Would Eggman really be happy if Sonic was taken out of the picture?

[Frozen Nitrogen]

Since when are "friendly villains" a cliche? The only "friendly villains" I've ever seen are no more than comic relief.

You're claiming game Eggman is anything but comic relief by this point?

Even SA-55 laughs at him.

If you mean "villains-turned-rivals" then I might see where you're coming from, but I think it's a better alternative than the overplayed "puppy-kicking-douchebag-tries-to-take-over-the-world-without-any-clear-background-or-ulterior-motive" cliche.

THen you think wrong!

[Phos]

Yeah, all too frequently it seems like Eggman is essentially irrelevant to plot past releasing something else. In Adventure 2, he was basically a pawn the whole game. I'm not even sure freeing Shadow was technically his own decision. In Heroes, he forgot the threads to the doorknob of that one closet were stripped, in Shadow, he does something that no one cares about (and has a machine that destroys itself), in Sonic 06, he capture Elise repeatedly because she was basically as dumb as a box of rocks. Unleashed is probably the worse of them all. He seems like more of a danger to himself than others, utterly failing at every turn to the point where his temporary success during the intro seems out of character. He didn't really know how to revive Dark Gaia, failed to menace a tribal village (He needs to learn a thing or two from Spain, circa the 1500's), failed to really slow Sonic down. Chip and his "But you need more medals" slowed Sonic down more than Eggman. I know someone's going to bring up how he was able to build Eggmanland, Eggman land was built off screen, served no discernible purpose, and fell apart mostly on its own. It's come to the point where the easiest way to stop him would probably be to just ignore him until he goes away.

And even Dio Brando has a motive, and he's just about the most evil villain ever. Even AoStH Rrrrrrobotnik was more threatening than the Eggman of late.

[SuperStingray]

You're claiming game Eggman is anything but comic relief by this point?

Even SA-55 laughs at him.

Dude, he managed to trick Sonic into becoming a laser battery. He's split the world into seven pieces. (the latter of which he did twice if you count Sonic Advance 3.) He built a cannon that can destroy multitudes of stars in a single blast. Yes, he does have a humorous side, occassionally acts goofy and, like any villain, has to fail at some point, but he's still pretty damn credible. Okay, except in Heroes and maybe Shadow.

Edited July 22, 2010 by SuperStingray

[Saint Nathan]

You're claiming game Eggman is anything but comic relief by this point?

Even SA-55 laughs at him.

SA-55

SA55

SASS

sass

The robot who is just about named sass... shouldn't be sassy?

wat

also didn't you just say eggman wasn't a nice guy?

[Frozen Nitrogen]

The robot who is just about named sass... shouldn't be sassy?

wat

This would be a legitimate point if not for the fact that Eggman is comic relief to everyone else as well as SA-55. Watch ye some ShtH ending sequence.

also didn't you just say eggman wasn't a nice guy?

Do you think mass forced robotization and wide-spectrum ecocide is nice?

[Saint Nathan]

This would be a legitimate point if not for the fact that Eggman is comic relief to everyone else as well as SA-55. Watch ye some ShtH ending sequence.

Eggman was taken a little too seriously in ShTH, Shadow went out of his way to kill him in every ending other than the last story, when Knuckles chased him around and that was kinda funny. Everyone in Sonic games is comic relief except Sonic and Tails.

Do you think mass forced robotization and wide-spectrum ecocide is nice?

No, and it certainly doesn't make for good comic relief.

[SuperStingray]

Everyone in Sonic games is comic relief except Sonic and Tails.

Even Sonic himself has a tendancy to fall on his face alot.

[BlazingTales]

Even Sonic himself has a tendancy to fall on his face alot.

Tails has also had his captain-obvious-stop-it-knuckles-super-geek moments.

[edge.]

I doubt it cause that means they would have nothing to do with their daily lives if either one is taken out of the picture. [sarcasm]Yes, taking over the world is nothing.[/sarcasm]

[Glenn]

I love these kind of questions, because you can apply them to anything. I mean, what would Luke Skywalker be without Darth Vader (don't say "not born", you know what I mean)? A teenager with a glowstick obsession, that's what. What would Batman be without the Joker? A billionaire in a pointy gimp suit. Sonic without Eggman? A bored, blue hedgehog. And we'd never even have heard of him, as he'd have no point whatsoever.

Sonic is a hero and heroes are defined by their heroism in the face of adversity. Sonic is who he is because he fights against Dr. Eggman all the time. Okay, all the other characters, etc. etc. but I think the overall concept of the question is more general. With Eggman gone, Sonic would just be a normal drifter doing his own thing. It'd be boring, and certainly not worth making a videogame about... so we'd never have met Sonic back in 1991. We did, and we followed him, BECAUSE a certain nutter with an egg fetish and broken facial hair invaded South Island and turned all the happy animals there into evil toasters. And because Sonic is a hero, he had to stop it. Birth of the hero.

If Sonic finally defeated Eggman, he'd get bored quickly (as was already mentioned, Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood proved this). Likewise if Eggman took over the world and killed Sonic, he'd rule with an iron fist but even dictators need something to do with their time. Stalin got paranoid and murdered half his own party. Hitler expanded too quickly for his own good. Pol Pot... well, you get the picture. Eggman would self-destruct.

[-Mark-]

You know what? I'm gonna throw it out there and say it (if it hasn't been already)- to be honest, at heart, I actually feel as though Sonic and Eggman are friends.

Yeah, I went there.

Okay, yes, they're 'enemies', but there's definitely a subsurface friendship and respect somewhere in there, and it isn't buried too deeply, either.

[Frozen Nitrogen]

You know what? I'm gonna throw it out there and say it (if it hasn't been already)- to be honest, at heart, I actually feel as though Sonic and Eggman are friends.

You do know what friendship means, don't you Mahzes?

Definitions rarely include multiple counts of attempted murder.

[Glenn]

You do know what friendship means, don't you Mahzes?

Definitions rarely include multiple counts of attempted murder.

Do remember, Mahzes is a huge Naruto fan... Naruto and Sasuke are "friends" too.

[-Mark-]

You do know what friendship means, don't you Mahzes?

Definitions rarely include multiple counts of attempted murder.

Sorry, admittedly I am basing a lot of that statement on a particular episode of Sonic X. Can't remember the exact number, but Eggman basically disguises his own ship as Sonic's, and gets attacked head on and takes a right royal kicking in his place, in order for Sonic to escape. Eggman had caught on that the enemy was planning on blowing the living shit out of Sonic and killing him as he tried to leave the planet, so he left disguised as Sonic and took the attack in Sonic's place.

Yeah, I know, different continuity and lots of people hate Sonic X, but that episode really stood out, to me.

Also, how many times has Eggman seriously, genuinely tried to kill Sonic in earnest? Very few, really. Also, how many times have they ended up working together against a greater evil (because let's face it, Eggman isn't exactly uber-serious villain material, unless you're talking SatAM)? Quite a few.

I still say there's definitely some semblance of friendship in there.

Edited July 23, 2010 by Mahzes

[Octarine]

Also, how many times has Eggman seriously, genuinely tried to kill Sonic in earnest?

Well, he does regularly fire bullets and lasers at the guy. I know he must have a good appreciation for Sonic's skill at avoiding that sort of thing, but he surely must realize on some level that guns are dangerous.

...I do prefer a friendlier interpretation of Sonic and Eggman's relationship, though. As kind of a side note, one thing I really like about them is that, unlike in a few other continuities, the Sonic and Eggman of the games rarely insult each other. Sure, you'll get the occasional snipe, but Sonic never goes around calling Eggman "Buttnik" or anything. It helps Eggman maintain a certain dignity despite being a much more comical villain than SatAM's Robotnik, and I think that works out for the better.

[SuperStingray]

I just think Eggman must have a certain degree of admiration for him considering how many robots he's made in the hedgehog's image. Granted, all the ones here aren't from the same canon, but if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, just one of them is enough to show Robotnik's interest in his nemesis.