Black Arms

The Black Arms are a demonic alien race led by Black Doom. They appear in the game Shadow the Hedgehog, in which they invade Earth in search of the seven Chaos Emeralds, and are opposed (or aided) by Shadow the Hedgehog and other characters. They are commonly referred to as "the black creatures", "black aliens" or even "terrorists" as the inhabitants of Earth do not know their real name (though Tails refers to them by name in one instance), and easily recognized by their black-and-red skin pigmentation.

Shadow the Hedgehog
The Black Arms are out to collect the Chaos Emeralds so that they can use Chaos Control to teleport their Black Comet to the Earth's surface, where it digs into the planet and releases a toxic gas that paralyzes all life (except those with Black Arms DNA). It is unknown what the Black Arms plan to do with Earth after conquering it.

The Black Arms launch a surprise invasion of Earth in the beginning of Shadow the Hedgehog, and destroy everything in their way while searching for the Chaos Emeralds. They are immediately opposed by Sonic the Hedgehog, his friends, the military organization GUN bent on protecting the planet, and even Doctor Eggman, who is usually the antagonist in the Sonic games. Throughout the game, the player controls Shadow the Hedgehog, and can choose whether to help the Black Arms with their invasion, or to defend the Earth along with the other characters.

Black Doom claims that the Black Arms have come to save humanity from itself, but the race's true intentions are to transport the entire planet's population to the Black Comet, where the Black Arms will enslave them, breed them and eventually feed on them as livestock.

No matter what the player chooses to do, the game has a "final ending", where Black Doom obtains the Chaos Emeralds and warps the Black Comet to the planet's surface, where it digs into the planet and releases a toxic gas that paralyzes all life without Black Arms DNA. Shadow opposes the Black Arms and becomes Super Shadow. He defeats Devil Doom, a powerful mutated form of Black Doom, and proceeds to use Chaos Control to send the Black Comet into space again. Then he blasts it with the Eclipse Cannon on the Space Colony ARK, destroying it along with the remaining Black Arms residing inside it.

The Black Arms are now assumed to be extinct, with Shadow himself being the last member of their species through blood.

Sonic the Hedgehog (Archie Comics)
The Black Arms were introduced briefly in the Sonic the Hedgehog comic book when Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles traveled to Argentium, home of the Bem aliens. Their mission is to retrieve Tails' parents, who had been trapped on "Wheel World" for some time, and their transportation was provided by the magic of Merlin Prower, Tails' uncle. The planet was in ruins and in the sky were ships from the Xorda, another evil race. Sonic immediately recognized them, but could not recognize the ships they were fighting. Tails' parents, Amadeus and Rosemary Prower, tell Sonic that the ships belong to the Black Arms before they are returned to Mobius.

It was eventually revealed that the Black Arms and their leader Black Doom played a big part in Shadow's creation, very similar to their video game counterparts. However, while Black Doom wanted to use Shadow as his greatest weapon, Professor Gerald intended for Shadow to become the ultimate protector of Mobius. With the war between the Black Arms and the Xorda still going on, it remains to be seen when or if the Black Arms will appear again and invade Mobius.

Black Doom
Black Doom (ブラックドゥーム) is the evil overlord of the Black Arms, and the only one shown with the ability to speak the human language. He has three eyes and seems to float above the ground, wearing a cloak with metal ornaments. He helped Gerald Robotnik create Shadow the Hedgehog, by using his own blood. He has lived for over 2000 years, and planned to use the human beings as an "energy source", possibly food for his larvae. He was eventually defeated by Shadow. Black Doom can separate from one of his eyes, transforming it into a tentacled entity known as Doom's Eye (ドゥームズアイ) that serves to do his bidding.

Black Arms
These are the members of the alien race that invade earth under Black Doom's command. They will attack Shadow, even if Shadow is attempting to complete one of Black Doom's missions. Members of the Black Arms include the Black Warriors, Black Oaks and Black Arms Annelids. The following is a list of creatures in the Black Arms.

Death Leeches
The Death Leeches (デスリーチ) are described by Black Doom as the Black Arms' offspring. They are pulsating dark red blobs with 3 horns positioned around an eye in the middle of their bodies. They are capable of sticking to walls, and are blood-suckers. They have no endurance, and are always killed with one hit, regardless of the weapon.

Black Warriors
The Black Warriors (ブラックウォーリアー) are the most common Black Arms aliens in the game. They are roughly human sized (just a little bigger than an average GUN soldier) and carry various Black Arms weapons (lasers, swords, shields, etc.). It usually requires two shots from most weapons to kill them.

Black Oak
The Black Oaks (ブラックオーク) are giant Black Arms soldiers. According to Doom's Eye, the Black Oaks are "heralded for their pure strength" (they can easily swat aside cars), and form the backbone of the Black Arms army. They have high endurance, but also are slow moving. They carry large swords and occasionally alien rocket launchers and clubs. They take anywhere from two to seven shots to defeat although the ones that carry clubs are able to block attacks from projectile weapons with their hands.

Black Arms Annelids
The Black Arms Annelids are giant worms. They burrow underground and attack from beneath, using smaller worms that home in on their prey. According to Doom's Eye, the worms find their prey by detecting their target's vital signs. The most common Annelids are called Sand Worms. There are also Annelids unique to certain areas such as Death Worms and Gold Worms (see below for Gold Worms in Gold Annelids). The Black Arms annelids share many characteristics of the Biolizard, such as their impregnable skin, coloring and texture, methods of attack, and sounds they make as they surface. Like the Oaks, it takes from two to seven hits to destroy them. Interestingly, both types of Annelids can easily be sucked up by a vacuum weapon, making them easy to defeat when using the Egg Vacuum weapon.

Gold Annelids
The Gold Annelids are stronger, golden Black Arm Annelids. They appear only on the stages The Last Way and Black Comet. They are stronger and faster than regular annelids and are harder to kill. Gold Annelids are invincible to some of the weaker weapons in the game.

Killer Plant
The Killer Plant is a giant moving plant lifeform, which judging from its resemblance to earth flowers, was probably mutated by the Black Arms. It can breath fire and extend its branches. Once defeated, it will temporarily shrink into a harmless bud, but it will revive again if given enough time. No points are awarded for killing it.

Black Wing
The Black Wing (ブラックウィング) is a small bat-like creature similar to Black Hawks. They have little endurance and are almost always killed with one hit.

Black Hawks
The Black Hawks (ブラックホーク) are small winged dragons which are much stronger then the Black Wings. They are capable of firing blue energy waves and flying unhindered in space. In some cases, when they are weakened, Shadow can ride on their backs.

Black Volts
Black Volts (ブラックボルト) are Black Hawks that have gold armor plating and are equipped with Worm Shooters. Due to their armor, they have more endurance than normal Black Hawks. It is also possible that Black Volts are Black Hawk-shaped robots, due to the name "volt."

Black Assassins (aka Elite Soldiers)
The Black Assassins (ブラックアサシン) only appear in the stages Black Comet, Final Haunt, and The Last Way. They look like armored Black Arms Soldiers, but they can withstand many attacks and have the ability to disappear and reappear at will. They are all armed with Refractors.

Black Bull
The Black Bull (ブラックブル) is a powerful Black Arms creature. It resembles a cross between a giant maggot and a dragon. Due to its large blubbery body which protects it from damage, its only weak spot is its single green eye. It can breathe fire and can produce Black Wings from its mouth. It appears as a boss after the completion of the Lethal Highway and/or Death Ruins stages.
 * Like the Blue Falcon, this boss was named after a machine from the F-Zero series; in this instance, Black Shadow's machine, the Black Bull. This is likely because SEGA co-developed F-Zero GX and AX.

Black Fruit
Although not necessarily part of the Black Arms army, the Black Fruit (unofficial name) are probably from their home planet. They have a short stalk, with a large spherical bulb on top. It is mostly red, and translucent, as a slight yellow glow can be seen from within. Spikes grow from the bulb, giving Shadow damage if he touches it. They can easily be destroyed in a single hit.

Shadow the Hedgehog
In theory, Shadow is part Black Arms alien because of his creation from Black Doom's blood. However, he is not a part of their army; rather, he is a secret weapon, although he did not know this fact himself until the final story in Shadow the Hedgehog. Shadow's efforts have finally put an end to the Black Arms' reign of terror.

Air Saucers
One-manned floating discs that can be used to cross hazardous surfaces, such as toxic water. Upon analyzing one, E-123 Omega is astounded that it floats without using either fuel or engine components.

Black Tank
A powerful Black Arms Tank that appears in the Lethal Highway stage and somewhat resembles a stealth bomber. The tank is surrounded by a shield that can withstand many attacks, but it is oddly enough unarmed, possibly it is not a tank but simply some kind of armored troop transport for the Black Arms. Destroying it is the Hero mission on Lethal Highway and the best way to defeat it is using a rapid-fire weapon, preferably from the Black Arms. The most effective weapon is the Shadow Rifle and the Gatling gun which can be obtained behind the five-key door, with the maximum of 40 ammo can easily take out the tank in below 10 seconds. Interestingly, Sonic claims that guns are ineffective against the Black Tank, (despite the fact that it is easily able to be taken down by guns, though he may have talking about when the shield was up).

Gunships
Large organic-looking battleships. They usually appear in the Black Comet, Final Haunt and the Last Way stages. Gunships are armed with a Black Cannon and can spawn enemies. The best way to attack these ships is to use nearby cannons or the shadow rifle.

Black Comet
The Black Comet is a massive comet that passes by the Earth every 50 years. It is the home and/or a mode of transportation for the Black Arms. The comet itself appears to be alive or techno-organic in nature, most notably when it was teleported to Earth and seemed to take on a life of its own to dig into the surface. When inside, it is almost like being in the body of a living organism. There are pulsating growths and what appear to be tentacles, organs and throat-like halls and many organic sounds. For example, in the Japanese version of the game, when the tentacles are destroyed, a roar (very similar to the Biolizard's) can be heard. There is a vicious substance in the comet that only death leeches and worms can exist in. Even Black Doom continuously warns Shadow that "that toxic substance is fatal". The tentacle-like projections also appear to exist in the substance.

The last time the comet passed by Earth, Black Doom made a pact with Gerald Robotnik in order to create the Ultimate Lifeform, Shadow the Hedgehog. Shadow would help Gerald in his research and Black Doom in his quest to collect the 7 Chaos Emeralds. Gerald, however, designed the Eclipse Cannon to destroy the Black Comet when it returned. 50 years later, as the Black Comet approached Earth during the start of Shadow the Hedgehog, the aliens began the final phase of their mission to collect the 7 Chaos Emeralds and enslave the humans. The Black Comet did not have enough speed to make it to Earth's surface on its own, so Black Doom uses the power of the Chaos Emeralds to teleport the comet to Earth. However, Black Doom's plans were foiled when Shadow teleported it back into space and used the Eclipse Cannon to destroy the Black Comet and all of the Black Arms inside of it.

It is interesting to note that while the Pure Hero level Final Haunt, the Black Comet (predictably) is full of Black Arms, on the Semi-Dark final level Black Comet, it is full of Gun Robots, and there are few (if any), Black Arms present.

Glyphic Canyon
Black Doom transported a long complex of temples to the Glyphic Canyon 2000 years prior to the games (notably, from a scientific perspective, all the planets were lined up at zero point 2000 years ago). According to Black Doom, it is the Black Arm's holy ground. These bird-shaped ruins were sealed away and deactivated many years ago. In order to reawaken this temple, one must touch the five large jewels within in it. "Reawakening" the temple makes it airborne, with the various pieces being held together with red laser-looking beams. If one destroys the jewels after this, the temples lose their power and fall down to the earth again.

Activating the jewels for Black Doom is the Dark mission for the "Glyphic Canyon" stage, while destroying them is the Hero mission for the "Sky Troops" stage, where Dr. Eggman battles the flying ruins with his Eggman Fleet. The temple is automatically reawakened when Shadow reaches Sky Troops, regardless of whether or not he has personally touched the five jewels, suggesting that the "evil path" through Glyphic Canyon is the canon route, or that the Black Arms activate the jewels themselves if Shadow does not do it for them.

There are also large tornado-like whirlwinds and dust storms in the ruins, that according to Black Doom were set in motion to stop humans from accessing them.

Enemies

 * Shadow the Hedgehog
 * Sonic the Hedgehog
 * Knuckles the Echidna
 * Miles "Tails" Prower
 * Rouge the Bat
 * Dr. Eggman
 * Chaotix
 * Vector the Crocodile
 * Charmy Bee
 * Espio the Chameleon
 * GUN
 * Amy Rose
 * Xorda (Archie exclusive)
 * Professor Gerald Robotnik
 * All of Humanity

Trivia

 * The Black Arms may have been hinted at as early as Sonic Adventure 2, in an Engrish-y inscription on one of the ARK's walls stating "ASTRONOMERS ARE CONCLUDING THAT MONSTROUSBLACKS". The Black Arms (or at least a similar concept) may have been created but ultimately unused.
 * Although they have no actual role in the game, several of the Black Arms appear as collectible cards in Sonic Rivals. The cards are "Black Oak", "Black Warrior", "Black Hawk" and "Black Bull", along with three cards depicting Black Doom's various forms.
 * The Black Arms have appeared in the Archie continuity, embroiled in an all-out war against the Xorda near the planet of the Bem.
 * This was the first major alien species in the Sonic Games.
 * These were the first characters in all of the game continuity that have shown blood. The next would be Dark Gaia as he transforms into Perfect Dark Gaia.
 * In Sonic X, a Metarex regular soldier resembles a common Black Arms soldier.
 * In the level Lava Shelter there is an air saucer but there are no Black Arms soldiers.
 * The Black Arms symbol has been shown to be the symbol of them, the game Shadow the Hedgehog, and (in Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing and the Archie Comics) the symbol of Shadow himself.