View source for Shadow the Hedgehog

{{Infobox character general
|name       = Shadow
|image      = [[File:Shadow the Hedgehog.png|150px]]
|symbol     = {{Symbol|Sonic}}
|caption    = '''Shadow'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s artwork in ''{{W|Team Sonic Racing}}''.
|universe   = ''{{S|Sonic|universe}}''
|debut      = ''{{W|Sonic Adventure 2}}'' (2001)
|appearance = ''[[Super Smash Flash]]''
|species    = Hedgehog
|gender     = Male
|alignment  = Neutral <small>(main series)</small><br>Evil <small>(''{{W|Sonic Boom (TV series)|Sonic Boom}}'')</small>
|creator    = {{W|Takashi Iizuka (game designer)|Takashi Iizuka}}
|japanese   = {{W|Kōji Yusa}}
|english    = {{W|David Humphrey}}<small>(2001–2005)</small><br>{{W|Jason Griffith}}<small>(2005–2010)</small><br>{{W|Kirk Thornton}}<small>(2010–present)</small>
|company    = [[SEGA]]
}}
'''Shadow the Hedgehog''' ({{Mousetext|シャドウ・ザ・ヘッジホッグ|Shadō za Hejjihoggu}}), also known as "The Ultimate Lifeform", is a character from the ''{{S|Sonic|universe}}'' franchise. He first appeared in ''{{W|Sonic Adventure 2}}'' for the Dreamcast console. Shadow was created by Professor Gerald Robotnik for the purpose of providing genes to cure the deathly ill, such as his granddaughter Maria. Shadow stayed at the Space Colony ARK, forming a close bond with Maria. Soon however, when the government had growing concerns over Gerald's work on immortality, the G.U.N invaded the ARK, killed Maria and locked away Shadow for fifty years before he was freed by [[Doctor Eggman|Dr. Eggman]].

== Character description ==
During the development of ''{{W|Sonic Adventure 2}}'', it was decided that the motif of the game was to be between good and evil. To do this, the development team would create new characters designed to assist Dr. Eggman to combat the main protagonists of the ''Sonic'' series. Yuji Uekawa came up with a darker version of [[Sonic the Hedgehog|Sonic]] who was then dubbed "Terios" which means reflection of. During much of the development of ''Sonic Adventure 2'', the Sonic Team did its best to keep Shadow's identity a secret in order to build up the hype for the game.
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== In the ''Super Smash Flash'' series ==
=== In ''Super Smash Flash'' ===
{{Main|Shadow (Super Smash Flash)}}
[[File:SSF Shadow.png|right|Shadow, as he appears in ''SSF''.]]
Shadow made an appearance in ''[[Super Smash Flash]]'' as an [[unlockable character]]. He was unlocked only after {{SSF|Sonic}}, {{SSF|Tails}}, and {{SSF|Knuckles}} have cleared [[Adventure#In Super Smash Flash|Adventure mode]].
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=== In ''Super Smash Flash 2'' ===
{{Unconfirmed|section=yes}}
[[File:Shadow idle.gif|right|Shadow's proposed design for ''SSF2''.]]
Shadow was previously confirmed to return in ''[[Super Smash Flash 2]]'' as part of the initial roster for the game. However, following the release of [[Super Smash Flash 2 Demo/Version 0.7|v0.7]] of the [[Super Smash Flash 2 Demo|''SSF2'' Demo]], the [[Super Smash Flash 2 Team|developers]] revamped the whole roster in order to accommodate some new, unexpected characters. Currently, Shadow's fate as a playable character is unknown.

== Trivia ==
[[File:Shadow in SSBU.jpg|200px|thumb|Shadow as an Assist Trophy in ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate''.]]
*Though he is not playable in the ''{{S|Super Smash Bros.|universe}}'' series, he is one of seven characters in the ''{{S|Super Smash Flash|series}}'' series to appear as [[Assist Trophy|Assist Trophies]] in the official games. He shares this distinction with [[Waluigi]], [[Isaac]], [[Krystal]], [[Knuckles the Echidna|Knuckles]], [[Zero]], and [[Bomberman]].
*{{SSF2|Sonic}}'s fifth [[List of costumes in Super Smash Flash 2#Sonic|costume]] in ''SSF2'' is directly based on Shadow's appearance.

{{Characters}}
{{Unconfirmed content}}
{{Sonic universe}}
[[Category:Third-party characters]]
[[Category:Super Smash Flash]]
[[Category:Super Smash Flash series]]
[[Category:SEGA]]