Dr. Robotnik (other media)
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Doctor Eggman / Doctor Robotnik is a Sega video game character. Since his debut in the Sonic the Hedgehog series of games (1991), he has uniformly appeared in every form of Sonic-related media, including animation and comic books.
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[edit] Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog
Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, a DiC animated series that first broadcast in 1993, featured Dr. Robotnik as a recurring villain. A bumbling despot, his only goal was to rule Planet Mobius. Notably, the design of Robotnik in this series was wildly different from his portrayal in the games - his mustache is much larger, his head is conical, his nose is pink, and his eyes are black (his black eyes are reused in SatAM). His costume vaguely resembles the red and black color scheme of his video game counterpart, except that it is much bulkier (Robotnik is very obese in animated form). At least once per episode, Robotnik declares his hatred of Sonic with his unmistakable catchphrase, "I HATE THAT HEDGEHOG!"
In the episode "Best Hedgehog", a flashback to high school reveals that an acne-ridden Robotnik harbored a crush on a classmate, Lucinda; according to him, she was the one thing he treasured besides power.[1] Unfortunately, Lucinda was already in love with fellow classmate Lucas, and his feelings went unreturned. Robotnik tried to get revenge on Lucas using one of his inventions, and was subsequently expelled. Somewhere along the line, Robotnik managed to get a doctorate degree[2], which he flaunts often.
Robotnik's main henchmen, Scratch and Grounder, aren't very intelligent, and frequently bungle the Doctor's attempts to kill Sonic. Robotnik once creates a robotic wife called Omaletta[3] (who malfunctioned when she came into contact with water) and a son called Robotnik Jr[4], who defected to Sonic's side and was promptly disowned.
Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog is the one of the few instances where Robotnik's parents are ever seen. Mama Robotnik is usually under lock and key inside Mobius' asylum, but she occasionally escapes to make a special guest appearance.[5] She is quite a mad woman, to the point that even Robotnik himself fears her. Robotnik also has a cousin called Dr. Warpnik whom Robotnik banished to the Land of Confusion since he is a "loonie".[6]
This version of Robotnik features prominently in the Sega Mega Drive and Game Gear title Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine; to date, is remains the sole game to feature Eggman as the titular character. Robotnik's AoStH design was also used in American Sega display cases and in most European Sonic merchandise from 1994 up until the release of Sonic Adventure, as well as in the variation cover art for Sonic Spinball.
In the fictional Sonic The Hedgehog book series by Troll Associates (based on the SatAM series), this incarnation of Robotnik was used on the cover art of "The Fortress of Fear" and "Robotnik's Revenge" books, depicted alongside the SatAM cast of characters, who never appeared on AoSth.
AoSth's Robotnik was voiced by Long John Baldry, whom coincidentally passed away the same year as Deem Bristow, who voiced Robotnik for the English release of Sonic Adventure and its subsequent sequels.
[edit] Sonic the Comic
Main article: Dr. Robotnik (Sonic the Comic)
The Sonic the Comic continuity originates with a short "official" storyline created by Sega of America for the original 16-bit game, which was then expanded upon by the book, Stay Sonic. The original tale was revamped even further by the enduring Sonic the Comic series by Egmont Fleetway, as well as some other UK novels. Although his goals and actions were always evil, this incarnation of Robotnik often showed many foibles, such as in early issues replacing the "ex" in words with "eggs" (e.g. "eggs-actly"), and acts of pettiness such as having his robots attack places he already rules just to show that he can.
[edit] Sonic the Hedgehog (TV series & Archie comic)
Main article: Dr. Robotnik (TV series & Archie comic)
In the Sonic the Hedgehog Saturday morning cartoon (aka "SatAM"), Robotnik is a recurring villain. He is depicted differently from his counterpart in the Sonic the Hedgehog series of games in that he is not a mad scientist; instead, he is a dictator who has conquered most of Planet Mobius. His principal weapon is the Roboticizer, a series of machines which transform innocent Mobians into robot slaves. He was voiced by Jim Cummings.
The character of Dr. Robotnik initially used in the Archie Comics series was based on the version that had appeared in Sonic the Hedgehog. As the comic series progressed, more details were added to his background. Although the comic series began with a stand-alone storyline, it later evolved to incorporate elements from the games. To reflect this, the character of Dr. Eggman has been introduced into the comic storyline; "Robotnik" and "Eggman" literally appear as two different people.
[edit] Sonic Underground
Like the Robotnik of SatAM and Robotnik Prime of the Archie continuity, Sonic Underground's Dr. Robotnik has already taken over most of Mobius. Like his counterpart, this Robotnik's greatest nemesis is Sonic the Hedgehog. However, he must also contend with Sonic's siblings, Sonia and Manic. Other than that, SU's Robotnik has a history much like that of SatAM's, including deposing the rightful ruler (SatAM's King Acorn, SU's Queen Aleena Hedgehog). Additionally, this version of Robotnik has the same design as the SatAM Robotnik, but he wears a red cape rather than a yellow one and both of his arms are roboticized, unlike the SatAM version who only has one roboticized arm. In a dream sequence, it is revealed he can extend his robotic arms. His voice was also different, performed by Gary Chalk who played Grounder from Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog. Instead of Snively, who was not in the series, Robotnik's assistants were two canine bounty hunters named Sleet and Dingo.
This version of Robotnik did not appear in every episode, with Sleet and Dingo serving as the ever-present villains instead (as they were pursuing Sonic Underground while Robotnik remained in Robotropolis). Unlike his SatAM counterpart, he did not Roboticise the whole population of Mobius; that was reserved for those who broke the laws (of which there were many), leaving an underclass for him to have fun oppressing and an aristocracy which he taxed heavily. While he is often viewed as less evil than his SatAM version, one of his goals is to find Sanctuary — where Freedom Fighter's leave their children — and exterminate all the children in it.[7] He also once was willing to let the entire planet be destroyed by Chaos Energy if it meant the Sonic Underground would be destroyed as well. However, he does not seem nearly as intimidating or fierce as his SatAM counterpart, and resembles the more imaginative and calculating trickster seen in the video games. It also appears to have a slight respect for society, due to the laws he creates and exploits.
This version of Robotnik also appeared as an alternate reality incarnation in the Archie Comics. In Sonic Super Special #10, Sonic Prime, Sonic Underground Sonic, Sonia, and Manic, teamed up with zone cop Zonic to stop this Robotnik, who had taken control of Robo-Robotnik's Giant Borg after Evil Sonic recollected the pieces and delivered them to this Robotnik.
[edit] Sonic X (anime & Archie comic)
Doctor Eggman in the anime series Sonic X closely mirrors his game counterpart. He first appears along with the other main characters in the first episode, experimenting with Chaos Emeralds when Sonic attacks his tower base. Eggman's experimental machine malfunctions after being damaged, and the entire cast is sent to Earth via a giant Chaos Control.[8] Eggman decides to conquer this new world instead, and repeatedly clashes with Sonic while looking for the Chaos Emeralds. He also finds and releases Chaos, Shadow, and Emerl, effectively creating cartoon adaptations of Sonic Adventure, Sonic Adventure 2, and Sonic Battle. By the end of the second season, Eggman leaves Earth along with the other characters, teleporting back to their homeworld.[9] In the third season, Eggman is no longer the main antagonist, with the alien Metarex taking that role, similar to how in the video games other more dangerous villains take the role of the main villain from him. Still, Eggman follows the rest of the cast into outer space[10], where he battles both Sonic and the Metarex multiple times.
This Eggman looks exactly like his videogame counterpart in terms of appearance, and often personality as well. However, he's much more comical here then in the videogames. In fact, as the series goes on he becomes more and more of comic relief character. Though usually depicted as a bumbling idiot, he has occasionally shown moments of cunning. He is often seen with his personal assistant robots Decoe and Bocoe, who help him with his schemes and are in a way similar to Scratch and Grounder, the robots that help the "AoStH" Robotnik. He also has a robot messenger by the name of Bokkun, who he uses to send (generally explosive) messages to Sonic and friends.
An odd note about this Doctor Eggman is that while he appears to come from Sonic's homeworld, his grandfather Gerald and cousin Maria, who appear mirroring their game roles, still hail from Earth. His discovery of his grandfather's work on Project Shadow leads him to the conclusion that he himself also originates in the human world[11], although it is unknown in which world he was born.
Dr. Eggman appears in the ongoing Sonic X comic book nearly exactly like he does in the anime, along with Decoe, Bocoe, and Bokkun. Running parallel to the anime series (even referencing events in the episodes), this comic is still set on Earth, where Eggman hatches various plans to get hold of the Chaos Emeralds and eradicate Sonic. He also takes a page from his original video game incarnation in that he has designed robots with live animals (and even people) trapped inside them as power sources, though has apparently given up on this tactic for the time being.
[edit] References
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