Shadow the Hedgehog (IDW)

Shadow the Hedgehog is a character that appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series published by IDW Publishing. He is an anthropomorphic hedgehog who is regarded as the "Ultimate Life Form". He is also the arch-rival of Sonic the Hedgehog.

Appearance
Shadow is an anthropomorphic black hedgehog with red stripes on his quills, around the edges of his eyes and on his arms and legs. He has red eyes, a patch of white fur on his chest, and his muzzle is tan. He has six quills on his head, four of which curve upwards, and two that curve downwards, has two spines on his back and a small tail. For attire, Shadow wears white gloves with black cuffs and red tongues, and Air Shoes which, like his gloves, have black cuffs and red tongues. On each of his wrists and ankles he wears a single gold ring.

Past
In the past, Shadow once tried to destroy Sonic, as well as the entire world. However, he was eventually reformed and helped save the world during the Space Colony ARK incident. After that, he played a part in the war against the invading Black Arms. Eventually, Shadow was forgiven for his crimes, and now actively seeks to protect the world.

After Dr. Eggman went missing in the aftermath of the war between the Resistance and the Eggman Empire, Shadow began searching for the doctor to eliminate him before he could launch a counterattack. Eventually, Rouge "helped" Shadow by leading him to Eggman.

The Fate of Dr. Eggman
Approximately a month after the war between the Resistance and the Eggman Empire, Rouge and Shadow found a seemingly amnesiac Dr. Eggman in a village, dealing and becoming friendly with Sonic and the Chaotix. After Eggman mentioned Eggman Land however, Shadow revealed his and Rouge's presence and got ready to destroy the doctor.

Although Sonic tried telling Shadow that Eggman's amnesia was legit and that he was now a good man that did not deserve the punishment Shadow had planned, Shadow did not care. Eventually, their disagreement came to blows. While they raced around and fought however, Sonic convinced Shadow that Eggman was not beyond forgiveness, just like Shadow was in spite of his past attempt to destroy the world. As Shadow began discussing with Sonic about what to do with Eggman though, he realized that Sonic had intentionally led him away. Returning to the village and slipping past the Chaotix, Shadow assured Rouge that he had talked it over with Sonic when she tried getting in-between him and Eggman. As such, instead of eliminating Eggman, Shadow had Eggman show him Eggman Land, which turned out to be an amusement park for children that Eggman had made. Convinced that Eggman was now a good man who deserved to be forgiven and live in peace, Shadow took his leave with Rouge.

The Battle for Angel Island
Eventually, Shadow was called to Resistance HQ. There, he and the Resistance's other allies were informed that the Resistance needed their help to liberate Angel Island, which had been conquered by Neo Metal Sonic and turned into a flying fortress. To make matters worse, Neo had also secured the Master Emerald for himself on the island. Eventually, Shadow was assigned to help two of the assembled group's factions with breaking the Egg Fleet's control over Angel Island while Sonic and Knuckles confronted Neo.

While heading for Angel Island in a Resistance Battleship, Rouge would inquire Shadow about why he went along with this team-up, to which Shadow replied that he was "here for [his] own reasons". As soon as their ship approached Angel Island however, the Egg Fleet shot it down. By the time everyone had evacuated the ship and made it to Angel Island though, Shadow had already left the group to do his own thing. In truth, Shadow had gone in search of the greatest threat on the island: Neo Metal Sonic.

Appearing inside Neo Metal Sonic's stronghold on Angel Island where Super Neo Metal Sonic had Sonic and Knuckles at his mercy, Shadow attacked Super Neo Metal Sonic by stabbing a Chaos Spear through his torso, forcing him to revert back to his previous form. Shadow then laid the smackdown on Neo Metal Sonic until he was held back by Sonic, who was concerned that Neo Metal Sonic would copy his bio-data. It was then that Neo Metal Sonic revealed that Eggman had removed the limitation that kept him from achieving his final form. To achieve his full power, all he needed was Sonic and Shadow's bio-data in addition to the Master Emerald's power. As Neo Metal Sonic grew in power, Shadow and Knuckles tried in vain to attack him. However, Shadow was forced to evacuate the stronghold along with Sonic and Knuckles once the structure started to fold into Neo Metal Sonic. The ground soon after began to rumble and Knuckles noted that the Master Emerald had been cut off from Angel Island―without its power, the island would fall. Meanwhile, Neo Metal Sonic grew into a form more monstrous than the last―dubbing it Master Overlord―and demanded that Sonic bowed to him.

Personality
Best summarized as a grim anti-hero, Shadow has a strong sense of purpose, practically to the point of stubbornness, and pursues his goals by any means necessary with a willingness to do whatever it takes to get what he wants, being willing to go as far as to take another person's life to ensure others' safety. This natural vehemence tends to make him launch himself into situations without fully thinking them through. He is also a lone wolf and is not big on team-ups; although he will go along with others for his own reasons, this does not guarantee that he is willing to follow orders.

Extremely sharp-witted, Shadow is brooding and always seems to be on the edge, and he usually acts with a cool and businesslike indifference. He is normally quiet and will not speak unless it is necessary to achieving his goals. When push comes to shove, however, Shadow can quickly become extremely aggressive and extensively ruthless. He is also not one to pull his punches for anyone, especially against those who get in his way.

Despite his apathetic nature, Shadow is not completely heartless, although he tries to bury such feelings and thoughts inside of him. For example, when out to kill a seemingly reformed Dr. Eggman, Shadow ultimately choose to give the doctor a chance to prove his benevolence after being reminded of how he himself had turned over a new leaf after trying to destroy Sonic and the world at large.

Powers and abilities
Shadow is evidently a powerful individual and combatant, capable of going toe-to-toe with even Sonic in fierce combat.

Like Sonic, Shadow is very agile and has reflexes to match his Air Shoe-induced speed, being able to act accordingly to even Sonic's split-second movements. In addition, Shadow commands a number of Chaos Powers: he can teleport wide distances at will, and he can form spears out of green energy called Chaos Spears.

Like Sonic, Shadow can perform the Spin Attack, a technique where he curls into a concussive ball or cutting disk and directs himself at his targets. With it, Shadow can shred or burrow through just about any substance given enough speed.

Equipment
Shadow wears a pair of specialized shoes. These footwear are the primary source of Shadow's speed, producing small jet streams that lets him hover-skate at speeds rivaling Sonic's supersonic running speed. Alternatively, Shadow can use his Air Shoes to produce fire to achieve midair hovering.

Friends/allies

 * Blaze the Cat
 * Chaotix
 * Charmy Bee
 * Espio the Chameleon
 * Vector the Crocodile
 * Resistance
 * Amy Rose
 * Knuckles the Echidna
 * Miles "Tails" Prower
 * Silver the Hedgehog
 * Sonic the Hedgehog
 * Tangle the Lemur
 * Team Dark
 * Rouge the Bat
 * Whisper the Wolf

Enemies

 * Black Arms
 * Eggman Empire
 * Dr. Eggman
 * Metal Sonic