The Badniks are creations of the mad scientist Dr. Ivo Robotnik used in his plans to dominate the world. The term Badnik was disowned starting with Sonic Adventure for reasons unknown, especially since they have appeared in later games. It is probably because the Japanese name was always "Eggman's Robots".
History[]
The very first Badniks ever seen were encountered by Sonic when he tried to stop the evil Dr. Robotnik for the very first time. Most of them are animal-like in nature, but there are exceptions. Sonic was surprised to find that when he defeated a Badnik, a normal animal popped out of the destroyed remnants of the robot. These were the first cases of bio-forms being used to power mechanical devices, although this wasn't the only source of energy Badniks used. In time, Sonic saw that Badniks could also harvest energy from Rings and even plant life.
Dr. Robotnik, according to the Sonic the Hedgehog (comics) version of Sonic the Hedeghog, also had a more sinister and dark form of creating Badniks. Using a machine called a roboticizer, he could meld any animal on Mobius with robotic implants, making them slaves for his own bidding. He also had a trained army of Badniks called SWATbots that patrolled his domain. They were trained in many military tactics and maneuvers, making them a highly lethal enemy.
According to the Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog cartoon series, some Badniks were actually given a sense of life and emotion, as evidenced by the characters Scratch, Grounder and Coconuts. They are constantly seen bickering and arguing with each other, much to the dissatisfaction of Robotnik.
In rare cases, it has been seen that some Badniks are actually powered by just an electric device (like a battery) inside their bodies. When they are destroyed, nothing will pop out of them. It is known that the animals are used to power the Badniks. But it is also possible that when Robotnik puts them in the Badniks, the animal becomes twisted and corrupted and are somehow working the Badniks from the inside until Sonic or his friends frees them, but probably they are only used as mere batteries trapped inside the robot's body.