"If the world chooses to become my enemy... I will fight like I always have!" - Shadow, Sonic the Hedgehog 2006
Shadow the Hedgehog (シャドウ・ザ・ヘッジホッグ Shadō za Hejjihoggu?) is a supporting character from the expansive Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. He is a mobian hedgehog/Black Arm hybrid and the arch-rival of Sonic. Shadow was created by Dr. Gerald Robotnik, using the DNA of Black Doom, and is the end result of Project Shadow.
Why He's The Coolest[]
- His entire backstory is very tragic and sympathetic: While trying to destroy humanity for the loss of his best friend Maria, he has a change of heart thanks to a pep talk from one pink hedgehog and decides to protect Earth.
- A brooding loner by nature, Shadow constantly refers to himself as "The Ultimate Lifeform" as he is serious, somewhat egotistical and self-absorbed, yet calm and anti-heroic by the most part.
- Despite being usually alone, he is a good friend of Rouge and E-123 Omega.
- He's pretty respectful towards Sonic, even saying that he might be the actual "ultimate lifeform" during their fight against the Biolizard.
- His personality, abilities, and outlook on life make him another excellent arch-rival for Sonic, one that isn't a robust roboticist. Sound familiar?
- Regardless of his motivations, he has helped Sonic and his allies save the world multiple times.
- Shadow has a collection of amazing, heavy rock and metal music in Sonic Adventure 2 and Shadow the Hedgehog (his spin-off game). Some of the best are "Throw It All Away", "I Am...All of Me", "All Hail Shadow" and "Never Turn Back".
- When Silver was about to finish Sonic off, he saved the latter's life and even helped the former to discover Iblis' origin.
- Like Sonic, he has little to no trouble forgiving others, as he started working with G.U.N. (a.k.a. the people who took everything away from him).
- His aforementioned (and heartwarming) friendship with Maria and Professor Gerald.
- To fans of the All Dogs Go to Heaven franchise, he could be considered the Charlie Barkin of Sonic in many ways.
Bad Quality[]
- In recent years, he has defined only by his edginess and nothing more. But not as bad as his Sonic Boom counterpart.
Videos[]
Shadow the Hedgehog Is NOT An Edgelord - Characters In-Depth
Trivia[]
- The look and feel of his character were based on high-octane, dark action movies like Underworld, Constantine, and the Terminator films.
- Although Shadow is one of the series' most popular characters and was named one of the greatest video game characters by Guinness World Records in 2011, he has proven divisive among video game journalists.