Shadow (character)
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Shadow the Hedgehog is a prominent anti-hero and the rival of Sonic the Hedgehog in the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. He was created to be the "ultimate life form" by Dr. Eggman's grandfather, Professor Gerald Robotnik. Shadow does whatever is necessary to achieve his goals, and because of this he has fought both alongside and against Sonic the Hedgehog; Shadow and Sonic have somewhat of a frenemy relationship and rivalry. Shadow often fights alongside E-123 Omega and Rouge the Bat, who became his closest friends and allies. While Shadow typically shares most of Sonic's abilities, Shadow primarily uses a variety of "Chaos" powers to battle enemies, most notably Chaos Control, a power that allows him to distort time and space. Shadow the Hedgehog crosses over with the Mario franchise in the Mario & Sonic and Super Smash Bros. series of games.
He was voiced by Jason Griffith, along with Sonic the Hedgehog and Jet the Hawk, in his first three Mario crossover appearances, and is currently voiced by Kirk Thornton since Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games.
History
Mario & Sonic series
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games
Shadow is a playable character on Sonic's team in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games. His character type is Speed, equalling him with Sonic, but he has higher stats than Sonic in other events. In Dream Fencing, his special move is transforming into Super Shadow and charge forward with multiple stabs of his epée. In Dream Table Tennis for his Special Shot, he jumps up, twirls vertically, lands, inhales and then fires the ball super fast at the opponent. Shadow has the lowest level stamina among all the characters.
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games
Shadow also appeared in the sequel, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games. He appeared as a speed character, like in the predecessor. However, unlike with the previous game, Shadow is slightly slower than Sonic, but he has the strongest acceleration abilities in the game.
Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games
Shadow returns as a Speed type playable character in the Wii version of Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games, where he appears in the opening with all of the other athletes as well as later competing in Football and Track Cycling - Team Pursuit. A Mii outfit based on Shadow also appears in the game, and Shadow appears as a character in London Party that can be spoken to in order to play certain minigames and earn stickers.
In the Nintendo 3DS version, Shadow is included in the Challengers group, meaning that he is only playable in certain Events. In the Story Mode, Shadow first appears asking Sonic, Tails and Yoshi to share the information they know about the Phantasmal Fog and Fog Imposters after he had defeated some with Silver, and later helps the group chase down Jet, eventually being the one who challenges him to an event. With Jet's help, the group find the Fog machine, and after defeating Bowser Jr., shadow destroys it, clearing the fog from the area. Shadow also appears to offer support to Mario, Luigi, Sonic and Tails when they confront Bowser and Dr. Eggman, later appearing at the opening ceremony. Shadow also appears in the Challengers Bonus episodes, as Bowser Jr. heads to London to find him when he hears that he and Silver are defeating Dr. Eggman's robots, and accepts Shadow and Silver's challenge when he arrives and manages to take care of the robots himself. After they are defeated, Shadow and Silver pretend to be upset, but later wish Bowser Jr. good luck for the games before heading off. A badge of Shadow can also be obtained from the badge machine.
Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games
Shadow is playable again in the fourth game of the Mario & Sonic series: Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games. Like previous games in the series, he is classified as a Speed type.
Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games
Shadow is a default playable character in Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. In the Nintendo 3DS version, he is only available to play with in the Football and 100m events. He is available in all events in the Wii U version. If the player's Mii avatar interacts with Shadow, the latter will get irritated at the avatar mixing him up with Sonic and demand he not put him on the same boat as him, referring to Sonic as an "inferior half-wit."
Super Smash Bros. series
- “Chaos CONTROL!”
- —Shadow the Hedgehog
Shadow appears as an Assist Trophy character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Shadow is an unlockable Assist Trophy, unlocked after the player unlocks Sonic, though in the later installments, as with every other Assist Trophy, he is available from the start. Shadow uses Chaos Control to temporarily slow down time around opponents (having the same effect as the Timer). In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Shadow is seen holding up a Chaos Emerald, and before the move ends, all opponents freeze for a short period of time.
In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U and Ultimate, like several other characters, Shadow is voiced by a different voice actor in different languages (e.g. he has his French voice in the French version).
Profiles and statistics
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games
Profile
Like Sonic the Hedgehog, Shadow is an extremely fast hedgehog that can give his more famous blue rival a run for his money in most Speed events. Additionally, his accuracy will help give him a leg up in the events like the archery and fencing.
Stats
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games
Profile
Shadow the Hedgehog, in his black fur and red stripes, returns to test his skills in the Olympic Winter Games. With the ability to harness the power of the Chaos Emerald, Shadow can perform Chaos Boost on the Wii and DS, and Chaos Control on the DS.
Wii stats
DS stats
Super Smash Bros. series
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Trophy
| Name | Image | Game | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shadow the Hedgehog | 
|
GCN SONIC HEROES GCN SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG |
Shadow The Hedgehog is a black hedgehog who resembles Sonic. He was created by Dr. Eggman's grandfather, Gerald Robotnik, to be the ultimate life-form. Not only does he look like Sonic, but he has equal abilities. He has great skill with the space-time warping technique called Chaos Control. To reach his goals, he'll use any means necessary. |
Sticker
| Image | Game | Effect |
|---|---|---|
|
Sonic Adventure 2 Battle | [Specials: Direct] - Attack +20 Usable by: Sonic |
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U trophy
| Name | 3DS Image | Wii U Image | Appears in | NTSC-U Description | PAL Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shadow Shadow the Hedgehog |
|
|
GCN Sonic Adventure 2 Battle (02/2002) GCN Shadow the Hedgehog (11/2005) |
Engineered to be the ultimate life-form by the brilliant Professor Gerald Robotnik, this black hedgehog appears very much like Sonic. He has a dark side, however. In Smash Bros., he uses Chaos Control to warp space-time, slowing every fighter down except the player who summoned him. | A black hedgehog created by Professor Gerald Robotnik to be the Ultimate Lifeform. Though he looks a lot like Sonic, he's ruthless and will do anything to achieve his goals. In this game, he uses Chaos Control to warp time and space, slowing down everything around whoever summoned him. |
Blue indicates exclusive to the Wii U version.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate spirits
| Name | Image | Game | Type | Class | Effect | How to obtain | Spirit battle | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opponents | Battle conditions | Stage | Song | |||||||
| Shadow the Hedgehog | 
|
Sonic the Hedgehog Series | Primary (2) | Ace | red Can be enhanced to Super Shadow at Lv. 99 |
Spirit Board | Sonic | Rule: Assist Trophy Enemies (Shadow) Rule: Item: Timer
|
New Pork City (Battlefield) | Live & Learn |
| Super Shadow | 
|
Sonic the Hedgehog Series | Primary (2) | Legend | red Undamaged Attack & Speed ↑ |
Enhanced from Shadow the Hedgehog | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Crossover appearances
| Title | Description | Release date | System/format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games | Playable character | 2007 | Wii |
| Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games | Playable character | 2008 | Nintendo DS |
| Super Smash Bros. Brawl | Cameo as a sticker, a trophy, and an Assist Trophy | 2008 | Wii |
| Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games | Playable character | 2009 | Wii, Nintendo DS |
| Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games | Playable character | 2011 | Wii |
| Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games | Playable character | 2012 | Nintendo 3DS |
| Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games | Playable character | 2013 | Wii U |
| Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U | Cameo as a trophy and an Assist Trophy | 2014 | Nintendo 3DS, Wii U |
| Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games | Playable character | 2016 | Nintendo 3DS, Wii U, Arcade |
| Super Smash Bros. Ultimate | Cameo as spirits and an Assist Trophy | 2018 | Nintendo Switch |
| Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 | Playable character | 2019 | Nintendo Switch |
Portrayals
- Jason Griffith (2003-2010)
- Kirk Thornton (2010-present)
- Kōji Yusa (Japanese; 2001-present)
- Benoît DuPac (French; 2011-present)
- Claudio Moneta (Italian; 2013-present)
- Klaus Lochthove (German; 2011-present)
- Manuel Gimeno (Spanish; 2011-present)
Voice samples
 Super Smash Bros. Brawl - "Chaos Control!" (Jason Griffith, 2007) | File info |
| Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U - "Chaos Control!" (Kirk Thornton, 2014; recycled from Sonic Generations) | File info |
| Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 - "This one looks like fun!" (Kirk Thornton, 2019; recycled and edited from Sonic Generations) | File info |
Gallery
Artwork
- Shadow.jpg
Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games
Sprites
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games
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Screenshots
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Wii)
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | シャドウ・ザ・ヘッジホッグ[?] Shadou za Hejjihoggu |
? | |
| Chinese | 夏特[?] Xià tè |
Literal pronunciation of "Shadow" | |
| Dutch | Shadow the Hedgehog[?] | - | |
| German | Shadow der Igel[?] | Shadow the Hedgehog | |
| Italian | Shadow il Riccio[?] | Shadow the Hedgehog | |
| Korean | 섀도우 더 헤지혹[?] Shaedou deo Hejihok |
- | |
| Russian | Ёж Шедоу[?] Yozh Shedou |
Ёж means Hedgehog, and Шедоу is a cyrillization of Shadow. | |
| Spanish (NOA) | Shadow the Hedgehog[?] | - | |
| Spanish (NOE) | Shadow el Erizo[?] | Shadow the Hedgehog |
External links
- Hedgehogs
- Unlockable characters
- Playable characters
- Third-party characters
- Assist Trophy characters
- Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games characters
- Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games characters
- Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games characters
- Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games characters
- Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games characters
- Sonic the Hedgehog series
- Super Smash Bros. Brawl stickers
- Super Smash Bros. Brawl trophies
- Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS trophies
- Super Smash Bros. for Wii U trophies
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate spirits
