Sunday, March 21, 2021

Character Analysis: Shadow The Hedgehog


Background

An anti-hero introduced in the game Sonic Adventure 2. He was an “ultimate lifeform” created as a collaboration between an alien species named the black arms and the scientist Gerald Robotnik. Gerald’s creation and study of Shadow was shut down by a government agency named GUN and his granddaughter Maria was killed in the raid. This sent Gerald spiraling into madness, prompting him to alter Shadow’s memories so he would carry out a revenge mission against humanity. A mission Shadow attempted to carry out 50 years later when he was discovered by Gerald’s grandson Eggman.


Fortunately, his original memories resurfaced and after a pep talk from the character Amy, Shadow chose to avert Gerald’s revenge plan. During the events of SA2 Shadow “seemingly died” after helping to defeat the prototype's ultimate life form Biolizard, but further games revealed Eggman had rescued him after the battle.


It was revealed during the events of  “Shadow the hedgehog” that Gerald had initially planned on double-crossing alien Black doom, and planned on using Shadow as a weapon against him. A plan Shadow put into action during the true ending of that game. Afterward, Shadow eventually joins the organization Gun himself, acting as one of their major operators along with his friends Rouge and Omega. 


In terms of personality, Shadow is basically Vegeta from dbz. He’s confident in his power, has a no-nonsense attitude, and isn’t a very good people person. He’s had amnesia multiple times in the series, but currently has all of his memories back. During his time on the ark, he had a strong friendship with Maria. In fact, Shadow’s original creation was due to wanting to create a medical cure for a disease that she had.

Power-ups

Shields


Normal shield

A protective bubble that defends against one deadly attack. It’s generally found by breaking a monitor in stage



Lightning/magnetic shield

A lightning variant of the shield. Blocks one deadly attack. It attracts rings to Shadow’s position and has immunity to electricity based attacks. It can also deflect minor projectiles. In some but not all games it disappears if it comes into contact with water. 


Heat barrier

A shield variant that damages opponents  who come into contact with it and protects Shadow from a single blow.


Invincibility

A power-up that surrounds Shadow in a bunch of sparkling lights and grants temporary invincibility. Normally lasts around 15-20 seconds.


Color power/wisps

A species of alien lifeforms that grant users a wide array of powers. Shadow has used its power in several of the racing and mobile games. 


A video showing all of the wisps' powers in action

https://youtu.be/aR41BE2KBNY?t=1

  • Black Wisp (Black Bomb) - Throws a bomb forward that detonates

  • Blue Wisp (Blue Cube) - Drops a cube on the ground

  • Crimson Wisp (Crimson Eagle) - Fires an eagle-shaped projectile that homes in on enemies before detonating upon impact

  • Cyan Wisp (Cyan Laser) - Fires a continuous laser

  • Gray Wisp (Gray Quake) - Creates stone pillars that emerge from the ground

  • Ivory Wisp (Ivory Lightning) - Strikes enemies with lightning

  • Jade Wisp (Jade Ghost) - Turns Eggman invisible and intangible 

  • Magenta Wisp (Magenta Rhythm) - Creates musical notes to disorientate others

  • Orange Wisp (Orange Rockets) - Fires rocket-shaped projectiles

  • Pink Wisp (Pink Spikes) - Creates three spiky balls that orbits around him

  • Violet Wisp (Violet Void) - Creates a black hole that sucks in projectiles 

Equipment

Hover shoes

A pair of hover shoes created by Gerald that allow Shadow to propel himself at high speeds. It can be presumed that Shadow has a degree of super speed without him, but the shoes are implied to help him considerably. The jet's on the bottom can be used for limited hovering.The shoes also produce a fire that can be extended during physical attacks, an example being the Shadow Slider attack in Sonic battle.


Air shoes/ Air chip

A hover skate heel attachment that allows the use of the light speed dash in sonic adventure 2 and sonic 06 respectively.


Inhibitor rings

Ring-like appendages that Shadow wears on his wrists that control/restrain his access to chaos energy. Taking them off gives Shadow a gigantic boost in power and durability, but causes him to tire out after short periods of time. Shadow typically only takes them off for singular powerful attacks or for short assaults on the enemy.


Flame ring

A red ring that grants a flame aura to Shadow’s summersault attack.


Memory shards blue, red and black

Items that boost Shadow's ability to use chaos energy in sonic 06.


Ancient light

An ancient light you find as a level-up item in Sonic Adventure 2. Allows the use of the Light speed attack move.


Chaos emeralds

A set of mystical objects that are said to grant near-infinite power through the use of “chaos energy”. They can often be found hidden in alternate pocket dimensions, and are said to turn the thoughts of the user into power. Depending on the types of thoughts, they will generate either positive or negative energy. The positive energy of the chaos emeralds is often used as a means of transforming into a more powerful state called a "super form". They scatter if all 7 are collected and used at the same time.


Misc Weapons

In the game Shadow the Hedgehog, Shadow can wield various different weapons. Some notable ones include 

  • Traditional guns like submachine guns, Semi-auto rifles, Gatling guns, pistols.

  • Heavy weapons like bazookas, grenade launchers, tank cannons etc

  • Lock-on weapons like RPGS or various alien energy lock-on weapons

  • Melee weapons like Swords, hammers, spears, samurai blades, and knives

  • A weapon called the vacuum pod and egg vacuum that can suck in objects and shoot them back

  • The shadow rifle a powerful gun that can one-hit kill most opponents

  • The heal canon, a gun that heals allies

  • The satellite gun, which calls giant destructive city block wide lasers to fall from the sky

  • The omochao gun, which fires  robotic Omochao assistants


-You can see a full list of all of Shadow’s weapons here https://sonic.fandom.com/wiki/Weapons_in_Shadow_the_Hedgehog#:~:text=Each%20weapon%20in%20Shadow%20the,will%20disappear%20after%20a%20while. 



Special abilities

Spin attack/ Spin jump

Shadow can perform the classic Spin Attack and Spin Jump maneuver.  These are essentially an attack when the opponent will rapidly spin while moving to harm an opponent.


Spin dash

The classic Sonic spin dash attack. It’s essentially a ground-based spin attack where the user builds up speed before catapulting themselves forward.


Homing attack/Dash/Jump dash

Another standard sonic attack. Basically a spin attack, but while homing on the opponent in midair. You can curve and change direction to follow an opponent with his attack in some games. The moves also have variants called homing dash/jump dash, which give a boost in midair in the direction of an object or place, but lacking the spin attack.


Boost

The “boost” ability Sonic uses in most modern games. Shadow propels himself slightly above ground with his hover skates with a red aura around his body that protects him from collision damage.


Light speed dash and light speed attack

A special ability that allows Shadow to travel along a trail of rings at light speed. If opponents are standing within the ring trail when the ability is used, they will take damage. There is also an offensive variation of this ability called the light speed attack. It allows Shadow to rapidly attack various enemies in his vicinity at light speed, albeit only after performing a “charge’.


Black tornado

Shadow jumps and rapidly spins around an enemy causing a minute tornado. Can fling enemies into the air, disorient them or disarm them of held items (egg pawns with shields for example).


Somersault/fire summersault

A somersaulting maneuver that can be used to harm enemies, break objects, or get under tight spaces. Gains a fire attribute with the fire ring equipped.


Slide/rocket accel

A running slide maneuver used for getting under tight spaces without losing momentum.


Stomp

A mid-air stomping move


Grinding

Shadow can grind on rails or similar surfaces to get around his environment.


Triangle jump/wall jump

Shadow can perform both wall jumps and triangle jumps(jumping between vertical and horizontal points respectively). 


Spin kick/tornado kick

Ground-laden whirlwind kicks.


Speed up

A short burst of speed Shadow can activate in the 2 player mode of adventure 2.


Misc

Shadow may have a legitimate interest in automobiles, as he’s shown riding motorcycles ALOT.

Shadow is also biologically immortal. He does not age.


Chaos powers/Chaos Control

The ability to warp time and space through the use of Chaos energy produced by the 7 legendary chaos emeralds. The chaos energy produced by the emeralds corresponds to the thoughts and emotions of those using them, being either negative or positive. A person’s ability to utilize chaos energy is also AMPLIFIED with every additional chaos emerald obtained. Shadow often tends to have some emeralds on hand, but he can still use a good fraction of his chaos abilities without one. In fact, he directly stated he does not need one to use a lot of his power in Sonic Battle. While “Chaos control” is the commonly stated moniker for the usage of chaos energy-based powers, it’s an umbrella term that refers to a host of applications.


Core Chaos abilities

Teleportation

The most common use of chaos control is teleportation. Shadow does not need a chaos emerald to do this, though his range is limited to the immediate battlefield without one. With a few emeralds, he can teleport as far as earth’s outer orbit, or between dimensions. 


Time slowing

Shadow can also use chaos control to slow down time in his vicinity. This gives him a leg up on them in terms of speed, given he can already blitz most opponents. 


Time stop

Chaos control can also be used to completely stop time. Shadow often does this as his special attacks in various games and outside media. Shadow claimed in sonic X he could stop time for about 90 seconds with the aid of a chaos emerald.


Time travel

You can use chaos control to travel through time. This was done multiple times in Sonic 06, though it required two people both using chaos control at the same time to perform.


Misc. chaos abilities

Chaos attack

A barrage of kicks and punches enhanced with chaos energy. Shadow will often instant teleport to an opponent using a move called chaos snap beforehand.


Chaos spear

A lightning bolt-ish projectile made out of chaos energy. Shadow can summon singular shots or barrages of them. The attack can briefly paralyze foes and has armor-piercing properties in Sonic chronicles. They can also be embedded into the ground as mine-like traps in Generations and Sonic boom. 



Chaos lance

A power-ed up version of the chaos sphere attack. 


Chaos blast

A large explosion of chaos energy. Shadow can release this blast in a circular explosion emanating from his body or as a kamehameha-energy beam attack from his hands. 


Chaos Burst

A special attack where Shadow will teleport, and emerging surrounded by a powerful white sphere of energy that damages nearby opponents.


Chaos magic

A special attack where Shadow uses chaos control to create a purple temporal rift that damages opponents. Shadow can control where the rifts appear allowing it to act as a projectile of sorts, though he needs to concentrate for a period of time the farther away targets.


Roaming Chaos

Shadow uses chaos control to create a roaming ball of distorted space that follows opponents around the battlefield. It damages opponents if they come in contact with it. Shadow can only use one at a time.


Chaos nightmare

A heavy attack where Shadow will use chaos control to distort space at his fists to produce an explosive attack.


Chaos upper 

An attack where Shadow distorts space to create an energy sphere that blasts opponents into the air.


Shadow guard

A blocking stance said to be fortified with chaos energy. In Sonic battle all guard skills create a spherical shield of energy upon activation capable of nullifying most attacks.


Shadow Heal

A healing skill that restores health with chaos power. Shadow’s version of this skill is somewhat mediocre compared to the other characters in Sonic battle. Sonic X also has a similar ability called chaos regeneration.

  • Using it to heal himself in Sonic Battle https://youtu.be/7A78U1s32qs?t=1604

  • It’s mentioned towards the end of sonic X ep 78, that supersonic and shadow had an ability called chaos regeneration, which they attempted to use to save the character cosmo. In Sonic X ep 78 12:22 https://gogoanime.so/sonic-x-episode-78


Chaos rift

An attack where Shadow will create a rift in time/space that can BFR foes. It has a 60% chance of working if it hits. It also causes the status effect distracted, which lowers attack accuracy.


Transformations

Chaos boost

An enhanced state of power Shadow can enter by collecting life orbs or chaos drives in 06. The powered-up state enhances Shadow’s chaos abilities and makes him less susceptible to damage.


Dark Shadow

A power-ep state that Shadow can enter by utilizing negative chaos energy. It raises his durability and attack power. Only lasts for a limited amount of time and using chaos powers shortens the time span.


Hero Shadow

An enhanced state of power Shadow can enter by utilizing positive chaos energy.  Raises durability and enhances chaos control abilities that deal with movement and time manipulation.


Super Shadow

The classic sonic super form. It’s obtainable after collecting and utilizing the power from all 7 chaos emeralds at once. It grants Shadow great enhanced physical stats and chaos powers. As well as the ability to fly and nigh invulnerability. The form can’t last very long, with its normal duration being between 50 seconds to a few minutes.

Shadows Super forms also have a few exclusive powers including.


Chaos arrow

A weaker version of the chaos sphere attack, used mainly by shadow in his super state in shadow the hedgehog.


Spear of light

The most powerful version of chaos sphere. Basically a multi shot of the chaos lance. Only usable as super shadow


Finally the “Dark” and “Hero” Shadow transformations can be stacked onto the super Shadow transformation. 

Feats

Strength

Base



Super 


Speed/agility

Base


Super



Endurance

Base


Super

Experience


Scaling

Sonic

Obviously, Sonic and Shadow have fought on multiple occasions and are considered equal to each other. So Shadow should scale to anything his base or super forms can do. He should also Scale to Metal Sonic since they’ve also fought and Metal Sonic has designed to be on par with the real sonic.



Eggman

Obviously, Eggman is a boss in every game. Shadow should scale to him.


Chaos emeralds

Chaos Emeralds enhance Shadow’s abilities and power his super form, so naturally, he should scale to their power as well.

Weaknesses

Shadow has a minor “mental link” to the black arms race, which is a hive mind-controlled by a singular leader. In the games, these leaders tend to try to exploit this “mental link” by using it to mind control shadow. In the games, Black doom was initially successful but failed after Shadow got some encouragement from a video of Gerald/maria.
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