Art by Casanovas and John M Burns
The Launch Base Zone was a man-made location on the Floating Island and the one-time home of Doctor Robotnik and Grimer. The Zone's sole purpose was to facilitate the repair of the second Death Egg after it crash-landed on top of the Lava Reef Zone. Large enough to fit all of Robotnik's robots and the construction, the Zone could be seen from as far as the Sandopolis Zone.
Initially, the Zone matched its in-game appearance, complete with chequered walls and yellow floors. However, as the Death Egg prepared to launch, all that seemed to remain were the turrets holding the ship in place. For the majority of the Launch Base's life, Robotnik and Grimer actually resided on the Death Egg, with Trooper Badniks patrolling the area. The only other person to enter the Zone was Knuckles the Echidna who, in an attempt to rid his island of all Robotnik's influence, broke his way into the main control room, took Grimer hostage and forced him to tell Robotnik that the echidna was dead.
After the launch of the Death Egg, the Zone was destroyed by the ship's main thrusters, blowing the scaffolding apart.
Badniks[]
Within the pages of Sonic the Comic, only Troopers were ever seen to guard the Launch Base Zone. However, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 also tells us that the Zone was patrolled by many Flybot767s, variations of Ribot, Snail Blaster and a new Orbinaut. Oddly, none of these are included in the "Sonic 3" section of the Sonic the Summer Special Sonic's World.