Shadow the Hedgehog

**Shadow the Hedgehog** (シャドウ・ザ・ヘッジホッグShadō za Hejjihoggu?) is a fictional character from the *Sonic the Hedgehog series*. He is an anthropomorphic hedgehog/Black Arm hybrid and the 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 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 by the military when he was deemed as a threat to humanity.

Fifty years later, Shadow was released by Dr. Eggman to enlist him in his plan to conquer the world. Initially, Shadow worked with him but secretly sought to destroy the planet 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 for the sake of Maria.

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.

## Appearance

Shadow is a black 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, two spines on his back, and a small tail.

For attire, Shadow wears white gloves with black cuffs and red tongues, and Air Shoes which, like his gloves, have black cuffs and red tongues. Shadow also wears Inhibitor Rings, one each one of his wrists and ankles.

Following Shadow the Hedgehog, Shadow's Air Shoes' red paint is scratched off on the front and his eyes have become more red-orange.

## Personality

Shadow is a brooding loner, to put it bluntly. He usually acts with cool and businesslike indifference, only occasionally showing his vulnerable side. He is rarely seen with others for an extended period and usually distances himself from essentially everyone. He is usually blunt and doesn't speak much, but he always knows exactly what to say in combat. However, Shadow never bluffs. If he makes a threat, he has every intention of carrying it out.

Shadow also does not mind boasting about how powerful he is, calling himself the "Ultimate Lifeform" and, like Sonic, can be extremely arrogant, often belittling his opponents and insulting their lack of strength. He believes no one can beat him and tends to see anyone as a fool for challenging him. Shadow also has a ruthless edge in combat that all other characters in the series lack and displays a natural "killer instinct."

Shadow's infamous ruthlessness and aggression lead to enemies never treating him lightly; he is one of the very few people Sonic takes seriously. Alongside his dark and violent demeanor, Shadow can be smug and stubborn. He treats others in a very callous manner, throwing in his opinion no matter how cold-hearted it is and not caring for whatever the response is. Shadow is also shown to have a sharp wit, like in *Sonic Adventure 2*, where after Sonic calls him a faker, he replies that Sonic is not worth being considered his fake, and in Shadow the Hedgehog, he taunts Black Doom's eye for having trouble with GUN. This attitude is reflected in the original Japanese version, where Shadow omits honorifics and speaks highly of himself (if not rudely), though contrasting this, in Japanese he normally uses the "Boku" pronoun when referring to himself as opposed to the more arrogant/confident "ore" pronoun (which characters such as Sonic use).

In the past, Shadow has had a degree of mental instability, in particular post-traumatic stress disorder. This was demonstrated by his instances of post-traumatic flashbacks to Maria's face before and during the events of Shadow the Hedgehog, though it could be argued that the instances of the latter game were simply an effect of his amnesia. On one occasion, in *Sonic Adventure 2*, seeing police sirens flashing caused him to intensely flashback to the massacre aboard ARK and in particular Maria's death. Shadow was soon able to overcome this in his own game and *Sonic Battle* when he chose to move on from the past, yet keep Maria in his heart.

In many games Shadow is featured in, he pursues his foes with disturbing determination; that is to say, he will usually go to any length to accomplish something he desires or feels should be a certain way, no matter what the cost. In *Sonic Forces*, it is heavily implied that Shadow ruthlessly slaughtered an entire mercenary band not only in an extremely dismissive, nonchalant manner (not even remembering the incident a few months later) but also seemed slightly proud, mocking the mercenary defense squad by saying they needed a defense squad. He also demonstrated rather coarse and even profane language in his own game.

Shadow also possesses a strong sense of identity. As evidenced when after falsely being told that he isn't the Ultimate Lifeform due to a lab report, he states to Rouge that even if his memories were fake, he is still Shadow the Hedgehog. Similarly in *Sonic Heroes*, during the Egg Fleet level, he mentions that, even without his memories, he is still the Ultimate Lifeform, Shadow the Hedgehog. These qualities make him rarely susceptible to being manipulated by other forces.

Despite his apathetic nature, Shadow is not without compassion. When Omega begins his attack in *Sonic Heroes*, Shadow could have easily forgotten about Rouge and engaged Omega without defending her. Instead, Shadow saves her from Omega, despite having absolutely no memory of her. He was also shown to be legitimately shocked when he learned that his goal of gaining the Chaos Emeralds to restore his memories was manipulated by Black Doom to wipe out humanity. Likewise, when the GUN Commander finally confronts him with his memories of Shadow's nightmarish creation, Shadow agrees to face judgment if he was indeed responsible for the ARK massacre 50 years ago. In *Sonic Colors DS*, Shadow was also shown to be worried about the possibility of Sonic and Tails getting hurt while trying to save the Wisps, much to their surprise. However, he remained dismissive about his concern for them. He spent the majority of *Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood* trying to find Omega out of worry for his well-being. He was also quite enraged when he found out that the Marauders had been hurting Omega and helped him to get revenge.

Shadow is often depressed about the loss of Maria, which is why he keeps to himself, but his relationship with Maria is obvious as he goes to great lengths to protect the planet and keep her dream of peace and prosperity alive. He also maintains a strong bond with his teammates, Rouge and Omega, proving that while his attitude makes him seem like a careless person, he does have some compassion. Shadow brushes off most kindness or sympathy that is sent his way; in *Sonic Heroes*, when Rouge showed concern for Shadow when he saw a broken android of himself, suspecting Team Dark's Shadow might be an android too, Shadow curtly brushed her concern away. In Shadow the Hedgehog, after Sonic suggested some "friendly competition," Shadow bluntly rejected his offer. At times, however, Shadow is shown to appreciate genuine care. In *Sonic Adventure 2*, after Amy made him remember his promise to Maria, Shadow openly decided to keep his promise to protect the planet both to Maria and her. Another instance is in *Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)*, when Rouge told him that she would always be by his side, he acknowledged her.

Even though Shadow often fights for the greater good, he is considered an anti-hero for the most part due to his morality and means to his desired end goals. He does whatever is necessary to get what he wants or feels is right, though this enthusiasm causes him to take risks and jump into situations without fully thinking it through. Alongside Rouge, he has also taken prize money and jewels upon winning in *Sonic Free Riders*. He and Rouge disregard the opening and closing ceremonies for the Grand Prix, showing up late without a third teammate and, if they win the Grand Prix, starting to walk off right away with what turned out to be dummy versions of the prize money and gems. Regardless, Shadow does have his moments of selflessness and heroism. He nearly sacrificed his life at the end of *Sonic Adventure 2* to save Earth and helped Silver uncover the truth of the Solaris Project, after saving Sonic from him, in *Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)*.

## Voice Actors

* David Humphrey
* Jason Griffith
* Kirk Thornton