Draco In Leather Pants / Sonic the Hedgehog

Video Games

• Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik has gotten a lion's share of this over the years, with his fans painting him as more Affably Evil (which was even a trope this very site misapplied to him in the past) or even a Well-Intentioned Extremist, and with even his detractors being known for downplaying his genuine deviousness or misanthropy to the point that some paint him as a Harmless Villain outright. While he has always been meant to be goofy-looking and Laughably Evil, and there are a few games like Sonic Adventure 2 that allude to his shreds of humanity, Eggman is otherwise a callous egotist with a pompous gentlemanly exterior and a repertoire of numerous world-threatening schemes that have often involved things like animal cruelty or widespread destruction, and even cases when he fights against a bigger threat alongside Sonic are because the world will either be destroyed or ruled by someone else if he doesn't. There are indeed certain interpretations of him (such as from Sonic X or Sonic Boom) that do happen to undergo Adaptational Nice Guy changes, but his mainstream game self is otherwise a fully-fledged Card-Carrying Villain who unabashedly wants Sonic dead and is willing to do anything and everything if it allows him to Take Over the World.
  • One particular factor regarding his status as this trope is his lifelong admiration for his grandfather Gerald, which some fans have interpreted as involving familial love on Eggman's part, despite canon only putting focus onto his admiration for Gerald's scientific legacy as opposed to any of the man's human qualities.
  • The English script of Sonic Frontiers is the first in the series to seemingly set out to give Eggman genuine redeeming qualities through having him begin viewing his creation Sage as his own daughter, but even then it's left vague as to whether he actually has any human empathy towards her or if he simply respects her competence and loyalty towards him— an in-game audio log has him boast about how Sage's competent nature is "because her dad is a genius", and anything he does that could be viewed as affection towards her is momentary and mild at best. Even Ian Flynn, the game's English writer, has claimed that Eggman's relationship with Sage is not intended to redeem him, and that he mostly views her accomplishments as a means to butter up himself. Even putting aside the fact that Eggman's interactions with all other underage characters have typically involved him trying to kill them, kidnap them or otherwise make them suffer (whether provoked or not), fans have been known to latch on to Eggman's relationship with Sage and portray it as far more like a traditional and openly loving father-daughter relationship than canon evidence indicates.
• While he's no longer a villain, many fans think Shadow the Hedgehog just needs a sympathetic hug given his Dark and Troubled Past. While he's been warming up to his partners (all two of them), his portrayal is maintained as him being utterly ruthless in his methods, consistently vengeful, violent, egotistical, and chilly, as opposed to how some fan works portray him as more openly empathetic and caring to others, Sonic especially when Foe Yay Shipping is involved. In canon, however, his motivations for saving the world or doing good are either because of his promise to Maria or because his current goals align with that of the heroes', and he's indirectly expressed in Sonic Battle that he'd prefer to view Rouge and Omega as "allies" as opposed to the straight-up camaraderie shared by Sonic and his friends. To give an analogy, if Shadow can be considered the series' equivalent to Wolverine, then fans often paint him as more of a Batman-like figure.
• Infinite from Sonic Forces, while being a cruel and arrogant monster with no problem killing off innocent Funny Animals and Mind Raping anyone he desires, is likely to be portrayed by fans as a depressed and hurt being, suffering a Dark and Troubled Past and blaming the Phantom Ruby for making him so evil in the first place, who makes a Heel–Face Turn with his former enemies, tries to Atone for his actions, and probably gets into a romantic relationship with the Avatar. There are countless fanfics devoted to using this kind of Infinite, such as Memories of Infinite's Past. Some find his Cool Mask, or even his plain jackal body, to be attractive. Similarly to Eggman and Gerald, some have also viewed his relationship to his Jackal Squad as more familial than canon evidence suggests, due to how there's no indication that he actually cared about them, how he ignored their initial pleas to not join Eggman out of his own pure selfishness, and how he was likely only upset about Shadow killing them because it was a blow to his own pride as their leader.

Sonic the Hedgehog (Archie Comics)

Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW)

• Like numerous Sonic villains before him, Dr. Starline was able to get himself a pair. A combination of his flashy design, determination, and status as the Villainous Underdog has made numerous fans root and sympathize with him in spite of the fact that he has no real sympathetic points and is shown in later issues to be a ruthless and cruel man.
  • This was commented on by writer Ian Flynn on BumbleKast (January 18, 2021), where someone asked what Starline's relationship with Metal Sonic is (where Starline treats Metal as a "it" like with all Eggman's machines), where Flynn had to remind everyone that Starline is a bad guy.
    Waffle Wolfe: "What was Dr. Starline and Metal Sonic's relationship while Starline was working for Eggman? Was Starline jealous that it was Metal who awakened Eggman's memories?"
    Ian Flynn: I don't think it's jealousy as he didn't see Metal as an individual. He sees Metal as a construction. In the same way he would see Orbot and Cubot as constructions. He confided in Orbot, but that's just because Orbot is… kind of personable, and who else is he going to talk to on the Faceship, honestly? He acknowledges that they are aware and active individuals, but to him they are not people, so to speak. They are things that Eggman has created. Wouldn't think to give them any kind of autonomy in that regard. Metal Sonic is fairly… single-minded in a lot of his computations, I guess? Yeah, he kind of lives for orders, and… doesn't think too far outside the box in most occasions. And so, at most, "Starline is a servant of Eggman. Okay, not a threat, ignored. Eggman has given him authority and he's giving me orders. Fine, follow orders." That kinda thing.
    Kyle Crouse: Starline is so rude. How mean.
    Ian Flynn: Here's the thing, I think people are starting to get a little too lost in the affableness and just how charming he can be. He's a bad person! He legitimately idolizes Eggman and all that he has done. Yeah, he's kind of stepped out of his shadow, but that's more to say "look, I can be better than my idol doing what he does". Starline is a bad man!
    Kyle Crouse: There's the reason why he has his own book titled "Bad Guys", because he is a bad guy!
    Ian Flynn: I mean, sure, you can have fun with him, you can love him, but… don't think he's anything short of just vile!
• Surge has already received plenty of sympathy and desires of a Heel–Face Turn from fans, since it's revealed that much of her bloodlust and Ax-Crazy nature is the result of it being programmed into her instead, often ignoring that she still wants to hurt people and kill Sonic, even if she doesn't know why. Her relationship with Kit is also downplayed by some into a more typical Sibling Rivalry, in spite of the very verbally abusive undertones of it in canon, such as her threatening to drown him with his own tails. Even after she and Kit learn about their origins and choose to betray Starline, she's only slightly less mean to Kit, and she's ultimately still just as misanthropic and dead-set on killing Sonic, Eggman, all their allies and "every stupid city that threw 'em a parade".
• Despite him being physically unable to think or act independently of Surge, some could put Kit himself in the same boat as well, given that he's still ultimately fine with everything bad that Surge does.