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Shadow the Hedgehog

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Shadow

Shadow the Hedgehog (シャドウ・ザ・ヘッジホッグ, Shadō za Hejjihoggu), is a character and deuteragonist from the Sonic Pokémon series created by Yuji Naka and Satoshi Tajiri. He is a dark doppelgänger, immortal, mobian hedgehog/Black Arm hybrid, and arch-rival of Sonic the Hedgehog. Shadow was created as the "Ultimate Life Form" (究極生命体, Kyūkyoku Seimeitai) by Gerald Robotnik, using the DNA of Black Doom, and is the end result of Project Shadow. His purpose was to provide ways to develop a cure for incurable deadly illnesses, more specifically for Gerald's granddaughter Maria Robotnik, but he was captured and put into stasis on Prison Island by the military when he was deemed as a threat to humanity.

Fifty years later, Shadow was released by Dr. Eggman in order to enlist him in his plan to conquer the world. Initially, Shadow worked with him but secretly sought to destroy the planet in order to avenge Maria, who had been killed by the military, but was persuaded to save it from Gerald's doomsday plans. In the process, Shadow lost his memories and as such, sought to uncover the truth of his past, during which he met Black Doom and the Black Arms; in the end, Shadow regained his memories, uncovered the truth, and thwarted Black Doom's agenda and saved the world. From there, he continued his mission to protect humanity by becoming a special agent of GUN.

Shadow is sharp-witted, always on edge, and has a strong sense of purpose, willing to accomplish his goals by any means. Essentially a dark version of Sonic, Shadow can match him in both speed and skill, and can use Chaos Control with a Chaos Emerald. While preferring to work alone, he has helped Sonic and his allies when needed.

"If the world chooses to become my enemy, I will fight like I always have."

—Shadow the Hedgehog.

Appearance & Biography[]

Voice Actor (4kids): Jason Griffith (English), Kōji Yusa (Japanese), Not Known (Albanian), Fadwa Souleimane (Arabic), Not Known (Basque), Reginaldo Primo (Brazilian), Not Known (Cantonese), Not Known (Catalan), Not Known (Chinese), Victor Swaay (Dutch), Not Known (Finnish), Benoît DuPac (French), Not Known (Galician), Jan Panczak (German), Not Known (Greek), Yaron Menashe (Hebrew), Not Known (Hungarian), Not Known (Indonesian), Fabrizio Vidale (Italian), Jeong Jae-heon (Korean), Not Known (Mandarin), Not Known (Norwegian), Grzegorz Przybył (Polish), Peter Michael (Portuguese), Not Known (Romanian), Dmitriy Filimonov (Russian), Not Known (Serbian), Ricardo Escobar (Spanish), Not Known (Swedish), Not Known (Tagalog), Not Known (Thai), Not Known (Valencian), Not Known (Brazilian Portuguese), Not Known (European Spanish), Not Known (European Portuguese), Not Known (Latin American Spanish), Pablo Ausensi (Latin Spanish)
Voice actor (TPCi/Studiopolis): Kirk Thornton (English), Not Known (Japanese), Not Known (Albanian), Not Known (Arabic), Not Known (Basque), Carlos Seidl (Brazilian), Not Known (Cantonese), Not Known (Catalan), Not Known (Chinese), Maciej Kosmala (Dutch), Antti Jaakola (Finnish), Not Known (French), Not Known (Galician), Klaus Lochthove (German), Not Known (Greek), Eran Mor (Hebrew), Not Known (Hong Kong), Czető Roland (Hungarian), Not Known (Indonesian), Not Known (Isralian), Daniele Raffaeli (Italian), Not Known (Korean), Not Known (Mandarin), Not Known (Norwegian), Not Known (Polish), João Brás (Portuguese), Florian Silaghi (Romanian), Anton Savenkov (Russian), Not Known (Serbian), Not Known (Spanish), Not Known (Swedish), Not Known (Tagalog), Not Known (Thai), Not Known (Turkish), Not Known (Valencian), Not Known (Brazilian Portuguese), Not Known (European Spanish), Not Known (European Portuguese), Not Known (Latin American Spanish), Not Known (Latin Spanish)


Biography[]

Appearance[]

Shadow is an mobian hedgehog with red stripes on his quills, around the edges of his eyes and on his arms and legs. He has red eyes, a patch of white fur on his chest, and his muzzle is tan. He has six quills on his head, four of which curve upwards, and two that curve downwards, has two spines on his back and a small tail. For attire, Shadow wears white gloves with black cuffs and red tongues, and Hover Shoes which, like his gloves, have black cuffs and red tongues. On each of his wrists and ankles he wears a single gold ring.

In most cases of his appearance as a hedgehog, he even looks like Sonic.

Future[]

He is slimmer and has longer arms and legs, and more pronounced shoulders, giving him a taller appearance. He also has a single cowlick-like spike that sticks out from underneath his top quills. His attire includes white gloves with red backs which have long red and black cuffs with fasteners. His shoes look much like the Hover Shoes, except his has large red tongues and longer, more detailed red and black cuffs. He also has golden ring bands around his wrists and ankles.

  • Hair Color: Black and Red
  • Skin Color: Tan
  • Fur Color: White
  • Eye Color: Red
  • Age: 50+ (physically 18)
  • Birthday: June 19, 1951
  • Height: 100 cm (3' 3")
  • Weight: 37 kg (80 lbs.)

Attributes:[]

Gallery[]

Personality[]

Shadow is dark, brooding and completely loyal and determined to whatever cause he has. He is anti-social and does not speak or smile much. He prefers to work alone and distances himself from essentially everyone, with few exceptions. Though soft-spoken and reserved, he never bluffs; if he makes a threat, he has every intention of carrying it out. Shadow views Sonic as his rival and equal in all aspects of his life, but still sees him as annoying and foolish as he can be. Shadow has a rivalry with Sonic due to their animosity with each other in terms of how they view their own methods of justice and morality, but will (later willingly) work together despite certain problems they have with one another. Shadow is known to treat others in a very callous manner, and in combat he displays a natural "hunter's instinct" that Sonic lacks.

Alongside Shadow's dark demeanor, he can be smug, stubborn, and somewhat sarcastic. Based on this, he shares a competitive ego that is close to Sonic's. He is also constantly serious, even when not on a mission, and he has little to no regard for silliness. But deep down, he does have a heart. He cares for those who cared for him such as Maria, Molly, and Ash Ketchum and often follows in their goals in his own fashion no matter what the effort. He can show caring to Sonic by showing up and saving Sonic when he needs it most.

Shadow only talks when it's absolutely necessary and dislikes being in groups, much preferring solitude. Shadow often thinks teamwork is unnecessary because he can handle everything on his own. On occasion, Shadow appears to have some degree of mental instability. This can be seen when he would often hallucinate Maria's face or through his numerous threatening speeches.

Shadow also has a strong sense of identity, as evidenced when he states to Rouge after being told that he isn't the Ultimate Lifeform due to a lab report that even if his memories were fake, he is still Shadow the Hedgehog. Shadow firmly believes that he is the "Ultimate Life Form" and almost all other life forms are lesser beings (except Mewtwo and any other artificial being; to a degree though). Similarly even without his memories and suffering amnesia, he is still the Ultimate Lifeform, Shadow the Hedgehog. Because of this strong sense of identity, he is possesses a strong will, making him very rarely susceptible to being manipulated by other forces. This is especially evident with his encounters with Mephiles the Dark, where, even after learning of the possibility that he was sealed away for all of eternity due to humanity fearing his potential and feeling he was responsible for Iblis' ruin of the world, Shadow still refuses to aid Mephiles in his plans, and states that "he determines his own destiny."

Shadow also has a sense of justice, as he is willing to do whatever it takes to bring justice to any kind of threat. But unlike Sonic and Ash, Shadow's approach towards bringing justice is more merciless, egotistical, aggressive, intimidating, and violent, as shown when he is willing to "end" the Team Rocket Trio (Jessie, James and Mewoth) permanently for their constant interference with Sonic, Ash and their friends, and everybody else, as well as their criminal activities as spies and field agents of their organization, whereas Sonic and Ash just defeat the trio by sending them on a "blast off," even though he sees them as incompetent, annoying fools due to their immaturity in the field. 

However, Shadow isn't a madman. When Omega begins his attack, Shadow could have easily fled and left Rouge, but instead he defends her against Omega despite having absolutely no memory of her. Even with his lack of trust towards humans, Shadow would team up with them to fight for the greater good. He was also shown to be legitimately shocked and horrified when he learned that his gaining the Chaos Emeralds to restore his memories were actually manipulated by Black Doom in order to wipe out humanity. Likewise, when the GUN Commander finally confronts him, Shadow agrees to face judgement if he was indeed responsible for the Raid of the ARK 50 years ago.

Shadow is highly intelligent when it comes to technology. He was able to read the computer (as did Rouge) and identify that Omega was in standby mode. He seems to progress through Digital Circuit and Mad Matrix using his computer intellect. He is able to tell Egg Albatross, Egg Emperor and Metal Madness inside and out. He also shows over-average intelligence, as when fighting Black Arm ship when he realized a head-on attack wouldn't work, he switched for some advanced tactics and instead decided to shake the ship apart from the inside by striking its body at incredible speed.

It is possible that Shadow does not have much of a sense of humor or happiness, or he doesn't like others to see him acting in such a manner. Shadow brushes off any kindness or sympathy that is sent his way. This is shown when Rouge showed concern for Shadow when he saw a broken android. Shadow curtly brushed her concern away. Also after Sonic suggested some, "friendly competition" Shadow turned his back to Sonic and said, "Don't waste my time." One might assume that Shadow prefers not to let others see his emotions, and likes to be alone.

Despite Shadow being considered neutral in the beginning, he is considered a hero by the most part with his overall motivation which is dedicating his life to protecting mankind and joining GUN and the side of good. He has also been selfless, such as nearly giving his life to save Earth (if not for his immortality that saved and protected his life). He seems to despise evil above everything else, especially the Black Arms and Team Rocket.

Shadow is often depressed about the loss of Maria, and this is why he keeps to himself, but his love for Maria is obvious as he goes to great lengths to protect the planet and keep her dream of peace and prosperity alive. He has also been seen protecting other characters such as Ash, Molly, and Rouge, proving that while his attitude may be like a cold-blooded mercenary, he does have some compassion.

Shadow's characteristics and background are similar to that of Mewtwo. Both Shadow and Mewtwo were created artificially to be the the strongest and most powerful being in the world and for the purpose of discovering immortality and invincibility and their creators received help in creating them from their respective archenemy (Shadow was created by Professor Gerald Robotnik with the help of Black Doom, who gave Gerald a sample of his DNA in order for Gerald to create Shadow, while Mewtwo was created by Dr. Fuji through funds granted to him by Giovanni of Team Rocket and through a fossil, discovered by Team Rocket, containing the legendary Mew's DNA). Also, the traumatizing events they both experienced surrounding their creation (Shadow losing Maria when she was killed ("taken away" in the English dub) by soldiers sent to shut down Project Shadow and Mewtwo losing its first friend Amber (Dr Fuji's daughter) when her body dispersed into nothingness due to having a weak life force (although Mewtwo had its memory of Amber erased by its creators, the trauma of the event undoubtedly altered its personality) and being used by humanity like a slave, viewing all humans as selfish and cruel beings (from its expereince with Giovanni and Team Rocket)) had them introduced in the series as an initial antagonist, seeking revenge on the world. But after confronting Sonic the Hedgehog, Ash Ketchum, and their friends, Shadow and Mewtwo had a change of heart and later became more heroic in the series. Shadow and Mewtwo would eventually meet each other in the television special Mewtwo Returns, where Shadow saved the group and Mewtwo from an ambush by Giovanni after freeing Mewtwo from its imprisonment & helped Mewtwo defeat Giovanni and Team Rocket, thereby showing Shadow's compassion and sympathy for other beings that are similar to him. 

Relationships[]

Friends/Allies[]

Family[]

Rivals[]

Neutral[]

Enemies[]

Abilities and Powers[]

Shadow is easily one of the most powerful characters in the series. He is extremely fast, capable of matching Sonic's and move at such velocity that he releases yellow energy discharges in his wake that he can use against enemies. As examples of his speed, Shadow could move both Molly and Rouge away from a large explosion in less than a second and can even dodge laser barrages. He is also very agile and has incredible jumping skills that allows him to jump hundreds of meters into the air. Furthermore, Shadow can use his vast super speed even in space, attacking and moving freely, something even Sonic cannot do.

Shadow has a significant degree of physical strength as he could push back against one of Final Mova's heads single handed. His body is also able to resist incredible punishment, such as being slammed into solid surfaces and even survive from being struck by powerful laser cannons or by Sonic's charged Spin Attack. By removing his Limiters from his wrists, Shadow can access his full power, which enhances his overall power so drastically that he can single-handedly destroy an entire Metarex fleet. However, using his full power for too long drains his stamina to the point where he will be rendered unconscious.

Shadow is naturally able to tap into the arcane powers of any nearby Chaos Emerald (fake or not) and utilize their chaos energy to empower himself and use a variety of Chaos Powers, and has a special connection to both them and the Master Emerald. In "Shadow Knows", he is seen unleashing a blast of energy to destroy some security robots.

Shadow has fearsome combat skills, as seen in his first encounter with Sonic and during his raid on the Blue Typhoon when he was able to fight his way through a weaken Sonic, Knuckles (though Shadow is shown to struggle when he fought against Knuckles), and Tails. He was also shown fighting his way through a large fleet of Metarex soldiers, destroying them all. In addition, Shadow shows over-average intelligence, such as when fighting Scarship he realized a head-on attack wouldn't work. He then switched for some advanced tactics and instead decided to shake the ship apart from the inside by striking its body at incredible speed.

With just one Chaos Emerald, he can induce Chaos Control to stop time, warp himself through space. He can also create multiple Chaos Spears or merging them to create one slide of chaos energy to increase its attack power. He is also able to use Spin Attack for both offensive and defensive maneuvers, but does not use it to the same extent as Sonic.

Powers[]

Abilities[]

Physical Abilities[]

Shadow is easily capable of matching Sonic's abilities in both speed and power. Although he is not as strong as characters like Knuckles the Echidna, Shadow has superhuman strength; with effort, he can overturn large objects many times his weight and size such as trucks, buses and large slabs of concrete with one hand. Like other characters in the series, Shadow can also move at super speeds, an innate talent that members of the hedgehog species possess, and can evenly match even Sonic's speed as well, who can run at hypersonic speeds. While Shadow's Hover Shoes are credited as the source of his speed, his powerful body allows him to easily rival Sonic's world class speed as well. While there is some inconsistency about how fast the two are compared to each other, Shadow has admitted that Sonic is the faster of the two of them.

Shadow is extremely acrobatic, agile, and an experienced athlete capable of gracefully leaping over any obstacles that head his way and performing various forms of nimble movements. He has radical reaction time to match his movements, being able to react to danger within a split second.

Shadow has incredible resilience to damage, being able to survive otherwise fatal situations even by the standards of superhuman creatures, making him nearly indestructible. He is impervious to bullets and can take a lot of major punishment in battle before he starts to wear down. The most prominent testament to his own durability, however, when Shadow survived his fall down to Earth from space and re-entry in the atmosphere before Eggman's robots rescued him. Despite surviving this, the experience left him with enough physical trauma to give him amnesia. Even after receiving major damage, Shadow displays a remarkably fast recovery rate, allowing him to quickly get back up in a matter of moments.

Due to being the successful culmination of Project Shadow, Shadow is immortal, does not physically age, and is presumably immune to disease. Furthermore, due to being partly Black Arms, Shadow has a connection to the Black Arms' hive-mind, allowing him to sense his kinds' presence and is immune to the Black Arms' nerve gas.

Shadow possesses tremendous willpower and unbreakable determination and, as a result, has absolute refusal to give up in any of his missions and never surrenders; he will see his goals to the end. His willpower allows him to keep on fighting when utterly exhausted, after taking an excessive amount of damage, or when he is severely outnumbered and outgunned. His will even lets him psychologically resist mind control powers. For example, Shadow was able to regain control from Black Doom despite him being part Black Arms and therefore susceptible to Black Doom's influence.

Chaos Powers[]

Shadow is naturally able to tap into the arcane powers of any nearby Chaos Emeralds to utilize their chaos energy to empower himself and can use a wide variety of Chaos Powers as well. Shadow can harness both positive and negative chaos energy, depending on his state of mind. His Chaos Powers are so potent that should he remove his restraints, he becomes a walking dynamo of raw power, releasing such tremendous amounts of innate energy that it forms an impenetrable barrier around him. While in this state, Shadow gains increased strength and speed, enough to overpower hundreds of Mephiles the Dark clones at once. However, using his full power tires him out more quickly.

Shadow's trademark Chaos Power is Chaos Control, and is possibly the most adept user of it in the series, having mastered it to perfection. With Chaos Control, he can manipulate space and time to slow down time and warp across space, and can use it delicately enough to distort space in small centralized areas, such as around his fists or in midair. Additionally, he can mold Chaos Control into a variety of offensive and defensive moves and can even use it to heal himself. It is unknown what Shadow's full limit for warping time and space with Chaos Control is, but it has been shown that he can warp objects and people with him all the way into space.

As described in the Black Arms/Metarex Wars Saga, all of Shadow's Chaos Powers increase in power with the number of Chaos Emeralds he possesses. Furthermore, he can draw power from the Emeralds without making physical contact.

Combat Skills[]

In combat, Shadow is a lethal and extremely powerful force that very few can defeat. He never holds back his immense strength, making him a brutal fighter with a distinct killer instinct. Shadow's skills are more than a match for even the strongest in the series and has been able to take down some of the most fearsome foes of the series on his own, such as Black Doom. To best put his skills in perspective, as seen in some of the scenarios in Black Arms/Metarex Wars Saga, Shadow is one of the very few individuals who has been able to defeat Sonic in combat, even when Sonic had the Diablon for support.

Fighting Style[]

Shadow's fighting style focuses on direct, brutal, unrestrained and powerful hand-to-hand combat. In line with his nature and potent abilities, Shadow has adopted a fighting style where he fights his opponents using powerful blows, such as karate chops, swift punches and roundhouse kicks, to which of his attacks have a significant amount of force behind them. With the speeds Shadow can move at, he can disable the opponent through the force of his blows alone, while leaving them at the mercy at his incoming attacks.

Shadow's fighting style revolves around making heavy use of his Chaos Powers, especially Chaos Control and Chaos Spear. Using Chaos Control, Shadow can teleport up in front or behind his opponents in battle to launch surprise attacks. Also, Shadow can use Chaos Control to increase the damage he deals to his opponent when striking them, often resulting in significant forces being released and blowing the opponent a certain distance away. To give himself the advantage over his opponents, Shadow will use powerful Chaos attacks involving Chaos Energy, such as energy bolts or even intense explosions.

Techniques and Moves[]

Like Sonic, Shadow's basic combat moves revolves around the various forms of the Spin Attack, which is a variation on the tendency for hedgehogs to roll into tight balls for protection, and he shares many of them with Sonic. The Homing Attack allows Shadow to jump and home in on an enemy to get over large gaps he cannot normally reach, the Spin Jump lets him curl into a ball attack opponent by landing on them, and the Spin Dash lets him shoot himself forward as an acceleration roll at high speeds to break barriers or mow down enemies, the Light Speed Dash and Light Speed Attack allows Shadow to achieve light speed movements by dashing through Rings and/or enemies. He is also able perform Sonic's Sonic Boost, a move where he turn himself into a highly destructive projectile by moving and running at high speed.

Another technique, Shadow has is the Black Tornado witch is exactly the same as Sonic's Blue Tornado in witch Shadow jumps into the air, and creates a black whirlwind by circling a particular spot at high speeds which can throw his opponents into the air or blow away armor and weapons. For more direct combat, Shadow can use his Chaos Attack to deal a barrage of Chaos Energy-fueled strikes to his opponents, and his Spin Kick lets him create a small tornado that can suck enemies in and damage them.

Many of Shadow's signature techniques are Chaos Powers. Shadow's trademark move is Chaos Control, which allows him to manipulate time and space to either warp across space or slow down time, and distort space to form other types of Chaos Powers. His second most used Chaos Power is his Chaos Spear technique, where he throws bolts of Chaos Energy at his opponent. His most powerful and potent technique, however, is the Chaos Blast, which is literally a shockwave of Chaos Energy that eliminates anything and everything in a circular radius range. Shadow can, however, only use this attack when he is immersed in Chaos Energy.

Another special Chaos Power Shadow uses is his Chaos Boost technique. When using the Chaos Boost, Shadow covers himself in Chaos Energy. While in his Chaos Boost form, Shadow gains more destructive power and is immune to some enemy attacks. It also enables Shadow to utilize more Chaos Powers, such as Chaos Blast, Chaos Snap, and Chaos Lance.

Attacks[]

  • Chaos Control
  • Chaos Spear
  • Chaos Blast
  • Chaos Boost
  • Air Dash
  • Chaos Nightmare
  • Shadow Heal
  • Chaos Snap
  • Chaos Lance
  • Chaos Attack
  • Chaos Burst
  • Chaos Inferno (Team Blast attack the requires Rouge and Omega)
  • Chaos Magic
  • Chaos Upper
  • Chaos Punishment
  • Chaos Rift
  • Black Tornado
  • Back Kick
  • Energy Ball
  • Fire Somersault
  • Focus Field (requires Omega)
  • Gravity Control
  • Gravity Dive
  • Guard
  • Homing Attack
  • Jump Dash
  • Kick
  • Light Speed Attack
  • Light Speed Dash
  • Punch
  • Roaming Chaos
  • Rocket Accel
  • Shadow Back Kick
  • Shadow Chop
  • Shadow Dash
  • Shadow Eagle
  • Shadow Guard
  • Shadow Jump
  • Shadow Kick
  • Shadow Rocket
  • Shadow Run
  • Shadow Slider
  • Shadow Style
  • Shadow Teleport
  • Slide
  • Somersault
  • Sonic Boost
  • Speed up
  • Spin Attack
  • Spin Dash
  • Spin Jump
  • Spin Kick
    • Tornado
  • Triangle Jump

Skills[]

  • Immortality
  • Supersonic speed
  • Extreme acrobatics and reflexes
  • Spin Dash
  • Super strength
  • High durability
  • Enhanced jump
  • Hand-to-hand combat skills
  • Weapon and firearms combat skills
  • Excellent driving skills
  • G.U.N. military training and experience
  • Capable Extreme Gear rider
  • Grinding
  • Proficient Enerbeam wielder
  • Chaos Powers
  • Harnessing Chaos Energy
    • Super transformation
    • Chaos Blast and Chaos Control transformation

Feats[]

Strength level[]

  • Overpowered Sonic the Hedgehog in combat.
  • Defeated the Biolizard, a prototype Ultimate Life Form.
  • With the help of Sonic, defeated the Finalhazard, a version of the Biolizard fused with the Eclipse Cannon and ARK.
  • Defeated Mephiles the Dark and sealed him away.
  • Defeated Black Doom's final form.
  • Capable of destroying tanks and ships with the Shadow Rifle.
  • Can easily flip vehicles.
  • Inhibitor-released Shadow can destroy perfect copies of Mephiles the Dark.
  • Obliterated a city with his Chaos Blast.
  • Knocked out Silver the Hedgehog with a single roundhouse kick.
  • Destroyed the Death Egg with one Chaos Blast.

Speed[]

  • Rivalry equal in speed to Sonic.
  • In base form, easily reaches massively hypersonic speeds.
  • In Super Form, easily reaches the Speed of Light.
  • Destroyed dozens of robots without being visually noticeable.

Durability[]

  • Survived crash-landing into the planet from space.
  • Capable of tanking gunfire.
  • withstand an attack from Mephiles.

Skill[]

  • Capable of defeating most characters in the Sonic series.
  • Is somewhat able to understand systems as complex as Omega's.
  • Defeated both Ifrit and Metal Sonic 3.0 a the same time.
  • Aside from the Black Arms, Shadow has a good deal of mind resistance.
  • Teleported the Black Comet.
  • Has bested Sonic in combat.
  • Froze time around an entire planet.
  • Can skydive without a parachute.
  • Defeated Black Doom, Black Death, Metal Sonic, Solaris, & FinalHazard.
  • Took out an entire Metarex fleet.

Miscellaneous Skills[]

Transformations[]

Super Shadow[]

Main article: Super Shadow
Supershadow 2

Shadow's super form: Super Shadow

Like Sonic and Silver, by harnessing the power of the seven Chaos Emeralds, Shadow is able to use super transformation to transform into Super Shadow. In this form, he is bestowed with the new abilities of flight and near invulnerability. Also, like other super transformations, his normal abilities regarding speed, strength and power are greatly enhanced as well, and his skills with Chaos Powers are increased to their full limit.

Hero Shadow[]

Main article: Hero Shadow

In Black Arms/Metarex Wars Saga, Shadow is able to transform into Hero Shadow with the use of positive chaos energy, whenever his mind is fueled by thoughts of justice. In this state, Shadow is temporarily invincible and can perform a large scale use of Chaos Control. However, it only lasts for a short time.

Dark Shadow[]

Main article: Dark Shadow

In Black Arms/Metarex Wars Saga, Shadow is able to transform into Dark Shadow with the use of negative chaos energy, whenever his mind is fueled by thoughts of evil. In this state, Shadow is temporarily invincible and can perform a large scale use of Chaos Blast. Like Hero Shadow, this form lasts for a short time.

Chaos Shadow[]

Main Article: Chaos Shadow

Once removing his restraints, Shadow can tap into a heap of unlimited Chaos Energy. Shadow cannot control this form however, his Chaos Blasts being larger than Angel Island itself enough to destroy a planet as well. In this state, Shadow is fully invincible and can preform his Super Chaos Blast. However, once using this Chaos Blast, Shadow's form will run out before Shadow is left to either die or very injured without his restraints.

Chaos Boost[]

Main article: Chaos Boost

In Solaris Saga, Shadow can gain access an enhanced-up state dubbed the Chaos Boost. In this state, his powers are boosted significantly, granting him warp-like speeds, near invulnerability, and bolstered Chaos Powers.

Color Powers[]

Main article: Color Powers

By harnessing different variants of Hyper-go-on from Wisps, Shadow can use specific Color Powers to transform into a certain form, such as a drill, a laser or even a planet, each one possessing its own unique abilities. So far, Shadow has been able to transform into the Cyan Laser, Yellow Drill and Indigo Asteroid. However, these transformations require a steady supply of Hyper-go-on to be maintained.

Weaknesses[]

  • Really arrogant.
  • Overconfident, tends to underestimate his enemies and not use his full potential.
  • After releasing his Inhibitor Rings, he loses a lot of energy very quickly.
  • Prone to amnesia.

Equipment[]

  • Hover Shoes: Rocket-powered shoes that were designed to make Shadow even faster than he already is. With them, Shadow can reach hypersonic speeds, with his top speed being Mach 25.
  • Inhibitor Rings: They were created to restrain Shadow's true potential, but Shadow can release them at any time. The downside is that Shadow's energy drains even faster when he's not wearing them.
  • Flame Ring: A red ring that grants a flame aura to Shadow’s somersault attack.
  • Shadow Rifle: A long-range firearm with really high firepower. Most enemies die from one shot of this weapon.

Gadgets[]

Weapons[]

Gallery[]


Transportation[]

Gallery[]


History[]

Past[]

Early life[]

Fifty years before the start of the series, a top-secret project known as "Project Shadow" had begun on the Space Colony ARK. Led by Professor Gerald Robotnik, it was a government-sanctioned initiative to create "The Ultimate Lifeform," an immortal being that could be used for the benefit of the nation, likely in a militaristic fashion. While Gerald had initial misgivings to the purpose of the research he was assigned to, he realized that his results might be able to save his granddaughter, Maria. Suffering from the incurable disease Neuro-Immune Deficiency Syndrome, Maria only had a short time left to live, and Gerald was willing to do whatever it took to save her life. Going against his worries of stepping into territory man had no business playing with, the professor immediately began work, hoping that he could apply any newly-gained knowledge to find a cure to N.I.D.S.

Even with all the resources at his disposal, the professor was unable to make any significant progress. Without alerting anyone, Gerald decided to plead to the stars for help, contacting the Black Arms race, an alien civilization that lived upon the Black Comet, a celestial object that passed near the planet every fifty years. Its leader, Black Doom, offered to assist Gerald in his quest. He offered his blood - which ended up being the key to perfect the ultimate lifeform - in exchange for the seven Chaos Emeralds, which he would collect the next time he passed through. Knowing that the Black Arms' intentions were less than desirable, Gerald made the deal regardless, albeit with preparations to defeat the Black Arms with the cannon built into the ARK, and was able to successfully create Shadow the Hedgehog.

Once brought to life, Shadow have immediately befriended Maria, and they became really close during their short time together. Gerald, meanwhile, made emergency precautions for the return of the Black Arms, ensuring that the Eclipse Cannon - an extremely powerful laser built into the ARK - was compatible with the seven Chaos Emeralds, so that when they did return with the Black Comet, humanity would be able to defend itself instead of bowing to their whims.

However, Gerald's progress was ruined when it was leaked to G.U.N. how he was able to create the successful prototype. During the meeting between Gerald and the Black Arms, one of the other children aboard the ARK had accidentally seen what transpired and reported back to those in charge. As ties between the ARK and the United Federation had already been strained, hearing the news of the dealings with an alien race scared those in charge. Afraid of the implications, it was decided to launch an invasion and put a stop to the work being done there.

What happened next was nothing short of madness, as G.U.N. troops descended onto the ARK, causing chaos and confusion wherever they went. Immediately they went after the Biolizard, which they thought was the successful "Project Shadow" prototype, and in the process of putting the creature into stasis, lost quite a few soldiers. From there they went about doing damage control, shutting down everything, getting everyone off the ARK, and killing those who resisted if need be. Knowing that the G.U.N. forces would be there at any moment, Maria convinced Shadow to enter an escape pod, her final wish to him that he give the people on the planet a chance to be happy. Wishing him goodbye, Shadow could do nothing as he watched the G.U.N. soldiers storm into the lab, firing a shot which would forever change the hedgehog's life as it ended the life of Maria Robotnik.

Learning of his granddaughter's death, Professor Gerald soon went mad with grief, swearing vengeance on humanity for taking away the only thing that ever meant anything to him. Though just what exactly transpired is cloudy, what is known is that both Gerald and the escape pod that held Shadow were gathered by G.U.N., Shadow having to be put to sleep in a stasis capsule within Prison Island, and Gerald being incarcerated and charged with the crimes that happened aboard the ARK.

Synopsis[]

Sonic Pokemon[]

Hoenn Arc[]

Shadow Saga[]

Battles[]

Canon[]

Non-Canon[]

Events[]

Canon[]

Non-Canon[]

Early Versions[]

Anime and Manga Differences[]

Appearance[]

Gallery[]


Translation and Dub Issues[]

Theme songs[]

The video games have featured several theme songs for the character. Shadow's themes consisted primarily of the techno and industrial genres often with synched vocals that are barely audible in Sonic Adventure 2 and Sonic Heroes, but have shown an increasing preference towards the hard rock genre in more recent games.

Other Appearances[]

Other Media[]

Merchandise[]

Video Games[]

Playable Appearances[]

Enemy Appearances[]

Support Appearances[]

Non-Playable Appearances[]

See also[]

Etymology[]

External links[]

Notes & Trivia[]

  • Though the design of Shadow was meant to be a secret until such time Sega decided to reveal the finalized version, details of the character were leaked when ReSaurus announced they were making figures of Shadow and Rouge, much as they had for the first Sonic Adventure title. However, the company went out of business before they could release these figures to the masses.
  • According to the games' canon (and confirmed by Takashi Iizuka), Shadow and everyone else requires at least one Chaos Emerald close by to draw power from for Chaos Control, or the technique is impossible - however, Shadow has definitely appeared to use Chaos Control and other Chaos Powers during gameplay of some games without visible Emeralds nearby. Fans have stately argued that it is implied in statements which Shadow made in Sonic Battle that his memory of Maria allows it.
  • Shadow and Knuckles were originally confirmed to appear in Sonic Unleashed. Although Shadow doesn't appear, he is briefly mentioned; during an interview with Brenda, she will ask the name of the creature that came from the planet's core. Sonic can incorrectly answer 'Shadow the Hedgehog.'
  • In the Japanese commercial for Shadow the Hedgehog, Shadow is seen dancing.
  • In his artwork for Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, Shadow is missing his tail.
  • Shadow uses his left hand when using weapons in Shadow the Hedgehog. His counterpart, Lancelot, however, fights with his right hand, possibly because of the Wii motion control. In Sonic the Hedgehog Shadow always leads with his right for his attacks during cutscenes. Shadow may either be ambidextrous or have left eye dominance, seeing as those with left eye dominance are recommended to fire guns whilst favoring their left hand. He also tends to cross his right arm under his left arm in most artworks.
  • The Official Game Guide for Sonic Generations mentioned that a scientist is the one who ejected Shadow's capsule to the earth, however, he was ejected by Maria Robotnik.
  • In the 2011 Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition, Shadow placed 25th in the "Top 50 Video Game Characters of All Time" while Sonic placed tenth.
  • Shadow was not originally intended to be in Sonic Heroes, revealed in an initial list of teams for the game. Rouge would have been in a team with Cream and Amy and there was no mention of Omega.
  • In Sonic Heroes, Shadow is shown to be faster than Sonic in grinding, but this has been modified in Sonic the Hedgehog.
  • Shadow's trophy pose in Super Smash Bros. Browl is almost identical to his artwork for Sonic the Hedgehog (2006).
  • Shadow's skin color is usually tanner in his 2D artwork than in his 3D artwork.
  • Normally Shadow is seen with red eyes, but in his Sonic Chronicles artwork and pictures his eyes are more of an orange color, but this may be because the artwork in Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood was made by someone other than the usual Sonic Team artist.
  • In the game Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, Shadow is missing a quill on his head. This is also present in Sonic X.
  • In Sonic Generations, the player may be rewarded with the fourth Chaos Emerald for defeating Shadow (third if he is fought before Perfect Chaos). Coincidentally, in his own game, Shadow mentions the fourth Chaos Emerald in a line, "Where's that damn fourth Chaos Emerald!?", which has since gained Internet popularity.
  • Shadow's three main Chaos abilities are generally color-coded in relation to the three Chao alignments. Chaos Control requires positive chaos energy that generally glows blue, as Hero Chao have blue markings. Chaos Spear is generally depicted as being yellow-white, while Neutral Chao have yellow markings. Chaos Blast requires negative chaos energy, and is generally red, whereas Dark Chao have red markings.
  • In Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing, Shadow's profile says he likes "nothing."
  • In the 2D indie fighting game Skullgirls Encore, the 17th selectable color palette of the character Fukua is a direct reference to Shadow the Hedgehog.
  • Shadow's trophy pose in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U resembles his artwork for Sonic Rivals.
  • Strangely, in the previous leaked transcript of Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), Shadow was described as a "fifteen-year-old" hedgehog, just like Sonic, unlike all the other official materials which do not put an actual age to him.
  • Despite many fans having speculated that Silver is related to Shadow due to Sir Lancelot and Sir Galahad's relationship in Arthurian lore (where the latter is the son of the former), Takashi Iizuka has confirmed that Silver is not a descendant of Shadow.
  • Shadow is described by GUN affiliate Frances as having an IQ of about 200.
  • Shadow's background, abilities, characteristics, actions and motives, as well as his being an artificial lifeform created to be the strongest being alive, are similar to that of Mewtwo. Coincidentally, one of Shadow's archenemies, Mephiles the Dark, was voiced by Dan Green, who had previously done the voice of Mewtwo in Mewtwo Returns. Both Shadow and Mewtwo eventually meet each other and learn of each other's past in Mewtwo Returns.
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