So what exactly makes Dr. Eggman special?

[FourCartridge]

So Sonic is/was loaded with shonen tropes out the wazoo. Superpowers, alternate forms, some light butt rock, you name it. But instead of the baddies being a super warrior of ultimate darkness commonly seen you have.. Dr. Eggman. He's just an evil scientist who despoils nature. He's kind of a manchild and rather goofy. His only "superpower" is an IQ of 300 (which isn't even that great in the grand scheme of fiction)!

Yet he's still here. He has enough charisma to get his own butt rock, let alone rapping stage music. His mechs are punching bags comparative to the cast yet most boss fights are still the doctor stepping into the fight himself for the umpteenth time. Looking at the other villains of fiction it seems no other place would have let someone like Eggman thrive; he'd have been disposed of in other series like Mega Man for a new flavor of Big Baddie but SEGA still acts as if he is Public Enemy #1. Even more so in the newer games!

An obvious peanut gallery quip would be that they keep him around as a relic of the classics... I struggle to imagine how anyone would replace Dr Eggman though. With what? Find it hard to picture Sonic having the same spark without his first enemy around. Apparently enough people feel the same that the series still revolves around the same conflict for 29 years (and the ones that don't are in the minority).

Personally, I'm drawn into him because of the "I did everything myself" aspect that almost colors his entire personality but it seems pretty unnoticed in all the discussions I've read about him. Is Dr. Eggman really that special/unique/magnetic as a bad guy to the audience?

 

Come on, there has to be somebody who can put the sentiment into words.

[batson]

Eggman is a pretty standard "evil scientist" and "comedic villain" type character, similar to many others that came both before and after him. He has a recognizable and iconic design though, and his basic "turning animals into robots" gimmick is actually very unique.

[MetalSkulkBane]

That is surprisingly good question. What is Eggman's je ne sais quoi?

There are many Dr Cortez, Willy, Nefarious, Doofenshmirtz, Draken, Megamind, Gru, etc etc etc. What makes Eggman so special? Just seniority, because he's (probably) oldest 'funny evil scientist' that became popular? Or is there something more? Some mention his mix  of funny and serious, but that can't be this easy. I definitely like it, but look at Hesse cartoons. No seriousness here.

I think this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dy2zB8bLSpk

It all comes down to showman-style. Eggman and guys above are comedic villains. And some of them can be surprisingly competent. But they can't OWN being a villain as good as Eggman. They can't make a show, they lack pizzazz. Yes the clip I showed is from Megamind (great movie), but dude had "'reformation in 10'' clock above his head for whole movie. Eggman is bad and he has FUN being bad. This is something even older cartoons got right about him.

Let's face it, 'style' is what makes or breaks villain. If you ever read 60s comics book then you realize most villains had the same personality or even powers, but those with 'style' survived test of time. "Style" is what turns 2-dimensional Disney villains, into lovable icons who get their own movies (ugh).

Plus, he's just amazing foil to Sonic. I love Metal Sonic, Chaos or Mephiles, but they don't have the same fun chemistry with Sonic. And that makes for way more appealing rivalry than "Ridley killed Samus parents" or ""Champion of Hyrule will forever reincarnate to stab pig wizard".

[DabigRG]

It really is kinda amazing to realize that Eggman is halfway between being a relic of older times and yet sticking it out despite society often seeking the next big thing. I mean hell, he's a goofy megalomaniacal roboticist modeled after Theodore Roosevelt in a series that largely defines itself by being a cool action-adventure spectacle about the freedom to do you.

I think you can break what makes him so iconic in the first place into a couple of things:

1. Foundation. He was there since the beginning of it all and apparently well before that, as he and Sonic apparently met in the past and the first game is just a quintessential episode in their long conflict. And beyond that, Eggman established himself as the perfect antagonist for everything Sonic is: be the nature vs technology theme, his desire to rule the world whereas Sonic can't stand oppression, to being a human who uses his inventions to personally go toe to toe with the supersonic hedgehog, all while sharing a similar level of determination and self-confidence.
2. Presentation. While obviously being a scientist out for world domination, Eggman is also an egotist out to build an Empire dedicated to his genius and almost everything he creates will make sure you remember him. The other villains may have raw ultimate power and a place in history for simply being, but the majority of them don't have the cunning, the persistence, and the trademarking personally brought to light by the hands of a genius. And even when his brilliance leaves room for doubt and his threat level often gives way to the buffoon he appears to be, that self-aggrandizement is a reflection that is just so him.
3. Consistency. Now admittedly, this is something most archenemies are expected if not required to have, but Eggman's ability to do so is practically a part of the natural balance of things. There have been a large number of threats within Sonic's World over the course of the series, but a vast majority of them have been sponsored or often freed by Eggman Enterprises. Even when he loses or in a few cases never had control of a situation, you can bet he's still gonna be there trying to ring the force to his advantage. And when they inevitably strike out on their own, he's still gonna be able to recover where they simply crash and burn.
4. Personability. This is something that may or may not have a controversial aura around it due to what it often accompanies, but one thing that really sticks out about the doctor is his charming affability. Though he is mostly a controlling jerk trying near anything to subjugate a planet, he is often a practical gentleman who is willing to occasionally chat with his enemies, work with them to protect the planet from that who would destroy it, and in a few occasions, shows hints of a sentimental side that humanizes him. It is likely this quality, as well as his refusal to give up and laughability, that likely maintained or even grew his standing during his eras of seeming decay.

[Diogenes]

Style's definitely a part of it, but I also think Eggman is the character that tends to feel the most "real". Not realistic, exactly, and not super nuanced or deep or anything, but like he's capable of the full range of human emotions and not as stuck in his archetype as most of the other characters. The composed, confident supervillain and the fuming, tantrum-throwing manchild are both equally "Eggman", and rather than being inconsistent they're two sides to the same whole; Eggman as he sees himself and Eggman as he is under pressure. The series has had more evil villains and more powerful villains, but they always come off as flat because they're more concerned with impressing us with how evil and powerful they are than with making them feel like actual people. Eggman's allowed to be weird and uncool, and it humanizes him.

[thumbs13]

10 hours ago, FourCartridge said:

Looking at the other villains of fiction it seems no other place would have let someone like Eggman thrive; he'd have been disposed of in other series like Mega Man for a new flavor of Big Baddie but SEGA still acts as if he is Public Enemy #1. Even more so in the newer games!

 

This is a weird comparison. The twist in literally every Mega Man game is "you thought it was someone else, but it was me, Dr. Wily!"

[DabigRG]

6 hours ago, thumbs13 said:

This is a weird comparison. The twist in literally every Mega Man game is "you thought it was someone else, but it was me, Dr. Wily!"

I'm guessing he's referring to both the entertainment of another villain and most of the spinoff series.

[A super No.1 washedupgamer]

Jim Carrey said it best:

 

[Natie]

Sonic represents total untamed freedom, Eggman represents total oppressive control. They're both the same amount of stubborn and headstrong about their philosophies, so they compliment eachother perfectly. It's why the shonen ultimate super beings never worked as well.

Plus, Eggman's a funny and entertaining guy.