FiendBot


 * For the character formerly referred to as "FiendBot", see FriendBot.

"FiendBot" is the sixty-sixth episode in the Sonic Boom television series. It first aired on 11 February 2017 in the United States.

Synopsis
Eggman builds a new robot to defeat Sonic. He programs it to know everything about the Blue Blur, but things don’t go as planned.

Appearances
Characters:
 * Badniks
 * Mantis Bot (multiple)
 * Scorpion Bot (multiple)
 * Burnbot
 * Child Monkey
 * Cubot Series
 * Cubot
 * Cubot prototypes
 * Dr. Eggman
 * Lady Walrus
 * Mega
 * Mrs. Vandersnout
 * Octopus Bot
 * Obliterator Bot
 * Orbot
 * Perci
 * Shadow the Hedgehog
 * Team Sonic
 * Amy Rose
 * FriendBot
 * Knuckles the Echidna
 * Miles "Tails" Prower
 * Sonic the Hedgehog
 * Walrus Baby

Locations:
 * Sonic Boom World
 * Dr. Eggman's Lair
 * Seaside Island
 * Tails' House
 * Tails' Workshop
 * Unnamed Village
 * Village Center
 * Mayor's Mansion
 * Meh Burger
 * Valley of the Cubots

Items:
 * Amy's Hammer
 * Chili dog
 * Communicator
 * Tomatopotamus 2
 * Wrist controller

Vehicles:
 * Eggmobile

Misc.:
 * Sparcium
 * Tomatopotamus

Plot
In Tails' House, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy are playing cards when Sonic rushes in, having acquired a copy of Tomatopotamus 2 from a flea market. The others are excited by this (though the franchise's decline since is briefly discussed), and Amy recalls they played the game all the time, then asks why they ever stopped; Tails answers that the game's microchip was made with Sparcium, a rare metal alloy more valuable than the cartridge itself, so all copies of the game, except any missed, were recalled and melted down for their Sparcium. They quickly sit down to play the game competitively, with Sonic betting that if any of the others can beat him, he will buy chili dogs for the whole team.

Meanwhile, at Eggman's lair, Eggman has finished construction of his latest creation, FiendBot, and plans to program him with everything known about Sonic so he can anticipate and counter the hedgehog's every move. Back at Tails' House, Tails is eliminated from the game, with Amy following shortly after. Sonic and Knuckles continue to face off for 14 more hours, with Tails and Amy commentating that they are about to enter level 27, a feat which has never been accomplished. When they get to level 27, it turns out to be an underwater level, and because of his fear of water, Sonic is thrown off, quickly being eliminated from the game. As the winner, Knuckles takes the opportunity to gloat at Sonic relentlessly about being the Tomatopotamus champion; the hedgehog, as he promised, goes out to buy chili dogs for everyone at Meh Burger.

At Eggman's lair, Eggman begins the process of downloading video data to FiendBot that shows previous instances of Sonic in action, with FiendBot activating once the process completes; Eggman takes him to the Unnamed Village for a test drive. At Meh Burger, Sonic is getting four chili dogs from Dave (despite them expiring immediately after) when Eggman shows up in the Eggmobile with FiendBot in tow; Sonic begins to make banter about how easy taking the robot apart will be, allowing FiendBot to knock him down with a laser blast, having anticipated said banter. Sonic attempts to use his spin attack, but FiendBot also anticipates that and blocks it. FiendBot then goes on the offensive as Sonic dodges his attacks, but in the middle of the fight, a tree is destroyed, threatening to fall on an unsuspecting Perci; Sonic quickly breaks away to save her. FiendBot witnesses this and, soon after, Sonic saving Walrus Baby from a fall and returning him to Lady Walrus. Noting Sonic's heroism, FiendBot begins to doubt he is really an enemy and also starts considering him a friend. Eggman believes that FiendBot is simply being witty, but FiendBot, his loyalty to Eggman now nonexistent, drives the evil scientist off with a barrage of missiles.

Sonic thanks FiendBot for getting rid of Eggman and begins to leave, but FiendBot follows him; before dashing off, Sonic states he cannot have the robot follow him, as the rest of Team Sonic would not approve of the latter's presence. After returning to Tails' House, Sonic hands the others their chili dogs, but soon after, the ground shakes, signifying FiendBot's presence. Sonic attempts to get the others to pass it off as nothing, but they run outside and see FiendBot, ready to attack before Sonic comes to his defense. Tails states his skepticism, even informing him of the robot's sinister name; in response, Sonic decides to rename him "FriendBot". Though the rest of Team Sonic has their doubts, Sonic is certain FriendBot can be trusted. Meanwhile, at Eggman's lair, Eggman, having realized he made a mistake in making FiendBot sentient, has built a mindless robot gun on treads that is able to anticipate Sonic's every move just like him.

As the days continue, Team Sonic goofs off with FriendBot around; they play volleyball, allow the robot to join them in playing Tomatopotamus 2, and have a dance party, though FriendBot's size and strength ruins each in some way, and Tails, Knuckles, and Amy remain unconvinced if they can truly consider him friendly. The next day, Team Sonic and FriendBot are walking to Meh Burger for food when Eggman appears, bringing with him an army of robots; the team makes short work of them, with FriendBot destroying the larger robots (much to Knuckles' jealousy). Out of options, Eggman brings out the gun on treads, which quickly follows and corners Sonic before firing at him; FriendBot dives in front of Sonic to block the shot, deactivating soon after. This act finally convinces Tails, Knuckles, and Amy that FriendBot can be trusted, and Team Sonic quickly destroys the gun on treads and knocks Eggman into the horizon.

At Tails' Workshop, Tails works on the still-inactive FriendBot, with the others waiting anxiously in Tails' House before the fox enters; he reveals that FriendBot's AI processor was damaged and that Eggman made it with Sparcium, the same metal alloy used to create the Tomatopotamus 2 microchip. Though Knuckles is upset over the possibility of losing his high score, the decision is ultimately made to sacrifice the cartridge. FriendBot is successfully repaired, acknowledging the entire team as his friends upon reactivation. Tails also added confetti cannons to the robot, and as the team celebrates, Amy notices Sonic thinking. Sonic states to her that FriendBot is unable to fit in any of their houses, so later, he takes FriendBot to a place he can call home, telling him that Team Sonic can contact him at any time via his new Communicator if they need his help.

The team and FriendBot arrive in the canyon where the Cubot prototypes now live, and FriendBot is trusted with the responsibility of taking care of his fellow former Eggman robots, which he accepts. The team gives FriendBot a farewell hug, but before leaving, Knuckles gets FriendBot to remember that he is the Tomatopotamus champion, taking the opportunity to gloat at Sonic one last time (albeit tearfully).

Continuity

 * The sequence where Eggman downloads video data to FiendBot that showcases Sonic's abilities contains several clips taken from Sonic's previous adventures. These include:
 * Sonic saving civilians from the sheep stampede in "Just a Guy".
 * Sonic using the large ball of twine to stop the rockslide in "Aim Low".
 * Sonic dodging attacks from Octopus Bot in "Next Top Villain".
 * Sonic tying up Burnbot in "Beyond the Valley of the Cubots".
 * Sonic knocking the head off of Obliterator Bot in "Eggman the Auteur".
 * Sonic being attacked by Shadow the Hedgehog in "It Takes a Village to Defeat a Hedgehog".
 * Sonic chooses to have FriendBot live with the Cubot prototypes, a group whom he and Tails discovered in "Beyond the Valley of the Cubots".

Goofs

 * Knuckles claims he never sweats. That is not true as he is seen sweating in "No Robots Allowed".
 * FriendBot is shown wearing a Communicator when he first meets Sonic. However, he does not actually receive the Communicator until the end of the episode.
 * When FriendBot is looking into Tails' House while Team Sonic is playing a video game, FriendBot's fin can be seen passing through the window frame and roof on Tails' House.

Productions
The premise of this episode came about by Alan Denton and Greg Hahn's shared desire to draw a story about a huge gentle robot friend, which originates from their common interest in the 1999 American animated film The Iron Giant. The idea was pitched in May of 2015 and discussed via email while the series' executive producer Bill Freiberger was working remotely in France.

Trivia

 * Eight days before this episode aired on Boomerang, Bill Freiberger released the title card for this episode on Twitter as a teaser.
 * Tails and Knuckles' criticism of the Tomatopotamus series and its decline is a reference to the Sonic the Hedgehog series, whose 3D games have been criticized for being mediocre and for having transitioned poorly from 2D to 3D gameplay.
 * Sonic's criticism of the color change of Tomatopotamus' legs is a reference to the real-life backlash fans from the Sonic the Hedgehog fandom demonstrated when Sonic's Sonic Boom counterpart was redesigned with blue arms instead of peach.
 * The music that plays during FriendBot's montage with Team Sonic is based on the music for the song "It's Not Unusual".