Shadow the Hedgehog (Rise)

Shadow the Hedgehog is the main protagonist of Shadow the Hedgehog 2: Rise and its reimagining, Shadow 2: Eclipsed Memories. Shadow was created as the "Ultimate Life Form" 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 cures for incurable deadly illnesses, more specifically for Gerald's granddaughter Maria Robotnik, but he was captured and put into stasis by the military when he was deemed as a threat to humanity.
Fifty years later, Shadow was released by Dr. Eggman to help him conquer the world. Initially, Shadow sought to destroy the earth to avenge Maria, who had been killed by the military, but was persuaded to help save it from Gerald's doomsday plans. In the process, Shadow lost his memories and he sought to uncover his past, during which he met the Black Arms. Ultimately, Shadow thwarted Black Doom and saved the world. From there, he continued his mission to protect humanity by becoming a special agent of GUN.
Sometime before Sonic Forces and Rise, Shadow discovered that he had a direct hand in the origin of the super villain known as Infinite, who then proceeded to help Dr. Eggman conquer the world. Though the world was liberated with the help of Sonic the Hedgehog and a mysterious Resistance rookie, the fact that he was indirectly responsible for creating one of the most dangerous villains in the world left Shadow with a massive amount of guilt that persists to this day.
In Shadow 2: Rise, Shadow discovers Faith while on a mission for GUN, and helps her uncover her past while also trying to prevent an invasion from the last remaining Colony of Black Arms.
== Appearance ==
Shadow has the same appearance that he does in the main series, except he wears a utility belt for carrying his weapons and equipment. This belt is light brown and sports the G.U.N logo on the buckle.
== Personality ==
Shadow's personality changes much from the main series games, showing a more empathetic side to him.
Though he is still outwardly cold to those around him, he displays a sense of humor to his closer allies, albeit one that is much drier than that of Sonic's. This is displayed when he makes jokes with Rouge and Omega, insults his enemies, and lightly teases Faith.
Ever since the events of Sonic Forces, he's realized what kind of damage his ego can cause when left unchecked, and how dangerous his isolationist nature can make him. Because of this, he does less to distance himself from friends such as Rouge and Omega, and accepted the fact that even he needs help on certain occasions, to the point where he has a way to contact Sonic, his greatest rival, when he believes it is necessary.
However, the Forces incident and his role in the events also caused him to develop a guilt complex, as he begins to blame himself for not only the rise of Infinite, but for numerous other events that he has been a part of, such as the death of Maria. 
Eclipsed Memories downplays much of this, but still shows a noticeable change from his demeanor in the original games; he's more stern with Faith and less willing to share details of his past. He even goes as far as to coldly admonish her for mentioning Maria, instead of just ignoring her like the original story. However, he still cares for her, even early on when he prevents her from seeing Hope Fairheart's body (which he succeeds at doing, unlike the original story). Alongside this, the reimagining's aim to replicate the feel of a classical noir detective film gives him a few characteristics of a classical hardboiled detective, most notably giving him internal monologues at the beginning of most chapters. 
== Trivia ==
* Picking a certain dialogue option while confronting Eclipse in Chapter 2 will result in Shadow sarcastically asking if Eclipse plans on "boring him to death". He used a similar insult on Black Doom in Shadow the Hedgehog.
* Although Shadow wears a belt by default, there is an option to play as him without the belt. Eclipsed Memories would later give him a wider variety of costumes, such as his Halloween outfit from Sonic Runners, and his alternate outfits from Sonic Rivals.
Category:Shadow 2: Rise