Sonic characters and age

[edge.]

On the subject of Eggman, I always thought that he was in his early forties, just because that's what he looked like to me. Bald head, pot belly, big mustache, that's what a lot of men in my city look like in their 40s, just not as exaggerated as Eggman.

[ThatGuyJay]

The only issue I have with the age thing is they never grow older, like in Generations will he being going back in time a year ago, it just always seemed strange.

But besides that I have no issues with the ages, I don't think it's neccessary but it's not like it ruins anything

[SchemingMinor]

There has never been any proof, hard evidence or direct statement about Eggman knowing his grandfather when he was alive - all that is speculation and I'm going to put that to rest.

However Male Pattern Baldness (a point I have clearly brought up in many past Eggman age debate topics) can even start out in the late twenties. The lack of Eggman's eyebrows nevertheless throws me off and the man could have Alopecia totalis or MPB (however Alopecia areata multilocularis could explain why he has a moustache but no hair on his scalp and brows) and indicates he might be even younger than people think.

Also you have to take into account Robotnik genetics - Ivo is a spitting image of Gerald, therefore he is bound to look older than his age. Male Robotniks must have a strong phenotype which account to them all looking so damn similar (Even if the Nega descendant part is true.) Then again, I am talking about a series where 99.9% of all of the character bases are the same.

Look at counterpart Waluigi - he looks roughly around his twenties to thirties, but if he was bald (*cough*Wario*cough*) you could easily place him in his fifties.

And now we have his realistic model to go by. Nextgen Robotnik did not have any crow's feet by his eyes nor any of the heavy wrinkling of a man into his forties through his fifties taking into account of his high-stress job. His skin was smooth par for the typical middle aged man's markings, but boy, did Unleashed show us he has some damn dirty pores. The 06 model is about as real as an Eggman you are going to get.

Nextgen Robotnik model with transparency in Garry's Mod. While it is hard to see there seems to be very few wrinkles around the eyes.

Smooth as a baby's bottom and angry as a woman with PMS in the DMV line.

Wikipedia (LOL factual information AMIRITE?) tells us that after puberty, the moustache will form a beard around age 21, but provided with the information above, Eggman could just not be able to grow a beard (there is a type of alopecia for that too) or he could shave it. However this is a man whose lexicon has never met the word 'shave.'

The moustache forms its own stage in the development of facial hair in adolescent males.[8] Facial hair in males normally appears in a specific order during puberty:

The first facial hair to appear tends to grow at the corners of the upper lip (age 11-15),

It then spreads to form a moustache over the entire upper lip (age 16-17),

This is followed by the appearance of hair on the upper part of the cheeks, and the area under the lower lip (age 16-18),

It eventually spreads to the sides and lower border of the chin, and the rest of the lower face to form a full beard (age 17-21).

As with most human biological processes, this specific order may vary among some individuals depending on one's genetic heritage or environment

So yes, his moustache indicates he is well past age 21, but his skin and features say he's not quite yet 50.

Hair is known to grow roughly around 6 inches per year. Robotnik is 6 feet (more like seven for consistency between games, because Mario is known to be five feet and only comes up to his waist and so does Sonic,) so his shoulder span (Biacromial width) must be around 30 inches across (god knows that I'm bad at math and Robotnik has some really broad shoulders.)

His moustache usually spans his biacromial width or just over it.

So it would take roughly two and a half years for his moustache to reach 30 inches. Four would be 64 inches and so on.

The term 'old man' can be also used as an insult for anyone older than the person addressing it. It could be also referred to how the man looks and not his actual age.

There was also a Japanese honorific used for Eggman in the Sonic X series (not sama but an age-related one) but I cannot remember it and TV Tropes apparently is down at the moment.

I have placed Robotnik around the age range of 30-35; 28 is pushing it, but it can count. 40 is as high as it could logically go.

[SonikkuJeneshisu89]

I'm perfectly fine with the canon ages of all the Sonic characters and I'm happy Sega provides us with a actual age to go by, it helps you get a better understanding of a characters personality and actions as others have already mentioned with examples. I've always thought of Sonic as a teenager because of him being referred to as a teenager in AOSTH and also when first playing Adventure 1 and 2 he really acts like your typical 15 year old boy. Ryan Drummond's voice for Sonic fit for the age in my opinion making him sound like a 15 year old. Sonic's other voices even Junichi san do make him sound like he can be older, but I was always under the impression of your average teenager. I'm actually really happy they changed the ages from their Classic counterparts. In the Classic era Sonic was 16 instead of 15 and what Sega did was switch Knuckles and Sonic's ages making Sonic 15 and Knuckles 16.

I think that fits better for some reason and find it more appealing. I'm so glad Amy's age was changed from 8 years old to 12. Even though 12 still seems a bit young its miles better than 8 years old really making Sonic look like a pedohog. I am really fine with the current canon ages and think they suit the characters personalities and mannerisms quite well. The only thing I have a problem with is them remaining the same ages for eternity. I wanna see some aging process throughout the games. Like a year or two after Sonic Unleashed Sonic goes on a different adventure and is older like 17 or 18. I hate it in various Anime's or other Media where they keep characters the same age forever or time just never seems to pass by in the storyline. I love seeing character development and growth in my stories and get a lot out of seeing a character grow up. DBZ for example, you start with Goku as a young kid and the series went on till he was at least in his 40's.

You got to see so much character development between him and all the other characters and have fond memories of them when they were younger and how they've changed over time within the story. It gives you a strong sense of connection with the characters and in a way you feel like you've experienced things with them or have known them yourself for years. It also adds more reality to the story and sense of time. I mean they don't have to age them quickly in the Sonic Franchise but making them older over time wouldn't hurt and can show the characters growing up and changing over time. I doubt Sega will ever change their ages unless it was many years past and they felt the need to do so for whatever reason like they did with changing the Classic ages to the Modern ones. Sonic was designed as a type of timeless character that can go on through life times like Felix the Cat and Mickey Mouse. But especially in a Sonic Comic or Cartoon setting it would be nice to see a sense of time passing and them aging and growing and maturing over time.

I also would have liked it if Eggman got to know his grandfather personally but it would make him seem way to old, he looks like a young middle aged man between his 30's and 40's. I can't see him being 50 or older, he has no grey hairs, his hair is fully colored orange brown, his skin is smooth and non rinklely. He doesn't fit the 50 or older look to me especially his Classic design like in the Sonic OVA.