Shadow the Hedgehog: Difference between revisions

Shadow the Hedgehog
Sonic the Hedgehog character
File:Shadow Sonic06.png Shadow, as seen in the video game Sonic The Hedgehog (2006 game).
First game	Sonic Adventure 2

This article is about the video game character. For the video game under the same name, see Shadow the Hedgehog (video game).

Shadow the Hedgehog (シャドウ・ザ・ヘッジホッグ, Shadou za Hejjihoggu) is a fictional character from the Sonic the Hedgehog series. He is an anti hero, and a rival of Sonic the Hedgehog. Created as the Ultimate Life Form, he is immortal and does not age, and while Sega states his age as 'unknown', he has been in stasis for approximatly 50 years, and IGN has listed his age as 15. He first appeared in the Sega Dreamcast game Sonic Adventure 2, and was designed by Yuji Uekawa.

Since his debut, Shadow has appeared in a multitude of games as well as in shows and comic books. He was almost a complete mystery until the game Shadow the Hedgehog revealed his past. According to official polls, Shadow is the second most popular character in the series, second only to Sonic himself. A seperate poll on the same website also revealed that, at least in Japan, Shadow is "most wanted character for make more appearance of number one enjoy" (Metal Sonic was in second, with Knuckles in third), even though there are only a small handful of games that he has not appeared in since his debut.

History

Sonic Adventure 2

Shadow debuted in the game Sonic Adventure 2 as the main villain. Dr. Eggman had set Shadow free from G.U.N. base, and in exchange he agreed to aid the doctor in his plans. Shadow informed him that the only way to achieve this goal would be with the ultimate weapon, The Eclipse Cannon. It was a giant laser cannon aboard the Space Colony ARK, that could decimate entire planets with a single blast. However, to function, it would require large amounts of power due to its long inactivity, and thus, decides to empower it with Chaos Emeralds.

Eventually, Rouge the Bat joined with Shadow and Dr. Eggman to help them acquire the Chaos Emeralds (although her true motive was to determine if Shadow was in fact the "ultimate life form"), but became trapped. Soon after Shadow heard of this, he began to think of Maria and immediately set off to rescue her. After saving Rouge's life, together they used six of the Chaos Emeralds, thus providing enough power to destroy half the moon. This action set Sonic and Co. on a mission to stop them from furthering their goals. They forced their way onto the ARK and attempted to stop Shadow, Eggman and Rouge.

At one point Rouge went to the control room of the ARK where the Chaos Emeralds were held and announced out loud (to no one in particular) that they were hers. Unfortunately for her, Shadow had just walked in the room, and told her he thought otherwise. A brief argument led to Rouge's declaration that she had found the official report of "Project Shadow", and that the picture of the real ultimate life form showed not Shadow the Hedgehog, but a giant lizard called the Biolizard. When Shadow asserted that he was the true ultimate life form, she called into question the authenticity of his memories.

It was at that moment that Dr. Eggman notified Shadow that someone had triggered the alarm, so Shadow set off to stop the intruder. The disturbance was discovered to be Sonic, whom he then clashed with. Later, Dr. Eggman was able to steal the last Chaos Emerald and placed it in the cannon, fully powering it. However, instead of firing at its full strength, Dr. Eggman inadvertently activated a program his grandfather Gerald Robotnik had left in the ARK's computer. The ARK moved the Chaos Emeralds into its core and set itself on a collision course with the planet. Now that all seven Chaos Emeralds were powering it, the ARK contained enough power to shatter the planet.

While everyone rushed to stop this from happening, Amy Rose stumbled across Shadow, who was staring out at space. She begged him to help stop the planet's destruction but he refused, insisting that nothing could be done, and that he wanted this to happen. However, her continued pleas set off a suppressed memory of Maria's final request before her sacrifice, "Give them (the people of Earth) a chance to be happy." This thought moved Shadow, and he quickly went to assist Sonic and Knuckles.

He reached the ARK's core to find Sonic and Knuckles approaching the prototype of the "Ultimate Lifeform", the Biolizard (as this prototype was the giant lizard in the report Rouge found, her accusations that Shadow was a fake were effectively nulled). Shadow urged the two to focus on the Chaos Emeralds while he fought with the Biolizard. After Shadow defeated the Biolizard, Sonic and Knuckles managed to stop the Emeralds. The massive lizard then merged itself with the ARK to become The FinalHazard and keep the ARK on collision course.

In light of this, Sonic and Shadow used the power of the Chaos Emeralds to transform into Super Sonic and Super Shadow. Together they destroyed FinalHazard and Super Shadow and Super Sonic used Chaos Control to prevent the free-falling ARK from destroying the planet. But in doing so, Shadow fell to Earth. Eggman managed to save Shadow with one of his robots. The fall almost completely wiped his memory.

Sonic Heroes

File:140px-Shadow 12.jpg

Shadow as seen in Sonic Heroes

In the game Sonic Heroes, Rouge discovered Shadow in a stasis tube located in the deepest part of one of Dr. Eggman's bases. It was soon revealed that Shadow had amnesia and could not remember anything before his release from the stasis tube, except for brief images of Maria's death. He then joined forces with Rouge and the robot E-123 Omega to form Team Dark (as their speed member) and find Dr. Eggman.

Soon after hearing Dr. Eggman proclaimed that he "has no past to remember", Shadow discovered a half-destroyed Shadow robot and realized that he too might just be a robot. Later, Team Dark defeated the Eggman's Air Fleet and discovered that the person they had been chasing was a fake. For as the team ran to continue the mission, Metal Sonic, of whom had been hiding under the guise of Dr. Eggman the entire time, claimed that he had successfully copied the Ultimate Lifeform data (Shadow's D.N.A.). As Shadow continued his mission, he stated that "Even if I'm not real, I'm still the Ultimate Life-form, Shadow the Hedgehog!"

Afterwards, Rouge stumbled upon a room filled with hundreds of Shadow Androids. As Omega arrived to destroy the room and everything in it, Rouge affirmed her belief that their Shadow was a robot (in the Japanese version, Rouge says that their Shadow is an artificial being since he was created by humans). However, Omega reassured her that the original Shadow had to exist somewhere in order for Eggman to make copies. Rouge decided to stay with Shadow while Omega destroyed the Androids inside the fortress. Rouge held a conversation with Shadow about going after the Master Emerald, to which he smirked and replied that some things never change. Later, when Metal Sonic transformed into Metal Madness, Shadow worked with Rouge, Omega, and the other teams to distract him long enough for Sonic to power up into his Super Form.

At the end of the game, Shadow was last seen with Omega and the defeated Metal Sonic.

Sonic Battle

Sonic Battle was released before Sonic Heroes, but was most likely set after it. Rouge saves Shadow's life while they are investigating Dr. Eggman's secret base and takes him back to her home.

In Sonic Battle, although he does not go into detail, he talks about how the people of Earth must destroy him (and Emerl) if they ever want peace, still believing that he is a weapon. However it is revealed that he has the heart and soul of Professor Gerald Robotnik's granddaughter Maria ultimately, meaning he cannot be evil, as Maria was a good person. However, Gerald's explanation in his diary for creating Shadow contradicts the explanation given in Sonic Adventure 2 and Shadow The Hedgehog.

In one of the Professor's journal entries, it mentions that "Project: Shadow" was put on hold because of Project: Gizoid, and that Shadow was completed approximately a week before the ARK was attacked.

Shadow the Hedgehog (game)

In Shadow the Hedgehog, Shadow is first seen standing outside of the city Westopolis, reminiscing the only memory he has, that of Maria's death. He sees a red cloud appear, and the Black Arms fall from it into the city. Shadow dismisses it, but then a mysterious figure appeared before him. The figure orders him to bring him the seven Chaos Emeralds "as promised", and soon vanishes. Shadow sets out to find them, but gets caught up in a conflict between various foes and allies: the G.U.N. army, the alien race, known as the Black Arms, Dr. Eggman, and the rest of the Sonic cast.

Due to the style of the game, there are 10 different endings, some showing scenarios such as Shadow's false belief that he is a Shadow Android created by Dr. Eggman, three showing him apparently killing Eggman (at least, it shows him raising his hand, his hand moving quickly towards Eggman's face, then the screen goes black with Eggman saying "Nooooooo..."), defeating Sonic and the G.U.N. Commander, and some showing him defeating Black Doom. However, the "Final" ending ties together all the endings to reveal the truth about Shadow's mysterious past.

It is revealed that Shadow's creator Professor Gerald Robotnik, was, as Black Doom puts it, "in development of the ultimate life force", i.e. immortality. However, he had trouble with his experiments. In order to achieve his goals, he contacted the Black Comet, home to Black Doom and the Black Arms. He made a deal with Black Doom; If Black Doom helped Gerald with his research, he would deliver the seven Chaos Emeralds. Using Black Doom's DNA, they created Shadow the Hedgehog, who would aid in Professor Gerald's experiments and help Black Doom get the Emeralds. However, shortly after Shadow's completion, Gerald discovered that Black Doom wanted the Emeralds in order to take over Earth, using all living creatures as incubators for the Black Arms larvae and for energy sources. This is why Professor Gerald created the Eclipse Cannon: with the intention of destroying the Black Comet, and he depended on Shadow to execute this plan.

Later, Shadow gathered all seven Chaos Emeralds and Black Doom appears demanding for them. Then, Sonic, his friends, and Dr. Eggman appear and tell Shadow not to give the emeralds to them. However, Black Doom uses a gas on the others, to freeze them in place. Sending larvae to devour them, he then steals the Chaos Emeralds to perform Chaos Control, teleporting the Black Comet to Earth. Just as he does so, Shadow decides to discard his past, and then pursues Black Doom.

Upon catching up to Black Doom, Shadow confronts him for the emeralds, but he forces Shadow down with his mind-control, revealing that Shadow was created from Black Doom's blood. Afterwards, the Chaotix manage to hack into the ARK's database, and the Professor appears on a screen behind Black Doom. He then tells Shadow of his past through a recording.

Shadow finds the strength to struggle to his feet, and as he attempts to attack, Black Doom disappears and changes into Devil Doom. Using the Chaos Emeralds, Shadow transforms into Super Shadow and battles with Devil Doom. During this battle, Dr. Eggman informs Shadow that he is in fact the original Shadow, rescued after the battle at the ARK by one of Eggman's robots. Eventually, Shadow defeated him and Devil Doom fell to Earth. To finally rid the world of the Black Arms and do away with his past, Shadow used Chaos Control to teleport the Black Comet in front of the Eclipse Cannon, then went in the ARK, fired the Eclipse Cannon at full power and destroyed the Black Comet along with all of the Black Arms inside of it.

Shadow was last seen aboard the ARK, looking out the window and holding an old greyscale photo of the Professor and Maria, whispering "Goodbye forever, Shadow the Hedgehog..." He then drops the old photo as he makes his way out of the room. It should be noted though that in the original Japanese version, Shadow mutters "Sayonara, Shadow the Hedgehog". These were Maria's last words to Shadow before he was ejected from the ARK, and Sonic's last words in Sonic Adventure 2 as he leaves the ARK after Shadow's supposed death.

Sega Superstars

Shadow appears as an unlockable character in this game for the PlayStation 2's Eye Toy. Upon collecting the Chaos Emeralds, he can transform into Super Shadow.

Sonic Riders

Shadow is an unlockable character in the game Sonic Riders. He is unlocked by beating the Hero Story and acts as a speed character, similar to Sonic the Hedgehog and uses Chaos Control to attack his opponents.

Shadow's default racing gear is his skates, a variation of his Air Shoes, which are called "Darkness". He can also use boards and bikes, and other characters can use his skates. Shadow plays no part in the story, and only appears as an unlockable character.

Sonic the Hedgehog

Shadow is a playable character and has his own storyline which weaves with those of Sonic and new character Silver the Hedgehog. Now a government agent, Shadow encounters new villain Mephiles the Dark. Mephiles greatly resembles Shadow, due to using the latter's shadow to grant himself a physical form. Mephiles takes a special interest in Shadow as due to time travel Shadow had imprisoned Mephiles a decade prior in the Scepter of Darkness. Using his mastery of time travel, Mephiles reveals that in the future in which the monsterous Iblis roams free humanity would betray Shadow, reprogramming E-123 Omega to defeat and imprison him. Despite these attempts to break his resolve, Shadow (aided by a promise from Rouge that no matter what the future may bring she would never desert him) continued to fight back against Mephiles. When Mephiles achieved his goal of combining with Iblis into the stronger being known as Solaris, Super Shadow joined Super Sonic and Super Silver in a successful attempt to defeat the villain before it could devour time itself.

Sonic Rivals

Shadow appears alongside Sonic, Knuckles, Silver, and Metal Sonic in Sonic Rivals as a playable character.

Summoned to a strange land by Dr. Eggman via a cryptic transmission asking for his aid, Shadow is able to successfully locate Dr. Eggman, but once he mentions the cryptic message, Dr. Eggman denies it. The mystery continues to unfold itself as Rouge warns him of an impending danger and upon stumbling across a secret about Dr. Eggman, her transmission is cut off short. Shrouded with mystery, Shadow continues his quest to uncover the truth about Dr. Eggman and find Rouge.

Later, it is revealed that Rouge and Dr. Eggman himself were imprisoned in special cards. The Dr. Eggman Shadow had been chasing was actually Eggman Nega, who imprisoned the two. It is also revealed that Eggman Nega is a descendant of Dr. Eggman. Eggman Nega then reveals his intentions: While being a brilliant scientist in the future, Eggman Nega never was accepted by anybody due to his predecessor's constant failures. Eggman Nega wants to change the past so that he will amount to something in the future.

Shadow pursues Eggman Nega and eventually frees Dr. Eggman. He then proceeds to free Rouge and stop Eggman Nega permanently. After reaching the center of Eggman Nega's base, Eggman Nega launches a battleship that he will use to change time. Shadow boards the battleship and destroys it, defeating Eggman Nega and freeing Rouge in the process.

Afterwards, Rouge teases Shadow, saying she can see their future. Shadow responds, "Hmph. Do what you like."

Personality

Shadow is a lone wolf who distances himself from Sonic and his friends. He doesn't talk much, if he does he usually has a soft spoken nature, but he never bluffs; if he makes a threat, he has every intention of carrying it out. As shown in Shadow the Hedgehog, he has a distinct killer instinct. Shadow is willing to do whatever it takes to get what he wants, and when he's determined, he is literally unstoppable. Dark and destructive, he is one of the most violent and aggressive characters in the series, willing to destroy anyone or anything that gets in his way. He has a tendency to treat others in a very callous manner.

At times, Shadow has been shown to be somewhat insecure, since he was constantly haunted by flashbacks and memories of his close friend, Maria. However, after solving the mystery of his past, he chose to leave all thoughts of his past and Maria's death behind him. Whether this means that he wants to forget everything and start over or simply stop letting the past control him anymore is up to debate.

In the cartoon Sonic X, Shadow is less aggressive, but he is still very violent. For example, Shadow attempted to kill Cosmo for being a Metarex spy, even though she was an unwilling one. Tails then tried to protect Cosmo, which resulted in Shadow giving him a severe beating. He then told Tails to stop protecting Cosmo because he did not wish to kill them both. Yet upon cornering Cosmo, Shadow told her to close her eyes, saying it was better that she die without knowing what she was (that being an instrument of Metarex to spy on the heroes). The English dub of the cartoon series tones down Shadow's attitude to make the show acceptable for younger viewers.

In the Sonic the Hedgehog comic books, Shadow was once depicted as being very aggressive and violent towards others, and would destroy anyone who got in the way of his objectives. Over time however, Shadow seems to have lost some of his aggressiveness and has actually become more gentle.

Relationships

File:Mariaofficailart.png

Maria, as she appears in the game Shadow the Hedgehog.

Shadow had been created by Professor Gerald Robotnik,^[1] Dr. Eggman's grandfather, with the use of Black Doom's DNA. Soon after being created Shadow became good friends with the Professor's granddaughter, Maria, and treated her like his sister. However, Maria sacrificed herself to save Shadow from the Space Colony A.R.K. during a military siege of the station. After her death, Maria's sacrifice continuously haunted Shadow, until he finally decided to let go of his past at the end of Shadow the Hedgehog. Maria is generally referenced in most games Shadow has appeared in, with the exception of Sonic Heroes, due to Shadow's amnesia, and Sonic Riders, since Shadow didn't have a place in the main story.

Shadow's approach to Dr. Eggman is quite different to that of other characters. His relation to the Doctor is neither that of a staunch enemy nor ally, choosing instead to form alliances with or against him depending on the circumstances. Although Shadow appears to show little regard for whether Dr. Eggman's schemes succeed or not, clashes do occur when he gets in his way. Yet despite this, they display a certain amount of respect for each other's abilities. Shadow demonstrates this by calling the would-be world conqueror by his title "the Doctor", as opposed to his nickname Eggman. Almost in return, the Doctor had once referred to Shadow's abilities as "spectacular".

One of Shadow's main rivals and adversaries is none other than Sonic the Hedgehog. When the two first meet in Sonic Adventure 2, they immediately become enemies, but over time their relationship develops into a strong rivalry. They frequently fight for different reasons, and Shadow finds Sonic to be very irritating. Under various circumstances, the two hedgehogs will work together for a common goal, but usually when it requires teamwork. One example of this, is when Shadow and Sonic combat the Finalhazard at the end of Sonic Adventure 2.

Shadow also has a close connection to Rouge . He saves her life in Sonic Adventure 2 when he rescues her from an explosive fate in Security Hall after she enters an inevitable security trap that tries to foil the effort to plunder three Chaos Emeralds to power Eggman's Eclipse Cannon (though he himself tells Rouge he did it for the Emeralds). In Sonic Heroes, she quite accidentally but profitably releases him from a capsule inside Eggman's base while looking for the doctor's "secret treasure", then seconds later gets rescued by the newly awakened Shadow from being shot by E-123 Omega. In Sonic Battle, Rouge saves him from a Guard Robo and takes him to her place, letting him stay there during his coma. Seeing as they usually end up being on the same team whether by choice or force, he considers her an "ally" and the feelings are mutual.

E-123 Omega is an ally of Shadow. After starting off as enemies, he and Omega become friends and help each other in battle. During Sonic Heroes, Shadow, Omega, and Rouge work together as a team, forming Team Dark. In Shadow the Hedgehog, Omega helps Shadow to find and confront Dr. Eggman in the Iron Jungle and Lava Shelter levels, the Iron Jungle Egg Breaker boss, and the Lava Shelter Egg Dealer final bosses. They are somewhat reluctant allies, but they share the same goals (such as revenge on Eggman) and show a respect for the other's power.

Shadow also has an association with Amy Rose. Near the end of Sonic Adventure 2, Amy encounters him in one of the A.R.K.'s rooms and begs him to help the others save the planet. At first Shadow refuses, insisting that nothing can be done, but her continued pleadings trigger his memory of Maria's dying wish which was identical to Amy's message--to save the people of Earth. Shadow can also choose to assist her in searching for Cream the Rabbit and her pet Chao Cheese during the Cryptic Castle level of Shadow the Hedgehog.

Abilities

Basic traits between Shadow and Sonic are virtually identical. However, there are differences. First of all, Shadow's strength is greater than Sonic's (in Shadow the Hedgehog he can flip over a bus with one hand, as well as huge slabs of pavement). Next, due to his air shoes, he can "skate" incredibly fast . Lastly, he has different Chaos powers.

Shadow's trademark move is Chaos Control, which allows him to warp time and space. Shadow uses it mainly to transport matter and to stop time or slow it down. As seen in many games, Shadow does not need a Chaos Emerald to activate Chaos Control, but it does amplify the magnitude of it. Sonic, Black Doom and Silver can also use Chaos Control, though the move originally appeared with Shadow. Shadow is also able to use Chaos Control to perform a variety of offensive and defensive attacks as seen in Sonic Battle.

Shadow also possesses other Chaos powers, such as Chaos Blast and Chaos Spear. Chaos Blast creates a powerful explosion that destroys everything within a 20 yard radius. Chaos Spear is a powerful energy bolt that can be shot in groups or as a single bolt. Both moves are highly destructive.

As shown in Sonic the Hedgehog, Shadow will unleash all of his energy if he takes off the rings on his wrists. This can also be seen in Sonic X, where Shadow loses his rings when trying to stop the ARK from crashing to earth. Sonic later enters the ARK with one of Shadow's rings in his hands, presuming Shadow died.

In Shadow the Hedgehog, Shadow has shown that he can also use a wide range of close-combat weapons, firearms, semi-automatics, and heavy assault weapons. He can also improvise with debris, and drive a wide range of vehicles.

In Sonic the Hedgehog, Shadow uses four new abilities, some of which need to be unlocked by purchasing them in the store. Chaos Boost is when Shadow starts to glow red (similar to when Chaos Blast is activated) and he becomes invincible to most enemy attacks. Chaos Snap allows Shadow to instantly teleport in front of up to five enemies in a chain of attacks. Chaos Lance is when Shadow fires multiple Chaos Spears, although red during this attack. Chaos Attack is when, after using a Homing Attack on an enemy, Shadow rapidly attacks the enemy, doing consecutive damage with each hit. He is also seen doing a spin kick similar to Sonic's, but with slightly more power.

Another trademark of Shadow is his Air Shoes, which are also called Jet Shoes or Hover Shoes (a slightly different pair called "Darkness" appeared in Sonic Riders). These utilize hover jets in the soles of the shoes to reduce friction and enable Shadow to "skate" incredibly fast , as well as hover in mid-air. Shadow's actual running speed source is unknown.

Transformations

Super Shadow

File:SuperShadowCG.png

Super Shadow as he appears in Shadow the Hedgehog

When Shadow harnesses either the power of the seven Chaos Emeralds or the excess power of Super Sonic, he can become Super Shadow . In this form, his black fur changes into a metallic lemon cream color, and his forehead stripe becomes shorter in length, most noticeably in Sonic Adventure 2 (whether this is intended or not is unknown). He also radiates an aura of golden chaos energy, and the flames from his skates turn purple. Super Shadow made his first appearance in Sonic Adventure 2, where he had to battle against the FinalHazard with Super Sonic. Like other super characters, Shadow requires rings in order to maintain this super form.

In Super form, Shadow becomes stronger, faster, gains the ability to fly, and has increased defense. He retains all of his normal abilities including his Chaos Powers, but they are amplified to much higher magnitudes. Although able to air dash, he may also make charged dashes. Using his hand, he is able to fire Chaos Spears as either rapid small blasts, or a single charged up blast of energy.

In Sonic Adventure 2, Super Shadow appeared to be a metallic champagne color during game play. This led to an ongoing debate on what color he was as there were various descriptions of the color. However, this was caused by a graphical processing error in the Dreamcast during the battle. This was fixed for Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, and Super Shadow has appeared as a metallic lemon cream color ever since.

Super Shadow is also mistakenly called "Hyper Shadow" due to a printing error in a strategy guide.

Other appearances

Sonic X

File:Shadow-SonicX38.jpg

Shadow, as seen in the anime Sonic X.

Shadow also appears on the cartoon Sonic X. Episodes 33 through 38 are based on Sonic Adventure 2, with quite a few differences from the game. For one, it was Chris Thorndyke who reminded Shadow of his true promise from Maria, not Amy Rose. Afterwards, he makes short appearances in flashbacks, but he makes his true return in episode 60, “The Return of Shadow.” In Japan he is voiced by his game voice actor, but in the dub he is voiced by Jason Griffith, who also does the voice of Sonic.

In Season 3, Shadow had no clear memory of his mysterious past, although in one episode, he seems to have an image of Maria in his mind. However, he cannot seem to work out who she really was. In that same episode, Dr. Eggman visits people of a planet the Metarex are warring with, including one orange-haired female teenager by the name of Molly. Shadow and Rouge meet her, and at the end of the episode, Molly was killed by the Metarex. Shadow erects a makeshift grave for her, and Rouge notes that she was similar to Maria.

Later, Shadow receives a faint memory of Maria as he is holding the grey Chaos Emerald in his hands. In the last episode of the third season, as Shadow is in his Super form, in his mind there is an image of Molly, which used to be Maria in the episode "Molly's Dream". Shadow then performs Chaos Control to save everyone from an exploding planet, leaving a slightly confused Sonic and his friends behind. In the Japanese/French version of the last episode Shadow is seen at Molly's grave, where he seems to have put a pink flower on it.

The anime also mentions that Shadow is associated with a folklore hero named Black Wind, possibly a reference to "Black Whirlwind" Li Kui from the classic Chinese novel "The Water Margin."

Sonic the Hedgehog comic

File:Sonic146.jpg

Shadow, as seen in the comic issue #146.

Shadow has appeared a few times in the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series. He first appears in Issue #98, which is an introduction to the game Sonic Adventure 2, with a few changes to accommodate the Archie version of Mobius/Earth. The comic skips over the events of the game, and Shadow reappears in Issue #124 with an explanation of how he survived his apparent death: An alien race, the Bem, rescued him so he could combat their enemy, the alien Xorda, buying the Bem time to escape. However, Shadow could not defeat the Xorda and plummeted toward Mobius. He survived the fall and was found by Sonic.

Shadow often works alone to achieve his goal, which is to discover the truth about his mysterious history. He has allied with Sonic to fight greater evils, like the Xorda, and he has been known to work either for or against Dr. Eggman depending on the circumstances (once even threatening to kill him in Issue #133). Often, he will side with whomever he believes will bring him closer to the truth. This search has led him to interact with various other characters, including the robot Isaac, Knuckles' father Locke, and various versions of Metal Sonic. He also has some connection with the being or beings responsible for the creation of Croctobot, the robot created from a fusion of Crocbot and Octobot. He has also sworn to protect Hope Kintobor at all costs, viewing it as atoning for Maria's death since Hope is one of the few living beings to show compassion towards him besides Maria, and also bears a striking resemblance to her (enough so that he nearly mistook Hope for Maria at one point).

His threats to kill Dr. Eggman were cut short when the villain revealed his blood-connection to the late Maria and hinted he could help uncover Shadow's past. Shadow allied himself with Dr. Eggman in hopes of the doctor making good on his promise. However, he later found himself captured by A.D.A.M., who wishes to use him and Tails to collect every Chaos Emerald in the universe by use of his Super Chaos Control.

It has been revealed that in the storyline for future issue 171, Shadow will be (or coming close to) discovering his past. It is currently unknown if this will be expanded in the issues to follow or if the Black Arms will make a cameo.

Alternate Selves

Android and Clone Versions (Games)

In the video games Sonic Heroes and Shadow the Hedgehog, Shadow encounters several androids made in his image.

File:Mobius 25 years later (Pt 1).JPG

Front cover of Mobius: 25 Years Later (Pt. 1)

Gifted with similar powers as Shadow, Shadow Androids can also fire homing missiles from their hands.

In the multi-player mode in Shadow the Hedgehog, there are five special Shadow Androids, along with the original Shadow. Four of these robots are silver with green, pink, orange, or blue stripes, each wielding either an alien-like machinegun or a bazooka. One android looks just like Shadow, and another looks similar but his stripes and parts of his clothing are yellowish-oragnge instead of red (his eyes are red though). They, like the original Shadow, start off without weapons but can carry any other weapon they collect. All of these androids claim to be the original, and claim that the others are fakes.

Possible Future (Comics)

In the second version of the comic's Mobius: 25 Years Later possible future storyline, Shadow becomes King of Mobius and the husband of Sally Acorn. Because of this, Sonic and Sally's children Sonia and Manik cease to exist. In this future, Shadow rules the planet with an iron fist, with a futuristic Knuckles serving as his chief enforcer. In addition, he has an alliance with Lien-Da, Grand Master of the Dark Legion. After King Sonic and Lara-su return from their excursions to the past, Shadow orders their imprisonment, along with a number of other enemies such as Rotor and Tails. King Shadow seems to be aware of the timeline's alteration, as he has made efforts against all those who were involved in trying to save the future. However, his reign came to an end when he was defeated by none other than Lara-Su.

Voice actors

• In Japan, he is voiced by Kouji Yusa.
• Before Shadow the Hedgehog, he was voiced by David Humphrey.
• In Sonic X, and as of Shadow the Hedgehog, Shadow's official English voice actor is Jason Griffith, who also voices and Sonic and Jet the Hawk.

Theme songs

• Sonic Adventure 2: "Throw it All Away".
• Sonic Heroes: Team Dark's "This Machine".
• Shadow the Hedgehog: "Almost Dead", "Waking Up", "Chosen One", "All Hail Shadow", and "Never Turn Back".
• Sonic the Hedgehog: "All Hail Shadow" Remix
• As Super Shadow: "Live and Learn", "I Am... All of Me (Devil Doom Version)", "Super Shadow".

References & notes

In addition to information taken from the Sonic the Hedgehog games themselves, the instruction booklets of the US and Japanese versions of the games were also used as references for this article.

1. ^ AbsoluteAnime.com. "Information on Shadow's personality". Retrieved May 29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
2. ^ Sonic HQ.com. "Rouge's report on Shadow". Retrieved April 5. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)

External links

• Shadow the Hedgehog (Game) (Official Website)\
• Shadow's Hq Fansite