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Shadow the Hedgehog (シャドウ・ザ・ヘッジホッグ, Shadou za Hejjihoggu?) is a character from the Sonic the Hedgehog series, created by Sonic Team, designed by Yuji Uekawa and owned by Sega. Shadow is a black, male, anthropomorphic hedgehog. He is Sonic the Hedgehog's archrival and is considered to be an anti-hero, and was created by Gerald Robotnik. Created as the Ultimate Life form, Shadow is ageless and immortal.
Since his debut, Shadow has appeared in a multitude of games, television shows, and comic books. His past is almost a complete mystery until the game Shadow the Hedgehog reveals the events surrounding his creation and his being captured by the government. In contrast to Sonic, Shadow is typically portrayed as a tortured anti-hero, or a renegade who can just as easily serve the forces of evil as those of good. According to an official poll, he is the second most popular character in the series, second only to Sonic himself.
Shadow debuted in the game Sonic Adventure 2 as one of three main antagonists, alongside Rouge the Bat. 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; holding his true intentions as wishing to get revenge for the death of his friend, Maria Robotnik. In an ironic twist of fate, Shadow ultimately aided Sonic when realizing Maria's true wish with the help of Amy Rose, which was to save humanity. As Super Sonic and Super Shadow, they destroyed the Biolizard (the Ultimate Life form prototype), having become the Finalhazard, and transported the Space Colony ARK back into a stable orbit. Afterwards, Shadow fell to the earth and was presumed dead.
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 apparently has amnesia and cannot remember anything before his release. He joins forces with Rouge and the robot E-123 Omega to form Team Dark and find Eggman. It is later revealed that Eggman had made robotic androids of Shadow, but it is never explained if Shadow was the real Shadow. Ultimately, when Metal Sonic transformed into Metal Madness, Shadow worked with Rouge, Omega, and everyone else to help defeat it. Shadow is last seen with Omega and the defeated Metal Sonic.
In Sonic Battle, Rouge saves Shadow's life while they are investigating Dr. Eggman's secret base and takes him back to her home. 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. It is revealed, however, that he ultimately has the heart and soul of Maria Robotnik, implying he could not be the enemy of humanity. In one of Gerald Robotnik's journal entries, he mentions that "Project Shadow" was put on hold because of Project Gizoid.
In Shadow the Hedgehog, Shadow is revealed to be the dual creation of the alien overlord Black Doom and Professor Gerald. Gerald could not finish the project on his own, so he contacted the Black Comet and used Black Doom's DNA to create Shadow. Shadow eventually gathers all the Chaos Emeralds and confronts Doom as Super Shadow. He then destroys the Black Comet with the Eclipse Cannon. In the end, he puts the past behind and chooses to move forward. Also in the last battle of the game, Eggman confesses to Shadow that he saved him in Sonic Adventure 2 before he fell to Earth, meaning he is the real Shadow from Sonic Adventure 2, and not a Shadow Android as was believed.
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. After the events of Shadow the Hedgehog, Shadow has apparently become a GUN agent. In this role, Shadow encounters the new villain Mephiles the Dark due to the incident that happened ten years ago. Shadow is sent to the future and is revealed to have been sealed away by the reprogrammed Omega sometime after the release of Iblis. Ultimately, Mephiles gains hold of the seven Chaos Emeralds and merges into Iblis, becoming Solaris. Shadow turns into Super Shadow and joins with Super Silver and Super Sonic to defeat Solaris. The events of the game are then reset and do not occur, leaving his future open.
Shadow appears in Sonic Rivals as a playable character alongside Sonic, Knuckles, Silver, and Metal Sonic. 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. Shadow continues his quest to uncover the truth about Dr. Eggman. Shadow also appears on four of the 150 collectible cards in the game. Shadow will be appearing in the sequel to Sonic Rivals, Sonic Rivals 2.
Shadow is an unlockable character in the game Sonic Riders after beating the Hero Story Mode. He is a Speed type character, with his default Gear: Darkness, which he uses to skate like his default shoes. His Level 1 Attack is "Energy Ball", which temporally stuns a nearby opponent, the Level 2 attack is "Back Kick" which makes a opponent lose his/her balance temporally, and the Level 3 attack is "Chaos Control" which freezes a nearby opponent, so he can easily pass them. It is very likely for him to appear in the sequel Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity.
Shadow also appeared in the game Sonic and The Secret Rings, being the first unlockable character for the Party Mode (next ones being Cream, Silver and Blaze) by obtaining 30 Fire Souls. It is also very likely that Shadow will appear in Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games, due to a black flag being held up in the audience in a screenshot of the game with a picture of what seemed to be Shadow's head on it. Wikipedia |
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