Shadow the Hedgehog (Pre-Super Genesis Wave)


 * For this version of the character after the Super Genesis Wave, see Shadow the Hedgehog (Archie).

"I am the Ultimate Lifeform. I am the protector of Mobius. Run home to your master and tell him. This is who I am."

- Shadow the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog #171

Shadow the Hedgehog (born day 225, 3186) is a character that appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-off comic series published by Archie Comics. He is the end result of Project Shadow, a project 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 Rouge the Bat 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.

50 Years Ago
Shadow was created by Professor Gerald as part of Project Shadow, Gerald hoping that through Shadow he could find a cure for his granddaughter Maria's Neuro-Immune Deficiency Syndrome. Failing to develop a successful Ultimate Lifeform on his own, he turned to Black Doom, leader of the Black Arms alien species. Using Doom's blood, he was able to complete his process and create Shadow, at the same time granting Shadow some measure of Doom's immense powers. However, when the experiment failed to produce Maria's cure and Gerald learned of Black Doom's malicious intentions for Mobius, Shadow was modified so that when the Black Arms eventually returned, he would be waiting to defend Mobius from them. (StH: #98, #171)

However, tragedy struck soon afterwards, as a government task force raided Space Colony ARK, the space station where Shadow was created and lived with Maria and Gerald. With Maria's death and Gerald's arrest, Shadow was left bitter and angry. Reuniting with Gerald by some means, he was put into stasis and given a new purpose: to avenge Maria's death by destroying the inhabitants of Mobius. (StH: #98, CSE)

Awakening and "Death"
When Shadow was awakened from stasis 50 years later, it was by Gerald's grandson, Dr. Eggman. Coveting Shadow's power so that he could take over the world, Eggman enlisted Shadow's aid in acquiring the Chaos Emerals. Shadow proceeded to steal Station Square's Chaos Emerald, after facing off against the city's protector Silver Sonic II. Due to his similar appearance to Sonic, Station Square's army believed the theft to have been Sonic the Hedgehog, and thus sent their military after him instead. (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 misled by false memories, 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 Life-form 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 Finalhazard, 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, CSE)

Return and Interactions With the 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 (although Bunnie Rabbot mentioned that he spent little time with the Freedom Fighters), 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, then suffering from a flashback, Shadow attacked him, only to be halted in his vengeance by 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 the latter's ankle was wounded, then disappeared 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. The latter, another servant of Eggman, threatened to tell Eggman of Shadow's treachery, but all three Hedgehogs put aside their rivalry to destroy the robot together. Scourge angered Shadow by attacking him, then found that Shadow was considerably more aggressive than Sonic or his usual allies, and fled from the enraged hedgehog. 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 send Shadow after them. Shadow was then lured into a trap by A.D.A.M., who used his ability to sense and absorb Chaos energies in conjunction with Tails' power as the 'Chosen One', to summon all the Chaos Emeralds from across the universe to Mobius, agonizingly forcing both into their Super forms in the process. 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) This resulted in all Chaos Emeralds being merged by the panda-god Feist.

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 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, CSE)

Mobius and Beyond
In an attempt to find the Special Zone using Chaos Control, Shadow accidentally transported himself to Moebius, where he discovered Sonic was fighting Scourge the Hedgehog. When Sonic asked if Shadow wanted to help him beat up Scourge, Shadow replied "Sure". However, the fight was interrupted yet again by the arrival of Metal Sonic, Silver the Hedgehog, Rob O' the Hedge, Amy Rose and finally Rosy the Rascal. (StH: #195)

Silver briefly incapacitated them all with his psychokinesis, attempting to find out which one of them was Sonic, before they were all attacked by Scourge. Scourge used the Anarchy Beryl to transform into a stronger form, Super Scourge, in which form he was able to defeat the others, including Shadow. (StH: #195, #196)

Shadow was later transported to another location along with Metal Sonic when he tried to override his zone teleporter engine with Chaos Control. Shadow and Metal Sonic arrived in an alternate universe (the Sonic X universe), where the local version of Sonic went on to explain the differences between their worlds, such as how their version of Shadow was thought to be dead. After being offered a chance to remain in this universe, Shadow declined as he felt it was his duty to defend his own world. Following this he teleported himself and Metal Sonic away once again. (StH: #196, SX: #40, SU: #4, CSE)

The two reappeared in Blaze the Cat's universe, floating above an ocean. Shadow tried to convince Metal Sonic to no longer obey Dr. Eggman, but Metal Sonic 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 until he was rescued by Blaze the Cat and Marine the Raccoon, who happened to be passing aboard the Ocean Tornado. On returning to Southern Island, they discovered that Metal Sonic was attacking the inhabitants in a desperate attempt to find that world's Doctor Eggman. After a short battle and another attempt by Shadow to reason with it, Metal Sonic was destroyed by a blast from the Ocean Tornado's cannon. (SU: #1)

Still, with no way to travel through the universes, Shadow appeared to be stranded. He was then given the green Chaos Emerald by Blaze, which was given to her by Sonic to help her find the Sol Emeralds. With the Emerald, Shadow used Chaos Control to return to G.U.N. Headquarters on Mobius Prime, where Hope Kintobor and Commander Abraham Tower were waiting. Shadow delivered the Emerald, and was informed he had a new mission. (SU: #1)

The Doom Laser and Search for Gamma
Later, he was deployed along with Rouge to sabotage Eggman's base. The main mission was to deactivate a turret that was modified from an observatory, otherwise it would destroy not only the Freedom Fighters, it would eviscerate half the Eggdome. Instead of moving on directly, he contacted Sonic after the battle from #198, asking him to join the mission. Sonic agreed, and followed the duo to the target. Sonic wondered why Eggman would go overkill, with Shadow answering that he must have been losing his sanity. After accidentally turning the laser on, Shadow released his inhibitor rings and destroyed the gun, he voiced his encouragement towards Sonic and his mission, saying that "This is YOUR fight", at the same time, thanking Sonic for saving his life, and much more. After Sonic ran off, Rouge remarked that Shadow's relationship with Sonic was more mutual now, to which Shadow replies, "He has my respect, that's all." (SU: #2)

The next day, Shadow took on a mission from G.U.N to recruit E-102 Gamma. Dr. Eggman sent out E-123 Omega to destroy Gamma. During the battle, Shadow, launched away by Omega's cannon, left the robots by themselves. Gamma saw Omega as a worthy agent for G.U.N instead of himself, so he transferred a scan to Omega to get rid of his loyalty to Dr. Eggman before he was destroyed. When Shadow arrived on the scene, Omega has been given the feelings that Gamma had. Shadow provided Omega a place in G.U.N to discover his true purpose. (SU: #3)

Member of Team Dark
Later, Shadow and Rouge journeyed to the Special Zone with Omega to retrieve another Chaos Emerald but were no match for the challenge Feist had given them. Upset at failing his mission, Shadow was comforted by Hope and headed back to the Special Zone with Rouge and Omega as Team Dark. Failing the next task that Feist had given him, Shadow chose plan B and ordered Omega to attack Feist while Rouge and Shadow retrieved the Chaos Emerald. Teleporting back to G.U.N. headquarters, Shadow gave the Chaos Emerald to the commander. (SU: #4)

Sol Searching
Shadow and Omega were later called upon to assist their teammate, Rouge, in locating the source of a mysterious energy reading; namely, a Sol Emerald. The emerald was difficult to track due to irregularities in their readings and Rouge eventually stumbled across Amy, Cream, Blaze the Cat and Nicole in her handheld form. The two power members of Team Dark then tailed Rouge as she earned the trust of the others searching for the Sol Emerald, ready to assist when she needed back-up. That moment came right after Rouge stole the Sol Emerald and got herself cornered by Blaze. Omega and Shadow blasted through rock to land behind Rouge, who delivered a warning to them to stay back or else the robot and hedgehog would strike. (SU: #21)

Despite Rouge's threats, Blaze coldly addressed Shadow, saying he should've known that she needed the Sol Emeralds and asking him if this was how he would repay her generosity (as, when they had previously met, she had given him a Chaos Emerald in order to return home). To the surprise of his team, Shadow hesitated and averted his eyes; however, he eventually replied, "That was then. This is now." Rouge then ordered Omega to open fire, scattering their opposition, but Blaze created a wall of flame, rendering the barrage completely ineffective. Rouge and Omega were dumbfounded by this; Shadow, incredulous, asked Rouge if she had lost her mind. Rouge insisted she only intended for Omega to scare the girls rather than hurt them; no one noticed Blaze concentrating, and thus Shadow and Rouge were caught by surprise when the cat enveloped Omega in a spiral of flame. When the Sol Emerald was finally recovered (after a rather rougeful collection of characters tried to steal it) Rouge again demanded Blaze hand over the Sol. Shadow made up his mind and stepped in, after previous urging from Amy to make the right choice, and forced her to leave the Sol with Blaze. Grossly outnumbered, Rouge agreed asking Shadow how he'd have to explain this to the Commander, but Shadow simply told Rouge she'll think of something. (SU: #22, #23, #24)

Later, Shadow and Rouge would be ordered to protect the president when Dr. Eggman attacked Central City. (SU: #38

Worlds Collide

 * Due to Eggman and Wily rewriting the history of Shadow's world, Shadow's history and memories were changed to be nearly identical to that of his game counterpart's.

Some time later, after Mobius had been reset by the second Genesis Wave, Shadow was somehow captured by Doctor Eggman and his new partner Dr. Wily, and was turned into the Roboticized Master, Shadow Man. He was sent with his fellow Roboticized Masters, Tails Man, Knuckles Man and Rose Woman to steal a Chaos Emerald from the Mega City Bank in Dr. Wily's world, where the group were immediately confronted by Proto Man. However, Shadow Man's teammates quickly overpowered him before Mega Man joined the battle. After a brief skirmish-which featured Shadow Man being stunned by Mega Man's Mega Buster and the intervention of Metal Sonic-the group traveled to Mobius through a Warp Ring. Pursued by Mega Man, they split up, with Shadow Man returning to the Wily Egg with Knuckles Man and Rose Woman in the Skull Egg Zone.

Later, Shadow Man and the other Roboticized Masters battled Sonic and Mega Man in a tournament-style event. After the Chaotix were returned to normal, this Shadow Man teamed up with another Shadow Man to ambush the heroes. When the two robots ambushed Sonic and Mega Man, this Shadow Man used his Chaos Cannon to trap Sonic in a stasis bubble. In order to beat him, Mega Man used Espio Man's Chroma Camo to sneak up on him, and used Tails Man's Tail Wind to stun him, and used the Sonic Shot to turn him back to normal. After quickly destroying the other Shadow Man, he teleported back to GUN. He was later found by Sonic and Amy, and picked up Omega so they could help fight the Robot Master Army.

During the fight, when Shadow was dealing with Napalm Man, Omega took care of the Robot Master for Shadow, and both of the Team Dark members realized Rouge had been roboticized. Later, Shadow and Top Man were racing while Sonic single-handedly took down Hard Man, Spark Man, and Bright Man, which helped Shadow take down Top Man. Shadow yelled at Sonic that he didn't need his help, but Sonic stated that he just liked to steal his fun. He left Shadow and Clown Man to fight, though. After beating Clown Man, Shadow defeated Shade Man. Later, Shadow and Proto Man told Sonic and Mega Man to go to the Wily Egg and save Dr. Light and leave their friends to battle their enemies.

When Dr. Light fell to his intended death, Shadow used Chaos Control to teleport in to grab him and bring him to safety. Despite the fact that Rouge (who had been de-roboticized by Mega Man earlier) and Dr. Light were now fighting with them, the exhausted heroes eventually found themselves surrounded by the Robot Masters. Luckily, help arrived in the form of the Light Robot Masters, allowing Knuckles, Proto Man, Dr. Light, and Rush to board the Wily Egg and rescue Mega Man and Sonic, who had been captured by Eggman and Wily. Shadow then watched with the others as the blue heroes defeated the doctors and used Chaos Control to restore their worlds. However, Eggman attacked Sonic in the process, resulting in something shattering happening to Mobius...

Personality
Shadow is arrogant, determined, and somewhat cold. He often comes off as blunt and uncaring and does not 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. He has high expectations for himself, and 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.

Powers and abilities
Possessing speed equal to Sonic thanks to his jet-soled shoes, as well as natural speed bestowed unto him, Shadow is capable of many of the same moves as his near doppelganger, including Sonic's patented Spin-Dash. Shadow also commands Chaos powers through a direct link to the Chaos Force, which unlike that of the Brotherhood of Guardians does n0t require tapping into the energies of the Master Emerald or a Chaos Emerald. It is notable, however, that Shadow's abilities are more potent when aided by an 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. With a Chaos Emerald(s), he can increase the power of these abilities. Despite his power, Shadow has his limits, and does not possess the same level of energy as Knuckles achieved when he became Chaos Knuckles. 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 also thought to be ageless and immune to disease.

Chaos Shadow
Shadow can temporarily increase his powers by removing his inhibitor bands and taking the form of Chaos Shadow. After the excess energy wears off however, he is left weakened.

Super Shadow
Like Sonic, he can attain a Super form, named Super Shadow, by using the power of the Chaos Emeralds. In this form, his innate talents are greatly enhanced and he possesses virtual invulnerability and flight.

Rouge the Bat
Although Shadow himself has shown no genuine romantic feelings towards anyone, Rouge the Bat has repeatedly flirted with Shadow on various occasions, 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. Even though Shadow does not show much emotion, he has often smiled around Rouge, implying how close she is to him. Rouge also tends to tease Shadow on occasion by saying he mopes a lot.

Amy Rose
Amy Rose has hown to be somewhat fond of Shadow, having an unusual amount of faith in him when he seems to lack faith in himself. Being a somewhat equally willed person, she tends to help Shadow regain sight of his purpose, and keep him in check. More than once she has realized the good in him when others failed to.

Blaze the Cat
Blaze has been getting through to Shadow, though their relationship thus far seems to be more of a mutual respect than anything else. This is hinted at by the fact that he doesn't want to hurt her, he feels bad about betraying her team twice (in one day), and he can't stand having her mad with him and constantly tries to apologize.

Friends/allies

 * G.U.N.
 * Abraham Tower
 * Team Dark
 * E-123 Omega
 * Hope Kintobor
 * Knothole Freedom Fighters
 * Sonic the Hedgehog
 * Sally Acorn
 * Miles "Tails" Prower
 * Nicole
 * Team Rose
 * Amy Rose
 * Blaze the Cat
 * Cream the Rabbit
 * Cheese
 * Marine the Raccoon
 * Chaotix
 * Knuckles the Echidna
 * Silver
 * E-102 Gamma

Enemies

 * Eggman Empire
 * Dr. Eggman
 * Metal Sonic v3.0
 * A.D.A.M.
 * Enerjak
 * Feist
 * Team Hooligan
 * Babylon Rogues

Trivia

 * 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.
 * The picture of Shadow on the cover of the issue titled, "Shadow Returns" looks similar to one of his promotional images for the game Shadow the Hedgehog, except the eyes are not as wide, and he does not have his handgun.
 * Shadow's chest fur was mistakenly colored gold for several issues instead of white.
 * Since his debut in the series, Shadow was the subject of artistic error. For example, Patrick Spaziante made Shadow's design similar to his model in the Sonic Adventure 2. Art Mawhinney's design of Shadow gave him shoes similar to Tails's. Ron Lim simplified Shadow's shoes with no black coloring. Occasionally, Shadow's shoes are sometimes drawn wrong in a certain way or miscolored.
 * Before Sonic the Hedgehog #182, Shadow's fur color was originally colored in different shades of dark gray color in several of his appearances. However, in Sonic the Hedgehog #182, he is fully inked to have the same black color as the inking.
 * Shadow the Hedgehog is also one of the few SEGA characters from the comics to have a biological family introduced in the video game continuity. In Shadow's case, he was created by Gerald Robotnik using the Black Arms' DNA.
 * Shadow is the one who starts up Team Dark but in Sonic Heroes, Rouge starts it up.
 * Shadow was the second heroic Sonic character besides the members of the Knothole Freedom Fighters to appear in promotional material for Worlds Unite, the first being Knuckles.
 * Shadow is so far, the only one of the four hedgehogs from the games who is not a member of any Freedom Fighter groups.