Shadow the Hedgehog


 * If you are looking for the Mobius: X Years Later version of Shadow, see Shadow (MxYL).

Shadow the Hedgehog is the end result of Project: Shadow, an effort to create the Ultimate Lifeform. Created by Professor Gerald in his efforts to find a cure to a rare disease known as NIDS that was affecting his granddaughter Maria, Shadow was gifted with the powers of the alien Black Doom through that entity's blood. After the project was forcibly shut down by the government, Shadow was put into stasis for 50 years and then awakened by Dr. Eggman, Gerald's grandson, to help him take over the world. Shadow sought instead to destroy the world to avenge Maria, who had been killed by the raid on Space Colony ARK where they had both lived. However, Sonic the Hedgehog and his friends were able to convince Shadow that Maria would not have wanted such a result, and Shadow joined forces with Sonic to save the planet. Saved by aliens, he would return to join with Sonic and others against the evil Xorda. He would eventually rejoin Eggman, only to turn against him and join the special forces of the United Federation after learning the true purpose Gerald created him for. He has since become one of the top agents of Commander Tower and is part of Team Dark along with Rouge the Bat and E-123 Omega.

50 Years Ago
Shadow was created on the Space Colony ARK by Professor Gerald as part of Project Shadow. The project had been commissioned by the president of the time as a means of creating immortality via an "Ultimate Lifeform"; Gerald, however, saw the research as a potential means of curing Neuro-Immune Deficiency Syndrome, a disease from which his granddaughter Maria suffered. Failing to develop a successful Ultimate Lifeform on his own, he turned to the alien Black Doom, leader of the species known as the Black Arms. The contribution of Black Doom's own DNA helped in the process of creating the being known as Shadow, who was immortal, immune to disease and, thanks to Doom, highly attune to Chaos powers. However, Gerald learned of Black Doom's malicious intentions for Mobius - the alien planned to use Shadow as an agent in ushering in his eventual conquest of the planet. Gerald instead planned to make Shadow the planet's greatest protector should the Black Arms ever return. (StH: #98, #171)

However, tragedy struck soon afterwards, as GUN soldiers raided the ARK, seeking to apprehend the Ultimate Lifeform and destroy all knowledge of the project. While attempting to escape the space colony, Maria was fatally shot by a soldier before Shadow's eyes. The pod in which Shadow was ejected was recovered by the military and he was placed into stasis. Gerald was arrested, but when he learned of Maria's death, he was driven insane, desiring the destruction of the planet in revenge. As he was uncooperative, he was eventually executed, but not before planting the seeds to enable his vengeance in the future. When Shadow awoke decades later, he did not remember any of his original purpose, only a desire to avenge Maria. (StH: #98)

Awakening and "Death"
When Shadow was awakened from stasis fifty years later, it was thanks to Gerald's grandson's alternate counterpart, Dr. Eggman. Coveting Shadow's power so that he could take over the world, Eggman enlisted Shadow's aid in acquiring the Chaos Emeralds. Shadow proceeded to steal Station Square's Chaos Emerald, after facing off against the city's protector, Silver Sonic II, which he destroyed. Due to his similar appearance to Sonic, Station Square's army mistakenly believed the thief to have been Sonic the Hedgehog, and thus sent their military after him. (StH: #98)

Shadow was later confronted by Sonic on Prison Island during his mission to steal six Chaos Emeralds with the assistance of Rouge the Bat. While he and Sonic fought in the forest, Eggman informed Shadow that he had set charges on the island and it was about to explode. Rouge then called in saying that she was trapped in the vault where the Chaos Emeralds where being held. Eggman merely told Shadow to meet him at the rendezvous point after the explosion, saying that they would dig the emeralds out of the ashes later. Sonic, overhearing this, proposed a temporary truce with Shadow in order to save Rouge. The two were successful in finding Rouge - with the emeralds - and Shadow teleported them all off of the island to Eggman's pyramid base using Chaos Control. Shadow then teleported away with the emeralds, leaving the two in the desert. Sonic and Rouge, realizing the danger of Eggman taking the emeralds aboard the ARK, broke into the base and stole a shuttle. Sonic eventually confronted Shadow, who planned to use the emeralds to activate the Eclipse Cannon as per Gerald's revenge. Just after Shadow landed a Chaos Spear attack on Sonic, Rouge informed him via intercom that she'd found a video she believed Shadow needed to see. Thanks to the video, Shadow realized that he had been mislead and that Maria would have not wanted the planet destroyed. Shadow and Sonic went to recover the emeralds and found them in a shrine within the ARK; however, they were guarded by the failed Ultimate Lifeform Prototype, which would not allow Gerald's plans to go astray. The monster merged itself with the ARK's Eclipse Cannon using Chaos Control in order to crash the entire structure into the planet itself; in response, the two hedgehogs used the emeralds to transform into Super Sonic and Super Shadow. After they defeated the beast, they used Chaos Control to send the ARK back into orbit; Shadow, however, was so exhausted that he began to fall into space, seemingly lost. (SU: #2)

Return and Interactions with Freedom Fighters
Shadow was believed to have been killed, though in actuality he was saved by the benevolent Bem as they investigated Mobius from orbit. Upon awakening, the Bem transformed Shadow into his super form to combat the arriving Xorda warship. Despite his powers, the Xorda ship managed to shoot down the Ultimate Lifeform, hurling him into Mobius' gravitation pull. After landing on the planet's surface, Shadow was discovered by the Knothole Freedom Fighters and formed a temporary alliance with them. Together, they learned that the Xorda were intent on destroying Mobius for crimes committed by its inhabitants made back when the planet was known as Earth. Together with a veritable army of other Mobians, Shadow charged the Xorda Quantum Dial weapon, seeking to destroy it before it wiped out Mobius. Thanks to the efforts of Sonic, who seemingly imitated Shadow in sacrificing his life, the weapon was destroyed. (StH: #124, #125)

Shadow spent the time of Sonic's absence searching for meaning in his life, eventually confronting Dr. Eggman with the intention of killing him. Eggman escaped, and Shadow then found himself drawn to Hope Kintobor, Eggman's niece and a girl who reminded Shadow strangely of Maria. While watching over her, Shadow was abducted by Locke, the father of Knuckles the Echidna, who believed that Shadow's strange nature-somehow alive despite being neither animal, vegetable, or mineral-could somehow help him to locate his missing family, the members of the Brotherhood of Guardians. Not taking kindly to Locke's interrogations, Shadow attacked him, only to be halted in his vengeance by a scared Hope, who had been pulled along as Locke teleported Shadow to a hidden location. (StH: #132, #133, #145)

Wandering once more, Shadow found a hidden laboratory that had existed since before the Xorda attack on Earth, meeting a robot named Isaac with detailed knowledge of Mobius' history. The two eventually became involved in a three way battle with Sonic and a new Metal Sonic built by Dr. Eggman. When the trio discovered that the base harbored an ancient and powerful missile, Shadow aided Sonic in preventing the missile from launching. Shadow assisted in getting Sonic to safety after Sonic's ankle was wounded, then disappearing once again. (StH: #146, #147, #148, #149)

Allegiance with Eggman
With the battle ended, Shadow went out on his own once more, eventually locating Gerald's lost diary. However, Shadow was once again engaged by Metal Sonic, the two being rendered unconscious during the ensuing battle and brought back to Eggman by Mecha. Once in Eggman's presence, the mad-scientist was able to convince Shadow to work with him by informing Shadow that Maria was his half-sister. (StH: #157, #158)

When A.D.A.M. secretly seized control of Knothole's Metal Sonic Troopers and directed them to attack first Eggman and then their creators, Shadow joined Sonic, the Freedom Fighters, and the Chaotix in resisting the enemy. Hope was harmed during this conflict as she lived in Knothole, and Shadow became motivated by fury over her coming to harm. Using his link to the Chaos Force, he defeated the Troopers with Chaos Control, intriguing Knuckles in the process. Grateful for Sonic helping Hope, Shadow chose not to antagonize him but instead departed, returning to Eggman. (StH: #157, #158, #159)

He would later return on Sonic's birthday to express his thanks, joining in battle with him against Scourge the Hedgehog and Croctobot. Then later, Croctobot threatened to tell Eggman of Shadow's treachery, but all three Hedgehogs put aside their rivalry to destroy the robot together. Shadow and Sonic found themselves initially outmatched by Scourge, who left with Rouge the Bat in tow as the Freedom Fighters arrived to back up his enemies. Shadow pursued them, but they escaped with the assistance of an Echidna mad scientist named Dr. Finitevus. (StH: #160, #161)

A.D.A.M. would later divert Shadow's attention by releasing Mammoth Mogul and Ixis Naugus-both of them recently taken prisoner by Eggman in the Egg Grape Chamber-and forcing Eggman to dispatch Shadow after them. Shadow was then lured into a trap by A.D.A.M., who used his abilities in conjunction with Tails's to summon all the Chaos Emeralds from across the universe to Mobius. While Sonic faced A.D.A.M., Shadow-in Super form-joined with Turbo Tails to send all the gathered Chaos Emeralds to the Zone of Silence, getting them out of reach of both A.D.A.M. and Eggman. (StH: #168, #169)

Shadow would then depart with Eggman, but soon their alliance would end. After taking Professor Gerald's diary from Eggman and yanking out his nephew Snively's hairs in the process, Shadow sought the Freedom Fighters for help deciphering it, only to have it damaged on his way to Knothole. Taken into the disk by NICOLE, the artificial intelligence member of the Freedom Fighters, Shadow made contact with virtual duplicates of Gerald and Maria and learned of his purpose in fighting Black Doom. Afterwards, Shadow went his own way, leaving Eggman behind to prepare for his eventual destiny. (StH: #171)

Agent of G.U.N.
Not long after his desertion of Eggman, Shadow joined the special forces of the United Federation along with Rouge the Bat. Responding to a distress call from New Mobotropolis, the city to which the inhabitants of the Kingdom of Acorn relocated after Knothole was destroyed. They had come under assault from Enerjak, a brainwashed Knuckles with the power of the Master Emerald infused within him by Dr. Finitevus. With his typical confidence, Shadow confronted Enerjak in a battle of Chaos powers, but soon realized that he had met his match. Removing his inhibitor rings to boost his power, he attacked Enerjak with increased strength, but soon burned himself out without much success against the super-powered Echidna. Shadow and the rest of the people of New Mobotropolis were only saved by the arrival of the Egg Fleet, which hit Enerjak with teleportation beams to send him to New Megaopolis to have his power drained. Shadow, his obligation fulfilled, departed to return to the United Federation. (StH: #182)

Quest for a Chaos Emerald: Moebius and Beyond
Following this, Shadow was tasked with retrieving a Chaos Emerald by G.U.N. commander Abraham Tower. Using Hope Kintobor's Zone-Breaching Platform, Shadow was supposed to have been transported to the Special Zone, but instead ended up in Moebius during a major battle between King Scourge, and Sonic, Amy Rose, Rob O' the Hedge, Silver the Hedgehog, Metal Sonic and Rosy the Rascal. Sonic asked for Shadow's help to get rid of Metal Sonic. Shadow used his Chaos Control, combined with Metal Sonic's special zone-hopping engine, to transport himself and the robot to an alternate reality. After the Sonic of the Sonic X zone explained the differences between their worlds and offered Shadow a chance to stay in their universe, Shadow declined, feeling his duty was to defend his own world. Following this he once again transported himself and Metal Sonic to a different universe once again. (StH: #195, #196, SU: #4, SX: #40)

Shadow and Metal Sonic then ended up in the Sol Zone, floating above an ocean. Shadow tried to convince Metal Sonic to no longer obey Dr. Eggman, but the machine completely ignored Shadow's words and kicked him into the water before flying off to look for the zone's version of Eggman. Shadow struggled to keep himself from drowning just as the Ocean Tornado arrived with Blaze the Cat and Marine the Raccoon aboard. The two got Shadow aboard the ship and introduced themselves. The trio soon found out that Metal Sonic was attacking Southern Island, looking for Eggman. Blaze furiously attacked Metal Sonic, but it used Marine as a shield to defend against Blaze and Shadow. Neither Shadow, Blaze or Marine could take down Metal Sonic. However, Shadow tried to convince Metal Sonic to work with him, but Metal Sonic declined, saying his objected was to serve Eggman while Shadow's was to defend Mobius, and thus he must destroy Shadow. Nevertheless, Blaze set fire to Metal Sonic, and Shadow charged at him using a spin dash. The damaged robot flew towards the Ocean Tornado, and Marine blasted Metal Sonic with a ship's cannon, destroying it. Blaze then gave Shadow the green Chaos Emerald and he used it to return to Mobius Prime. Shadow arrived at G.U.N. HQ, where Hope Kintobor and Commander Tower were waiting. Shadow delivered the Emerald, and was informed he had a new mission. (SU: #1)

The Doom Laser and Search for Gamma
Following his mission's completion, Shadow was sent with Rouge the Bat to disable one of Dr. Eggman's devastating weapons, the Doom Laser, which was capable of blasting through the Knothole Freedom Fighter's shield and obliterate them and their camp on the outskirts of New Megaopolis, along with half the Eggdome. Shadow recruited the help of Sonic who was sleeping outside the Eggdome along with the others for the final battle. Sonic questioned why Eggman would build something so over the top, to which Shadow replied that intelligence suggests Eggman is losing his last grasp on reality. Sonic disagreed, citing that Eggman hasn't stooped that far yet. The trio tried to disable the Doom Laser, but accidentally shifted it into firing position. Shadow then took off his inhibitor rings and used his Chaos Control to stop the laser. He accidentally fell off the laser, but Sonic grabbed his hand, saying they're not going to have a repeat of Shadow falling to his death. Sonic then questioned if Shadow was going to join the final battle against Eggman, to which Shadow replied he owes Sonic much gratitude and the least he could do is allow Sonic to settle things with the doctor himself. (SU: #2)



Shadow was later assigned on another mission by Commander Tower into the mountains to locate E-102 Gamma and offer him asylum by giving him a position at G.U.N. Shadow accepted to go on the mission alone after he failed to save Metal Sonic in Blaze's world. However, E-123 Omega was dispatched to find E-102 just as Shadow left to find him in a G.U.N. helicopter. After some less-than-polite conversation with the helicopter pilot, Shadow dropped from the G.U.N. helicopter into the mountains where Gamma was thought to be. Shadow quickly found robotic footprints in the snow and commented to himself that the supposedly-elite robot did a terrible job of covering its tracks, but in reality, Gamma was lying in wait and targets Shadow, but quickly recognizes him as a friend due to Eggman's files. Shadow then convinced E-102 to come with him to join G.U.N. However, Omega arrived on the scene and began attacking, sending Shadow flying over the tree tops. By the time Shadow got to where Omega and Gamma were, the latter had been destroyed. (SU: #3)

After the E-102 programming within Omega explained what it had done, Shadow convinced Omega to join G.U.N. in Gamma's place. Omega accepted the offer, and the two returned to G.U.N. HQ. While in the HQ's recreation room, Shadow listened to Hope and Rouge brag about Omega's power. Shadow was less than pleased however, stating that while Commander Tower considered Omega a fine alternative to Gamma, he was disappointed he'd let two living weapons die. Rouge then teased Shadow about him moping and explained they had a new mission; to use Hope's now-working Zone-Breaching Platform to go to the Special Zone and obtain another Chaos Emerald. (SU: #3)

Member of Team Dark
Later Shadow went with Rouge to get another Chaos Emerald in the Special Zone but encountered the zone's master, Feist there. Feist challenged the two to get to the emerald at the end of an obstacle course, in which the duo ultimately failed in the last second. The two were then sent back and questioned by Commander Tower of their failure in which Shadow took the blame. Afterwards during the training combat sequence with Omega, Shadow got angry after Omega unintenionally bragged on Shadow's defeat in which Shadow knocked Omega down leaving Omega clueless. Shadow went to clear his head in which Hope came and offered Shadow support and a hug which boosted Shadow's confidence level. Now Shadow and Rouge got ready to go to the Special Zone again but this time they went with Omega under the name Team Dark. Feist cooked up another challenge in which they had to find the emerald again in a given time in a cube-shaped maze. Each member proved their value as Rouge saved Shadow from falling into a bed of spikes and Shadow using his speed to search different ways for the emerald. The trio found the Chaos Emerald but Feist covered the emerald in gems to keep them from getting it. Team Dark blasted the gems while Shadow made it to the emerald, but ran out of time in which Feist taunted the team. Rouge instructed for Omega to go ahead and attack Feist in which Omega attacked him with delight and the team stole the Chaos Emerald and before leaving Shadow's tells Feist "Deny Me all you want but with this even a god must bow to the Ultimate Lifeforms" Those words angers Feist and Team Dark use Chaos Control to get away. The team then hands Commander Tower the emerald with cheers on their faces. (SU: #4)

Personality
Shadow is arrogant, determined, and somewhat cold. He often comes off as blunt and uncaring and doesn't take kindly to outside interference, preferring to believe himself capable of handling most things on his own. He lacks many of Sonic's inhibitions, being perfectly willing to eliminate a foe rather than merely subduing them, and he often believes that the ends justify the means. Because of this, he is often very destructive in battle. Still, he does have a personal sense of honor, enough to leave the Freedom Fighters in peace on some occasions despite his alliance with Eggman. At times he has behaved with almost a mercenary attitude, joining forces with others only to further his own goals, but in the end he usually ends up picking the side of moral right. When Shadow has a goal, he sticks to it with grim determination and intense focus, not resting until it is fulfilled. Because of his ego, he takes personal failure especially hard. He has little patience for silly behavior. While others often tease him about his seemingly brooding attitude, he is capable of subtle compassion.

After discovering his true purpose - that Gerald intended him to be a protector of the planet - Shadow has become much more heroic and wants to turn other "living weapons" like him (such as Metal Sonic) to the side of good instead of destroying them. While not always friendly, he has opened up somewhat to others, though he does not readily admit it because of his own pride. For all his moodiness and self-confidence, he is more accepting of outside help and working as part of a team. While he still misses Maria, he holds her memory in high esteem and no longer obsesses over his past.

Romance
Although Shadow himself has shown no romantic feelings towards anyone, Rouge the Bat has repeatedly flirted with Shadow on various occasions as she does with many other men, and has even called him "handsome" from time-to-time. She has shown interest in him as far back as after he saved her life on Prison Island, but Shadow said it was only to get the Chaos Emeralds she'd stolen and nothing more. She also tends to tease Shadow on occasion by saying he mopes a lot. (SU: #2, #3, #4)

Powers
Possessing speed equal to Sonic thanks to his jet-soled shoes, as well as natural speed bestowed unto him, Shadow also commands Chaos powers through a direct link to the Chaos Force, which unlike that of the Brotherhood of Guardians doesn't require tapping into the energies of the Master Emerald. Shadow can utilize these powers in a variety of ways, most commonly in the form of attacks such as Chaos Spear and Chaos Blast, or in time-freezing and teleportation moves such as Chaos Control. Despite his power, Shadow has his limits, and does not possess the same level of energy Knuckles once wielded as Enerjak. He can temporarily increase his powers by removing his inhibitor bands, but after the effects wear off he is left weakened. Like Sonic, he can attain a Super form. He can use the jets on his shoes to briefly hover or assist his jumps as well as on-ground movements. As the Ultimate Lifeform, Shadow is thought to be ageless and immune to disease.

Background information

 * Shadow appeared in a backstory in StH #197 as one of the Knights of the Round Table, along with Blaze the Cat and Knuckles the Echidna. The story was a comic tie-in to the game Sonic and the Black Knight, and took place in an alternate reality in the comics.
 * In the game universe, it was eventually revealed in his own game that Shadow had been saved at the end of the Sonic Adventure 2 story by one of Eggman's robots. Before this had been revealed, former writer Karl Bollers came up with the idea that the aliens, the Bem, were the rescuers so that Shadow, whose popularity had soared, could reappear in the comic.
 * Shadow's chest fur was mistakenly colored gold for several issues instead of white.