventure 2. While the most famous of his flying fortresses is the Death Egg featured in Sonic 2, 3, and Sonic & Knuckles, he has built others including the Wing Fortress from Sonic 2, Flying Battery used in Sonic 3 & Knuckles, and the Egg Carrier featured in Sonic Adventure and Sonic the Hedgehog (2006). It must also be noted that he briefly was able to create a portion of his fabled dream land, Eggmanland, during the events of Sonic Unleashed, but it was swiftly destroyed as many of his other bases and creations have in the past.

Eggman in Other Media

As has been the case with Sonic the Hedgehog, Dr. Eggman's origin has been changed countless times when adapted into other media, with varying degrees of success.

Westernized Game Localization

Dr. Ovi Kintobor accidentally transforms into the evil Dr. Robotnik. From the promotional comic.

While the original Japanese storyline chose to make Eggman's background simple, the Westernized story spearheaded by Sega of America decided to make the villain of the Sonic series and evil mastermind not of his own choosing, but by a cruel twist of fate. As depicted in the promotional comic written by Francis Mao, the character who would be known as Dr. Robotnik was once known as Dr. Ovi Kintobor, a kind and friendly scientist who worked in secret in his underground laboratory. Working in secret on the Retro-Orbital Chaos Compressor, a device meant to absorb all the evil in the world, he was met by an unexpected visitor - Sonic the Hedgehog. Being the man he was, Kintobor welcomed the hedgehog, and showed him around his lab, and told him what the R.O.C.C. was. He also told him of the Chaos Emeralds that were inside, and how they were the key to storing the evil inside.

Time went on, and Sonic, who was depicted as being brown, became the subject of one of Kintobor's experiments. Wanting to see just how fast the hedgehog could run, he put him on a supersonic treadmill to record his speeds. As it would, the treadmill was unable to handle Sonic's top speeds, resulting in an explosion that would transform Sonic into his classic blue hue. This also prompted Kintobor to create the red and white frictionless shoes that Sonic would wear from then on.

This relative peace was not to last, for one day while working over the R.O.C.C. trying to keep it stable, Kintobor asked Sonic to get him a soda pop and a hardboiled egg. Sonic got it in a flash, but due to the doctor's clumsiness, he spilled the drink, causing the R.O.C.C. to overload and all the evil to enter Kintobor. He was promptly transformed into his exact opposite, which was even reflected in his name. No longer was he Dr. Ovi Kintobor, but instead Dr. Ivo Robotnik, the most evil being on the planet Mobius.

Sonic the Hedgehog (SatAM)

While previous and future incarnations of the villain Dr. Robotnik would lean toward humor, the version present in the Saturday morning series Sonic the Hedgehog produced by DiC Entertainment was the polar opposite of this. By the time the series began, Dr. Robotnik had already ruled the planet for a decade, nearly all living things already gone through the Roboticization process. Only small pockets of resistance exist on the planet, the one he cares most about being the band led by Princess Sally of Knothole, which features Sonic the Hedgehog. Robotnik's obsession with Sonic has caused most of his attention to focus on luring out and getting rid of his greatest foe, sometimes neglecting to think about the consequences of his actions, even if he is warned by his nephew, Snively, that his rash attacks on the mere hint of Sonic could threaten his other operations.

The second season of the series went on to explain how Robotnik was able to ascend to power, once being an understudy of the wizard Ixis Naugus, who was the discoverer of "The Void." Seeing the possibilities of such a locale, Robotnik betrayed Ixis, sending him into "The Void" and sealing him within. With Ixis gone, Robotnik (who was known only as Julian at this point) went on to become War Minister for the House of Acorn during the Great War. Though the details of the war are never mentioned, he uses his position to secure his army of SWATbots, and when the war is over and King declares for the army to be decommissioned, Robotnik turns on the House of Acorn and swiftly takes over the planet.

While the show never speaks on the earlier days of Robotnik, Ben Hurst, the head writer of the show, says the backstory they worked with was that Robotnik was from our future but Mobius' past, and in the year 2200 attempted to take over the space colony he was living in. Inadvertently destroying it instead, Robotnik and Snively narrowly escape with their lives, and are sent into the distant future where they return to Earth, only to find it has become Mobius. Thinking that he is superior to the animals that now inhabit the planet, he sets about to conquer it in any way he can.[3]

It should also be noted that this Dr. Robotnik's design is heavily based on the design made by Milton Knight for Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, as the two animated series were developed at the same time by DiC.

Sonic the Hedgehog (Archie)

The history of Dr. Eggman in the Sonic the Hedgehog series by Archie can be confusing to the novice, his current incarnation deeply rooted in the early days of the series. Currently there have been two main antagonists with the Dr. Robotnik name, sometimes referred to as "Robotnik I" and "Robotnik II."

Dr. Robotnik I

File:SonictheHedgehog15Archie.jpg
The original Dr. Robotnik of the Archie series.

"Robotnik I" was born Julian Kintobor of the House of Ivo. His parents were from separate parts of the planet Mobius, one being part of the Overlanders tribe, the other from the surviving humans living in Station Square. Growing up with the Overlanders, he began plotting his rise to power early on, sabotaging anyone who stood in his way. One of these early causalities was his mentor, Nate Morgan, who Julian conspired to have banished. With Nate gone, Julian worked within the Overlanders military operations, constructing sophisticated technology used in their war with the Kingdom of Acorn.

However, it was soon discovered that Julian had been using living Overlanders to test his war machines, and the Minister of Justice, his brother Colin Kintobor, tried and convicted him of his crimes. Sentenced to imprisonment, Julian managed to escape and disappeared into the Badlands, where he was discovered by Jules and Sir Charles, Sonic the Hedgehog's father and Uncle Chuck, respectively. Taking him back to King Acorn, Julian was welcomed with open arms once he promised to help them defeat his own people. He briefly allied himself with then-warlord Kodos, who wanted to overthrow the kingdom and throw the King into the Zone of Silence, but Julian used this knowledge to instead banish Kodos, positioning himself as the new warlord of the Acorn army.

Eventually, the House of Acorn was able to win the Great War, and Julian found himself in exactly the position he wanted. While he told King Acorn he would assume the mantle of Minister of Science, he instead set into motion his own takeover of the kingdom. In the twilight days of the war, Julian had discovered that Sir Charles had been working on a machine that could turn living tissue into robotic parts, in an attempt to save lives that would otherwise be lost. The first to undergo the process of Roboticization was Sonic's father, Jules, but because of sabotage by Julian, Jules became nothing more than an android who only listened to the Overlander. Jules wife Bernie was the next to undergo the process, and it was only a matter of time before he used the machine as the tool to roboticize the citizens of Mobotropolis, seizing the kingdom using his SWATbot army and sending the king into the Zone of Silence. With this act Julian Kintobor changed his name to Dr. Ivo Robotnik, and transformed the capital into Robotropolis, with only a few of its citizens able to escape from his conquest.

While he was able to overtake Mobotropolis as he did in the Saturday morning series that inspired the show, he never had as tight a grip on the planet as his counterpart. It was shown later on that many areas of Mobius still had unroboticized beings, and these places were ruled by sub-bosses such as the Iron Queen. Also, in the earlier issues of the series, while Sonic and the Freedom Fighters fought Robotnik in an effort to save Mobius, his earlier schemes against those who dared to fight him were more comical in nature, his personality closer to the Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog Robotnik than the Saturday morning alternative his design was based on. It was only as the series progressed that he began to act more like an evil dictator and less as a comical villain.

Dr. Robotnik's rule finally ended in issue 50, the culmination of the "Endgame" story arc. During one final confrontation with Sonic, Robotnik attempts to set off his "Ultimate Annihilator," blind to the fact that his nephew Snively had sabotaged the machine. While Sonic was able to escape, Dr. Robotnik's particles were scattered, putting an end to the conflict that had been the focus of the series.

Dr. Robotnik II

Robotnik I and Robotnik II come face to face.

After the defeat Dr. Robotnik, the Freedom Fighters set about to rebuild Mobius, and the next few issues dealt less with action and more with restoration. However, in the build-up to issue 75, a mysterious being known only as "Anonymous" began interfering with the planet, its origins traced back to a series of satellites orbiting it. When the Freedom Fighters went up to investigate, they found themselves face to face with Robo-Robotnik, an alternate version of their own Robotnik from a parallel universe.

Back in issue 19 of the series, Sonic and the rest of the Knothole gang were met by a version of Sonic who was half-roboticized, who explained he was from a universe that was similar to theirs, except their Robotnik was able to capture them and do the roboticization on them. When he realized that this was actually a terrible move, their Dr. Robotnik went through his own Roboticization process, and began a quest to find the pieces of the "Black Glove," a device that would help him not only take over his own Mobius, but countless others. With the combined might of numerous Sonic's, Robo-Robotnik was defeated, and thought completely destroyed.

In reality, he was able to save his consciousness, transferring it into a satellite back in his home reality and waited for the perfect time to strike. When he shows up in issue 75, he explains that he was able to finally defeat his own version of Sonic, but was unsatisfied, and decided to attack the universe that had thwarted him before. While the Freedom Fighters were able to destroy his robot body, he pulled the same trick once again, and transferred his consciousness into a body made in the design of Dr. Eggman from the Sonic Adventure games. As time passed, he dropped the Robotnik moniker entirely, calling himself Dr. Eggman. While for a time he upgraded his body to be able to roboticize people at his very touch, this disappeared when he was finally turned back into flesh and blood through the intervention of the Bem alien race. Once again human, Dr. Eggman continued his assault against Sonic the Hedgehog, his personality shifting closer to the games depiction with each passing issue.

The two Robotnik's have met three times in the course of the series, the first being in the previously mentioned issue 19. The second was in issue 22, when Robo-Robotnik saved Robotnik from certain death in the previous issue, and in issue 108, when Dr. Eggman is able to briefly put Dr. Robotnik's particles back together after the events of issue 50, in the hopes to trick the Freedom Fighters. While their final team-up resulted in a loss for both of them, the door to the original Dr. Robotnik's return has been left open.

Sonic the Hedgehog (Troll Associates book)

Taking elements from the Saturday morning series and the Archie comic book, the children's novel Sonic the Hedgehog gives Robotnik a very clear, yet puzzling origin. Being an orphan, Robotnik is taken in by Charles Hedgehog, who is called Uncle Chuck by the other orphan he is taking care of, Sonic the Hedgehog. Even though they grew up together, Sonic and Robotnik never got along, the future dictator more interested in building robots rather than having fun.

Often stealing parts from Uncle Chuck's belongings, things take a turn for the worse when he steals the steering components from Uncle Chuck's tractor, right before Chuck gets on it to take it to the neighbors. The result of Uncle Chuck losing control of the tractor puts both he and Robotnik trapped between it and a tree, and Sonic is forced to rescue them. Its only later that Uncle Chuck finds out that it was Robotnik's fault, and in an effort to punish him sets off the child's wrath. Years later, Uncle Chuck is one of the first victims of Robotnik's takeover and subsequent roboticization, although Sonic is able to save his uncle by the first novel's end. Unlike the material it is sourced from, it is never explained how Robotnik gathered his power or how he learned the secrets of roboticization.

This origin story was also used in the original Archie mini-series, but presented as an imaginary story; a bad dream that Sonic is thankful never actually happened.

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog

Dr. Ivo Robotnik, as interpreted by Milton Knight.

The Robotnik featured in Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog is never given as clear an origin as in the other DiC Entertainment series, instead being presented as the classic villain who wants to rule the world simply because he can. As emphasized by his supporting cast Scratch, Grounder, and Coconuts, his three main badniks, he doesn't nearly take himself as seriously as his Saturday morning counterpart.

While Dr. Robotnik calls himself the ruler of Mobius, it is very much in his own mind, and is never to extend his influence beyond his own fortress. Each time he tries, he is thwarted by Sonic the Hedgehog, which spawns his trademark phrase he speaks at the end of each episode, "I hate that hedgehog!" He is portrayed very much as a comical foe, more so than any other version of Dr Robotnik/Dr. Eggman, his persona fitting into the world of Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog.

While his past is never fully explored, there are some instances in which parts are revealed, often just for the point of that one episode. The episode "Best Hedgehog" tells of how Robotnik, an overweight, acme-ridden teenager, had a crush on a girl named Lucinda in his high school. While he tries to win her affections, she is instead attracted to another man named Lucas. Robotnik tries to win her by attacking Lucas with one of his early inventions, but he fails, and once he becomes the Robotnik he is in the show, holds Lucas captive for decades until Sonic is able to free him.

Robotnik also has family in the show, his mother appearing a handful of times during the run. While she looks like Robotnik in a dress, moustache and all, Dr. Robotnik is afraid of her far more than anything else, and tries desperately to hide her away in the Mobius asylum. Robotnik also makes his own robotic son, Robotnik Junior, who looks like a younger version of Robotnik. Unfortunately for him, his son defects to the Freedom Fighters.

Important to note is that Dr. Robotnik, as he is depicted in Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, was designed by cartoonist Milton Knight. His redesign of Robotnik was done to ensure that the doctor would be "animation's sexiest fat man!"[4] It is also worth noting that this design of him, is the center of the "PINGAS" jokes on the Internet.

Sonic the Comic

Sonic the Comic, the series published by Fleetway, used the Westernized origin story as their background, having Dr. Ovi Kintobor accidentally transform into the evil Dr. Robotnik. However, instead of having soda play a part, Kintobor trips over a cable while holding a rotten egg, causing the transformation. While Kintobor's consciousness still existed in digitized form as a computer, the villainous Robotnik soon began his plans for world domination.

While early issues featured Robotnik in his classic game design, and his dialogue full of egg puns, issue 8 of the series began a turn of events that would dictate the rest of the series, with Dr. Robotnik sending Sonic and friends forward in time. While only displaced by six months, it is more than enough time for Robotnik to succeed in taking over Mobius, forcing Sonic to become not just a foil to his schemes, but as leader of the Freedom Fighters.

As the comic continued, Robotnik's personality began to shift away from a more humorous style and toward that of his Saturday morning counterpart. This was even reflected in his change of clothing, shunning his simple dress for the more menacing style of that Dr. Robotnik. It was issue 21 that Robotnik decided he needed to not only change his clothing, but his entire body, and encased himself in an egg, emerging as the Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog styled Robotnik. He kept this form for the rest of the series, although he did change his clothes one final time in the Sonic Adventure adaptation, putting on the jacket his game counterpart had adopted.

As the series progressed, Dr. Robotnik was met with failure after failure, losing his empire in issue 100 and unable to ever gain it back. While there were times in the comic that he almost achieved godhood, he was always thwarted by Sonic and the Freedom Fighters, which affected him to point of depression. His faithful assistant, Grimer, not wanting to stand by and watch his master wither away, decides to unleash Chaos, in the hopes of defeating Sonic and reclaiming Mobius. While at first it looks as though Robotnik is reinspired by these events, in actuality he cares for nothing anymore, and wants to end it all, even if it means the planet goes down with him.

One last thing to note is that during the course of the series, the Metal Sonic-based Metallix went back in time to prevent the creation of Robotnik, as in an alternate timeline they still existed because it was Robotnik's assistant Grimer who designed them, Robotnik only adding a self-destruct mechanism. Because of this, Sonic was forced to go back in time and make sure that Kintobor would trip over the wire and cause his transformation, thereby being the cause of the creation of his greatest foe.

Sonic the Hedgehog (Anime)

Produced under the supervision of Sonic Team, the two part OVA featured a Dr. Eggman who was closer to his game counterpart compared to any that had come before. While he is the ruler of Eggmanland, it is a city that is below where most of the inhabitants of Planet Freedom live, built on the outskirts of what was once New York City. He is both cunning and charismatic, yet still childish, easily falling for the whims of the President's daughter, Sara.

While Sonic doesn't necessarily believe Eggman's story about Eggmanland being overtaken by Black Eggman, he and Tails go ahead anyway, and it is only later that Sonic's beliefs are confirmed that Eggman was involved from the beginning, and that it was all merely a ploy to allow his latest creation, Hyper Metal Sonic to be complete. While Eggman wishes to rule as his game counterpart, he has no qualms with what he plans to do with Hyper Metal Sonic - destroy that which keeps the Land of the Sky afloat, leaving only the Land of Darkness and Eggman's empire.

Also, throughout the anime, it is revealed that Eggman is not holding the President's daughter hostage to have a bargaining chip to let his plans go into motion, but because he is enamored with her. He fully intends on marrying Sara once Planet Freedom's Land of the Sky shatters, and have a fleet of children with her.

Sonic Underground

The final of the three DiC Sonic productions, Sonic Underground once again returns to the Dr. Robotnik design from the previous show, Sonic the Hedgehog. While he once again overthrew the original ruler of the planet, this time it was Queen Aleena Hedgehog, mother of Sonic and his two siblings, Sonia and Manic. Although he does overthrow her, she is able to escape, and protect her children from his grasp. As they grow, Robotnik secures his place as the ruler of Mobius, and while he does have the capability to roboticize anyone, he chooses not to do it across the entire planet, choosing only those who oppose them. Along with his sidekicks, the bounty hunters Sleet and Dingo, Robotnik spends his time making sure he is the undisputed ruler of Mobius, continually seeking out Queen Aleena and her three children, most of all Sonic, to make sure the prophecy of his downfall never comes to pass.

The character of Robotnik also has a bit more emphasis on maintaining some form of the old order, leaving the nobility of the planet alone for the most part, as long as they pay him tribute and allow him to be the ruler. This alone shows that he is not as strict a dictator as in the Saturday morning series, and is slightly more interested in being adored by the public.

Sonic X

Also produced under the supervision of Sonic Team, Sonic X keeps Dr. Eggman close to his gaming counterpart, going after the Chaos Emeralds and going head to head with Sonic the Hedgehog. Although he has succeeded in getting the seven Chaos Emeralds in the beginning of the first episode, the machine that he has them connected to causes Chaos Control to occur, sending the main cast and those nearby to an alternate dimension, and to planet Earth.

While he immediately begins the same tricks that he started on their home planet, Eggman seems to treat his encounters with Sonic not strictly as fights over the planet, but more akin to the friendly rivalry aspects that are hinted at in the games. This is expanded further on in the comic series based on the show published by Archie, in which Eggman takes on the moniker of wrestling sensation El Gran Gordo, that allows Eggman to enjoy not only the sensation of winning, but also of being adored.

Miscellaneous

  • Although never confirmed, it is speculated that Dr. Eggman's name was inspired by The Beatles' classic tune "I am the Walrus." The song featuring the lyrics "I am the Eggman/We are the Eggmen/I am the Walrus/Goo goo g'joob." It is also because of this possible connection that Sega of America may have wanted to change Dr. Eggman's name, in the fear of being sued by The Beatles' label Apple for copyright infringement.
  • A potential macrocycle inhibitor of the gene Sonic hedgehog was discovered by a Harvard University research team, who decided to name it "Robotnikinin." They felt that since the original had been named after the video game character, they should "adhere to the convention" and name the newly discovered compound after his archenemy.[5]
  • While Dr. Eggman has always been the name of the character in Japan, in localization for western markets it wad decided to name the character Dr. Ivo Robotnik. The name was conceived by Dean Sitton, who was working for Sega of America's helpline at the time. By the time Sonic Adventure came along and Sega decided to discontinue the western story involving Kintobor, they did incorporate the Robotnik name into the game canon, with Eggman's grandfather Professor Gerald Robotnik having the same surname in all versions of the game. Even so, modern games almost exclusively stick to the Dr. Eggman name.

Appearances

Video Games

See Games featuring Sonic the Hedgehog. Being the main antagonist, he is in nearly every game on this list with the exceptions of Sonic and the Black Knight and the two Tails-only Game Gear games.

Television Series and Film

Comic Books

Game Books and Novels

See Books Featuring Sonic the Hedgehog. As Dr. Eggman is the main antagonist of the series, he is featured in every book on this list.

Theme Songs

Boss themes and other various pieces of music can also be considered as themes for Dr. Eggman, although not marked explicitly as such.

Voice Actors


Characters in the Sonic the Hedgehog game series
Recurring characters
Heroes Sonic (Super, Starfall, Hyper, Darkspine, the Werehog, Excalibur) | Tails (Super) | Knuckles (Super, Hyper) | Amy (Super, Hyper) | Mighty (Super) | Ray (Super) | Espio | Charmy | Vector | Cream | Big | Blaze (Burning) | Silver (Super) | Sticks
Anti-heroes/Neutrals Shadow (Super) | Rouge | E-102 Gamma | E-123 Omega | Jet | Wave | Storm
Villains Dr. Eggman | Metal Sonic (Rocket, Neo, 3.0) | Mecha Sonic (8-bit, Mk. II, Mk. III, Super) | Fang | Tails Doll | Metal Knuckles | Chaos (Perfect) | E-Series | ZERO | Biolizard (Finalhazard) | Black Doom (Devil Doom) | Eggman Nega | Orbot | Cubot | Deadly Six (Zavok, Zazz, Zomom, Master Zik, Zeena, Zor)
Teams Sonic/Heroes | Rose | Dark | Chaotix | Babylon
Other Animals (Flicky) | Froggy | Chao (Hero, Dark) | Tikal | Pachacamac | Omochao | Chaclon | Gerald & Maria Robotnik | President | King Boom Boo | Cheese | Chocola | Vanilla | G.U.N. Commander | Wisps | Mother Wisp
One-off characters
Heroes Emerl | Marine | Lumina Flowlight | Chip | Shahra | Knights of the Round Table | Caliburn | Yacker | Avatar | Barry | Trip (Super)
Anti-heroes/Neutrals Bean | Bark | Shade | Merlina | Sage
Villains Witchcart | Hocke-Wulf | Bearenger | Carrotia | Battle Kukku Army (15th, 16th, Dr. Fukurokov) | E-101 Beta | Void | Chaos Gamma | Gemerl | Shugo-hei | Iblis | Mephiles | Solaris | Erazor Djinn | Captain Whisker | Johnny | Master Core: ABIS | Ix (Super) | Dark Gaia | King Arthur | Hard Boiled Heavies | Infinite | The End | Mirage Express
Teams Vector | Eggman
Other Birdie | Illumina | Secretary | Elise | Duke of Soleanna | Sonic Man | Coconut Crew | Vikings | Professor Pickle | Wentos | Don Fachio | Dodon Pa | Koco | Ancients | Conductor | Conductor's wife | Ariem | Heavy | Bomb | Tiara Boobowski | Honey