The Robotnik Empire was a tyrannical regime that dominated the planet Mobius in Fleetway Editions' Sonic the Comic, between Issues #9 to #100. Using a vast army of robots to enforce his will, the evil Doctor Robotnik ruled the planet with an iron fist for years before finally being brought down by Sonic the Hedgehog and his band of Freedom Fighters. The era of the empire's reign was referred to as R.B.R.: Ruled By Robotnik.
History[]
Conquest[]
Dr. Robotnik managed to conquer Mobius by taking control of the Omni-Viewer, a sentient machine entity that resides in the Special Zone and is capable of moving through time and space. How Robotnik managed to enslave the Omni-Viewer has never been specified, but with it he was able to lure Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles "Tails" Prower, Johnny Lightfoot and Porker Lewis into a trap and send them into the future. His orders were not very specific and so the Omni-Viewer only sent Sonic forward six months, but in that time Mobius was without a hero and so no one was able to resist when Robotnik's Badnik armies spread across the planet, conquering whole zones and enslaving their populations. By the time Sonic returned from his time displacement, Robotnik had already established his global empire.
Ruled by Robotnik[]
Robotnik ruled over Mobius with an iron fist, turning whole zones into labour camps and abducting countless innocents to be converted into Badniks. Also during his reign, the doctor constructed multitudes of factories and other facilities across the planet that would produce high levels of pollution, contaminating the environment and atmosphere. When Sonic established his group of Freedom Fighters, Robotnik came to realise that Mobius now had a symbol of hope and made a point to repeatedly victimize certain zones in order to crush that hope.
The seat of Robotnik's power was located in the Metropolis Zone, which would essentially serve as Mobius' capital during and after the doctor's rule. From his Citadel, Robotnik would devise all manner of plans to destroy Sonic and the Freedom Fighters as well as commune with his various planetwide agents and facilities.
Downfall[]
Robotnik's rule came to an end following the appearance of the Black Asteroid in the skies above Mobius. The Black Asteroid was once an ore mine in the Special Zone that had been turned into a prison for the ultra-powerful Super Sonic, Sonic's former alter ego turned separate entity. In order to save the people of the Special Zone, Sonic - who was trapped there at the time - convinced the Omni-Viewer to teleport the Black Asteroid to Mobius. Within the asteroid, Super Sonic was charging up a massive amount of Chaos energy to destroy his prison from within. This burst of energy would create an electromagnetic pulse that would disable all electronic machinery within the blast radius. When the Black Asteroid exploded, the EMP blanketed all of Mobius, disabling all of Robotnik's technology and destroying his empire in one fell swoop. With Citadel Robotnik destroyed and every Badnik across the planet wiped out, the people of Mobius were finally free. However, Robotnik escaped justice and went into hiding so that he could plan his revenge against Sonic and all of Mobius.
Key Figures[]
- Dr. Ivo Robotnik - Once a kindly scientist and researcher of Chaos energy, Ovi Kintobor was transformed into Robotnik following a lab accident. His body and personality completely inverted and corrupted, he became obsessed with power and domination, desiring nothing less than to rule Mobius with an iron fist. With a genius intellect and a penchant for cruelty, Robotnik devised all manner of ways to make his citizens miserable.
- Grimer Wormtongue - Dr. Robotnik's chief scientist. Not only was he a brilliant inventor who designed many of the Badniks that his master utilized, he was also a sycophant who worshipped the ground his boss walked on. Despite being a regular target of Robotnik's anger, Grimer remained loyal to him throughout his reign and long after.
- Commander Brutus - An advanced Badnik Trooper that was modified to serve as Robotnik's second-in-command. However, since he was programmed with Robotnik's brain patterns, he inherited his creator's ambition and would later rebel in order to rule Mobius himself. His revolution failed and he was destroyed at Robotnik's hands.
- Vermin - A Cybernik warrior who briefly served as an enforcer for Robotnik towards the empire's end.
Territories[]
While Robotnik's influence had spread across Mobius, there were a number of zones that lacked a constant Badnik presence, though just about every populated zone was being monitored via a network of spy cameras. Below is a list of areas where Robotnik's influence is most strongly felt.
- Metropolis Zone - The capital of Robotnik's empire and the largest city-state on Mobius. The doctor would keep watch over all the goings-on of his subjects from the government complex of Citadel Robotnik.
- Scrap Brain Zone - Robotnik's original base of operations when he began his campaign for global conquest. The doctor had abandoned the base following his first defeat at Sonic's hands, but would reclaim it as he established his empire during the hedgehog's absence.
- Chemical Plant Zone - A horrific production plant where Robotnik manufactured various hazardous chemicals for the specific purposes of destroying the natural environment and killing Sonic.
- Egg Fortress - Located in the Special Zone, this was Robotnik's main base of operations in the early days of his rule. After moving the seat of power to the Metropolis Zone, he kept the Egg Fortress running for the sake of his Metallix Project.
Armed Forces[]
- Badniks - A series of robots that come in all manner of shapes and sizes. These mechanoids draw their energy from organic batteries; that is, people that have been sealed within their chassis'.
- Troopers - Humanoid robots that are stronger and more intelligent than typical Badniks. They act as the empire's military police and do not run on organic batteries like other Badniks.
- Special Badnik Service - A brigade of enhanced Troopers that possess unique abilities.
- Brotherhood of Metallix - A highly advanced series of robots modelled after Sonic the Hedgehog himself. These superior Badniks would turn against Robotnik in order to conquer Mobius themselves.