Eggman Empire


 * For the other uses of the term, see Eggman Empire (disambiguation).

The Eggman Empire (エッグマン帝国), also known as the Robotnik Empire or the Dr. Eggman Empire, is a political body that appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It refers to the totalitarian regime of scientists and robots ruled by the infamous Dr. Eggman. It is the doctor's ultimate goal to have the Eggman Empire encompass the entire earth in his quest to achieve global dominance. Although it has occasionally been established, the Eggman Empire has never managed to hold its ground, and merely refers to the territories Eggman has claimed and plans to claim. Its main enemies are Sonic the Hedgehog and his allies, and the United Federation, though other factions are opposed to it as well.

In his bid to establish the Eggman Empire as the world's dominant superpower, Eggman continuously seeks to establish Eggmanland (エッグマンランド) (also referred to as Robotnikland ), a city that is meant to serve as the heart and capital of the Eggman Empire, from where the doctor plans to spread his rule from. Every time Eggman has hatched an evil plan for the Eggman Empire though, Sonic and his friends have been there to stop him.

Description
In general, as far as the social order spans out in the Eggman Empire, robots and scientists employed by Dr. Eggman are granted greater social status than that of other citizens. The Empire Empire priorities industrialization above all else and seeks to establish a mechanized environment wherever their outposts are without regard for nature or the local ecosystem.

While the Eggman Empire refers to all the areas controlled by Dr. Eggman, the capital of the Eggman Empire, Eggmanland, does not actually exist; Eggman constantly strives to establish it with various plans, several of which involve the use of Chaos Emeralds, befriending mythological deities or a combination of both. While the Eggman Empire is always establishing cities and military factories (even Eggmanland at one point), these locations usually end up being decimated by the efforts of Sonic the Hedgehog and his allies.

Past
The idea for the Eggman Empire was formulated by Dr. Ivo Robotnik himself. During his villainous career, Robotnik became convinced that a world ruled by his iron fist would make the world a better place and benefit all of its inhabitants. As such, he set out to conquer the earth and establish what would become the Eggman Empire. However, every one of his early plans were laid to waste by one heroic hedgehog: Sonic the Hedgehog.

Years ago, Robotnik would establish MeteorTech. Despite appearing as a legitimate weapons/security manufacturing company, Robotnik was using it to seed his robots everywhere. When ready, he would then issue a call to them to make them start a rampage that he could use to take over the world.

Sonic the Hedgehog (1991)
In Sonic the Hedgehog (1991), Dr. Robotnik learned that South Island housed powerful relics known as the Chaos Emeralds, relics which Robotnik sought to harness to help him conquer the world, presumably to create nuclear and laser-based weaponry. To help him collect the Emeralds from South Island and battle Sonic when he inevitably arrived, Robotnik created his first generation of Badniks—robots powered by Sonic's Animal friends that Robotnik had kidnapped from South Island. He would also create his first base on South Island. However, Robotnik's plans for world domination were foiled when Sonic got the Chaos Emeralds first and defeated Robotnik in the heart of his base.

Despite his defeat, Robotnik would be inspired to moved on to bigger, deadlier pursuits.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2
In Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Robotnik followed Sonic to West Side Island, where he made his next move for world domination. Discovering the Chaos Emeralds were on the island, Robotnik began turning the local Animals into Badniks to have a workforce for finding the Emeralds and constructing his ultimate weapon - the Death Egg, a massive space station to take over the planet with. It was also at the island that Robotnik created his first major stronghold for his empire—Metropolis. However, Sonic and his new ally, Miles "Tails" Prower, were able to liberate West Side Island from Robotnik's forces and make the Death Egg crash after it took into space.

Sonic the Hedgehog CD
In Sonic the Hedgehog CD, Dr. Robotnik invaded Little Planet during its annual visit to obtain its Time Stones, whose powers would let him conquer the world. Chaining the planet to the surface, Robotnik turned the planetoid into a fortress and, utilizing the planet's lack of boundaries on time, conquered the planet's past so that he could control its future. This way, Robotnik temporarily succeeded in creating a complete "Eggmanland" in the future world of Little Planet - this dark future was mainly a bleak post-apocalyptic world with all of Robotnik's robots being broken down and the scenery rusted and deteriorating. This sight painted two possible outcomes for Robotnik's empire: Robotnik's desired utopia is either doomed to failure or that he has no regard to whatever happens to the planet environmentally, as long as it is under his control.

Regardless of these scenarios, Robotnik was driven off Little Planet by Sonic, who laid the doctor's plans to waste and restored Little Planet to its former glory.

Sonic Chaos
In Sonic Chaos, Eggman tried to conquer the world again by stealing one of the Chaos Emeralds from South Island for his latest plot. This created an imbalance between the other Emeralds that cause the island to slowly sink. However, Sonic and Tails soon took the Emerald back, ruining Robotnik's plans.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3
In Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Dr. Robotnik and his Death Egg had landed on Angel Island, a floating island held aloft by the Master Emerald, after Sonic and Tails made the latter crash during their adventure on West Side Island. Detecting the power of the Master Emerald, Robotnik plotted to use it to energize the Death Egg and resume his plans for world conquest. Robotnik subsequently built a base on the island to repair the Death Egg while transforming the island and producing new Badnik workers from the island's Animals. Robotnik also met Knuckles the Echidna, the guardian of Angel Island, whom he tricked into thinking that Sonic and Tails were coming to the island to steal the Master Emerald.

Several days later, Knuckles would keep Sonic and Tails occupied when they arrived on Angel Island, allowing Robotnik to repair and re-launch the Death Egg relatively undisturbed. However, Sonic and Tails were able to board the Death Egg and make Robotnik and his space station crash again.

Sonic & Knuckles
In Sonic & Knuckles, Robotnik and the Death Egg crash-landed on Angel Island again, making Robotnik resume his reconstruction efforts. Eventually stealing the Master Emerald for his Death Egg, Robotnik was able to re-launch his space station once more. However, the combined efforts of Sonic, Tails and Knuckles saw to it that the Death Egg was destroyed for good despite Robotnik's numerous attempts to protect it for his plans of world domination.

Sonic the Hedgehog Triple Trouble
In Sonic the Hedgehog Triple Trouble, Dr. Robotnik had secretly acquired all the Chaos Emeralds, presumably for another world-conquering plot, only to accidently scatter them across the planet during a weapons test. After finding one of the Emeralds, Robotnik tried to get the rest before Sonic could. Like before however, his plans were foiled by Sonic and Tails.

Knuckles' Chaotix
In Knuckles' Chaotix, a few months after his last trip to Angel Island, Robotnik discovered the Chaos Rings while investigating a newly formed island. Learning that these rings could help him summon the Master Emerald, which he could use to conquer the world, Eggman quickly erected a new fortress right on the mysterious island while synthesizing Dark Rings to power his army of Badniks. However, Robotnik's operations were ruined by Knuckles and his Chaotix.

Sonic Labyrinth
In Sonic Labyrinth, Robotnik managed to cripple Sonic with his Slow-Down Boots. With Sonic imprisoned in a labyrinth of the doctor's own making and with the Chaos Emeralds in his possession, Robotnik began conquering South Island in preparation for his conquest of the rest of the world. Using his Spin Attack however, Sonic took back the Emeralds, defeated Robotnik, and regained his speed.

Sonic the Fighters
In Sonic the Fighters, Robotnik had completed his Death Egg II and was ready to release its army of Badniks upon the world to conquer it. However, the champion of Earth soon arrived onboard the Death Egg II and made it self-destruct while defeating Robotnik in battle.

Sonic 3D Blast
In Sonic 3D Blast, Robotnik targeted Flicky Island after detecting the Chaos Emeralds there. Discovering the island's unique Flickies, whose existences were closely tired to the Chaos Emeralds' locations, Robotnik put his next plan for his empire into motion. Without wasting any time, he set up a base on Flicky Island and began turning the local Flickies into Badniks that could help him retrieve the Emeralds. However, Sonic, Tails and Knuckles soon showed up and ruined Robotnik's plot.

Sonic Blast
In Sonic Blast, Robotnik tried shooting Sonic with a laser, but missed him and hit a nearby Chaos Emerald instead, causing it to shatter into several shards that spread everywhere. Pleased with the results nonetheless, Robotnik began plotting his next attempt to establish his empire by seeking out the Emerald Shards to fortify his new aerial base, the Silver Castle. However, a team-up between Sonic and Knuckles ensured that the Silver Castle was destroyed.

Sonic R
In Sonic R, Robotnik set up a more convoluted scheme for his next attempt to establish his global empire. By signing himself up for the World Grand Prix, Robotnik lured Sonic and his allies into participating in this event. Robotnik then planned to let the heroes find the Chaos Emeralds, which he knew were located somewhere along the racetracks, and then steal them with his robots and use them to conquer the world. At the end however, Robotnik's scheme went unfulfilled.

Sonic Adventure
In Sonic Adventure, Dr. Robotnik (referred to as "Dr. Eggman" from then on) made his first known attempt to establish the capital of his empire, which he sought to build over the ruins of Station Square after destroying it. To do that, he released Chaos from the Master Emerald and searched for the Chaos Emeralds in order to make Chaos evolve into Perfect Chaos. However, Eggman's plans went south when Sonic and his allies ruined his operations and Chaos turned on him.

Sonic Adventure 2
In Sonic Adventure 2, Dr. Eggman took another drastic effort to establish his "Eggman Empire" (also referred to as the "Robotnik Empire" ). By stealing the military's top secret project—Shadow the Hedgehog—from Prison Island, Eggman acquired the Eclipse Cannon, a weapon of mass destruction created by Eggman's grandfather, onboard the Space Colony ARK. Using the cannon and six Chaos Emeralds, Eggman demonstrated his newfound power to the world by blowing up half of the moon, before giving the world an ultimatum: either the world surrendered itself to the Eggman Empire's rule, or Eggman would fire the Eclipse Cannon at the earth. However, Eggman ended up saving the world alongside Sonic and his allies when his scheme led to the activation of a program onboard the Space Colony ARK that would have destroyed the planet.

Sonic Advance
In Sonic Advance, Dr. Eggman attempted to establish the Eggman Empire by building an army of Badniks and acquiring the power of the Chaos Emeralds. However, Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Amy put a stop to his plans.

Sonic Advance 2
In Sonic Advance 2, Dr. Eggman attempted once more build the Eggman Empire by building an army of Badniks. This time however, he also kidnapped Sonic's friends and other innocent people to distract the hedgehog. Sonic, however, would free his friends, who in turn helped him stop Eggman's plans for the Eggman Empire.

Sonic Advance 3
In Sonic Advance 3, Dr. Eggman used Chaos Control to split the earth into seven parts. He then planned to turn each part into an Eggman Empire in the ensuing confusion. However, Sonic and his allies quickly mobilized, and together they restored the world. Additionally, Sonic had to help Eggman stop his own creation when it went out of control.

Sonic Heroes
In Sonic Heroes, Metal Sonic imprisoned Dr. Eggman and took control of the Eggman Empire in an attempt to establish his own robot kingdom and finally defeat his rival Sonic for good. To this end, he mobilized Eggman's Egg Fleet to launch a full-scale assault on the world while copying the data of the various heroes that crossed him to make himself stronger. in the end though, Metal Sonic was defeated by the combined forces of four heroic teams, and Eggman took back control of the Eggman empire.

Sonic Battle
In Sonic Battle, Dr. Eggman got a hold of a doomsday robot known as the Gizoid, with which he hoped to conquer the world with. Being unable to make the Gizoid work however, Eggman threw it out after getting what he needed from it to create an army of E-121 Phis. When Sonic got a hold of the Gizoid (whom he named "Emerl") and made it work however, Eggman tried repeatedly to reacquire Emerl, but his attempts only led to the loss of his new robots and the destruction of Emerl himself.

Shadow the Hedgehog
In Shadow the Hedgehog, the Eggman Empire went into war with the Black Arms when they invaded the earth, as Eggman could not establish the Eggman Empire if the Black Arms destroyed the planet. During this conflict, Eggman pulled out his entire army and the Eggman Fleet. Along the way, Shadow the Hedgehog would occasionally lend the Eggman Empire a hand. At the end though, Eggman's plans for his empire were saved when Shadow destroyed the Black Arms for good.

Sonic Rush
In Sonic Rush, Dr. Eggman teamed up with Dr. Eggman Nega to create an universe-encompassing Eggmanland upon Sonic's world and Blaze's world. To pull of this scheme, the doctors sought the power of both the Chaos Emeralds and Sol Emeralds. In the process, they nearly caused the destruction of both universes. However, their plans for Eggmanland were foiled thanks to the combined efforts of Sonic and Blaze.

Sonic Rush Adventure
In Sonic Rush Adventure, Dr. Eggman and Dr. Eggman Nega teamed up once more to build Eggmanland. This time, they went to Blaze's world, where they were able to procure the Jeweled Scepter. With the artifact's immeasurable power, the doctors planned to turn their universes into their ideal version of Eggmanland. However, Sonic, Blaze and their allies put a stop to the two villains' plans.

Sonic Riders
In Sonic Riders, Dr. Eggman discovered that Babylon Garden held technology within it that he thought he could use to establish his empire with. To unearth Babylon Garden and its treasure, he manipulated the Babylon Rogues into doing the dirty work for him. However, when the treasure of Babylon was uncovered, Eggman discovered it was useless to him and his plans.

Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity
In Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity, Dr. Eggman's plans to establish Eggmanland via MeteorTech were initiated prematurely when an Ark of the Cosmos caused his robots to go on a rampage that Eggman could not control. Eggamn eventually acquired more Arks to help him regain control of his robots. Before he could use them to issue his original command on schedule however, he was stopped by Team Sonic and the Babylon Rogues, leaving his plans with Meteortech in shambles.

Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)
In Sonic the Hedgehog (2006). Dr. Eggman learned of the Flames of Disaster and Mephiles the Dark, and their ties to Solaris, a deity with the power to reshape time itself. Eggman thus sought to gain control of Solaris' power and use it to dominate the world with his empire across all of time. However, despite numerous attempts to secure both Mephiles and the flames for himself, Eggman was ultimately thwarted by Sonic and his numerous allies. When history was later rewritten so Solaris never existed, the Eggman Empire's plans for Solaris never came to be.

Sonic Rivals
In Sonic Rivals, Dr. Eggman Nega disguised himself as Eggman and took control of the Eggman Empire in an attempt to take control of the past to ensure prosperity for himself in his time. To this end, he turned Eggman into a card and went on a rampage in the present day until he was stopped by Sonic, Shadow, Knuckles and Silver.

Sonic Rivals 2
In Sonic Rivals 2, the Eggman Empire was taken over by Dr. Eggman Nega again, who used its forces and resources for his plans to unleash a monster known as the Ifrit upon the world from another dimension. However, Nega's plans went south thanks to the efforts of Sonic and numerous other heroes.

Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood
In Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, the Eggman Empire was put to the test when Dr. Eggman faced the combined forces of Sonic, his allies and GUN over his city of Metropolis in his Egg Carrier. In the end, Eggman disappeared when he crashed into Metropolis in his Egg Carrier, which marked the end of the Eggman Empire's threat. However, Eggman soon returned and was able to restore his empire to its former glory while Sonic and company were gone in the Twilight Cage (as a result of the time difference between earth and the Twilight Cage).

Sonic Unleashed
In Sonic Unleashed, Eggman awoke an ancient entity known as Dark Gaia from the earth's core in order to use its energies to fuel the construction efforts of Eggmanland. Although Dark Gaia's dispersion across the globe put a hamper on Eggman's plans, the doctor soon gathered enough of the beast's energies to finally build Eggmanland, which looked like a twisted mixture of a carnival and a factory, on a small continent. Unfortunately for Eggman, Eggmanland got torn down after Sonic and Chip arrived in the city. Eggmanland then seemingly collapsed in on itself when the hole leading to the earth's core that it was build upon was opened.

Episode I
In Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I, after losing the Master Emerald to Sonic at Angel Island, Robotnik tried a new approach for ensure world domination: by focusing on eliminating Sonic with revised Badniks, he would be able to establish his empire undisturbed. However, Eggman's efforts proved to be for naught as Sonic overcame all of his creations. At the same time, the doctor set up operations and facilities that ensured Metal Sonic would be restored and given greater power than ever after he retrieved him from Little Planet.

Episode II
In Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II, a few months after his plot to destroy Sonic failed, Eggman resurfaced on the neighboring continent for his next scheme to dominate the world with his empire. With the aid of an empowered Metal Sonic, Eggman began turning Little Planet into a fuel source for his Death Egg mk.II upon the planetoid's return to earth. Although Eggman completed his Death Egg mk.II, his space station got shut down by Sonic and Tails, thereby allowing Little Planet's natural orbit to pull it out of the Eggman Empire's reach.

Sonic Colors
In Sonic Colors, the Eggman Empire look over numerous planets, populated by Wisps. Dr. Eggman then began using the Wisps and their powers as energy sources to fuel a Mind Control Ray in an attempt to brainwash the entire universe into serving him. All these planets were connected to Dr. Eggman's Incredible Interstellar Amusement Park which served as a benevolent front for the Eggman Empire's operations. Although Eggman got close to getting everyone on earth under his control, an energy leak made by Sonic caused Eggman's mind control cannon to malfunction and create a black hole that destroyed the entire amusement park.

Sonic Generations
In Sonic Generations, not long after his most recent scheme failed, Eggman came across the Time Eater, an entity with the power to erase time and space. Hatching a new plan to ensure the Eggman Empire's dominance, Eggman took control of the Time Eater and began erasing Sonic's actions from history with the aid of his past self, which in turn would undo Eggman's past defeats and ensure his empire's rule over the world. As the universe fell into chaos however, Sonic and his past self stopped the doctors' plans and undid the Time Eater's work.

Sonic Lost World
In Sonic Lost World, Eggman moved his empire's operations to the Lost Hex where he had enslaved a group of Zeti known as the Deadly Six into doing his bidding. There, he began building an army of Badniks for his empire to take over the world with while experimenting with his Extractor, a device that could extract the world's energies. However, Eggman had to team up with Sonic and Tails to stop the Deadly Six when they took control of the Eggman Empire's forces and began using the Extractor to destroy the world. Once the Zeti were beaten, Eggman tried double-crossing the heroes in an attempt to take over the remains of the world, but was defeated by Sonic. Tails, in turn, used Eggman's Extractor to restore the world to its old self.

Sonic Mania
In Sonic Mania, after the destruction of the Death Egg, Dr. Eggman resumed his operations in place like West Side Island, Angel Island and Little Planet, all of which he ran from his Titanic Monarch Zone. All of this got send into motion when Eggman discovered the powerful Phantom Ruby, along his new elite robot minions, the Hard Boiled Heavies.

While Sonic, Tails and Knuckles ventured on to foil Eggman's plans for the Phantom Ruby, they came through places like the Studiopolis Zone and Press Garden Zone which Eggman used to run private television and print propaganda, respectively. Also, active locations like the Chemical Plant Zone, Oil Ocean Zone, Lava Reef Zone and Metallic Madness Zone were still operating under Eggman's rule. In the end though, Sonic and co. managed to defeat Eggman and the Hard Boiled Heavies, destroy the Titanic Monarch Zone, and free Little Planet once again.

Sonic Forces
In Sonic Forces, the Eggman Empire has now been established and encompasses 99 percent of the world. Eggman conquered the world with the help of his former allies Shadow, Metal Sonic, Chaos and Zavok, who are now serving as his henchmen, alongside a new power who goes by the name Infinite who serves as the leader of the Eggman Empire's army.

Armed forces and enforcers
The Eggman Empire commands a sizable proportion of military forces, from seemingly limitless armies of robot soldiers to giant air fleets unmatched in power. Having the engineering genius of Dr. Eggman at the helm, the empire possesses disastrously destructive machines, nigh-impenetrable fortresses, diabolical robots, weapons and gadgets alike of Eggman's own design that could have conquered the world many times over.

Decal
Wherever Eggman is setting his operations, there is typically a traditional decal displayed. This decal is often also seen on his robotic creations, vehicles, battleships or weaponry. Many deadly in-game obstacles and structures are known to have Eggman's decal as well. The Eggman Empire's decal is known to have the smiling face of Doctor Eggman himself, which would be also shown everywhere on his empire, if he managed to succeed with his plans.

The early known, stylistic EG logo can be found on the wings and doors of Wing Fortress Zone in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, but it can also be seen on the right shoulder of Grounder and the brown driving seat of the Egg Typhoon from Sonic Drift. More Eggman-looking decal is then seen in Sonic Adventure, depicting Dr. Eggman's classic design, despite his redesign in the game. Eggman has other decals everywhere on his hidden pyramid base in Sonic Adventure 2. Sonic Heroes features another decal on the Eggman Fleet which is also seen in Shadow the Hedgehog. Since Sonic Unleashed, Eggman made a simplistic decal to fit his modern appearance. The most recognized logo is seen on his Eggmanland flag in the same game. The recent design of the decal of his empire has been used since Sonic Colors.

Sonic Forces introduces a much more elaborate decal, prominently featuring the Earth with mechanical arms emerging from it, as well as the traditional Eggman face beneath it with chains.

Sonic the Comic
In the continuity of Fleetway's Sonic the Comic, Doctor Robotnik managed to conquer all of the planet Mobius and establish a totalitarian regime when Sonic and his crew were catapulted six months into the future by the Omni-Viewer. He remained in power from Sonic the Comic #8-#100, ruling the planet first from the Special Zone's Egg Fortress and later from Citadel Robotnik in the Metropolis City Zone. Under his rule, Mobius was heavily industrialised and (deliberately) polluted. Citizens could be grabbed at any moment to be sent to the Badnik Processing Plants and Robotnik would regularly send Badniks to attack the Zones he was in charge of, just to show he could. Due to his constant targeting of the Emerald Hill Zone, the people were secretly evacuated to the Mushroom Hill Zone on the Floating Island.

In the milestone hundredth issue of STC, all of Robotnik's computer systems and Badniks are wiped out by an electromagnetic pulse generated by Super Sonic. He never managed to regain his power base, despite the aid of the extra-dimensional Drakon Empire and he was eventually driven insane by his failures and imprisoned at last. The D.R.A.T. sprung up immediately after his defeat, campaigning to bring Robotnik back.

Archie Comics
In the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series published by Archie Comics, Dr. Robotnik had already conquered a majority of Mobius. His state and regime had no official name, though his seat of power was the captured royal city of Mobotropolis, which he renamed Robotropolis and converted into a factory city to produce his legions of robots.

Later, the original Dr. Robotnik was replaced by an alternate version of himself, who renamed himself "Dr. Eggman". Eggman established the Eggman Empire, which covers select regions of Mobius. However, numerous setbacks have left the Empire in shambles.

After the storyline was rebooted following the Worlds Collide event, the Eggman Empire's history has changed slightly. After betraying King Acorn and Royal Wizard Naugus, Eggman seized control of Mobotropolis, as well as the roboticizer. Eventually, the former denizens of the city reclaimed it, and continued battling Eggman's regime for years up to today. The Eggman Empire's history from that point on greatly resembles the games' counterpart, with the exception of a more organized army.

Sonic Underground
In Sonic Underground, the Eggman Empire is called the "Robotnik Empire". In this cartoon, the Robotnik Empire encompasses the majority of Mobius, with Robotnik's seat of power being Robotropolis. Between the nobility and the poorer inhabitants of the planet, the former were largely ignored by Robotnik (since they are the source of his money) while the latter were under the constant threat of roboticization.

Sonic X
In the anime series Sonic X and its comic series published by Archie Comics, much like in the games, the Eggman Empire is Dr. Eggman's own empire that he seeks to establish worldwide, with him as the ruling head of state. Throughout the series, the doctor's ultimate goal is expand the Eggman Empire across the globe. However, he is constantly thwarted by Sonic the Hedgehog and his friends.

When in Sonic's dimension, Dr. Eggman sought to spread the Eggman Empire on Sonic's world. After being transported to Earth, however, Eggman tried re-establishing the Eggman Empire there. After Eggman and his lackeys returned to Sonic's dimension, the doctor went back to his original plans of spreading the Eggman Empire there.

Trivia

 * Originally the empire was not referenced in the first main installments of the series, as Eggman's basic objectives were collecting the Chaos Emeralds, kidnapping Animals and turning them to his Badniks, or building the Death Egg in original instruction manuals, although it is implied that building his empire would be the next step after completing his early operations.
 * Even though Sonic Labyrinth was the first game to hint at an Eggmanland, the name and idea about Eggman's dream utopia most likely took its basis from Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie, that had been released at Japan around that time.