| Doctor Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik | |
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Doctor "Eggman" Robotnik, as seen in Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity
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| Game series | Sonic the Hedgehog series |
| First game | Sonic the Hedgehog (1991) |
| Created by | Naoto Ōshima |
| Voiced by (English) | Video games Deem Bristow (1999-2004; deceased) Mike Pollock (2005-present) Cartoons Long John Baldry (AoStH; deceased) Jim Cummings (SATAM and AoSTH pilot episode) Gary Chalk ( Undergrond) Anime Mike Pollock (Sonic X) Edwin Neal (OVA) |
| Voiced by (Japanese) | Video games Chikao Ōtsuka 1999-present Television Chikao Ōtsuka (2005-present) OVA Junpei Takiguchi |
| Information | |
| Nickname | Eggman[1] |
| Species | Human |
| Likes | Mechas[1] |
| Skills | IQ of 300[1] |
Doctor Ivo Robotnik[2] (ロボトニック Robotonikku?), also known by his alias, Doctor Eggman[3] (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 comically obese scientist with an IQ of 300. 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.[4]
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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.[5] 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.[6] The character was also designed to be easy for kids to draw.[6]
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."[7] Beginning with Sonic Adventure, Sega began referring to him more as Eggman in both languages, with the use of the name Robotnik becoming rare.
Doctor 'Eggman' Robotnik is described as being a certifiable genius with an IQ of 300. [8][9][10] His fondness for mechas has also made him a renowned authority on robotics.[1][8] 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.[1][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.[9] Despite his intelligence, Robotnik/ 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.[1][10] Developers themselves have noted that with recent titles he has become more of a comic relief villain, and wish to make him a "more credible bad guy again" and re-establish his role as a true threat.
A great number of voice actors have portrayed Dr. Eggman 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 The 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. 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 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 betrayed by his own allies and forming alliances with Sonic 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. All the 2D Sonic games are set on planet Mobius in contrast to the latter games which are set on planet Earth.
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 villians 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.
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 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.
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.
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 and Eggman. Originally a benevolent scientist named Kintobor (an anagram of "Robotnik"), the Doctor used to be friends with Sonic the Hedgehog, even helping to develop Sonic's super-speed. Kintobor later tried to eliminate all the world's evil by absorbing it into the Chaos Emeralds, but the experiment went awry, instead shocking the Doctor with "10,000 volts of pure evil energy." By the time the smoke cleared, Kintobor had been replaced by the grotesque Robotnik.[28] While inaccurate in regards to the games, a similar origin for Robotnik later found its way into the UK-based Sonic the Comic, which was first published in 1993.
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: Instead of being a mad scientist, Robotnik is a dictator who is intent on ruling Planet Mobius. To this end, he "roboticizes" all living creatures he finds, transforming them into unquestioning robot slaves. After his uncle is taken prisoner, a vengeful Sonic the Hedgehog is recruited by a band of Freedom Fighters who oppose Robotnik's reign. In recent issues, the plot of the comic has changed to incorporate elements from the video games, with Robotnik adopting the physical appearance of Dr. Eggman.
Like many characters in this Archie incarnation, Robotnik/Eggman has counterparts in parallel universes. The most prominent among these is a Robotnik who hails from dystopian version of Mobius, where he would turn others into robots. In spite of this, the Freedom Fighters somehow retained their self-awareness and used their newfound super-strength to wreck Robotnik's army. Realizing that he was ruined, Robotnik went insane and used his own roboticizer on himself, becoming Robo-Robotnik.[29] This version later changed his name to "Eggman", replacing the incumbent villain as the main antagonist of the books.[30]
Over the years, Dr. Robonik/ Dr. Eggman has had a variety of merchandise. Going from collectable pins and Dr. Robotnik plushies, to specialized notebooks and clocks.
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".[31]
Doctor Eggman's most traditional vehicle is the Eggmobile (known as the "Egg-O-Matic" in comics and cartoons) is a small hovering craft with a very distinct egg-like shape, a small circular lamp on the front, and can be fitted with a seemingly endless amount of gadgetry. It can notably be converted into a more mech-like walker configuration, which Eggman used extensively in Sonic Adventure 2. It can also be converted into car like vehicle which Eggman used in Sonic The Hedgehog 2 or into a submarine that can travel in water or lava as seen in Sonic & Knuckles.
Doctor Eggman's army consists fully of mass produced robotic drones whose appearance and armaments vary greatly from type to type. The helpless animals that inhabit the islands of Sonic's world, Mobius are usually the first to fall victim to Eggman's schemes, as he will gather them in large droves to be transformed into his loyal worker drones. "Badniks" was a term used to describe these robot henchmen in early North American and European releases of the games, whereas they were just known as "Eggman's robots" in Japan.
The E-Series are a special part of Dr. Eggman's forces that have played a larger role in the games than the rest of the robots. Most notably E-102 Gamma, who was playable in Sonic Adventure and whose design is reused often by Sonic Team, and E-123 Omega who first appeared as a playable character in Sonic Heroes, and has appeared several times since, are his most recognized robots.
Doctor Eggman's most successful and persistent Sonic copy to date is Metal Sonic (Known as Metallix in the comics). 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 for speed with a sleek form. Metal Sonic, after his first defeat at the hands of Sonic, went on to harass the Chaotix, where he was able to turn into an enormous, red version of himself via the Chaos Rings and wreak havoc for a while, until he was defeated once again. Afterwards, he was 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 Dr. Eggman in an attempt to copy DNA from Sonic and other characters so that he can finally put an end to his rivalry with Sonic. Eggman has also built robot copies of other characters, such as Metal Knuckles, the Tails Doll and the Shadow Androids. He has even created robots based on himself, called Eggrobos.
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