Favorite Eggman/Robotnik Lackey

Jeffery Mewtamer · Post by **Jeffery Mewtamer** » Sun Aug 18, 2013 3:55 pm

So simple question: Of the lackeys that the various incarnation of our Favorite Mad Scientist have had, which is your favorite.

I personally vote Snivey, if only because he is the only one that seems like he could be a villain in his own right.

Sonina Hedgoose · Post by **Sonina Hedgoose** » Mon Aug 19, 2013 4:23 am

Wait, are you talking about Eggman's nephew or whatever? Isn`t his name Snively? I could be wrong, haven`t read the comics in awhile. But he really did have a sinister side to him.

Anyways, does Metal Sonic count as a lackey? The whole obsession with besting and ultimately taking Sonic's place has always fascinated me! Plus in that Sonic the Hedgehog the movie he's pretty awesome!

loveheartrose · Post by **loveheartrose** » Mon Aug 19, 2013 7:01 am

Sonina Hedgoose, I'd probably say that metal sonic is a lackey because eggman created him/it.
personally, I'd say that the sonic X trio is my favorite because they are some of the only robots to actually help sonic and his friends for a while anyway(before the metarex come).

Jeffery Mewtamer · Post by **Jeffery Mewtamer** » Mon Aug 19, 2013 10:39 am

Yes, I was referring to SatAM/Archie Robotnik's nephew. That's what I get for not checking how names are spelled(I looked up Sleet and Dingo, but I had completely forgotten their names, not just the proper spelling).

Sonina Hedgoose · Post by **Sonina Hedgoose** » Mon Aug 19, 2013 2:38 pm

My favorite lackeys that are actually on your list would be the Sonic X trio. Even though they weren't threatening, they were fun! Their shenanigans were quite amusing. Also, Bokun is adorable!

My least favorite would be the two on Sonic Underground because I have never been able to sit through a whole episode no matter how hard i try. It's not really their faults, i just cant stand the singing

My sister and I came to the conclusion that the one with the blue-ish hair reminds us of Stew Pickles from the rugrats. He also kind of looks like the dog on that show too

Perfect Chaos · Post by **Perfect Chaos** » Tue Aug 20, 2013 6:31 am

I would have to say Orbot and Cubot, something just felt more natural with them.

Nano · Post by **Nano** » Tue Aug 20, 2013 7:50 am

Scratch and Grounder

They're so great

Kavomatovlraf · Post by **Kavomatovlraf** » Sat Jan 10, 2015 2:16 am

My favorite is going to be the first game. It was very organized and fun to play. I also like the name of the classes.

Ivogoji · Post by **Ivogoji** » Sat Jan 10, 2015 5:15 am

Well, as long as this is here-

Scratch and Grounder are easily the best realized and most memorable duo of Robotnik lackeys. They had a lot of personality and could carry most episodes of AoStH all on their own. The two of them, plus Coconuts, pretty much represent the Team Rocket of Sonicdom. If any characters deserved to become Canon Immigrants to the SEGAverse- and could pull off the transition- it's Scratch and Grounder.
SA-55/Orbot and Cubot are pretty good additions to the franchise, only the latest in the long tradition of robot sidekicks, but they bring plenty to the table that's original. I'd say they have the best chemistry with their creator out of all the Doctor's henchmen, their interactions with him have added something refreshing to recent games. Eggman has a lot to play off of with Orbot and Cubot; even if they themselves aren't that interesting, their presence is really a boon to his character. As a fan of the Eggman, I'm glad these two were introduced to the series, for what they mean to the legacy of my favorite Sonic character.
Bocoe, Decoe, and Bukkun were an amusing trio, I enjoyed RPing as them once upon a time. They weren't as funny as the others, and were somehow even less dangerous than the S.S.S.S.S. Squad, but still they gave Eggman X someone to talk to. Bukkon was the more memorable member of the group, and his exploding TV messages and stealth crush on Cream were quite endearing. I wish the show had given them more character development though. A bit of a shame that they will probably fade into obscurity while the other 'bots live on in the games and minds of Sonic fans.

I'd love to talk to Mike Pollock about how he feels voicing Dr. Eggman in three different mediums with two different sets of robotic henchmen. Maybe he has a favorite when it comes to Bocoe and Decoe vs Orbot and Cubot?

On the more serious side of the lackey spectrum we have Grimer from the Fleetway comics. Grimer wasn't really around for comic relief purposes as much as to make Robotnik's faction more interesting, being neither a robot nor a coerced Mobian, but an alien who willingly served the dictator throughout his career. Although he filled a similar role to the previously mentioned sidekicks, unlike them Grimer was a legitmate threat in his own right, a gifted scientist who often contributed to his master's schemes. Indeed it was Grimer who was responsible for creating the Metallix, the STC incarnation of Sonic and Knuckles' robotic duplicates, and among their deadliest adversaries. Grimer was also unflaggingly loyal to Robotnik, an extremely uncommon trait when it comes to allies of the good Doctor, in STC or any other media. He played a key part in several storylines, particularly the Sonic Adventure adaptation that served as the comic's finale. Fortunately, Grimer's history didn't end there, as he went on to become an important villain in STC Online, the comic's semi-official continuation. Grimer stands out as a unique character in history of Sonic lore, and he's probably my favorite of the Doctor's many cohorts, just for how different he is.

Nano · Post by **Nano** » Sat Jan 10, 2015 6:11 am

But Ivo, what of Snively!

Ivogoji · Post by **Ivogoji** » Sat Jan 10, 2015 6:28 am

KeatonLabs · Post by **KeatonLabs** » Sat Jan 10, 2015 6:38 am

Eggmans nephew in sonic underground

Ivogoji · Post by **Ivogoji** » Sat Jan 10, 2015 7:01 am

I was being sarcastic :P (and Eggman doesn't have a nephew in Sonic Underground- unless that part was also sarcastic)

Granted, I've never watched SatAM or read any issues of Archie that featured Snively very visibly. The most I've encountered of him is in Sonic fanfiction, where he usually plays audience surrogate in SatAM-Robotnik-inspired sadistic fanfics, and then is frequently subordinated to an out of place Metal Sonic or Packbell.

Ah, speaking of Packbell- he was a fancharacter created by an influential Sonic fanfic author in the late 90s who grew to have a prominent place in the early online Sonicficdom. Instead of only being used by his creator, Packbell was borrowed by a number of different authors, appearing in multiple unrelated fanfics and radio dramas (what we did back in the old days before the whole 'Abriged Series' thing took off). Packbell was SatAM Robotnik's android "son", his equal in maliciousness and in authority, a truly horrific break away from other henchmen. Of course in these stories Robotnik loved Packbell and hated Snively, which just made Snively's life MORE miserable than it was in the show or comic. While I never cared much for SatAM, I was greatly effected by the fanfiction it inspired; Packbell was just one fancharacter among a whole cast of original creations that fanfic writers used liberally in the Pre-Sonic Adventure era.
We'll never have of fandom that works like that again.

Ah, speaking of obscure Robotnik lackeys- there is Eggor, Eggman's robotic sidekick from the Martin Adams Sonic books. He was the earliest of all such characters, I'm pretty sure he preceeds both AoStH and SatAM by about a year I think. I wonder if there are any illustrations of Eggor floating around on the internet, I could swear I saw a picture of him on an Eggman fansite a long time ago. That could have just been fanart though.

Lamby · Post by **Lamby** » Sat Jan 10, 2015 6:42 pm

Lien-Da for the period of time in Archie where Eggman assumed control over the Dark Legion as he was the only one who could restore their cybernetics or recruit non-echidnas by giving them cybernetics. Naturally, good ol' Ivo insured their loyalty by implanting bombs too.

Mecha-Sally was also a brief, yet the most successful "lacky" he has ever had, so far, in the Archieverse.

Edit: Ivo now that you mention Packbell, he is startlingly similar to the "Anonymous" story arc Archie did a couple years ago where Anonymous, a mysterious force that had been toying with Eggman and threatening him with his death, even corrupting his systems with a timer to his eminent demise. If I remember correctly he even goes to Sonic for help, it shakes him so much. Turns out Anonymous is A.D.A.M., an artificial intelligence accidentally created by Ivo he had been calling son.

A.D.A.M single handedly manifests physically by corrupting nanites, possesses Tommy the Turtle into a monstrous version of himself by swiping all the chaos emeralds by capturing Shadow and Tails and forcing the Gathering, and usurps Ivo's entire city, all to get "respect" from his "father." Packbell obviously predates this, but it's an interesting parallel.

ZeroAlpha · Post by **ZeroAlpha** » Sun Jan 11, 2015 6:27 am

Scratch and Grounder win both by default - since I've never delved very far into the other Sonic series - and by choice. Even though he showed up a lot less often in comparison, I would include Coconuts, as well, since I've always viewed Robotnik's main robots in AoSTH as a "trio" (along with how Coconuts, Grounder, and Scratch are fought as the fourth, eighth, and twelfth bosses respectively in Mean Bean Machine). Either way, I liked them a lot! I don't have much else to add, since Ivo has already nicely summed up everything notable about them.

Ivogoji · Post by **Ivogoji** » Sun Jan 11, 2015 11:23 pm

Wonder of wonders, I actually found that image of Eggor I remembered seeing:

Clearly this is the artist's interpretation of Eggor's appearance, drawing on the design of E-100 series robots from SA. Pretty cool that Eggor even inspired any fanart though.

Batty wrote:Edit: Ivo now that you mention Packbell, he is startlingly similar to the "Anonymous" story arc Archie did a couple years ago where Anonymous, a mysterious force that had been toying with Eggman and threatening him with his death, even corrupting his systems with a timer to his eminent demise. If I remember correctly he even goes to Sonic for help, it shakes him so much. Turns out Anonymous is A.D.A.M., an artificial intelligence accidentally created by Ivo he had been calling son.

I'm familiar with A.D.A.M, but the similarity to Packbell never occurred to me. It's interesting, because when I think about it, both Packbell and A.D.A.M. are very similar to another Robotnik lackey from the Fleetway continuity, General Brutus. Brutus was the elite model of STC Robotnik's 'Trooper' badniks, who unlike the previous Genesis-game-inspired badniks which populated the comic, resembled giant centurion soldiers and were not powered by organic batteries- in addition to being much more challenging for the heroes. General Brutus was somewhat like a son to Robotnik in that he was programmed using a copy of the tyrant's brainwaves as a basis for his personality. After giving the Emerald Hill Freedom Fighters a hard time for several story arcs- even fighting the psychotic Fleetway incarnation of Super Sonic at one point- Brutus attempted a coup of Citadel Robotnik to take his creator's place. Robotnik retaliated in epic style, dawning a suit of powered armor and fighting Brutus mano-a-mano, before dousing the robot in liquid nitrogen to shatter his nigh invulnerable body.

It's curious how these distinct version of the Sonic world came to have characters who filled strikingly similar roles, all largely independent of each other. Makes me think a shared universe where all of Robotnik's disparate 'children' existed together, competing amongst each other for dominence in the Eggman Empire, would be interesting to write about.

Palmpoa Commander · Post by **Palmpoa Commander** » Mon Jan 12, 2015 3:57 am

あぼーん！