All Hail Shadow: Why the Hedgehog Isn’t Really Edgy

by Brian Pope May 23, 2020 0 comments

One of the best things to ever come from the publishing of Sonic Adventure 2 is the fact that our favorite blue blur had to share the screen with a newly released black-and-red counterpart, Shadow the Hedgehog. Not only did Shadow burst onto the scene as the main mascot for the villainous team during promotion for the game and during general gameplay but he was beloved by many fans for his overall demeanor and attitude.

While most players whom had come to love Sonic over the years were already familiar to the idea of having a hedgehog with attitude in their life, many favored this dark and brooding character to Sega’s mascot. On the other hand, however, many players and critics often cited Shadow’s character design and arc was an attempt to be edgy and over the top. Today, we’re going to talk about how Shadow the Hedgehog isn’t the drenched-in-edgy character you think he might be and how the character falls in line with the Sega formula that had been going since Sonic became a hit franchise.

Now one of the biggest reasons for Shadow’s portrayal being considered edgy is because of the title, Shadow the Hedgehog. No matter your feelings on the actual title and gameplay, the narrative suffers a lot in this game due to Sega trying to capitalize the popularity of the character in general and just not having the right mindset or direction to really take off with this. For example, there is so much character development from when we first meet Shadow in Sonic Adventure 2 to where the story concludes that many fans just don’t really put into proper perspective.

Our first proper introduction to the character is when Eggman breaks into the G.U.N. controlled facility on Prison Island in order to secure a military weapon that was shut down. The weapon turns out to be Shadow the Hedgehog. Shadow is mistaken for Sonic, even by the good doctor, and that is an important factor to remember. Shadow blows this comment off, appearing humbled and gracious for Eggman releasing him from his forced slumber. Soon after, the military forces on the island send in some backup to stop Eggman, which Shadow gladly takes on in Eggman’s stead. After the battle, which showcases how Shadow plays differently from Sonic, players are able to swap back over to Sonic and control the familiar way by running instead of skating across the floor. Sonic and Shadow intersect within the city, as Sonic is attempting to flee from the G.U.N forces and Shadow is attempting to snag another Chaos Emerald, including the one Doctor Eggman used in order to wake him.

One of the first statements that Shadow the Hedgehog makes when he first encounters Sonic is about him being the “ultimate life form”. Sure, it is quite a stretch of the imagination for someone not to take this quote as being edgy, right? Not only does this seem like an outrageous thing to say but the crimson-tipped villain seems to do the impossible: he moves faster than Sonic and even turns around to grin about it using his Chaos Control ability. Sonic is also equally amazed at this feat. The fastest thing alive is left in the proverbial dust of another hedgehog and it is such a different moment for Sonic in respect to both the character and for the player. Not only had there not been another character that was able to out-speed Sonic but throughout the games and the story to this point, no other organic hedgehog had been seen either.

Does this make Shadow an edgelord because he claims to be the ultimate life form? Simply put, no. Shadow, at this point in the story, has never had a rival worthy of really testing him. He uses the Chaos Control ability to get past a threat he doesn’t have to take on and even issues a farewell to Sonic. If our character was indeed an edgelord, he would respond to Sonic’s defamatory remarks about being a fake hedgehog and would stick around to fight. He doesn’t though, he is amused that his power leaves Sonic in a state of awe and teleports away already calculating that the military would be hot on his trail. This encounter is such a small thing but the details are massive when you put them on top of the perceived image that most people have of Shadow. Shadow didn’t fight in an attempt to show his dominance, he didn’t gloat about winning, he didn’t scream his victory fanfare, or even attempt to disparage Sonic when he blew right past him. This example is the anthesis of being edgy. Shadow shows respect to this blue hedgehog who seems to want and fight him, he introduces himself, doesn’t fight, and calculates how to leave before things escalate and he is forced to fight. Tactical? Yes. Edgy? Not so much.

Shadow is very capable and cunning, so judging him as edgy based on the statement of being the ultimate life form is very short-sighted. Not only had Shadow been created to believe that he is the ultimate life form but that was the actual reason for his creation in the first place. Going from the evidence presented in Shadow the Hedgehog, our antihero was created to be immortal and to assist Gerald Robotnik synthesize a cure for a deadly disease that plagued his granddaughter and Shadow’s only friend: Maria Robotnik. In fact, most of the scheme that Shadow follows for the majority of the story in Sonic Adventure 2 is from a direct misuse of his psyche by Professor Gerald Robotnik. Once the military forces were convinced that the research used to create Shadow was too dangerous to allow to continue, their violent answer ended with the death of Maria which led the professor down the path of insanity and revenge with his instrument being an unsuspecting Shadow thrown in for good measure.

Sticking strictly to the narrative events outlined in Sonic Adventure 2, we see Shadow treat members of the opposite sex very respectful. For example, while Amy does mistake him for her dreamboat Sonic (seriously, does no one recognize that Sonic is blue and Shadow is black-and-red!) Shadow does not retaliate with violence. He treats her embrace and revelatory shock as a bit humorous and even grins about it. Later on in that same mission, it is revealed that Rogue has fell for a trap and is stuck inside an armored container with the emeralds. She feels like the end is near and Shadow has flashbacks of Maria, which spur him to go save the bat girl. This selfless act is later played off by Shadow as him merely attempting to save the emeralds but Rogue and the player both know that if Shadow wanted to just get the emeralds and teleport away, he could have easily done so.

His confrontations with Sonic help him to grow and deepen his expectations about others. At their showdown on the Prison Island, Shadow is more annoyed with the sudden appearance of “that blue hedgehog” because of the time limit set on the mission. Sonic also starts things off with attitude and their dialogue leads to a fight. After the fight, both hedgehogs are seen gasping for breath and each looks like the struggle has taken a toll on them. It might have went on more had Dr. Eggman not chimed across the radio and revealed that the island was expected to explode. The next time the two meet is aboard the space colony called ARK. Shadow tells Sonic how he is surprised that the hedgehog survived the capsule trap that Dr. Eggman had set up to kill our beloved hero. He even gives Sonic enough credit to say that there is more to the blue blur than just their similar species and looks.

As their battle accelerates, Shadow witnesses that Sonic can also use Chaos Control and fights the hedgehog but ultimately fails to stop him from reaching the cannon. While this failure leads to the ARK plummeting towards the Earth in what would be revealed as Shadow’s true plan, the hedgehog is approached by Amy. At the time, he is starting down at the Earth in a very reflective manner. He is conflicted in his statements: everything is going according to plan but at the same time, he doesn’t question why Amy thinks he should help in the first place. As Amy reveals her feelings on the matter, Shadow has a flashback that reveals what he truly promised Maria: that he would fight for the people of the Earth and give them a chance to be happy and live. He renews the promise to Amy right then and there and then speeds off for the legendary finale that finishes Sonic Adventure 2.

While examining Shadow in this character-driven way, I was reminded how history often repeats itself and thought about how this applies to Sega as a company too. When designing Shadow, Sega and Sonic team had to have the character go toe-to-toe with their attitude-infused mascot. In fact, it was often Sonic’s attitude, way past cool aesthetic, and overall blazing speed that won gamers over when the company had designed him all those years ago. Sega had banked on Sonic being the hedgehog with attitude in order to beat Mario and the gigantic rival they faced in the form of Nintendo. They had succeeded for several years in this attempt and when Sonic Adventure had released, the task of making a rival that was on the same par as Sonic was a tall order to take down.

This is why Shadow is often seen as an edge lord because of the execution of the overall story. He has to compete with all the attitude that Sonic displays most of the time.  Sonic is pretty self-centered in his own franchise, and rightly so, going to lengths to state how Shadow is nothing more than a fake based off of Sonic. The writers had a lot to try and make up for with the releases that came after and I feel like Shadow’s character was explored even better in Sonic ’06 but the underlying pieces in his debut title leave me satisfied with enough evidence to know that Sega had to give him some form of attitude in order to clash with our own blue blur with the big mouth. Shadow the Hedgehog, initially, is not the edgy character many accuse him of being. While there are other games that paint him in that picture very vividly, his popularity has not waned from the notion by any means. Shadow has plenty of development to be his own dynamic character and a perfect foil for Sonic. His introduction in Sonic Adventure 2 was a great start and while other games depict the character in sometimes less-than-ideal fashions, it is clear that Shadow has earned his place in the hearts of gamers and Sonic fans just the same.