Shadow the Hedgehog

Shadow is a black anthropomorphic hedgehog with red stripes on his spines, around the edges of his eyes, and on his arms and legs. He has red eyes, a patch of white fur on his chest, and a brown snout. He has six spines on his head, four of which curve upward, and two that curve downward, he has two spines on his back, and a small tail. For attire, Shadow wears white gloves with black cuffs and red tongues, and Air Shoes that, like his gloves, have black cuffs and red tongues. On each of his wrists and ankles he wears a single gold ring.

After Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), Shadow is slightly taller, the red paint on his Air Shoes is scratched off the front, and his eyes have turned an orange-red color.

Shadow generally has a reserved, focused, and serious attitude, rarely taking things lightly. He is primarily focused on his objectives, and because of this, he can reach different levels of morality depending on his missions, taking on the role of an anti-hero. Shadow possesses a large ego, is usually very confident in himself and his abilities, even smiling confidently at his skills or when challenging his opponents. This sometimes turns into arrogance, calling himself the "Supreme Lifeform" and often belittling his opponents and insulting their lack of strength. He believes that no one can beat him and tends to see anyone who challenges him as a fool. Shadow also has a ruthless and inexorable advantage in combat that most of the other characters in the series lack and shows a natural "killer instinct." He generally prefers to do things alone, but even so, Shadow values the company of Rouge the Bat, and when necessary, he is able to work alongside other heroes.

As the most violent and ruthless character in the series at times, Shadow's cruelty and aggression mean that enemies never take him lightly; he is one of the few people Sonic takes seriously. Besides his cold and violent demeanor, Shadow can be arrogant and stubborn. He treats others in a very insensitive way, expressing his opinion regardless of how ruthless it is and without caring what the response will be. Shadow is also shown to have a sharp wit; during the Space Colony ARK incident, after being called a fake by Sonic, he replies that it's not worth considering him a fake. During the Black Arms incident, he also mocks Doom's Eye for having problems with G.U.N. This attitude is reflected in the original Japanese version, where Shadow omits honorifics and speaks very highly of himself (if not rudely). At the same time, however, in Japanese, he normally uses the pronoun "boku" when referring to himself as opposed to the more arrogant/confident pronoun "ore" (used by characters like Sonic and Knuckles). In Japanese, he's also much more of a tsundere type and tends to have a slightly more friendly rivalry with Sonic, whereas in English he's overly competitive.

Alternatively, Shadow acts heroically in other adventures. In Sonic Adventure 2, it's revealed that he tried to destroy humanity because Maria, his best friend, had been taken from him. In games like Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), Shadow acts heroically, and in Shadow the Hedgehog he even saved the world.

Just as Shadow's motivations are never easy to understand, he spends as much time grappling with his own inner demons as he does with his rival, Sonic. In the past, Shadow has shown a degree of mental instability, particularly post-traumatic stress disorder. This was demonstrated by instances of post-traumatic memories of Maria's face before and during the events of the Black Arms incident, although it could be argued that the instances in the latter game were simply an effect of his amnesia. On one occasion, during the Space Colony ARK incident, seeing police sirens flashing caused him to intensely recall the massacre aboard the ARK and, in particular, Maria's death. Shadow was soon able to overcome this in the Black Arms and Emerl incidents, during which he chose to move on with the past, but keep Maria in his heart. In fact, his personal journey since Eggman awakened him has seen him confront the shackles of his past, such as bonds, destiny, and memories. Since then, he seems to be reaching a point where he can "do what his heart desires" in his own way.

During the many incidents in which Shadow participates, he pursues his enemies with relentless and unwavering determination. He will generally go to great lengths to achieve something he desires or feels should be, regardless of the cost. Before the war to reclaim the planet, it is strongly implied that Shadow mercilessly massacred an entire mercenary band not only in an extremely dismissive and indifferent manner (as he didn't even remember the incident a few months later), but also seemed somewhat proud, mocking the mercenary defense squad by saying that they themselves needed a defense squad. He also demonstrated quite rude language during the Black Arms incident.

Shadow possesses a strong sense of identity; after Rouge falsely told him that he wasn't the Ultimate Life Form due to a lab report, he told her that even if his memories were false, he was still himself.[13] Similarly, while in the Neo Metal Sonic incident, aboard an Egg Fleet, he mentions that even without his memories, he is still the ultimate life form, Shadow the Hedgehog. These qualities make him difficult to manipulate by others.

In Shadow's own words, he's not interested in peace, nor does he care what happens to others. Truly, he simply dislikes fools doing as they please. While this might make it seem like Shadow is firmly opposed to villainy, he's actually very indiscriminate about who he confronts, choosing to face anyone he deems foolish, whether villains like Dr. Eggman or heroes like Sonic. Similarly, he doesn't want thanks for the help he provides when he does something heroic, believing that showing gratitude is a waste of time. However, despite his apathetic nature, Shadow isn't without compassion; since his reformation at the end of the Space Colony ARK incident, he has ultimately fought for a greater good. When Omega began its attack at the start of the Neo Metal Sonic incident, Shadow could have easily forgotten about Rouge and confronted Omega without defending her, but instead he saved her from Omega despite having absolutely no memory of her. He was also shown to be legitimately shocked when he learned that his goal of obtaining the Chaos Emeralds to restore his memories was actually manipulated by Black Doom to wipe out humanity. Similarly, when the Commander finally confronted him with his own memories of Shadow's creation, Shadow agreed to face trial if he was truly responsible for the ARK massacre 50 years ago. During the Wisp incident, Shadow was also shown to be concerned about the possibility of Sonic and Tails getting hurt while trying to save the Wisps, much to his surprise. However, ultimately he remained dismissive of his concern for them.

Shadow is often depressed by the loss of Maria, which is why he keeps to himself, but his relationship with Maria is obvious as he does everything possible to protect the planet and keep alive her dream of peace and prosperity. He also maintains a strong bond with his teammates, Rouge and Omega, demonstrating that while his attitude makes him seem like a careless person, he has a certain amount of compassion, more than he lets on. Even so, Shadow ignores most of the kindness or sympathy shown to him; during the Neo Metal Sonic incident, when Rouge showed concern for Shadow upon seeing a broken android of himself, thus suspecting that Team Dark might also be an android, Shadow abruptly dismissed her concern. During the Black Arms incident, after Sonic suggested a "friendly competition," Shadow flatly rejected his offer. Sometimes, however, Shadow shows that he appreciates genuine care; at the climax of the Space Colony ARK incident, after Amy reminded him of his promise to Maria, Shadow openly decided that he would keep his promise to protect the planet for both Maria and the hedgehog. Another case is during the aborted Solaris incident, when Rouge told him that she would always be by his side, he acknowledged it.

Despite the fact that Shadow often fights for the common good, he is largely considered an anti-hero due to his morality and the means he uses to achieve his desired goals. He does what is necessary to get what he wants or feels is right, although this enthusiasm leads him to take risks and get into situations without fully thinking them through. Along with Rouge, he has also won cash and jewelry prizes by winning the second World Grand Prix, and he and Rouge skipped the opening and closing ceremonies of the event, arriving late without a third teammate and, if they win the Grand Prix, immediately starting to walk away with what turned out to be fake versions of the prize money and gems. Regardless, Shadow has his moments of selflessness and heroism; he almost sacrificed his life at the end of Space Colony ARK to save the Earth, and he helped Silver uncover the truth of Project Solaris after saving Sonic from it in an aborted timeline.

In his early years, Shadow was a helpful and even somewhat shy hedgehog. In the Japanese version, he had a different voice due to his shyness. He cherished his creator, Gerald Robotnik, and his best friend, Maria Robotnik; he considered them his family. Witnessing Maria's death during the GUN invasion, Shadow was not only shocked but also anguished at his inability to save her and instead having to save himself. He often listened to Maria talk about the wonders of Planet Earth. In the present, Shadow has no appreciation for people or the planet Earth itself, but he defends the planet in honor of Maria.