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This character exists primarily or exclusively within the Sonic the Hedgehog (TV series) continuity.
Information in this article may not be canonical to the storyline of the games or any other Sonic continuity.
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Mark my words, hedgehog; before this day is done, you and the Power Rings will be right in the palm of my hand.


— Dr. Robotnik, "Heads or Tails"

Doctor Robotnik, formerly known as Julian, is the main antagonist of the Sonic the Hedgehog television series. He is a human and the arch-enemy of Sonic the Hedgehog. Initially serving as the head of the King of Mobotropolis's War Ministry, Robotnik eventually organized a coup that allowed him to seize power over Mobotropolis, which he renamed as "Robotropolis", becoming the dictator of Mobius. Through the use of roboticization, Robotnik would turn the majority of the world's population into his mindless Worker-Bots while seeking to spread his pollution and destroy the environment. He is assisted by his conniving nephew Snively, his massive army of Swat-Bots, and his pet robot chicken Cluck. His rule is opposed only by the Freedom Fighters, particularly Sonic the Hedgehog.

Appearance[]

Robotnik and Cluck

Robotnik and Cluck

Robotnik is a tall human man of imposing girth with a light complexion. He possesses a bald, conical head, a dark orange and long mustache under his nose and black eyes with red irises. Robotnik is also partially roboticized, resulting in his left arm from the shoulder and down to be completely robotic. Also, in the place of his ears, he has small metallic stubs. Strangely enough, Robotnik is also shown to have five uvulas and a hairy tongue, and contrary to their normal, white appearance, his teeth are borderline brown and yellow, with his mouth big enough to house Snively's head.[1]

Robotnik's usual attire consists of a jumpsuit that is red above the waist and black below, with yellow lines spanning up, down and around his body; grey leggings; black-and-red boots; wide, red shoulder pads; a black sleeve on his human arm; a yellow cape; and grey gloves.

While head of the War Ministry, prior to his coup, Robotnik wore a white militaristic uniform with blue chains across the front, black-and-red epaulets, medals on the left side of his breast and a bearskin hat.

History[]

TV series[]

Past[]

Dr. Robotnik's early life is a mystery, and it's unknown how he turned to villany in the first place, but in the past, Julian and his nephew Snively collaborated with the sorcerer Naugus, who had discovered the Void. One time, he was to send Naugus into the Void and retrieve him after an hour. Julian, however, lied to Naugus about retrieving him and ordered Snively to close the portal to the Void and prevent any attempt to recover Naugus after he had headed in there. This way, he got rid of the person he feared the most.[2]

JulianSnivelyBlastPast

Julian with Snively, before his coup.

Years ago, Julian served as the head of the King of Mobotropolis's War Ministry, with assistance from Snively. Thanks to Julian's inventions and strategies, Mobotropolis won the Great War. During his military career however, he stole the plans for the Roboticizer from Sir Charles. After the war, the King promised Julian to close the War Ministry and to give him a new post as the Minister of Science. After the King invited Julian to meet with the important personalities of the kingdom, he also gave him his plans to dismantle the military, which had already been approved. Julian pretended to appreciate the King's praise, when he in fact had been plotting against the King for a long time. On the 13th, in the year 3224, Dr. Robotnik gathered his forces to make a coup. When he was preparing the Destroyer with Snively, he reprogrammed all his robots so that they would respond only to his voice.[3] Using his machines, Robotnik subsequently took over Mobotropolis, which he then turned into "Robotropolis" with the Destroyer and banished the King to the Void.[3][4]

Robotnik proceeded to roboticize most of the city's population.[4] Robotnik also made meticulous efforts into ensuring that all dragons on Mobius were roboticized.[4][5]

For all of Robotnik's efforts to spread his pollution across the planet and destroy everything living, a large part of the world remained untouched by his reign for the next several years.[6] In addition, Robotnik met resistance in the form of the different groups of Freedom Fighters across the world. The Knothole Freedom Fighters in particular became his greatest enemies, with his most hated enemies, namely Sonic the Hedgehog and Princess Sally, being a part of this group. Over the next several years, Dr. Robotnik ruled Mobius as a dictator from his headquarters in Robotropolis. He also sought to locate Knothole VIllage, which lay hidden in the Great Forest.[7]

Season one[]

Heads or Tails 163

Dr. Robotnik presents his plan to reveal Knothole.

One day, Dr. Robotnik and Cluck returned to Robotropolis after being gone for a while. There, Snively welcomed them back. When Robotnik asked Snively for news about the Freedom Fighters, he told him that a Surveillance Orb had detected Tails, a close friend of Sonic. Robotnik thus sent a Buzz-Bomber to capture Tails and use him to lure Sonic out of hiding. However, the Buzz-Bomber was destroyed. In response, Robotnik threatened Sonic through his Surveillance Orb that by the end of day, he and his friends would be his. Later, Robotnik introduced his Swat-Bots and Snively to his plan to reveal Knothole by using canisters filled with chemicals to destroy the Great Forest, thus leaving Knothole exposed. He also revealed that he had developed a Hedgehog Missile for destroying Sonic in case he interfered. Suddenly though, Sonic and Tails fell straight into Robotnik's war room and landed in front of him. Although the Swat-Bots caught Sonic, the hedgehog quickly escaped with Tails. In response, Robotnik and his machines began chasing Sonic. However, the heroes managed to escape once Sonic made use of a Power Ring. The next day, Robotnik sent his Buzz-Bombers, led by Snively, towards the Great Forest to destroy the trees with his chemicals. However, the Buzz-Bombers lost the chemical tanks and were beaten back by the Freedom Fighters when they began pelting them with water balloons fired from catapults. Eventually, the Buzz-Bombers had to retreat, leaving a frustrated Robotnik to unload his aggression on Snively.

Dr. Robotnik later followed Sally and Antoine's activities after they received a message from Ironlock Prison in the Dark Swamp by having one of his Surveillance Orbs observe their movements. Sometime later, Snively brought Cat, who had been caught in Robotropolis, to him. Dr. Robotnik began to interrogate Cat, but when he did not want to answer him, Robotnik had Cat sent away to an unknown fate. When Sonic later ran through the Dark Swamp, Robotnik ordered one of his Stealthbots to be sent after him. Later, after Snively detected Sonic, Sally and Antoine just outside Robotropolis, Robotnik told him to send the Stealthbots. However, the Stealthbots exploded soon after takeoff due to sabotage.[8]

Sonic and Sally 069

Dr. Robotnik and his pet Cluck.

Sometime after, Swat-Bots captured Sally and imprisoned her. With Sally within his grasp, Dr. Robotnik used her to create a Robot Sally by copying Sally's appearance and personality, which Snively would install into the Robot Sally. After that, Robotnik put his Robot Sally in jail in order to lure Sonic into rescuing it and taking it to Knothole, thereby allowing Robotnik to locate Knothole. With the trap set, Robotnik ordered Snively to roboticize Sally. However, the Roboticizer overheated, meaning that Sally's roboticization had to be postponed until the next day. To make matters worse, after Sonic saved the Robot Sally, the Robot Sally experienced a malfunction that made Robotnik unable to locate Knothole when it was brought there, making Robotnik decide to wait for an opportunity. The next day, Robotnik personally watched Sally as she was set up to be roboticized. This time, however, Sonic came back and stopped the process. Then, without Robotnik or Snively seeing it, Sonic saved Sally and had the Robot Sally take Sally's place in the Roboticizer. As a result, after Snively mistakenly roboticized the Robot Sally, the latter went out of control and began destroying everything around it. In addition, Robotnik noticed Rotor and Bunnie destroy his Swat-Bot factory, causing the doctor to get furious.[9] Later, Dr. Robotnik contacted Snively to hear the status about the repairs made to the Roboticizer. When Snively detected Sonic and Sally in the air duct however, Robotnik ordered that Swat-Bots were to be sent after them.[10]

Later, in Maga, after the Knothole Freedom Fighters managed to get the Secret Scrolls, Robotnik appeared before the heroes in the company of Snively and several Swat-Bots to take the scrolls from them. Sonic, however, distracted Robotnik and his lackeys, thus allowing his friends to escape. Taking matters into his own hands, Robotnik tried shooting Sonic with a laser gun until the hedgehog retreated. In response, Robotnik had Snively deploy a Surveillance Orb to track Sonic. Robotnik, Snively and the Swat-Bots subsequently followed Sonic to a tunnel, which Sonic was hiding in. However, the villains suddenly got blown off a cliff by a gust of wind coming out of the tunnel. Surviving the fall, Robotnik and Snively eventually climbed back to the top of the cliff. There, Robotnik promised Sonic revenge.[11]

Some time after, Robotnik observed his Swat-Bot pursue Sally through a Surveillance Orb. Eventually though, he saw Lazaar's Guardian destroy the Swat-Bot in the Forbidden Zone. Getting curious, Robotnik had Snively read to him that in the Forbidden Zone rested the wizard Lazaar, who had a computer capable of casting spells. Wanting the computer for himself, Dr. Robotnik went to the Forbidden Zone alone and proved to the guardian that he was worthy of entering the resting place of Lazaar, provided he did not harm the wizard. Arriving at Lazaar's lair, Robotnik had his Swat-Bots go ahead of him in order to trigger the traps in the lair. Eventually, he reached Lazaar's resting place and took his computer, and returned to his headquarters. With the computer's spells at his disposal, Robotnik wanted to teleport Sonic to himself, only to discover that Sonic was out of reach. As such, Robotnik instead teleported Sally, followed by Bunnie, to his headquarters and had them imprisoned. He then used a spell to hypnotize Sally and Bunnie into serving him, before teleporting Sonic to himself with the computer after discovering that the hedgehog was nearby. He then ordered the hypnotized Sally and Bunnie to throw Sonic into the Roboticizer, but Sonic broke free and took Lazaar's Computer. After Sonic neutralized the spells Robotnik had cast, Sonic, Sally and Bunnie fled with Lazaar's Computer, prompting Robotnik to tell Cluck of how much he hated Sonic.[12]

Sonic Racer 120

Dr. Robotnik teasing Sonic at the beginning of his race.

Dr. Robotnik was later tightening one of Cluck's screws when Snively informed him about the Knothole Freedom Fighters' attack on Robotropolis' power generator. Although Robotropolis ultimately lost its power generator, Robotnik had the backup generator take its place. When he later thought about ways to eliminate Sonic, Snively suggested organizing a race to lure Sonic into a trap. Robotnik liked the idea because he knew that Sonic would not be able to resist the challenge. Robotnik subsequently prepared a special robot cheetah with super speed for the race together with Snively. After the robot cheetah was ready, Robotnik also had several of his Hover Units participate in the race. When Sonic later arrived, Robotnik personally appeared at the starting line to annoy Sonic. He later returned to his headquarters, from where he watched Snively use various traps and robots to destroy Sonic. Each time, however, Sonic managed to survive Snively's ordeals. As Robotnik became more and more angry, Sonic would ultimately leave the race. Soon after, Robotnik discovered that the power supply for Robotropolis had been cut off. As it turned out, Sonic left the race to help his fellow Freedom Fighters destroy Robotropolis' backup generator.[13]

Dr. Robotnik later sent the Shredder to cut down the trees in the Great Forest and take the life energy from them, which were needed to power his new Sonic Radar. The Shredder, however, was destroyed, and when Robotnik found out about it, he destroyed the Swat-Bot commanding the operation and ordered Snively to rebuild the Shredder. While later working on the Sonic Radar, Robotnik received a message from Antoine, who wanted to meet him and give him a Power Ring. While Robotnik initially wanted to send his Swat-Bots to capture Antoine and have them bring him the Power Ring, he found out that he had to meet Antoine alone. Dr. Robotnik thus flew to his meeting place with Antoine in his hovercraft. After arriving there, however, Robotnik fell into a pit trap that Antoine had set for him. Antoine then revealed that this was all a part of his plan to capture him and bring him to Knothole. In response, Robotnik flew out of the pit trap using his rocket boots and began firing lasers from his fingers at him. He then took the Power Ring from Antoine, before taking Antoine to Robotropolis. When Sonic later ran out to rescue Antoine, Robotnik placed the Power Ring in his Sonic Radar and began firing lasers at Sonic, who was being tracked by the Sonic Radar with the aid of the Power Ring. After Sonic stopped moving, Robotnik sent some Swat-Bots out to finish his arch-enemy. He then sent Antoine to the Roboticizer, before heading to the Great Forest with Snively and the new Shredder to resume their deforestation operation. After some time, however, Sonic and Antoine came running towards them again, and Robotnik ordered them to be shot with the Sonic Radar. Eventually though, Sonic and Antoine tricked the Sonic Radar into firing at the second Shredder, destroying it. However, they were soon surrounded by Swat-Bots. Just as Robotnik got ready to shoot them personally, however, Antoine pulled the Power Ring out of the Sonic Radar and handed it over to Sonic. The heroes subsequently fled into the Great Forest, leaving Robotnik with nothing.[14]

Dr. Robotnik later sent his Sky Spy space station, which he had equipped with spy sensors to locate Knothole with, into space. When the Sky Spy later detected radio signals coming from the Great Forest, Robotnik ordered a Stealthbot to be deployed to check it out. Sonic and Rotor, however, destroyed the Stealthbot. Later, Snively informed Robotnik that Sonic and Rotor were onboard the Sky Spy. Although Robotnik ordered the entire crew onboard the Sky Spy to be alerted to the intruders, Sonic and Rotor still managed to sabotage the Sky Spy and escape. Later, when the Sky Spy was about to break down, Robotnik ordered Snively to call off the Stealthbot searching the Great Forest and abandon the mission.[6]

Sonic's Nightmare 110

Dr. Robotnik confronting the Knothole Freedom Fighters on the Island of Nimbus.

Sometime after, Dr. Robotnik created the Cloud Burster: an airborne ship that was supposed to collect chemicals from the Island of Nimbus and spray them into the atmosphere in order to create toxic rain. Eventually, Robotnik came to the Island of Nimbus in person, where Snively introduced him to Sally, Antoine and Bunnie, whom he had caught. Robotnik wanted them to tell him the location of Knothole, but when they refused to say anything, he locked them in a cage in order to lure Sonic into his grasp. When Sonic later appeared, Robotnik fired a homing fireball at him. However, Sonic took shelter in the nearby river, which extinguished the projectile. Robotnik then sent Swat-Bots to capture Sonic. After his Swat-Bots failed as well, Robotnik began to spray chemicals into the atmosphere onboard the Cloud Burster with Snively. Sonic, however, managed to trigger a massive oil sprout, which flooded the entire Cloud Burster. Robotnik and Snively thus fled to Robotnik's hovercraft and activated its stealth mode in order to stay hidden. Onboard the hovercraft, Robotnik tried to launch a missile at Sonic. Although Snively warned him that firing that missile would cause their damaged hovercraft to crash, Robotnik wanted to defeat Sonic at all costs and tried to fire the missile anyway. However, the missile would not launch due to circuitry damage, leaving Robotnik with no choice but to return to Robotropolis in defeat.[15]

Dr. Robotnik later created an oil platform equipped with Snake Probes, whose purpose was to look for oil deposits underground. After its launch, Robotnik personally contacted Snively, who was supervising the operation, and urged him to hurry. Later, Robotnik and Snively flew around the oil plaform in Robotnik's hovercraft so that Robotnik could admire it. However, Robotnik soon noticed that Sonic was attacking the platform. Not long after, Sonic destroyed the oil platform, which enraged Robotnik.[16]

Some time after, Dr. Robotnik learned that a herd of Terapods were migrating in an unknown direction. The doctor himself wanted to capture all of the Terapods so he could roboticize them and thereby have control over every living creature on Mobius (with the exception of the Freedom Fighters). Robotnik and Snively subsequently flew after the Terapods in Robotnik's hovercraft, with an escort of Stealthbots accompanying them. Their pursuit of the Terapods eventually took them to the Great Jungle, where they saw that the Terapods were being accompanied by Sonic and his friends. Within the jungle, the Stealthbots detected a pair of Terapods and the Knothole Freedom Fighters using heat sensors. Robotnik soon after created a force-field around the Terapods and the heroes that prevented them from escaping. With the Terapods trapped, Robotnik grabbed Momma T with a cage and began to reel her onto his hovercraft. Sonic and Bunnie, however, freed Momma T from the cage, and Sonic created a hole in the force-field with a Power Ring-empowered Super Spin that allowed his friends and the Terapods to escape. Regardless, Robotnik continued to look for the heroes, until Sonic caught his attention and lured him to a field where Scorch Plants grew. Upon touching the Scorch Plants, the Stealthbots were destroyed. However, Robotnik managed to stabilize his hovercraft's course in the last minute to avoid his machines' fate. Having lost his pack of Terapods, Robotnik had no choice but to return to Robotropolis.[17]

Season two[]

Dr. Robotnik eventually promised Ari that he would release his Freedom Fighters if he lured Sonic into a trap for him in a specially designed fortress. To this end, he programmed two Swat-Bots to pretend to chase after Ari in order to trick Sonic into thinking that Ari was on his side. While Snively remarked that Sally's natural suspicion could be a problem, Robotnik remarked that he only needed Sonic to believe Ari's words. After Sonic was locked up in the fortress, Robotnik appeared on a nearby monitor and introduced Sonic to the large pinball table in front of him and the rules of his game: if he hit his bumpers on the table, he would score points for himself and a portal into the Void would close. However, the opposite would happen if the hedgehog hit the Robotnik's bumpers. During the game, Robotnik tried various ways to throw Sonic into the portal. He was interrupted however by the appearance of Ari, who demanded the release of his Freedom Fighters. Robotnik, however, revealed that he had broken his word by showing Ari his roboticized Freedom Fighters. To add insult to injury, Robotnik then prepared to send Ari to the Roboticizer as well. In that moment, however, Sally and Dulcy appeared. Dulcy then froze Robotnik and Snively, while Ari neutralized the Swat-Bots. After some time, Robotnik returned to play with Sonic. However, Ari soon came to save Sonic. With his help, Sonic got his Power Ring and used it to destroy the pinball table. In response, Robotnik turned on the full power of the portal into the Void and hung up. In the end, Sonic managed to escape from the fortress, while Ari got sent into the Void.[18]

Conversion01

Robotnik getting ready to pilot the Shriekbot.

Some time after, Snively prepared the Shriek-Bot for Dr. Robotnik, which the doctor could use to capture Sonic. After detecting Sonic and Sally in the hangar, Robotnik decided to test the Shriek-Bot out then and there. Taking control of the Shriek-Bot, Robotnik began firing at Sonic and flying the Shriek-Bot after him. However, Sonic and Sally escaped the Shriek-Bot thanks to the power of a Power Ring. This made Robotnik furious, because Snively had promised him that the Shriek-Bot would be able to catch Sonic. As Robotnik threatened Snively, the latter promised that he would add more jet engines to the Shriek-Bot, meaning that it would not let him down next time. Some time later, Sonic was brought to Robotnik by two Swat-bots. After hearing Sonic claim that he had had enough of freedom fighting, Robotnik ordered him to be put in the Roboticizer. However, Sonic broke free and destroyed the Swat-Bots. He then threw Robotnik into his chair and began spinning it around. With Robotnik stuck in his chair, Sonic stole a part he needed from Robotnik's Roboticizer and escaped. Sometime afterward, Robotnik saw that the roboticized Sir Charles Hedgehog had caught Sonic. As such, Robotnik ordered the Shriek-Bot to be deployed. This time, he almost caught Sonic. However, Robotnik soon found himself getting lured into a narrow isthmus between two buildings. Being unable to fit in-between the buildings, the Shriek-Bot was destroyed. In response, the furious Robotnik began to shout at Snively.[1]

Eventually, Dr. Robotnik moved the Roboticizer to a new place. He then informed Snively that he was leaving Robotropolis for some time to put an end to the Freedom Fighter uprising on the northern frontier. As such, he left Snively to handle everything in his absence. When Robotnik returned, however, Snively attacked him and began to challenge him. Easily repelling Snively, Robotnik got very angry at his nephew and got ready to turn him into a "paperweight" for his insubordination. However, he then found out that Snively had found Knothole somewhere in the Great Swamp. Robotnik and Snively thus went to the indicated coordinates, not knowing that Sonic, Sally and Charles had changed Knothole's coordinates in their database.[19]

Roboticization SatAM

Robotnik roboticizing Sir Charles.

Dr. Robotnik's history was later slightly altered when Sonic and Sally went back in time to stop Robotnik before he rose to power in Mobotropolis. However, they arrived too late, and Robotnik managed to seize power in Mobotropolis, like in the original timeline.[3] However, when he came to capture the King, he met resistance from Sir Charles, who neutralized his Swat-Bots. He also met the present-day Sonic for the first time, who took present-day Sally and escaped with her. Despite this, Robotnik managed to imprison almost the entire population of Mobotropolis and capture the King. Dr. Robotnik then sent the Destroyer out to spread pollution and destroy nature, eventually turning Mobotropolis into Robotropolis. Snively later informed him that two prisoners had escaped from their cell, among them a blue hedgehog. Although curious, Robotnik insisted that he should not worry about it. Together with Snively, he went to roboticize young Bunnie, only for the Roboticizer to go offline for two hours. While waiting for the Roboticizer to come back online, Robotnik went to the portal to the Void and sent the King in there. Later, a Tech-Bot showed him a dragon that had destroyed many Swat-Bots and Hover Units before getting caught. Furious by the dragon's resistance, Robotnik ordered that all dragons had to be roboticized and have their powers harnessed. He also promised to build a special Roboticizer just for the dragons. Afterward, Robotnik returned to his headquarters, where he noticed that Snively had lost most of his hair. There, Snively showed Robotnik that Sonic was attacking the Destroyer with Sally. Upon hearing Sonic's name, Robotnik remembered that Sonic was Sir Charles's nephew. He thus ordered Sonic to be captured alive. After Sonic, Sally and Sabina brought the Destroyer down, Robotnik wondered what Sonic was doing so far from home. As Robotnik took his anger out on Snively though, the Roboticizer was brought back online. Robotnik thus went to the Roboticizer, where the people were lined up to be roboticized, the first among them being Sir Charles, young Sonic, young Sally and the other future Freedom Fighters. There, Dr. Robotnik loudly announced that Sir Charles was the real inventor of the Roboticizer. After he roboticized Charles however, Sonic appeared and distracted both Robotnik and his robots. As Sally then began evacuating the children, Robotnik managed to catch present-day Sonic. However, Sonic soon broke free and knocked Robotnik into the Roboticizer's rays. With his left arm rendered robotic, the angry doctor ordered the escapees to be pursued. Spearheading a great army, Robotnik eventually surrounded Sonic and Sally in a building on the outskirts of Robotropolis. However, the heroes fled using the Time Stones, leaving Robotnik without prisoners to catch.[4]

Snively later awoke Robotnik in the middle of the night, as Sonic had just committed a break-in in Robotropolis. Robotnik thus ordered that the Mega Muck Units were sent out to cut off Sonic's escape route. When Sonic got immobilized in Mega Muck, Dr. Robotnik personally flew in in his hovercraft and ordered his Swat-Bots to take Sonic to the Roboticizer. However, in that same moment, Dulcy arrived and froze Robotnik and his machines in place while she took Sonic to safety. Afterward, the angry doctor informed Snively that there should be no more dragons left in the wild. As such, he ordered Snively to use the Mind Probe on one of the Worker-Bot dragons so they could learn a bit more about the dragons' culture. After some time, Snively introduced Robotnik to the Dragon's Nest, a place where dragons went to in order to lay their eggs. Realizing they were on the right track, Robotnik ordered his Command Ship to be prepared for an attack on the nest so they could put an end to the dragon civilization. After arriving in Deep Canyon, Robotnik and Snively found a Mother Dragon and caught her. Returning to Robotropolis, Robotnik began to interrogate the encaged Mother Dragon. The dragon told Robotnik that he now had all the dragons, but the doctor knew that she was lying. Since she did not want to tell him anything however, Robotnik ordered her to be send to the dragon Roboticizer. When Robotnik later flew back to Deep Canyon, he detected Dulcy, Sonic and Sally, who were flying around with the Mother Dragon's egg. Robotnik tried to catch them, but the heroes ultimately escaped him. As such, Robotnik returned to Robotropolis, and, together with Swat-Bots and Mega Muck Units, personally began escorting the Mother Dragon to the Roboticizer. He also expected that the Freedom Fighters would try and stop him, so he had special forces awaiting his command. However, Sonic and his friends saw through Robotnik's tactics and neutralized all his support. Robotnik's escort was subsequently destroyed and clued together with Mega Muck from the Mega Muck Units, while the heroes saved the Mother Dragon.[5]

VoidSATAM16

Dr. Robotnik humiliated by Naugus.

Eventually, Dr. Robotnik had his commanders come to a meeting about the Doomsday Project. Later, Snively informed Robotnik that Void activity had been detected in the Great Unknown and warned him that Naugus could be returning. Listening to Snively, Robotnik ordered his Command Ship and Hover Units to be prepared. Arriving later in the Great Unknown, Robotnik sent his Surveillance Orbs out to investigate the area. When Robotnik noticed that Sonic was in the area, however, he thought that Sonic was working with Naugus. As such, he ordered Snively to stop him at all costs. When a portal into the Void then began sucking Sonic into it, Robotnik cut off Sonic's escape route with lasers. Eventually though, Sonic jumped into the portal, and Robotnik believed that he had finally gotten rid of his enemy. He then ordered the Void portal to be closed, but Snively met resistance from Naugus. As such, Robotnik intended to wait and ordered his forces to shoot anyone who came out of that portal. After some time, Sonic pulled the King out of the Void. However, the King turned out to be Naugus in disguise. The sorcerer then left Sonic to save his friends from the Void while he went to deal with the terrified Robotnik. As he attempted to escape, Robotnik came across Naugus and swore to him that he had never betrayed him, and that his imprisonment in the Void was an accident. Naugus, however, did not listen to him and began to turn Robotnik's head into various animals. After some time, however, Naugus had to stop playing because his body had begun to crystallize as a result of being too long in the Void. As Naugus offered Robotnik a game of hide-and-seek, Robotnik took the opportunity and fled in his Command Ship.[2]

Dr. Robotnik would later relish in his Doomsday Project and admire the future Doomsday Machine when Snively informed him that the test Doomsday Pod had been damaged by the Wolf Pack in the Great Unknown. As such, Robotnik sent Snively to repair it. Robotnik later contacted Snively and found out that the Doomsday Pod would be repaired soon. He also told him to look for the Wolf Pack and eliminate them. Robotnik soon after contacted Snively again and learned that he had lost the Wolf Pack's trail. As such, Robotnik watched Snively's recordings. After studying the canyon walls, Robotnik told Snively to start looking for entrances to the Wolf Pack's caves in the canyon walls.[20]

Back in his headquarters later on, Dr. Robotnik would translate the text from an old book about Drood Henge, which revealed the locations of scrolls that showed where the Deep Power Stones from Drood Henge were buried. To supervise the excavations, Robotnik sent Snively and his Swat-Bots. After Robotnik was about to finish translating the text in the book, he learned from Snively that he had found one of the scrolls. When Snively later contacted him again, Robotnik noticed that Snively was all dirty. As it turned out, Sonic and Tails attacked last night and turned off the generator, but Snively had managed to restore it and find the second scroll. Upon hearing this, Robotnik decided to go to Drood Henge himself to supervise the first Deep Power Stone's excavation. Shortly after his arrival, one of the two Deep Power Stones was found, which Robotnik quickly claimed for himself. Feeling as well that Sonic and his friends would be coming soon, Robotnik deployed Surveillance Orbs all over Drood Henge. Eventually, he found Tails, who was running up to Sonic with a scroll. The blue hedgehog then dug up a fake Deep Power Stone. Not knowing better however, Robotnik believed that Sonic had found the real second Deep Power Stone. Afterward, Sonic lured Robotnik and his forces into the Great Unknown. There, he destroyed the fake Deep Power Stone. Believing that the real stone had been destroyed, Robotnik was horrified. Nevertheless, he decided to capture Sonic here and there. However, Sonic was soon saved by Dulcy, Sally and Tails, leaving Robotnik to scream in frustration.[21]

Robotnik interrogating Chuck

Dr. Robotnik interrogating Sir Charles.

Sometime after, Dr. Robotnik went to the Doomsday Machine and personally supervised its construction. He then gave Snively the order to deliver the fuel for the Doomsday machine. When the Fuel Tanker convoy was attacked by the Knothole Freedom Fighters however, Robotnik pointed out to Snively that Sonic was distracting most of the guards. As such, the doctor told him to have the guards return to protecting the convoy. The Freedom Fighters, however, managed to escape in the end. Seeing that this was the fourth time in four weeks that the Knothole Freedom Fighters had ruined his plans, Robotnik began to suspect that someone was spying on his every move. As such, Robotnik constructed special masks which he had him and Snively wear after he returned to Robotropolis. Thanks to these masks, they were able to speak freely without anyone hearing them. Soon after, a Tech-Bot found an eavesdropping bug in the ventilation shaft. Using this to his advantage, Robotnik decided to damage the bug instead of destroying it, because then the spy would return to the same place to set up a new one. At one point, Snively grabbed Antoine, whom he mistook for the spy. After Sonic saved Antoine though, Robotnik contacted Snively and threatened him for letting Antoine get away, but he changed his attitude when he saw that the real spy had been caught - Sir Charles Hedgehog. Robotnik thus returned to Robotropolis to interrogate Charles and learn about the location of Knothole from him. Knowing that Charles would not speak willingly, Robotnik plugged him into a machine that could pull information out of the robotic hedgehog. However, the procedure was interrupted by Sonic, who rescued Charles and neutralized all the robots in the room by creating a whirlwind. In response to Sonic's attack, Dr. Robotnik evacuated to the lower floor.[22]

The Doomsday Project 170

Dr. Robotnik prepares Sonic for roboticization.

Eventually, Dr. Robotnik began the Doomsday Project by launching the Doomsday Machine, which released hordes of Doomsday Pods all over the planet. Their task: destroy all life on the planet. The united Freedom Fighter groups subsequently launched an attack on the Doomsday Machine, with those in the sky dropping dummies in parachutes that served as diversions. Robotnik, however, saw through this strategy, and saw Sonic, Sally, Bunnie and Antoine get inside the Doomsday machine. Rather than alert security, Robotnik ordered Snively to wait and let them explore his fortress. After the heroes reached the Doomsday Pod factory and went their separate ways, Robotnik decided to face Sonic personally. When the hedgehog tried to blow up the Doomsday Machine's generator, Robotnik flew in and explained that the generator was protected by diamond glass, meaning that the generator was invulnerable to conventional demolition. Robotnik then dropped Sonic into his special Roboticizer and began the roboticization procedure. Although, Sonic managed to neutralize the roboticization ray with a Power Ring, it was not enough. However, when Sonic added two more Power Rings to the mix, the Roboticizer overloaded and the capsule in which Sonic had been trapped in flew out of the Doomsday Machine. Defeated, Robotnik withdrew to the command center and decided to wait. Sometime later, Snively informed him that Sonic and Sally had appeared next to the generator and had both Deep Power Stones. Although Robotnik sent his Swat-Bots to stop them, he was too late. Strengthened by the power of the Deep Power Stones, Sonic and Sally began to destroy the Doomsday Machine. As such, Robotnik decided to flee in his hovercraft. However, he did not let Snively join him. As he fled though, Robotnik found himself caught in the power of the Deep Power Stones, rages of how much he hates Sonic and disappeared along with his Doomsday Machine. With Robotnik defeated, the Freedom Fighters celebrated the end of Robotnik's reign.[23]

Personality[]

Robotnik is a cruel, sadistic, despicable, cantankerous, ruthless, and egotistical man. He has a relatively short temper, causing him to have fits of angry childish outbursts when his plans do not succeed. In such situations, he is prone to unload his aggression on those around him (usually on Snively). He also does not hesitate to invoke physical harm on others when he is in a foul mood or angry. He also hates insults and the way Snively talks about him behind his back.[21]

Robotnik is often brash and overconfident with his designs. The personal grudge he holds against Sonic frequently clouds his better judgment. This is shown when he took the chance to fire a missile at Sonic even though his escape pod was short on fuel and if he had fired the missile, he would have crashed (but the missile did not fire because of circuitry damage).[15] However, he is still very a repulsive character, and is not above lying and backstabbing others to accomplish his goals.[18] When talking, he speaks in a very sinister tone.

Despite his intelligence, Robotnik is generally calm, collected, sardonic, and calculating. He similarly lacks any redeeming qualities, being generally depicted as a completely repulsive and irredeemable fiend. Like the typical despot, all Robotnik wants is power, his desire being for everything on Mobius to obey only him and to control all that is alive, robotic or otherwise.[3][17] He is likewise utterly ruthless and relentless in his quest for unquestioned dominance, and takes absolute glee in terrorizing his enemies and sadistically toying with them before moving in to finish them off.[18]

Robotnik is incredibly vain and has an extremely narcissistic and self-absorbed personality. He is even unwilling to even share power with his nephew, Snively, despite the latter only wanting to be co-dominant to Robotnik and not above him, showing that Robotnik cannot tolerate the vicinity of any being who is equal to himself.[3] He desires the company of robots and psychologically battered down psychophonetic humans like Snively.

Having no respect or care for the ecosystem or environment, Robotnik thrives in polluted environments. Noticeably, he was very pleased by the exhaust fumes and pollutants that he was supposed to spread across the whole world.[3] In fact, Robotnik seems to hate anything that is organic and alive (with the exception of himself), with his ultimate goal being to wipe out everything alive on Mobius.[23] Even when dealing with his family, Robotnik is shown to be abusive and brutal, as displayed by his treatment of Snively.[19]

Powers and abilities[]

Dr. Robotnik is heavily built, and his girth serves as a kind of armor that can bounce back light physical blows, as seen when an amnesiac Snively attempted to hit him.[19] His main strength, however, lies in his intellect. His obsession for Sonic aside, Robotnik is a brilliant scientist and a very intelligent strategist. He has developed various plans and machines, which he has used on various occasions against Sonic. He can also keep tabs on all his activities to achieve the most benefits. As a testament to this ability, he has managed to gain control over almost the entirety of Mobius.[17] Robotnik is also a capable pilot, being able to operate and pilot many of his machines,[1] although he often leaves the piloting task to Snively. He also knows how to quickly deduce the strategies of his opponents, which allows him to often quickly prepare a counterattack.[20][22]

Intellect aside, Robotnik's roboticized arm is also equipped with laser guns that allow him to fire lasers from his fingertips.[14] His eyes can also project light beams strong enough to illuminate a dark room.[13] He also have some skills with handling weaponry.[11][14]

Equipment[]

Robotnik wears a pair of rocket boots which allow him to fly and hover in midair.[14][23] Sometimes, he also makes use of Laser Rifles and similar weapons.[11][14]

Relationships[]

Cluck[]

Despite the fact that Robotnik seems heartless, he did have a sort spot for his mechanical bird Cluck, which was the only thing he showed any real attachment to. In fact, Dr. Robotnik was shown to care very much for Cluck and would often repair him gently whenever he got broken.[7][13]

Snively[]

Despite Snively being his only known relative, Robotnik cares very little for his diminutive nephew, treating him as little more than an underling whilst frequently threatening or belittling him. This has lead Snively to despise his uncle, though it does little to make him any less fearful of his wrath. Curiously, despite Snively's repeated failures, Robotnik continues to keep him both alive and unroboticized, leaving him the only non-automaton the tyrant trusts with carrying out his plans without deception.

Sonic the Hedgehog[]

Sonic the Hedgehog is Robotnik's arch enemy, and the biggest thorn in his side, with the hedgehog having foiled many of his plans on several occasions. As time went on, Robotnik became generally obsessive over getting revenge on Sonic, eventually to the point that he would cast aside common sense in order to get rid of him. Despite them being arch enemies however, Robotnik does not want to simply eliminate Sonic. Rather, he wants to either roboticize Sonic so that he will serve him as his slave or imprison him in the inescapable Void.[2][12][18][23]

Despite his hatred for Sonic though, when he came close to roboticizing him in the Doomsday Machine, Robotnik admitted that he considered Sonic to be "a most worthy adversary" and that he was "almost sorry that it's over".[23]

Allies[]

Enemies[]

Production background and future plans[]

In an early prototype design made during the early development of Sonic the Hedgehog, Robotnik (the concept art refers to the character as "Robotnic") was drawn as a green demon overlord that almost resembled Ganon, the main antagonist of The Legend of Zelda video game franchise.[24] The latter design was most likely scrapped for possible copyrights issues with Nintendo.

Because the producers of the show had been given no definitive backstory, they created a "White Paper" setting out the histories of the characters. According to the series' screenwriter, Ben Hurst, Julian and Snively were human space travelers from Earth who traveled thousands of years into the future because of time dilation effects of space travel. On returning home, they found that humans had gone extinct and animals had mutated into sentient beings and renamed the planet Mobius. In Hurst's own words:

Well, bearing in mind that we were given no history of the Sonic characters when we came on board, we created a "White Paper" that created a history for the characters. This doesn't mean that what we created is the definitive backstory. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find the document, but as I recall, Julian and Snively were part of a space expedition from about 2200 (or thereabouts). Julian attempted a takeover of the colony, but his technology got out of control and he wound up destroying everything, narrowly escaping with his (and Snively's) lives. Meanwhile, back on Earth, a nuclear holocaust had destroyed human life as we knew it - and the animals who survived mutated into sentient beings and built the society which you see in the form of Mobius. Einstein's ideas of the passage of time during faster-than-light space travel kick in and thousands of years have passed by the time Julian and Snively returned to find this "Animal" world. Well, Julian's thought was that in the land of the four-pawed critters, the two-handed man is king and so he set about to take over - as outlined in Blast to the Past.

Ben Hurst, at the alt.fan.sonic-hedgehog newsgroup (1997/1998)[25]

Hurst later said that, had the cartoon not been canceled, it would have been revealed in the third season that Robotnik survived the destruction of the Doomsday Machine by being sucked into the Void, where he was captured by Naugus, serving as the wizard's lackey just as Snively had served Robotnik himself before.[26][27]

Quotes[]

"We're home, Cluck. I do miss the beauty of this place when I'm away."
—Robotnik returning to Robotropolis, "Heads or Tails"
"Shut up, Snively."
—Robotnik's response to Snively's welcome greeting, "Heads or Tails"
"Before this day is done, you and the Power Rings will be right in the palm of my hand."
—Robotnik threatening Sonic, "Heads or Tails"
"Snively, what color is my heart?"
—Robotnik telling Snively to take a look inside him, "Sonic Conversion"
"Excellent! Stand by for my signal! Air Command. Sweep laser fire, Forward."
—Robotnik commanding his troops
"My, such a challenging tone. Hardly appropriate for a princess. Not to mention the slander of poor Cluck's species. Where is the hedgehog?"
—Robotnik interrogating Sally
"A nice dream. But dreams are meant to be... broken."
—Robotnik escaping from Antoine's trap, "Hooked on Sonics"
"Now let's see if that Power Ring will live up to its name."
—Robotnik putting a Power Ring into his Sonic Radar, "Hooked on Sonics"
"Greetings, sire. Your Majesty. Members of the Royal Court. Welcome to Robotropolis, the capital of my kingdom."
—Robotnik beginning his coup, "Blast to the Past, Part 1"
"I really hate that hedgehog! I hate him! I hate him! HATE HIM! Hate! Hate! Hate, HAAAAAATE!"
—Robotnik's last words, "The Doomsday Project"

Trivia[]

  • Robotnik is one of only three video game characters from the Sonic the Hedgehog series who appear on the show, the others being Sonic and Tails.
  • Dr. Robotnik's design is slightly based on the one seen in the Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog television series. It has also been reused for several early counterparts of Dr. Robotnik, such as the earliest issues of the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-offs published by Archie Comics and the Sonic Underground television series albeit with some minor changes. This one is also seen as an upgraded and more tyrannical version of his said previous show design.
    • This design also bears resemblance to Baron Harkonnen from the Dune franchise, particularly an art piece of that character done by John Schoenherr as part of The Illustrated Dune. Also, much like this version of Robotnik, Baron Harkonnen possesses equipment that lets him hover.
  • Earlier episodes of Sonic the Hedgehog gave Robotnik a deep reverb to Jim Cummings' recordings. This was discarded fairly early in the series however, leaving Cummings' voice unaltered for most of the series.[citation needed]
  • Cummings also played Robotnik in the Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog pilot, but with a less sinister tone compared to this version.
  • Since he has a nephew named Snivley, he likely has at least one sibling.
  • In the Hispanic American version of Sonic the Hedgehog, Dr. Robotnik's name is "Doctor Mostachón" (Spanish for "Doctor Big Moustache"). The name is shared with his Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog counterpart.
  • A prototype art depicts him with an appearence and attire similar to his games design and specifically on the original Western Sonic the Hedgehog box arts for the games such as having completely black eyes and a lack of gloves. Although there are a few colour variations.
  • In the game's data of SegaSonic the Hedgehog, a full set of unused alternate sprites for Dr. Eggman are present, depicting him in this incarnation of the character. The intention of these sprites is unknown, although they were possibly intended for usage in a scrapped English localization of the game.

See also[]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Allee, Pat; Hurst, Ben (September 17, 1994). "Sonic Conversion". Sonic the Hedgehog. Season 2. Episode 14. ABC.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Hurst, Ben (October 29, 1994). "The Void". Sonic the Hedgehog. Season 2. Episode 21. ABC.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Hurst, Ben (October 1, 1994). "Blast to the Past, Part 1". Sonic the Hedgehog. Season 2. Episode 17. ABC.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Hurst, Ben (October 8, 1994). "Blast to the Past, Part 2". Sonic the Hedgehog. Season 2. Episode 18. ABC.
  5. 5.0 5.1 Hurst, Ben (October 22, 1994). "Dulcy". Sonic the Hedgehog. Season 2. Episode 20. ABC.
  6. 6.0 6.1 Villaire, David (November 6, 1993). "Harmonic Sonic". Sonic the Hedgehog. Season 1. Episode 8. ABC.
  7. 7.0 7.1 Janson, Len (December 11, 1993). "Heads or Tails". Sonic the Hedgehog. Season 1. Episode 13. ABC.
  8. Janson, Len (September 18, 1993). "Sonic Boom". Sonic the Hedgehog. Season 1. Episode 1. ABC.
  9. Allee, Pat; Hurst, Ben (September 25, 1993). "Sonic and Sally". Sonic the Hedgehog. Season 1. Episode 2. ABC.
  10. Villaire, David (October 2, 1993). "Ultra Sonic". Sonic the Hedgehog. Season 1. Episode 3. ABC.
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 Diamond, Janis (October 9, 1993). "Sonic and the Secret Scrolls". Sonic the Hedgehog. Season 1. Episode 4. ABC.
  12. 12.0 12.1 Dennis, Jules (October 16, 1993). "Super Sonic". Sonic the Hedgehog. Season 1. Episode 5. ABC.
  13. 13.0 13.1 13.2 Janson, Len (October 23, 1993). "Sonic Racer". Sonic the Hedgehog. Season 1. Episode 6. ABC.
  14. 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 Rogel, Randy (October 30, 1993). "Hooked on Sonics". Sonic the Hedgehog. Season 1. Episode 7. ABC.
  15. 15.0 15.1 Santopadre, Frank (November 13, 1993). "Sonic's Nightmare". Sonic the Hedgehog. Season 1. Episode 9. ABC.
  16. Slade, Barbara (November 27, 1993). "Sub-Sonic". Sonic the Hedgehog. Season 1. Episode 11. ABC.
  17. 17.0 17.1 17.2 Kuch, Kayte; Scarborough, Sheryl (December 4, 1993). "Sonic Past Cool". Sonic the Hedgehog. Season 1. Episode 12. ABC.
  18. 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 Allee, Pat; Hurst, Ben (September 10, 1994). "Game Guy". Sonic the Hedgehog. Season 2. Episode 15. ABC.
  19. 19.0 19.1 19.2 Allee, Pat (September 24, 1994). "No Brainer". Sonic the Hedgehog. Season 2. Episode 16. ABC.
  20. 20.0 20.1 Allee, Pat (November 12, 1994). "Cry of the Wolf". Sonic the Hedgehog. Season 2. Episode 23. ABC.
  21. 21.0 21.1 Hurst, Ben (November 19, 1994). "Drood Henge". Sonic the Hedgehog. Season 2. Episode 24. ABC.
  22. 22.0 22.1 Hurst, Ben (November 26, 1994). "Spyhog". Sonic the Hedgehog. Season 2. Episode 25. ABC.
  23. 23.0 23.1 23.2 23.3 23.4 Hurst, Ben (December 3, 1994). "The Doomsday Project". Sonic the Hedgehog. Season 2. Episode 26. ABC.
  24. Sonic SatAM Early Prototype Designs. Tumblr. PENCIL HILL ZONE (June 19, 2014). Retrieved on April 20, 2019.
  25. PorpoiseMuffins (August 2006). Features 05 - Ben Hurst on SatAM. Saturday Morning Sonic. Retrieved on April 30, 2019.
  26. Season Three. Sonic HQ. Archived from the original on August 6, 2010. Retrieved on April 30, 2019.
  27. admin (July 12, 2011). The Lost 3rd Season. Fans United for SatAM. Retrieved on April 30, 2019.
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