Shadow the Hedgehog
From Sonic Retro
- For the eponymous game, see Shadow the Hedgehog (game).
Shadow the Hedgehog is known as the "dark incarnation" of Sonic the Hedgehog and first appears in the Dreamcast game Sonic Adventure 2.
Contents
History
Backstory
Shadow is known as the ultimate life form. He was created by Prof. Gerald Robotnik, the grandfather of Dr. Ivo Robotnik (aka Dr. Eggman) aboard the space colony ARK. Gerald made contact with an alien group known as the Black Arms, and made a pact with their leader - the alien overlord Black Doom. By using Black Doom's DNA, Gerald was gradually able to complete his project, going through one successful "prototype" before arriving at the black hedgehog known as "Shadow".
Gerald eventually learned of the intentions of Black Doom's pact. Black Doom wanted to transport his dark weapon - the Black Comet - to Earth using the seven Chaos Emeralds in order to enslave the human race, a task which he had been preparing for over 2000 years. He agreed to Gerald's pact, intending on making Shadow a "herald" to his invasion. Upon learning of this, Gerald secretly reprogrammed Shadow as a weapon in Earth's defense, and also prepared a counter-weapon called the Eclipse Cannon to destroy the Black Comet.
Shadow developed a fast friendship with the Professor's granddaughter, Maria Robotnik, and often looked down to Earth, wondering what the purpose to his life was. When the military attacked ARK, hoping to shut down the Ultimate Life Form project, Maria sacrificed herself in order to let Shadow escape to Earth in an escape pod. On Earth, Shadow was captured by the Guardian Unit of Nations (G.U.N) and placed in suspended animation for 50 years until (in Sonic Adventure 2) Dr. Eggman attacked their complex looking for "his grandfather's legacy" and freed him. Having a newfound aggression and a thirst for revenge on the human race, Shadow granted the doctor one wish as a reward for freeing him: the domination of Earth. He then goes on to steal a Chaos Emerald and gets mistaken for Sonic, they are rivals as soon as they first see each other, and nearly kill each other at the end of the game, Shadow fights the Biolizard twice, but the second time is in super form with Sonic.
Sonic Adventure 2
A small thing to note is that his "prototype"-name (used while Sonic Adventure 2 was being developed) was Terios.
Shadow led Eggman to the ARK and the Eclipse Cannon, which required seven Chaos Emeralds to reach full power. Joined by a treasure hunter named Rouge the Bat, the three succeed in breaking into a military base and managing to gather three Emeralds, which, combined with the one Eggman used to free Shadow, an Emerald Shadow stole (which in turn framed Sonic the Hedgehog) and one that Rouge offered for her services, was enough power to destroy half the moon. They retrieved the last Emerald after Sonic lead an assault of Miles "Tails" Prower, Knuckles the Echidna and (reluctantly for the boys) Amy Rose on the ARK.
Shadow was eventually defeated by Sonic in a race towards the activated Eclipse Cannon, which Sonic then destroyed. Unfortunately, the heroes were unable to stop Eggman from using the Chaos Emeralds to activate the Cannon's true power. To everyone's dismay (except Shadow's), it was discovered that during his last days before being executed, Gerald Robotnik had gone insane with anger and programmed the Ark to collide with Earth should all seven Chaos Emeralds be used.
Satisfied that Maria's death would finally be carried out, Shadow held no remorse as the Ark fell towards Earth. However, Amy managed to remind him that Maria's last wish was for the people of Earth to be happy, not revenge. (Note: Exactly why Shadow did not remember this promise is never revealed. Some argue that Shadow's memories were altered by Gerald Robotnik. Some believe that the stress of seeing Maria die and Shadow's own thirst for vengeance caused Shadow to subconsciously re-write history in his own mind in order to justify his actions.) Shadow rushed to redeem himself by helping Sonic and Knuckles seal the power of the Chaos Emeralds.
Shadow was forced into a heated battle against his own prototype, called the Biolizard, which was activated by the ARK in order to assure that its mission would be carried out successfully. Though he won, he could not stop it from merging with the ARK and continuing the ARK's path towards Earth as the Final Hazard. He used the power of the Chaos Emeralds to transform into Super Shadow, and together with Super Sonic they destroyed the Final Hazard. Then, using Chaos Control, they were able to stop the free-falling ARK from destroying the Earth. Unfortunately, Shadow had used the last of his energy to do so, and fell to Earth. He was assumed to be dead, but Eggman had actually used one of his robots to rescue Shadow before he crashed into Earth.
Sonic Heroes
Shadow was put in suspended animation again, this time within one of Eggman's bases. Eggman managed to study Shadow and extract some of his DNA to create thousands of robotic copies of him in much the same way he made Metal Sonic, Sonic's robotic counterpart. He created the last of his E-100 series, E-123 Omega, to watch over Shadow should someone try to release him. Eventually, he was re-discovered by Rouge, who was expecting to find a cache of Eggman's treasure hidden inside the base. Both he and Omega awakened, but Omega had yet to be programmed to protect Shadow, and instead attacked him.
After breaking up the two of them, Rogue convinced them to join forces. Shadow, who was suffering from amnesia after falling from the ARK, agreed to work with Omega, who felt he had been abandoned by his creator and wanted to kill him, and together with Rogue they formed Team Dark. As they hunted for Dr. Eggman, Shadow discovered clues and hints suggesting that he himself may have been one of the robots created from the "real" Shadow. Despite this, he continued forward stating, "even if I'm not real, I'm still the ultimate life form, Shadow the Hedgehog!" After their final confrontation with Eggman aboard his flying fortress, Rogue - still looking for Eggman's treasure - found a giant storage room full of robot clones of Shadow. As Omega arrived to destroy the room and everything in it, Rogue deduced that the Shadow that had accompanied them really was a clone, but Omega reassured her that the original may have still existed.
Shadow the Hedgehog
Upon defeating Metal Sonic, who was revealed to have staged the entire plot of Sonic Heroes, the members of Team Dark went their separate ways. Shadow, still suffering from amnesia, wandered the Earth for 2 weeks looking for answers. That is when Black Doom decided to finally execute his plan to take over the Earth. The Black Arms poured into Westopolis from the sky, and Shadow was confronted by a hologram of Black Doom created by his "Black Eye." Told to gather the seven Chaos Emeralds for him and fulfill his "promise," Shadow set out to do so under the impression that he would be rewarded his lost memories.
During his adventure, Black Doom would constantly pressure him to actively join the Black Arms and renounce his "temporary" alliance with Earth, manipulating him into having the same hatred for humankind that he once felt after the death of Maria.
While the true events that occurred during Shadow the Hedgehog were undefinitive, the ending was clear. Shadow eventually found all the Chaos Emeralds and gave them to Black Doom. He then learned that Black Doom needed the emeralds to amplify his ability to use Chaos Control, in order to transport the Black Comet to Earth and complete his hostile takeover. He also learned of the pact made between Black Doom and Dr. Gerald, and that he was reprogrammed by Gerald to defeat the Black Arms once and for all. His memory completely restored, Shadow transformed into Super Shadow once more, and confronted a transformed Devil Doom. In the final battle, Shadow was able to defeat Doom, and toss the Black Comet into the path of the Eclipse Cannon, in which it was then destroyed. From then on, Shadow chose to abandon his past and only look towards the future, much like Sonic, and became part of G.U.N as an agent.
Today
Today, Shadow is still a member of G.U.N. and acts as a rival to Sonic the Hedgehog and Silver the Hedgehog. Is is revealed during Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) that in the future, Shadow would be sealed away by a reprogrammed Omega sometime after the release of the demon Iblis. This future, however, is still open, as because of the teamwork of Super Sonic, Super Shadow, and Super Silver, the events of Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) never occurred.
Abilities
Shadow uses his Air Shoes to "skate" at speeds rivaling Sonic, and is immortal due to the blood of Black Doom running through his veins. He also possesses incredible physical strength, shown several times in Shadow the Hedgehog to lift vehicles and pieces of Earth with little effort. Lastly, he shows competency with a wide variety of vehicles, gadgets, and weaponry, specifically firearms.
Shadow's trademark move is called Chaos Control. Chaos Control allows the user to warp through space (teleportation) and either slow or freeze time. He is seen using this ability in three situations during Sonic Adventure 2: once to escape from Sonic with the green Chaos Emerald, once to rescue Rouge from the military base before it blew up, and during the final duel against Sonic.
Shadow uses Chaos Control to freeze time during Team Dark's Team Blast, known as "Chaos Inferno". He can also freeze time temporarily in Sonic Adventure 2's multiplayer mode, and slow it down during boss battles in Shadow the Hedgehog.
Chaos Control was not an in-game ability for Shadow until Shadow the Hedgehog, where increasing the player's Blue (Light) Gauge allowed you skip a moderate portion of the level. In fact, it was a required power for completing the Last Story of the game.
For unknown reasons, both Sonic the Hedgehog and Silver the Hedgehog can also use Chaos Control. It was originally thought that Chaos Control required the use of at least a single Chaos Emerald; however, this has only been the case for beings that don't contain the blood of Black Doom, as there have been proven cases where Shadow was able to use Chaos Control without a Chaos Emerald (specifically, the "Last Story" of Shadow the Hedgehog).
- Unlike his rivals, Shadow can directly manipulate Chaos Control into his own special attacks. Out of them, his most common technique is the Chaos Spear, a golden lightning bolt which originally could only be used in Sonic Adventure 2's multiplayer mode. He can also use the more unorthodox Chaos Blast technique, a giant explosion that destroys all nearby enemies. His Chaos Boost grants him temporary invincibility, and is automatically activated when either the Blue (Light) or Red (Dark) Gauges have been filled in Shadow the Hedgehog. He can teleport and attack a string of enemies using Chaos Snap, or beat them down gradually using Chaos Attack after a homing attack. All of these skills are available in Sonic the Hedgehog (some via purchase).
- Shadow's true power is inhibited by the gold rings he wears on his wrists. They prevent him from overextending and possibly hurting himself when using his many Chaos Control-based techniques. This concept was introduced in Sonic the Hedgehog and the anime Sonic X.
- Furthermore, a rip in the fabric of time and space is created when two individuals in close proximity to each other attempt to use Chaos Control (via Chaos Emeralds) to travel to completely different locations. This space-time distortion can be used as a teleportation device by anyone else, allowing limited transport between different locations and time periods. This concept also appeared in Sonic the Hedgehog, and indeed causes inconsistency with the final cutscene of Sonic Adventure 2.
Character analysis & popular theories
Shadow was a character supposedly created by Yuji Naka to have a typical Japanese shady, dark hero, rival to the more Americanised (but increasingly, a quirky Japanese take on it) Sonic, making the series more anime-like.
Shadow is somewhat of a marmite character - many love him, others feel that they're being "forced" to love him, and therefore hate him.
Shadow could be influenced by Shadow from Final Fantasy 6. He is also meant to be somewhat of a Goth Hedgehog, adding a touch of magic and darkness to the series, also probably influenced by the likes of Vincent from FF7.
Whatever way you look at him, he still adds depth to the newer games Sonic the Hedgehog series, which aren't welcomed as warmly as the older ones, although often because of Shadow's existence.
A popular opinion is that Shadow is an evil clone of Sonic. This is never stated in any of the games. Shadow is the ultimate life form and that he was created by Prof. Gerald Robotnik. His resemblance to Sonic character-wise is a pure coincidence. Sonic is fifteen years old, and Shadow was created approximately fifty years ago, so Sonic could not have been cloned.
Despite Shadow being "created" and being said to be artificial, Shadow the Hedgehog (game) denies this. It claims that Shadow was actually born and he is a real hedgehog, just with Black Doom's blood, meaning the two have similar abilities and it explains why the Black Arms have Shadow's colours.
What exactly is the ultimate life form that Gerald Robotnik was working on? Shadow the Hedgehog answers this by explaining that Shadow is the ultimate life form Gerald was working on, and Biolizard was the one he wrote about in the diary in Sonic Adventure 2.
In the speech before his execution at the end of Sonic Adventure 2, Gerald explains how the Ultimate Life Form project was supposed to be for the good of mankind. The military interpreted it as a weapon which led to the attack that killed Maria and supposedly destroyed the Ultimate Life Form. Gerald goes on to claim that, filled with hatred for the military for killing Maria, he completed the Ultimate Life Form based on what he remembered and programmed it to carry out his revenge. He also implores the listener to free it.
This speech is quite confusing. We know that Shadow escaped ARK in an escape pod, and that same Shadow was the one freed by Dr. Eggman. But based on his speech, Gerald does not know that Shadow has survived. He would have realised that Shadow had survived if the military had delivered Shadow to him so he could continue his work. It is unknown why would the military continue to allow Gerald to work on Shadow if they already perceived him as a threat.
There are four possible explanations. One is that Shadow is the only true Ultimate Life Form and that the professor improved Shadow even further after he was captured by the military. Secondly, there is a third, more powerful Ultimate Life Form in existence which has not been discovered. A third possibility is that, the Final Hazard is the true Ultimate Life Form. Relating to this second theory, some believe that Sonic actually is the ultimate life form, seeing as he is very similar to Shadow in various ways, saying that Sonic is actually an upgraded version of Shadow, some say this can be proved by various things Sonic can do that Shadow can't (Sonic can run fast without the rocket shoes, Bounce Attack, etc). This cannot be proved, however, so that theory should be regarded purely as speculation, and not fact. Shadow the Hedgehog denies this and proves that the third ultimate life form is in fact Black Doom, from a line in the game Black Doom says when defeated "What? This can't be! I am the supreme being that rules this universe, the Immortal Life Form! I am the ultimate power... graaaggghhh!"Finaly, Gerald Robotnik stated in Sonic Adventure 2, he created the Ultimate Lifeform to destroy Earth, but in Shadow the Hedgehog (game), he said he created Shadow to destroy the Black Comet, adding to the confusion.But, Gerald could be refering to Biolizard to destroy earth, and Shadow to destroy the Black comet.Since the Black arms goal was to feed of earth's energy,Biolizard might have truly been created to stop this, and Gerald lied on the video(The one in Sonic Adventure 2) so no one knew about him meeting Black Doom.Shadow then might of been made to destroy the Black comet if: A.Biolizard failed B.To destroy the Black Comet so no other planet could sufer. If is this is true, Gerald might not have known about Shadow being sent to earth.
Before he was executed, Gerald modified the Bio-Lizard so it could fuse with ARK using Chaos Control and destroy Earth by ramming into it. Sonic and Knuckles "free" the Bio-Lizard when they approach the core of ARK, and the voice of Gerald plays as it is released. The Bio-Lizard was also just a "prototype" of the Ultimate Life Form- an incomplete version. This would leave it open to being improved by Gerard. Finally, by using Chaos Control to fuse with ARK, it is carrying out the mission it was programmed for: to destroy Earth. Seeing that Shadow was not originally programmed to destroy Earth, it is improbable to suggest that his predecessor, the Bio-Lizard, was originally a weapon of destruction, especially considering that the whole Ultimate Life Form project was supposed to bring peace to the world. The only viable explanation is that it was re-programmed by Gerard. The only disproof of this theory is the subtitle of "The Prototype of the Ultimate Life" in the description of the Final Hazard.
Another popular theory is that the Shadow in SA2, Sonic Heroes, and Sonic Battle is a real, organic Shadow and Metal Sonic used this original Shadow to clone his army. Proof to this theory is that Metal Sonic says "Ultimate Life Form data has been copied" after the Egg Albatross is defeated. Thus, Shadow in Sonic Heroes and SA2, and thus Sonic Battle (Battle's Shadow has SA2's memories) is the real one as Metal Sonic indirectly implies there that he couldn't copy the Ultimate Life Form data from one of the clones. However, the fake Dr. Eggman (Metal Sonic) tells Shadow that he 'has no past to remember' before he copies the Ultimate Life Form data, although this could just be to throw him and make him think he's a clone, therefore stopping him from realizing that he can warp in time and space. Obviously, Shadow realizing that would be a huge blow to Metal Sonic's plans. Also, why would a normal Shadow clone be kept in a different place to all the others? Shadow's solo game explains that Eggman rescued Shadow with one of his robots, and Eggman decided that he could use "Shadow Androids" (robotic copies of Shadow) to conquer the world. Metal Sonic apparently didn't know about this and believed Shadow did die.
Yet another popular theory is that Shadow's memories of Maria are entirely false, and that, in fact, the hedgehog form of Project Shadow never even set foot on Space Colony ARK prior to the events of Sonic Adventure 2. The likely scenario is that, somehow, Gerald was able to continue work on Project Shadow while incarcerated by GUN (as indicated by Sonic X). How, we do not know -- Perhaps they were using the professor for other research purposes and he secretly did the work on the side. Regardless, planning to utilize Shadow for vengeance on GUN and, for that matter, the entire world, the very angry professor would have programmed fabricated memories of Maria and her death into Shadow's subconscious. Shadow's game proves that these memories are true. Remember that Shadow has been in a capsule for fifty years, so his memories are probably cloudy.
This theory doesn't quite explain why Shadow had the change of heart he did toward the end of the SA2 story arc, but if anything, it can probably be accredited to emotional mental instability. Of course, many people [supporting this theory] say that since Shadow's memory contained the anger of Prof. Gerald, when he had his change of heart it actually represented Prof. Gerald's inputted anger realizing what was really happening, and repenting. The answer is that Shadow remembered more of Maria's wish. Earlier in the game, he doesn't remember the "Give them a chance... to be happy!" part of the wish.
- Also, it should be noted that the story of Sonic Battle cannot be considered canon material without completely disregarding the history laid out by Sonic Adventure 2. There are far too many discrepancies in the story relating to Professor Gerald's journal entries (unlockable by playing through the story a second time) that completely nullify any direct sense of continuity with SA2, where Shadow was created for the purpose of vengeance. Why would Gerald have intentionally programmed the final version of Shadow with a conscience if the very reason it was brought into existence was to destroy the world? The plot holes created by Sonic Battle are simply too large to disregard.
- Note: This is personal opinion, and not fact. An alternate explanation is that Shadow is simply *not* a robot, and can't be purely programmed, only hypnotised and influenced to implant thoughts and emotions. Sonic Battle fits quite well as canon development as Shadow's character. Shadow has been going through much self discovery since he was awoken in Sonic Adventure 2 - this is simply a natural stage in his development. He is a living humanoid creature, with a mind and conscience of his own. He disagrees in Sonic Battle, but it's made quite obvious by the other characters reactions that it's just another mood swing.
Lastly, there is nothing that states that the Chaos Emerald-empowered Shadow seen at the end of Sonic Adventure 2 is "Hyper Shadow." The proper terminology is Super Shadow, as, according to Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles, a character absorbing all seven Chaos Emeralds is always referred to as "Super" instead of "Hyper", no matter who that character is. "Hyper" is a second stage achieved by absorption of the seven Super Emeralds (powered up forms of the Chaos Emeralds), as seen from Hyper Sonic and Hyper Knuckles in Sonic 3 & Knuckles.
What truly happened in the end of Sonic Adventure 2
In Sonic Adventure 2, Shadow is seen falling to Earth and apparently getting killed in the process. After he returned, many fans wondered if Shadow is the real one, or an android. Here are the theories stated in Shadow the Hedgehog:
- In the neutral story, Eggman tricks Shadow into believing he is one of the Shadow Androids created in the beginning of the game and in the end of Sonic Heroes. Shadow believes this as he doesn't have any memories, but he goes to Eggman's base and he and E-123 Omega kill the doctor. In the heroic Lava Shelter ending, Shadow plans that he will kill Eggman and he and Omega will rule an android utopia. Then he kills Eggman and the credits roll. In the darker one, Shadow obeys Eggman but uses the Chaos Emeralds to destroy the Egg Dealer. Shadow claims that he will be better than the other Shadow Androids, and the original Shadow. Then he kills Eggman and the credits roll. It should be noted that these endings are not canon as Eggman is in the Last Story.
- Shadow is hinted to have only just survived in the pure evil storyline, and that it is GUN's fault. Shadow decides that the best thing to do is carry out revenge and destroy Earth. In the heroic ending, Shadow kills Black Doom but conquers the universe anyway. And in the evil storyline Shadow claims that he and Black Doom (who he believes is his lord and master) will rule Earth.
- In one storyline, Shadow realizes he is the original and decides to stay on the ARK. While he manages to destroy one of Eggman's robots, he does it because he plans to protect ARK from any and all outsiders, and he lets Eggman off with a warning.
- Finally, in the Last Story, Eggman explains what happened to Shadow. To do it, survive in the battle with Devil Doom for about eight-ten minutes. Eggman says this "Shadow... can you hear me? Th--this may be the last t-time I-I get to sp-speak to you... everyone th-thought you d-died aboard the ARK on that tragic d-day... w-well you didn't... I r-rescued you w-with one of m-my robots. Y-you j-just l-lost your m-memory, that's all. Y-you really are the U-ultimate Life F-form my gr-grandfather created!", proving that the Shadow we play as is the real one.
Japanese Backstory: The TRUTH About 50 Years Ago
See Sonic Adventure 2 - The Truth of 50 Years Ago...
Games Shadow has appeared in
- Sonic Adventure 2
- Sonic Adventure 2: Battle
- Sega Superstars
- Sonic Battle
- Sonic Heroes
- Shadow the Hedgehog
- Sonic Riders
- Sonic the Hedgehog
- Sonic Rivals
- Sonic and the Secret Rings
- Sonic Rivals 2
- Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity
Critisicm
Shadow has received a large amount of critisicm from Sonic fans and big-name gaming sites such as IGN and GameSpot. One of them is that his "death" in Sonic Adventure 2 made a great ending, and that having him return cheapened his death. Shadow is also criticized due to the fact that he curses a lot in his game (especially his over-use of the word "damn"). He is also hated because he is believed to simply be a "dark Sonic", despite having a backstory.
Voice Actors
- Sonic Adventure 2, Sonic Battle, Sonic Heroes, Shadow the Hedgehog, Sonic Riders (Japanese) - Koji Yusa
- Sonic Adventure 2, Sonic Battle, Sonic Heroes (English) - David Humphrey
- Sonic X, Shadow the Hedgehog, Sonic Riders (English) - Jason Griffith