“ | You're a colorful bunch. | „ |
~ Shadow to Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles; also his most famous quote. |
“ | This is our last chance... to do the right thing. | „ |
~ Shadow convincing Dr. Robotnik. |
“ | Shadow: The last time I sat beneath stars like this… I was with her. I've felt this pain for so long. It's all I know. Sonic: When I lost Longclaw, I felt the same way. Shadow: Did your pain eventually go away? Sonic: No. But in time, I learned there's something even more powerful than pain. The love we felt for each other. That's what you need to hold onto, Shadow. Maria might be gone, but your love will always remain. Shadow: The light shines even though the star's gone. This whole mess is my fault. I've been so blinded by rage, I thought… I had no choice. |
„ |
~ Shadow realizing his mistakes, that the fruit of his foolish and evil actions was driven only by anger and revenge, not by his love for. |
Shadow the Hedgehog is a minor character in the 2022 action-adventure comedy film Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and one of the two secondary antagonists (alongside Dr. Robotnik) of its 2024 sequel Sonic the Hedgehog 3.
He is a vengeful and extraordinarily powerful anthropomorphic hedgehog that was related to a secret government experiment called Project Shadow run by G.U.N. from over 50 years prior. During his time as an experiment, he befriended a young human girl named Maria Robotnik, the granddaughter of Professor Gerald Robotnik, who was in charge of the project.
However, when G.U.N. issued an arrest warrant for Gerald, the professor tried to escape with Shadow and Maria, but the latter being killed in an explosion caused by a soldier firing at a tank filled with Shadow's chaotic energy. Following the incident, he was placed in stasis for a long time until he was awakened by Gerald, who sought to use Shadow in order to extract his revenge for his granddaughter's death, which also brought Shadow into conflict with Team Sonic.
He is voiced by Keanu Reeves, who also played Evil Ted in Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey, Don John in the 1993 Much Ado About Nothing film, Donnie Barksdale in The Gift, Donaka Mark in Man of Tai Chi, and David Griffin in The Watcher.
Appearance[]
Shadow's appearance is mostly similar to that of his video game counterpart, being an anthropomorphic extraterrestrial hedgehog with an appearance quite similar to that of Sonic while standing nearly a meter tall. Although physically resembling Sonic, Shadow differs in his black colouring, upward-facing quills colored with red markings, red eyes, a white fur collar on his thorax, and a more severe phacial build. Shadow also wears advanced red and white air shoes with inhibitor rings on his ankles, as well as white gloves with a black and red lower part equipped with another pair of inhibitor rings.
In his Super Shadow form, his black fur turns completely golden in a light shade, surrounded by an aura of chaos energy emanating from his body.
Personality[]
“ | Shadow's story began a lot like yours, Sonic. But where you found family and friends, Shadow found only pain and loss. | „ |
~ Commander Walters tells Sonic about Shadow's tragic life and how similar their stories were. |
Shadow is a complex individual who struggled to find the free will of doing what he believed was right. Bitter and resentful to the extreme, Shadow blames the entire world for Maria's death, stating that the pain he has experienced since then is what defines him. He has an immense hatred for the G.U.N due to their involvement in Maria's death as well as his imprisonment for 50 years. Shadow is severely traumatized by his experience of reliving Maria's death over and over again during his decades in stasis. He is not completely blinded by his rage and hatred, not being convinced that destroying humanity would have been what Maria would have wanted.
Despite his inner darkness, Shadow is not as monstrous and heartless as he appears, much less so than Gerald. While he is capable of causing pain to those he holds responsible for his misfortunes, Shadow has shown to have reservations, as he was confused to see that he had seriously injured Tom and not Commander Walters and seeing a horrified Sonic at his bedside made Shadow revisit Maria's death in comparison because of how the black hedgehog acted. He remained convinced, however, that he had done what he had to do in the name of revenge for Maria.
Ultimately, Shadow was shown to be a very ambiguous character. Seeing Sonic succumb to anger like he had before him, Shadow began to see the blue hedgehog differently, initially stating that they had become the same. Shadow would later openly criticize Sonic's choice to leave his family behind in the name of his desire for revenge, denouncing him as not being a hero since he had not cared for them, showing in a way that Shadow has a deep regard for family ties, even if he had no qualms about using them against Sonic.
Deep down, Shadow has no regard for his own life, not since he lost Maria. While he worked hard to help Gerald avenge Maria's death, Shadow lacked the motivation to go further, accepting both his defeat at the hands of Sonic and that he had to pay for what he had done to Tom, even encouraging Sonic to end his life. However, when Sonic chose to spare him despite his anger towards him, Shadow could not understand how Sonic could resist his own darkness like Shadow could not. Once Sonic shared with him his own experience of the pain of losing a loved one while stating that Maria's love for him was disruptive, Shadow finally realized how wrong he had been all along, how much he had let his bitterness cloud his judgment, and how much he had tainted Maria's memory, allowing him to finally heal from his trauma and darkness. Eager to make amends for his mistakes, Shadow turned on Gerald and helped Sonic stop the Eclipse Cannon, eventually also convincing Dr. Eggman to help him save Earth before Shadow risked his life to protect humanity.
Quotes[]
“ | Shadow: The light shines... even though the star’s gone... Maria Robotnik: Yeah. It does. I wonder which one you came from, Shadow. Shadow: I don’t know. I don’t know anything about my home. Maria Robotnik: This is your home, Shadow. Earth. Shadow: Maria… Do you think I’m… dangerous? Maria Robotnik: What are you talking about? Shadow: The way the scientists looked at me. I can tell they’re afraid. Like I’m the horrible thing from that movie we watched. I don’t know... what I am. Maria Robotnik: You’re my friend, and you can do or be anything you want. Not because of your powers, but because of who you are... in here. Shadow: I don't know what I'd do without you. |
„ |
~ Shadow to Maria |
“ | 2024? I've been trapped for 50 years? | „ |
~ Shadow finding out what year it was after escaping Prison Island, also his first words. |
“ | Why won’t you leave me ALONE!? | „ |
~ Shadow to the G.U.N. soldiers. |
“ | I don’t look like you. You look like me. Why do you look like me? | „ |
~ Shadow to Sonic. |
“ | You jumped out of a G.U.N. helicopter. There's nothing to talk about. | „ |
~ Shadow after Sonic tries to reason with him. |
“ | The more you talk, the harder I want to hit you! | „ |
~ Shadow to Sonic |
“ | Shadow: Professor? Gerald Robotnik: It's good to see you, Shadow. Shadow: I can't get her out of my head. The pain, it's too much. Gerald Robotnik: And that is why we have to punish them. |
„ |
~ Shadow reunites with Professor Gerald Robotnik after 50 years. |
“ | I’m tired of giving you warnings! | „ |
~ Shadow attacks Sonic in the abandoned G.U.N. base. |
“ | You must be the long-lost grandson. | „ |
~ Shadow meets Dr. Eggman. |
“ | Gabriella should kill them both. She is not a prize to be won. | „ |
~ Shadow watching a telenovela, saying Gabriella should kill Pablo and Juan |
“ | When we're done, there won't be anything left to rule. | „ |
~ Shadow revealing the Eclipse Cannon's true purpose to Agent Stone |
“ | Sonic: (infuriated) What did you do!? Shadow: ... What I had to. |
„ |
~ Shadow after gravely injuring Tom |
“ | Shadow: Professor, is this really what Maria would've wanted? Gerald: The question isn't what Maria would have wanted. It's what do they deserve. Remember what she meant to us… remember what they took from us. |
„ |
~ Shadow to Gerald |
“ | Sonic: You hurt my family! This ends now. Shadow: Now you know my anger. The pain I've felt for 50 years! And you've made the same choice I did. Sonic: I'M NOTHING LIKE YOU! Shadow: We'll see. |
„ |
~ Shadow comparing Sonic to himself |
“ | You're right about one thing: this ends now. | „ |
~ Shadow gaining his super form as he prepares to fight Sonic |
“ | Shadow: Why are you alone? Where are your friends? They tried to stop you, didn't they? But you came anyway. Your anger was too much. What kind of hero abandons his friends to pursue revenge? Abandons his family? Sonic: Don't you dare talk about my family. Shadow: And here I thought you cared for them. Especially the one… what's his name? Tom? |
„ |
~ Shadow confronting Sonic, lecturing him for abandoning his friends and family to seek revenge. |
“ | Go ahead, finish it! What are you waiting for? Do it! I’m right here. | „ |
~ Shadow encouraging Sonic to finish him off |
“ | What are you doing? You won. Take your revenge. | „ |
~ Shadow confused as to why Sonic spared him. |
“ | Don't tell me you got a catchphrase. | „ |
~ Shadow amused by Sonic saying "Gotta go fast!". |
“ | This is our last chance… to do the right thing. | „ |
~ Shadow convincing Dr. Eggman to help him destroy the Eclipse Cannon and save the Earth in honor for Maria. |
Trivia[]
- Shadow's origins vastly differ to his original counterpart, who was created by his version of Professor Gerald Robotnik using DNA from the evil alien overlord, Black Doom.
- In the film, it’s seen that Shadow was found in a black and red meteorite similar to that of the Black Comet. This heavily implies that like his original counterpart, he hails from the Black Arms, and ties to it in a future release.
- After the release of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Keanu Reeves was highly rumored to be voicing Shadow the Hedgehog in Sonic the Hedgehog 3. It wasn't until April 2024 that it was finally confirmed that Reeves had been cast as Shadow.
- As mentioned multiple times, Shadow's entire story is a dark parallel of Sonic's:
- Both of them left their homeworld and felt like they didn't belong on Earth, due to deeming powers dangerous.
- Both of them lost a close person in their lives. Sonic lost his first adoptive mother, Longclaw, while Shadow lost his best friend, Maria.
- Both were encouraged to follow their hearts and make the right choices by someone close to them. For Sonic, it was Tom. For Shadow, it was Maria.
- Both of them became consumed by vengeance. Shadow sought to destroy the world after Maria's death, while Sonic tried to kill Shadow after he greatly injured Tom.
- Overall, if Sonic became consumed by vengeance after Longclaw's demise or Tom's near-death experience, he would've ended up like Shadow.
- To design Shadow in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, the filmmakers had Super Sonic's model recolored as time constraints meant they couldn't make another model of his own for Shadow, plus it wouldn't make sense to make a new model for a character who would appear just a few seconds.
- Interestingly, in the first Sonic the Hedgehog film, Sonic and the Wachowskis watch Speed, which was one of Keanu Reeves' earliest films.
- Another interesting fact would be the 2001 film, Sugar & Spice, which featured James Marsden, who plays Tom Wachowski, had the 1991 film, Point Break, another of Keanu's earliest films, inspiring a group of cheerleaders to commit armed robbery.
- Keanu Reeves and Ben Schwartz previously worked together in the 2022 DC animated film, DC League of Super-Pets. Ben voiced Mark, and Keanu voiced Batman.
- Jeff Fowler, the director of the Sonic the Hedgehog live-action films, previously directed Shadow the Hedgehog's mainstream incarnation in the CGI cutscenes of the controversial 2005 spin-off video game, Shadow the Hedgehog.
- Unlike his counterpart in the games, Shadow has an extra quill on the back of his head, making him seven quills instead of six.
- In the games, Shadow has spent his life on the space colony ARK since his creation, unlike in the film where Shadow has practically lived on Earth since he crash-landed there, with no memory of having a life before that or knowing where he came from. Additionally, Shadow was an experiment to unlock the secrets of immortality in the games, unlike the movie which portrays Shadow as a lab rat whose powers were pushed to the extreme to develop energy sources. Also, the relationship between Shadow and Maria is explored more in the film compared to the games, somewhat similarly reflecting the relationship between Sonic and his adopted human family.
- In many ways, Shadow's personality is somewhat of a departure from his original counterpart.
- He is not as arrogant, never gloating over the title of Ultimate Lifeform, nor does he ever proclaim his superiority, though he remains disdainful of his opponents.
- His hatred is mostly directed towards the G.U.N instead of humanity.
- He is not completely blinded by anger, having at no point sought revenge for Maria's death after his awakening until he met Gerald again.
- He does not believe himself to be invincible due to being the Ultimate Lifeform, being much more affable.
- Although serious, he is a bit more open-minded compared to his game counterpart who has always been very closed, making personal remarks and comments on most things, such as when he gives his opinion on a telenovela.
- He is not as ruthless, becoming confused when he seriously injured Tom whom he mistook for Walters and seeing Sonic being horrified by it.
- He is not as stubborn and determined to go all the way, only seeking to make humanity pay because Gerald was manipulating him, though Shadow was not convinced that was what Maria would have wanted. He was also able to accept both defeat and death, as he even encouraged Sonic to finish him off.
- Finally, Shadow has been shown to be much more sensitive, as shown in his personality before Maria's death and after he realized his wrongdoing, as he was notably amused that Sonic had a catchphrase. He also openly admitted that he was suffering internally, something his counterpart would never have admitted. Most notably, he openly criticized Sonic's choice to abandon his friends after comparing him to himself, showing that Shadow is not completely indifferent.
- Shadow seems to enjoy the song "End of the Line" by the band Traveling Wilburys, the first song Maria played for him and also the first song he heard when he woke up when he went to the abandoned G.U.N. base.
External Links[]
- Shadow the Hedgehog on the Sonic Cinematic Universe Wiki
- Shadow the Hedgehog on the Sonic Wiki
- Shadow the Hedgehog on the Inconsistently Heinous Wiki
- Shadow the Hedgehog on the Inconsistently Admirable Wiki
- Shadow the Hedgehog on the Villains Wiki
- Shadow the Hedgehog on the Heroes Wiki
[]
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Animated Features Live-Action Features Animated Television Live-Action Television See Also |
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Eggman Empire Team Dark Babylon Rogues Eggman Nega's Forces Deadly Six Starline Empire Clean Sweep Inc. Black Arms Knuckles Clan The Hooligans Hard-Boiled Heavies Solaris Nocturnus Clan Battle Kukku Empire Witchcarters Storybook Villains Classic Time Period Sonic Adventures LEGO Dimensions Live-Action Extraterrestrials Others Others See Also |