Shadow the Hedgehog

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Shadow the Hedgehog
Shadow the Hedgehog is a physical dopplegänger and a rival of Sonic the Hedgehog.
Game series	Sonic the Hedgehog
First game	Sonic Adventure 2
Creator(s)	Sonic Team
Voice actor(s) (English)	David Humphrey (Games only) (2001-2004) Jason Griffith (TV: 2004-present) (Games: 2005-present)
Voice actor(s) (Japanese)	Kouji Yusa
In-Universe Information
Nickname	Shadow
Species	Hedgehog[1]
Gender	Male
Height	100 cm (3 ft 3 in)[1]
Weight	35 kg. (77 lb.)[1]
Age	Ageless
Skills	Chaos Control, Chaos Blast, Chaos Spear[1]

Shadow the Hedgehog (シャドウ・ザ・ヘッジホッグ, Shadou za Hejjihoggu^?) is a video game character from the Sonic the Hedgehog series, created by Sonic Team, designed by Yuji Uekawa and owned by Sega. He is an anti-hero and a rival of Sonic the Hedgehog. He was created by Gerald Robotnik 56^{[citation needed]} years ago to be "The Ultimate Life Form". Sega has stated his age as "ageless". He is a black, male, anthropomorphic hedgehog.

Since his debut, Shadow has appeared in a multitude of games as well as in shows and comic books. His past was almost a complete mystery until the game Shadow the Hedgehog revealed his creation and the events surrounding his being captured by the government. According to official polls, Shadow is the second most popular character in the series (right after Sonic), and the most wanted for return appearances.^[2]

Contents 1 History 1.1 Sonic Adventure 2 1.2 Sonic Heroes 1.3 Sonic Battle 1.4 Shadow the Hedgehog (game) 1.5 Sega SuperStars 1.6 Sonic Riders 1.7 Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) 1.8 Sonic Rivals 1.9 Sonic and the Secret Rings 2 Personality 3 Major interactions with other characters 4 Abilities 5 Other appearances 5.1 Sonic X 5.2 Sonic the Hedgehog 5.2.1 Possible Future 6 Shadow Androids/Shadow Clone 7 Voice actors 8 Associated songs 9 References & notes 10 External links

[edit] History

[edit] Sonic Adventure 2

Shadow debuted in the game Sonic Adventure 2 as the main antagonist. Dr. Eggman set Shadow free from a G.U.N. base on Prison Island and in exchange Shadow agreed to aid the doctor in his plans to take over the world. Shadow informed Eggman that the only way to achieve complete control would be with use of "the ultimate weapon", or the Eclipse Cannon, a giant laser cannon aboard the Space Colony ARK that could destroy an entire planet. However, it would require large amounts of energy in order to function, and it was told that the Chaos Emeralds were needed to power it.

After collecting the Chaos Emeralds and powering up the Eclipse Cannon, Shadow revealed his true intention - to destroy Earth as revenge for the death of his friend Maria. However, Amy Rose brought his true memories to light and he realised that Maria had always wanted him to save the planet, not destroy it.

Sonic and Shadow used the power of the Chaos Emeralds to transform into Super Sonic and Super Shadow. Together they destroyed the Final Hazard, and used Chaos Control to prevent the free-falling ARK from destroying the planet. Afterwards, he fell to the earth and was presumed dead.

[edit] Sonic Heroes

In the game Sonic Heroes, Rouge discovers Shadow in a stasis tube located in the deepest part of one of Dr. Eggman's bases. Shadow had amnesia and could not remember anything before his release from the stasis tube, except for his ability to use Chaos Control. Only later once his memories slowly began to surface would he remember Maria, or even his own name. He 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 proclaim that he "had no past to remember", Shadow discovered a half-destroyed Shadow robot and realized that he too might just be a robot. As Shadow continued his mission, he made the decision that "Even if I'm not real, I'm still the Ultimate Life-form, Shadow the Hedgehog!", indicating his memories are starting to surface.

Afterwards, Rouge stumbled upon a room filled with hundreds of Shadow Clones. However, Omega reassured her that the original Shadow had to exist somewhere in order for Eggman to make copies.

Later, when Metal Sonic transformed into Metal Madness, Shadow worked with Rouge, Omega, and the other teams to distract him long enough for Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles to power up into their Super Forms. At the end of the game, Shadow was last seen with Omega and the defeated Metal Sonic.

[edit] Sonic Battle

Sonic Battle was released before Sonic Heroes, but was set after it. Rouge saves Shadow's life while they are investigating Dr. Eggman's secret base and takes him back to her home. His story is the last-but-one, and he apparently teaches Emerl that his powers are not to be taken lightly.

In Sonic Battle, although he does not go into detail, Shadow 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.

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. This could also mean however that while Shadow was alive on the ARK, he was still being experimented on and improved.

[edit] Shadow the Hedgehog (game)

In the beginning of Shadow the Hedgehog, Shadow wonders about his memories when he is confronted by Black Doom, an alien who tells Shadow that Shadow had once promised him to find all the Chaos Emeralds.

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 paralyzing gas 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 breaks the paralysis, and then decides to discard his past, and 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 wins and Devil Doom falls 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 "Sayōnara, Shadow the Hedgehog".

[edit] Sega SuperStars

Shadow appears as an unlockable character in Sega SuperStars for the PlayStation 2's EyeToy. If the player finishes all three difficulty levels of the Sonic the Hedgehog minigame, Shadow is unlocked. Upon collecting all Chaos Emeralds, he can transform into Super Shadow.

[edit] 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 are 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. After unlocking Eggman, it is possible to buy other Air Shoes for Shadow and other characters to use.

[edit] Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)

In the 2006 Sonic the Hedgehog game, Shadow is a playable character and has his own storyline which weaves with those of Sonic and new character Silver the Hedgehog. Having decided to start a new life and put his past behind him, he is now a government agent. In this role, Shadow encounters new villain Mephiles the Dark. 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 monstrous Iblis roams free humanity would betray Shadow, reprogramming E-123 Omega to defeat and imprison him. Despite these attempts to break his resolve, Shadow 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.

[edit] 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.

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.

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.

Shadow also appears on four of the 150 collectible cards in the game.

[edit] Sonic and the Secret Rings

Shadow appears as an unlockable character in the Party Mode for Sonic and the Secret Rings. He is unlocked by collecting 30 Fire Souls in Story Mode.

[edit] Personality

Shadow is a "lone wolf" who distances himself from Sonic and his friends, but he will help them out if needed. He doesn't talk much (but is known to be soft spoken), and 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 natural killer instinct. Shadow is willing to do whatever it takes to get what he wants, and when he's determined, he is virtually unstoppable willing to crush entire armies or destroy planets for what he believes in.

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. Shadow's personality in the 2006 Sonic the Hedgehog title has some notable differences that can be attributed to the character development in the game Shadow the Hedgehog. Maria and Professor Gerald are never mentioned in the story, and Shadow adamantly resists when Mephiles attempts a similar ploy to Black Doom, in attempting to manipulate Shadow into becoming an enemy of mankind.

In the anime 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. Upon cornering Cosmo, Shadow told her to close her eyes, saying it was better that she die without knowing what she was. The English dub of the anime 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, Shadow seems to have become more gentle.

[edit] Major interactions with other characters

Shadow had been created by Professor Gerald Robotnik (who may be considered his adoptive father),^[1] Dr. Eggman's grandfather, with the use of Black Doom's DNA (making Black Doom his genetic host/biological father). Soon after being created Shadow became good friends with the Professor's granddaughter, Maria, and treated her like his sister. However, Maria died trying to escape with Shadow from the Space Colony A.R.K. during G.U.N.'s 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 exceptions of Sonic Heroes, due to Shadow's amnesia, Sonic Riders, since Shadow didn't have a place in the main story, and Sonic the Hedgehog because at this point he had decided to let go of his past.

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 an 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 they get in each other's way. 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 alias (although he doesn't know it's an alias) "Eggman". Almost in return, the Doctor had once referred to Shadow's abilities as "spectacular" and prefers to actually refer to him as Shadow instead of Hedgehog or Spiky as he frequently calls Sonic. It is likely that Shadow sees him as the genius he has been proven to be instead of the insane nuisance that the rest of the characters seem to view him as. It has been shown in Sonic the Hedgehog however that the two have begun to show a small dislike of each other, shown in Eggman's greeting to Shadow and Rouge. While he calls Rouge "my dear" he greets Shadow by flatly saying his name, as if he could careless that he was standing there. Also when Shadow crashed into Eggman's train Eggman greeted him with a flat 'what do you want'.

It could also be his connection to Professor Gerald and Maria which commands Shadow's respect for Eggman or possibly the fact that the Doctor was the one to release him from his Cryogenic unit on Prison Island, where he claimed the Doctor was his "master".

Shadow also has a close connection to Rouge the Bat, as she is probably as the closest thing he has to a friend out of all the Sonic characters. It is possible that Shadow may see her as a kindred spirit similar to how he saw Maria before her death. He saves her, in Sonic Adventure 2, 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, which are needed to power the Eclipse Cannon, although he claims he was only saving the Emeralds. In Sonic Heroes, Rouge unknowningly releases Shadow from a capsule, stops Shadow and E-123 Omega from fighting, and teams up with Shadow and Omega, forming Team Dark. In Sonic Battle, Rouge saves Shadow from a Guard Robo and takes him to Club Rouge while he recovers from his injuries. In the 2006 Sonic the Hedgehog game, Rouge joins Shadow after he rescues her from Eggman's base and she serves as a friend to Shadow. When she escapes from the future while leaving Shadow to battle Mephiles, she gives a Chaos Emerald to Omega and lets him sit in standby until he is where Shadow and Mephiles are battling and helps him face Mephiles. It is in this game that Rouge promises Shadow that she will always remain by his side - a promise that he accepts to remember. It is obvious that the two have grown close, but whether or not the feelings between them are romantic or platonic is an opinionated conclusion, as of now.

E-123 Omega is also a close ally of Shadow. After starting off as enemies in Sonic Heroes, he and Omega become friends and help each other in battle, though it takes the entire game to reach that point. At the beginning, Omega threatens to kill Shadow and Rouge if they slow him down, while Shadow mocks the idea that either of them could even keep up with him. 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. Although, however reluctant they are, in Sonic the Hedgehog Shadow appears to be somewhat upset when he realizes that it will be Omega (although unwillingly) that will betray him in the future.

Shadow's main rival is none other than Sonic the Hedgehog, the main protagonist of the games. When the two first meet in Sonic Adventure 2, they immediately become enemies, but over time their relationship develops into a strong (but somewhat friendly) rivalry. They frequently fight for different reasons, and Shadow finds Sonic to be very irritating, often saying something like "not you again" under his breath when he sees him. 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 Super Shadow and Super Sonic combat the Finalhazard at the end of Sonic Adventure 2. Shadow seems confident enough in his own skills that he doesn't go out of his way to gain power for the sole purpose of defeating Sonic. Shadow prefers to refer to Sonic as "That Blue Hedgehog". Shadow is recently beginning to treat Sonic as a friendly rival more than a cutthroat one, while Sonic seems to treat Shadow as a friend. This is first seen when Shadow steps between a battle between Sonic and Silver, during Sonic the Hedgehog, to allow Sonic to rescue Elise who had just been captured, fighting in Sonic's place. He also seemed slightly upset in the Last Story when Sonic was killed when at any earlier time he most likely wouldn't have cared.

Shadow has had a short but significant encounter with Amy Rose in "Sonic Adventure 2". When the ARK was near its collision course with the Earth, Amy pleads to Shadow to help save everyone on the planet. At first he refuses, but when Amy's persistent words trigger the previously unclear memory of Maria stating her wish for Shadow, he agrees to aid Sonic, saying "I have to keep my promise to Maria... and you". Shadow doesn't have many encounters with Amy, but in the game Shadow the Hedgehog, Shadow may or may not (depends on the actions of the player) aid Amy in her search for Cream in the Cryptic Castle level. Amy is always nice to Shadow though and seems like Amy really wants to be friends with him; Shadow also really never refuses to help her out.

As a major figure in opposing the various threats that rise to threaten his homeworld, Shadow has found himself working alongside numerous allies. Knuckles the Echidna and Silver the Hedgehog also serve as his rivals, though his personal feelings for them are never really shown. Tails, Cream the Rabbit, and the Chaotix are also his allies, but it is doubtful he considers them anything more.

[edit] Abilities

Basic traits between Shadow and Sonic are virtually identical. However, there are differences. First of all, Shadow's strength is very great, as seen in Shadow the Hedgehog, Shadow can flip buses and slabs of pavement over with one hand and kill enemies such as Black Arms by punching them a few times. Next, due to his Air Shoes, which he can switch on and off (either mentally or physically, it is unkown), he can "skate" incredibly fast (it is unknown as to how he would fare in comparison to Sonic, as various sources have given different information regarding). He is also said to be as fast as Sonic naturally, as stated on Concept:Mobius. Last, he has different "Chaos powers" that vary from teleportation to firing blasts of energy. These abilities utilize the same kind of energy as the mystical Chaos Emeralds. He is quite possibly the most durable character in the series, being capable of surviving falls from orbital heights, and able to turn himself practically indestructable when in a rage or bloodlust, Also only losing five rings from heavy damage which would cost Sonic all his rings. 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. Sonic, Black Doom and Silver can also use Chaos Control, though the move originally appeared with Shadow and he makes the most extensive use of it, and Silver and Sonic seem dependent on having Chaos Emeralds to use it, while it is stated that Shadow doesn't need to have a Chaos Emerald. Many had thought that every character in the Sonic universe needed an Emerald to perform the technique, but Shadow has proven he doesn't need any, as seen in "The Last Way". In the previous cutscene, Black Doom had taken all the Chaos Emeralds from Shadow to perform the "Ritual of Prosperity", which really was just an intensified form of Chaos Control. After Black Doom escaped, Shadow was to purse him, but the only way to get to the center of the comet was by using Chaos Control (without a Chaos Emerald). Shadow is able to shape Chaos Control into a variety of offensive and defensive attacks, as seen in Sonic Battle, and use energies that are or are similar to those of the Chaos Emeralds to produce a variety of abilities, with examples being Sonic Adventure 2 (Chaos Spear), Shadow the Hedgehog (Chaos Blast), and Sonic the Hedgehog (Chaos Boost, Chaos Lance, Chaos Snap, and Chaos Attack).

In Sonic Adventure 2 and Shadow the Hedgehog, Shadow uses a move called "Chaos Spear". Chaos Spear is a powerful yellow lightning bolt that can be shot rapidly, or charged as a single powerful bolt. In Shadow the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog, Shadow uses "Chaos Blast". Chaos Blast creates a powerful explosion that destroys everything within a 20 yard radius. Both moves are highly destructive.

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 (which may be based off of the way Chaos Control was represented in Shadow the Hedgehog's prerendered intro). Chaos Lance is when Shadow fires multiple Chaos Spear attacks, and he glows 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.

As shown in Sonic the Hedgehog, Shadow will become even more powerful if he takes off the rings on his wrists, although the purpose of this is unknown. It is possible that Shadow would unleash even more of his energy, if he takes off all four of his rings (on both of his wrists and ankles), and that he'd become stronger while additionally in his super form but loses power more quickly. 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 dead. It should be noted that his rings never did pop off in the officially canon game Sonic Adventure 2.

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. Sonic Riders also shows him to move his board or bike via telekinesis.

In the Sonic X animé series Shadow is seen to generate huge explosions when for example attacking ships, a blast of fire around him (possibly a form of Chaos Blast) and large Chaos Control shockwaves capable of freezing large parts of space in time for a short while.

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 (see previous note on this), as well as hover in mid-air.

By harnessing the power of the seven Chaos Emeralds, Shadow is able to use super transformation to transform into Super Shadow. The abilities then presented to him are similar to those used by Super Sonic.

[edit] Other appearances

[edit] Sonic X

Shadow also appears on the anime 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 French/Japanese version 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. In the English dub Molly is seen flying off into the sky and instead of a grave, Shadow says that he will miss her and he is worried about her being all alone out in space.

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, Shadow performs Chaos Control to save everyone from an exploding planet, possibly sacrificing himself in the process. 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 makes reference to the fact that Shadow may be associated with a folklore hero named "Black Wind", possibly in reference to "Black Whirlwind" Li Kui from the classic Chinese novel "The Water Margin."

[edit] Sonic the Hedgehog

Shadow has appeared a few times in the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series. He first appears in 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 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). 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. In addition to Sonic, he has also established a rivalry with Scourge the Hedgehog. 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 wished to use him and Tails to collect every Chaos Emerald in the universe by use of his Chaos Control. Upon gaining freedom Shadow helped Tails teleport all the Chaos Emeralds into the Zone of Silence. Shadow later confronted Dr. Eggman and his nephew, Snively, demanding Professor Gerald's diary. It was later mentioned by Tails' parents that the Black Arms had been fighting the Xorda for several months on the Bem homeworld of Argentium, indicating that the comics may do an adaptation of Shadow the Hedgehog. Shadow later steals a disk of Professor Geralds diary, but it gets damaged by the droids persueing him. Sonic saves him from the droids and later on Nicole says she can wire into the disk and let Shadow uncover the secrets of his past. Inside the diary Shadow finds out that his creator had made a deal with Black Doom to create the greatest weapon (Shadow), but the professor changed his mind and defied Black Doom. He created Shadow with the intent to protect Mobius. Having gained the answers he seeked it is clear that Shadow will now be protecting Mobius, although it is unclear whether or not he will join the Freedom Fighters.

All of Shadow's Chaos powers in the comic book series come from the greatest power in the universe, the Chaos Force (also referred to as "The Power of Chaos"), a mystical energy field that serves as wellspring for all Chaos powers. Knuckles states at one point that Shadow must have direct access to this energy, even without an emerald, displayed when Shadow sub-consciously halted a squadron of 'Metal Sonic Troopers' using Chaos Control in the absence of an Emerald.

[edit] Possible Future

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, from another possible future, never 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, despite the disapproval of her ancestor Dimitri, who considers her pact with Shadow to be as bad as his own previous alliance with Dr. Finitevus. After King Sonic (from another possible future) 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-except for Knuckles, who apparently found some way to evade his attention. However, his reign came to an end when he was defeated by none other than Lara-Su.

[edit] Shadow Androids/Shadow Clone

Shadow Androids are robots based on Shadow that first appeared in Sonic Heroes, though was never actually stated to be such. Instead, one Team Dark cutscene showed a broken Shadow robot, and another one showed an entire room of Androids in stasis, which affected the story in a way, making several characters believe Shadow was a robot. The Shadow Androids reappeared in Shadow the Hedgehog as somewhat strong enemy robots on the single-player mode's "Iron Jungle" and "Lava Shelter" stages, along with the "Iron Jungle" boss. These androids can counter Shadow's Homing Attacks by jumping, attack using Homing Attack themselves, or lock-on to Shadow and toss rockets at him, which they seem to use more often than the Homing Attack.

In the multi-player mode of Shadow the Hedgehog, there are six special Shadow Androids. Four of these robots are silver with green, pink, orange, or blue stripes, each wielding either an alien-like machinegun or a bazooka. The other two androids look more like Shadow but one his stripes and parts of his clothing that are yellowish-oragnge instead of red (his eyes are red though). These two androids, like the real Shadow, start off without weapons but can carry any other weapon they collect and have limited ammo while the other four androids can only use their built-in weapons which have unlimited ammo. The androids can activate Dark Shadow and all of its normal effects and attacks just like the real Shadow. Hero Shadow does not seem to be available as there are no good deeds for the player to do to fill the Hero gauge and Chaos Control (the in-level version) would be useless in multi-player mode. All of these androids and Shadow claim to be the original, and claim that the others are fakes.

[edit] 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 Sonic and Jet the Hawk.

[edit] Associated songs

The video games have featured several theme songs for the character. Shadow's themes consisted primarily of the techno and industrial genres in Sonic Adventure 2 and Sonic Heroes, but have shown in increasing preference toward the rock genre in more recent games.

• Sonic Adventure 2: "Throw it All Away" - Everett Bradley.
• Sonic Heroes: "This Machine" - Julien-K. This was a team theme shared with Rouge and Omega.
• Shadow the Hedgehog: "Almost Dead" - Powerman 5000, "Waking Up" - Julien-K, "Chosen One" - A2, "All Hail Shadow" - Magna Fi, "Never Turn Back" - Crush 40, But the main theme song was: "I Am... All of Me" - Crush 40
• Sonic the Hedgehog: "All Hail Shadow" (Remix) - Crush 40

In addition, there are several vocal level themes associated with Shadow's character in Sonic Adventure 2.

• White Jungle: "Rhythm and Balance" - Everett Bradley
• Final Chase: "The Supernatural" - Everett Bradley
• Biolizard: "Supporting Me" - Everett Bradley

Also, a special remix of "TRIPOD BABY" performed by m-flo was released as a promotional song for Shadow the Hedgehog.

[edit] References & notes

[edit] External links

v • d • e Sonic the Hedgehog video game characters
Heroes	Sonic · Tails · Knuckles · Amy · Cream · Silver · Blaze
Anti-Heroes	Shadow · Rouge · E-123 Omega · Chaos · E-102 Gamma
Villains	Dr. Eggman  (Dr. Ivo Robotnik) · Metal Sonic
Groups/Species	Echidnas · Badniks · Chaotix · E-Series · Chao · Flicky · G.U.N. · Babylon Rogues
Miscellaneous	Other characters · Other villains · List of all game characters