Shadow the Hedgehog

## Seinen Hero

### Heroic Deeds

Using Chaos Control alongside Sonic to prevent the Space Colony ARK from crashing into Earth

### Type of Seinen Hero

Lethal Anti-Hero

**Shadow the Hedgehog** is a major character in the *Sonic the Hedgehog* franchise, making his debut appearance in *Sonic Adventure 2*. He serves as the main antagonist turned deuteragonist of *Sonic Adventure 2*, a major character in *Sonic Heroes*, the main protagonist of his solo game *Shadow the Hedgehog*, and one of the two deuteragonists (alongside Silver) of *Sonic '06*.

From *Sonic Adventure 2* to *Sonic Heroes*, he was voiced by David Humphrey while Ryan Drummond did a few recordings on the former. From *Sonic X* to *Sonic and the Black Knight*, he was voiced by Jason Griffith, who also voiced his rival, Sonic, in the same era. He is currently voiced by Kirk Thornton. In Japanese, he is voiced by Kōji Yusa.

## What Makes Him a Seinen Hero?

* **Heroic/Anti-Heroic**: Shadow has saved the world on several occasions, even though he doesn't care about keeping peace and instead wanted to keep his promise to his late best friend, Maria Robotnik.
* **Cynical**: Shadow is highly skeptical about other people's true intentions and is somewhat distrustful of those outside of his inner circle and those he respects, including his rival Sonic.
* **Apathetic**: Unless it is for his personal agenda or for the well-being of those close to him, Shadow rarely shows any interest in helping others.
* **Stoic**: Shadow rarely expresses a wide range of emotions, usually being seen frowning or scowling.
* **Pessimistic**: Shadow has a rather bleak outlook on life and, given his traumatic experiences, it is difficult for him to do otherwise.
* **Realistic**: Shadow doesn't seem to care about wanting an ideal world and instead resorts to pragmatism to achieve his goals.
* **Strong Sense of Willpower**: Despite his traumatic past and the grim outlook it creates within him, Shadow refuses to be defined by his past and is willing to keep moving forward.
* **Has Killer Instinct**: Shadow shows no hesitation when he killed many members of the Jackal Squad.
* **Has Bloodlust**: Shadow occasionally shows sadistic pleasure in fighting his enemies.
* **Tragic Past**: Shadow was created by Gerald Robotnik to find a cure for his terminally ill granddaughter Maria. Shadow grew very close to Maria. When the GUN army invaded the space colony ARK, Shadow attempts to take Maria with her to escape, but one of the soldiers caught up to them. Shadow watched his best friend being shot by one of the soldiers. Maria puts Shadow in a space capsule to help him escape. The trauma of Maria's death, combined with Gerald altering his memories, placed Shadow on the path of vengeance.
* **Vengeful**: In *Sonic Adventure 2*, Shadow attempts to seek revenge on humanity for Maria's death.

## External Links

* Shadow the Hedgehog on the *Sonic* Wiki
* Shadow the Hedgehog on the Heroes Wiki
* Shadow the Hedgehog on the Villains Wiki
* Shadow the Hedgehog on the Inconsistently Admirable Wiki
* Shadow the Hedgehog on the Guile Heroes Wiki
* Shadow the Hedgehog on the Magnificent Baddie Wiki
* Shadow the Hedgehog on the Shonen Rivals Wiki