Summary
In a rare display of altruism, the nefarious Dr. Eggman fromSonic the Hedgehogis shaving off his iconic mustache for charity. Eggman, or “Robotnik” as he was once named in the West, has been a constant thorn in the side of Sonic and his friends, having made his debut alongside the Blue Blur himself in the originalSonic the Hedgehogback in 1991. In the decades since,Eggman never wavered in his pursuit of world domination, capturing animals to power his Badnik minions and often unleashing ancient monstrosities to help him defeat Sonic once and for all.
It’s hard to engage in such mustache-twirling villainy without an actual mustache, and Dr. Eggman sports some of the most recognizable facial hair in all of gaming. Partially inspired by former US president Teddy Roosevelt, Eggman’s thick, bushy mustache has remained a constant throughout his many redesigns over the years, with Jim Carrey even recreating it for the live-actionSonic the Hedgehogfilms. Fans have imagined what the not-so-good doctor would look like without his trademark facial hairthrough funnySonic-related artwork, but Eggman has rarely been seen with a clean-shaved face in any official source outside the occasional glimpse.
That is finally changing after nearly 32 years, as Dr. Eggman is shaving off his mustache in an official promotional crossover between Movember and the recently releasedSonic Superstars. The news was broken by the official Sega Twitter account, which posted an image of Eggman’s “Classic” design with a transparent outline where his legendary facial hair would normally be. Fans have naturally filled the comments section with their reactions to theSonic Superstarsversion of Eggman’s newly clean-shaven appearance, comparing him to characters like Captain Underpants, Gru from theDespicable Meseries, and even his younger alternate reality counterparts from theSonic Primeanimated series.
As noted before, Eggman’s new look is being shared in support of Movember, an annual promotion held throughout the month of November to raise money and awareness for various physical and mental men’s health issues like prostate cancer, testicular cancer, men’s suicide, and more. Normally participants grow a mustache to promote Movember, with some even modeling their new facial hair afterfamous video game characters like Mario, Dr. Wiley from theMega Manfranchise, and (in a humorous twist of irony) Dr. Eggman himself.
Since Dr. Eggman is infamous for his signature mustache, Sega has decided to help promote Movember by shaving him instead - and finally givingSonic the Hedgehogfans a look beneath the evil scientist’s facial hair after little over three decades. While it’s rare to see a fictional character participate in Movember (especially one of gaming’s most nefarious villains), it seems that even Dr. Eggman has a heart when it comes to raising awareness about often-overlooked men’s health issues.
