Shadow the Hedgehog/Synopsis

The story of Shadow the Hedgehog from the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise.

Early Life
50 years before the events of Sonic Adventure 2, a top-secret project known as "Project Shadow" had begun on the Space Colony ARK. Led by Professor Gerald Robotnik, it was a government-sanctioned initiative to create "The Ultimate Lifeform," an immortal being that could be used for the benefit of the nation, likely in a militaristic fashion. While Gerald had initial misgivings to the purpose of the research he was assigned to, he realized that his results might be able to save his granddaughter, Maria. Suffering from the incurable disease Neuro-Immune Deficiency Syndrome, Maria only had a short time left to live, and Gerald was willing to do whatever it took to save her life. Going against his worries of stepping into territory man had no business playing with, the professor immediately began work, hoping that he could apply any newly gained knowledge to find a cure to N.I.D.S.

Even with the resources at his disposal, Professor Gerald was unable to make significant progress. Without alerting anyone, Gerald decided to plea to the stars for help, contacting the Black Arms race, an alien civilization that lived upon the Black Comet, a celestial object that passed near the planet every 50 years. Its leader, Black Doom, offered to assist Gerald in his quest. He offered his blood - which ended up being the key to perfect the ultimate lifeform - in exchange for the seven Chaos Emeralds, which he would collect the next time he passed through. Knowing that the Black Arms' intentions were less than desirable, Gerald made the deal regardless, albeit with preparations to defeat the Black Arms with the cannon built into the ARK, and was able to successfully create Shadow the Hedgehog.

Once brought to life, Shadow immediately befriended Maria, and they became close during their short time together. Gerald, meanwhile, made precautions for the return of the Black Arms, ensuring that the Eclipse Cannon - an extremely powerful laser built into the ARK - was compatible with the seven Chaos Emeralds, so that when they did return with the Black Comet, humanity would be able to defend itself instead of bowing to their whims.

However, Gerald's progress was ruined when it was leaked to G.U.N. how he was able to create the successful prototype. During the meeting between Gerald and the Black Arms, one of the other children aboard the ARK had accidentally seen what transpired and reported back to those in charge. As ties between the ARK and the United Federation had already been strained, hearing the news of the dealings with an alien race scared those in charge. Afraid of the implications, it was decided to launch an invasion and put a stop to the work being done there.

What happened next was nothing short of madness, as G.U.N. troops descended onto the ARK, causing chaos and confusion wherever they went. Immediately they went after the Biolizard, which they thought was the successful "Project Shadow" prototype, and in the process of putting the creature into stasis, lost quite a few soldiers. From there they went about doing damage control, shutting down everything, getting everyone off the ARK, and killing those who resisted if need be. Knowing that the G.U.N. forces would be there at any moment, Maria convinced Shadow to enter an escape pod, her final wish to him that he give the people on the planet a chance to be happy. Wishing him goodbye, Shadow could do nothing as he watched the G.U.N. soldiers storm into the lab, firing a shot which would forever change the hedgehog's life as it ended the life of Maria Robotnik.

Learning of his granddaughter's death, Professor Gerald soon went mad with grief, swearing vengeance on humanity for taking away the only thing that ever meant anything to him. Though just what exactly transpired is cloudy, what is known is that both Gerald and the escape pod that held Shadow were gathered by G.U.N., Shadow having to be put to sleep in a stasis capsule within Prison Island, and Gerald being incarcerated and charged with the crimes that happened aboard the ARK.

Sonic Adventure 2
Shadow made his first appearance in the videogame Sonic Adventure 2 and became Sonic's rival.

Dark Story
Shadow made his first appearance in the videogame Sonic Adventure 2 for the Sega Dreamcast. After sneaking into the center of a highly fortified government base, Dr. Eggman discovers Shadow. At first he mistakes Shadow for Sonic, but them realizes that he is in fact another hedgehog altogether. Shadow tells Eggman that for saving him, Shadow would grant one of Eggman's wishes. Eggman naturally chooses world domination, and so Shadow tells him that they need to start collecting the Chaos Emeralds.

As the game progresses, it is revealed that the Chaos Emeralds were needed to power a massive space colony Ark, which has a destructive laser known as the Eclipse Cannon on it. To demonstrate its power (without even having all of the emeralds), Eggman fires a hole in the moon, and essentially holds the world for ransom. Meanwhile, Sonic and company are able to find a way to the colony, where Sonic and Shadow have their final battle of the game, while running on a track in the middle of space. Throughout the story, it becomes apparent that Shadow has his own ulterior motives for gaining the seven Chaos Emeralds: He intended to avenge Dr. Eggman's cousin Maria, his one and only friend, who was killed during a raid commenced by G.U.N. on the Space Colony Ark by having the Ark collide into the planet Earth, as he believed that this was her final wish. It is also implied that his misconstruing Maria's wish was the result of Professor Gerald Robotnik reprogramming Shadow due to his grief-induced insanity over his beloved granddaughter death.

Final Story
The colony starts on a crash course to Earth, so the heroes and villains call it a draw and work together to stop it. At the center of the station, Sonic and Shadow find a monstrous creature called the Biolizard, together they are able to beat it, and they have Knuckles use the power of the Master Emerald to stop the Chaos Emeralds. Unfortunately, this does not stop the colony from falling, as they discover that the Biolizard fused with the colony to become the Final Hazard. Seeing no other option, Sonic and Shadow both use the Chaos Emeralds to become Super Sonic and Super Shadow. This enables them to breathe in space and fight. With their combined abilities they beat the Finalhazard down, and use Chaos Control to transport the colony back in to its orbit. Shadow is unable to keep his Super Form, and falls to the Earth, saying that he had fulfilled the wish of his closest friend, Maria Robotnik, to protect the world.

Sonic Heroes

 * Although Team Dark, and by extension Shadow, are sometimes bosses depending on the story mode selection, Shadow himself is not a villain in this game.

In Sonic Heroes, Shadow is revealed to have survived, but has amnesia and lost his memory. He, Rouge, and Omega form Team Dark and battle Neo Metal Sonic, disguised as Doctor Eggman.

From here, the only evil role he truly plays is the ones the players choose to take in Shadow the Hedgehog, though the canon ending depicts him saving the world again. He is, however, Sonic's rival on some occasions.

Shadow the Hedgehog

 * Shadow is the titular protagonist villain.

After Neo Metal Sonic's defeat, Shadow was left to wonder who he was, when Black Doom and his army of aliens, the Black Arms, invaded, and Black Doom told Shadow that he held the answers, and that he should help him take over the world and bring the seven Chaos Emeralds to him. Shadow was reluctant to obey Black Doom but realized the Chaos Emeralds might have the answers. This game was the only Sonic game that had bad language.

Throughout the game, Shadow can choose to help Black Doom, the heroes, sometimes Eggman (mostly playing the role of villain but playing hero at Sky Troops), or else not help anyone and go straight for the Chaos Emeralds. Because of this, the game has ten normal endings, though the true ending is unlocked by viewing all of them.

Normal Endings

 * 1. (Pure Dark/Dark) Shadow defeats Sonic and Diablon (piloted by GUN Commander) at GUN Fortress, collects the Chaos Emeralds and decides to use them to destroy the earth, and by doing so bring justice to humans.
 * 2. (Pure Dark/Hero) Shadow defeats Black Doom at GUN Fortress, collects the Chaos Emeralds, and decides that as the ultimate life form, he will conquer the universe.
 * 3. (Slightly Dark/Dark) Shadow defeats Sonic and Diablon at the Black Comet, collects the Chaos Emeralds and decides that as the ultimate life form, he is a servant to Black Doom, and that the earth will become part of their empire.
 * 4. (Slightly Dark/Hero) Shadow defeats Eggman at the Black Comet, collects the Chaos Emeralds and decides that he is Shadow the Hedgehog, and that only he knows what's best. He then kills Eggman.
 * 5. (Neutral/Dark) Shadow defeats Eggman at Lava Shelter, collects the Chaos Emeralds and decides that he is a Shadow Android, and that with the power of the Chaos Emeralds he will become even stronger then the "original". He then kills Eggman.
 * 6. (Neutral/Hero) Shadow defeats Eggman at Lava Shelter, collects the Chaos Emeralds and decides that as a Shadow Android he will take over, and rule Eggman's empire. He then kills Eggman.
 * 7. (Slightly Hero/Dark) Shadow defeats Eggman at Cosmic Fall, collects the Chaos Emeralds and decides that he, as the Ultimate lifeform, will guard the Space Colony Ark, and tells Eggman to leave it, and never come back.
 * 8. (Slightly Hero/Hero) Shadow defeats Black Doom at Cosmic Fall, collects the Chaos Emeralds and decides that he was an experiment gone wrong, that he had destroyed much and that he should never have been created. He then walks away, despite Vector's attempts to comfort him.
 * 9. (Pure Hero/Dark) Shadow defeats Sonic and Diablon on Final Haunt, collects the Chaos Emeralds and decides to use them to become invincible, and so he will be the strongest hedgehog in the world.
 * 10. (Pure Hero/Hero) Shadow defeats Black Doom on Final Haunt, collects the Chaos Emeralds and decides to keep his promise to protect the earth, the promise he had made to Maria over 50 years ago.

Final/True Ending
Shadow collects all the Chaos Emeralds, and plans to use them to figure out what he truly is. Black Doom arrives, and tells him to hand over the chaos emeralds. Before he can, Sonic and Company arrive and tell him not to. Black Doom tells Shadow that humanity's actions will lead to the extinction of their own species, and that they are here to save them from themselves with their "perfect order", and that they will allow them to live through their "desperate" lives in peace. Finally, Black Doom reveals that humans are a source of energy for them, so they will be kept. Black Doom then uses the Chaos Emeralds to Chaos Controls the Black Comet into Earth, fusing the two together. Black Doom explains to Shadow that Gerald Robotnik was creating the ultimate lifeform, and that he needed their help, in return Black Doom demanded the seven Chaos Emeralds. So Shadow was created from Black Doom's blood. Because of this, Black Doom can control him.

Meanwhile, Team Chaotix try to get the discs they found to play, and a recording of Gerald Robotnik stars. He tells Shadow that the government planned to shut down the Ark, and throw all who knew about Shadow into prison. He then explain to him the purpose of the Eclipse Cannon on the Ark, it was so, when Black Doom arrived Shadow could destroy them. Gerald then tells Shadow that the future is in his hands. Maria then jumps in on the recording and says that she and Shadow will protect Earth together.

After hearing this, Shadow is able to break free of the mind control, Shadow decides to put the past behind him and uses the emeralds to become Super Shadow, and he fights Black Doom. After defeating the leader, he uses Chaos Control to separate the Black Comet from earth, and teleports himself into the Ark and uses the Eclipse Cannon to blow destroy it. After the battle, Shadow is seen holding a picture of Gerald and Maria Robotnik, and throws it behind him, saying "Goodbye forever, Shadow the Hedgehog.", finally putting his past behind him for good and looking to the future.

In some paths Shadow can take in the game, Eggman will imply or say outright that Shadow is an android version of the original created by him. If Eggman specifically says it, Shadow will suspect that this is why he has no memory and that the original Shadow fell to his death. However, if the battle with Devil Doom lasts more than eight minutes, Eggman will confess that this is a lie and he had one of his robots rescue Shadow from the fall.

Sonic Free Riders
Shadow appears alongside Rouge and E-1000B as a member of Team Dark in the Grand Prix.

Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)

 * Although he is fought as a boss in Silver's story, Shadow is not an actual villain in this game and appears as the deuteragonist.

After defeating Black Doom, Shadow has become an agent of G.U.N. He would often fight Mephiles the Dark, who took a form similar to him through his shadow, and was sealed inside the Scepter of Darkness by Shadow when he traveled back in time to show Silver that Mephiles was lying to him. Alongside Sonic and Silver, he defeated Mephiles and Iblis's combined true form, the immortal sun god Solaris.

It is shown in the future that he has become the enemy of the humans and they had Omega seal him away out of fear of his power. These events may have been linked to Mephiles and/or Iblis, however, and his future is left open when the events of the game are erased.

Sonic Rivals

 * Shadow is not a villain in this game.

Shadow competes with Sonic, Knuckles, and Silver to go after Eggman Nega, disguised as Eggman. Shadow rescued Rouge and Eggman whom Eggman Nega imprisoned in a card.

In Sonic Rivals 2, Shadow was hired by Eggman to stop Eggman Nega's plan to release the Ifrit, and was paired up with Metal Sonic. They competed with Sonic and Tails, Knuckles and Rouge, and Silver and Espio. In the end, Shadow and Metal Sonic closed the portal to the Ifrit's dimension from the inside. It is presumed that they were the ones who finished the Ifrit, as they were the only ones who did not make it through the portal. However they used Chaos Control to teleport out, leaving Eggman Nega trapped inside presumably to die.

Sonic Generations
In the 2011 game Sonic Generations, Shadow is the second rival battle in the game (after Metal Sonic), wielding the fourth Chaos Emerald. He races Sonic again on the ARK, with the opening cutscene to the fight being a homage to the intro of Sonic Adventure 2. This time, he does not use his homing attack or spin dash, but he does use the Boost feature (which he can fill up by collecting rings) and can use his Chaos Spear to attack Sonic if the Ultimate Life Form is winning. If he collects two Power Orbs, he litters the track with Chaos Spear and finishes his special move with a charged up Chaos Spear (All Hail Shadow plays during this attack instead of For True Story). Instead of a health bar like the fight with Shadow in SA2, Shadow can only be defeated if you hit him after he loses all his rings. He can collect rings during the fight just like Sonic can. He can be challenged again after beating him. He appears to cheer Sonic on during the final boss fight, and appears during Sonic's birthday party during the game's ending.

Main Game
In Sonic Forces, Shadow is a minor character. His presence is still important though, as he helps the resistance defeat Infinite and Dr. Eggman. He isn't seen until the middle of the game when a Shadow-Clone, created by Infinite, is about to attack Sonic. Shadow uses chaos control, and then kicks the clone to the ground, and the clone disappears into dust. After this, Shadow continues helping The Resistance, reunites the rest of his team, and at the end of the game he is seen smiling while looking at The Resistance winning the war. After winning the war, Shadow, alongside Sonic's other allies, bid farewell to Classic Sonic, and vowed to rebuild the world. Afterwards, back at the Resistance HQ, he watched the Avatar leave to go on their own adventure.

Episode Shadow
This story began one to a couple of months before Dr. Eggman took over the world, the First time Shadow encountered a Jackal named, Infinite. Shadow and his team were on a reconnaissance mission regarding Dr. Eggman's base. After Omega lost all communications with Rouge, he went in search of the robot at his last recorded coordinates.[9] By the time he arrived, however, he discovered that Omega had been effortlessly defeated by Infinite, who knew Shadow from several months back when the latter raided one of Eggman's facilities and wiped out his mercenary unit, the Jackal Squad, with Infinite promptly repaying Shadow by trapping him in an illusion via the Phantom Ruby's properties. Shadow ultimately escaped both the illusion and the doomed facility, although not before learning that Infinite planned to overpower Sonic with his newfound abilities. He later learns from Rouge that Sonic is in trouble, although it is implied that Shadow was unable to make it in time to stop Infinite from defeating Sonic.

Sonic X
Shadow also appears in the anime Sonic X, debuting in the Sonic Adventure 2 adaptation from episodes 33 to 38. His appearance was very faithful to that of the games, with a few differences; for example, it was Chris Thorndyke who convinced Shadow of his true promise from Maria, not Amy.

His appearance was very faithful to that of the games, with a few differences; for example, it was Chris Thorndyke who convinced Shadow of his true promise from Maria, not Amy.

He is voiced by his game voice actor, Kōji Yusa, in the original Japanese version; in English, he is voiced by Jason Griffith, who also voiced Sonic.

At the end of season 3, Shadow had become Super Shadow and teamed up with Super Sonic to defeat the Final Nova, who intended to destroy the universe. After Cosmo had fused with the Final Nova, Shadow knocked down Sonic, making him unconscious. Shadow then used Chaos Control to send the detonating planet far away. It then burst into millions of Planet Eggs and Shadow was never seen in the series again. In the Japanese version, his shadow is seen over Molly's grave. He also places a pink flower on the grave.

Shadow also attempted to kill Cosmo in episode 73 after discovering that she was a spy to the Metarex, but kept failing due to Knuckles, Sonic, and Tails attempting to stop him, but are hurt by Shadow. Later, after Sonic and his friends find out about the situation, Shadow stops going after Cosmo, although he didn't trust her for her decision to join the Metarex. He was displeased that they kept Cosmo on their team, and chose to distance himself from the group. Later on, though, he helps Sonic save the universe from Dark Oak.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Shadow first appears in the Super Smash Bros. series as an Assist Trophy in Brawl. When summoned, Shadow casts Chaos Control, causing every fighter within a radius to be slowed with the exception of the fighter. It is similar to the Timer item, but with a shorter duration and without the risk of it backfiring. Shadow as an Assist Trophy and a regular trophy are both unlocked once Sonic is obtained. A sticker can also be acquired that boosts all of Sonic's direct attacks by 20 points.

Super Smash Bros. 4
Shadow returns as an Assist Trophy, behaving exactly as he did in Brawl with the exception of his distortions appearing more clearer in the foreground. He also appears as a trophy in both the Wii U and 3DS versions.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Shadow yet again returns as an Assist Trophy, although he now holds a green Chaos Emerald when he casts Chaos Control. There is also a brief second phase after he finishes casting where all opponents are completely frozen. He also appears as an ace fighter-type primary spirit, with his Spirit Battle against Sonic with increased power to his dash attacks while Shadow is summoned as an Assist Trophy on Sonic's side. After each summoning of Shadow, Timers appear that Sonic is drawn to. At level 99, Shadow's spirit can be enhanced to the legendary Super Sonic, with his ability increasing the player's attack and speed when they are at 0 percent damage.

SEGA Heroes
Shadow appears as one of the eight currently playable Sonic the Hedgehog characters in SEGA Heroes.