How Evil Do You Want Eggman to Be in Sonic Forces?

[does it really matter]

One of the great things of any franchise is having a villain that you love to hate because of how evil they can be. Eggman has been a very adaptable villain in this regard, going from a very serious toned villain, to a more comical one, performing pretty horrible things throughout the series. However, Sonic Forces really seems to not be pulling any punches with showing what Eggman is truly capable of doing. Seeing an entire city destroyed (the demo also mentions that it was not fully evacuated either) did make me smile with the prospect of Eggman being taken more seriously once again, but I began to wonder if that will indeed be the case and, if so, how much further would it go.

It looks like we are finally going to get the answer to what a world under Eggman's control looks like. We saw glimpses of that in Sonic CD, but it looks like Sonic Forces will be that times a hundred. Destruction, pollution, and ruin. Coupled this with interviews in which the developers state that the story will have a more serious tone to it, and it looks like we will be getting a more Sonic Adventure Eggman instead of a Sonic Colors Eggman. I really hope they keep Eggman firmly in this seat of being the main villain. Not being controlled or manipulated by Infinite or turning over a new leaf at the last second.

Anyway, I'm rambling at this point, but what are your hopes and predictions for Eggman in Sonic Forces. Do you you think he will be more serious and threatening than before and what do you believe his ultimate fate will be in this game? Will he escape as usual, actually get caught, or join forces with Sonic once again to stop an out of control Infinite?

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

Not SatAM evil, I'll say that. That one was just boring.

I like where he is in this game as of now, the same goofy menace that is still capable of terror like his robots demonstrated in the early teaser. He'd almost be like his Archie coubterpart, barring the difference in narrative here.

[Tails spin]

Eggman's taken over 99% of Sonic's world how much more evil do you want him( honestly though Infinite might be behind it all)

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

I figured him meant more in personality...

I mean, there's a grey area insofar as how evil you can make a villian in a family-friendly series given what other such series have pulled off.

[Teoskaven]

It's not much a matter on how much evil, but how he expresses such villany. Examples:
*Sonic '06's Eggman is straight up evil yet the lack of humor makes it boring to say the least
*AoStH's Robotnik is equally very evil, but he has the laughable attidute everyone love (although this in turn gives him more incompetence than usual)
*Boost Trilogy Eggman is a balance between the two things, but he suffers of a notable lack of screentime

Essentially, i want something similar to Boost Trilogy Eggman but with a bit more emphasis on both sides (and obviously more screentime): he can be humorous but he still needs to be a tyrant who has conquered the world. And obviously, all of his without the schizophrenia that Lost World's Eggman had.
The closest i can think is Boom's Eggman, but with a bit more seriousness to it, just a bit more.

[NikoS]

can we get something like this? pleease..

unleashed!Eggman can be developed into this Eggman, give him more screentime and the right story

also, Eggman as the final boss, let him overthrow infinite, or when Infinite tries (if he tries) to betray Eggman, the two fight and Eggman beats him or something, anything, just let Eggman be the final boss, let the Doctor shine this time

[Sega DogTagz]

Yeah. Something like that.

Despite his over the top comedic antics, Boom Eggman in the Show (and most of the comics) seems to be dead on about the level off Evil he attempts to attain. On top of his usual ambitions about destroying Sonic and ruling with an Iron fist, he also sweats the little things. He's insecure. Always worried how he is viewed by the people around him. He is detail oriented, never letting any opportunity to slight the masses go to waste.

Its not just that he is evil. He understands the "game" that goes around being evil. He's dynamic. He's flexible. Thats Eggman's strength as a character.

 

... and speaking of the "game" within the game, no Eggy did that better than this one,

Its a dang shame the Archie comics arn't around anymore. This version of Eggy was soooooooo gud. I can only hope Forces has the Doctor leveraging something against Infinite to bend him to his agenda. Archie Eggman was all about getting people to bend to his will, even strong personalities. He always had the Master Plan going and he knew that people hated working for him and were waiting to back stab him. He just used that against them. That's just so deliciously EVIL!

 

So to answer the OP, give me an Archie Eggman with Boom Eggman's comedic range and insecurities and I think I'd be a happy little bugger.

 

[Dr. Mechano]

Let me put it this way; I want him to be merciless to Sonic and the resistance, but I actually want him to be fair to his empire's citizens.

Eggman doesn't strike me as the type to be needlessly cruel and hurtful to people who obey his commands, so I hope we actually get to see that life under the Eggman Empire is - while restrictive in terms of certain freedoms - not ridiculously unbearable or torturous. The Eggman Empire will have a lot more statues of our dear doctor about, and more Badniks patrolling every street corner, and of course citizens who are bound by law to obey their leader's every command... But I don't see Eggman as the sort to use that power just to ruin peoples' lives. He's doing this to build himself up, not to tear others down.

Of course, if you rebel against his rule and try to topple him, then the kid gloves are off. I want to see Eggman go no-holds-barred against those who would dare defy him, and pull zero punches with the resistance. Which, really, is the mark of an effective dictator; Keep your subjects comfortable enough that they stand to have something to lose for standing up to you. If Eggman makes everyone unbearably miserable, he's just creating more rebels; You've gotta be pragmatic enough to make your populace scared of defying you, and that means making their lives - even under your rule - worth preserving.

[Diogenes]

I want to see Eggman eat a baby, only then will I be able to take this series seriously.

Seriously though, Eggman's kind of a goof. A dangerous, destructive goof, but a goof nonetheless. You worry too much about him being evil enough you start to lose what makes him such a fun character.

[Teoskaven]

23 minutes ago, NikoS said:

also, Eggman as the final boss, let him overthrow infinite, or when Infinite tries (if he tries) to betray Eggman, the two fight and Eggman beats him or something, anything, just let Eggman be the final boss, let the Doctor shine this time

Be careful what you wish for: Lost World kinda did that, but the execution was questionable to say the least.

[sonicdudeatdawn]

1 minute ago, Teoskaven said:

Be careful what you wish for: Lost World kinda did that, but the execution was questionable to say the least.

 

Spoiler

the zeti unceremoniously died and eggman had a jet pack somewhere.

 

[SatAMhog]

I want to be on the level of Sonic Adventure 2 Eggman at least...using his brains to his advantage.  He basically almost outright killed Sonic The Hedgehog in that game but there was still a level of respect between the two.  At the same time, I do want him to be all out evil...he's taken over the world, so he should have confidence levels equaling that or near SatAM Robotnik/Eggman's...he's transformed the land just like in SatAM(Green Hill's a freakin' desert now!) and has basically already won.  They probably looked at SatAM for inspiration because this game has a lot of elements from SatAM in it...the Resistance vs Robotnik/Eggman's Empire.  I really hope the final battle is epic.

[JezMM]

I want to see the same Eggman we saw in Lost World, Colours and Unleashed... because we've never got to see THAT fantastically written Eggman get as far as he does this time.  This is new ground for him, and I want to see how the Eggman I love acts in such a position.  We saw a taste of his more merciless side when he punched out the communications screen in Frozen Factory.  I don't want to see them squander the great position his character is in currently - making him be a usual bumbling fool or irredeemably evil would both be bad here.

I just want to see that same person in this advanced position of power, as well as what happens as it's gradually threatened to be taken away from them.

[Whatever the WhoCares]

Very evil, within the bounds of E10+. I want this Eggman to do things that make the audience wonder, "Holy shit, did he just kill people right there?" But I don't want him to kill innocents out of malice, just when he deems necessary to advance his goals. 

[Dr. Mechano]

17 minutes ago, Whatever the WhoCares said:

Very evil, within the bounds of E10+. I want this Eggman to do things that make the audience wonder, "Holy shit, did he just kill people right there?" But I don't want him to kill innocents out of malice, just when he deems necessary to advance his goals. 

Yeah, that's fine. Killing some disposable resistance redshirts is acceptable. Killing obedient civilians just for kicks isn't.

I do think Eggman's the sort who wouldn't harm his loyal subjects, but would absolutely crush whoever tried to undo his rule.

[Meta77]

I want to see him burn citys and not give a damn about it. Though im sure many like the goofyness of eggman but every now and again id love to just see a pure evil eggman. 06 was the best. And as usual sega will never show anyone daying but you have a madaman literally attack a festival with missiles and "NOONE"? Dies from that? but i would not mind a slight goofy side or at least a casual joke here and there but no overally goofy cause then wheres the threat?

[Dr. Mechano]

Just now, Meta77 said:

I want to see him burn citys and not give a damn about it. 

But why would he do that?

They're his cities now. You're saying Eggman should burn his own stuff.

[Meta77]

1 minute ago, Dr. Mechano said:

But why would he do that?

They're his cities now. You're saying Eggman should burn his own stuff.

*hes attacking a city in the e3 demo* Not all the world is his. Just nearly all off it like what is it 1% left? Burn those down. The rest just rule with a iron fist and threaten to dispose of the resistance with no mercy.

[Dr. Mechano]

3 minutes ago, Meta77 said:

*hes attacking a city in the e3 demo* Not all the world is his. Just nearly all off it like what is it 1% left? Burn those down. The rest just rule with a iron fist and threaten to dispose of the resistance with no mercy.

Well, okay, that's fine.

Cities of the empire get Eggman statues, Eggmobile public transport, Badniks patrolling every street, and frequent TV broadcasts of their brilliant mustachioed leader! Cities outside of the empire get explosively removed to set an example of what happens when you defy Eggman's rule. Fair enough.

[Sega DogTagz]

2 minutes ago, Meta77 said:

but no overally goofy cause then wheres the threat?

But that just shoots a big part of his character right in the foot.

Eggman is as much an egotistical ham as Sonic is. I fully expect him to revel in his domination of the world. I'd be disappointed if I didn't see him forcing citizens to build him monuments. I'd be disappointed if I didn't see him make some  "adjustments" to Mt. Rushmore so they all look like him. Daily parades in his honor? Eggman theme'd merch lining the streets? Eggmanland North slated for construction in 2018, following the opening of Eggmanland West in 2017? -- All that is stuff that Eggman the goof would be right at home in. Stuff we'd miss out on if we try to make Eggman's chief priority to be threatening above all else.

Eggman's best quality is that he has range. He can be that threat when he needs to be. The same guy who plasters his face on amusement parks and builds some of the most adorable little killing machines is the same guy who is willing to fire a nuke into station square or split the planet apart so he can get at what is inside. The guy who monologues with bad puns and references is the same dude who won't hesitate to play with WMD's capable of clearing out star-fields.

The threat is always there. When used appropriately, its even better when placed in contrast with his usual Egg-centric behavior.

[Dr. Mechano]

Yeah, goofiness and evil are not mutually exclusive.

Eggman can easily be an intimidating, threatening villain while still being funny and over the top. Downplaying Eggman's hammy, egotistical charm robs him of what makes him him.

[Blue Blood]

I don't see Eggman as a ruthless killing machine that's happy to burn down cities to "clear out the resistance". He's an ego-maniac that loves himself more than anything else. He's always has an affinity for amusement parks, casinos and anything else where he can emblazone his face. And all of his creations are either in his own image or colourfully modelled after animals. If he's going to tear anything down, it's only so that he can make another monument to himself.

I'm falling out of favour with what we've seen of Eggman's supposed rule in Forces. He's destroying Park Avenue/City Heights and he's desertified Green Hill. But take away the Death Egg Robos and none of it looks like it has anything to do with him. Where's his personality gone? Eggman is supposed to be hammy, childish even.

[Diogenes]

13 minutes ago, Meta77 said:

but i would not mind a slight goofy side or at least a casual joke here and there but no overally goofy cause then wheres the threat?

The threat is that he's a short-tempered narcissistic dictator with a genius level IQ and an army of robots.

5 minutes ago, Blue Blood said:

I'm falling out of favour with what we've seen of Eggman's supposed rule in Forces. He's destroying Park Avenue/City Heights and he's desertified Green Hill. But take away the Death Egg Robos and none of it looks like it has anything to do with him. Where's his personality gone? Eggman is supposed to be hammy, childish even.

Yes, this absolutely. This is about the dullest that Eggman-controlled territory has ever looked. Even the robots are boring.

[Meta77]

Sonic Adventure: He tries to bomb a city for losing and unleasehes a water god that floods a entire city possibly killing hundreds

SA2: He blows up a island with people on it and blows up half the moons just to prove he can do it

Unleashed: Blows the earth into pieces, creating global destruction and loses his cool when fighting sonic in the egg dragoon enough so that even sonic calls him out for losing it

06: bombs a entire festival just to ask for one of the emeralds

chronicles: blows sonic and the gang out of the sky after taking over the world

Eggman was goofy to some extent in some of those games but not overly silly. Yea he likes to show his face off on statues but hes not above offing someone if he has to. Having a short temper is not a threat. Acting on those impulses is what makes someone a threat. If a short temper was enough to consider someone a threat id be calling the police everyday to check out my coworker yelling in his cubical.

[Blue Blood]

Adventure: Chaos specifically did what Eggman didn't want him to do. As for bombing Station Square, it was one cartoon missile so that he could build Robotnikland.

Adventure 2: The game dealt with government conspiracies and cover-ups, and saw Eggman pulling a gun on Amy. Not some silly Egg-o-Something, just a gun. And he was pleased with himself for "killing" Sonic. It wasn't good on this front.

Unleashed: Look at how Unleashed plays it - nobody was hurt. The biggest concern was that some dude was stuck in Spagonia when he had a business meeting in Empire City. And why did he up the world? To make Eggmanland, the ultimate theme park. The world being in pieces was played down to being an inconvenience to the world and not a state of crisis. Great show of his power and capabilities, still in line with his character (and general Sonic tone).

06: lol 06 as an example 

Chronicles: We don't know what he took over and of course he's going to shoot down Sonic spaceship when he gets the chance. The team would most likely emerge unharmed. It wouldn't be the first time he shot them out of the sky either.