Doctor Eggman

File:Eggman001.jpg

Doctor Eggman as seen in Shadow the Hedgehog

In the Sonic the Hedgehog series, Doctor "Eggman" Robotnik (ドクタアエッグマン dokutaa egguman?), formerly Doctor Ivo Robotnik outside of Japan, is the arch-nemesis of Sonic the Hedgehog. He has an IQ of 300 and is comically obese, weighing in at 281.6 lbs. His age is uncertain, but it is speculated he is in his early fifties. His character designer is Naoto Ohshima.

Doctor Eggman is the grandson of the brilliant scientist Professor Gerald Robotnik, and cousin of Maria Robotnik. He is an evil genius whose goal is to take over the world. Originally this was by imprisoning the population inside robots to serve his every whim, but now he has a tendency to build the biggest, strongest weapon he can think of, call it his most destructive weapon ever, and threaten nations with it. His plans have always failed however, due to Sonic the Hedgehog.

Personality and Main Details

File:EggmanSketch.jpg

Dr. Robotnik's first design

Despite his intelligence, Eggman is terribly immature^[1], throwing temper tantrums and breaking things when he loses. He also seems to be very egotistical; a vast number of his weapons and robots are built in his likeness, and his production logo is a crude depiction of his own face.

He has designed and built several large airships, such as the Egg Carrier and a space station called the Death Egg. He has also designed and built countless robots, a number of which resemble either himself or his longtime rival, Sonic.

Although Eggman's mental stability is questionable, he's quite willing to help save the world from threats greater than himself, but possibly only because he won't be able to take it over if it's destroyed. According to the Sonic Heroes booklet, he is "a romanticist, feminist, and self-professed gentleman" (though, as the booklet also mentions, this is usually very hard to see through his evil schemes).

In the old days, Dr. Eggman was very obese, but still seemed very athletic. This is seen in many of the games, as there is almost always a point where Sonic chases him, and Eggman seems to stay ahead just long enough to get to get to his final boss, or running away mech. He always wore a red shirt with black overall, and two yellow flys on his front.

One thing that has not changed through the years is his fancy, three-pointed mustache. But almost every other aspect of his appearance has. In recent games, Sonic Adventure and up, he is somewhat taller, and is now more egg-shaped comepared to the balloon shape he had before. His attire is much different as well, dispite it still having a red-yellow-black theme.

In most video games, the main villain is the final boss fought by the player. Eggman, by contrast, appears as the boss of almost every level in most of the Sonic games, in a different machine each time.

Creations

File:STH 1 Eggmobile.JPG

Dr. Eggman in his Eggmobile

Robotnik's Mobile

As the vastness of Dr. Eggman's mechanical empire requires omnipresence to maintain a tight control, Eggman's Mobile (also known as the Eggmobile in the Sonic Adventure Sound Test, or the Egg-O-Matic in comics and cartoons) allows the Doctor to cruise around his factories in a speedy fashion. The small hovering craft has a very distinct egg-like shape with a small circular lamp on the front, and can be fitted with a seemingly endless amount of gadgetry. Not only does the doctor use it as his mode of transportation but also as the cockpit of even larger doomsday devices. When these are destroyed, Eggman and his mobile will inevitably emerge unscathed from the fires, usually accompanied by a maniacle "WE'LL MEET AGAIN, SONIC THE HEDGEHOG!" or similar.

Badniks

Main article: Badniks

"Badniks" was a term used to describe Robotnik's robot henchmen in early North American and European releases of the games.

Egg robots

The doctor's Egg-shaped robots have evolved throughout the series, first appearing in Sonic & Knuckles as the simple but numerous Egg-Bots or Egg-Robos. Soon after, Eggman followed up with more lethal incarnations that could think for themselves — the E-Series. Notable E-Series robots include E-101 Beta, E-102 Gamma, E-103 Delta, E-104 Epsilon, E-105 Zeta, E-121 Phi and E-123 Omega.

In Sonic Heroes, Dr. Eggman apparently scrapped the animal-powered Badnik designs and, in their place, started developing Eggman-resembling grunts simply called Eggpawns. These had no animals inside and had rather poor intelligence, but they usually attacked in groups to make up for their lack of fighting power. Notably, they had greater stamina than past robot designs, as it took several hits to defeat them (as opposed to the previous models, who would usually be destroyed after one single hit). Eggman continues to use the Eggpawn model in Shadow the Hedgehog and Sonic Rush and may do the same in future games. See E-Series for more robots.

Others

Phi is a grey robot that looks remarkably like Emerl (Sonic Battle). There are 14 versions of him who all have different attacks (i.e. Phi #1 has Sonic's attacks while Phi #14 has Rouge's attacks). By the end of the game they have all been destroyed by Emerl. Guard Robos are Gray versions of E-102 Gamma, that were used to help Eggman make a profit, and explode on destruction. Rouge bought one to train Emerl with. In Sonic Riders, there are a new kind of robots called "E-10000". The two that are playable are the red "E-10000R" and the green "E-10000G". E-10000R is said to have the same engine as Metal Sonic.

Sonic robots

Main article: Metal Sonic

Eggman, aside from the huge mechas and robots he builds in his likeness, also seems to enjoy trying to make robot Sonic knock-offs to pit against his rival. His first attempt was called the Roller, which was in the Spring Yard Zone of Sonic 1. They were a bit of a failure since they could only roll and Sonic can destroy them very easily. Silver Sonic (Mecha Sonic in Japan) was his second attempt and featured as the penultimate boss of Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Silver Sonic was an improvement over the Roller, but was still a dismal failure due to the fact that it was the total opposite of the original — slow, unwieldy, big, and stupid. In Sonic and Knuckles it was later upgraded with a much sleeker and more aggressive design, and it was also faster and able to fly. This later version is often referred to as Mecha Sonic even by non-Japanese fans because he was repainted blue. It returns as the boss of the Sky Sanctuary Zone in three different occasions. Sonic thought he had defeated it in the Sky Sanctuary of Angel Island, but it later reappeared and fought Knuckles. Mecha Sonic got hold of the Master Emerald and attacked Knuckles as Super Mecha Sonic, but, not being able to absorb the Emerald into its being, needed to constantly recharge his power. Knuckles soon managed to defeat it during these recharge lapses.

Eggman's most successful and persistent Sonic copy to date is Metal Sonic. He made his first appearance in Sonic CD to capture Amy Rose and race Sonic on the Stardust Speedway. Unlike the previous attempts, Metal Sonic was built with a sleek form built for speed. Metal Sonic, after his first defeat at the hands of Sonic, went on to harass the Chaotix, where he was able to turn into a huge, red, Godzilla-sized version of himself via the Chaos Rings and wreak havoc for a while, until he was defeated once again. Since then, he's been seen around participating in any kind of racing or fighting Sonic joins in, in hopes of defeating him one day. In Sonic Heroes, Metal Sonic impersonates Eggman in an attempt to copy the Sonic Heroes' DNA and finally put an end to their rivalry, once and for all.

Eggman has also built robot copies of other characters, such as Metal Knuckles, the Tails Doll, and the Shadow Androids. He has even created robotic copies of himself called Eggrobos.

Eggman's explosives

Eggman has used many explosives. A common example is a large bomb bearing his image, with varying power levels. Eggman is also known to use kamikaze robots, such as the Bomb badniks. One of his most compacted yet destructive explosive ever created is the Eggman BomBom, which resembles no more than a dynamite pack bearing its name and a timer, yet is powerful enough to destroy an entire island.

Eggman's screen

When Eggman cannot be in person and needs to communicate from a distance, he will send a two-way communication device with video screen and hovering capabilities. Eggman used this device in Shadow the Hedgehog to communicate with Shadow on various mission objectives.

Roboticizing/Roboticization

In some comics and cartoons, Eggman kept a huge device called a "Roboticizer", which was used to turn any living thing into a robot that worked for him. Although this was certainly an extremely powerful device, many roboticized people betrayed eggman, remembering who they were before entering the Roboticizer.

Notable Eggman bases

File:Eggmanpromox.png

Dr. Eggman as seen in Sonic Adventure 2.

Throughout the games Dr. Eggman has had several bases to plan his evil schemes. Most of them were inevitably destroyed by Sonic and his allies, much to Eggman's dismay. In each game he has a new base up and running, filled to the brim with traps, enemies, and the Doctor himself.

Death Egg

The Death Egg is a tribute to the Death Star, a space station in the Star Wars series, with enormous energy cannon 'eyes' and a huge metal moustache.

The Death Egg made its first appearance in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, 1992), where it was a space station, which by the level select screen, can be seen as moon-shaped. It was the final level of the game, containing only the final two bosses. After Sonic defeated Dr. Eggman, the Death Egg crash-landed onto the Angel Island.

In Sonic 3, Eggman repaired the Death Egg and was about to launch it when Sonic arrived in the Launch Base Zone. Sonic quickly boarded the giant space station and defeated Eggman, causing the space station's destruction.

In Sonic & Knuckles (or Sonic 3 & Knuckles), the event is changed; instead of being destroyed, the Death Egg falls out of the sky and lands in the volcano of Angel Island (otherwise known as the Floating Island) where Lava Reef Zone and Hidden Palace Zone were situated. In the end of the game, the Death Egg was launched again, using the power of the stolen Master Emerald. It then became a two-Act Zone playable by Sonic and/or Tails containing an Act 1 boss and three Act 2 bosses (including Tails' final boss). After defeating the final boss, the Death Egg was finally and completley destroyed.

In Sonic Battle, the Death Egg was going to be used to launch the Final Egg Blaster. When Eggman was defeated by Emerl, Emerl lost control and aimed the Final Egg Blaster at Earth, but Sonic defeated him to save the Earth, destroying Emerl in the process. It is unknown what happened to the Death Egg after Emerl's destruction.

Death Egg 2

(Sonic the Fighters) The Death Egg 2 appeared only in Sonic the Fighters (Sonic Championship in North America). It has a similar design to the original, but it has many rooms sticking out of the sides. After you defeat its guardian Metal Sonic, a self-destruction timer starts. After that, you fight Eggman on a time limit. Whether or not you defeat him, the Death Egg 2 is destroyed.

Metropolis

(Sonic the Hedgehog 2) On Westside Island, Eggman used Metropolis to store his Wing Fortress, which he used to get away to the Death Egg after battling Sonic with a bunch of decoy Eggmans. In Sonic Heroes, Team Sonic, Dark, Rose and Chaotix raid the city during Eggman's plan to sell a valuable energy source from the city and only resulted in slowing each others progress. In Sonic the Comic, Metroplolis Zone was Dr. Robotnik's main base of operations.

Wing Fortress

(Sonic the Hedgehog 2) Eggman's flying warship. Eggman himself didn't fight Sonic here, but controlled a massive mobile ceiling laser to attempt to defeat Sonic. It should be noticed that the Wing Fortress is never actually destroyed.

Flying Battery

(Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Sonic and Knuckles) Another large flying fortress, very similar to Wing Fortress and possibly a modified version of it. This ship tries to kill Sonic with a bombing run in Angel Island Zone Act 2 in Sonic the Hedgehog 3, and is later infriltated by Sonic in Sonic & Knuckles. After Sonic fights a laser very similar to the one on the Wing Fortress, the Flying Battery is destroyed.

Egg Carrier

In Sonic Adventure, this massive airship was Eggman's main mode of transportation, and the site of many battles in the game. It had two modes, offensive and defensive, which had to be toggled back and forth periodically to access certain areas.

A second Egg Carrier was designed in case Chaos betrayed Eggman, but it was immediately destroyed by a blast of energy from Chaos.

Final Egg

Eggman's secondary base in Sonic Adventure, located deep in the jungle. The Egg Carrier is launched from here. Eggman faces Sonic in his "Egg Viper" machine here but is defeated.

Final Fortress

In Sonic Heroes Eggman constructed a large fleet of fish-shaped battle ships known as the Egg Fleet. From the core of this fleet he operated a flagship that is referred to as the Final Fortress, or the "whale fish flagship". The final fortress is a vast ship, with many weapons and lasers. Knuckles quoted "The Egg Carrier is nothing compared to this!". This is true as the Final Fortress is easily one of the biggests objects in the Sonic universe. The Final Fortress is apparantly not destroyed at the end of the game but is never seen again (Eggman uses a different flagship in Shadow the Hedgehog.)

Casino/Circus/Fun parks

Quite often Eggman will use bases for his own amusement as well as for fighting Sonic, perhaps to reflect his childlike habits. Such bases often include slot machines, bumpers, pinball tables, shooting galleries and even bingo, all with various prizes. In Shadow the Hedgehog he seems more eager for Shadow to play his carnival games than to destroy the attacking G.U.N. soldiers.

Iron Jungle/Lava Shelter

In Shadow the Hedgehog, Eggman operates out of a large base in the middle of a jungle. The outer part consists of many mechanical walkways while the inner base is full of fiery molten lava. This is the only place where Eggman utilizes his army of Shadow Androids.

The name game

In various continuities, Eggman has been known by several names. In the Japanese games, he has always been known simply as "Dr. Eggman". In all games released in America and Europe up to Sonic Adventure, however, he was known as "Dr. Robotnik."

Both names slipped occasionally in all regions. For example, Sonic the Hedgehog 2s' Wing Fortress and Sonic Drift 2 only had Eggman, Sonic Triple Trouble had Robotnik Winter Zone, and Sonic Jam had both names, as his profile was Robotnik and his statue next to Sonic said Eggman on it.

In Sonic Adventure, however, Sega began a process of getting the American and European gaming communities used to the Japanese name, Dr. Eggman. Initially, both names were used, and he referred to himself as Robotnik while others called him Eggman. In later games, and also in the English dub of Sonic X, the name Robotnik was dropped almost entirely, though it can still be found on some promotional material and in the French Sonic X dubbing. In the Japanese version of Sonic X his eyecatch profile card gives his name as: "ROBOTNIK (Dr. Eggman)". Also, most airboards in the game Sonic Riders were built by Robotnik Corp.

General consensus now is that his real name is Ivo Robotnik (although the name "Ivo" is debatable) and his nickname is Eggman. This is supported by the surname of his grandfather, Gerald Robotnik and his cousin, Maria Robotnik.

Contrasting stories

Several Sonic continuities have emerged over the years, each presenting a different depiction of Eggman.

File:Oldrobotnik.jpg

Dr. Robotnik/Dr. Eggman, as seen in Sonic CD

SegaSonic

The "SegaSonic" continuity, as it is known by fans, was created by Sega of Japan for the original game, and is generally thought of as the "official" storyline. This is mainly because of the belief that, since Sonic the Hedgehog is a Japanese creation, the Japanese storyline should be the true one. It does not have a very extensive backstory for Dr. Eggman, only that he is a mad scientist who wants to conquer Earth, and attempts to do so by enslaving the animal population in robots and trying to find the Chaos Emeralds to harness their power. Despite the fact that the newer games have introduced a few other members of Eggman's family, his backstory is still largely unknown.

The versions of Dr. Eggman seen in the animated series Sonic X, the Sonic OVA and the various Sonic Manga comics are, more or less, based off his SegaSonic incarnation.

For more information regarding Eggman/Robotnik in other continuities, see alternate Robotnik incarnations.

Modern day

File:SR Eggman.jpg

Dr. Eggman in Sonic Riders.

Following Sonic Adventure, Eggman's role has often been shared by the influence of other enemies. Additionally, Eggman has often been betrayed by his own allies and has sometimes even aided Sonic once his plans have spiralled out of control. In this way, Eggman was rarely the final boss of the post-SA games until recently, in which games like Sonic Rush and Sonic Riders have consecutively portrayed him as the main enemy, bringing the Doctor back to his roots as the primary antagonist of the series. (Although it should be noted the plot and storyline of those games aren't quite as serious as the games where he is betrayed.)

• In Sonic Adventure (later released as Sonic Adventure DX Director's Cut for the Gamecube), his ally throughout the game, Chaos, becomes Perfect Chaos after consuming all seven Chaos Emeralds, turns on him and destroys the Egg Carrier 2 shortly before the final battle, in which Super Sonic defeats Chaos as Eggman flees.
• In Sonic Adventure 2 (later released as Sonic Adventure 2: Battle), Eggman aids Sonic in order to save himself and the Earth from destruction by stopping the ARK's crash course and the Biolizard, the creation of his grandfather. He is also one of the six playable characters.
• In both Sonic Advance and Sonic Advance 2, Eggman is the main enemy throughout the game, and is completely in control of his plans.
• In both Sonic Pinball Party, as well, Eggman is the main enemy.
• In Sonic Battle, Eggman intends to use the robot Emerl for his own purposes after he finds out what it can do, but Emerl joins Sonic instead. However, Emerl eventually becomes evil and self-destructs after a final battle with Sonic.
• In Sonic Heroes, Eggman is captured by his own creation, Metal Sonic, who then disguises himself as Eggman in order to complete his own evil plan. Eggman offers little aid (except with the Chaotix), but encourages the heroes to defeat Metal Sonic.
• In Sonic Advance 3, Eggman builds the robot Gemerl out of Emerl's remains, but Gemerl turns on Eggman, who teams up with Super Sonic to defeat Gemerl.
• In Shadow the Hedgehog, Eggman is a featured character but can be either ally or enemy based upon the player's actions. Although he commits some minor villainous acts (such as stealing rings from around the world as Tails mentions in Circus Park), his main goal in the game is actually to protect the world from Black Arms so that the planet he hopes to take over won't be destroyed. He is, in addition, the only ally who is both a Hero and Dark character, the former only in stages where both he and Black Arms are involved. His status as a comic relief and secondary villain are made far more obvious, the former due to Mike Pollock's take on the character and the latter due to the fact that the Black Arms are clearly shown as being the game's main villains right at the start. In three of the game's endings, it is implied that Shadow kills Eggman. However, since he is present during the Last Story and future games these are considered non-canon. When Eggman aids the player, he appears as a floating screen with his face on it. Eggman aids Shadow in the dark missions of Cryptic Castle, Circus Park, Iron Jungle, and Lava Shelter, and the hero mission of Sky Troops.

File:Eggman-Nega.jpg

Eggman Nega

• In Sonic Rush, Eggman encounters another version of himself from another dimension, Eggman Nega. Eggman Nega is crueler and more calculating, however the two work side by side to achieve their unanimous goal of creating a multi-dimensional Eggman Land. This is one of Eggman's rare modern-day appearances as the final enemy, in which he is not overthrown by a greater threat at the last minute due to betrayal (Chaos, Metal Sonic, Gemerl) or outside forces (Biolizard, Black Arms).
• Dr. Eggman also plays a part in Sonic Riders. He hires the Babylon Rogues to race against Sonic and friends in a racing tournament. He actually was the one to betray someone in this game, as he steals the Control Box from the Babylon Rogues to get the treasure of Babylon, but only to find the treasure is "A piece of cloth?". Eggman is also an active competitor in this tournament, and is one of the relatively few racers to not use a hoverboard, as he uses an air bike instead. In a groundbreaking move, this is the first storyline in which Eggman canonically wins, accomplishing his goal of finding the treasure- It's mere comic irony that he's disappointed with the rewards of his first victory in the series, and the Doctor faints from shock as a result.

File:Sonicnext6.jpg

Eggman, in the latest Sonic title

• Eggman will appear in the new Sonic title, but his look has radically changed. In effect, he looks more like an actual human would, and is much less obese, but still wears his post-Adventure outfit and sports a large mustache. Whether his personality is changed, in addition to his general look, remains to be seen, but he remains the primary villain.

Sega has explained that Eggman has actually become less evil and is now somewhat fond of Sonic, treating him as a rival^[2] rather than an enemy. This idea has often been expressed in Sonic X also. Template:Endspoiler

Playable Appearances

Eggman, although the villain of the series, has been playable in several Sonic games.

• In Sonic Drift, he's one of the four selectable racers. His ability is tossing mines.
• In Sonic Drift 2, he's one of eight selectable racers, and can toss mines.
• In Sonic R, he's the first unlockable racer, unlocked by clearing all five stages in first place. Eggman can shoot missiles at opponents for ten rings.
• In Sonic Adventure 2 (and its GameCube port), Eggman is one of the 6 playable characters in Story Mode, and has five stages (six including his part in Cannon's Core) and three boss battles (Tails, the Egg Golem and Tails again). He is also playable in the Shooting Battle and Kart Racing minigames, as well as in the Chao Garden. He is Tails' rival.
• In Sonic Advance 3, the player plays as the team of Super Sonic and Eggman to defeat the final boss, Gemerl. He is playable in multiplayer mode for 2P in Nonaggression.
• In Sonic Riders, Eggman is a power type racer, unlocked by clearing the Babylon story mode.
• In Sonic the Fighters, Eggman is a playable character if the game is hacked. He appears in a robot suit (though there is another, unused version of him in his UFO), but the game freezes after defeating Metal Sonic with Eggman.
• Eggman is also playable in Sonic Battle, but only with gameshark so far.

Theme songs

• In the SegaWorld stage show "Sonic in Sydney", Robotnik has a song called "Give Me Chaos."
• In AoStH, a whimsical harpsichord played a series of iconic notes for scenes depicting Robotnik. The episode "Sonic's Song" also had Robotnik writing and singing his own theme song with Scratch and Grounder singing backup.
• In the first season of SatAM, Michael Tavera composed an orchestral piece with sweeping strings and a harsh piano to represent the dictator.
• In Sonic X a song simply titled "Dr. Eggman" (including several variants depending on the content of the scene; comedy or action) is used. This theme is remixed for Bokkun's theme. These songs were removed from the English version by 4Kids, who added their own music.
• In Sonic Adventure, Eggman's theme song is simply named "Theme of Dr. Eggman", and is instrumental.
• In Sonic Adventure 2, it is "E.G.G.M.A.N." by Paul Shortino.
• In Sonic Heroes, his theme is "Egg Emperor" and is instrumental.
• In Shadow the Hedgehog, "E.G.G.M.A.N. Doc Robeatnix Mix" (Title only given in the Shadow "Lost and Found" album, previously only known as "Event 3") is his theme. It's a remix of "E.G.G.M.A.N." from "Sonic Adventure 2". This is the only vocal song in the game not pertaining to Shadow.
• In Sonic Riders, Eggman's theme is a guitar riff called "Eggman Again!"

Voice actors

File:026eggman.jpg

Dr. Eggman as seen on Sonic X.

Eggman has been the primary antagonist in all of Sonic's incarnations, and throughout all of them, a number of voice actors have played him:

• Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog - Long John Baldry (died 7/21/05)
• Sonic the Hedgehog (SatAM) - Jim Cummings
• Sonic Underground (US, France) - Gary Chalk
• Sonic the Hedgehog (Anime, Japan) - Edwin Neal
• Video Game series (Sonic Adventure onward) - Chikao Otsuka (Japan), Deem Bristow (US; died 1/15/05 [3]) Mike Pollock (US; 2005 onwards)
• Sonic X - Chikao Otsuka (Japan), Mike Pollock (US)

Other information

• Eggman was one of the suggestions for the hero in the original game. However, the blue hedgehog won the in-house design contest and Eggman had to settle for villain.
• Eggman's name may have been inspired by The Beatles' "I am the Walrus" (I am the eggman, they are the eggmen). His look, in particular his facial appearance, was likely inspired^[4] by U.S. president Theodore Roosevelt.
• Ivo, his first name in the former western canon, is reverse of "Ovi", which is "Egg" in the Greek language.
• In the Archie Comic and SatAM he was born as Julian Kintobor.

See also

• List of Dr. Eggman's Vehicles
• Badnik
• Eggmanland
• E-Series
• SWATbot
• Gerald Robotnik
• Maria Robotnik

References and notes

1. ^ ^[5] Absolute Anime.com. "Dr. Eggman is immature and thinks of Sonic as a rival". Retrieved November 23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
2. ^ ^[6] GHZ.com. "Dr. Eggman appearance was inspired by the president". Retrieved November 24. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)

External links

• Doctor Robotnik's computer A Dr. Eggman/robotnik fansite that updates frequently.
• The Eggman Empire A fansite devoted to Dr. Eggman.
• Factbites Several facts about Dr. Eggman.
• Bvio Information about Doctor Eggman.