17 replies to this topic

[MistressAli]

Not that this is necessary information for the topic, but I'm currently writing a fanfic about pre-coup stuff, including some of the younger pre-Robotnik days of our favorite tyrant. While I have some ideas floating about for him, I'm curious as to what others think. (don't worry, I won't yank anyone's ideas without permission. Unless they're the same as mine )

What do you think Robotnik was like in his younger days, or his childhood? If there's a case of Nature VS Nuture, what went wrong with him? Was his nurturing shitty? Is he by nature cruel and lacking compassion? What kind of stuff happened in his childhood, what shaped his view of the Mobians and etc? What kind of interesting events could be in his past? What was his family like? And so on...

[chief]

His parents were murdered at a young age by the filthy furs! So to get revenge he decided to turn them all into slaves! MWAHAHAHA!


Yeah maybe I'll submit something more serious later on.

[RedMenace]

Have you decided on which continuity (SatAM or Archie) you're going to base it on? If Archie, then I would speculate that Robotnik's brother (Colin, I think) was believed to have the greatest potential. Therefore, the parents focused their attention and care on him, rather than Ivo.

...I apologize for just how cliche that was, but it could be just one of the elements that eventually sent Ivo off the deep end, at least.

[LaserX5]

Not that this is necessary information for the topic, but I'm currently writing a fanfic about pre-coup stuff, including some of the younger pre-Robotnik days of our favorite tyrant. While I have some ideas floating about for him, I'm curious as to what others think. (don't worry, I won't yank anyone's ideas without permission. Unless they're the same as mine )

What do you think Robotnik was like in his younger days, or his childhood? If there's a case of Nature VS Nuture, what went wrong with him? Was his nurturing shitty? Is he by nature cruel and lacking compassion? What kind of stuff happened in his childhood, what shaped his view of the Mobians and etc? What kind of interesting events could be in his past? What was his family like? And so on...

This is just my opinion, but I think as a child his family was murdered by an evil group of Mobians.

Something like that would left him with a fierce rage and hate for all Mobians, not to mention a desire to enslave or wipe every one of them in retaliation.

Its a little like what happened to Bruce Wayne, only instead of taking out his anger on criminals, he takes it out on innocent civilians for revenge.

[Cheezmatt]

Is he by nature cruel and lacking compassion?

This.

Humanization is for chumps. Pure evil he is, pure evil he should remain!

[John Roberts]

Yes! He's evil because he likes being evil; not because some furry hurt his feelings a long, long time ago. You do not develop a wicked creepy laugh and a dark sense of humour turning living creatures into mindless robotic slaves from a depressed childhood. Oh no, you develop a wicked creepy laugh and a dark sense of humour turning living creatures into mindless slaves because you love the job. And that job is being evil!

The old Archie Christmas special rings a bell with me when they did a piss-up of the Scrooge tale, and it showed an evil kiddie Robotnik trying to smash a Christmas tree down with a tractor, or something like that. That's Robotnik through and through. Evil and loving it. Robotnik is a life time member of the Evil League of Evil after all; Bad Horse (the Thoroughbred of Sin) is his drinking buddy.

[furrykef]

I don't think humanizing Robotnik is inherently a bad thing, but it'd have to be done right. Robotnik isn't the sort of guy who would become evil over a petty thing, or who would have an Anakin Skywalker sort of past. I just think he should have more of a motive. Clearly, his primary motive is power, but why does power matter so much to him?

[Cheezmatt]

Oh, I do think it's entirely possible to have a deep and involving character while still being evil incarnate. It need not be the sort of 'cartoonish' scenario John describes - desires, motives and ideals are far from off limits, along with introspective views in general. Learning why a villain thinks the way they do can still be very interesting without arousing compassion in the viewer.

[John Roberts]

Ali could make it work very well, I think.

Say, which one of your continuities are you going to be slotting this story into, Ali? The Life Blood one, maybe, please?

[Vlad Yvhv]

I still say he's a sociopath. As such, there would've been evidence of this in his past. He probly killed and mutilated stray cats and dogs and small critters like squirrels and rabbits, for fun. The usual "psycho serial killer" background stuff... Probly, his parents turned a blind eye to this, and he may have actually killed people before coming to Mobius. I'd suggest researching the lives of various psychopathic serial killers to get better idea of some of the other common threads with this type of personality.

[furrykef]

Somehow I find that line of reasoning disturbing, Vlad.

[John Roberts]

Yeah, I don't think Robotnik is Michael Myers.

[MistressAli]

Have you decided on which continuity (SatAM or Archie) you're going to base it on? If Archie, then I would speculate that Robotnik's brother (Colin, I think) was believed to have the greatest potential. Therefore, the parents focused their attention and care on him, rather than Ivo.

It'll be a blend of Archie and SatAM (I just pick and choose what I like and throw out what I don't ) Colin will be in it, because I do like that part of Archie...
I'm not sure what to do with Robotnik's dad, but (in my story) his mother was kind of unstable, and she was very doting and possessive of her little 'genius' Julian. I don't see Julian liking this behavior all the time, but maybe that's where his control freak nature came from. Colin maybe got his cold, military-ish attitude from the dad (or whatever other father figure)

That's[/i] Robotnik through and through. Evil and loving it. Robotnik is a life time member of the Evil League of Evil after all; Bad Horse (the Thoroughbred of Sin) is his drinking buddy.

Lol the 'Thoroughbred of Sin'... I like that.
Yes, I too see Robotnik as being EBIL by nature. I don't think his upbringing would've had anything to do with it, but maybe some aspects did shape him. I think he'd have a bit more restraint though. The knocking down Christmas tree would be a childhood thing. Maybe only one time, because he would have to pay consequences. He'd then use manipulation and stealth for his evil deeds, until he has the power to outright destroy without any repercussions. He likes to be evil but at the same time if it didn't gain him anything and put him in trouble with the law and such, he wouldn't do it UNTIL there was no longer any law that could control him

To me, that's another thing that sets Snively and Robotnik apart. I think Robotnik is a case of Nature... he's by nature evil... nothing would change that outcome. But Snively is a case of Nuture. He had potential to be a good person but his upbringing and 'nuturing' turned him to the DARRRRK SIIIDE.

. Clearly, his primary motive is power, but why does power matter so much to him?

I think he's a control freak and obviously thinks really highly of himself. He obtained the power to shape the world to his 'orderly' ways. He seems to perhaps have a disgust for flesh and organics. Maybe he watched some whom he admired die of a disease that no amount of technology could cure and that put him off 'the weakness of flesh'. Or maybe surrounding himself with cold dead metal is the only way he feels vibrant and alive. I dunno! That's why I find him to be mysterious.

Oh, I do think it's entirely possible to have a deep and involving character while still being evil incarnate. It need not be the sort of 'cartoonish' scenario John describes - desires, motives and ideals are far from off limits, along with introspective views in general. Learning why a villain thinks the way they do can still be very interesting without arousing compassion in the viewer.

Right. I see Robotnik as evil by nature, but that doesn't mean a 2D cardboard figure either. He still has thoughts, fears and dreams, and personal viewpoints on everything. Maybe there ARE some things that to him would be a crossing of ethical boundaries. (But since his boundaries are so beyond that of everyone else, it'd be hard to tell LOL)

Say, which one of your continuities are you going to be slotting this story into, Ali? The Life Blood one, maybe, please?

Nope it's just a stand-alone story. No Cassy-wassy for you

I still say he's a sociopath. As such, there would've been evidence of this in his past. He probly killed and mutilated stray cats and dogs and small critters like squirrels and rabbits, for fun. The usual "psycho serial killer" background stuff... Probly, his parents turned a blind eye to this, and he may have actually killed people before coming to Mobius. I'd suggest researching the lives of various psychopathic serial killers to get better idea of some of the other common threads with this type of personality.

I don't think this is so far-fetched. I do see him having sociopath traits. He clearly lacks compassion and has no qualms about using and manipulating people. Sociopaths aren't necessarily killers, though. I mean, all serial killers might be sociopaths but not all sociopaths are serial killers, kind of thing. I see him perhaps 'experimenting' on small animals.. he would be truly interested in studying their anatomy and trying different 'sciencey' things on them. And of course, he wouldn't care about their pain at all, to him that would just be another interesting facet (and yeah he probably does enjoy it... hurting them and having control) But it wouldn't' all be for fun in his mind, it would be for 'knowledge' too.

Wow I typed alot...

[John Roberts]

Say, which one of your continuities are you going to be slotting this story into, Ali? The Life Blood one, maybe, please?

Nope it's just a stand-alone story. No Cassy-wassy for you

(And I wish I had more free time to jump into this discussion - It's an interesting topic. I haven't read any fanfics since your last one, Ali. So I'm looking forward to it. )

[captainabnormal]

One memory just appeared in my mind. Can you remember that episode where Dulcy was developing as a young dragon or something... or some other rubbish they used to develop this "character." Well there was a cut scene where Robotnik was in bed and all around him were statues and pieces of art ( and wearing lovely ... pink pyjamas). I think there was a Roman bust of him in the first episode of the first season. As well as being very funny these 'tokens' as it were pang of a self obsessed person, who may be insecure also. Thus re-asserted by his ‘art’ and bullying of Snively (insecurity?) His mother’s boy(ish) attitude and upbringing could affect this too of course.

What a messed up person this despot is!

[Vlad Yvhv]

One memory just appeared in my mind. Can you remember that episode where Dulcy was developing as a young dragon or something... or some other rubbish they used to develop this "character." Well there was a cut scene where Robotnik was in bed and all around him were statues and pieces of art ( and wearing lovely ... pink pyjamas). I think there was a Roman bust of him in the first episode of the first season. As well as being very funny these 'tokens' as it were pang of a self obsessed person, who may be insecure also. Thus re-asserted by his ‘art’ and bullying of Snively (insecurity?) His mother’s boy(ish) attitude and upbringing could affect this too of course.

What a messed up person this despot is!

I seriously don't think Robotnik is a mama's boy. I think he'd be more likely to roboticize his own mom and put her to work with the others.

[silversurfer2]

Here's my take on it, at least if i was writing the fic. When he was growing up, he loved machines and was always playing with them. However, he was also picked on by his brother and his parents never offered him support because they focused it on his brother. He was misunderstood by the other kids and they constantly picked on him, because he's socially awkward and he loves machines so much he's always with them. They'd be his escape from pain, from the suffering he endures from everybody else. Then finally, he grows to love them so much and hates society so much that he essentially becomes a robot, a person with no heart. He goes insane and becomes a sociopath and the rest as they say is history.

[Vlad Yvhv]

One typically doesn't "become" a psychopath or sociopath, barring some sort of brain trauma. It's usually a pre-existing condition. But it can be worsened or fostered by one's history.