Who are the best villains in the franchise?

[ClassicKnuckles]

Also, Metal Sonic is awesome, especially Metal Sonic Kai from Knuckles' Chaotix.

[MetalSkulkBane]

If we're measuring villains based on victories, then Dark Enerjack beats everybody. Rulling the world for years, with bloody wall of trophies.

Spoiler

Might as well list best villains from comics now.

(I was gonna do cartoons, but honestly, they all range from 'just okay' to 'completely forgetable')

Fleetway Comics had many okay villains, but two easily stand out: Brotherhood of Metallix (turning Metal into Daleks is fun spin) and Super Sonic (another fun twist, great idea how to "nerf" Super Sonic)

Dark Enerjack above had simply awesome desgin. He wasn't really deep, but all he meant to be was  stupidly powerfull foe, and he did that job splendidly.

Dr Finitevus had cool design and powers, but considering his limited apperances he never reach his full potential IMHO.

Scourge on other hand rulled the comic for a while. I risk repeating myself, but sometimes style is all it takes to make a good villains. Yes "evil conterpart" is old song, but Scourge just brims with personality. The way he keeps his crown from falling, because he's so vain. The way he kicked Metal in a croth, because instinctively he tries to fight dirty. He was just fun to have on screen.

Eclipse was easily best villain in Reboot ( not counting Egg Bosses, Clove never really played villain in any story). I'm still flabbergasted that someone made me feel bad to Black Arm. His return only pushed it forward by basically making him a single father.

Captain Metal was fun. "Metal Sonic as a pirate". It's not deep or mind-breking, just simple minded pure fun.

Phage had potential, but I feel she needed more screen time. I liked many Egg Bosses, but more as 'characters' than 'villain' if you get way I mean. Naugus was sorta typical  evil wizard and Moggul... honestly I never liked him that much. He just kept pulling new powers from his huge ass, anytime it was conviniet for a plot.

Lien-Da was fun horrible person to have around. She never played a main role, but it kinda fitted her.

[DabigRG]

So really thinking about why a small section of villains are able to easily recur more than others, this potentially/tangentally base-breaking question came to mind: Does anyone really like The Biolizard?

[andrewtuell1991]

2 hours ago, DabigRG said:

Does anyone really like The Biolizard?

I don't.

1.)  How the hell is a room-sized lizard with a huge life-support system on its back the prototype of a 3-foot tall hedgehog?

2.)  Of all the monster-of-the-week, giant kaiju monsters of the Adventure/pre-Colors era, Biolizard has the least amount of build up practically coming out of nowhere at the end.  I don't have any proof, but it wouldn't surprise me if Shadow was the original intended Final Boss of SA2, but replaced at the last minute once Sega realized his marketing potential.

3.)  All the other monsters-of-the-week from this era at least had an interesting series of transformations / second form.  Biolizard's second form (the Final Hazard) a.) has a lame name, b.) is just the Biolizard with the ARK's nose shoved up its ass.  Wonderful.

[Splash the Otter]

Here are my top 5 villains in descending order:

1. Infinite - Without a doubt the best villain this series has had in years. I honestly didn't expect to like him at first, but I do! He's stylish, has a cool theme song and subverts everything you might expect from a Monster of the Week. I want to see more of him in the future.
2. Zavok - This guy had a lot of potential, which was sadly wasted. I think Lost World would have been better if he commanded an army of evil yokai instead of hijacking Eggman's tech.
3. Geoffrey - Technically he's only a bad guy by virtue of working for Naugus, but whatever. I think he's cool. Also he's a skunk, and you know how much I love skunks!
4. Fang - Here's an example of comic relief done right. Fang is a criminal, but his incompetence makes him sympathetic. He has a purpose beyond being funny though, namely getting in the player's way, or in one case potentially saving the world. Compare this with Orbot and Cubot, who only exist to make jokes and come off as annoying more than anything else.
5. Chaos - I know including him here is a stretch, but he was the main antagonist of SA1, my favorite game in the series!

[DabigRG]

7 hours ago, andrewtuell1991 said:

I don't.

Okay, just testing the waters and proving a point.

7 hours ago, andrewtuell1991 said:

1.)  How the hell is a room-sized lizard with a huge life-support system on its back the prototype of a 3-foot tall hedgehog?

I believe it had something to do with the fact that lizards can regenerate, thus making them a logical choice for the Ultimate Lifeform's actual purpose in Gerald's eyes.

7 hours ago, andrewtuell1991 said:

2.)  Of all the monster-of-the-week, giant kaiju monsters of the Adventure/pre-Colors era, Biolizard has the least amount of build up practically coming out of nowhere at the end.  I don't have any proof, but it wouldn't surprise me if Shadow was the original intended Final Boss of SA2, but replaced at the last minute once Sega realized his marketing potential.

Actually, it was on the newspaper Rouge used to take Shadow down a peg.

[BaronGrackle]

I have a soft(boiled) spot in my heart for the Hardboiled Heavies. I really enjoyed the way S&K took an ordinary Eggrobo badnik and made him into nemesis material. He even reappeared in Sonic R. I consider the Heavies to be a satisfying progression of his potential.

I also find myself trying to guess which animal friend is trapped inside each. Heavy Magician is probably a Pocky rabbit. Heavy Shinobi is likely a Pecky penguin... an emperor penguin.

[superman43]

42 minutes ago, BaronGrackle said:

I have a soft(boiled) spot in my heart for the Hardboiled Heavies. I really enjoyed the way S&K took an ordinary Eggrobo badnik and made him into nemesis material. He even reappeared in Sonic R. I consider the Heavies to be a satisfying progression of his potential.

I also find myself trying to guess which animal friend is trapped inside each. Heavy Magician is probably a Pocky rabbit. Heavy Shinobi is likely a Pecky penguin... an emperor penguin.

I wonder whether the Eggrobo as Knuckles´ boss in S(3)&K eventually became Heavy King ? It would be nice touch if it was canon. (Yeah, I know he was destroyed by Mecha Sonic, but still Eggman could repair that particular Eggrobo )

[BaronGrackle]

6 minutes ago, superman43 said:

I wonder whether the Eggrobo as Knuckles´ boss in S(3)&K eventually became Heavy King ? It would be nice touch if it was canon. (Yeah, I know he was destroyed by Mecha Sonic, but still Eggman could repair that particular Eggrobo )

It bothered me that we never saw an animal pop out of him.

The way I see it, before the Phantom Ruby "loosened their screws", the Eggrobos were all the same as each other. So maybe the Eggrobo in S&K wasn't the same as the one in (for example) Sonic R, but they had the same A.I. so it'd kinda be like sticking the same brain in a different body.

Or maybe not. The single Eggrobo in S&K probably paved the way for Gamma as a character later on.

[DabigRG]

1 hour ago, BaronGrackle said:

Or maybe not. The single Eggrobo in S&K probably paved the way for Gamma as a character later on.

Funny you say that.

 

[Diogenes]

16 hours ago, andrewtuell1991 said:

1.)  How the hell is a room-sized lizard with a huge life-support system on its back the prototype of a 3-foot tall hedgehog?

Well, it wasn't the prototype for Shadow himself, but a prototype "ultimate life form". Gerald was, presumably, trying to amplify and improve upon the lizard's natural regeneration, but it ended up huge and unhealthy to the point of needing an external life support system so he declared it a failure, boxed it up, and started anew.

[BaronGrackle]

1 hour ago, DabigRG said:

Funny you say that.

I did not even know that. Eggrobo. E-Series. Now I know what the "E" stands for.

I want one for my avatar in the next game.

[ClassicKnuckles]

Here's my new top 7 villains list... (in no particular order)

1. Chaos

2. The Biolizard

3. Infinite

4. Mephiles

5. Robotnik

6. Team Hooligan

7. Metal Sonic (Kai)

1 hour ago, Diogenes said:

Well, it wasn't the prototype for Shadow himself, but a prototype "ultimate life form". Gerald was, presumably, trying to amplify and improve upon the lizard's natural regeneration, but it ended up huge and unhealthy to the point of needing an external life support system so he declared it a failure, boxed it up, and started anew.

I always thought he was going off of lizard's ability to regenerate themselves, and then realized how powerful and uncontrollable it actually was, and upon discovering the Super Sonic mural (circa S&K), thought that a hedgehog must be the ultimate life form. (I also assumed that the mural was copied a lot, due to it's importance.)

[Razule]

17 minutes ago, ClassicKnuckles said:

I always thought he was going off of lizard's ability to regenerate themselves, and then realized how powerful and uncontrollable it actually was, and upon discovering the Super Sonic mural (circa S&K), thought that a hedgehog must be the ultimate life form. (I also assumed that the mural was copied a lot, due to it's importance.)

A common headcanon, but a headcanon nonetheless

[Fire-N-Space]

Zeena and Zavok are the best ones really.

Zeena is cute, sassy, and full of her self she was the best part of Lost World like when she only started to fight when she got a complement then sashays away.

Zavok really knows how to read a situation and use it to his advantage.

[DabigRG]

5 hours ago, Fire-N-Space said:

Zeena and Zavok are the best ones really.

Zeena is cute, sassy, and full of her self she was the best part of Lost World like when she only started to fight when she got a complement then sashays away.

Zavok really knows how to read a situation and use it to his advantage.

Zavok, yes. Zeena--ahHAhahahaha!

[Eurisko]

Dr Eggman and Metal Sonic for shear longevity and I really liked  Mephiles for his look and he's the only one to have killed Sonic..... or did he?

[Fire-N-Space]

38 minutes ago, DabigRG said:

Zavok, yes. Zeena--ahHAhahahaha!

Woman can fight to...

[DabigRG]

28 minutes ago, Fire-N-Space said:

Woman can fight to...

I know.

I'm just making fun of how she doesn't really do much of anything villainous herself, in part because she doesn't seem to wanna do anything besides preen. Also, she's easily among my least favorite characters in this franchise.

[Splash the Otter]

17 minutes ago, Fire-N-Space said:

Woman can fight to...

That isn't the issue here. Merlina's a woman, and people like her because she's a well-written character with an interesting motive. Zeena (like all of the Deadly Six minus Zavok) is a flat character defined by a single trait, in this case her vanity.

[Fire-N-Space]

Just now, ElectroKyurem said:

That isn't the issue here. Merlina's a woman, and people like her because she's a well-written character with an interesting motive. Zeena (like all of the Deadly Six minus Zavok) is a flat character defined by a single trait, in this case her vanity.

Most characters are defined by a single trait Sonic with running, Tails with machines and Knuckles is hot headed but Zeena and the others were only in one game, still being well written what else would she have done to not be defined by a single trait.

Just now, DabigRG said:

I know.

I'm just making fun of how she doesn't really do much of anything villainous herself, in part because she doesn't seem to wanna do anything besides preen. Also, she's easily among my least favorite characters in this franchise.

She's one of my favorite characters and she's a villain so that's why I'm talking about her.  

[Splash the Otter]

51 minutes ago, Fire-N-Space said:

Most characters are defined by a single trait Sonic with running, Tails with machines and Knuckles is hot headed

All three of these characters have more than one trait to define them. Sonic likes traveling and is a thrill-seeker with a heroic streak. Tails has potential to surpass Sonic, but is held back by confidence issues. Knuckles is a shaman with a connection to the Chaos Emeralds, as well as being an accomplished treasure hunter.

51 minutes ago, Fire-N-Space said:

but Zeena and the others were only in one game,

Not really an excuse, seeing how there are plenty of oneshot characters with better writing.

51 minutes ago, Fire-N-Space said:

still being well written what else would she have done to not be defined by a single trait.

I don't know, but an attempt could have been made.

 

[MetalSkulkBane]

...yeah. I know that Deadly Six have some fans, but I'm not one of them. Definitely not Zeena's fan. She's not funny or likable like Eggman, cruel or 'hateable' like Mephiles, cool like Metal, not very competent.

Also, one thing stops me from getting my sleep (outside for upcoming exams :/): do Zeti wear clothes? Master Zik seems to have a robe, but that would mean they all wear ridiculous pants and Zeena is topless.

Or she's wearing something made of silk spiderweb

 

Spoiler

 

[Meta77]

Zeenas redeeming quality is she gets a lot of ahem nice fan art

[Fire-N-Space]

Just now, ElectroKyurem said:

All three of these characters have more than one trait to define them. Sonic likes traveling and is a thrill-seeker with a heroic streak. Tails has potential to surpass Sonic, but is held back by confidence issues. Knuckles is a shaman with a connection to the Chaos Emeralds, as well as being an accomplished treasure hunter.

Not really an excuse, seeing how there are plenty of oneshot characters with better writing.

I don't know, but an attempt could have been made.

 

Zeena is sassy, loves fashion, a unknown creature and adores compliments.

Other one shots don't feel like they have better writing then Zeena.