There’s a long line of bald villains with unkempt rage in place of unkempt hair, foaming at the mouth with bitter hatred - they’re a rowdy bunch, and would no doubt bicker like a gaggle of football hooligans if you stuck them in a room together and locked the door. It’s a stereotype at this point, like English accents filling up the pool of baddies. Makes sense. Splice two together and you get our departing Editor-in-Chief Kirk McKeand... I mean Eggman.
He’s run the show for a little while now, turning something small into something big. Sonic would be nowhere without Eggman - it’d be a doddering boat at sea without a paddle. He’s as much a part of Sonic’s identity as the titular character - you don’t think of one without the other. Yeah, he entered as a “villain” but villainy is subjective, aye? Plenty (wrongfully) thought Thanos’ genocidal snapping routine was warranted, and while you’re a moron if you think that, the point is people look at bad guys through their own lenses, and the way I see it, everyone was wrong about Eggman. When he stepped into Sonic, there was hostility and bitter resentment - the hedgehog was running laps around Eggman, making his life a headache - but it was undeserved because look at how far Sonic has come.
It’s easy to lay all the credit at his feet, but Eggman didn’t make Sonic who he is by himself. He had his trusty friends, Orbot and Cubot, who he brought in to help carry the load. One spends his weekends guzzling pints of gasoline while the other is balder than a skinny pig. But hey, at least Eggman isn’t alone in having a bowling ball for a head - maybe that was by design. What about Bocoe and Decoe, the two who joined up a little later? One is taking the reins, the other is probably at home watching cartoons. Eggman came in and shook things up, yes, but a shake up is what Sonic needed. That’s what made it what it is today. Eggman did that by amassing a team of brilliant minds so while he might not always be there with Sonic, he’s leaving his proteges to thrive in his absence.
When the first chapter closed, a new villain took the stage by storm - Silver Sonic. Fitting for their silver tongue. They aren’t worse or better than Eggman. They’re great but in their unique way. That’s what makes villains such wonderful characters. Each one wields their own personality and style, their own way of handling things. Silver Sonic has a lighter touch - perhaps more grace - but they share a commonality: passion. Sheer, unadulterated passion.
The void of Eggman’s absence will run deep but that rich passion is still potent across the board. It isn’t dissipating because they left, it’s lingering because they were there. It’s hard growing attached to a core part of something’s identity only for it to vanish in the blink of an eye. Familiarity arises in the sequel as it often does but there’s still something missing - like when a lead character in a sitcom hangs up the coat. Community without Troy was never the same. That feeling won’t go away. Not immediately. But Sonic will cope without Eggman because of the foundation he established. He’s still the great Sonic - he always was. He just needed Eggman to give him a purpose. To draw another comparison, just take a look at Mario’s first villain. It wasn’t Bowser - it was Donkey Kong. He went off to do his own thing after that debut arcade game, becoming a staple away from the Italian plumber. Eggman is Donkey Kong.
The loss of Eggman won’t ruin Sonic, just as Mario has remained good all these years. In fact, it could be a lot better or, at the least, a lot different - refreshing, even. Who doesn’t love a change of scenery? But it’s not like you can’t address it. We all love Kirk. I mean, Eggman. He’s a fun, sarcastic, hardened sort, but when it comes down to brass tacks, he’s there for Sonic. Like Mario and Bowser or Link and Ganondorf, the two’s dichotomy isn’t one of hero vs villain. At the end of the day, they’re two friends messing about only to head off for go-kart racing on the weekends.