Name: Steve
Personal LJ:
darkspineshadowContact Info: DarkspineShadow for AIM, or you can find me
here on Plurk!Housing: 505 Ricardo Street with Liquid Snake, Squall Leonhart
Character Name: Shadow the Hedgehog (Otherwise known as Agent Shadow, Project Shadow, or the Ultimate Life Form)
Character Series: Sonic the Hedgehog
Character Age: N/A (Though he’s been alive for more than fifty years, he appears to be roughly fifteen years old.)
Background:
Here! His pull-point from canon would be from
SONIC THE HEDGEHOG (2006), just after the end of Shadow’s story and at the very beginning of the Last Story.
Personality: When Shadow was first introduced in Sonic Adventure 2, he was meant to be Sonic the Hedgehog’s greatest rival. A rival who, while sharing several similarities with other rivals such as Knuckles the Echidna or Metal Sonic, could ultimately stand above both of them and serve as a true equal to the Blue Blur in terms of speed and ability. Like Knuckles, Shadow is a powerful opponent that shouldn’t be underestimated, but unlike the echidna, Shadow’s often more level-headed and logical. And much like Metal Sonic, Shadow can be cold, calculating, and remarkably clever, yet this doppelganger at least has the capacity to feel emotion. It’s this compassion that leads Shadow to risk his life for Rouge at Prison Island (though he claimed that the Chaos Emeralds she had stolen were his only concern). And at the very end of Sonic Adventure 2, Shadow practically sacrificed his life in order to save the world from impending doom.
Yet despite these occasional acts of selflessness, Shadow mostly keeps his distance from Sonic and his friends. Certain incidents in his tragic past have made the hedgehog incredibly reluctant to trust other people. Still, as evidenced in Shadow the Hedgehog, a lot of the heroes seem to look up to him and are quick to ask for his aid in the face of danger. Hell, even villains like Doctor Eggman himself aren’t afraid to ask Shadow for help. And depending on his overall goals? Shadow may very well align himself with them. For despite his fairly good heart, Shadow’s very much a neutral force in the series. A dark, brooding anti-hero with plenty of hidden motives.
Unlike Sonic and the rest of his friends, Shadow’s incredibly serious in nature. Rarely do we see him smile, and the closest thing you’ll get to one is usually a sardonic sneer. Being a man-made weapon of mass destruction, there really isn’t much room for silliness in this hedgehog’s life. Seriously, this is a guy who almost walked away from a full-scale alien invasion happening right before his eyes because he didn’t think it was worth his time (at first). But when he does get fully invested in something (be it a mission or a race), be prepared to deal with Shadow’s arrogance, his zeal for competition, his ruthlessness, and his drive to prove himself above all who oppose him.
Perhaps the most important thing about Shadow is his overall sense of identity. For at least three consecutive games in the series, Shadow’s struggled to come to terms with who he is, why he was created, what his overall purpose in life is. After a long, long journey, Shadow’s come to realize that above all else, he’s the Ultimate Life Form. A creature created in order to act both as a powerful weapon and as a watchful protector, bringing hope to humanity. But he doesn’t let either of these facts dictate his life. He makes his own destiny. And really, he knows that course of action will come at a very high cost: he’s been betrayed by the people responsible for his creation, and there’s a good chance that he’ll inevitably be turned against once more. Towards the end of Shadow’s story in SONIC 2006, Mephiles the Dark confronts Shadow with this knowledge. “It’s futile,” he says. “The world will betray you. Why fight at all? Why risk your life for those who will persecute you later?” Without missing a beat, Shadow replies, “If the world chooses to be my enemy, I will fight like I always have.”
Abilities: Being the world’s Ultimate Life Form, it only makes sense that Shadow would have a whole ton of abilities. Aside from his superspeed and wide array of Chaos Powers (including
Chaos Control,
Chaos Blast, and
Chaos Spear), Shadow has a wide array of physical attributes, including:
• Ageless and Unaging Immortality
• Working knowledge of how to operate most firearms and vehicles
• Excellent hand-to-hand and weapons-based combat
• Enhanced durability, agility, and reflexes
Additionally, Shadow has the ability to transform into
Super Shadow with the power of the seven Chaos Emeralds.