Shadow the Hedgehog (Sonic X)

Shadow the Hedgehog (シャドウ・ザ・ヘッジホッグ) is a recurring character that appears in the anime series Sonic X and its comic series published by Archie Comics. He is a dark doppelgänger and the arch-rival of Sonic the Hedgehog.

Shadow Saga
He appeared in the Sonic Adventure 2 adaptation through episodes 33 to 38, although there were a few differences, such as in episode 38, Shadow teleported Christopher Thorndyke and Rouge the Bat to Space Colony Ark (instead of just Rouge). Christopher Thorndyke reminded Shadow of his true promise to Maria, instead of Amy Rose. The epiphany in episode 38 led him to join with Sonic to defeat the Final Lizard. He then helped Sonic prevent the Space Colony ARK from crashing into Earth by taking off (and losing) his Limiters for a massive Chaos Control. After that, Shadow lost consciousness in space, and is presumed dead by everyone. From then on, he makes short appearances in flashbacks.

Metarex Saga
At an unknown point in time, Dr. Eggman had located Shadow's unconscious form, and recovered him. Bringing him aboard the Crimson Egg, Eggman placed Shadow's body in a rejuvenation capsule, powered by a Chaos Emerald, in hopes of reviving him. When Rouge the Bat, who had stowed away on the Crimson Egg, snuck into the secret laboratory, hoping to find a Chaos Emerald, she happened upon Shadow's capsule. Confused, she was confronted by Eggman, who simply remarked she had "stumbled upon his shadowy little secret". Later on, Shadow began to regain consciousness, and having sensed the purple Chaos Emerald, awoke, bursting out of the capsule, and grabbing the red Chaos Emerald used to rejuvenate him. Using Chaos Control, Shadow warped to the battlefield where Sonic and Co. were combating a Metarex. Shadow managed to save Chris Thorndyke, who's plane was out of control, and rammed into the Metarex controlling the illusions, destroying it. Claiming the purple Emerald, the heroes looked upon Shadow in awe and surprise at his survival. Shadow glanced at Chris, who had said his name, before he warped away. Appearing back on the Crimson Egg in front of Eggman and Rouge, with two Chaos Emeralds in hand, Shadow collapsed, having exhausted his power.

Upon waking up, Shadow had no clear memory of his mysterious past. The loss of his Rings meant that he used up all of his energy quickly until Chris returned the one that was lost at the ARK (and a copy, since only one was recovered) in Episode 63. When he transformed into Super Shadow, he released all his energy and was knocked out. In episode 68, he seems to have an image of Maria in his mind. In that same episode, Doctor Eggman visits the people of a planet the Metarex are warring with, including one orange-haired female teenager by the name of Molly. Shadow and Rouge meet her, and at the end of the French/Japanese version of the episode, Molly was killed by the Metarex. Shadow erects a makeshift grave for her, and Rouge notes that she was similar to Maria. In the English dub, Molly is seen flying off into the sky and instead of making her a grave, Shadow says that he will miss her and he is worried about her being all alone out in space.

In the last episode of Sonic X, it is unclear what happened to Shadow after managing to stop time for the heroes. However, he is seen putting a flower on Molly's grave, which confirms that he's still alive (Japanese version only). Also, Rouge suspects that Eggman knows what actually happened to Shadow.

Archie Comics
In the Sonic X comics published by Archie Comics, Shadow was once mentioned by Sonic when referencing the events of the Sonic Adventure 2 adaptation arc of the anime series.

He is later seen in the final issue of the series in a stasis tank located in Dr. Eggman's base, implying Eggman saved him from his fall from the ARK.

Personality
Shadow is extremely arrogant, aggressive, brooding and very loyal to whomever he is serving and determined to whatever cause he is fighting for. He is anti-social and does not speak or smile much. However, he often smirks when being sure of himself, or if he thinks lowly of someone. But deep down, he does have a heart. He cares for those who cared for him such as Maria, Molly, Rouge and Chris Thorndyke and often follows their goals in his own fashion no matter what the cost is. He can be caring to Sonic by showing up and saving Sonic when he needs it the most and genuinely respects him as a rival. Because of his past though, Shadow rarely trusts anyone besides himself. Even when he does, he prefers not to have them get too close to him, lest tragedy should impact him again.

Shadow is easily the most self-sufficient of all the characters. However, his lonesome and arrogant attitude also puts him apart from the other characters. Nevertheless, Shadow can at times be uncaring. For example, when he learned of Cosmo's true mission, he set off to kill her. Shadow, however, did this to try to protect the universe, implying that while he has a good motive, the means used to achieve it are only acceptable to him.

Shadow firmly believes that he is the "Ultimate Life Form" and almost all other life forms are lesser beings and thinks that no one can stand a chance against him. Despite this, he respects a worthy opponent and likes to see someone give him a challenge, apart of why he respects his arch-rival, Sonic.

Shadow only talks when it is absolutely necessary and dislikes being in groups, preferring solitude. Shadow often thinks teamwork is unnecessary because he can handle everything on his own. However, he will help his allies when needed.

Shadow is often depressed about the loss of Maria which is why he keeps to himself, but his relationship with Maria is obvious as he goes to great lengths to protect the planet and keep her dream of peace and prosperity alive. He has also been seen protecting other characters, for example Sonic, Chris, Molly, and Rouge, proving that while his attitude makes him seem like a careless person, he does have some compassion.

Powers and abilities
Shadow is easily one of the most powerful characters in the series. He is extremely fast, capable of matching Sonic's and move at such velocity that he releases yellow energy discharges in his wake that he can use against enemies. As examples of his speed, Shadow could move both Molly and Rouge away from a large explosion in less than a second and can even dodge laser barrages. He is also very agile and has incredible jumping skills that allows him to jump hundred of meters into the air. Furthermore, Shadow can use his vast super speed even in space, attacking and moving freely, something even Sonic cannot do.

Shadow has a significant degree of physical strength as he could push back against one of Final Mova's heads single handed. His body is also able to resist incredible punishment, such as being slammed into solid surfaces and even survive from being struck by powerful laser cannons or by Sonic's charged Spin Attack. By removing his Limiters from his wrists, Shadow can access his full power, which enhances his overall power so drastically that he can single-handedly destroy an entire Metarex fleet. However, using his full power for too long drains his stamina to the point where he will be rendered unconscious.

Shadow is naturally able to tap into the arcane powers of any nearby Chaos Emerald (fake or not) and utilize their chaos energy to empower himself and use a variety of Chaos Powers, and has a special connection to both them and the Master Emerald. In "Shadow Knows", he is seen unleashing a blast of energy to destroy some security robots.

Shadow has fearsome combat skills, as seen in his first encounter with Sonic and during his raid on the Blue Typhoon when he was able to fight his way through a weaken Sonic, Knuckles (though Shadow is shown to struggle when he fought against Knuckles), and Tails. He was also shown fighting his way through a large fleet of Metarex soldiers, destroying them all. In addition, Shadow shows over-average intelligence, such as when fighting Scarship he realized a head-on attack wouldn't work. He then switched for some advanced tactics and instead decided to shake the ship apart from the inside by striking its body at incredible speed.

Techniques and moves
With just one Chaos Emerald, he can induce Chaos Control to stop time, warp himself through space. He can also create multiple Chaos Spears or merging them to create one slide of chaos energy to increase its attack power. He is also able to use Spin Attack for both offensive and defensive maneuvers, but does not use it to the same extent as Sonic.

Transformation
Shadow is able to use the seven Chaos Emeralds' power to transform into his super form, Super Shadow. In his super form, Shadow possesses theoretically infinite speed and strength, along with flight and virtual invulnerability. All of his chaos abilities are also increased to an incalculable level; he once uses Chaos Control to stop the Planet Egg's explosion, which according to Eggman, would have destroyed the entire universe.

Rouge the Bat
Rouge first established the business transactions for helping Eggman and Shadow find the Chaos Emeralds. The two did not work well at first. After losing his memory, Shadow did not trust Rouge the first time they teamed up with Chris in order to search for the Chaos Emeralds, Rouge wanted to take the Chaos Emeralds all to herself by coming with the idea to split up, Shadow loathed the idea knowing he couldn't trust her. Rouge realized he was smarter than she thought and ran off. However, during their partnership, Shadow and Rouge started to cooperate with each other better. Thus, Rouge is the closest person Shadow has, since Maria passed away.

Shadow is shown to care about Rouge. When he noticed her running to the Chaos Emeralds and found out that she was going to be hurt, Shadow went and saved her and told her not to do that again. In one episode, in the Japanese version, he also gratefully thanks Rouge for helping him. He also saved her along with Chris, when the bomb on Prison Island was about to explode. Likewise, when Shadow was fighting the Metarex out in space, Rouge was worried about the possibility of him dying. Proving that despite their occasional conflict, Shadow and Rouge geniunely respect and care for the well-being of one another.

Rouge sometimes likes to tease Shadow for his moody attitude. Although he is more tolerable about it then Knuckles, Shadow also seems to be easily annoyed by Rouge. When Shadow was in Space Colony ARK, Rouge greeted Shadow, then teased him when he simply ignored her, and he got annoyed and left the room with anger without saying a word followed by Rouge remarking him. He's also disgusted by her fascination to the Chaos Emeralds, as she views them as just pretty gems. Therefore, he usually keeps an eye on her in case she'd try to steal one.

Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic is Shadow's arch rival. When they first met, Shadow showed interest in meeting Sonic, noting their similarities and mocked him as a weak opponent as he was able to defeat Sonic in combat. However, he later changed this view about Sonic after seeing Sonic using a Chaos Control. Shadow got impressed by Sonic and had come to respect him as a rival, ever since. After remembering Maria's true wish, Shadow helped Sonic and his friends and fought with Super Sonic to stop the Space Colony Ark from destroying the earth.

When he appeared in the Metarex Saga, Shadow did not know Sonic and his friends because of his amnesia. Because of this, he fought against Sonic and his friends with Eggman. After Molly's death, Shadow realized that Sonic were right about Eggman's evil plans and therefore left Eggman to defeat the Metarex himself. After knowing about Cosmo's secret about being a spy for the Metarex, Shadow defeated him only to to kill Cosmo to prevent her from sending information to the Metarex. In the battle with Final Mova, Shadow showed some respect to Sonic and they worked together to defeat Final Mova and he charged himself with Sonic in Sonic Power Cannon despite the damage that the power could do to him only to help Sonic to defeat the Metarex once and for all. He also knocked out Sonic to prevent him from risking his life to save the galaxy. Overall, there is always tension between Shadow and Sonic, but they have as well some respect for each other and Shadow will puts his differences with Sonic aside to help Sonic against any powerful enemy that come in their way.

Dr. Eggman
When Eggman released Shadow from his capsule, Shadow respectfully bowed to Eggman and thanked him, and also told him that he will do whatever he will tell him to. Eggman orders Shadow to help him get all of the Chaos Emeralds. Shadow further helps Eggman in Season 3 against the Metarex or Sonic. However he left him after Molly's death and decided to fight the Metarex alone.

Maria Robotnik
She is shown to be like Shadow's big sister. They were both born and raised on Space Colony ARK, and shared the dream of going to visit the planet Earth, shown best in a flashback Shadow has where he's talking to Maria. He states "What's it like to see the sky above your head? I want...to find out." However, when Project Shadow was shut down, Maria decided that she had to set Shadow free, and released him to Earth. Apparently, the last thing Shadow saw in that space station was Maria being shot and killed by a soldier. Shadow then spent his time after being awakened planning to avenge her by destroying the humans, which is why he showed Eggman the Eclipse Cannon. He often has hallucinations of Maria, such as seeing her reflection standing next to his on any glass surface, or hearing her plead to him when Chris was asking for help. Chris reminds Shadow of Maria with his kindhearted ways.

Christopher Thorndyke
Chris seems to remind Shadow of his late friend, Maria. He saved Chris, along with Rouge, just before Prison Island explodes. After he takes them to the ARK, Shadow keeps a close eye on Chris. When Chris begged Shadow to help Sonic save the world, Shadow repeatively beat him up to make him stop talking and after some time, explained his hatred for the humans after they killed Maria. However, Chris was determined to remind Shadow of what Maria truly wanted: For him to protect the people of Earth and always watch over them. In the end, he succeeded which lead to Shadow showing remorse for his actions and later sacrificing himself. Shadow later saved Chris, along with Cosmo, in season 3 as repayment for Chris returning Shadow's limiters to him (Japanese version only).

Metarex
Shadow's first infiltration with the Metarex was in "Trick Sand" episode. After sensing that a Chaos Emerald exists in the nanite Metarex, he quickly awoke and teleported to the said enemy's location to destroy him. Until finally witnessing that Eggman is using him for his deeds, he kept destroying the Metarexes under Eggman's instructions to give the Chaos Emeralds to him, so that would make the doctor reveals the hedgehog's forgotten past to him.

Upon Molly's death at the hands of the Metarex (Japanese version), Shadow took it his mission to fulfill Molly's dream and reveal the truth about the Metarex. Since then, Shadow developed a sturdy hatred against them, even going to kill Cosmo after knowing that she was a spy for them all that time. Later on, Shadow went to attack the Metarex's main battleship, destroying every Metarex soldier to find Dark Oak.

Molly
Molly had a great impact on Shadow, though he ignored her interest at first. Over time though, Shadow came to acknowledge and respect her motivation, and when she fought against the Metarex herself to achieve her goal, Shadow helped her so her sacrifice would not go to waste. After her death, Shadow made a small grave for Molly after defeating the Metarex.

Cosmo
Shadow and Cosmo has had very few interactions. At first, Cosmo only heard of Shadow shortly after his return. When Cosmo was kidnapped by Black Narcissus along with Chris, Shadow came to rescue them while in the mean time, Sonic had turned dark. Then he pointed out Cosmo's recklessness for facing Black Narcissus alone.

However, after Shadow finds out that Cosmo was a Metarex spy, he went after her in attempt to kill her before the Metarex finds out information about Sonic and his friends. Although he showed no mercy to Cosmo, he still showed some sign of remorse in the japanese version, when she asked why he tried to kill her, he replied that it's better for her if she dies without finding out. But after Sonic and his friends found out the truth, Shadow still did not trust Cosmo, and deemed Sonic and his friends as fools for trusting a spy.

Despite this, Shadow still helped Cosmo and Sonic Team to defeat the Metarex later, and no longer had any intention of killing her. He even seemed surprised that she told him and Sonic to shoot her in order to save the galaxy.

Trivia

 * Shadow is usually seen to have a missing quill in his "hairstyle" as compared to the games.
 * Shadow uses the third least amount of "Engrish" in the Japanese version. Right behind Vector, who uses the second least amount of Engrish, and Charmy, who only used it once.
 * At the end of Season 3 in the English dub, it leaves a cliffhanger of Shadow's whereabouts but it is implied that Eggman is aware of what happened to him.
 * At the end of Season 3 in the Japanese dub, Shadow's shadow can be seen placing a rose on Molly's grave. This tells the viewers that Shadow is in fact alive.
 * Although Shadow's blood is red in episode 73, it is hinted in the game Shadow the Hedgehog that his blood is actually green due to all members of the Black Arms having green blood. It should be noted, however, that the Black Arms had red blood in the early versions of the game.
 * When Shadow is first shown running, he runs like Sonic rather than himself. This was probably to confuse the audience into thinking it was Sonic instead of Shadow because, at the time, he wasn't officially introduced.
 * Even though he clearly is darker in nature than Sonic, Shadow was seen tearing up before Sonic was ever seen crying. Shadow shed a tear when he realized Maria's true wish (episode 38) and Sonic cried before he had to part ways with Chris at the end of season 2. Chris was present in each scene and triggered the reason for both hedgehogs to cry.
 * The jets of Shadow's Hover Shoes were not present in his shoes in the pilot of Sonic X. But later in the series Shadow have jets in his Hover Shoes.
 * Shadow appears to be able to sense chaos energy: in "Trick Sand", an image of the purple Chaos Emerald appears in Shadow's mind after he awoke from his capsule, and he teleported himself to the location where Sonic and his friends were fighting a Metarex over it.