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Doctor Eggman

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Doctor Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik
'Sonic the Hedgehog series character
File:Robotnik Riders.png
Doctor Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik, as seen in Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity
First gameSonic the Hedgehog (1991)
Created byNaoto Ōshima

Doctor Ivo Robotnik[1] (ロボトニック, Robotonikku), more commonly known by his alias, Doctor Eggman[2] (ドクター・エッグマン, Dokutā Egguman), is a video game character and main antagonist of the Sonic the Hedgehog series. He is a rotund scientist with an IQ of 300, and the de facto archenemy of Sonic the Hedgehog. His character designer is Naoto Ōshima, and he has gone through several appearance changes throughout the series. The character was named the 15th most diabolical video game villain of all time by PC World.[3]

Concept and inspiration

File:Oldrobotnik.jpg
Doctor Robotnik's original design.

In April 1990, Sega petitioned its research and development department, AM8, to create a character who would replace Alex Kidd as the company's mascot, as well as compete against Nintendo's flagship character, Mario. A caricature of Theodore Roosevelt was among the proposed designs, and combined with the idea of an egg-shaped character, it eventually became the basis of the visual design for Dr. Robotnik/Eggman.[4] In creating the "bad guy" for the Sonic series, the development team wanted a character who was "the opposite of Sonic;" a character who represented "machinery" and "development" to play on the then-growing debate between developers and environmentalists.[5] The character was also designed to be easy for kids to draw.[5]

Eggman has been known by different names in various Sonic media depending on region. In Japan, the character has always been known as "Doctor Eggman". However, in early American and European games and media, he is known as Doctor Ivo Robotnik. Yuji Naka has explained that "Robotnik" is the character's "real name" while "Eggman" is a "common name taken after his shape."[6] Beginning with Sonic Adventure, Sega began referring to him more as Eggman in both languages, with the use of the name Robotnik becoming rare.

Characteristics

Doctor Eggman is described as being a certifiable genius with an IQ of 300. [7][8][9] His fondness for machines has also made him a renowned authority on robotics.[10][7] Ultimately, Eggman's goal is to conquer the world and create his ultimate utopia, Eggmanland (alternatively known as the Eggman Empire or Robotnikland).[11] He selfishly never gives up on this matter, and does not care for others' opinions.[10][12] He considers those who would interrupt his plans a prime threat.[11] His abominable laughter and maniacal declarations contrast his self-professed softer side, as a romanticist, feminist, and gentleman.[8] Despite his intelligence, Eggman is terribly immature, prone to childish emotional fits when he is not getting his way.[12] Although Sonic has always ruined his evil plans, Eggman begrudgingly holds a secret respect for his determination.[10][9]

Actor portrayal

A great number of voice actors have portrayed Dr. Eggman/Robotnik in his post-1998 game appearances, as well as in other media. In the Japanese game releases, Eggman is voiced by Chikao Ōtsuka. From 1999-2004, Deem Bristow provided the English dub for Eggman;[13] 4Kids employee Mike Pollock assumed the role following Bristow's death from a heart attack in 2005. The first video game to star Pollock was Shadow the Hedgehog, in which all of the regular voice actors were replaced with the 4Kids cast.

The only person besides Ōtsuka to portray Eggman in a Japanese production is Junpei Takiguchi, who provided Eggman's voice for the direct-to-video film Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie.[14] Edwin Neal later provided the English dub.[15]

The television incarnations of Doctor Eggman (or "Robotnik" as he is often known) has been voiced by three different actors. In Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Robotnik is voiced by British blues singer Long John Baldry,[16] who coincidentally died the same year as Deem Bristow from a severe chest infection. Robotnik was voiced by Jim Cummings in the ABC Saturday morning Sonic the Hedgehog cartoon,[17] and by Gary Chalk (who also voiced Grounder in Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog) in Sonic Underground.[18] Eggman is also voiced by Pollock in the English dub of Sonic X.

In video games

File:Robotnik-boss.png
In the games, Dr. Eggman will routinely oppose the character directly as an end-level boss

In most video games, the main villain is the final boss fought by the player. Robotnik, by contrast, appears as the boss of almost every level in most of the 2D Sonic games (and some 3D games), in a different machine each time. In the three-dimensional games, Eggman has often fallen under the thrall of other, more fearsome enemies. He is rarely the final boss in his post-Genesis appearances, often being either betrayed by his own allies or upstaged by a third party and forming temporary alliances with Sonic's group after his plans spiral out of control.

Dr. Robotnik first debuted in the 1991 platform game Sonic the Hedgehog, where he attempted to collect the six Chaos Emeralds (later seven) and imprisoning all of the helpless animals inhabiting South Island into robots. He returned in the immediate sequel, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, where he once again sought the Chaos Emeralds, this time to fuel his new warship called the Death Egg. In 1993's Sonic CD, Robotnik, along with his latest creation, Metal Sonic, travels to Little Planet in search of magical stones that have the power to control the passage of time. In Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic & Knuckles, following the events in Sonic 2, Eggman's Death Egg crash-lands onto Angel Island. While repairing the ship, Robotnik meets Knuckles the Echidna, whom he tricks into believing that Sonic is trying to steal the Chaos Emeralds; in truth, Eggman intends to use the emeralds to repair the Death Egg.

Other two-dimensional platformers that Robotnik appears in include Sonic Chaos, Sonic Triple Trouble, Sonic Blast, and Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure.

In Sonic Adventure (later released as Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut for the GameCube), Robotnik learns of the legendary beast, Chaos, and seeks out the Master Emerald. Upon finding it, he shatters it, freeing Chaos in the process. Eggman's goal is to control Chaos and obtain the Chaos Emeralds, which he can feed to Chaos so that it transforms into its most powerful form, using its destructive powers to conquer the world.[19] Sonic Adventure 2 marks Eggman's first appearance as a playable character in a main series game. Eggman revives the anti-hero Shadow the Hedgehog from dormancy. Shadow, knowing Eggman's desire to rule the world, agrees to help him by using the Eclipse Cannon aboard Space Colony ARK. In the last story, Eggman aids Sonic in trying to stop a fail-safe put in place by his grandfather, Gerald Robotnik, which would set the colony on a crash course with Earth.[20] In Sonic Heroes, Eggman is captured by his own creation, Metal Sonic, who disguises himself as Eggman as part of a larger evil plan.

In Shadow the Hedgehog, Eggman is an opportunist who tries to gather the Chaos Emeralds in the middle of the alien invasion. He ends up sending his robots to help stop the alien menace in the end. As Shadow interrogates Eggman for information regarding his past, he is met with taunts from Eggman, who claims that Shadow is one of his androids.[21] During Shadow's fight with Black Doom, Eggman admits that he was lying.[22]

In the 2006 Sonic the Hedgehog game, Dr. Eggman (who had a realistic human appearance) kidnaps the princess of Soleanna, who harbors the Flames of Disaster within her, in order to control time. Once again, he is forced to assist the heroes during the last act, much like previous games. Eggman also appears in Sonic and the Secret Rings as Shahryār of Persia. Here, his physical appearance has been changed back to his Adventure look.[23] Eggman appeared in Sonic Rush Adventure, where he is once again a main villain. He is also a playable character in the Sonic RPG, Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood.

In Sonic Unleashed, Dr. Eggman is one of the two main villains in the game (Along with Dark Gaia). Eggman tricks Super Sonic into a trap and uses his energy to power a giant laser cannon, which fires into the Earth and shatters it into pieces, freeing the beast contained within; Dark Gaia. He spends most of the game collecting Dark Gaia's power as well as fighting Sonic with various machines, and much like the original games, flies off in his Egg Mobile when defeated. Unlike many previous games, Eggman actually assumes control of his plans at the end of Sonic Unleashed by creating Eggmanland and makes no effort to join forces with Sonic to stop his own plans once they have spiraled out of control. Still, Eggman suffers a defeat when he orders Dark Gaia around too much and is shot into the stratosphere. He is later shown to be still alive and will likely remain a threat to Sonic and the world in the future.

He is set to appear in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games.

In Sonic Spinball, a pinball-themed game, Dr. Robotnik seizes Mount Mobius and turns it into a mechanical base, setting up an elaborate pinball mechanism to keep the Chaos Emeralds safe. Robotnik has also appeared in "2.5D" isometric platformers; in Sonic Labyrinth, he secretly replaces Sonic's famous red shoes with the new "Slow-Down Boots," which take away his ability to jump or run fast, and in Sonic 3D Blast, he turns innocent Flickies into robots in yet another search for the Chaos Emeralds. Dr. Eggman is also a playable character in such games as Sonic Drift, Sonic R, Sonic Adventure 2, Sonic Riders and its sequel Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity, Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood and Sega Superstars Tennis. Eggman appears as a playable character in the crossover game Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games. Dr. Eggman made a cameo appearance in Super Smash Bros. Brawl as a trophy.

The only game as of yet to feature Dr. Robotnik as the central character is the 1993 game Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine, a Puyo Puyo clone in which Robotnik (as he was known in the West), along with numerous bounty hunters seen in the first episode of Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, attempts to rid all the fun and music on the planet Mobius by kidnapping the citizens of one insignificant town and turning them into robots. Despite the fact that he is the title character, he is still the villain.

In other media

Main article: Doctor Eggman in other media
File:Robotnik AoStH.PNG
Robotnik as portrayed in the animated series Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog

There have been several animated television series featuring Eggman. Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog was the first, and featured Long John Baldry as the voice of Robotnik.[24] The cartoon had little history for Robotnik, whom, while still the series' main antagonist, was merely a comical villain who sought to rule Mobius. Broadcast alongside Adventures was Sonic the Hedgehog, which featured Robotnik as a fierce dictator who has already conquered most of the planet Mobius. This incarnation was voiced by Jim Cummings.[25] Sonic Underground also featured Robotnik in this same light, this time voiced by Gary Chalk, who previously voiced Grounder in the Adventures series.

In the two-episode OVA film Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie, Eggman tells Sonic that he has been banished from Eggmanland by a metallic doppelgänger of himself. It is later revealed that the mecha was piloted by Eggman himself, in a scheme to lure Sonic into his base and copy his DNA for his new Hyper Metal Sonic robot. Eggman was voiced by Junpei Takiguchi in the Japanese version, and by Edwin Neal in the English dub.[26]

In Sonic X Doctor Eggman, along with other Sonic characters, are accidentally transported from their own world, to Earth. This incarnation is voiced by Chikao Ōtsuka in the Japanese version, and by Mike Pollock in the English dub.[27]

When the first Sonic the Hedgehog title was released in 1991, Sega published a comic book designed to promote the game. The 14-page story, written by Francis Mao, included a non-canon origin for both Sonic the Hedgehog and Eggman. Originally a benevolent scientist named Dr. Ovi Kintobor (an anagram of "Ivo Robotnik"), Dr. Robotnik starts out as a friend to Sonic, even helping to develop the hedgehog's super-speed. Kintobor later tries to eliminate all the evil in the world by absorbing it into the Chaos Emeralds, but the experiment goes awry, instead shocking the Doctor with "10,000 volts of pure evil energy."[28] Though inaccurate in regards to the games, a similar origin story later found its way into the UK-based Sonic the Comic, which was first published in 1993, as well as many UK-published books such as Stay Sonic.

That same year, Archie Comics began publishing its Sonic the Hedgehog comic book. The series is faithful to (and in a sense, a continuation of) ABC's Sonic the Hedgehog animated cartoon; Rather than a mad scientist, Robotnik is a portrayed as a dictator who took control of Sonic's hometown during a coup d'etat. After his uncle is taken prisoner by Robotnik's henchmen, Sonic the Hedgehog joins forces with a band of Freedom Fighters who oppose Robotnik's reign. In recent years, the plot of the comic has changed to incorporate elements from the video games, with Robotnik being replaced by his more traditional video game counterpart. Originally a one-off villain, "Eggman" first appeared as a separate version of Robotnik from a parallel universe. After defeating Sonic and his friends, Robotnik "roboticized" them into half-organic, half-metal cyborgs. However, the Freedom Fighters retained their free will and used their newfound strength to demolish Robotnik's army. Realizing he was ruined, Robotnik went insane and roboticized himself, becoming Robo-Robotnik.[29] This incarnation later changed his name to "Eggman", replacing Robotnik as the main antagonist of the books.[30]

Cultural impact

In science

A potential macrocycle inhibitor of Sonic hedgehog was discovered by a Harvard University research team was named "Robotnikinin" after the Dr. Robotnik character. The researchers felt that after Sonic hedgehog was named after the Sega video game character, they should "adhere to the convention" in naming the inhibiting compound after the character's archenemy.[31]

Merchandising

Over the years, Dr. Eggman has had a variety of merchandise. Going from collectable pins and plushies, to specialized notebooks and clocks.

Critical reception

The character has been well-received, going on to become one of the most well-known villains in gaming. GameDaily ranked him number one on their list of Top 25 Evil Masterminds of All Time article, stating "Out of all the evil masterminds in video games, none are more despicable, more cunning, or more menacing".[32] IGN listed him at number nine above Mario-series villain Bowser in their "Top 10 Most Memorable Villains" article, calling him "PETA's videogame public enemy number one",[33] and has also commented that his character is a "pretty clever riff on Teddy Roosevelt" that has added to the attraction of the series.[34] He was featured at number three in a "Reader's Choice" edition of GameSpot's "Top Ten Video Game Villains" article, which noted a massive complaint by fans at his exclusion from the original list.[35] Game Informer notes that in Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, "Eggman's villain ego shows some amusing tarnish after constant defeat at the hands of Sonic."[36]

See also

References and notes

  1. ^ Sega (1991). Sonic the Hedgehog instruction manual (English version), p. 4
  2. ^ Sega (1999). Sonic Adventure instruction manual, p. 31
  3. ^ GamePro Staff (2008). "The 47 Most Diabolical Video-Game Villains of All Time". PC World. Retrieved 2008-08-06. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  4. ^ "Sega Visions Interview with Yuji Naka". Sega Visions. 1992. Retrieved 2008-08-30. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  5. ^ a b "Sonic's Creator - Yuji Naka" (HTML). Retrieved 2008-08-28.
  6. ^ "Yuki Naka on Sonic's Past, Present, and Future part 2". Retrieved 2008-08-28.
  7. ^ a b Sega (2001). Sonic Adventure 2 instruction manual, pp. 9
  8. ^ a b Sega (2004). Sonic Heroes instruction manual, pp. 14
  9. ^ a b Sega of America. "Eggman's official character profile from Sega of America". Sega of America. Retrieved 2008-03-26.
  10. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference Eggman Site Profile was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ a b Sega (2005). Shadow the Hedgehog instruction manual, pp. 8
  12. ^ a b Sega (1997). Sonic Jam, Sega Saturn. Sonic World's Character Profiles (in English)
  13. ^ Deem Bristow at the Internet Movie Database.
  14. ^ Junpei Takiguchi at the Internet Movie Database.
  15. ^ Edwin Neal at the Internet Movie Database.
  16. ^ Long John Baldry at the Internet Movie Database.
  17. ^ Jim Cummings at the Internet Movie Database.
  18. ^ Gary Chalk at the Internet Movie Database.
  19. ^ Doctor Robotnik: Oh, yes. It's just as the stone tablets predicted. Ha ha ha ha ha! His strength increases every time I give him a Chaos Emerald. With all seven Emeralds, he will be invincible and work for me! Together we'll destroy Station Square. And on its ruins I'll build Robotnikland. The ultimate city where I will rule it all. Come on, Chaos! Let's find another Emerald, shall we? Sega Sonic Adventure (in English) 1999-9-9 (US)
  20. ^ Doctor Eggman: The core of the Eclipse Cannon is now highly reactive and explosive. This is because of the energy of the Chaos Emeralds if overpowering it. If the colony collides with Earth, it will shatter into pieces like my grandfather predicted! [...] There still may be time left. If we pull together, we might be able to get to the shortcut that leads to the core! Sega Sonic Adventure 2 (in English) 2001-6-19 (US)
  21. ^ Shadow the Hedgehog: Yes, doctor, you will regret ever having created me. You're going straight to Hell! Eggman: Why you little... You're nothing but pieces of scrap metal! Once I'm done with you, you'll be thrown in the junkyard! Sega Shadow the Hedgehog (in English 2005-11-15 (US)
  22. ^ Eggman: Shadow... can you hear me...? This might be the last chance I have to speak to you, so... What I said, about having created you... it was all a lie. Everyone thought you died during that horrible incident... but I rescued you, with one of my robots... You lost your memory, that's all... You really are the Ultimate Life Form my grandfather created! Sega Shadow the Hedgehog (in English 2005-11-15 (US)
  23. ^ "Secret Rings character concept art". Retrieved 2007-08-07.
  24. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0222518/ Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog at the Internet Movie Database
  25. ^ Sonic the Hedghog at the Internet Movie Database
  26. ^ Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie at the Internet Movie Database
  27. ^ Sonic X at the Internet Movie Database
  28. ^ Sonic HQ Comics Info - Sega Promo Comic. Retrieved on 2008-2-23.
  29. ^ Sonic the Hedgehog #19 Archie Comics
  30. ^ Sonic the Hedgehog #75 Archie Comics
  31. ^ "Robotnikinin takes on Sonic hedgehog". www.biotechnews.com. 19/01/2009. Retrieved 2009-02-22. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  32. ^ Top 25 Evil Masterminds of All Time. GameDaily. Retrieved on 2008-11-29
  33. ^ IGN Staff (2006-03-07). Top 10 Tuesday: Most Memorable Villains. IGN. Retrieved on 2008-12-14
  34. ^ "Where Did Sonic Go Wrong?". 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-27. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  35. ^ Staff. TenSpot Reader's Choice: Top Ten Video Game Villains. GameSpot. Retrieved on 2008-12-31
  36. ^ Bryan, "Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood: The Time Has Come," Game Informer 187 (November 2008): 130.
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