- This article is about the Archie Comics incarnation of the character. For other versions, see Dr. Eggman or Dr. Robotnik (other media)
Dr. Robotnik is the primary villain in the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. Before his Japanese name ("Dr. Eggman") was re-adopted into the English-speaking games and media, Robotnik was featured in the 1993 animated televesion series Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, which in turn led to a similar (but more severe-looking) Robotnik in a second series Sonic the Hedgehog (or "SatAM"), that debuted that same year. The Archie Comics publication Sonic the Hedgehog was originally modeled off of the SatAM TV show. Over time, the comic book evolved to incorporate elements from the games, particularly the later ones. To reflect this change, the character of "Dr. Eggman" has been introduced into the comic storyline; "Robotnik" and "Eggman" literally appear as two diffeent people.
The 'first' Robotnik (Robotnik Prime) conquered most of Sonic's home planet of Mobius and was an enemy of Sonic for many years. He was apparently killed by his own weapon in a climatic battle with Sonic. Some time later his role as Sonic's nemesis was taken over by another version of Robotnik (now known by the more common moniker of Dr. Eggman), from an alternate reality.
Ivo Robotnik/Robotnik Prime
| Dr. Robotnik | |
|---|---|
| File:06273e13.jpg Robotnik Prime with his loyal pet, Cluck | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Archie Comics |
| First appearance | Sonic the Hedgehog (1991) (As Robotnik) Sonic the Hedgehog (mini-series) issue #0 (As the comic version of Robotnik) |
| Created by | Sega |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Julian Kintobor |
| Team affiliations | Kingdom of Acorn, Snively Kintobor |
| Abilities |
|
The character of Dr. Robotnik initially used in the Archie Comics series was based on the version that had appeared in the Saturday morning cartoon, Sonic the Hedgehog. Information specifically about the SatAM Robotnik can be found here. As the comic series progressed, more details were added to his background.
Early life and rise to power
In the Archie Comics Sonic Universe, Dr. Robotnik begins his existence as Julian Kintobor of the House of Ivo, born in the city of Megalopolis ("Kintobor" is Robotnik spelled backwards). He studied under the genius scientist, Dr. Nate Morgan for an extended period of time. Once his mentor passed unto him everything he knew, Julian conspired against Morgan and had him banished. During the breakout of the Great War between the animal-like Mobians and humanoid Overlanders, Julian worked as a high-profile weapons engineer for the Overlander armies, brainstorming the most sophisticated military hardware in history. Due to his engineering prowess, the Overlanders nearly pushed their Mobian adversaries to the brink of defeat. However, Julian's methods were put into question when it was revealed that he utilized live Overlander test subjects to perfect his weaponry. He was tried in court by the Minister of Justice, Colin Kintobor (his brother),and sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment. Eventually, Julian somehow escaped confinement.
After barely evading a death squad sent after him, Julian made it to the Mobian border and found himself rescued by Sonic's father Jules and uncle Charles (aka Uncle Chuck); Both hedgehogs brought him to the Kingdom of Acorn, where he was welcomed. In gratitude, Julian swore allegiance to King Acorn and pledged to impart inside knowledge on the Overlanders to turn the tide of the war. In addition to the Royal Family, a titled "Warlord" was charged with overseeing military matters. The Warlord at the time of Julian's arrival was a scheming lion named Kodos, who tried to take Julian under his wing in a plot to overthrow King Maximillian and rule. Kodos planned to stage a coup and send his enemies, such as King Maximillian, to the Zone of Silence. Julian liked the idea of conquering the Kingdom, but decided he didn't want to share power. Instead he tricked Kodos and banished him to Zone of Silence. Following Kodos' "disappearance", Julian assumed the mantle of Warlord.
After defeating the Overlanders in the Great War, Warlord Julian (like his SatAM counterpart) used Charles' invention, the roboticizer, to his own twisted ends. After sabotaging it to turn Charles' brother (and Sonic's father) Jules into a drone, he secretly had Sonic's mother, Bernie, roboticized as well. Bernie's roboticization was blamed on a lab accident, and soon Tails' father Amadeus was likewise turned into a robot. Julian's plotting culminated with a successful coup to usurp power over all royal territories. Changing his name from Dr. Julian Ivo Kintobor to Dr. Ivo Robotnik, he transfigured the once beautiful capital city of Mobotropolis into an industrial wasteland he dubbed Robotropolis. Robotnik's most symbolic victory was exiling King Maximillian Acorn into the Zone of Silence, effectively orphaning Princess Sally just as he had Sonic.
Once his power over the Mobian regions was secure, the tyrant then focused his attention on consolidating the rest of the planet. Soon enough, he had nearly all of inhabited Mobius under his thumb; only a select few managed to hide from his expanding reach. He would continue to rule Mobius with an iron fist, with his loyal robotic henchmen and his wayward nephew, Snively. As time went on, Robotnik disseminated various regional governors across the planet called "Underbosses" to enforce his will and to lead campaigns against local rebels.
A worthy adversary
Some of the continuity surrounding Sonic's enlistment in the Freedom Fighters is murky (due to retcons), but Sonic was already a longtime enemy of Robotnik at the onset of the series. As a child, he had encountered Robotnik before, while he was still Warlord -- a young Sonic used to play with Princess Sally in the palace, since his father and uncle were officers of the King. After Robotnik took power, a young Princess Sally and the rest of the future Freedom Fighters were taken (as children) out of Mobotropols and hidden by their elders in the Great Forest.
Although Sonic didn't know the extent to which the dictator had wronged his family, he nontheless took an immediate dislike to the belligerent Robotnik, foiling several of his plans before he was even a teen.[1] The final straw was when Robotnik roboticized Sonic's Uncle Chuck, who operated a chili dog stand and raised Sonic like a son. After witnessing his uncle being captured by SWATbots, Sonic swore vengeance and recklessly tried to break Chuck out of Robotropolis all by himself. Once he saw that Chuck was now a mindless servant of Robotnik, Sonic realized he couldn't help him.[2] To protect other Mobians from a similar fate, Sonic joined forces with his childhood playmate Sally Acorn as well as other friends (who would grow up to become the Freedom Fighters). As Sonic repeatedly clashed with Robotnik, the underground resistance grew until their base of operations, Knothole Village, was established (hidden deep in the same forest where the Mobians had fled); The discovery and extermination of this secret headquarters is Robotnik's primary goal in the early issues of the comic.
With the Overlanders forced into hiding by Robotnik's armies of SWATbots, his reign continued to last undisputed. Things changed however, when he found resistance in the form of burgeoning rebel cells calling themselves "Freedom Fighters", particularly in the Knothole group led by the King's daughter Princess Sally, and championed by a now grown Sonic the Hedgehog. He continually attempts to crush the resistance for 50 issues, until the four-issue "EndGame" story, where, in addition to trying to have Sally killed and Sonic frame for the murder, Robotnik infiltrates Knothole using a robot clone of King Acorn. With Knothole's ___location known, the unthinkable happens as Robotnik arrived at the Freedom's Fighters' doorstep and holds them at gunpoint. Rather than kill all of them immediately, Robotnik decides to make his victory more symbolic by useing Knothole as a testing ground for his new "Ultimate Annihilator" (re-dubbed in later issues as the "Ultimate Nullifier"), a satellite weapon capable of warping reality. Robotnik 'erases' Knothole from existence before Sonic can stp him, and it appears as if hope is lost. An enraged Sonic attacks Robotnik as the Ultimate Annihilator backfires, tearing the sparring adversaries apart atom by atom. Unfortunately for Robotnik, Snively tampered with the Annihilator and programmed it to only affect him; While Sonic and Knothole re-emerge unharmed, Robotnik remains vaporized by his own weapon.[3]
Beyond death
Robotnik's displaced molecules recombine temporarily with the help of Knuckles' new reality-warping abilities and a device invented by Robo-Robotnik (a version of Robotnik who has come from a different reality, and had taken Robotnik's place). The reborn Robotnik soon formulates a plot with Robo-Robotnik to reverse the process as a way to destroy Sonic and his comrades. Robotnik tricks his former enemies in Knothole Village into thinking Robo-Robotnik had resurrected him in order to steal his memories, and that he had escaped in hopes of forging an alliance with Sonic. King Acorn goes along with the scheme, but it is revealed that the Freedom Fighters only granted him amnesty in an attempt to sabotoge the device that had brought him back. Robotnik's return is cut short during a quarrel with Robo-Robotnik after it turns out that the stability of his atomic structure on this plane of reality is limited. With the machine destroyed, Robotnik dissolves again just as before.[4] Nevertheless, that does not mean the dreaded despot will be gone for good.
Recent developments in the comic have revealed a new villain tentatively titled "Anonymous" who manipulates events behind the scenes using older Robotnik technology. It has been stated that he is around Robotnik's height, and his silhouette looks markedly like Robotnik Prime. In a surprise twist however, it was revealed that Anonymous is A.D.A.M., Robo-Robotnik's rogue sentient computer virus. The lead writer has since explained that the reason Robotnik Prime's image was used to depict Anonymous in past issues was due to the fact that he was in fact originally going to turn out to be the original Robotnik.
Robo-Robotnik/Eggman
| Dr. Eggman (Robo-Robotnik) | |
|---|---|
| File:Roboeggman.jpg Robo-Robotnik before his 'Upgrade' to Eggman | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Archie Comics |
| First appearance | Sonic the Hedgehog (1991) (As Robotnik) Sonic the Hedgehog issue #19 (As Robo-Robotnik) |
| Created by | Sega (as Eggman/Robotnik), Archie Comics Robo-Robotnik variant |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Ivo Robotnik |
| Team affiliations | Eggman Empire, Snively Kintobor |
| Abilities | Current form:
In robot form:
|
Origin and coming to Mobius-Prime
Years prior to the "EndGame" storyline, a Robotnik from another universe appeared, calling himself "Robo-Robotnik." In this universe, Robotnik succeeded in crushing the Freedom Fighters, along with as the royal family, essentially conquering Mobius. However, rather than kill Sonic and his cohorts once he captured them, Robotnik transformed each into nightmarish cyborgs with half robotic/half biological faces ala the Terminator or Borg. This proved a costly mistake when the cyborg Freedom Fighters retained their sentience and rampaged through Robotropolis. In a last ditch effort to save himself, Robotnik subjected himself to his own roboticization process, emerging as a more powerful (and far more evil) version of himself. This new Robotnik was so fearsome that the Cyber-Sonic fled his reality to seek help from Sonic of Mobius Prime (the main reality of the books, where Sonic lives).
In addition to using a variation of SWATBots known as Shadow Bots (hulking SWATbots that are shiny and black, to mirror Robo-Robotnik's appearance), Robotnik sought a legendary giant robot called the Giant Borg. He succeeded in piloting the robot himself and tearing through the Freedom Fighters, until he was struck down by the force of thousands of multi-dimensional Sonics, each arriving from their own reality to pummel the Borg to pieces. The scattering of his weapon seemingly destroyed him, leaving him nothing more than a severed robot head — or so everyone thought. Robo-Robotnik would live on, transferring his digital consciousness to a space station, where he remained in a stasis for many years.
It was sometime during this exile that the Dr. Robotnik of Mobius Prime was seemingly vaporized by his creation, E.V.E. Robotnik was actually sent to the alternate reality of Robo-Robotnik, where he met his alternate self onboard the space station. This meeting inspired Robo-Robotnik, who decided to "get back in the game" as it were, and after assisting Robotnik in returning home, he later followed him to Mobius Prime. Feeling dissatisfied with his victory in his universe (which had left Mobius a smoldering wasteland), Robo-Robotnik decided to take advantage of the death of his "other self", and seize control of the remnants of Robotnik-Prime's empire. After conspiring from the shadows for several issues, Robo-Robotnik--wearing a skin disguise to fool everyone into thinking he was Robotnik back from the dead--eventually revealed himself after summoning all the Robians on Mobius (still vulnerable to his control) and taking them to his orbital platform in space. He then lured Sonic and the rest of the freedom fighters to the satellite to entrap them, which more or less worked; Sonic fought Robotnik on an assembly line, which ended with Robotnik being doused with acid, removing his disguise and exposing his deception.[5]
The scheme to kill Sonic failed, though he succeeded in re-conquering Robotropolis and keeping most of the Robians under his command (though he would later lose them). The Freedom Fighters enlisted the help of Snively to blow up the orbital platform with Robo-Robotnik in it; His body destroyed, Robo-Robotnik uploaded his mind into a new robot shell back on Mobius (a design based on his character model in the Sonic Adventure video game).[6] With his new body he took on a new name: Eggman (although he would still be called Robotnik at times in the story, to help readers get used to the changes). While in this form, he also briefly had the ability to roboticize others by touch, similar to the Midas Touch. If the victim was unwilling to be roboticized, however, they would be rendered little more than a metallic statue instead, a fate shared by Nate Morgan and several other Overlanders.
The series continued, and he lost his robotic body numerous times, each time simply rebuilding himself. He later found himself, Snively (who had by that point been roboticized), Sonic, and Tails captured by an alien race known as the Bem. Eggman and Snively were transformed back into flesh and blood, and forced to battle for their lives against a roboticized Sonic and Tails in order to prove whether or not flesh was superior to metal. They were returned to Mobius without being changed back, and have remained that way ever since, unable to re-roboticize themselves (due to an after-effect of the Bem's deroboticizer).
After the Bem
Not long after this, Mobius was attacked by another alien race: The Xorda. The Xorda had attacked Mobius in the ancient past when the planet was still known as "Earth", and had thought all life had been wiped out. Upon finding out that life still existed on the planet, they attacked again, leaving behind a device intended to destroy the entire world. Sonic successfully prevented this from happening, but was lost in space in the process, and was believed to be dead by all of Mobius. This granted Eggman the opportunity to spread his power base, and conquered small portions of Mobius, thereby creating the "Eggman Empire." His robot legions were controlled by a sentient computer named A.D.A.M. (short for Autonomous Digital Assault Microbe), prior to A.D.A.M.'s betraying his 'father' and subsequent destruction. He also changed his main base of operations from the nuclear wasteland of Robotropolis (after being tricked into lowering the shields, nuclear missiles infiltrated the city and irradiated the area) to New Megapolis.
Eggman has supposedly taken the original Robotnik's place on Mobius Prime for the time being, but his power over Mobius has diminished to significantly less than that of the world's former autocrat. As time has progressed, he has taken on more traits from his games counterpart. Some debate remains over which incarnation of Robotnik is superior, and some have cited that Robo-Robotnik has been unable to maintain his power and empire as well as his predecessor. However, the fact that Eggman has since devastated his own world and had to deal with a growing number of obstacles and threats to his power on this "new Mobius" (including mutinous acts by his own 'son') should not be discounted. Most recently, he has launched a large-scale offensive against the Kingdom of Acorn, using an Egg Fleet that appears to be a carbon copy of the armada seen in Sonic Heroes to inflict heavy damage via aerial bombardment, and taking at least a dozen of his enemies there hostage. He also engaged in a one-on-one duel versus Sonic wearing a fearsume suit of power armor, thrashing the hedgehog physically and psychologically before departing.
Family
Robotnik's name is a reversal of his family's surname (Kintobor → Robotnik). After conquering Mobius he adopted the sinister moniker of "Robotnik" to differentiate himself from his past. He has several relatives — Snively, his nephew, being one of them. He had a brother, Colin, who survived the Great War but was roboticized and destroyed by Robotnik II (as punishment for imprisoning Robotnik while Magistrate). Robotnik has a cousin, Snively's half-sister Hope Kintobor. Finally, from Station Square, there is his deceased grandfather and cousin, Gerald and Maria Kintobor — just as in the games. Hope greatly resembles Maria, and currently lives with the Freedom Fighters in the newly christened Kingdom of Knothole.
Although Eggman has other blood relatives besides Snively, he has disowned them, preferring the company of his robots. To this end, he has designed a "daughter" named Mecha (or "M" for short), a humanoid robot dressed in a sci-fi version of 80's New Wave attire. As seen in StH #132, where she pummeled Sonic, M is a relentlessly loyal, super-strong bodyguard that protects Eggman at all costs.
Other Archie Incarnations of Robotnik
As with other characters in the comics, Robotnik had several other dimenisonal counterparts. In addition the two main versions of Robotnik that he has fought, the Archie version of Sonic has encountered other versions of Robotnik as well.
Mayor Julian Kintobor
This Robotnik is from a zone (another universe) where he is a kindly Mayor. In an experiment gone awry, he exposed an atoll to Chaos Emerald radiation, mistakedly believing the island to be uninhabited; The resultant effects mutated the Freedom Fighters of this universe in Godzilla-like monsters. Because Sonic is forced to battle mutant versions of his friends and family in a giant robot battlesuit, he does not treat Mayor Kintobor with any more respect than he does the Eggman of his world. When Kintobor begins to apologize for the crimes his 'other self' committed, Sonic cuts him off saying, "Don't be. He's not." His appearance is the same as Eggman's, except the color of his outfit is reversed to be primarily white, with red stripes.
Anti-Robotnik/Julian Kintobor
Hailing from the universe of the Anti-Sonic "Scourge the Hedgehog", this version of Robotnik, Julian Kintobor, is as heroic as Scourge is evil, and attempts to foil the evil plans of the Anti-Freedom Fighters while also working as a kindly veterinarian.
Ivana Robotnik
A female version from a Mobius based on Sailor Moon, Ivana Robotnik. Ivana appeared on Mobius Prime intending to turn Sonic into a monster. However, she was stopped by an alliance of Sonic, her nemesis Sally Moon, and Sally's boyfriend Tuxedo Knux.