Shadow the Hedgehog

Shadow the Hedgehog is one of Sonic's arch-rivals and one of the main characters from the Sonic the Hedgehog series.

Background[]

Fifty years before the events of Sonic Adventure 2, a top-secret project known as "Project Shadow" had begun on the Space Colony ARK. Led by Professor Gerald Robotnik, it was a government-sanctioned initiative to create "The Ultimate Lifeform," an immortal being that could be used for the benefit of the nation, likely in a militaristic fashion. While Gerald had initial misgivings to the purpose of the research he was assigned to, he realized that his results might be able to save his granddaughter, Maria. Suffering from the incurable disease Neuro-Immune Deficiency Syndrome, Maria only had a short time left to live, and Gerald was willing to do whatever it took to save her life. Going against his worries of stepping into territory man had no business playing with, the professor immediately began work, hoping that he could apply any newly-gained knowledge to find a cure to N.I.D.S.

Even with the resources at his disposal, Professor Gerald was unable to make significant progress. Without alerting anyone, Gerald decided to plea to the stars for help, contacting the Black Arms race, an alien civilization that lived upon the Black Doom, a celestial object that passed near the planet every fifty years. Its leader, Black Doom, offered to assist Gerald in his quest. He offered his blood - which ended up being the key to perfect the ultimate lifeform - in exchange for the seven Chaos Emeralds, which he would collect the next time he passed through. Knowing that the Black Arms' intentions were less than desirable, Gerald made the deal regardless, albeit with preparations to defeat the Black Arms with the cannon built into the ARK, and was able to successfully create Shadow the Hedgehog.

Once brought to life, Shadow immediately befriended Maria, and they became close during their short time together. Gerald, meanwhile, made precautions for the return of the Black Arms, ensuring that the Eclipse Cannon - an extremely powerful laser built into the ARK - was compatible with the seven Chaos Emeralds, so that when they did return with the Black Comet, humanity would be able to defend itself instead of bowing to their whims.

However, Gerald's progress was ruined when it was leaked to G.U.N. how he was able to create the successful prototype. During the meeting between Gerald and the Black Arms, one of the other children aboard the ARK had accidentally seen what transpired and reported back to those in charge. As ties between the ARK and the United Federation had already been strained, hearing the news of the dealings with an alien race scared those in charge. Afraid of the implications, it was decided to launch an invasion and put a stop to the work being done there.

What happened next was nothing short of madness, as G.U.N. troops descended onto the ARK, causing chaos and confusion wherever they went. Immediately they went after the Biolizard, which they thought was the successful "Project Shadow" prototype, and in the process of putting the creature into stasis, lost quite a few soldiers. From there they went about doing damage control, shutting down everything, getting everyone off the ARK, and killing those who resisted if need be. Knowing that the G.U.N. forces would be there at any moment, Maria convinced Shadow to enter an escape pod, her final wish to him that he give the people on the planet a chance to be happy. Wishing him goodbye, Shadow could do nothing as he watched the G.U.N. soldiers storm into the lab, firing a shot which would forever change the hedgehog's life as it ended the life of Maria Robotnik.

Learning of his granddaughter's death, Professor Gerald soon went mad with grief, swearing vengeance on humanity for taking away the only thing that ever meant anything to him. Though just what exactly transpired is cloudy, what is known is that both Gerald and the escape pod that held Shadow were gathered by G.U.N., Shadow having to be put to sleep in a stasis capsule within Prison Island, and Gerald being incarcerated and charged with the crimes that happened aboard the ARK.

Stats[]

Attack Potency: At least Planet Level, likely far higher (Comparable to Silver, who stopped a meteor from Iblis, Sonic, and 7 Chaos Emeralds Emerl, who was powerful enough to destroy the planet) | Large Planet Level, likely Low Multiverse Level (With Super Sonic and Silver's help, defeated Solaris, who eats dimensions and was going to cause time to collapse and disappear into nothing. Powered by the Chaos Emeralds, which were stated to shake the foundation of the universe.)

Speed: Faster Than Light (Keeps up with Sonic, who dodges light beams from Hotarus) | Massively Faster Than Light+ (Flew from the edge to the center of the universe to fight Solaris, and is comparable to Super Sonic in speed), possibly Supraconceptual at his peak (Could fight Solaris and dodge its attacks. However, whether Solaris existed in only three points of time or across all of time is not made explicitly clear, so it's possible Shadow could have only needed to stay at one point in time to fight Solaris.)

Durability: At least Planet Level, likely far higher | Large Planet Level, likely Low Multiversal Level

Hax: Time Manipulation (Via Chaos Control), Space Manipulation (Via Chaos Control), Teleportation (Via Chaos Control), Explosion Manipulation (Via Chaos Blast and Burst), Healing (Via Shadow Heal), Battlefield Removal (Via Chaos Rift), Forcefield Creation (Via Shadow Guard and Shields). Fire Manipulation (Via Flame Ring), Flight (Via Hover Boots and Super Shadow) and Invulnerability (Super Shadow only), Gravity Manipulation, Fear Manipulation, Resurrection, Life Absorption, Death Manipulation, Mental Interference, Probability Manipulation, Invisibility, Power Stealing, Status Effect Inducement, Stat Manipulation, Immunity to Status Effects, Weakening of Insects, Durability Negation, Sleep Manipulation (via Chaos Rift)

Intelligence: Average

Stamina: High (Can keep on running from long distances)

Powers, Techniques, and Equipment[]

Powers[]

Chaos Control: Shadow's main ability that allows him to teleport, stop time, slow down time and even time travel, though he needs to perform with another character.
Invincibility: The Invincibility capsule turns Shadow invincible for a brief period.
Spatial Manipulation: The Void Wisp can create black holes.
Probability Manipulation: Items like Lucky Gloves can boost Shadow's luck.
Explosion Manipulation: Via the Black Bomb Wisp.
Immunity to Status Effects: The Immunity Idol protects against weakening, sluggishness, poisoning, stunning, and other status effects.
Sound Manipulation: Mega Horn blasts sound energy that destroys projectiles and damages enemies.
Weakening of Insects: Via Bug Spray.
Status Effect Inducement: Via the Rhythm Wisp and Octo-Ink blinding opponents, as well as Shadow's ability to weaken or make enemies sluggish with his POW Moves.
Shielding
Durability Negation: Chaos Spear ignores armor.
Mental Interference: Bepke causes enemies to target their attacks to Shadow by taunting them.
Resurrection: Via Ring of Life, Angel Amulet, and other items.
Stat Manipulation: Via Gear Change and Shadow's stat boosting equipment.
Invisibility/Power Stealing: Jade Ghost turns Shadow invisible and lets him steal Wisps from opponents.
Fire Manipulation: Via the Burst Wisp, certain Chao, and certain equipment.
Ice Manipulation: Via certain Chao, and certain equipment.
Earth Manipulation: The Quake Wisp makes earthen blocks, and the Earth Ring adds an earth element to Shadowc's attacks.
Electricity Manipulation: Ivory Lightning creates electricity to shock enemies.
Water Manipulation: Certain Chao and the Water Ring add a water element to Shadow's attacks.
Wind Manipulation: The Wind Ring adds a wind element to Shadow's attacks.
Life Absorption: Via the Nocturn Blade.
Death Manipulation: Spartoi has a chance to instantly KO a foe.
Fear Manipulation: The Spooky Charm causes enemy to sometimes become so terrified they flee the battle.
Gravity Manipulation: The Arks of the Cosmos can manipulate gravity.
Summoning: Shadow can summon an Octo-Ink creature.
Creation: Shadow can make items like bowling ball bombs and soda cans with the proper power-up.
Chaos Spear: Spears made out of Chaos energy, either he throws them like a javelin or he summons them midair.
Chaos Blast: Unleashes a red wave of Chaos energy akin to an explosion.
Chaos Lance: A stronger and longer version of the Chaos Spear.
Chaos Boost: When his meter is full of Chaos Drive, releases a red aura around to boost his powers and strength.
Chaos Burst: Teleports near to his opponent and unleashes a mini Chaos Blast.
Chaos Magic: Snapping his fingers causes a temporal rift that harms his opponent.
Chaos Roaming: Throwing out a ball made of distorted space, it follows Shadow when he runs and will damage his opponents.
Chaos Nightmare: Releases orbs made of Chaos energy surrounding both of his fists.
Chaos Upper: Thursts one fist forward while releasing a Chaos energy around it.
Chaos Rift: Fires a rift in time and space to banish his foes.
Shadow Heal: Cures every damage from his opponent.
Shadow Guard: Creates a barrier made of Chaos energy to protect him from any attack.
Chaos Ball: Creates a ball of Chaos energy and whacks his opponents with it.

Super Shadow

Chaos Arrow: Rapid-fires a weaker Chaos Spear, but if he charges it at the right time, fires a powerful wave.
Spear of Light: Fires multiple Chaos Lances towards his opponent.

Techniques[]

Spin Dash: Like his rival, forms into an oval buzzsaw to tear through his opponents while moving at impressive speeds.
Electro Boost: Shadow dashes forward, coated with electricity.
Drac o' Lantern: Shadow summons ethereal jack o' lanterns to attack foes.
Homing Attack: Similar to Spin Dash, but performs it by homing his opponents in midair.
Shadow Boost: Propels himself forward, faster than before, while an orange barrier takes shape.
Lightspeed Dash: Allows Shadow to travel through a trail of rings and even attack his opponents at the speed of light.
Black Tornado: Performs a mini-size tornado that allows him to disarm or confuse his foes.
Fire Somersault: Equipped with the Flame Ring, Shadow performs a move like the Spin Dash, but with fire following him.
Spin Kick: Shadow performs a breakdance-style move that lets his hover shoes shoot tiny amount of fires. If he performs it for the third time, a tornado will take shape that'll suck up his opponents in.
Air Boost: By expending some air from his Gear, Shadow is able to boost forward at high speeds
Drift: Allows Shadow to turn tight corners by expending air
Turbulence Ride: By riding the turbulence of opponents, Shadow can increase his speed and perform tricks to increase his air count
Tricks: By performing tricks in the air, Shadow recovers air to continue performing Air Actions with his gear
Air Ride: Allows Shadow to fly through the air by traveling through boost rings
Power Smash: Allows Shadow to break through massive obstacles by punching his way through
Gravity Control: Allows Shadow to manipulate gravity to hover in midair, lifting all nearby objects up with him. Using this, Shadow can manipulate his direction before blasting off with a burst of speed, destroying all objects he lifted into the air. This technique also allows Shadow to ride along walls
Gravity Dive: With this, Shadow can use the power of gravity to boost forward at high speeds. Any large object he hits in midair causes him to boost forward at great speeds, known as a Meteor Burst, which leaves behind a ring that others can go through to boost as well
Grind: Shadow can grind along rails to boost his Air/GP as well as take shortcuts
Gear Change: When enough rings are collected, Shadow can sacrifice them to power up his Extreme Gear for a variety of effects, such as boosting the amount of rings she can carry, or even changing his Gear's type altogether
Kick-Dash: Shadow kicks off a wall before moving forward at high speeds.
Tornado Trap
Bowling Strike: Shadow hurls an enormous bowling ball at enemies. Can also be done with bombs

Knuckles Express: Shadow sends Knuckles flying for a sweeping attack that may distract the entire opposing team.
Hard Line: Knuckles teams up with Shadow and Shade to deliver a crushing attack likely to distract the target.
Atomic Strike: Shadow and Sonic rapidly spinball around the opposing team to create a devastating electrical attack.
Focus Field: Shadow and Omega combine their strongest attacks on one target damaging it and possibly leaving it vulnerable.
Metal Storm: Shadow and Rouge use Omega as a torpedo in a brutal attack that has a chance to stun a foe.

Equipment[]

Hover Shoes: Created by Gerald Robotnik, these shoes have shown to give Shadow the ability to fly and somewhat keep up with Sonic.
Inhibitor Rings: Shadow wears two bracelets around his wrist to restrain his chaos powers. Removing them will give Shadow a boost in power, but drain his powers down quickly.
Flame Ring: Gives Shadow fire manipulation and the Fire Somersault.
Shadow Rifle: Shadow's most powerful gun that can one shot a lot of enemies with some exceptions

Omochao Gun: A weapon that fires Omochao as ammunition. If it hits an enemy or wall, it will bounce upon contact.
Satellite Gun: Allows a satellite to fire a huge laser nuke onto the ground.
Samurai Sword: Shadow has his own katana that is strong enough to cut almost anything.
Shields: Like his blue rival, Shadow also has his own shield, however, one blow will be enough to make it disappear.
Gear: Shadowcan equip a variety of items and equipment in Sonic Chronicles.
Chao: Shadow can equip a variety of Chao to assist him in battle.
Extreme Gear: Shadow uses a variety of Extreme Gear to race with, seen here.
Action Items: A series of power-ups Shadow can use in order to boost his chances against the competition, or in some instances mess himself up. Some of these include:
- Bowling Bomb
- Speed Up
- Ankle Weight: Lowers Shadow's speed significantly
- Rings/Air/GP Up
- Ink Bomb: Covers Shadow's eyes with distracting colored ink
- Octo-Ink: Sprays enemies with ink to distort their vision.
- Attack: Shadow jumps off his board and runs forward. If he comes in contact with an enemy he damages them heavily, and Shadow can also use special shortcuts he couldn't use otherwise
- Soda Rocket: Provides a burst of speed by jumping on a soda can
- Bowling Strike: Same as Bowling Bomb but with a regular bowling ball
- Target Torpedo: Shadow fires a torpedo with homing capabilities
- Tee Shot: Stuns racers or opponents who have the advantage over Shadow
- Free Throw: Tee Shot Shadow uses when riding a bike
- Speed Shoes: Grant a boost of speed.
- Confusion Star: Inverts an opponent's movements.
- Manual Rocket: A missile that detonates on contact with enemies.
- Energy Shield
- Mine: A device to drop behind Shadow that blows up oncoming enemies or stops projectiles.
- KO Glove: A boxing glove that rebounds off walls to strike enemies.
- Giant Rocket: A massive missile with a huge blast radius that travels on its own and can be detonated remotely.
- Pocket Rainbow: Blinds the opponent.
- Bowling Bomb: A giant bomb that rolls down the track until hitting an enemy or after some time passes.

Keys[]

Base Shadow | Super Shadow

Minor Feats[]

Attack Potency/Strength[]

Base Shadow

Able to flip buses, trucks and concrete walls.
Casually destroys robots with no sweat.
Knocked Silver with a roundhouse kick.
Chaos Blast can one-shot the Death Egg.

Super Shadow

Lifted the Black Comet.

Speed/Reactions[]

Base Shadow

Nearly equal to Sonic.
Dodges lasers from G.U.N robots with ease.
Dodged a barrage of bullets from Omega.

Super Shadow

Flew from the edge of the universe to the center of it.

Durability/Endurance[]

Base Shadow

Was sent flying towards a wall by Sonic.
Bullets are futile against Shadow.
Smashed into a spire by Mephiles.
Sent flying dozen of feet by Mephiles shockwaves.
Was alright when Infinite caused an explosion sending him away.

Super Shadow

Survived a fall from orbit.
Took attacks from Solaris.
Durable enough to take attacks from Devil Doom.

Skill/Intelligence[]

Base Shadow

Defeated Sonic in their first encounter

Fought through legions of G.U.N soldiers
Held his own against Mephiles and his clones
Defeated Dr Eggman's Egg Dealer and Egg Breaker
Defeated Black Doom
Defeated Biolizard
Defeated the Ifrit with Metal Sonic's help
Easily defeated Infinite during the first time they met
Wipe out the Black Arms

Super Shadow

With the help of Super Sonic, defeated the Final Hazard and saved the planet
Defeated Devil Doom and teleported the Black Comet in space to allow the ARK to destroy it
With Super Sonic and Super Silver's help, defeated Solaris

Powerscaling[]

Sonic the Hedgehog (Fought against him frequently)
Biolizard
Black Doom (Fought and defeated in three different scenarios)
Silver the Hedgehog
Mephiles the Dark (Defeated him twice with or without any help)
Knuckles the Echidna
Ifrit
Infinite (Stomped him when they first encountered each other, although Infinite grew far stronger afterwards)

Super Shadow

Chaos Emeralds (Is what he uses when he transforms)
Super Sonic (Uses the same power source)
Finalhazard (Defeated it with Super Sonic's help)
Devil Doom (Defeated him by himself)
Solaris (Defeated it with Super Sonic and Silver's help)

Weaknesses[]

Really arrogant and cocky.
Overconfident which leads him to underestimate his opponents.
Chaos Shadow can drain his powers quickly.
Has a time limit on Hero and Dark Shadow.
Has amnesia.
Guns have limited ammunition

Sources[]

Sonic Wiki (Background only)

Nano's Deviantart

Versus Compendium Conclusions[]

Notable Wins

Notable Losses

Inconclusive Matches