The Sonic movies have been a resounding hit, bringing in a collective $1 billion after the release of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 last month. Though parts of the films have been divisive for relying on original human characters, who some fans argue steal screentime from the speedy anthropomorphic animals that people show up for, there has been one human character created for the films who has captured fans’ hearts across all three movies: Lee Majdoub’s Agent Stone. Eggman’s loyal-to-a-fault henchman has been a consistent supporting character through all three movies thus far, and Sonic 3 pretty much solidified what had become a long-running fan joke and theory since the first movie premiered in 2020: Agent Stone is absolutely in love with Jim Carrey’s Eggman, and these movies are slow burn toxic yaoi.
While Sonic 3 presents easily the most emotionally charged version of Agent Stone’s love for Eggman, this guy has been self-destructively devoted to the mad scientist since day one. My god, is it toxic. In the first film, Carrey’s version of Eggman was defined by a mostly grounded superiority complex He’s just a dick to everyone, and that includes Stone. However, Stone’s undying loyalty means he takes it all on the chin, and the dom/sub undertones are not subtle. There’s a scene in which Eggman puts his hand in Stone’s mouth and pulls him close to whisper sweet nothings (unbridled abuse) into his ear. Later, he makes Stone pin himself to a wall as he once again hurls not-so-niceties his way, and the imagery is enough to make even people who are watching the scenes out of context blush.
It was with Sonic the Hedgehog 2 that the movies dropped any notion of subtlety about how Agent Stone feels about the doctor. After Eggman is jettisoned onto a different planet at the end of the first movie, Stone opens up a coffee shop like a sad widower still hoping to see his husband return from the war. His first scene in the movie has him making latte art of himself and his ex-boss with hearts coming out of it. Gay. We later see more of Stone putting up with abuse, but my guy seems to be enjoying every second of it and still sticks with Eggman through another defeat at the hands of Sonic. By the time Sonic 3 is ready to finally address the abusive elephant in the room, it is some of the angstiest shit in a movie that has Keanu Reeves as a brooding, revenge-driven hedgehog.
In between all the pop culture references and needle drops, Sonic 3 is probably the most raw of all three movies, and that extends to Stone and Eggman’s relationship. Stone has become a capable protector for his superior, who has entered a deep depression after losing to Sonic last time. But when the doctor meets his grandfather, who seemingly replaces Stone as the most important person in his life, the agent is left abandoned as Eggman goes off to try and conquer the world without him. The “breakup” includes a painful phone call in which Stone pleads with Eggman to come back, saying that he’s not there to protect him from whatever his grandfather is planning and that he “can’t lose [him] again.” I turned to my siblings in the theater to remark about how gay it was. But it all comes to a bittersweet end as Eggman apologizes on a worldwide broadcast just before his apparent death while Stone helplessly watches with the saddest puppy-dog eyes to grace a theater screen. This is the tragic, toxic shit that terabytes of fanfiction and fan art are made of. After the events of Sonic 3, all the long-time Stobonik shippers are having a field day with edits and fanart, and new fans are realizing what they’ve been missing.
Given Eggman’s supposed death, it’s unclear if Agent Stone will have any role in the next Sonic movie coming in 2027. However, given the character’s popularity, it would be a shame to have one of the few human characters fans seem to universally love go away just as he’s finding himself. Fans are already hoping that Majdoub could return as Stone in the reported Shadow spin-off as the two had some rapport in Sonic 3. Also, since both characters are grieving Robotniks and have a love of coffee, they’ll have plenty to talk about. The suggestion already has fans running with ideas and jokes.
While the future of Eggman and Stone is uncertain, one thing that is certain is that Majdoub approves of the Stobotnik ship. Here he is endorsing the pairing and saying that “toxic yaoi’s the shit.” So true, bestie.