Why Shadow Is The BEST Sonic Character And How He Has Been Misrepresented & Ruined

So what are your thought's on Shadow and his character? Do you have similar thought's, or different opinions. Leave your thought's below. Also, are there any suggestions on whose character I should analyse next. It could be a mainstay like Tails or even one off characters like the legend himself, Mephiles.

Shadow handled properly: That punk goth kid in high school that all the parents tell you to stay away from because "he's a bad influence and will grow up to be a criminal" but you get to know him and he's actually a cool guy, a badass, very sweet, has a small but close friend circle, won't tolerate kids getting bullied, and is just dealing with some depression and PTSD in the background. Shadow handled disrespectfully: The embodiment of every single "quiet kid" meme, especially the school shooter variety.

Shadow in Lego Dimensions is unironically the best interpretation of his character we've gotten in a while. He still wants to fulfil his promise to Maria, so needs help from the player to plant an entire field of flowers because he believes it's something Maria would have wanted.

Mephiles was the perfect "Final Boss" for Shadow's arc. A dark reflection of his earlier views of how humanity deserves to be destroyed, even reflected in his own character design. He was like the devil on Shadow's shoulder, trying to offer him temptation, which Shadow rejected due to remembering what Gerald created him for, how Maria fueled his dedication to that purpose, and how Rouge's earlier dialogue reminded him that there are still people alive today who support him. Old Shadow might've taken Mephiles up on his offer, but post-character development Shadow knows better.

I miss the version of Shadow that said “Are you okay?” And genuinely cared about the well-being of others

Shadow in 2001 to 2009: Mysterious hedgehog who started of distant, but fulfills a promise for a loved one to fight with his friends for a better purpose on earth. Shadow in 2010: Vegeta/Sasuke 2.0

I think one of the things that made Shadow such a strong character is that his up until colours ruined every character, Shadow was one of the few characters who's motivations didn't involve Sonic at all. Shadow lived his own life and had his own day to day goals that were completely divorced from Sonic, the only reason the two remained "rivals" is that Shadow was the only supporting character who Sonic never surpassed- whether it be fighting skill or speed.

Shadow's complicated relationship with humanity is what made him so interesting. He's more like Mewtwo than Vegata. If they want to fix Shadow, they need to either make humans an important part of the world again or completely rewrite his character.

thank you for explaining how shadow actually cares for people and isn't some sort of edgelord. it pains me so bad to hear people call him that so often

Shadow's line in his final cutscene in 06, never fails to give me goosebumps.

My favourite part is in ‘06 when he leaps into the fight between Sonic and Silver to help his friend, immediately dismantles Silver’s attacks, and by doing so tricks him into time travelling so he can help him understand he’s being manipulated, which is something Shadow has struggled with himself. Shadow’s real character is honestly closer to Optimus Prime than Vegeta, I have so much love for it and I also hope things can improve with new writers.

Shadow is the real protagonist of Sonic Adventure 2, that’s the game that made me love his character

Shadow is just a good boy with PTSD sprinkled with amnesia. When I was actively consuming Sonic media i loooooooved Sonic Heroes, Adventures and 2006 from story point. Sadly people outside fandom really think he is just walking meme of a dark edgelord. When in reality he is so caring and likeable.

I'm gonna say it, Vegeta and Shadow suffer from the same problem. Both are constantly misrepresented as edgelords when there's much more to their character than that. Sonic writers keep referring back to Shadow the Hedgehog, and Dragon Ball writers keep referring back to the Android Saga, ignoring character development that came before or since in both cases. In reality, both of them have completely rejected their dark pasts and devoted themselves to protecting those they care for.

To be fair, Shadow hating humanity at the start of Shadow the hedgehog makes some sense. He has amnesia and doesn't remember Maria's promise. Everything else though is on point. Great video.

The fanbase is also to blame for ruining his character mainly overdoing it on memes or dumb terms like “edgy” when most of those people don’t even understand it themselves.

His characterisation in Sonic X was also phenomenal, besides the scenes that were adapted from SA2. The whole arc with the Metarex, his return, meeting Molly and avenging her death, joining the heroes in the last fight. It was wonderful. That WAS shadow

While I personally like Sonic 06, I understand why people hate it. But, to me, Shadow was at his best in that game. His friendship with Rouge and Omega was great. Characters In-Depth made a great video about Team Dark, they had the strongest sense of camaraderie in Sonic 06. And his last line of his story perfectly encapsulates who he is.

There’s a lot of story potential with Shadow having amnesia. So much for even a prequel game about him. You should also cover Sega’s mandates and how they limit creativity not to mention the inconsistencies they have.

I just hope that Shadow's portrayal in the third Sonic movie does the character justice. ...Yeah, he's been confirmed to be in the third movie. Sorry if I spoiled that for any of ya.