| “ | I'm sorry, Maria. I tried to lead by example, but they did not see. I tried to lead by force, and I was rejected. I promised you I'd bring peace to the world and the world demands only anarchy--chaos. | „ |
| ~ King Shadow as he unleashes Tikhaos upon the world. |
King Shadow the Hedgehog is the main antagonist of the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series' storylines Mobius 25 and 30 Years Later. In a possible future, he becomes a tyrannical ruler of Mobius, believing that its people need to be ruled with an iron fist to be safe.
Biography[]
Past[]
Shadow's past is nearly identical to his Prime Zone counterpart's, the point of divergence happening at some point during the Second Robotnik War. His whereabouts in the unaltered future are unknown, but when King Sonic travelled to the past to restore the space-time continium, he accidentally removed himself from the timeline. In spite of his disappearance, Shadow managed to defeat Dr. Eggman, but with no Sonic around to direct him on the right path, Shadow took drastic measures to fulfill Maria's wish of protecting Mobius. In one year, he conquered the entire planet and proclaimed himself its king. Under his rule, Mobius finally found peace, but it was undercut by the brutality of the new regime. Sally Acorn married Shadow in an attempt to soften him, but had little success. Shadow installed Knuckles as the leader of the E.S.T., and Lien-Da as the leader of the Dark Presence. He also made Maria a symbol of worship, with many now treating her as a divine being.
Mobius 25 Years Later[]
Shadow learned from Lien-Da of the fact that the timeline had been altered, as well as that several people remembered the original course of events. Shadow determined to hunt said individuals down, seeing them as a threat to his rule. He imprisoned and tortured Rotor and Cobar, and is heavily implied to have killed the latter. When he discovered that the returning Sonic, Tails and Lara-Su had joined efforts to take him down, he had Knuckles arrest them, but the echidna turned out to have been on Sonic's side all along. He set the prisoners free, and they proceeded to fight the despotic king. Due to Sonic's age catching up to him, Shadow defeated him easily, but a nasty surprize was awaiting him when he picked on Lara-Su, as the echidna had knowledge of Chaos Powers as well, which allowed her to use Chaos Control on Shadow, freezing him in time for what she expected to be generations. As such, the deposed Shadow was sealed in the catacombs beneath Castle Mobius, while Sonic retook his place on the throne.
Mobius 30 Years Later[]
However, Lien-Da and the Dark Presence remained at large, and schemed to release their master. After five years of scheming, they successfully broke into the catacombs, and used the Chaos Syphon to put Shadow out of suspended animation. Lien-Da expected the deposed king to retake the throne and bring back his regime, but Shadow, disillusioned with the people who had rejected him, had something much worse in mind. He released Tikhaos from her imprisonment, and when Lien-Da tried to stop him, removed the armband that protected her from alterations to the timeline, presumably erasing her. By overfeeding Tikhaos with Chaos Energy, Shadow caused her to go Perfect and start a rampage in Portal. He planned for the monster to destroy Mobius as it was known, so that the survivors would have no choice but to accept his rule, allowing him to estabilish worldwide peace once more. His plan was foiled when King Sonic and the Freedom Fighters' children defeated Tikhaos, saving the world, but he remained at large, likely plotting his next revenge scheme.
Personality[]
In the future, Shadow became so obsessed with protecting the world that he resorted to even the most amoral methods to keep his totalitarian regime in one piece, viciously punishing any dissent. He still desires to fulfill Maria's wish, but has grown to completely misinterpret it. In truth, he has no genuine care for the people of Mobius, even plotting to kill most of them for rejecting him.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- According to Ian Flynn, making Shadow a tyrant in the new timeline was Mike Pellerito's idea rather than his. There's also no definite answer as to what exactly forced him to become this way.
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 (Archie Comics) Villains
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Eggman Empire Sub-Bosses Egg Bosses Badnik Horde Dingo Regime Battle Bird Armada Witchcarters Others Order of Ixis Overland Dark Legion Sand-Blasters Guardian Units of the Nation Team Dark Mobius Underworld Destructix Hooligans Babylon Rogues Moebius Sol Dimension Iron Dominion Litigopolis Freedom Fighters of the Galaxy Zone Light Mobius Dark Mobius Another Time, Another Place Zone Jail Black Arms Future Timeline Breeze Media Deadly Six Pirates of the Setting Dawn Deities/Cosmic Beings Off-Panel Others See Also | ||