Who is Shadow? Is he Sonic’s evil twin, or something?

No, Shadow is not a cliched “evil” Sonic variant. The antihero debuted in 2001 in Sonic Adventure 2, a Dreamcast game all about playing two different sides of the same conflict. The story was divided into two sides: Hero and Dark. The first followed Sonic and his friends Tails and Knuckles, while the second followed series antagonist Doctor Eggman, Shadow, and a treasure-hunting government double agent, Rouge the Bat. A lot of Sega’s marketing played up Sonic and Shadow’s juxtaposition as a good, angelic hedgehog and an evil, devious foe, and it’s true, Shadow does team up with Eggman, claiming to help him achieve his dream of world domination. But that’s just who he appears on the surface. Shadow’s actual motivations are revealed as the Dark-side story goes on, and there’s a much more tragic, multifaceted character at the center.

Shadow was created 50 years prior to the events of Sonic Adventure 2 by Doctor Gerald Robotnik, Eggman’s grandfather. He was born in a space station floating above Earth called Space Colony Ark. Here, Robotnik was researching immortality in an effort to find a cure for his granddaughter Maria’s terminal illness. Shadow was designed to be the “Ultimate Life Form,” capable of withstanding any disease or injury, with his immortal nature hopefully one day transferred into humans like Maria. The young girl lived with her grandfather on the space station, and as a result became close friends with Shadow as Robotnik continued his research. The two would look down on Earth and dream of seeing it together one day when Maria was cured of her condition.