Death Egg


 * For other uses, see Death Egg (disambiguation).

The Death Egg (デスエッグ) is a recurring object in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It is a massive orbital fortress, constructed by Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik. It is the first and most famous of Eggman's space stations. Hosting some of the Doctor's most deadly creations of all time, this vast stronghold serves as the scientist's ultimate weapon and key component in his various quests for world dominance.

The Death Egg's first incarnation surfaced during the "Death Egg saga" when Dr. Eggman attempted to harness the Chaos Emeralds in an attempt to finish his plans for the infamous space station. Despite Eggman's plans however, the Death Egg was brought down by the efforts of Sonic and Tails. However, the Death Egg proved to be of robust stuff, surviving both a fall from space and a failed launch before eventually making it back into orbit. Although the original battle station was destroyed at the end of the Angel Island incident, Dr. Eggman has continued to rebuild it, time and time again.

Appearance
The common Death Egg is a spherical gray space station that resembles the face of Dr. Eggman, with concave eye-sockets, a sharp nose, and a mustache rendered in kilometers of vacuum-hardened plasma-steel. Its exact dimensions, are not known, although it is easily gargantuan; its mass and size are enough to destroy mountains, flatten forests, and push Angel Island into the sea, and its face alone can cover up the vent on the volcano in Lava Reef Zone.

The Death Egg that appeared during the Emerl incident looked slightly different from the common model. Its exterior was shaped more like a flying saucer (akin to the Space Colony ARK) and had red lights around its surface

Features and abilities
The Death Egg is the largest airship ever created by Dr. Eggman, and comes with weaponry and features to match. It is said to be Dr. Eggman's "ultimate weapon", suggesting it packs significant military power and destructive capabilities. It is designed to run off the chaos energy of either the Chaos Emeralds or the Master Emerald. However, it has been proven that it can run off other power sources as well.

In terms of armament, the Death Egg has numerous weapons systems installed, both for outward and inward defenses. Described as heavily fortified, its hull is covered in laser turrets and its insides are filled with weaponry and traps, such as electrical currents, rocket launchers and laser cannons. Its eyes can also fire lasers hot enough to activate dormant volcanos. The Death Egg's most powerful weapon however, is the Final Egg Blaster, a weapon capable of destroying entire clusters of stars.

Besides weaponry, the Death Egg has an advanced indoor security system ready to bring everyone onboard on high alert as soon as it detects an intruder. In addition, it has an emergency auxiliary power supply for its defense systems. It also carries a substantial force of Eggman's various badnik infantry onboard. At least one area had a TV screen where Eggman can observe the outer area, as well as a glass observatory overlooking the planet.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2
In Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Dr. Robotnik found West Side Island where the Chaos Emeralds rested. Plotting to use the Emeralds to power his Death Egg, which was in orbit around the planet, and then conquer the world, Robotnik went about turning the island's Animals into Badniks in an effort to create more workers to finish his new plans for the Death Egg. However, Robotnik's plans were foiled when Sonic and his new sidekick Miles "Tails" Prower got the Emeralds first.

Eventually, Sonic and Tails went for an assault on the Death Egg itself. Hitching a ride into space on the Egg Jet when Robotnik made his escape from Wing Fortress Zone, Sonic made his way inside the Death Egg where he fought Mecha Sonic and then Robotnik himself in the Death Egg Robot. After a heated battle, Sonic defeated Robotnik one-on-one, and the Death Egg began to explode. Sonic however, escaped by hurling himself out of an airlock into space. He was soon after saved from his fall by Tails, who came to his rescue in the Tornado after seeing the Death Egg explode in the sky.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3
In Sonic the Hedgehog 3, it turned out the Death Egg had survived its own explosion. Eventually falling from orbit, the space station crash-landed in a lake on the floating Angel Island like a giant fireball; its impact destroying the island's mountains and forests, and forcing the floating island itself into the sea. Having escaped the Death Egg's crash, Dr. Robotnik set out to rebuilt the Death Egg while plotting to harness the large source of chaos energy on the island for his operations. He soon encountered Knuckles the Echidna, the guardian of Angel Island and the Master Emerald. Having seen the Death Egg, Knuckles believed it to be the egg of a legendary dragon inscribed on the Master Emerald's altar that was rumored to bring about the end of the world.

Scheming to use Knuckles as his bodyguard for when Sonic and Tails inevitably came to destroy the Death Egg, Robotnik claimed he had come study the Death Egg and warned him that Sonic and Tails were on their way to steal the Master Emerald. Believing Robotnik's lie, Knuckles kept Sonic and Tails occupied when they arrived. Meanwhile, Robotnik would repair the Death Egg by constructing a Launch Base around the crash site and prepping it for launch.

By the time Sonic and Tails caught up to Robotnik, the scientist attempted to re-launch the Death. Using massive rockets, the Death Egg was able to achieve lift-off. However, Sonic managed to jump onto the bottom of the Death Egg's hull when it took off. There, Robotnik returned to defeat Sonic through excessive force - but that force proved to be his own undoing. By the time Sonic defeated Robotnik, the battle had taken its toll on the Death Egg during a critical point of its launch, and the Death Egg plummeted back to Angel Island.

Sonic & Knuckles
In Sonic & Knuckles, after its failed launch from the Launch Base on Angel Island, the Death Egg crashed back onto a volcano on the island, over the Lava Reef Zone. Having not give yet, Robotnik began rebuilding the Death Egg again. Meanwhile, Sonic, who had escaped the Death Egg's crash, set out with Tails to destroy the Death Egg once and for all. When Sonic and Tails later made their way through Lava Reef Zone, the Death Egg used its eye lasers to reactivate the volcano, all in an effort to slow down Sonic and Tails.

In a last ditch-effort to fix the Death Egg, Robotnik stole the Master Emerald from Knuckles, making Knuckles realize at last that Robotnik was the real villain and that Sonic and Tails were trying to help. With the Master Emerald's power, the Death Egg was able to take off. While Sonic and Tails followed the Death Egg through Sky Sanctuary Zone as it rose into space, the space station released numerous Eggrobos to attack them. Eventually though, Sonic and Tails managed to leap onto the rising Death Egg from a tall pillar that disintegrated beneath them.

Inside the Death Egg, Sonic and Tails navigated a horrendous Zone full of rocket launchers, electrical hazards, and Badniks. Along the way, they also had to destroy two of Robotnik's elite creations. The first was the Red Eye, followed by the Death Ball, the latter controlled by Robotnik himself from a safe distance. At the end, Sonic and Tails faced off against Robotnik in his Great Eggman Robo, a massive mech powered by the Master Emerald. Despite the overwhelming odds, Sonic and Tails defeated the mech, thereby causing a chain reaction that made the Death Egg fall apart. With Robotnik escaping into space with the Master Emerald, Sonic transformed into Super Sonic and chased after Robotnik into The Doomsday Zone while the Death Egg was finally destroyed.

Sonic Battle
In Sonic Battle, after his plans to retake Emerl had been foiled by Sonic and his friends, Dr. Eggman rebuilt the Death Egg and equipped it with the Final Egg Blaster. With this weapon, Eggman proclaimed that he was ready to take over the world using the power of his Death Egg. Eggman's true plan however, was to lure Emerl to the Death Egg; knowing that Emerl's programing would make him swear loyalty to those that demonstrated great power, Eggman planned to show his Final Egg Blaster to Emerl and take control of him.

When Emerl came to the Death Egg to stop Dr. Eggman, he and the doctor engaged in a battle that ended with Eggman begging for mercy upon his defeat. When Emerl prepared to leave however, Eggman used the Final Egg Blaster to destroy some stars. While Emerl did react to the demonstration as Eggman had intended, the huge display of power caused Emerl to go haywire. Knocking out Eggman, Emerl took control of the Death Egg and prepared to fire the Final Egg Blaster at Earth. Sonic soon arrived onboard the Death to stop Emerl with the Master Emerald, but when Emerl smashed the giant gem, Sonic was left with no choice but to destroy Emerl, who vanished upon his defeat.

What happened the Death Egg afterward is unknown, although it was most likely destroyed.

Sonic Generations
In the console/PC version of Sonic Generations, a past version of Sky Santuary got trapped in the White Space as a result of the Time Eater's time-traveling. As it so happened though, this location got taken from the timeframe of the Angel Island incident, meaning it held within it the Death Egg during the time of its second re-launch. As such, when Sonic and Classic Sonic made their respective trips through Sky Sanctuary, the space station would release its horde of Eggrobos on the hedgehogs, although with little success.

Classic Sonic soon after traveled to the Death Egg during the timeframe of the West Side Island incident. There, the hedgehog came under attack by that time's Dr. Eggman and his Death Egg Robot. After Sonic defeated the Death Egg Robot however, the Death Egg did not suffer any catastrophic damage. Also, when Sonic tried to help Classic Eggman out of his smashed robot, the Time Eater appeared and kidnapped the doctor.

After the Time Eater was disabled, the Death Egg most likely had its original fate restored.

Sonic Runners Adventure
In Sonic Runners Adventure, the Death Egg was rebuilt again. This model would loom over Sky Sanctuary for the duration of Dr. Eggman's operations in said area. What happened to Death Egg after that is unknown, although it was most likely destroyed.

Sonic Forces
In Sonic Forces, the Death Egg was rebuilt by Dr. Eggman once more. For Eggman's subsequent agendas however, the Death Egg did not act out its primary purpose as a superweapon, but was instead a prison facility. It also acted as the primary power source for the Eggman Empire newest weapon: the Phantom Ruby.

Following Sonic's defeat at the hands of Eggman's new henchman, Infinite, Sonic got imprisoned onboard the Death Egg. There, he was kept for the next six months while the Eggman Empire conquered most of the world. Over the months, others captured members of the Resistance got put in the Death Egg as well. While most of the Death Egg's prisoners were seemingly executed, Sonic was kept alive so Eggman could have him see his empire upon its completion, before banishing him into space.

Upon hearing that Eggman had moved Sonic's banishment ahead of schedule, the Resistance wasted no time and invaded the Death Egg. Once onboard, the Avatar ended up on the best route to the internment facility where Sonic was, whereas the other Resistance members got caught up in fighting enemies stationed onboard the Death Egg. When a Zavok replica then arrived to banish Sonic, the ruckus caused by the Avatar allowed Sonic to escape his confines and defeat the Zavok replica. Searching then the Death Egg for way back home, Sonic ended up in the shuttle bay where he saved the Avatar from some Egg Pawns. After that, the two of them returned to Earth in a shuttle.

When the Resistance sought to stop Eggman's Phantom Ruby, the group planned to destroy the Death Egg after Tails learned of how it powered the aforementioned Ruby. By distracting Eggman's forces, Sonic was able to hack into the Death Egg using the Chemical Plant computer and shut its weapon systems down, thereby giving Classic Sonic the opportunity to sneak onboard the Death Egg. Although the Death Egg got its weapon systems back online by switching to auxiliary power, Classic Sonic still managed to cause enough ruckus to make the Death Egg explode. However, it was later revealed that Eggman had secretly constructed a backup generator underneath Metropolis, having anticipated that the Resistance forces would try to target the Death Egg.

Sonic Drift 2
The Death Egg is the setting of the final racecourse in Sonic Drift 2 for the Sega Game Gear. This stage, constructed on the surface of the space station, is the sixth track of the Blue Grand Prix (Blue being the hardest of the three available tournaments), coming after Milky Way (at the end of course player can see to coming across Death Egg), and also serves as the venue for the Final GP, a two-car battle around just this one course. The race has three laps and the winner gets a Chaos Emerald.

Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing
In Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing, there is a track called "Egg Hangar" that is a DLC course (for the former) based in the Death Egg. Ristar also makes a cameo appearance on the first game.

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed
The Death Egg can be seen in the background of Sanctuary Falls in Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, which takes place to the Sky Sanctuary Zone. It look similar to how it appeared in Sonic Generations. The game also includes the Egg Hangar DLC track.

Sonic Runners
The Death Egg appears as a companion in the mobile game Sonic Runners. It was available during Sonic's 24th Birthday celebration. It was classified as a power-type, and its bonuses as a companion include having a 75% (80%) increase of birthday cakes in the stage, as well as a 25% chance of continuing after being defeated.

Variants
Although they are not named "Death Egg", several of Dr. Eggman's other orbital facilities are clearly designed along the same lines as the original station:

Death Egg II
The Death Egg II was the direct successor to the Death Egg that was destroyed during the Angel Island incident. This variant was a lot more elaborate, having the classic Death Egg's space station and several smaller planet-like stations connected to it. However, the central sphere seemed to have an Eggrobo face rather than an Eggman face. It also possessed enough Eggrobo hordes onboard to conquer the world.

When the Death Egg II was unveiled, Sonic and his friends held a tournament to see who got to destroy it. The winner of that tournament eventually flew up to the Death Egg II and managed to destroy it after triumphing over Metal Sonic and Eggman.

Silver Castle
The Silver Castle was an extravagant silver-colored fortress created in the likeness of the Death Egg. This fortress was destroyed by the combined efforts of Sonic the Hedgehog and Knuckles the Echidna.

Egg Utopia
The Egg Utopia was a large Death Egg-like satellite. It was spherical and had both eyes and a nose like the Death Egg. However, its eyes were red and had spikes instead of a mustache. This space station fell out of orbit and crashed on Earth after Sonic the Hedgehog and his friends triumphed over the station's Super Eggrobo Z.

Dead Line
The Dead Line was another Death Egg-based space station. This one however, lacked the Death Egg's spherical shape and had more features that made it more closely resemble Dr. Eggman's head. It also had a football-shaped piece with spikes in place of a mustache.

E.G.G. Station
The E.G.G. Station was a space station vastly different from Death Egg in many ways. It mainly resembled an unfinished flying saucer on the outside, but looked closely like the original Death Egg on the inside.

During Eggman's uprising against Sonic, the doctor would escape to the E.G.G. Station, only for Sonic to follow him there and destroy the space station during his subsequent fight with Eggman.

Death Egg mk.II
The Death Egg mk.II was another successor to the original Death Egg that was destroyed during the Angel Island incident. Designed to use Little Planet as a power source, the Death Egg mk.II was basically a Death Egg built around Little Planet. In terms of design, it was nearly identical to the original Death Egg, but with windows around its lower hemisphere, through which Little Planet could be seen.

The Death Egg mk.II was constructed following Metal Sonic's return to Earth. Due to the heroic efforts of Sonic and Tails however, the Death Egg mk.II. was shut down after a climatic battle with Dr. Eggman, leaving it to be dragged into space by Little Planet's natural orbit. The Death Egg mk.II.'s ultimate fate remains unknown.

Archie Comics
In the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-offs published by Archie Comics, the Death Egg has a three-issue story, fittingly titled the "Death Egg Saga". Later, long after Robotnik was destroyed, Dr. Eggman went into hiding for the several issues of the comic book series, but it was revealed that he was working on the latest Death Egg in issue 224. This Death Egg continued to serve as his mobile base up until the Sonic & Mega Man: Worlds Collide crossover event, while the Post-Super Genesis Wave World that resulted featured a Death Egg identical to this one.

Sonic the Comic
In the Sonic the Comic series published by Fleetway Editions, the Death Egg remained mostly true to the game portrayal, apart from specifying the Sonic 2 and Sonic 3 space-stations as separate entities. Also, the Death Egg's impact did not cause the Floating Island to splashdown into the sea.

The first Death Egg was created by Dr. Robotnik after his first major defeat, but it was abandoned when Sonic the Hedgehog stopped him again. It later fell into the ocean (thanks to Sonic) when its orbit began to decay. Robotnik later created the "Death Egg II" which crashed on the Floating Island and had to undergo repairs. Although Robotnik managed to relaunch the Death Egg II, it was brought down for good by Sonic and Knuckles.

Trivia

 * The Death Egg is an obvious reference to the Death Star, the Galactic Empire's giant planet-destroying battle station from the Star Wars movies (specifically A New Hope and Return of the Jedi). Unlike the Death Egg, the much larger and better-equipped Death Stars had colossal amounts of weaponry, as well as huge swarms of TIE Fighters, star destroyers, stormtroopers and other military personnel patrolling it, a deflector shield, and finally, a single superlaser capable of destroying an entire planet. The Death Egg's "eyes" and rough surface are a spoof of the Death Star's physical appearance.
 * The Death Egg Mark II, likewise, is a reference to the second Death Star in Return of the Jedi, down to it being constructed in close proximity to a forested planet (in this case, Little Planet), was much larger than its predecessor and possessing a generator around one part of the ship that was implied to be not completed yet.
 * In one of the two Japanese commercials with traditional animation for the first Sonic the Hedgehog game, featured Sonic flying a space shuttle and directly firing to the Eggman-looking space station which a couple of seconds later explodes. It is possible that this space station could be later used as a basis of Death Egg. The commercial can be viewed in Sonic Jam.
 * In the standalone version of Sonic the Hedgehog 3, the Death Egg is seen exploding during the game's ending sequence. However, in the Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles version, it is simply seen falling before it transitions to the Mushroom Hill Zone.
 * When Knuckles attacked Sonic in Lava Reef Zone, the next act shows Sonic on a platform with the Death Egg in the background where its eyes light up and the whole place becomes covered in a white flash. When everything becomes visible again the whole volcano is shown to be mildly active again, with pieces of the Zone becoming fragile and floating among the Lava and effectively making the Boss fight with Robotnik more difficult.
 * The Death Egg is seen in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 from the outside only once, as it is illustrated at the emblem which was featured at the level select.
 * When Dr. Eggman uses his All-Star Move in Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, he gets surrounded by a red force field that resembles the Death Egg.
 * The Death Egg appears in LEGO Dimensions as part of both the "Sonic Dimensions" level and the Sonic the Hedgehog Adventure World. In "Sonic Dimensions," the Death Egg Robot and a giant Chaos 0 are fought there. In the Adventure World, an opening in its "mouth" can be flown into, which will transport the player to a side-scrolling area modeled after its Sonic & Knuckles incarnation, along with the gravity switches from Crazy Gadget.
 * In the Sonic the Hedgehog 2 2013 remake, collecting all seven Chaos Emeralds will show the Death Egg on a collision course with Angel Island (clearly intended to foreshadow Sonic the Hedgehog 3).
 * The Death Egg does not appear in Sonic Mania, however the icon used to represent the Death Egg Zone from the stage select menu in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is used to represent the Egg Reverie Zone in the secret stage select menu for Sonic Mania.