The Many Enemies of Sonic the Hedgehog - "Because Eggman's not the only one, you know"

[Spin Attaxx]

So, Sonic's made many friends over the years, but he's made many enemies too. And even though one shines above and beyond the rest of them, it wouldn't hurt to give the others some love too, right? So let's discuss our thoughts on each of them!

 

So let's start off with the obvious best of the bunch...

 

Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik

The best character in the franchise? Most would say "yes".

 

Well... what can be said about this beast that hasn't already been said? He's up there with the iconic video game baddies like Bowser and Ganondorf. He's an eccentric, hammy goofball who can get really dangerous when the chips are down. His characterisation in recent games has been brilliant, often outshining that of everyone else's. Simply put, he's the brightest star of the rogues gallery.

 

Metal Sonic

As a wise SSMBer once said, "wasted potential incarnate".

 

Seen by fans as the "serious villain" to Eggman's "goofy villain", Metal Sonic... sadly isn't utilised well. Despite being seen as a badass by fans, Metal hasn't really... done anything in a long time. He's betrayed Eggman and become a MOTW, but that was over ten years ago and nobody liked him for it, and he's been relegated to boss encounters and spinoffs since. On top of that, his personality isn't really prominent. For supposedly being one of Eggman's greatest creations, you'd think he'd be the doc's Dragon or something, altered in some way each time to defeat Sonic once and for all. But at least he fared better than his bro, who gained a Super form, but no personality at all and ended up dying in his second appearance.

 

The Monsters of the Week League

 

I need a monstah to clobbah dat dere Sawnick!

 

Monsters of the Week... these guys have no personality to them and generally serve to just world-build by having mythologies around them. Chaos is the most interesting in my opinion because he's the only one to really seem sympathetic and like a real being and not just a faceless force of nature that wants to destroy errything because it must destroy errything. Also, these guys have a bad habit of upstaging Eggman and making the final boss be fought like we're Goku or something a lot. And that's no good.

 

Eggman Nega

Pictured above: a neat idea gone horribly wrong.

 

Oh, Nega... longtime SSMBers will know my feelings on this guy. The long and short of it is that he's basically an Eggman recolour, and his personality can be described as "Eggman, but with all the charm and memorability sucked out". So yeah, he's pretty bleh, probably moreso than the Monsters of the Week since his pale imitation of Eggman is almost insulting to fans of the good doctor. Also, I feel that in his debut as Blaze's enemy, he really should've looked, been named and acted much differently than Eggman. I mean, Blaze isn't "Red Sonic, only more heroic", so why apply that to Nega? As Silver's enemy, his design makes more sense... though "Eggman II" or "Eggman 2.0" would make more sense than "Eggman Nega". Thankfully he seems to be exiled to Spinoff Land for now... so... yay?

 

Mephistopheles the "How Do I Subtlety" Dark

I think he's really Shadow after being stuck in the fridge for a long time and aquiring an eye disease and brain damage.

 

Hoo lord, Mephiles. I don't count him as a MOTW by virtue of having a personality, but... yeah. Like Eggman, what hasn't been said about him already? He's meant to be the evilest evil that ever evilled, but comes across as an idiot due to bad writing. He starts as a Shadow recolour, bolstering his dislike. He's got an army of fanboys/fangirls who say he's a good character, when he's not. But what he tried to do, I think the latest additions to the enemy roster have done well...

 

The Deadly Six

The most colourful evil goofy alien bastards this side of the Ginyu Force.

 

I friggin love these guys. Say what you will about how Zomom's personality is nothing more than "fat idiot who eats a lot" and how Zeena's personality is little more than "vain femme fatale", and while those claims are perfectly justified and they're not perfect, I feel like these guys have potential to be great recurring villains in their own right. Their designs are just so unlike anything else in this series that they do stand out, and the ones with more developed personality really stand out (like Zazz's batshit craziness and Zor's pessimistic "what's the point we're all doomed anyway" attitude). Zavok in particular, it kinda feels like he's everything Mephiles tried to be but wasn't - he mocks Sonic, he's diabolical, he's clever, he's not afraid to get his hands dirty, he even genuinely cares for his teammates, especially Master Zik. So it's nice that even though he's a bastard, he's not one who only cares for himself and no one else.

 

So yeah, discuss your thoughts on Sonic's many enemies!

 

Sorry I didn't put guys like Erazor here, I haven't paid much attention to the spinoffs so I dunno what they're like.

[Vertekins]

I still think that the Storybook games' villains are the best non-Eggman villains.

 

Erazor and Merlina are interesting characters with intriguing backstories that give meaning behind their actions - Erazor always despised humanity and was hungry for power as well yet it's strongly implied that he was written that way and so 'rebelled' against his fate. Merlina adored her grandfather so dearly that she clearly wanted to preserve his honor and/or integrity by attempting to succeed where he failed by trying to create an "Ideal world". The thing that leads to their villainy is that they simply go the wrong way about rebelling against fate and that's a fairly interesting scenario for a villain.

 

They both have a shitload of power at their disposal as well. They have the means to actually shape the world into how they see fit and the only thing that truly stops them is Sonic's perseverance and the direct actions of the allies he makes - It was mainly Shahra who threw an almighty wrench right into Erazor's plan by becoming the wrong sacrifice. Which prevented him from utilizing the power of the World Rings and ultimately brought-about a series of events that worked in (An initially highly screwed) Sonic's favor. Even then, only the lamp truly took Erazor down. And with Merlina, woo boy, that endgame scenario was one of the most hopeless positions Sonic was ever put in. She had no compunctions about beating Sonic to within an inch of his life and it was only his sheer determination that brought-about his own salvation.

 

They also manipulate the characters in very backhanded yet believable fashions unlike Mephiles. Erazor has control of Sonic's very fate within only two cutscenes into the game and effectively blackmails him into doing exactly what he wants - He seized upon on opportunity when he shot the wrong target with that flame arrow and made great use of it and even when his plan backfired you've gotta admire this guy's sheer moxie regarding his defiance. Merlina plays Sonic like a card as well and it's fairly obvious that Sonic trusted her as evidenced by his shock about her revelation and the fact that he handed over the scabbard without reluctance because he had no reason to believe that she was going to do what she did. She hid her true intentions very well throughout.

 

And yet she's still rather sympathetic as well. She didn't want to see her beloved kingdom fall victim to fate and so did what she thought she had to do to stop that. It's only her ideals and the way she went about it that made Sonic oppose her because she was doing it out of one-sided sadness (Which Sonic personally despises) and was depriving everyone else of their right to live life the way it's intended to be lived and was ruthless in her determination to carry out her plan to fruition.

 

These two characters actually have dimension, something lacking from the Zeti. And they also fit within their Storybook universes. It's for all of these reasons that I consider them hands down the best non-Eggman villains. They get bonus points for their ploys bringing out some of the best in Sonic's character and it's most interesting traits regarding his take on heroism as well as making the stories so good.

[Mando-Whirl-Wind]

You forgot Nack the Weasel/Fang the sniper, admittedly he was more of a secondary antagonist, but within his appearance he was an enemy, and an interesting one at that

 

There is also the Battle Bird Armada, but admittedly they were more of tails' than sonic's enemy

[Fletch]

The Deadly Six are certainly my favorites under Dr. Eggman and Metal Sonic. 

 

Even though they're quite colorful, they was still lots of fun. I loved their personalities too, even if they were stereotypical personalities. I also enjoyed all of the things they had to say in the game! Zavok, Zazz, and Zor easily had the best lines!

 

I also feel that Zavok was a good replacement of Eggman during Lost World story. Even though Spin Attaxx already covered why I love Zavok, I would also like to add on that Zavok isn't afraid to insult his team or sweet talk them into carrying out his work. 

 

Zavok insult his team for not carrying out their mission to get Sonic correctly. 

http://youtu.be/fYS9BMNe6Nw

 

Zavok starts to sweet talk Zeena to make her quickly get out there and fight Sonic. Final words he say? "Well, that was so easy I almost feel guilty".

http://youtu.be/y642QbLKiw4

 

Last, but not least! I think The Deadly Six officially has one of the best themes ever in the Sonic series! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HW5L7_M9FI

 

I really would love to see the Deadly Six return someday in the future. With Zavok as the leader of them in their return story comeback, it could possibly lead to an interesting Deadly Six revenge story that could give Sonic, Tails, Eggman, and others involved some problems if the revenge plan is quite...deadly! 

[Tenko]

Blasphemy!! Where's Nack the Weasel, Mecha Sonic (you mentioned him briefly I guess), Silver Sonic, Egg Robo (maybe more Knuckles rival in Sonic 3K), Mecha Knuckles, even Bean and Bark can kinda be if Fighters is included.

Makes me wonder how Sonic would fare against the likes of Wendy Witchkart and the Battle Bird Armada had they ever met back in the day. I'm sure Tails must have mentioned them to him.