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Shadow the Hedgehog .:: Shadow the Hedgehog

CHARACTER INFORMATION Name: Project Shadow Nicknames: Shadow, The Ultimate Lifeform, The Black Blur (He's also been saddled a few nicknames which are nothing more than derogatory racial slurs. Needless to say, none of those are official.) Race: Artificially-processed transgenic Black Arm hedgehog (Speculation: If you choose to get technical, Shadow is most likely modeled after an African Pygmy Hedgehog, since that is the most common, well-known species of hedgehog, not to mention is the species of hedgehog shown in the US Sonic Adventure 2 and Sonic Adventure 2: Battle commercials.) Gender: Male Age: N/A; Shadow does not age (If you wish to get technical, Shadow's chronological age may very well be about 50 as indicated by the Black Comet’s presence by earth “50 years later” as stated by a newspaper in a Last Story cutscene of Shadow the Hedgehog. This seems to hint at the Black Comet’s and Black Doom’s presence near the ARK at around the same time as a result, somewhat confirming his choronological age as being 50.)

Physical Age: 15
(This makes some sense, since he and Sonic are somewhat physically alike.)

Date of birth: Unknown

Birthplace: Space Colony ARK

Height: 100 centimeters (3 feet and 3 inches or exactly 3.28 feet)

Weight: 35 kilograms (77.2 pounds)

Ability Type: Speed

Physical techniques:

(1). Spin Attack
Description: While in locomotion, Shadow can curl down and take on a fetal position, rolling along the ground at a very high speed and rate of torque, meant primarily for breaking through barriers, or destroying enemies.
In-game debut: Sonic Adventure 2, Sega Dreamcast, 2001

(2). Spin Jump
Description: Also referred to as the "spinball jump," Shadow is able to leap into the air and curl into a spinning, tightly compacted ball of destruction which can destroy enemies and break barriers.
In-game debut: Sonic Adventure 2, Sega Dreamcast, 2001

(3). Spin Dash
Description: Originally named the "Super Spin Dash," Shadow is able to curl down and begin revving up, taking on a diagonally pivoted, ovular shape. Once unleashed, Shadow blasts forward in an acceleration roll of high speeds with limited airborne capability, meant to break barriers or mow down enemies.
In-game debut: Sonic Adventure 2, Sega Dreamcast, 2001

(4). Jump Dash/Homing Attack
Description: While airborne in spinball form, Shadow can burst forward in a sudden jolt of speed in a linear path enveloped in an yellow aura, and when an enemy or object is near, the jump can be used to home right into the nearby enemy or object with extreme impact power.
In-game debut: Sonic Adventure 2, Sega Dreamcast, 2001

(5). Light Dash
Description: When a trail or pattern of rings is in close proximity, Shadow is able to zoom across the trajectory of the ring path at lightspeed, defying gravity and collecting all of them in a flash.
In-game debut: Sonic Adventure 2, Sega Dreamcast, 2001 

(10). Chaos Blast
Description: When the darkness of his psyche is in control, Shadow is able to unleash a highly destructive ball of energy around him with the use of a single Chaos Emerald. This blast spreads and eliminates nearly everything in a 5-10 yard radius.
Appearance: Shadow the Hedgehog, Nintendo GameCube/Sony PlayStation 2/Microsoft Xbox, 2005

(11). Chaos Attack
Description: As if the Homing Attack wasn't good enough on its own, Shadow uses Chaos energy to enhance the amount of damage dealt, even taking out multiple enemies at once. However, it can only be used five times, regardless of the amount of targets.
Only used in: Sonic the Hedgehog (aka Sonic Next), Microsoft Xbox 360, Sony PlayStation 3, 2006

(12). Spin Kick
Description: Shadow basically performs a spinning kick whether moving or still that resembles break-dancing somewhat. If he is still when performing this attack, it can create a small tornado that can suck enemies in and damage them.
Only used in: Sonic the Hedgehog (aka Sonic Next), Microsoft Xbox 360, Sony PlayStation 3, 2006

(13). Chaos Lance
Description: Shadow creates a single red lance of chaos energy that strikes his enemy, stunning them as well as damaging them.
Only used in: Sonic the Hedgehog (aka Sonic Next), Microsoft Xbox 360, Sony PlayStation 3, 2006

Abilities and aptitude:

(1). Thanks to his air shoes, Shadow is able to hoverskate at supersonic speeds, matching Sonic's right down to the last mile per hour. Conversively, Shadow doesn't need the shoes' jets to be as fast as his rival, but prefers them anyway.

(2). Needless to say, his speed gives him awesome agility, acrobatic skills, and reaction time.

(3). Has the ability to use the power of the Chaos Emeralds and transform into Super Shadow, where Shadow's fur turns to a glossy, light beige color, he is impervious to damage, and is many times as fast and powerful along with the ability to fly.

(4). Though he can't compare with Knuckles, Shadow has enormous physical strength, capable of lifting objects many times his weight and size such as buses and large slabs of rock/concrete and flipping/tossing them with relative ease.

(5.) Shadow has an incredible resilience to damage as it takes a LOT of major punishment for him to go down for the count. Even then, he recovers rather fast indeed. Given his ultimate life-form status, he may also be completely immune to disease and he does not physically age.

(6). By removing the golden rings on each of his wrists, Shadow can release tremendous amounts of energy that were (presumably) "held back" by the rings in a speedy dash that appears to be able to obliterate almost anything in his path.

Hobbies and talents:

(1). Seems to be the most talented when tapping into the powers of the Chaos Emeralds, since he is most adept with Chaos Control and possesses an extensive array of Chaos Energy-related supernatural powers and abilities.

(2). Experienced athlete, particularly in fields such as boarding and grinding.

(3). Whether you like it or not, Shadow knows how to use a VERY wide variety of weapons and vehicles.

(4). Also talented with many types of Extreme Gear.

Weaknesses: Despite being somewhat easily led when set on a goal, no known weaknesses.

Physical Appearance:

Vehicle(s):

(1). An custom-made motorcycle of unknown name with a red and black color scheme.

(2). Darkness
Description: A  pair of Extreme Gear skates that have a black, red and white color scheme. They are economic on air as they burn less air than any other Extreme Gear and have a good speed statistic but weak cornering ability.

(3). Black Shot
Description: A custom Extreme Gear board pared down for maximum velocity to suit only Shadow's touch. The Black Shot has good speed but poor cornering ability. It can transform into a grinding gear. 

Personality details: Shadow is a hedgehog with ambition, to put it simply. With a wit and conduct as crude, sharp, and fast as his physical ability, he is definitely not an individual whose buttons are to be pressed. He is as serious as a heart attack and is usually very quiet and reserved, but when necessary, he is quick to throw in his 2 cents, no matter how coldly honest it is. He is not often the type to make a quick yarn or is very jocular. In many ways, he is the polar opposite of Sonic (except for the ego; they can both be rather full of themselves). If anything, only physically is he similar to the blue blur.

           Shadow is as smart as a whip and quick to trot; remaining ever sombre and vigilant in the face of danger. Such a personality may give him off as a villain or one with bad intentions, when that is not really the case (though he will be one, if that's what it takes). He is just a hedgehog who concentrates on his motives and when Shadow is determined, he is quite literally unstoppable. He is also a loyal ally, determined to protect those he cares about from danger. He has been discovered alive since his supposed death, and was stricken with amnesia for a while. Shadow maintained his serious, motivated demeanor, though he couldn't remember his past or what was of it. When he did find out, it didn't matter. He's still the same, and no cursed past will change that.

Whoever decides to become his enemy, be it an outside force or the very people he's promised to protect, Shadow the Hedgehog will fight like he always has.

Historical biography:

           50 years ago, the president (13 presidents ago from the current one) began to form a large interest in what was known as mankind's eternal dream: researching immortality. This drove the president into confidentially requesting Professor Gerald Robotnik (Dr. Eggman's grandfather) to scrutinize such a farfetched illusion of grandeur.

           Gerald Robotnik stubbornly refused this request, since it had crossed Man's limits. He was a man of ethical standards (unlike his grandson). However, ironically, Gerald's beloved granddaughter Maria had been diagnosed with a lethal sickness known as NIDS (Neuro Immunodeficiency Syndrome). Medical treatment for this illness at the time was unavailable. This eventually resulted in Gerald Robotnik's approval of the president's request, thus research for immortality begun aboard the ARK, a spherical space research facility. Research on Maria's illness was being conducted thoroughly, but Gerald's newly unveiled research on immortality brought in a new ray of hope. Could something so absurd have been fabricated within the mind of Gerald Robotnik? Soon, the project underwent research and was codenamed Project: Shadow, named because of the sarcasm involved in not actually being able to create a shadow (which didn't exist in the world).

           At the beginning stages, Chaos Emeralds were researched and soon resulted in the creation of Chaos Drives. These Chaos Drives were the objects in which the infinite power of the Chaos Emeralds were utilized upon a living being. They were meant primarily for the prototype, which had to be nearly perfect before toil on the main project would commence. The prototype of the Ultimate Life-form bore fruit. It was modeled after a lizard's shape and seemed to meet many of their standards: it could self-regenerate, self-restore, and self-reproduce. This thrilled the researchers. However, in their moment of glory, things began to look bad. The prototype was unruly and hard to control. This caused many problems for the researchers and those aboard the Space Colony ARK as a whole. More than likely, because of the threat this posed, the confidential research had been leaked into the GUN military organization back on Earth. The Professor had given them his side project, the "Gizoid" in order to buy some time, but when the prototype's scary habits became known, everything changed, and the Gizoid's highly dangerous and destructive behavior (trashing a great deal of the ARK itself) did next to nothing to help matters.
       
          The GUN's top ranking officials had developed a strong disliking for the researchers aboard the ARK (and Gerald in particular) and thus planned to take advantage of the ARK's situation and form a plan to shut the ARK down. This secret plan was named "ARK's Indestructible Seal." The plan included the evacuation of all citizens of the ARK back to Earth, while all research facilities involved with Project: Shadow were frozen and shut down, and all of those involved with the project were to be killed. This entire plan was released to the public under the premise that a bio-hazardous accident had occurred that GUN knew nothing about, and those who were killed (namely the researchers) were victims of the accident. This was to cover GUN's true motives of shutting the ARK down, erasing Project: Shadow, and put the blame on Professor Gerald Robotnik as the person responsible for the accident. The plan was completed in 7 days and the prototype of the Ultimate Life-form was found and sealed within the deepest part of the colony.

           However, there was a miscalculation in their plan. Unbeknownst to GUN (except to their future commander who spied on the awakening process as a child), Gerald was putting the finishing touches on the final Ultimate Life-form project, codenamed "Shadow," using a much more desirable interface and physique for the creature. For this one, Gerald, still unwilling to turn "Shadow" into a weapon, imparted the creature with a heart and personality similar to his ailing granddaughter, in the hopes that he would not fight. During all this, however, the professor had made the desperate (and unfortunate) mistake of looking to the alien race known as the Black Arms for help. The experimentation period just happened to be the time when the creatures' HQ of sorts, the Black Comet, was supposed to pass the Earth. During that time, their leader, Black Doom, and Gerald collaborated on "Shadow", using some of Black Doom's blood for the project. In exchange, Gerald was supposed to give Black Doom the Chaos Emeralds they were using when finished with them. At the time, it seemed like a perfectly fine plan. Sadly, this wasn't the case.
         
           The Professor discovered the Black Arms' real plan to destroy the planet and enslave the humans on it. Of course, Maria and the others were safe on the ARK, but in the end, Gerald just couldn't sacrifice the Earth. To stop the Black Arms, Gerald recorded a video telling Shadow to use the Eclipse Cannon on the Black Comet 50 years later, ending the threat the Black Arms posed for good. However, GUN wanted to end the "threat" Shadow and the research related to him posed. As they stormed into the space colony, evacuating the civilians they could and killing the researchers, Gerald escaped and entrusted Shadow to his granddaughter Maria (whom Shadow had gotten to know and love as a sister), expecting her to release the project and herself in an escape pod towards the planet. Together, they raced to the research lab, avoiding most of the soldiers and saving as many researchers as they could. Although they managed to make it to the escape pods, Maria was shot and murdered by a GUN officer before she could escape. Before dying, she was able to release the pod Shadow was in.

           Gerald Robotnik was jailed at Prison Island back on Earth and when he saw Maria's name upon the list of casualties from the "accident," he went mad with grief. It also happened that GUN managed to retrieve the Project: Shadow that was released via Escape Pod. Gerald somehow managed to altar the Ultimate Life-form once again with a new motive. Gerald was now insane, his mind was set totally on revenge, and he programmed Shadow with those same intentions, completely forgetting about the Black Arms. Gerald was eventually executed by firing squad soon after.

           50 years later, after performing extensive research on his grandfather's legacy, Dr. Robotnik then decides to use this Ultimate Life-form for his own biddings, hoping it would do better than Chaos did. It was only a matter of time before the lunatic Eggman managed to penetrate into the GUN Prison Island and release what he had sought out for: Shadow the Hedgehog. However, Eggman (originally shocked at the dimunitive size of the WMD and his resemblance to his greatest rival/enemy) seemed to have freed a whooole lot more than what he had bargained for.

           Shadow was re-programmed to bring chaos to mankind and avenge Gerald's, his colleagues', and most of all, Maria's death. He stuck by this vow for vengeance quite vigilantly by joining Dr. Robotnik and a rather suspicious treasure hunter by the name of Rouge the Bat to take over the world, threatening to destroy Earth with the Eclipse Cannon on the ARK if they wouldn't surrender. What a better way to have revenge than that? But here is the mystery: the creation process of the supposed Shadow the Hedgehog only took a week, according to the excerpt written by Rouge the Bat (who was actually a spy for the military and joined Shadow and Eggman as a double agent so she can gather information on Project: Shadow). If Shadow's creation process only took a week, how could those memories he has of the time he spent with Maria even exist? He knew and became best friends with this girl inside of a week? To Rouge, these "memories" could quite possibly be what Gerald programmed into Shadow to justify his motives for wanting to avenge her death when he went insane. Whether or not that is true is unknown for sure.

           The Eclipse Cannon was soon after powered by the required 7 Chaos Emeralds, but its activation triggered an unknown function programmed secretly by Gerald Robotnik. The Space Colony ARK automatically went on a crash course towards Earth. All of our heroes, including Sonic & Eggman banned together to save the Earth; all but Shadow. Shadow believed all was going according to planned. But then, thanks to a desperate plea by one Amy Rose, another memory came up in his head, a memory that seemed more sensible since it is related to fact. He remembered Maria dying before his eyes, he was trapped in a capsule, and before she released him, she told him to do whatever he can to make mankind happy and flourish. That was his original purpose: to bring hope to humanity. This memory caused him to eventually help Sonic & company as well.

            Luckily for the Black Blur, Eggman managed to use one of his robots to save Shadow. Since then, he was cloned and kept in suspended animation inside of a capsule in one of Dr. Robotnik's old bases. He was discovered by Rouge the Bat, who was looking for a rumored treasure trove. Realizing that it was Shadow, she quickly released him. But soon after he was awoken (with amnesia, no less) and teamed up with Rouge and a rebellious robot of Eggman's named E-123 "Omega," they (Rouge and Omega) found a room full of Shadow clones, and Rouge mentioned to Omega that Shadow is probably a robot. Is he?
          
            Shadow himself had no clue. All he had to go on was his name… and the gruesome memory of the murder of someone named "Maria." One day, as he was pondering this, the Black Arms made their presence known and attacked the Earth. They did this because Eggman made the stupid mistake of invading their home, so it was only fitting that they invade his. However, Black Doom remembered Shadow and the "contract" he and Gerald made. So, he promptly assigned Shadow with a number of missions. Between Doom, GUN, Eggman and even Sonic and the gang, Shadow didn't know who to trust. He was only sure of one thing: the only way to find the truth, whatever it may be, was to get the Chaos Emeralds. As he embarked on this journey it seemed as if he was being pulled in three different directions and had gone through hundreds of possibilities…
           
            In the end, though, Shadow managed to regain his memories and procure all seven Emeralds. It was at that moment that Black Doom revealed the truth of Shadow's creation and the Black Arms true intentions for the Emeralds: to warp down to Earth with Chaos Control and take over. All seven emeralds were required to enable this feat, for only the seven emeralds combined powers could amplify the powers of Black Doom’s Chaos Control to the strength that it could warp the vastly sized comet to the earth’s surface. The paralyzing gas that swept over the planet was also inside the comet, which successfully kept Sonic and the others out of action with total paralysis. Shadow, however, wasn’t affected, being part Black Arm and all. Moreover, he was way past tired of being told what to do and decided to finally discard his past and focus on the here and now...starting with Black Doom's death. With guidance and pleas from his true allies, he chased the sick dictator down to the heart of the comet. Black Doom tried to use his blood link to Shadow to control his mind, but with the unknowing help of Team Chaotix (you GOTTA love their timing), Professor Gerald's secondary secret video was played, revealing all about the mishap on the ARK and his plans against the Black Arms (including the true purpose of the Eclipse Cannon) and Shadow was able to break free. Angered by all this, Black Doom attained his ultimate form, Devil Doom, and proceeded to speed up the comet's process.

            Unfortunately for the monster, he didn't bother to keep the Chaos Emeralds, allowing Super Shadow to show up. It was during that heated battle that Eggman (being the last one conscious; everyone else was knocked out due to the comet's overflow of gas) revealed that he saved our (anti)hero with a robot and that Shadow had merely lost his memory due to the immense trauma’s of earth atmosphere re-entry. Shadow took this into account and finished Devil Doom. He then sent the comet back into space and destroyed it with the Eclipse Cannon, saving the world once again…and finally putting his past behind him. At last he was free to live his life the way he wanted.

Personal information:

Greatest friend(s): Maria Robotnik, Prof. Gerald Robotnik, Rouge the Bat and E-123 "Omega".

Other friend(s): Knuckles the Echidna, Vector the Crocodile, Espio the Chameleon, Silver the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog (but just barely).

Rival(s): Sonic the Hedgehog

Enemy(s): Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik (when necessary), ANYONE who gets in the way of his objectives.

Likes: Shadow enjoys silence, one-upping Sonic and just inspecting things without uttering a vowel. He also likes Space Colony ARK and has the utmost respect and loyalty for Professor Gerald Robotnik, as well as brotherly love for Maria.

GAME INFORMATION

Franchise name: Shadow the Hedgehog

Original purpose: Antagonist role in Sonic Adventure 2; rival of Sonic the Hedgehog

Current purpose: Rival of Sonic the Hedgehog

Date of first promotion/presence in the industry: Shadow was first shown in Sonic Adventure 2, first released in the US on June 19th, 2001.

Years in service: 7, and still going…

Original Designer: Unconfirmed. Yuji Uekawa and/or Takashi Iizuka?

Design process: Unconfirmed. Shadow's design process was probably similar to how all of the others were made. Many design sketches were made and Shadow was chosen. Simple as that.

Possible design inspirations: Umm, his design style was inspired by almost all angsty, shady characters seen in games or anime? Plus, he looks like Sonic, so there you go.

Prestigious design variations: 1
+ - current design
— - original design

- 1, Sonic Adventure 2, 2001 — + (pictured at the top)
- 2, Sonic Riders, 2006 (image - this design is exclusive only to Sonic Riders and is not his official design)

Known Game Voice Actors:

Sonic Adventure 2 (US): David Humphrey
Sonic Adventure 2 (JP): Kouji Yusa
Sonic Battle (JP): Kouji Yusa
Sonic Battle (US): David Humphrey
Sonic Heroes (JP): Kouji Yusa
Sonic Heroes (US): David Humphrey
Shadow the Hedgehog (JP): Kouji Yusa
Shadow the Hedgehog (US): Jason Anthony Griffith
Sonic Riders (US): Jason Anthony Griffith
Sonic Riders (JP): Kouji Yusa
Sonic the Hedgehog aka Sonic Next (JP): Kouji Yusa
Sonic the Hedgehog aka Sonic Next (US): Jason Anthony Griffith
Sonic Rivals (US): Jason Anthony Griffith
Sonic and the Secret Rings (JP): Kouji Yusa
Sonic and the Secret Rings (US): Jason Anthony Griffith
Sonic Rivals 2 (US): Jason Anthony Griffith
Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity (US): Jason Anthony Griffith
Sonic Riders: Shooting Star Story (JP): Kouji Yusa

Sonic Games he has been playable in:

(1). Sonic Adventure 2 (Dreamcast)
(2). Sonic Adventure 2: Battle (Nintendo GameCube)
(3). Sonic Battle (Nintendo Game Boy Advance)
(4). Sonic Heroes (GameCube/PlayStation 2/Xbox)
       - Sonic Heroes (PC)
(5). Shadow the Hedgehog (GameCube/PlayStation 2/Xbox)
(6). Sonic Riders (GameCube/PlayStation 2/Xbox)
(7). Sonic the Hedgehog aka Sonic Next (Xbox 360/PlayStation 3)
(8). Sonic Rivals (Sony PlayStation Portable)
(9). Sonic and the Secret Rings (Nintendo Wii)
(10). Sonic Rivals 2 (Sony PlayStation Portable)
(11). Sonic Riders: Shooting Star Story (Nintendo Wii)
       - Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity (Wii/PlayStation 2)
(12). Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood (Nintendo DS)
(13). Sonic and the Black Knight (Nintendo Wii) 

          Ah, Shadow the Hedgehog. The "Ultimate Lifeform". The Black Blur. Eternal comparison to Sonic. As well as the hedgehog responsible for bringing some gamers back to the Sonic franchise. A lot of people say that Sonic Adventure 2 was the game that reminded them that Sonic was still around. Shadow's spinoff game was set to be another reminder, especially to casual gamers who thought the series was getting too kiddie. The game's poor reception and E10+ rating didn't help matters, but that's not the point.

          In Sonic Adventure 2, Shadow was thought to be either a cool character or a Sonic clone. Nowadays… that opinion hasn't changed much, but he's certainly differentiated himself from Sonic. Heck, if the guns and Chaos powers don't do it, NOTHING will. However, his return in Sonic Heroes was just too sudden, in my opinion. Sonic Team should've let his memory linger for a few years or so before bringing him back. Even then, a better and more comprehensive attempt at explaining his revival would have been appreciated. Simply put, Shadow's too dark a character to be in a game like Heroes. 

          Oh well. It's not as if his revival wasn't appreciated anyway (at first). This moody little hedgie has garnered a rather large fanbase, made up mostly of women. I guess it's his bad boy persona that appeals to them…or something. One fangirl in particular, Miss Crystal McNair, aka "KojiChao", has risen to fame among the Sonic community because of her fan art of Shadow, Sonic and the rest of the gang. Rather awesome fan art, if I do say so myself. Unfortunately, not all of the fanart that is seen from fans is as good, since Shadow is a favortie target of yaoi obsessors, usually pairing him up with Sonic. Why this is, I'll never understand, nor do I want to.

          At any rate, I like Shadow and I'm glad he's around. His presence, like it or not, adds the depth this franchise has been missing for quite some time. Besides, SOMEONE has to be there to put Sonic in his place...or, at the very least, try.

Additional character analysis/commentary (by Nuclear Envoy):

          Luckily, even to me, Shadow is starting to shape back up, especially since he is becoming a whole lot more unique when compared to Sonic. This will lead to the inevitable destruction of the, "Shadow is a Sonic Clone" flame. Shadow is either extremely loved or extremely hated. And you know what? It isn't Shadow himself that's the problem. People who hate him usually just dislike the way he is treated in the fanbase.

          Shadow has been maimed with lots of fanart (most of it bad), crapola fanfiction, and yaoi stories that are more disgusting than the fact that Lucas made modifications to the original Star Wars trilogy. But it's especially the, "OMG SHADOW IS SO HAWT I LOVE SHADOW HE IS THE COOLEST OMG ^^!!!!" crap that fangirls (and, sadly, fanboys) spew out that makes Shadow-hat0rs hate him so much. Because his personality and style is actually beginning to come together with his game-to-game evolution, albeit Sonic Heroes was quite a speedbump. In the end, although he is a bit on the cliché side, Shadow is actually a good character that adds a very special, and at the same time, I go as far as to say whimsical touch to the Sonic Universe that many fans have come to like in the test of time.

           Problem is, now that Shadow's game patched up all of the plotholes surrounding him, his 'I am a huge mystery' coupon for story appeal has been cashed in, so he is now handicapped with a generic status in the continuity and cast. There isn't much left to do with him at this point, other than stick him in Sonic's way for whatever reason.