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Eggman likes to go around and kidnap all the little Animals he can find, and use them as living batteries for his army of robots.
Indeed. Those robots are called "Badniks", and they can look like other animals, plants, or more interpretive... things.


Miles "Tails" Prower and Orbot, "TailsTube #2 (feat. ???)"

The Badniks[2] (バドニック[3] Badonikku?), also known as Doctor Eggman's robots[4] (エッグマンのロボット Egguman no robotto?), are a group that appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. They are an army of mass-produced military robots created by Dr. Eggman, first deployed during the South Island incident. From there onwards, the Badniks have become the doctor's most numerous army, as well as some of his greatest creations.[5]

The term "Badnik" is largely exclusive to English-language media related to the Sonic series, as Japanese works largely use "Eggman's robots" instead; the very few uses of the term "Badnik" in Japanese media have solely been in translations of works originally written in English.

Description[]

Sonic 2 art Eggman and Badniks

Various Badniks from the West Side Island incident, with the Egg Mobile at the center, from Sonic the Hedgehog 2.

While Badniks do not have a standard design, they are generally around the height of Sonic, though there are larger and smaller[6] models too. Most Badniks are based off of a specific theme, such as animals, insects, plants, Dr. Eggman himself, or more "interpretive" things.[2] These robots are also divided in the purpose they are designed to serve in combat, such as reconnaissance[7] and shooting;[8] and are prepared for specific environments such as cold areas[9] and deserts.[10] The earliest Badnik models, which appeared before the Chaos incident, are armies with impeccable designs that can perform their tasks flawlessly.[5] There are more advanced robots, such as Metal Sonic, who can rival Sonic's speed; and the E-Series, the most produced series of Badniks that was created to advance weaponry.[5][11]

Many Badnik models have a power source inside of them, most commonly Animals, which are placed at the center of the robot.[8] The way this works is that the Badnik extracts bioenergy[8] from the Animal and uses it as its AI.[12] Other power sources, such as Little Planet flower seeds, Power Cores, or Chaos Drives have been used with a similar purpose as well. When a Badnik is destroyed, the power source inside of it is liberated. However, most of the more advanced robots, and sometimes the weaker ones as well, are empty and do not release anything when destroyed.

Badnik 101

A Picky being incorporated into a Moto Bug, from Sonic Lost World.

Transformation 101. Bunnies to Badniks. Boom! Instant army. It needs to be a big army if I'm taking over the world below.


Dr. Eggman, Sonic Lost World

The method of putting Animals into Badniks was shown during the Lost Hex incident, and consists of moving Animals from Capsules and set into Badniks. A similar process, known as robotomy, was used at least once, during the War to Take Back the Planet. Here, beings are turned into Badniks, rather than being put inside of them. In the final result, the subjects have their body parts mechanized and with built-in equipment such as guns; for example, a purple caterpillar who is subjected to this treatment will be turned into a Caterkiller.[13]

Most Badnik models are very fragile and weak, and a few attacks, such as a Spin Attack, are enough to destroy them. While the Badniks coming from robotomy are noted to be completely stripped of the mere ability to think,[13] most Badniks do appear to possess some degree of sentience, as they can express basic emotions and do stuff under their own free will, such as fawning over Dr. Eggman and celebrating his birthday on their own volition,[14] as well as showing fear and stress moments before being destroyed.[15] Despite being sentient, most Badniks can only comprehend simple tasks such as trying to kill Sonic.[16]

Badniks by game[]

Sonic the Hedgehog (1991)[]

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (8-bit)[]

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (16-bit)[]

SegaSonic the Hedgehog[]

Sonic the Hedgehog CD[]

Sonic Chaos[]

Sonic Spinball[]

Sonic the Hedgehog 3[]

Sonic the Hedgehog Triple Trouble[]

Sonic & Knuckles[]

Knuckles' Chaotix[]

Sonic Labyrinth[]

Sonic the Fighters[]

Sonic 3D Blast[]

Sonic Blast[]

Sonic X-treme[]

Sonic R[]

Sonic Adventure[]

Sonic Adventure 2[]

Sonic Advance[]

Sonic Advance 2[]

Sonic Battle[]

Sonic Heroes[]

Sonic Advance 3[]

Shadow the Hedgehog[]

Sonic Rush[]

Sonic Riders[]

Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)[]

Sonic Rivals[]

Sonic Rush Adventure[]

Sonic Rivals 2[]

Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity[]

Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood[]

Sonic Unleashed[]

Sonic Free Riders[]

Sonic Colors[]

Sonic Generations[]

Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II[]

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed[]

Sonic Lost World[]

Sonic Mania[]

Sonic Forces[]

Team Sonic Racing[]

Sonic Speed Simulator[]

The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog[]

Sonic Superstars[]

Sonic Dream Team[]

In other media[]

Animation[]

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog[]

Badniks AoStH v2

Badniks, from "Super Special Sonic Search & Smash Squad".

In the Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog television series, "Badnik" is the term used for Dr. Robotnik's personal brand of robots. The most infamous ones of these are Scratch, Grounder and Coconuts who are Robotnik's go-to henchmen. However, they always fail in their assignments due to their utter incompetence.

Sonic Boom[]

Main article: Badnik (Sonic Boom)
SB S1E23 Badniks

Badniks, from "Let's Play Musical Friends".

In the Sonic Boom franchise, the Badniks (more commonly referred to as minions) act as Dr. Eggman's primary foot soldiers. At first, only the Motobugs, Buzz Bombers (called Bee Bots), and Crabmeats (called Crab Bots) appeared. The TV series' second season would later introduce the Mantis Bots, Scorpion Bots, Beetle Bots and Shark Bots. While they are decently versatile in terms of armaments and skills, they are extremely fragile and weak, making them usually easily defeated by Sonic and his friends.

Sonic Mania Adventures[]

Only two Badniks appear in Sonic Mania Adventures, those being Monkey Dude and RhinoBot.

Sonic Prime[]

Books and comics[]

Sonic the Comic[]

Badniks STC profile v2

The Badnik army, from Sonic the Comic #1. Art by Anthony Williams.

In the Sonic the Comic series and its spin-offs published by Fleetway Editions, the Badniks are Dr. Ivo Robotnik and his empire's brand of robots. Serving as Robotnik's personal army, the Badniks were used for the doctor's conquest and subsequent suppression of the planet Mobius during his reign.

All early Badniks were powered by organic batteries, the name given to the helpless Mobian trapped inside, although fully mechanical Badniks were later created as well as Robotnik advanced his rule. The Badnik armies would frequently clash with the Freedom Fighters, who worked in opposition to Robotnik's tyranny. All Badniks on Mobius were eventually destroyed by an electromagnetic pulse created by Super Sonic when he escaped from the Black Asteroid, allowing Mobius' inhabitants to topple Robotnik and his empire. Robotnik tried afterwards to create new Badniks, but never managed to reestablish his rule.

Archie Comics[]

Badniks03

Badniks, from Sonic the Hedgehog #170.

In the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-offs published by Archie Comics, the Badniks are the robot army that serves as the military backbone of Dr. Ivo Robotnik's empire and later the Eggman Empire for over a decade. The early generations of Badniks were based on the Mobini species, though their numbers also included more humanoid models such as SWATbot, Combots and the exceedingly advanced Metal Series. As more advanced Badniks came into being, the older models were rendered obsolete and ended up at second parties. The series also used the concept of roboticization where Mobians animal turned into an evil robot by Dr. Robotnik's Roboticizer, similar to how Animals got turned into Badniks in the games.

After the Super Genesis Wave, Badniks became nearly identical to their game counterparts.

Sonic X[]

Main article: Badnik (Sonic X)
Newtronx

The Newtron, from Sonic X #10.

In the Sonic X comic series published by Archie Comics, the Badniks are a line of robots created by Dr. Eggman, In this media, the Badniks were common robots used by the doctor on Sonic's world. In addition, some cruder, virtual Badniks were created as part of Dr. Eggman's plan to launch Sonic the Hedgehog and his friends to the moon using a virtual game world as bait.

IDW Publishing[]

Main article: Badnik/IDW Publishing

Films[]

Paramount[]

Main article: Badnik (Paramount)
SonicMovieTransamericaPyramid69

A Badnik, from Sonic the Hedgehog.

In the Sonic the Hedgehog film series produced by Paramount Pictures and its spin-offs, the Badniks are robot drones created by Dr. Robotnik. The most commonly form of Badniks used by Robotnik are white, egg-shaped drones with red eyes. In addition, there are Badnik models with more advanced tank-like designs that can take alternative forms if the previous form is destroyed or otherwise incapacitated.

References[]

  1. Sonic the Hedgehog (Sega Mega Drive) Japanese instruction booklet, pgs. 7-10.
  2. 2.0 2.1 TailsTube #2 (feat. ???). YouTube. Sonic the Hedgehog (9 June 2022). Retrieved on 9 June 2022.
  3. テイルスチューブ(ゲスト:オーボット) 日本語吹き替え版 (Japanese). YouTube. ソニック・ザ・ヘッジホッグ【公式】 (9 June 2022). Retrieved on 9 August 2022.
  4. Thomason, Steven. "Enemies List". Sonic Adventure 2: Battle Official Perfect Guide. Versus Books. p. 15. ISBN 0-9706468-6-0https://archive.org/details/SonicAdventure2BattleOfficialPerfectGuideVersusBooks/page/n15/mode/2up.
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Dr. Eggman in... My Greatest Invention". Sonic the Hedgehog: Rival Edition. Tomy. 2017.
  6. Jonod (3 November 2014). A Not so Little Look at: Sonic The Hedgehog 2014 Classic Style Guide. Sonic Stadium. Archived from the original on 25 July 2015. Retrieved on 13 March 2022.
  7. ソニック・ザ・ヘッジホッグ4 エピソードI (Japanese). Retrieved on 14 July 2022. "プクプク - メガドライブ版「ソニック」の「LABYRINTH ZONE」に登場した魚型ロボット。偵察タイプなので攻撃能力こそ低いが、水中で動きが制限されたソニックにゆっくりと忍び寄る。 [Jaws - A fish-shaped robot that appeared in 'LABYRINTH ZONE' of the Mega Drive version of Sonic 1. Since it is a reconnaissance type, its attack ability is low, but it slowly creeps up to Sonic, whose movement is restricted underwater.]"
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 "E-102 "γ"" (in Japanese). ソニックアドベンチャー オペレーションガイド. SoftBank. January 1999. p. 114. ISBN 978-4757203006. "Dr.エッグマンが作った射撃用ロボ、E-100シリーズの2番機。 Dr.エッグマンのメカは基本的に、生体エネルギーを抽出するため小動物をその中枢に据えているが、E-102も例外ではない。 ちなみに一番機が「ベータ」、二番機が「ガンマ」と称されるのは、プロトタイプの0番機「アルファ」が存在するため。 劇中では語られていないが、エミー追撃の任に当たった「ZERO」がそれである。[The second of the E-100 Series of shooting robots made by Dr. Eggman. Dr. Eggman basically puts small animals at the center of his mechs to extract bioenergy, and E-102 is no exception. By the way, the first machine is called 'Beta' and the second machine is called 'Gamma' because the prototype zeroth machine 'Alpha' exists. Although it is not mentioned in the play, it is 'ZERO', who was in charge of pursuing Amy.]"
  9. ソニック・ザ・ヘッジホッグ4 エピソードII (Japanese). キャラクター. Retrieved on 14 July 2022. "ヤドリン - 寒冷地用に新たに開発されたヤドカリ型ロボット。トゲのついた固い甲羅は、ソニック単体の攻撃を一切寄せ付けない。何かほかに倒す方法がきっとあるはず…… [Yadrin - A newly developed hermit crab robot for cold regions. The hard shell with thorns keeps it away from Sonic's attacks. There must be some other way to beat it...]"
  10. ソニック・ザ・ヘッジホッグ4 エピソードII (Japanese). キャラクター. Retrieved on 14 July 2022. "スカラ - 砂漠地帯での迎撃用に開発されたフンコロガシ型ロボット。無限に生み出される大型の球体は、転がる途中で爆発する。嫌な場所に必ずいる、やっかいな強敵。 [A dung beetle-type robot developed for interception in desert areas. The infinite large spheres explode while rolling. A troublesome, strong enemy who is always in a bad place.]"
  11. Sega (21 October 2016). Act:017 ゼータ先輩の教訓. Sonic Channel. Retrieved on 21 May 2022.
  12. Sonic Adventure Tokyo International Forum Unveiling Booklet (JPG) (22 August 1998). Retrieved on 15 April 2021.
  13. 13.0 13.1 Come Join the Eggman Empire!. YouTube. Sonic the Hedgehog (2 November 2017). Retrieved on 3 November 2017.
  14. Sonic the Hedgehog Annual 2020, "Eggman's Day Off"
  15. Sonic the Hedgehog #58, "Urban Warfare, Part 2"
  16. Sega (31 March 2023). The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog. Steam. Sega. Area/level: Dining Car. "Eggman: You see, the capability of a Badnik is normally very basic, just kill Sonic The Hedgehog. But for a luxury train, I wanted to make sure things ran without my supervision. And report to me if any of you happened onboard."
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