Shadow the Hedgehog

Shadow the Hedgehog
Official artwork of Shadow from Sonic Forces.
Universe	Sonic the Hedgehog
Debut	Sonic Adventure 2 (2001)
Smash Bros. appearances	Brawl SSB4 Ultimate
Most recent non-Smash appearance	Fortnite (2026, via update)
Console/platform of origin	Dreamcast
Species	Hedgehog/Black Arms hybrid
Gender	Male
Place of origin	Space Colony ARK
Created by	Takashi Iizuka Shiro Maekawa
Designed by	Kazuyuki Hoshino
English voice actor	Jason Griffith (Brawl) Kirk Thornton (SSB4/Ultimate)
Japanese voice actor	Kōji Yusa
French voice actor	Benoît DuPac
German voice actor	Klaus Lochthove
Spanish voice actor	Manuel Gimeno
Italian voice actor	Riccardo Lombardo
Article on Wikipedia	Shadow the Hedgehog

Shadow the Hedgehog (シャドウ・ザ・ヘッジホッグ, Shadow the Hedgehog) is a major character from the Sonic the Hedgehog series.

Origin

Shadow performing Chaos Control in Sonic Adventure 2.

Shadow first appeared in Sonic Adventure 2, initially as an antagonist and rival to Sonic. An artificially-created hedgehog developed as the "Ultimate Life Form," he is behind only Sonic himself as the series's most popular character. First portrayed as arrogant, cocky, and aloof, Shadow is a darker character than his counterpart; later games depict a reformed Shadow as an anti-hero with good, albeit sometimes self-serving, intentions, and a begrudging respect for Sonic. Shadow's signature technique, Chaos Control, harnesses the power of the Chaos Emeralds to control time and space.

Shadow was created 50 years prior to Sonic Adventure 2 by Dr. Eggman's grandfather Gerald Robotnik, as a government research project aboard the Space Colony ARK. He befriended Gerald's terminally-ill granddaughter Maria, who was killed by the military group GUN during a government raid to shut the project down. Shadow's warped memory of Maria's final moments, where she ejected him to earth aboard a capsule, filled him with a burning hatred for humanity. Rediscovered and freed by Dr. Eggman, Shadow enlisted him into a revenge plot in Maria's name, weaponizing the ARK and its Eclipse Cannon to destroy the planet. Eventually, Shadow discovers the truth of Maria's final words - she had wished for him to make humanity happy. Realizing the error of his ways, Shadow joins Sonic and his allies to stop the ARK's collision course with Earth, seemingly sacrificing his life to do so.

Sonic Heroes reveals an amnesiac Shadow to have returned. He embarks on a morally-conflicted quest to rediscover his memories and learn the truth of his survival during the events of his self-titled game, Shadow the Hedgehog. The alien leader Black Doom reveals himself to have contributed his blood to Shadow's creation, but Shadow chooses to defy his origins, saving the planet from an evil ritual at Black Doom's hands. From then onward, Shadow appears primarily in a supporting role, as a reluctant ally to Sonic who often pursues his own causes. In Shadow Generations, a final re-encounter with Gerald, Maria, and Black Doom amid the anomalous White Space time dimension allows Shadow to finally move beyond the ghosts of his past and forgive himself.

The Sonic series variably depicts Chaos Control as allowing the user to warp themselves and others through space, as well as to slow or stop time. Shadow is most iconically seen using the green Chaos Emerald to wield the technique; its power is dependent on the Emeralds, and magnified as all seven are collected. Sonic Adventure 2 depicts Shadow using the technique to warp at high speeds during its storyline, and to freeze time in its 2-player battle mode. Super Smash Bros. depicts Chaos Control as a time-controlling technique, further seen in Sonic Heroes, boss battles in Shadow the Hedgehog, and in Shadow Generations.

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl

As an Assist Trophy

Shadow using Chaos Control in Brawl.

Shadow appears as an unlockable Assist Trophy character in Brawl and uses his Chaos Control ability to slow down everyone except the summoner or their allies (similar to the effects of the Timer item, though with a shorter duration, and without the risk of it backfiring). Opponents are slowed down to 1/4th speed and it lasts 420 frames (7 seconds). Shadow the Hedgehog is unlocked when the player unlocks Sonic as a playable character.

Shadow has a spawn chance of 30/760.

In Brawl, Shadow the Hedgehog is voiced by Jason Griffith in the English version of the game; his then-standard actor since his own game and the anime Sonic X. In Japanese, he is reprised by Kōji Yusa through recycled voice clips from Shadow the Hedgehog, his permanent voice actor since his debut in Sonic Adventure 2.

Trophy

Shadow's trophy in Brawl

Shadow

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.

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.

: SONIC HEROES

: SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG

Sticker

Name	Game	Effect	Fighter(s)
Shadow The Hedgehog	Sonic Adventure 2: Battle	AttackSpecialsDirect+020 Attack +20	Sonic

Shadow The Hedgehog (Sonic Adventure 2: Battle)

In Super Smash Bros. 4

As an Assist Trophy

Shadow as an Assist Trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.

Shadow retains his role as an Assist Trophy that slows down time in SSB4. The strength and duration of the slow down is unchanged from Brawl. His distortions are more visually apparent in this game, appearing clearly in the foreground. His own visual aesthetics were also altered to be just as bright as in his home series, as well as his mouth's placement being more to the side of his muzzle instead of right below his nose, matching Sonic.

Shadow has a spawn chance of 30/1254. He cannot be summoned on the following stages in a standard versus match (applies to both games and only the base form unless noted otherwise):

• Orbital Gate Assault
• Pac-Land
• Pyrosphere
• 3D Land
• Magicant

This time, Shadow has gained voice dubs in other languages like Sonic, with his portrayals in overseas versions being re-purposed from Sonic Generations; in English, he is voiced Kirk Thornton, who succeeded Jason Griffith beginning with 2010's Sonic Free Riders. Kōji Yusa reprises his role in Japanese, with his portrayals re-purposed from Brawl.

Trophy

Both of Shadow's trophies are challenge unlocks. In the 3DS version, it is obtained by clearing Solo 100-Man Smash with all fighters. In the Wii U version, it is obtained by clearing the All-Star Battle: Secret event on hard difficulty.

Shadow's trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS

Shadow's trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

Shadow

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.

: Sonic Adventure 2 Battle (02/2002)

: Shadow the Hedgehog (11/2005)

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.

: Sonic Adventure 2 Battle (05/2002)

: Shadow the Hedgehog (11/2005)

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

As an Assist Trophy

Shadow the Hedgehog performing Chaos Control in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Shadow returns as an Assist Trophy and now holds the green Chaos Emerald. Shadow still performs Chaos Control to slow down the opponents of the fighter that summoned him. The slow down strength is unchanged but the duration was changed to 300 frames (5 seconds) down from 420 (7 seconds), though in the following 120 frames (2 seconds) he completely stops the opponents. His visual distortion is green and is much more apparent with lightning also striking around him.

Shadow has a spawn chance of 38/2086. He cannot be summoned on the following stages in a standard versus match (applies only to the base form unless noted otherwise):

• 3D Land
• Dream Land GB
• Flat Zone X
• Magicant
• Midgar
• Mute City SNES
• Pac-Land
• Spiral Mountain
• Super Happy Tree
• WarioWare, Inc.

Spirits

Shadow appears as two different primary spirits. Super Shadow can be obtained by enhancing the Shadow the Hedgehog spirit at level 99.

Shadow's Spirit Battle uses a Sonic puppet fighter and is fought on the New Pork City stage's battlefield form. During the battle, Shadow appears as a hostile Assist Trophy while the Timer item appears, referencing Shadow's Chaos Control ability, which allows him to slow down and temporarily freeze time while holding a Chaos Emerald.

No.	Image	Name	Type	Class	Slots	Base	Max	Base	Max	Base	Max	Ability	Series
788		Shadow the Hedgehog		★★★	2	2702	8147	1648	4970	1054	3177	Can Be Enhanced at Lv. 99	Sonic The Hedgehog Series
789		Super Shadow		★★★★	2	4781	11954	2368	5922	2059	5147	Undamaged Attack & Speed ↑	Sonic The Hedgehog Series

Gallery

• 

  Official artwork of Shadow from Brawl.
• 

  Sonic and Shadow standing back to back on Final Destination.
• 

  Official artwork of Shadow from Ultimate.
• 

  Shadow's pose in the second stage of Chaos Control in Ultimate.
• 

  Shadow's pose after performing Chaos Control in Ultimate.

Names in other languages

Language	Name
Japanese	シャドウ・ザ・ヘッジホッグ, Shadow the Hedgehog
English	Shadow
French	Shadow
German	Shadow
Spanish	Shadow
Italian	Shadow
Chinese	夏特, Shadow
Korean	쉐도우, Shadow
Dutch	Shadow
Russian	Шэдоу

Trivia

• Much like Sonic, Shadow appears in the most Smash games out of all third-party Assist Trophies, having appeared in all games since its conception.
• Despite his trophy and official artwork sharing the same pose in Brawl, the mouths on the trophy and artwork are in different positions.
• In Brawl, the white of Shadow's shoes only covers the upper front similar to the red in Sonic's shoes, rather than going up to the soles like in the usual games. This was fixed in SSB4.
• Even on a fast moving stage such as Delfino Plaza or Rumble Falls when sped up, Shadow's effect will not stop even when he goes off the stage.
• Shadow's trophy pose in Brawl resembles his artwork for Sonic the Hedgehog (2006). Similarly, his trophy pose in SSB4 resembles his artwork for Sonic Rivals.
• Shadow is currently the only Assist Trophy to change voice actors between installments, switching his English voice actor from Jason Griffith to Kirk Thornton between Brawl and SSB4.
• Shadow is the only Assist Trophy to appear in an intro movie, with his cameo in the intro of Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. Though Riki also appears, he is only present as part of Shulk's Final Smash, Chain Attack.
• Shadow (in Smash 4 and Ultimate) and Knuckles are the only Assist Trophies to have voice actors in languages other than English and Japanese, being also voiced in French, Spanish, Italian, and German.
  • Because his non-Japanese voice clips in Smash 4 and Ultimate are recycled from Sonic Generations, this results in his Italian voice actor in both of those games being Riccardo Lombardo, one of two actors to play Shadow in Italian in Generations, rather than Claudio Moneta, who replaced both starting with Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games.
• In Ultimate, when Shadow poses after finishing his Chaos Control, the Chaos Emerald can still be seen in his hand. However, in his render on the official Ultimate website and in Training mode (which uses the same pose), the Chaos Emerald is not there.
• Shadow only disables normal hitboxes when affected characters are frozen in time. All other hitboxes that happen to be active when frozen remain active until the character is unfrozen. This creates several unintended side effects like counterattacks not functioning properly, attacks with reflective and absorption properties lasting much longer than normal, and characters remaining invincible and intangible for the entirety of their frozen state under specific conditions.
  • This also applies to Villager & Isabelle's Pocket.
• Shadow is the only Sega Assist Trophy to not share a move with a playable character. Knuckles shares the Homing Attack with Sonic, Rodin shares the Wicked Weaves and After Burner Kick, and Akira Yuki shares the Tetsuzanko with Bayonetta as well.