Ruled by Robotnik

"While Mobius was without its nauseating blue hero, I took over. I control the planet now! You're too late, Sonic! Too late! Hahahahahahaha!"

- Dr. Robotnik, Sonic the Hedgehog #9

The RBR era (short for Ruled By Robotnik) is an event that happens in the Sonic the Comic series published by Fleetway Editions, used to refer to the period of time in which Dr. Robotnik ruled the planet Mobius with an iron fist, with Sonic and his Freedom Fighters opposing him.

History
After the Retro-Orbital Chaos Compressor incident that transformed the kindly Doctor Ovi Kintobor into the maniacal Doctor Ivo Robotnik, he immediately began efforts to conquer Mobius, with two large-scale efforts foiled by Sonic and his sidekick, Tails. After several smaller assaults failed, Robotnik tried a different tactic. Robotnik employed a different tack, taking control of a portion of the weird alternate dimension known as the Special Zone and establishing his Egg Fortress there. Putting the sentient energy-field known as the Omni-Viewer under his control, Robotnik had his pawn transport Sonic, Tails, Porker Lewis, and Johnny Lightfoot into the future, allowing him to take over Mobius unopposed.

Based in the Metropolis Zone's Citadel Robotnik, the doctor ruled with an iron fist, forcing citizens into hard manual labor and stationing brutal Troopers across the planet. Those who resisted would be turned into Badniks and lose all free will. Six months later though, Sonic's group returned thanks to the Omni-Viewer, who had used a loophole in Robotnik's orders to bring Sonic to this point in time where he could set things right. Forming the Freedom Fighters, Sonic and his group became a driving force in the rebellion against Robotnik's dictatorship. Despite many losses and losing a member, the team stuck together and waited for their final victory.

The battle against Robotnik saw many fronts and took part in many Zones, with the residents rarely losing hope that Sonic would free them in the end. New threats to Mobius, created by Robotnik, would arise amidst the ongoing battles, such as the Death Egg II, Commander Brutus, and the Brotherhood of Metallix. The latter villains managed to create the Main Viewer that allowed them to prevent the creation of Robotnik, thereby allowing them to conquer Mobius without fearing Robotnik's lethal interference. Renaming the world "Planet Metallix", Mobius became a murderous place to live with the only surviving living creatures forced underground to evade their robot rulers. With the help of the Chaotix and the Omni-Viewer, Sonic managed to restore the timeline to normal, if only by causing the accident that created Dr. Robotnik.

Final Victory
A while later, Sonic got stuck in the Special Zone and the remaining Freedom Fighters struggled against the increasing odds against them. Even with Shortfuse the Cybernik temporarily joining them, the team was pushed to the limit. Months later, a routine trip to sabotage Citadel Robotnik led to the heroes railing the people of Metropolis City against Robotnik, although one that nearly killed them. Fortunately, the machinations of Sonic brought the Black Asteroid to Mobius as it unleashed an electromagnetic pulse, which wiped out every computer system on the planet. This allowed the united forces to overthrow Robotnik, with Sonic declaring that day Victory Over Robotnik Day in celebration.

Aftermath
Robotnik escaped and went into hiding, eventually resurfacing on Flickies' Island and enacting several more schemes to regain his power and take over Mobius once more, such as making a deal with the Drakon Empire, using the Chaos Emeralds to obtain godlike omnipotence and alter history so that Sonic never existed     , and merging the planet with the sub-atomic world of Shanazar. Sonic and the Freedom Fighters thwarted him every time, and eventually, the constant failures drove Robotnik insane, leading him to try to outright destroy Mobius rather than conquer it.

Trivia

 * The phrase "Ruled By Robotnik" was first coined in the tenth issue, although in that story the acronym used was "RR". All subsequent stories used the acronym "RBR."