| 1 | [[center:[[WMG:''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' [[Characters/SonicTheHedgehog characters index]]\ |
| 2 | [- [[Characters/SonicTheHedgehogMainCharacters Main Characters]] ([[Characters/SonicTheHedgehogSonicTheHedgehog Sonic the Hedgehog]]) | [[Characters/SonicTheHedgehogRecurringCharacters Recurring Characters]] ('''Team Dark''') | [[Characters/SonicTheHedgehogEggmanEmpire Eggman Empire]] ([[Characters/SonicTheHedgehogDrIvoEggmanRobotnik Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik]]) | [[Characters/SonicTheHedgehogOneShotCharacters One-Shot Characters]] | [[Characters/SonicTheHedgehogClassicEraAntagonists Classic Era Antagonists]] | [[Characters/SonicTheHedgehogModernEraAntagonists1 Modern Era Antagonists 1]] | [[Characters/SonicTheHedgehogModernEraAntagonists2 Modern Era Antagonists 2]] | [[Characters/SonicTheHedgehogGroups Other Groups and Species]]-]]]]] |
| 3 | |
| 4 | !!Team Dark |
| 5 | |
| 6 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/team_dark.png]] |
| 7 | ->'''Rouge:''' You two ready?\ |
| 8 | '''Omega:''' Warning -- [[DisproportionateRetribution immediate destruction if distracted]].\ |
| 9 | '''Shadow:''' [[HaughtyHmph Hmph]]. Just hope you can keep up with me. |
| 10 | |
| 11 | Originally a team made purely out of convenience; in ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes'', Rouge snuck into one of Eggman's secret bases after hearing rumors about treasure and there she found a sealed pod with the recently thought deceased Shadow the Hedgehog. After freeing Shadow, Rouge accidently also awakens E-123 Omega, the last line of Eggman's E-Series robots tasked with destroying any intruders. Shadow rescues Rouge and prepares to engage Omega, but before the two can come to blows, Rouge puts a stop to it and demands answers. After a brief talk, Rouge learns that Omega wants revenge on Eggman for abandoning him while Shadow has developed amnesia and cannot remember his past nor the events of [[VideoGame/SonicAdventure2 the last game]]. Rouge suggests a temporary truce so that they can all get what they want, forming an uneasy alliance. |
| 12 | |
| 13 | Essentially a collective AntiHero team towards Team Sonic, they share many moves with each other in ''Sonic Heroes''. Their levels are much more complex and more elaborate, effectively serving as the game's Hard Mode. Their Team Blast is "Chaos Inferno", where Shadow activates Chaos Control to temporarily stop time, while Rouge air lifts Omega, who obliterates all enemies in the immediate area; afterwards, time shall stand still until the Team Blast gauge is depleted. |
| 14 | |
| 15 | Outside of ''Sonic Heroes'', the group make occasional appearances together in various spin-off titles and play a major role in ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006'' within Shadow's campaign, supporting him in his battle against Mephiles the Dark. |
| 16 | |
| 17 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 18 | |
| 19 | [[folder:Tropes applying to the group as a whole]] |
| 20 | * AloofAlly: All three of them are this to Team Sonic, as unless their interests line up with the former, they're much more content to do their own thing, no matter what the cost may be. |
| 21 | * AntiHeroTeam: While none of them are villainous, they still happen to be {{Nominal Hero}}es on the regular. Rouge is a thief who's mostly looking out for herself, but she does help the heroes in saving the world when a threat endangers it. Shadow is greatly mistrustful and his personal reasons for protecting the planet are usually grounded in him further proving himself as the Ultimate Life Form (and to a lesser extent, his promise to Maria). Omega is a robot created by Eggman to be a walking arsenal, but he decided that he had enough of Eggman and rebelled against him. WordOfGod has also stated that Team Dark are not a true unit in-universe (as has been acknowledged in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkPJ5SEPQps&t=10s this episode]] of the ''Podcast/BumbleKast''), and this claim is not without merit; Shadow indirectly states in ''VideoGame/SonicBattle'' that he prefers to view Rouge and Omega as "allies" rather than as straight-up friends, and there has been no indication that the three remain in contact with one another outside of work or when new situations arise. |
| 22 | * BadassCrew: The ultimate lifeform, a walking armory, and a treasure hunter/super spy/cat burglar who takes no sass from anyone. Yeah, don't mess with them! |
| 23 | * BrainsAndBrawn: Rouge is the brain to Omega and Shadow's Brawn. Though sometimes Shadow is portrayed as the brain ''and'' brawn, depending on the game. |
| 24 | * CallBack: The name of Team Dark is a throwback to ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'', where Shadow and Rouge were both on the Dark Side of the conflict. |
| 25 | * CastHerd: After ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes'', they were rarely seen apart, much like Team Sonic. This lasted until ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006'' where they began to fall OutOfFocus along with the rest of the supporting cast and if they do appear, they rarely interact with each other. |
| 26 | * DarkIsNotEvil: Their team name is literally "Team Dark," they have a darker color scheme than the other teams in the series, and they aren't completely morally scrupulous heroes, but they aren't evil, either. |
| 27 | * DarkerAndEdgier: This trope sums them up pretty well, and it's invoked for good measure. Compared to fun-loving [[AntiNihilist Sonic]], the honorable [[GoodCannotComprehendEvil Knuckles]] and excitable [[KidHero Tails]], Team Dark is composed of the cynical [[BrokenAce Shadow]], the violent [[HeroicComedicSociopath Omega]] and the greedy [[ManipulativeBitch Rouge]]. |
| 28 | * ElementalPowers: Due to the game mechanics of ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes'', they were (like every other team) each given an element. This didn't really stick with them after ''Heroes'', and they have occasionally been associated with other elements at different times (Shadow has used all three of them, amusingly enough). |
| 29 | * FighterMageThief: |
| 30 | ** Omega is the largest and physically strongest of the trio making him the Fighter. |
| 31 | ** Shadow's chaos powers make him the Mage. |
| 32 | ** Rouge is a Thief by trade and is the [[WeakButSkilled weaker of the three in terms of physical power]]. |
| 33 | * FireForgedFriends: |
| 34 | ** Shadow and Rouge started off as aloof when they first met in ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'', but during the course of the series, they both grow to care for another and have become allies with a degree of mutual respect. |
| 35 | ** Omega to Shadow and Rouge in ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes''. Omega greeted Shadow by ''shooting at him'' and didn't really care about Rouge being caught in the crossfire, but over the course of the game and further into the series he went from threatening to destroy them if they deviated from the hunt for Eggman to considering them the closest things he has to {{Only Friend}}s. |
| 36 | * FriendlyRivalry: Rouge has one with Knuckles, Shadow has one with Sonic, and to a lesser degree Omega and Shadow have this to each other. |
| 37 | * FreudianTrio: |
| 38 | ** Id: Omega, Destructive and vengeful towards Eggman for sealing him away and his first response to any threat is to terminate it with extreme levels of violence, and tends to not be open to alternative solutions otherwise. |
| 39 | ** Superego: Shadow is quiet, reserved and mainly focused on getting the job done in the most efficient way possible, but has no patience for anyone he sees as beneath him. |
| 40 | ** Ego: While Rouge is pretty selfish and vain, she is neither as destructive as Omega nor as emotionally distant as Shadow and leads the group. |
| 41 | * GeodesicCast: Since ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes'', Shadow is in the Speed-type category, Rouge in the Fly-type (Technique-type in ''VideoGame/TeamSonicRacing''), and Omega the Power-type. |
| 42 | * ImageSong: "[[VideoGame/SonicHeroes This Machine]]". |
| 43 | * JerkWithAHeartOfGold: They're somewhat selfish and aloof to anyone outside their trio, but they all have signs that they care much more than they let on. |
| 44 | * JustAMachine: Surprisingly, Shadow and Rouge treated the new robot ([[spoiler:Metal Sonic]]) on their team like that in ''VideoGame/SonicFreeRiders''. However, they never thought of Omega in such a way. |
| 45 | * LetsYouAndHimFight: While they were teammates in prior games, Shadow and Rouge fight in ''VideoGame/SonicRivals 2'' due to a misunderstanding. |
| 46 | * LimitBreak: Their Team Blast "Chaos Inferno" in ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes'', which damages enemies and [[TimeStandsStill temporarily stops time]]. |
| 47 | * MeaningfulName: They are a special ops team that is able to take on missions without need of authority ("going dark") or participate in ones that are deemed too dangerous to others. For example, ''Sonic Heroes'' has their missions tougher and longer than others. |
| 48 | * MovesetClone: Even when none of the teams are particularly different from each other in their abilities, they're still nearly identical in terms of playstyle to Team Sonic in ''Heroes''. |
| 49 | * NiceMeanAndInbetween: A {{downplayed|Trope}} example, for a given value of [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold "nice"]]: |
| 50 | ** Nice: Rouge. Despite her selfish, greedy ways, she's the closest to nice in the group and by far the most social. |
| 51 | ** Mean: Omega. A KillerRobot who's on the team for the sake of destroying anything related to Dr. Eggman. |
| 52 | ** In-Between: Shadow. Cynical, aggressive, hard-headed, and rough. Underneath it all, however, he does have a caring side to him and remains on the side of justice. |
| 53 | * OddFriendship: Rouge's friendship with Omega and Shadow is far from what you would expect. She's social, upbeat, and somewhat of a tease while Shadow is quiet, cold, and cynical and Omega is violent, blunt, and somewhat single-minded. |
| 54 | * PlayingWithFire: Omega. He could shoot Shadow and Rouge out of his hands, covering them with an aura of fire, and had an AOE where he shot fire out of his arms like flamethrowers. Shadow previously had this element in ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'', where he could perform a flaming somersault. |
| 55 | * ThePsychoRangers: Whenever they're in the same game as Team Sonic, they always have comparable stats to them. |
| 56 | * RagtagBunchOfMisfits: A brooding [[ArtificialHuman Artificial Hedgehog]], a greedy treasure-hunting bat, and an AxCrazy and proud RoboticPsychopath, form a coherent team unit that manage to get whatever needs to be done, done. |
| 57 | * SatelliteCharacter: As Shadow is one of the three main protagonists of ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006'', Rouge and Omega are mostly just present to support him and don't play a major role in the story otherwise. |
| 58 | * ShockAndAwe: |
| 59 | ** Rouge could launch an electrified Shadow and Omega at enemies in ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes''. |
| 60 | ** Shadow's Chaos Spears sometimes have an electrical effect. |
| 61 | * TheSmurfettePrinciple: Well, Omega's a robot, but he's identified as a male, making Rouge the only female member. |
| 62 | * SnarkToSnarkCombat: Whenever Rouge fights with Knuckles and Shadow fights Sonic. Omega during his two battles with Mephiles. |
| 63 | * TerribleTrio: Rouge is the leader (albeit only in Sonic Heroes is this explicit, though she's the one giving out orders to the other two), Shadow and Omega (and at [[VideoGame/SonicFreeRiders one point]] Metal Sonic) are the henchmen. |
| 64 | * TookALevelInJerkass: Without personal stakes or drama in the matter, Rouge and Shadow show their nastier side in ''Free Riders'', being openly greedy in Rouge's case and openly condescending and competitive in Shadow's case. Likewise, they treat their team member, a random E-10000B robot, like dirt, to which many competitors which beg them to be more considerate, which it falls on deaf ears. |
| 65 | * TrueCompanions: {{Downplayed|Trope}}. They don't share the straight-up camaraderie as Sonic and his immediate group of friends, but the three trust each other more than other folks. This carried over into ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006'' where Rouge and Omega choose to support Shadow despite the fact that the world may one day turn on him. This trait of theirs has been downplayed though when they all began to fall OutOfFocus. |
| 66 | * TwoGuysAndAGirl: Omega and Shadow are the guys and Rouge is the girl. |
| 67 | * UndyingLoyalty: For a group of distrustful {{Wild Card}}s, all three have this for each other. Even Rouge voices how she'll stick with Shadow, even if the world decides to turn against him. |
| 68 | -->'''Rouge:''' Even if you believe everyone will go against you, know that I'll always remain by your side. |
| 69 | [[/folder]] |
| 70 | |
| 71 | [[folder:Shadow the Hedgehog]] |
| 72 | !!Shadow the Hedgehog |
| 73 | !!!'''Debut:''' ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2''\ |
| 74 | '''Voiced by:''' Creator/KojiYusa (Japanese); David Humphrey (English, 2001-2004), Creator/RyanDrummond (English, [[TheOtherMarty some lines]] in ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2''), Creator/JasonGriffith (English, 2005-2010), Creator/KirkThornton (English, 2010-present)[[labelnote:Additional [=VAs=]]]Benoît Du Pac (French, 2011-present), Creator/RiccardoLombardo (Italian, 2011), Creator/MaurizioMerluzzo (Italian, 2011), Creator/ClaudioMoneta (Italian, 2013-present)[[/labelnote]] |
| 75 | [[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shadowthehedgehog.png]] |
| 76 | ->''"If the world chooses to become my enemy, I will fight like I always have."'' |
| 77 | |
| 78 | An artificially created hedgehog made by the late professor Gerald Robotnik. 50 years before the start of the series, Gerald made a deal with an alien named Black Doom that he'd create the ultimate weapon for Doom in exchange for his immortal blood to cure his ailing granddaughter, Maria. G.U.N. caught wind of Project Shadow and had the entire project shut down - but not before the project in question could come to fruition. They stormed the ARK and Shadow was sealed away until Dr. Eggman released him during the events of ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2''. Over the course of the game, Shadow reveals he was carrying out Gerald's will and worked to destroy the planet as revenge for Maria's death. However, Amy manages to convince Shadow to help, and he remembers Maria's wish to protect humanity. He and Sonic team up to destroy his own prototype, and he apparently dies in the effort. |
| 79 | |
| 80 | Later, it is revealed that you can't assume you killed the Ultimate Lifeform just because you saw him burning up through the atmosphere, and he returns with a case of amnesia and a distinct uncertainty as to whether he's a robot or a clone, eventually going on to confront his genetic donor Black Doom and save the planet. |
| 81 | |
| 82 | Shadow is a very straightforward individual; he's aloof, taciturn, and ambitious. Because of his attitude, he is extremely hard to get along with and has a very independent nature, preferring to [[IWorkAlone work on his own]] more often than not. While he's often ruthless and extremely pragmatic, he can show both empathy and compassion when the situation calls for it. He prefers a straightforward, rather blunt approach to problems, and tends to handle situations in a fist-to-face, foot-to-groin, knee-to-head kind of way, regardless if he feels like it or not, and most of the time he does feel like it. |
| 83 | ---- |
| 84 | * NinetiesAntiHero: [[DownplayedTrope He never fully played this trope]], but he's always sort of leaned on it (his name and color scheme being pretty harsh and a vengeful personality). He shows more traits of this for his own game, though (guns, swearing, and motorcycle riding galore). |
| 85 | * AboveGoodAndEvil: When it comes to his goals, he will achieve them at all costs. |
| 86 | * AbusiveAlienParents: Shadow's "father," Black Doom, is a manipulative, tyrannical sociopath who plans to use him as a tool for his plans. In the majority of Shadow's self-titled game, Black Doom attempts to take advantage of Shadow's memory loss and use him to destroy the planet. After he learns the truth about his past, though, Shadow rebels against Black Doom and destroys him for good. |
| 87 | * AesopAmnesia: Despite being amnesiac and wondering who he was, Shadow made peace with it by the end of ''Sonic Heroes'', declaring that even if he is not real, he is still the UltimateLifeForm. This gets ignored in his titular game, where Shadow once again questions who he is to the point of brooding too much about it. Luckily, his CharacterDevelopment stuck from this point. |
| 88 | * TheAgeless: Most likely due to the genetic material contributed to Project Shadow by his biological "father," Black Doom. The reason behind this was that Shadow's creator, Professor Gerald Robotnik, wanted to study immortality and use the fruits of his research to find a cure for his granddaughter (and Shadow's surrogate sister) Maria, as she was terminally ill and suffering from a fatal disease known as Neuro-Immune Deficiency Syndrome. The only thing that show age are his shoes, with the soles' paint flaking off in most 3D artworks of Shadow. |
| 89 | * AirDashing: Like Sonic, Shadow is capable of dashing forward in midair in games where he's playable, often as a homing attack. |
| 90 | * AlasPoorVillain: ''Sonic Adventure 2'' ends with Shadow being reminded of Maria's kindness and [[HeroicSacrifice sacrificing]] himself to honor her memory. Afterwards, the entire main cast is left shaken, particularly Sonic. |
| 91 | -->'''Shadow:''' Maria… this is what you wanted, right? [[BookEnds This is my promise I made to you.]] |
| 92 | * AllegedLookalikes: It's often stated he looks like Sonic, but he really doesn't,[[note]]his [[https://i.redd.it/iltr6motpraz.jpg older design]] when he was named "Terios" does look like Sonic[[/note]] at least not any more than any other hedgehog in the series (Amy or Silver) does. The closest you can get to saying Sonic and Shadow cut a similar silhouette is when you compare Shadow to Super Sonic, and even then that only applies to the Super Sonic design seen in ''Adventure 1'' and ''2'', where Super Sonic's quills do indeed have the same configuration as Shadow's. |
| 93 | * AllForNothing: His long, complex scheme to KillAllHumans in ''Adventure 2'' was his way to fulfill Maria’s dying wish by avenging her. At the end of the game, he realizes that this "memory" was actually a lie programmed into him by Gerald Robotnik; Maria's actual final wish was for Shadow to ''protect'' humanity, meaning everything he'd done was the exact opposite of what she wanted. |
| 94 | * AloofAlly: While he is willing to team up with Sonic and the others for the benefit of the world, he still remains pretty standoffish and tends to not engage with their more spirited activities. |
| 95 | * AlternateSelf: In ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006'', it is revealed that the version of Shadow from Silver's timeline was captured and trapped by humanity after they blamed him for Iblis' awakening. Mephiles shows him to Shadow briefly before trying to join his side. [[WhateverHappenedToTheMouse Whatever happened to Future Shadow is unknown]], as Silver doesn't mention him after the CosmicRetcon. |
| 96 | * AlwaysSomeoneBetter: |
| 97 | ** This is what separated him from Sonic's other rivals at the time of his debut. Shadow was always one step ahead of Sonic throughout ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'', until their final confrontation aboard the ARK put them on equal footing where Sonic is finally able to defeat him. Afterwards, they're generally portrayed as being on the same level across all media, albeit with Sonic being slightly ahead. |
| 98 | ** He's this to Infinite as well. As "Episode Shadow" of ''Sonic Forces'' showed, Infinite considered himself the "ultimate mercenary," until Shadow whipped Infinite's butt with hardly any effort, even making Infinite shake in fear of Shadow. [[spoiler:Not only did this fuel Infinite's InferioritySuperiorityComplex, but he vowed he'd never lose again, especially not to Shadow.]] |
| 99 | * AmbiguousSituation: Why does Shadow look like Sonic? This is a rather frequent question in ''Heroes'' and Shadow's titular game, but there is no answer to it. It seems to just be a ContrivedCoincidence.[[note]] Some fans have theorized that, due to Professor Gerald doing research on Angel Island, he may have been inspired by a prophetic image of [[VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles Super Sonic fighting Dr. Eggman]], but this is unconfirmed. [[/note]] |
| 100 | * AmnesiacHero: His fall to Earth at the end of ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'' caused him to lose his memory for a time. |
| 101 | * AmnesiacResonance: Despite reawakening with zero memory of his past in ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes'', his first instinct is to dive forward and save Rouge (previously his ally in ''Adventure 2'') from an incoming attack. |
| 102 | * AntagonistInMourning: A rival variant, although he's a frenemy to Sonic and not an antagonist. |
| 103 | ** In ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'', as he watches the escape capsule Sonic was trapped in explode, he commented about how he isn't a "fake" hedgehog after all in a slightly disappointed tone. |
| 104 | -->'''Shadow''': I guess he was just a regular hedgehog after all. |
| 105 | ** In ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006'', he closes his eyes in grief when Sonic [[spoiler:was killed by Mephiles in order to make Elise cry]]. |
| 106 | * AntiAntiChrist: |
| 107 | ** [[TheAntiChrist Black Doom provided the genetic material necessary to complete the project so as to have someone to aid him in conquering Earth.]] However, Shadow eventually went against said destiny, destroyed Black Doom, and is now one of the chief defenders of the planet. |
| 108 | ** This happens to Shadow a lot. The reason Shadow was originally developed was to be an immortal SuperSoldier for the military. Post-breakdown Professor Gerald reprogrammed Shadow's mind to carry out his plot to destroy Earth, but his [[TheLostLenore memories of Maria]] caused him to decide to save it instead. Later, Mephiles tried to convince Shadow to fill [[TheAntiChrist the role of destroyer]] again, [[ShutUpHannibal but he'd finally learned his lesson and would have absolutely none of it.]] |
| 109 | * AntiHero: The most prolific example in the series. He is also known for achieving his goals by all means necessary, even it means playing the villain's game on occasions. But he does have moments of heroism, like [[HeroicSacrifice sacrificing himself to save the world]] and helping Silver realize that Mephiles has [[UnwittingPawn used him as a pawn]]. |
| 110 | * TheAntiNihilist: [[ShutUpHannibal His response]] to Mephiles's HannibalLecture; the day may come when humans turn on him out of fear, but that's not going to stop him from continuing to do what he believes is right. |
| 111 | -->'''Mephiles''': [[YouCantFightFate It's futile.]] [[HumansAreBastards The world will betray you.]] [[StrawNihilist Why fight at all? Why risk your life for those who will persecute you later?]] |
| 112 | -->'''Shadow''': [[ScrewDestiny If the world chooses to become my enemy,]] [[BadassBoast I will fight like I always have.]] |
| 113 | * AntiVillain: At first, he plotted to destroy the planet on his creator's will, but he still had plenty of sympathetic traits. Namely, he was acting on what he felt was justice for what happened to his surrogate sister, he saves Rouge from Prison Island blowing up when he had no reason in doing so (something she notices), and he develops a grudging respect for Sonic through their confrontations, to the point where he laments about his apparent demise at Eggman's hand before they can have their final confrontation and is almost relieved when he not only survives, but learns Chaos Control in the process. |
| 114 | * ArchEnemy: To Black Doom in ''VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog'', Mephiles the Dark in ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006'', [[spoiler:and temporarily Infinite in ''VideoGame/SonicForces'', although Infinite eventually turned his attention to Sonic and the Avatar]]. |
| 115 | * TheArtifact: Shadow's supposed resemblance to Sonic was obsolete as early as his very first appearance in ''Adventure 2''. Being Sonic's CriminalDoppelganger only ever made sense during an early phase of ''Adventure 2'' development when the character that eventually became Shadow actually looked like Sonic's EvilTwin. By the time of the game's actual release, [[DivergentCharacterEvolution Shadow's design had changed enough]] to make him easily distinguishable from Sonic, but the game's storyline still behaves as if they're identical. |
| 116 | * ArtificialHuman: Or hedgehog, in this case. He was artificially created by Dr. Gerald Robotnik on the Space Colony ARK from the cells of Black Doom. |
| 117 | * {{Badbutt}}: Shadow is as badass as a family-friendly video game character can get. He snarks almost constantly, has a gun and motorcycle, he even gets to use words like “damn” and “hell”. He’s also the most merciless and intimidating character, one that even Sonic takes seriously. |
| 118 | * BadassAndChildDuo: Was the badass to Maria's child, before she died. |
| 119 | * BadassArmfold: His usual pose. |
| 120 | * BadassBoast: He's very fond of these, to the point of being this trope itself for the ''Sonic'' series: |
| 121 | ** From ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'': |
| 122 | --->"My name is Shadow. I'm the world's Ultimate Life Form. There's no time for games, farewell!"\ |
| 123 | "Behold the true power I possess!"\ |
| 124 | "Before this is over, I'll show you the true power of ''Chaos Control''!" |
| 125 | ** From ''VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog'': |
| 126 | --->"Behold, the ultimate power!"\ |
| 127 | "Death to all who oppose me!"\ |
| 128 | "I am Shadow the Hedgehog. I and only I, know what is best! No one can tell me what to do. This is who I am!"\ |
| 129 | "I am Shadow the Hedgehog. And now... I am the most powerful hedgehog in the world! The power of these Emeralds make me invincible! [[ChewingTheScenery I am the ultimate hedgehog! THIS IS WHO I AM!]]"\ |
| 130 | "I am Shadow the Hedgehog. I've left the past behind me. No one can tell me what to do now! I will destroy you, Black Doom!" |
| 131 | ** From ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006'': |
| 132 | --->"If the world chooses to become my enemy, I will fight like I always have." |
| 133 | --->"A [[PhysicalGod super-dimensional being]]...Heh. This might even be a fair fight!" |
| 134 | * BadassDriver: The trailers for ''VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog'' emphasized him driving his motorcycle, sometimes to the exclusion of any of his other abilities. |
| 135 | * BashBrothers: Often with Sonic, when the two put aside their differences. Sonic has at least come to respect Shadow's capabilities, even if the two will never fully get along due to being polar opposites. |
| 136 | * BatmanGambit: Pulled one on Eggman in ''Sonic Adventure 2'', knowing he wouldn’t be able to resist getting a chance to conquer the world. In the end, Shadow had his own motivation. |
| 137 | * BerserkButton: There are a few things that set him off. |
| 138 | ** Getting in the way of his goals. |
| 139 | ** Hurting his friends, namely Rouge, Omega, or Maria. |
| 140 | * BigBad: Of ''Sonic Adventure 2'', where it's revealed that he had been using Eggman the entire time in order to complete Gerald's final wish of [[KillAllHumans wiping out humanity]]. |
| 141 | * BigDamnHeroes: |
| 142 | ** In ''Sonic Adventure 2'', he manages to teleport Rouge (and three of the Chaos Emeralds, of course) off of Prison Island mere seconds before the whole island explodes. |
| 143 | ** In ''Sonic '06'', he was the second person to rescue Sonic from being killed by Silver (the first being Amy). |
| 144 | ** In ''VideoGame/SonicForces'', [[spoiler:he rescues Sonic again, this time by defeating his clone who was going to charge into him]]. |
| 145 | * BigNo: In ''Sonic '06'', he yells a big "NOOOOOOOOO!" every time he falls into a BottomlessPit. |
| 146 | * BloodKnight: Shadow finds contentment in challenging a worthy opponent for the sake of indulging himself or proving his power and showcasing his superiority. |
| 147 | * BlueAndOrangeMorality: Shadow will follow and break rules based on furthering his own goals and objectives. Morality-wise, he's constantly in flux, striking an odd balance of achieving missions by sparing opponents out of genuine mercy and killing them for standing in his way only as a result of his ruthless beliefs about doing what he feels is right. |
| 148 | * BookEnds: |
| 149 | ** In ''Sonic Adventure 2'', Shadow begins the Dark Story by swearing to keep his promise to Maria, and ends the Last Story by [[HeroicSacrifice following through on it]]. |
| 150 | ** ''Shadow the Hedgehog'' opens with him struggling to remember and grapple with his DarkAndTroubledPast, and ends with him finally letting it go. |
| 151 | --->'''Shadow:''' Goodbye forever… Shadow the Hedgehog. |
| 152 | * BornAsAnAdult: As a creation of Gerald Robotnik, Shadow was created as a full-grown adult. Or possibly teenager... |
| 153 | * BottomlessBladder: Throughout the majority of the series, he's typically never been shown to ingest any matter of food or doesn't even tend to drink either. There's a possibility that since he's a genetic artificial being, Shadow either contains self-sustenance in his body or was made to survive without requiring any nourishment for himself. However, in the second animated short of ''WebAnimation/TeamSonicRacingOverdrive'', he's shown feasting on a bag of popcorn ([[KickTheDog that he stole from a Chao]]) which shows that he's perfectly content with eating food regardless. |
| 154 | * BreakoutCharacter: Due to his very fleshed out character arc, and complicated relationship with [[TheHero Sonic]], Shadow has become the most popular character in the entire franchise, surpassed only by Sonic himself and above the likes of Tails, Knuckles and Dr. Eggman, all of whom have been a fixture in the franchise long before he showed up. Even after being DemotedToExtra since ''VideoGame/SonicUnleashed'', he still has rather notable appearances as a boss fight in ''VideoGame/SonicGenerations'', the first additional character to be included in ''VideoGame/SonicBoom'' after the main quartet, and got his own storyline in ''VideoGame/SonicForces'', thereby making him the first character to be playable in a 3D game since ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006''. His enduring popularity [[spoiler: earned him his debut as TheStinger in ''Film/SonicTheHedgehog22022'', and he seems to be set to reprise his initial antagonistic role in the sequel, beating out other classic characters like Amy and Metal Sonic.]] |
| 155 | * BrokenAce: He has skills and capabilities that rival Sonic's, and never has to worry about aging due to his immortality. All of this comes with deep-seated emotional scars as a result of his creation and subsequent loss of his surrogate family. |
| 156 | * BroodingBoyGentleGirl: Before she died, Shadow and Maria were a non-romantic version of this. |
| 157 | * BrutalHonesty: He doesn’t hold back on his opinions. |
| 158 | * BullyingADragon: Often on the receiving end of this from anyone who tries to manipulate or persecute him, such as Eggman, Black Doom or Mephiles. It never ends well for them. Infinite was also very self-assured that he could beat Shadow in a fight, which resulted in Shadow beating him with no effort. |
| 159 | * ButForMeItWasTuesday: A perfect case happens in ''Sonic Forces: Episode Shadow''. For Shadow, it was just another day taking out Dr. Eggman's minions during an infiltration mission. [[spoiler:But for Infinite, it was his StartOfDarkness as Shadow killed the members of his mercenary group and gave him a CurbStompBattle that he took very personally. Afterwards, he was infused with the Phantom Ruby and became the tool necessary for Eggman to finally TakeOverTheWorld, but not before toying with Shadow, who, as he predicted, doesn't even remember him.]] |
| 160 | * ByronicHero: A family-friendly version, anyway. He's cynical, brooding, and spiteful, but he's also passionate, fiery, and does have a few close relationships, such as with Rouge and Omega. |
| 161 | * CanonImmigrant: The Inhibitor Rings (see PowerLimiter for more info), first seen in ''Anime/SonicX'', became canon as of ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006''. |
| 162 | * CarpetOfVirility: Well, he's a hedgehog, and covered in fur, but his coloration invokes this. |
| 163 | * CaptainErsatz: |
| 164 | ** Given the series creator's love of ''Franchise/DragonBall'', Shadow was most likely based off of Vegeta. A constantly scowling, prideful {{Foil}} to the more lighthearted, optimistic protagonist. |
| 165 | ** Cloud Strife from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII''. They're both the results of experiments involving the DNA of world-consuming eldritch entities that resulted in them becoming the resident SuperSoldier compared to everyone else, but the circumstances behind said experiments (that involved both of them being put in a capsule for an extended period of time, and coming out of the experience with a scrambled memory that the GreaterScopeVillain would take advantage of), as well as seeing someone they cared deeply about get gunned down in front of them by a soldier kill squad traumatized them deeply and resulted in the brooding AntiHero everyone knows them as. Also, while it's confirmed with Cloud, it's implied that the tragedy that occured in his life prior to being sent to Earth on top of being created with his current physical age of 15 years resulted in Shadow's current personality, as he might not know how else to act around others besides being a JerkWithAHeartOfGold. |
| 166 | ** Another startlingly close resemblance is to Mewtwo from the ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' films. Each is a dark, mysterious UltimateLifeForm who was created to cure the ill daughter/granddaughter (Maria/Amber) of a brilliant scientist (Gerald/Dr.Fuji) reluctantly working with a villain (Black Doom/Giovanni), ends up [[OnlyFriend befriending]] the girl only for her to [[TheLostLenore tragically die]], resulting in said ultimate life form seeking revenge against humanity and the world to cope with their deep sense of loss. |
| 167 | * ChallengeSeeker: Shadow never turns down a chance to test his abilities against potentially strong opponents like super-dimensional beings, dragons, and of course, Sonic himself. |
| 168 | * CharacterCatchphrase: He does have a few catchphrases unique to him, which help highlight an aspect of his personality. |
| 169 | ** "I'm the ultimate life form!" -- Typically a BadassBoast which emphasizes his cocky nature and how his status as such makes him superior to his enemies |
| 170 | ** "This is who I am!" -- what he says after in every ending of ''Shadow the Hedgehog'', proclaiming who he is and his purpose in life after seeking for answers in his titular game[[note]]It was also meant to tie into a cut credits song for the game, "Who I am" by Magni-Fi as well[[/note]]. |
| 171 | * CharacterDevelopment: |
| 172 | ** Shadow originally only cared about avenging the loss of his old friend and didn't even care if his own memories were fabricated into doing so. About two games later, he has accepted Maria's death and wishes to protect the world that she loved in honor of her memory and live his own life unshackled by past transgressions. |
| 173 | ** He forms a genuine bond with Rouge (who he wanted nothing to do with in his debut) and Omega, even calling them his friends (or rather "allies" if ''VideoGame/SonicBattle'' is any indication). |
| 174 | * CharacterizationMarchesOn: Shadow had a cordial rivalry with Sonic in his debut game and ''Sonic Heroes'', but following his titular game his rivalry with Sonic has been consistently been portrayed with Shadow finding Sonic annoying but a worthy challenge, '''06'' being an exception. |
| 175 | ** In ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'', Shadow's personality was very much like that of an EvilCounterpart to Sonic's, namely he was rather cocky and even prone to smirks like his blue rival. This was retained until roughly ''VideoGame/SonicBattle'' and [[VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog his game]] where his more stoic and straightforward attitude took hold. Then starting in ''VideoGame/SonicFreeRiders'', he's more of a typical StockShonenRival and jerk, though this can be justified as his competitive spirit taking hold during the championship. |
| 176 | * TheChessmaster: Was clearly making use of Eggman's world-dominating ambition throughout ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'' in order to further his own goal (and Gerald's) in wiping out humanity in revenge for the murder of Maria Robotnik. The only reason he didn't succeed was that Amy convinced him to not go through with the plan. This also happened in the Pure Dark - Hero ending, where he takes Black Doom's orders in order to get the Chaos Emeralds to remember his past, then later he ends up turning on him to take revenge against humanity on his own. |
| 177 | * CombatPragmatist: Despite his natural power, [[VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog his own game]] and [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006 the 2006 game]] show that he'll use guns, swords, vehicles, a stop sign and pretty much ''anything'' as a weapon if the situation calls for it. |
| 178 | * TheComicallySerious: His overly serious demeanor is sometimes played for laughs, particularly when juxtaposed with Sonic. Once in a while, he makes a few wits and one-liners. |
| 179 | * ConjoinedEyes: Like most ''Sonic'' characters. |
| 180 | * ConsummateProfessional: In ''Sonic '06'' and ''Sonic Forces'', he always shuts down any attempts to make small talk in order to focus on the mission at hand. |
| 181 | * ContrastingSequelAntagonist: |
| 182 | ** Like Knuckles, Shadow makes his debut as TheDragon towards Dr. Eggman and serves as a red-colored [[TheRival rival]] to Sonic, but that's where the similarities end. Unlike Knuckles who was Eggman's UnwittingPawn, it's Shadow who was pulling Eggman's strings. Knuckles was ultimately a good person who [[HorribleJudgeOfCharacter foolishly trusted Eggman]], while Shadow is driven by [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge vengeance]]. Even after having a [[HeelFaceTurn change of heart]], he still remains rather distant from Sonic and friends, being an ally or antagonist depending on his motivation. |
| 183 | ** To the other main villain introduced in the ''Adventure'' duology, Chaos. Both are sympathetic [[AntiVillain Anti-Villains]] who want to wipe out humanity due to outside influences (the Chaos Emeralds for Chaos, Gerald messing with his memories for Shadow), but they wildly differ from there: |
| 184 | *** Chaos was mutated into his current form, but Shadow was created to be the UltimateLifeForm. |
| 185 | *** While it's debatable how loyal he was, Chaos worked for Eggman until the end of the story. Shadow on the other hand acted as TheDragon to Eggman but was really pulling his strings the whole time. |
| 186 | *** Chaos' first encounter with Sonic ended with the Blue Blur handily beating him, while Shadow got the upper hand during his. |
| 187 | *** Chaos [[KarmaHoudini suffers no repercussions]] after being fought as the FinalBoss of ''Adventure'', while Shadow [[RedemptionEqualsDeath seemingly dies]] after helping Sonic fight the final boss of ''Adventure 2''. |
| 188 | * ContrivedCoincidence: His resemblance to Sonic is only a coincidence, seeing as he was created many years before Sonic was born. |
| 189 | * CoolBike: In the intro of his self-titled game, he rides a bike into battle before crashing it into a Black Arms enforcer. Despite the reception of his game, Shadow riding a motorcycle has stuck in many games, including ''06''. In ''[[VideoGame/SegaSuperstars Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing]]'', his motorcycle is named the Dark Rider. |
| 190 | * CoolShades: Wears some in the ''VideoGame/SonicRiders'' series, which are above his head. |
| 191 | * CreateYourOwnVillain: Did this (accidentally) with [[spoiler:Infinite]]. |
| 192 | * CriminalDoppelganger: Sonic is blamed by the government for breaking into a top secret facility and stealing a Chaos Emerald. This was actually done by Shadow and Sonic is able to put two and two together once they come face to face. In an interesting variant of this trope, all of this was completely unintentional on Shadow's part and Shadow initially assumes Sonic to be his fake when they meet up. |
| 193 | * CuteLittleFangs: Has these, though they're very hard to see. |
| 194 | * CutscenePowerToTheMax: In his ''[[VideoGame/SonicAdventure2 first ever scene]]'', he's seen using his air shoes to fly. Not once in any game has he been able to replicate this feat, with the closest exception being his [[VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog titular game]], where he'll temporarily hold himself in the air while shooting a sub-machine gun or variations, and never rising up into the air on them alone as he did there. |
| 195 | * TheCynic: In contrast to Sonic’s carefree nature. |
| 196 | * CynicalMentor: During his chapter in ''VideoGame/SonicBattle'', he takes up this role toward Emerl, willingly letting the latter learn his techniques while warning him of how dangerous his power can be, while also making it no secret that he suspects Emerl may eventually turn on the heroes and destroy the Earth. |
| 197 | * DarkAndTroubledPast: Shadow was created by Professor Gerald as a means to cure his terminally ill granddaughter Maria, whom Shadow formed a close bond with. When GUN raided the Ark to shut the project down, they captured many of the researchers and killed the rest, Maria being one of the casualties. To twist the knife further, Shadow had to watch her die in front of him and was completely helpless to save her. Needless to say, Shadow did not take it well and his debut is carrying Gerald's will and exacting revenge on the planet. It's only by remembering Maria's last words of giving humanity a chance to be happy that he starts to get over it and move on with his life, but Shadow never truly gets over it and maintains a very distant attitude even to this day. |
| 198 | * DarkIsEvil: At first in ''Sonic Adventure 2'' and ''Shadow the Hedgehog'' depending on the player's choice. |
| 199 | * DarkIsNotEvil: At the end of ''Sonic Adventure 2'' and games beyond. |
| 200 | * TheDarkSide: In ''Shadow the Hedgehog'', he can draw on the power of evil and unleash his Chaos Blast. |
| 201 | * ADayInTheLimelight: Tends to get these a lot given his own popularity. |
| 202 | ** At the height of his popularity, [[VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog he got his own game]]. |
| 203 | ** He also had his own free DLC campaign in ''VideoGame/SonicForces'' titled ''Episode Shadow'', set before the events of the main game. |
| 204 | ** In the UpdatedRerelease of ''VideoGame/SonicGenerations'' he once again gets a campaign centered on him in the aptly titled ''Sonic X Shadow Generations'' where he has to fight a freshly resurrected Black Doom. |
| 205 | * DeadpanSnarker: He can be very snarky sometimes, especially when [[SnarkToSnarkCombat bantering with Sonic]]. |
| 206 | * DeathGlare: He often shows one when staring down his opponents. |
| 207 | * DefrostingIceKing: After finally [[spoiler:moving on from his past with his loss of Maria and the realization of being biologically related to the Black Arms]], he doesn't seem as cold towards Sonic and others as he was before. |
| 208 | * DemotedToExtra: Shadow was essentially the {{deuteragonist}} of the entire franchise for a time after his debut, playing a major role alongside Sonic in every game he was in. Nowadays he mostly shows up in cameos and the occasional boss fight. Administrivia/TropesAreNotBad however as many fans agreed that he had a rather disproportionate amount of focus compared to the rest of the cast. |
| 209 | * DependingOnTheWriter: How much of a jerk Shadow is will depend on the game he's in: sometimes he's simply an AloofAlly who's TheStoic but shows kindness his own way. Other times he's a JerkWithAHeartOfGold who's brusque and doesn't care much for cooperation, though still stands by doing good and protecting what he cares about. And there are times where he is nothing but a jerkish ArrogantKungFuGuy that mocks allies and enemies alike, derides ThePowerOfFriendship and does nothing but be entitled to get what he wants for as long as possible because he is the Ultimate Lifeform. |
| 210 | * DesperatelyLookingForAPurposeInLife: In ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'' back on the ARK, struggling with finding out why he was created. And then again in ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes'' and ''VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog'', due to his amnesia. |
| 211 | * {{Determinator}}: He will always fight on even if it's the world against him; also, in any goal he wants to carry out, he is near [[TheJuggernaut unstoppable.]] |
| 212 | * {{Deuteragonist}}: For a while after his debut, he had a major role in almost every main title alongside Sonic himself. |
| 213 | * DisneyVillainDeath: After defeating the Finalhazard, Shadow lost his super form and fell back down to Earth at the end of ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'', where he was then presumed dead. [[SubvertedTrope He survived]]. |
| 214 | * DisproportionateRetribution: His initial appearance had him attempting to destroy the Earth to avenge the murder of Maria Robotnik. He gets better. |
| 215 | * DivergentCharacterEvolution: |
| 216 | ** In both ''Adventure 2'' and ''Heroes'', he's little more than a MovesetClone of Sonic. By ''Shadow the Hedgehog'', he finally gets to use his own Chaos abilities in-game, and eventually gets a completely different playstyle than anything Sonic has ever done in ''[='=]06''. He returns to being a MovesetClone of Sonic for ''Forces'', however. |
| 217 | ** Personality wise, he diverts from Knuckles as the serious, no-nonsense foil to Sonic. Namely, Shadow never formally joins Sonic's circle of friends and chooses to straddle the line between being an AloofAlly or a StockShonenRival towards his blue counterpart. |
| 218 | * TheDragon: To Black Doom in ''Shadow the Hedgehog'''s Dark and Semi-Dark storyline. Also served as this to [[spoiler:Professor Gerald Robotnik]] in ''Sonic Adventure 2''. While he appeared to be one to Eggman in ''Sonic Adventure 2'' and ''Sonic Forces'', see DragonWithAnAgenda below for the former and [[spoiler:the latter was a fake version conjured up by the Phantom Ruby. The real Shadow never once switched sides]]. |
| 219 | * DragonWithAnAgenda: To Eggman in ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'', the agenda being annihilating the entire world as part of Professor Gerald's reprogramming before he was sealed. |
| 220 | * TheDreaded: Almost all media portrays Shadow like this, with him being possibly the most intimidating and fear-invoking character in the series. Sonic himself treats him more seriously than any rival and enemy he has fought and acknowledges him as a dangerous obstacle that he must take on without holding back. |
| 221 | ** Black Doom even lampshades this in ''VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog''. He tells him that the humans feared him enough that they wanted him destroyed (and succeeded). |
| 222 | ** Mephiles likewise tries to turn Shadow to his side by showing him his fate in ''Sonic '06'''s BadFuture, stating that humans feared him after the incident that they had mobilized Omega to imprison him for all eternity. |
| 223 | * TheEeyore: Appears to be his way of coping with Maria’s death. Even after putting the past behind him, he still remains gloomy, cynical and sarcastic. |
| 224 | * EnergyBall: He uses these in ''Sonic Battle'' and ''Sonic Riders''. |
| 225 | * EpicFail: In ''VisualNovel/TheMurderOfSonicTheHedgehog'', [[spoiler:Shadow learns that he was supposed to get Amy a birthday gift and tries to buy concert tickets for her at the party, locking all the doors on the train to do it in secret. He then accidentally prints out the ticket webpage before realizing they're not even on sale yet and forgets Amy's Birthday Key can unlock the doors]], resulting in the surprise being spoiled. [[spoiler:Espio]] also uses Shadow's sketchy behavior to try to pin the murder on him. |
| 226 | * EvilBrit: When voiced by David Humphrey in ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'' (when he was at his most villainous), Shadow spoke with a ''very'' slight [[https://www.tumblr.com/welcome-to-green-hills/682242726574587904/shadow-had-a-transatlantic-accent Transatlantic/British accent]]. |
| 227 | * EvilCounterpart: To Sonic, at first. Then CharacterDevelopment happened, and he became more of a [[AntiHero Neutral Counterpart]] to him; not evil, but not entirely good either. |
| 228 | * EvilLaugh: Does these in the Dark endings of his game. |
| 229 | * FakeMemories: Gerald altered Shadow's memories so that he could carry out Gerald's plan to take revenge on humanity. Fortunately, Shadow's actual memories of his promise to Maria shone through despite this. |
| 230 | * FangsAreEvil: The cover art of ''Shadow the Hedgehog'' has Shadow snarling, prominently showing his fangs, and one of his alternate paths in the game can have him fully embrace evil. Granted, these never really show up in the gameplay sequences nor are the evil paths canon. |
| 231 | * FantasticNuke: His Chaos Blast, which generates an explosion that destroys anything in the immediate vicinity. |
| 232 | * FatalFlaw: Wrath. While Shadow is mostly TheStoic, he is also ''extremely'' vindictive and prone to more violence than what is necessary. His debut had him planning to cause planetary genocide all because his surrogate family and home were taken from him, [[FreudianExcuse albeit rather unjustifiably]]. [[ReformedButNotTamed And no, this trait does not go away even after he stops being a villain]], and it's one of the main sources of friction between him and Sonic, as the latter is content to simply disable his opponents and let them walk away. |
| 233 | * FinalBoss: Of the Hero Side Story of ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2''. |
| 234 | * {{Flanderization}}: In ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'', he ''did'' partake in some minor brooding, but that wasn't a primary character trait. Much like Cloud Strife in his original appearance, he could make a joke, take a joke, and he didn't care about his hazy past; all he cared about was accomplishing his current goals [[AntiHero by any means necessary]]. However, [[VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog in his self-titled game]], Shadow turned into a ByronicHero who would ''never stop'' brooding and pondering about his past. However, once he learns about his past, [[CharacterDevelopment that apparently satisfied his ponderings]] and relaxed into a characterization close to his original just in time for [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006 the next game]], being a stoic PragmaticHero who used both his skills ''and'' cunning to solve problems. |
| 235 | * FlashStep: Capable of this even without a Chaos Emerald although he appears to be limited to teleporting short distances. This ability of his was coined in ''Anime/SonicX'' and then adapted back into game canon by ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006'' where Shadow is seen teleporting in the opening cutscene and one of his unlockable moves is Chaos Snap which lets him teleport towards a nearby enemy. |
| 236 | * {{Flight}}: When using his [[CutscenePowerToTheMax air shoes]], Chaos Control, or if he's Super Shadow. |
| 237 | * {{Foil}}: He serves as one to Sonic. Whereas Sonic is the friendly, adventure-seeking hero, Shadow is the cold, deadly serious AntiHero. While they may be on the same side, often their methods of taking action can lead them to clash with one another. |
| 238 | * ForgotAboutHisPowers: In ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes'', he doesn't assist Super Sonic in the final battle, despite having a [[SuperMode super form]] himself as the previous installment, ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'', demonstrated. {{Justified|Trope}} as he had amnesia at the time, but it doesn't explain why everyone else doesn't remind him of it. |
| 239 | * FragileSpeedster: When [[CompetitiveBalance balanced]], he's usually some combination of this and GlassCannon, generally offered as an alternative to Sonic. Notably in ''VideoGame/SonicBattle'', where he's very strong and very fast, but has the absolute worst healing skills of all the playable characters. |
| 240 | * TheFriendNobodyLikes: While he's not exactly ''disliked'' by the cast,[[note]]In fact, during the final level of expert mode of ''VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog'', which in of itself is framed as being after the events of the game, [[https://youtu.be/s_1i8jXfeCk?t=347 the whole cast of characters at the time were all very supportive of Shadow]][[/note]] his independent and arrogant attitude makes it extremely hard for him to get along with the others. It's rather noticeable that he only has two characters that he can call close friends and one other person he doesn’t act like a dick towards. |
| 241 | * FriendlyRivalry: Develops one with Sonic in later games. Despite his annoyance with the blue hedgehog, Shadow still acknowledges and respects Sonic as a WorthyOpponent, which Sonic finds mutual. He even stayed at Sonic's birthday party in ''Sonic Generations'' after fighting him. He also has a smaller, but still prominent one, with Omega, as the two will occasionally make mentions of challenging one another, not unlike Sonic's rivalry with Knuckles. |
| 242 | * GeniusBruiser: Though not at Tails's level and mostly downplayed, Shadow is also cunning, strategic and occasionally displays some degree of scientific and technological know-how. |
| 243 | * TheGlovesComeOff: In ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006''; when Mephiles uses the Chaos Emeralds in his possession to [[MesACrowd create an army of clones]] and has Team Dark on the ropes, Shadow decides to [[GodzillaThreshold break out the big guns]] and takes off his [[PowerLimiter inhibitor rings]]. A few minutes later, [[OffscreenMomentOfAwesome Mephiles and his army have been reduced to a big puddle of ooze]]. |
| 244 | * GoldenSuperMode: A different, lighter shade of gold than Sonic's, but still counts. |
| 245 | * GoodIsNotNice: His heart is (usually) in the right place, but his attitude could definitely use some work. His aloof and somewhat apathetic nature makes him come off as cold and uncaring towards people and his ego and violent tendencies also make it hard to get along with him. |
| 246 | * GoodIsNotSoft: Has no compunctions against lethal force when against an evil foe. The Black Arms learned the hard way that this also means no compunctions against genocide when dealing with exceptional evil. And if the heroes get in the way of his current goals, they're as much of a target as the villains. |
| 247 | * HatesSmallTalk: When Shadow is focused on a mission, friendly conversations or the like are out of question for him. |
| 248 | * HaughtyHmph: He's a frequent user of short, haughty "Hmph!"s. It's his way of expressing how arrogant and disapproving he is towards others. |
| 249 | * HeartbrokenBadass: Although it was familial love and he doesn't express it often, Maria's death hit him hard. |
| 250 | * TheHeavy: In ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'', while he pretends to act as TheDragon to Eggman, it's his presence that drives the plot, and he is in fact manipulating Eggman for his own purposes and on Gerald's will. |
| 251 | * HeelFaceRevolvingDoor: According to his backstory, he was a face, then after a tragic incident, he became a heel. He later became a face for the ending of ''Sonic Adventure 2'' thanks to Amy convincing him to spare Earth, which triggered memories of Maria’s real last request to him. After his revival, he was neutral before settling on being a face. |
| 252 | * HeroicRROD: It's implied at the end of ''Sonic Adventure 2'' that he was overwhelmed by the power of his Chaos Emerald-induced SuperMode, which may be part of why he lost his power and fell into Earth's orbit during the HeroicSacrifice mentioned below. It's also implied that his inexperience with a super state, in conjunction with the emotional stress he was likely dealing with, factored into it. |
| 253 | ** ''Sonic X'' gives him this attribute in the Japanese original: it's shown he has to take off his inhibitor rings to take out Knuckles, but he collapses to the floor for a moment after doing so. This attribute would later be carried into the games like ''[='=]06''. |
| 254 | * HeroicSacrifice: At the end of ''Sonic Adventure 2'', he helps save the world from the Final Hazard, but uses up all of his power before he falls from space towards the Earth. He was initially believed to have died, but ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes'' reveals that he survived, but became amnesiac as a result. |
| 255 | * HeroOfAnotherStory: Since Shadow is an AloofAlly to Sonic's group, he's often working behind the scenes in parallel to his blue counterpart.Two notable examples: |
| 256 | ** In ''VideoGame/SonicForces'', he is the trigger for Infinite's StartOfDarkness before the events of the main campaign. |
| 257 | ** In ''[[VideoGame/SonicGenerations Sonic]] x [[UpdatedRerelease Shadow Generations]]'', while Sonic and his past self are trying to rescue their friends from the Time Eater, Shadow [[spoiler: has to fight a BackFromTheDead Black Doom and prevent him from taking over the world.]] |
| 258 | * HeWhoFightsMonsters: In his efforts to exact revenge on the people that killed his best friend during his debut, Shadow winds up concocting a far grander scheme with [[ApocalypseHow far more destructive consequences]]. |
| 259 | * HiddenDepths: He [[RetCanon eats coffee beans]] according to ''VisualNovel/TheMurderOfSonicTheHedgehog'', which is a reference to the November 2017 episode of the non-canon series [[Blog/SonicTheHedgehogTwitter Twitter Takeover]]. In the same visual novel, he's apparently pretty good at ''VideoGame/SuperMonkeyBall'', where he taught Vector and Knuckles how to play. |
| 260 | * HiddenHeartOfGold: He's a violent, egotistical jerk whose actions border on out and out villainy on occasion, but he's always on the side of justice and he genuinely cares about others and only acts cold and distant to others because he doesn't want anyone to get close to him, so he doesn't lose them like he lost Maria. |
| 261 | * HumansAreTheRealMonsters: His initial attitude, regarding the humans as heartless due to the tragic incident on the ARK. Despite this, Shadow still put it aside to give them a chance as he promised to Maria. |
| 262 | * HumanWeapon: More of FunnyAnimal weapon, but Black Doom wanted Shadow created so he could have him get the chaos emeralds, whilst G.U.N. wanted a sort of SuperSoldier according to supplementary materials. |
| 263 | * IconicItem: Since his introduction, Shadow has been associated with the green Chaos Emerald, as it is the first emerald he collects in his debut. It's the first or even only Chaos Emerald he'll collect to use the bulk of his chaos powers. When Shadow was among the few Assist Trophies in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'' to gain a slight revamp, he was given said gem and the sole Chaos Emerald he collects in ''WesternAnimation/SonicPrime'' is the green one. |
| 264 | * IdenticalStranger: Related to CriminalDoppelganger above. Even Shadow himself remarks in ''Sonic Heroes'' that Sonic could be his twin. To the audience it would be hard to mistake them having different fur color, quill shape, and even different outfits as far as boot and glove designs go. Apparently on whatever InUniverse metric to tell the anthropomorphic characters apart the two are almost identical. |
| 265 | * ItsAllMyFault: How Shadow felt in the Slightly Hero ending, when the GUN commander falsely accused him for being behind the events on the ARK. |
| 266 | -->'''Shadow:''' "I am Shadow the Hedgehog. A research experiment gone deadly wrong... I caused so much destruction... I should have never have been created... This is who I am." |
| 267 | * ImageSong: He has more than any character in the series. [[VideoGame/SonicAdventure2 Throw It All Away]], [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006 All Hail Shadow]], [[VideoGame/SonicAdventure2 Rhythm and Balance, The Supernatural, Supporting Me,]] {{I Am| Song}} [[VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog (All of Me)]], [[VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog Almost Dead, Waking Up, Chosen One]], [[GoldenEnding Never]] [[VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog Turn Back]], [[CutSong Who I]] [[VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog Am]]. |
| 268 | * ImmortalImmaturity: He's technically over 50 years old, but is physically the same age as Sonic, and behaves as such. {{Justified|Trope}}, he's been in [[SealedBadassInACan suspended animation]] for most of those years, and didn't have very much time to mature as a consequence, though the question of whether he ''can'' mature is something of an open one. |
| 269 | * ImmortalityBeginsAtTwenty: Or at [[VagueAge somewhere in the teens,]] at any rate. He generally is portrayed is being of an age to Sonic (who is 15-[[VagueAge ish]]) but thanks to Gerald Robotnik's research, he is ageless and immune to disease. Despite being 50+ years old, however, he technically spent most of that time in stasis, so it's ambiguous if his body really has stopped aging. |
| 270 | * IneffectualLoner: He is used to being a lone wolf, since he doesn't put a lot of value in teamwork when getting things done. It also doesn't help that he doesn't seem very fond of anyone's presence that much. |
| 271 | * InsufferableGenius: Tends to have low tolerance for incompetence and snarks at his allies for making rash decisions. |
| 272 | * InformedAbility: He tends to be {{fragile|Speedster}}, despite his {{Immortality}}. Considering the nature of Gerald's research, it's more of "an absolute immunity to age and illness". |
| 273 | * InformedAttribute: Shadow is reported to be immune to aging, yet was kept in stasis for fifty years by GUN. |
| 274 | * {{Irony}}: |
| 275 | ** Shadow loathed GUN for killing Maria Robotnik; he now works for them after having forgiven them since they're a whole lot better now and regret their actions from 50 years ago. |
| 276 | ** In ''Sonic Adventure 2'', Shadow acknowledged Sonic as the ''real'' ultimate life form after seeing him use the fake Chaos Emerald. After he lost his memory, he went back to referring to himself as the ultimate life form and viewing himself superior to Sonic. |
| 277 | ** He is introduced as Sonic's impostor. Since then, he's had to deal with impostors of himself on [[VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog three]] [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006 separate]] [[VideoGame/SonicForces occasions]]. |
| 278 | * IWasJustPassingThrough: Whenever Shadow helps or saves someone, he will state that it is linked to his personal goals. |
| 279 | ** In ''Sonic Adventure 2'', he saves Rouge by using Chaos Control before Prison Island explodes, and then claims that he didn't come to save her, he came for the Chaos Emeralds. |
| 280 | ** In ''Shadow the Hedgehog'', after helping Sonic eliminate a number of Black Arms soldiers in Westopolis, he tells him that he didn't come to save him, although Sonic expected him to say that. |
| 281 | * JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Despite his aloof, arrogant, and violent tendencies, he's always at the front lines whenever a new threat arises and is capable of working with the heroes too when they're on the same page. He has also shown genuine care for several characters, such as his late surrogate sister, Maria, Professor Gerald, his friends/partners, Rouge and Omega, Amy (who he opened up to after making him remember his true promise to Maria, helped her find Cream in ''Shadow the Hedgehog'', and attended her birthday party along with giving her a present in ''The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog''), and even his arch-rival Sonic. |
| 282 | ** This is on display quite frequently in ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes'', where he has amnesia for most of the game. Despite that, the very first thing he does upon waking up is save Rouge from getting shot by a rampaging Omega simply because he could. Despite fighting against Team Chaotix and Team Sonic and making threatening remarks, he makes no attempt to inflict fatal damage on either team. Finally, in the Final Episode, he is immediately willing to partner with the other teams to stop Metal Sonic despite having no personal investment in the conflict at this point. |
| 283 | * TheJuggernaut: Simply put, once Shadow gets started on something, he is nigh-unstoppable. Barriers, walls, entire armies are nothing but doorstops to him. ''Nothing''[[note]]Besides a few individuals such as [[DoAnythingRobot E-123 Omega]] according to the BadFuture in ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006''[[/note]] is going to slow him down, much less stop him. Best seen in the ending to his story in ''06'', where after being swarmed with Mephiles clones, he removes his PowerLimiter rings, grabs his teammates, and runs through them all. |
| 284 | * KnightInSourArmor: He eventually becomes this after the events of ''Shadow the Hedgehog''. Pretty much his only reason for fighting for the world is because Maria told him to before she died. This was best demonstrated in ''Sonic 2006'' when Mephiles tries to bring Shadow over to his side by telling him that the world will turn on him one day, Shadow simply responds by saying [[ShutUpHannibal he'll fight like he used to.]] |
| 285 | * KnightOfCerebus: Almost anything concerning Shadow is grimly serious and a harsh turn away from the jovial attitude the main protagonist embodies. |
| 286 | * KnightTemplar: In some iterations in the franchise, he is this, and will use ''any means'' to ensure his own sense of justice is carried out, and will kill anyone to illustrate how far he will go. |
| 287 | * LonerTurnedFriend: Over time, he develops a genuine friendship with his partners, Rouge and Omega. |
| 288 | * TheLancer: Even though he's the most recognizable of Team Dark, he functions as this to Rouge, at least in ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes''. He also functions as a more general one towards Sonic along with Knuckles, being a darker foil towards his blue counterpart. |
| 289 | * LargeHam: Shadow's capable of being rather boastful in combat despite his usual reticence. Mostly in ''VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog'' and ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006'' to a lesser degree. He engages in some HamToHamCombat with Mephiles in the latter. |
| 290 | * TheLeader: He is Team Dark's figurehead and the heart and soul of the Team. Both in destructive and precise heavy assault performance and being the cold and brutal antithesis of Team Sonic as a reminder of the latter's skill and fame. [[DownplayedTrope That said]], he doesn't do much to coordinate their efforts or lead them around, with Rouge being the one most likely to give orders and coordinate with others. So while the other two follow his lead, he's more akin to the figurehead. |
| 291 | * {{Leitmotif}}: His original one is "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoSdstkl2hQ Throw It All Away]]" from ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2''. Post-''Sonic '06'', it's been "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-T9v3iOWX24 All Hail Shadow]]", the hero ending theme of ''VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog'', as his main theme in ''[[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006 '06]]'' (the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1ICoVNMSZE Crush40 version from this game]] being the one that is used the most), and as his ThemeMusicPowerUp in ''VideoGame/SonicGenerations'' and his dynamic entry moment in ''Forces''. |
| 292 | * LightningBruiser: When he's not balanced, he's usually this. He's fast enough to keep up with Sonic thanks to his Hover Shoes. And his sheer natural power and skill alone is enough to make the option of fighting him virtually suicide. |
| 293 | * LightDarknessJuxtaposition: The "dark" to Sonic's light naturally. While neither of them have any powers associated with the respective element, they're both thematically tied to them. Shadow's entire motif is rooted in darkness, right down to his given and team name and being part ''Black'' Arms. While in contrast, his and Sonic's respective {{Super Mode}}s are [[GoldenSuperMode golden]] in color. |
| 294 | * MeaningfulAppearance: Shadow's TrickedOutShoes are a subtle clue that, while he rivals Sonic, he's not quite on the same level, since while they can both reach rival speeds, Sonic doesn't rely on special technology to do so. |
| 295 | * MeaningfulName: |
| 296 | ** A Sonic Channel comic suggests that Maria thought up the name Shadow, with a meaning in mind. |
| 297 | --->'''Maria:''' Darkness can be anywhere you go, but a shadow represents the direction in which the light is shining! |
| 298 | ** Other sources have suggested his name comes from the program that created him, "Project Shadow," which was named as such because of how likely it was to succeed. |
| 299 | * MessianicArchetype: Professor Gerald originally worked on Project Shadow to find a cure for his granddaughter's disease. Maria, whom Shadow befriended, who encouraged him to help humans. When GUN learned of Gerald's deal with Black Doom, they stormed the ARK in an attempt to shut down the project, where they ended up killing Maria and kept Shadow in stasis. Once Shadow is awakened, he enacts Gerald's revenge for Maria's death although he later goes against it when he remembers Maria's DyingWish to protect Earth. He then seemingly [[HeroicSacrifice dies saving the Earth]], but is later revealed to have survived. In his self-titled game, Shadow goes against Black Doom who intended for him to help the Black Arms use humanity as their food source and saves Earth from them. In ''Sonic '06'', Mephiles reveals to Shadow that humanity will turn against him, and shows trapped in stasis in the future, with the future Shadow being in a CrucifiedHeroShot. Said betrayal happened due to a friend turning against him (though in [[spoiler:Omega's]] case, it's implied to be against his will). In spite of that, Shadow refuses to give up on doing what's right and fights Mephiles. |
| 300 | * MiniMe: Raising a Dark Run/Run Chao in ''Sonic Adventure 2'' will make it look like a miniature Chao version of Shadow. Said Chao has been featured in many official art as well [[ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogIDW the tie-in comics]]. |
| 301 | * MisanthropeSupreme: He starts as this in ''Adventure 2'', though it's somewhat justified as humans created him and then just [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness sealed him away when they no longer needed him]]. After Amy gives him a PatrickStewartSpeech near the end he decides humans aren't so bad after all. That said, after his amnesia kicked in, his misantropy returned, calling humans "pathetic" in his titular game. It appears that even if he will keep his promise to protect the planet, [[ForgivenButNotForgotten he won't like humans.]] |
| 302 | * MovesetClone: In many of his playable appearances like ''Adventure 2'', ''Heroes'' and ''Forces'', he plays identically to Sonic. |
| 303 | * MyGodWhatHaveIDone: His feelings about his past in the Semi-Hero - Hero ending of [[VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog his titular game]] aren't particularly happy ones. |
| 304 | -->'''Shadow:''' I am Shadow the Hedgehog. I am a research experiment... [[GoneHorriblyWrong gone deadly wrong!]] I've caused so much destruction... (''shakes head'') I should have never been created! This is who I am... |
| 305 | * MysteriousPast: Was first presented as being a doppelganger of Sonic with a mysterious past involving the loss of a loved one. Ironically, this is subverted at the end of his own StoryArc; more about his past has been revealed than any other character in the series, including Sonic himself! |
| 306 | * NiceJobBreakingItHero: While he couldn't've known at the time, Shadow [[spoiler:beating Infinite up and calling him worthless]] sparks [[spoiler:Infinite giving himself the powers of the Phantom Ruby]], and ''that'' leads to [[spoiler:Sonic being defeated and Eggman taking over the world]]. Cue ''VideoGame/SonicForces''. [[JustifiedTrope Even then, however,]] [[spoiler:Infinite and his group of mercenaries were already working under Eggman anyway]]. |
| 307 | * NiceMeanAndInbetween: In-Between. Usually pretty cynical, aggressive, and dark overall. Underneath it all, however, he does have a caring side to him and remains on the side of justice. |
| 308 | * NobleDemon: During his AntiVillain phase. He wants to wipe out humanity to exact revenge before Maria's death, but he's still capable of showing compassion for Rouge and respect for Sonic. |
| 309 | * NominalHero: After ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'' had him pull a HeelFaceTurn, he protects the world only because [[MoralityChain Maria]] wanted him to, or to boost his ego and superiority over others as the Ultimate Lifeform. Shadow has been shown as willing to cross any line to succeed in his mission and goals, which may or may not be for the good of Earth. Most of the time, it is, but it's always about Shadow [[ItsAllAboutMe achieving his own ambitions first]]. |
| 310 | * NoNonsenseNemesis: Once a misguided nemesis to Sonic, who is now his serious and bitter arch-rival. |
| 311 | * NotEvilJustMisunderstood: G.U.N. accuses Shadow for being evil and blame him for Maria's death. In reality, Shadow tried to ''save'' Maria from ''them'', and strives to protect the planet despite their judgments and mistakes. |
| 312 | * NotSoAboveItAll: |
| 313 | ** Although he's far more dark and serious than the other characters, he can sometimes embed the cockiness of Sonic, like when he called himself "the coolest" (at least in the English dub). |
| 314 | ** There are numerous times where he breaks his stoicism and banters back and forth with Sonic, usually when the two are about to go toe-to-toe. |
| 315 | --->'''Sonic:''' Didn't you know? ''We'' have a date with Eggman too.\ |
| 316 | '''Shadow:''' Is that so... Well then, it will be a date to ''die'' for!\ |
| 317 | '''Sonic:''' [[HeyThatsMyLine Hey! That's my line!!]] |
| 318 | ** Despite being very distant and solitary, he does sometimes show up at events with the other heroes, such as the racing challenges, and even at Sonic's birthday party. |
| 319 | ** ''VisualNovel/TheMurderOfSonicTheHedgehog'' not only has him compete against Knuckles and Vector for the high score on a ''VideoGame/SuperMonkeyBall'' arcade machine, but he taught them how to play in the first place. Is Shadow possibly a fan of ''Super Monkey Ball''? |
| 320 | ** Despite his SuperSpeed, Shadow is frequently seen riding a CoolBike. In the Archie comics, Rouge teases him about the G.U.N. issued bike, noting how Shadow had it custom painted and maintains it personally. |
| 321 | --->'''Shadow:''' I really like that bike. |
| 322 | * NotSoStoic: He does show his vulnerable side at times, especially where he sheds a tear when being reminded by Maria in ''Adventure 2''. |
| 323 | * OffscreenVillainy: He's attributed to the destruction of Infinite's Jackal Squad in ''Sonic Forces'', but that action is never seen in the game. |
| 324 | * OneManArmy: Has decimated entire armies single handily. In ''Shadow the Hedgehog'', depending on which ending a player gets, he could take out the highest members of G.U.N, Black Doom's army, and Eggman's forces, all by himself. |
| 325 | * OnlyMostlyDead: His reappearance in ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes'' confirmed he survived his apparent death in ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2''. |
| 326 | * TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou: [[IWasJustPassingThrough He seemingly pulls this]] off by intervening in a fight between [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006 Sonic and Silver]], saving Sonic from a potentially fatal blow, offhandedly making sure he's okay, then fighting Silver in his place. That time, he had a very good reason besides this trope to save Sonic, as he deduced that Mephiles is intending to eliminate the past. Later on in the same game, he expresses silent remorse at [[spoiler:Sonic's death]], but once he finds out that the Chaos Emeralds can undo this, immediately takes on the toughest challenges in order to retrieve the gems. |
| 327 | * OutOfFocus: In his heyday, he had more plot and character focus than Sonic himself. In later games, he made mainly cameo and boss appearances, up until ''VideoGame/SonicForces'' where he [[spoiler:or rather, a copy conjured up by the Phantom Ruby]] is one of the main enforcers in Eggman's army, and even has his own campaign that takes place before the game starts. |
| 328 | * PayEvilUntoEvil: |
| 329 | ** His entire plan to KillAllHumans in ''Sonic Adventure 2'' was the result of him witnessing the death of his closest friend at the hands of humanity. |
| 330 | ** Some of the endings of [[VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog his titular game]] end with him executing the defenseless Black Doom or Dr. Eggman. Given that they're two of the most notorious {{Evil Overlord}}s in the franchise, [[AssholeVictim it's hardly unwarranted]]. |
| 331 | ** The canonical ending of ''Shadow the Hedgehog'' sees him use the Chaos Emeralds to utterly ''decimate'' Black Doom as payback for invading Earth and [[GreaterScopeVillain indirectly causing all of the tragedy in Shadow's past]], as well as to remind him who the ''real'' Ultimate Life Form is. |
| 332 | ** In the ''Episode Shadow'' DLC for ''VideoGame/SonicForces'', Shadow wipes out a band of mercenaries without a second thought and mocks their SmugSnake leader after deeming him NotWorthKilling. This ends up being deconstructed, as this event [[CreateYourOwnVillain leads to]] said leader becoming something far worse. |
| 333 | * PerpetualFrowner: You'll only see him either frowning, indifferent, or smirking. Only in non-canon spin off games like ''[[VideoGame/MarioAndSonicAtTheOlympicGames Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games]]'', can you catch him smiling if he does well at an event or ''[[VideoGame/SegaSuperstars Sonic & All Stars Racing Transformed]]'', where he'll occasionally fist pump in excitement with a decidedly OutOfCharacter look on his face before starting a race. |
| 334 | * PersonOfMassDestruction: He's a walking mini-nuke with the power (depending on the number of Chaos Emeralds he has) to devastate cities and fortresses. |
| 335 | * PetTheDog: As much of an aloof jerk Shadow is, he’s been shown a few times to have moments of kindness: |
| 336 | ** He considers Rouge and Omega to be friends of his, as much as he doesn't want to admit and has consistently shown to have their backs, going out his way to save Rouge whenever she’s in trouble even when he doesn’t personally benefit from it. |
| 337 | ** Even though they aren’t shown to directly interact that much, it’s been shown a few times that he has a soft spot for [[MoralityPet Amy]], most likely because she reminds him of Maria. In ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'', he [[HeelFaceTurn changes his mind about destroying Earth after Amy convinces him not to, explicitly telling her he’s going to keep his promise to both Maria and her]]. In ''VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog'', he takes the time to help Amy look for Cream and Cheese, even if it doesn’t help him find a Chaos Emerald. Finally, in ''VisualNovel/TheMurderOfSonicTheHedgehog'', he attends Amy’s birthday party and [[spoiler:attempts to gift her tickets to one of her favorite bands]]. |
| 338 | ** While he doesn't always express it, Shadow has quite a bit of respect for his blue rival. He has [[BigDamnHeroes stepped in to save Sonic]] quite a few times, stopping Silver from killing him in ''Sonic 06'', and stopping his phantom Ruby clone from attacking him in ''Sonic Forces''. While he didn't show up for Sonic's birthday party at first, by the end of ''VideoGame/SonicGenerations'', instead of doing whatever he was doing, he decides to stick around, and even cheers Sonic on during the FinalBoss beforehand. The most notable example is probably him [[spoiler:admitting that Sonic himself might be the true Ultimate Lifeform]] in the climax of ''Sonic Adventure 2''. |
| 339 | * PhysicalGod: After getting all seven Chaos Emeralds he can transform into his Super form which is powerful enough to destroy the entire world. |
| 340 | * PintSizedPowerhouse: He's the same size as Sonic and can take out towering monsters and giant robots with nothing but the shoes on his feet. |
| 341 | * PoorCommunicationKills: |
| 342 | ** A lot of Shadow's conflict with everyone else comes from his inability to just talk with them and accept their help instead of acting like a lone wolf. |
| 343 | ** In ''VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog'', he apparently never thinks to ask any of his friends about his past, even though every single one of them (except Omega) both know him well as well as found out about his past in ''Adventure 2''. This is rather up in the air, though, as he does point out Sonic in ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes'' as "that hedgehog", implying that Rouge actually did tell him about what all happened to him and he simply wishes for the memories to actually click in his mind. |
| 344 | * PowerIncontinence: The first time he used his SuperMode, he couldn't control it very well and was gradually losing energy. He was able to hold out long enough to help Sonic put the falling Ark back into orbit before ultimately succumbing and falling towards the planet. |
| 345 | * PowerLimiter: His Inhibitor Rings on his wrists and ankles. The rest of this article's description of his power is what he's like with them ''on''. When he takes them off, the increase is substantial enough to allow him to [[CurbStompBattle thrash]] bosses like they were the weakest of mooks. On the other hand, he cannot control such strength and causes massive unintentional destruction with it, so he's hesitant to take them off. |
| 346 | * PowerOfTheVoid: As shown in ''Sonic Battle'' (Chaos Nightmare), he is capable of distorting space-time around him to damage enemies. |
| 347 | * PragmaticHero: Unlike the rest of the main cast, Shadow will ShootTheDog as many times as he needs to if it means saving the world. |
| 348 | * PromotedToPlayable: In ''Sonic Generations'', Shadow was a rival boss fought for a Chaos Emerald. He becomes playable for and is included in the title of the ''Sonic X Shadow Generations'' UpdatedRerelease. |
| 349 | * QuestForIdentity: His entire StoryArc from ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'' to ''VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog''. |
| 350 | * TheQuietOne: He was never the type to talk much. Particularly in ''Heroes'' and ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' (2006). |
| 351 | * Really700YearsOld: Much due to being an immortal. Despite appearing to be the same age as Sonic, he was created 50 years ago. |
| 352 | * RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver: Though the "evil" part depends on the game. |
| 353 | * RedEyesTakeWarning: Both in his default state, and when he's in super form. |
| 354 | * RedOniBlueOni: Inverted when it comes to him and Sonic. Shadow has a partially red color scheme, but is [[TheStoic reserved and collected]] most of the time in contrast to the blue, but very extroverted Sonic. |
| 355 | * ReformedButNotTamed: Even if he's fighting along the side of good since ''Sonic Adventure 2'' and aside from having amnesia after his HeroicSacrifice, Shadow still remains stoic, deadly serious, and quite cold towards everyone around him and maintains his rivalry with Sonic. |
| 356 | * ReplacementFlatCharacter: Shadow had taken the role of the stoic and deadly-serious rival from Knuckles who was becoming more of an ally to Sonic over time. |
| 357 | * ReverseGrip: As Lancelot in ''Sonic and the Black Knight'', where he wields his sword in this fashion. |
| 358 | * TheRival: He's not the first of Sonic's rivals, or even the last, but he's by far the most recognizable. The template established by Shadow would later be used for the likes of [[VideoGame/SonicRiders Jet]] and [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006 Silver]]. Speaking of, he also had some bouts of this with Silver in ''Sonic '06'' and the ''Rivals'' series. |
| 359 | * RivalTurnedEvil: He becomes this in his own game if the player completes the last dark missions. |
| 360 | * RollerbladeGood: He moves using rocket skates. |
| 361 | * SanitySlippage: In a few of the "evil" endings, he will go insane after learning more about what GUN put him through, either setting himself to destroy the world or conquer the universe, with an EvilLaughter to demonstrate. |
| 362 | * SealedEvilInACan: He was held in suspended animation in Prison Island after GUN raided the ARK. True to form, Eggman releases him. |
| 363 | * SealedGoodInACan: |
| 364 | ** The Team Dark story of ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes'' begins with Rouge breaking into Eggman's base ([[AllThereInTheManual to find a rumored treasure]]) and discovering Shadow sleeping in a capsule, which she immediately tries to free him from--he apparently got put there after ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2''. |
| 365 | ** In the BadFuture of ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006'', but this time no one releases Future Shadow. |
| 366 | * ShadowArchetype: Pun aside, Shadow is this to Sonic. He is what Sonic would be if he was less sociable and more willing to go through some extremes to get the job done. |
| 367 | * ShellShockedVeteran: He may not have been in a traditional war, but, as an uncaring loner who pretty clearly has untreated PTSD (as shown in ''Sonic Adventure 2'' and ''Shadow the Hedgehog''), he otherwise fits this trope to a T. |
| 368 | * ShipTease: This happens surprisingly often with Rouge [[VideoGame/SonicBattle in]] [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006 later]] [[VideoGame/SonicRivals games]]. |
| 369 | * ShockAndAwe: His Chaos Blast, in which he either makes an [[SphereOfDestruction explosion of Chaos Energy]] from his body [[labelnote:*]]As seen in ''VideoGame/SonicBattle'', ''VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog'', ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006'', and ''VideoGame/SonicAndTheBlackKnight''[[/labelnote]], or shoots out a concentrated version through his hands [[labelnote:*]]as seen in ''Sonic Battle''[[/labelnote]]. |
| 370 | * ShutUpHannibal: He pulls this on both [[VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog Black Doom]] and [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006 Mephiles]], when they try to get him to join their respective causes. |
| 371 | -->'''Black Doom:''' You still don't understand, do you? The future we offer is the only option for these humans.\ |
| 372 | '''Shadow:''' I've heard enough! You're boring me to death, Black Doom! '''You're going down!''' |
| 373 | * SignatureMove: Chaos Control. It's not exclusive to him, but he's the most proficient user, and even has several other Chaos attacks exclusive to him. Its uses include {{Teleportation}}, [[TimeMaster the ability to warp space and time]] (although actual time travel requires two users), and the ability to pull off a FlashStep. |
| 374 | * ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: Shadow is mostly of good intentions, but is not afraid to break the rules if he feels it’s neccesary. That includes stealing, lying and occasionally killing (though only when he feels someone really deserved it). |
| 375 | * ASinisterClue: Shadow is often seen wielding handguns with his left hand, and some of his body language (such as the way he crosses his arms, as pointed out [[https://www.fanpop.com/clubs/shadow-the-hedgehog/answers/show/518190/shadow-left-handed here]]) also implies that he is left-handed. It's most obvious in [[VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog his own game]], but not limited to it. Given that he is an EvilCounterpart to Sonic (at least, at first), his left-handedness is being used to emphasize his nature. |
| 376 | * SirSwearsALot: Only in [[VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog his own game]] and even then, it's considerably mild in comparison to most examples. That said, he does curse with nearly every sentence he speaks. |
| 377 | * SmarterThanYouLook: This is only really noticeable in ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006'' and it shows how dangerous Shadow can be. He is the only person in the entire game who is aware of what's really going on and seeks to put a stop to it. He even convinces Silver that he's been deceived by Mephiles. Unfortunately, Shadow's plan proves only 99% effective, as one fragment that escaped causes the Last Story. |
| 378 | * SmugSmiler: He sometimes smirks out of smugness or confidence. |
| 379 | * SmugSuper: A trait he shares with Sonic, albeit in a different way. While Sonic is prone to verbally putting down his opponents and not taking them seriously, Shadow will use every ounce of his power to prove his superiority over others and mock them for even daring to face him, all without a change in expression. |
| 380 | * SourSupporter: Shadow is willing to help out the other heroic characters, but don't [[GoodIsNotNice expect him to be particularly nice about it.]] The other characters at least recognize that his heart is in the right place, even if he's a jerk about it. |
| 381 | * SpiritedCompetitor: Shows this with Sonic recently. It's even more apparent that even god like beings like Solaris excite him. |
| 382 | * SpotlightStealingSquad: A rather infamous example of this within the ''Sonic'' franchise. Due to his popularity, Shadow tends to get a lot of preferential treatment by the developers at the expense of other, more neglected members of the cast. Even within his own group, Team Dark, he tends to be the centerpiece of it, [[{{Pun}} overshadowing]] fellow members Rouge and Omega (most prominent in games written by Shiro Maekawa). A lot of fans tend to forget that Rouge, ''not'' Shadow, is the founder and leader of Team Dark. |
| 383 | * TheStarscream: In the Pure Dark - Hero ending of ''VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog'', where he turns on and usurps Black Doom and plans to conquer the universe. |
| 384 | * StockShonenRival: Contrasting Sonic's upbeat and carefree attitude, Shadow is dour and soft-spoken and tends to prefer solitude than socializing with people. Notably, it wasn't being defeated by Sonic that triggered his HeelFaceTurn, but coming to terms with his past transgressions and learning to move forward with his life. What notably separates him from most other examples of this trope is that his original intentions were to serve the desires of someone else (Maria), as opposed to merely having a purely selfish motive. |
| 385 | * TheStoic: He very rarely emotes, but he does let it slip at times, which leads to times when he is NotSoStoic. |
| 386 | * StoryBreakerPower: He can stop time using Chaos Control, and this comes with his ability to teleport. Needless to say, he never seems to use this ability to its fullest potential. This ''does'' require a Chaos Emerald, but Shadow often has one on him anyway and can still warp short distances even without one. |
| 387 | * StrawNihilist: He was this prior to his CharacterDevelopment, believing humanity to be beyond redemption. |
| 388 | * StrongAndSkilled: Shadow's fighting ability is comparable to being one of the strongest people around due to raw strength and speed alone, however, he's able to both manipulate chaos energy however he wants and tends to use it in ways that no one else can manage. |
| 389 | * SugarAndIcePersonality: Eventually develops into this over the course of his character arc, forming a strong bond with his teammates and even mellowed down his rivalry with Sonic to an extent. |
| 390 | * SuperheroPackingHeat: Unlike Sonic, he has no qualms using any firearms he can get his hands on. |
| 391 | * SuperpowerLottery: Considering he was made to be the perfect weapon, this is hardly surprising. |
| 392 | * SuperSpeed: Enough to rival Sonic's. Although unlike Sonic and is highly speculated, he relies on his Hover Shoes to propel himself at fast speeds, but considering his natural super human reflexes and coordination that precisely equals Sonic's athleticism, its safe to say he has real super speed yet a different type of propulsion in contrast to Sonic's running. |
| 393 | * SuperStrength: In his [[VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog self-titled game]], he can overturn buses and giant slabs of concrete that fell off highways with one hand, as well as punch through solid steel and concrete. |
| 394 | * ATasteOfTheirOwnMedicine: |
| 395 | ** Eggman, who Shadow duped into activating Gerald's scheme in ''Adventure 2'', attempts to inflict this in ''Shadow The Hedgehog'', exploiting Shadow's amnesia to trick him into thinking he is an android created by him. By the end of the respective story branches, however, it's GoneHorriblyRight. |
| 396 | ** Infinite, whose StartOfDarkness was pivoted by Shadow's handy defeat of him, also starts upon this in ''Sonic Forces'', giving him one hell of a MindScrew in Episode Shadow before starting upon Eggman's conquest in the main game. |
| 397 | * TeethClenchedTeamwork: With Knuckles in both ''Sonic Rivals'' games. Despite working together, they bicker through and through as well as bitterly competing. |
| 398 | * ThenLetMeBeEvil: In ''Shadow the Hedgehog'', the commander accuses Shadow of being responsible for the murder on the ARK, and is judged to be evil by GUN and most of humanity. In the "evil" endings, after learning only the gruesome parts of his past, Shadow goes to take revenge against humanity, believing that HumansAreTheRealMonsters. |
| 399 | * TimeMaster: While he's not the only character in the series capable of warping time and space with Chaos energy, he is the most proficient in its usage. |
| 400 | * TookALevelInBadass: When he debuted in ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'', Shadow needed to use Chaos Emeralds to use [[SpaceMaster Chaos]] [[TimeMaster Control]], which was then limited to the applications of TimeStandsStill and TeleportSpam. In ''VideoGame/SonicBattle'', ''VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog'', and later games, not only do his Chaos techniques have more variety, he can use them without emeralds. |
| 401 | * TookALevelInJerkass: Not that he was an angel beforehand, but in ''Sonic Free Riders'', he has no problem with helping Rouge steal the cash prize from the World Grand Prix and regarded E-10000B as JustAMachine, which is pretty different from the bond he had with Omega in ''Sonic the Hedgehog '06''. He regains some of his more balanced characterization by ''Forces'', where it's clear he cares for Rouge and Omega. |
| 402 | * TragicVillain: In his debut, Shadow wasn't really an evil person at his core; rather, he was trying to fulfill a horribly misguided promise to avenge his closest friend, taking very little pleasure in doing so. |
| 403 | * TraumaInducedAmnesia: Shadow's falling back to Earth at the end of ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'' gave him amnesia, which he's shown to be suffering from throughout ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes'' and ''VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog''. |
| 404 | %%* TroubledButCute |
| 405 | * {{Tsundere}}: |
| 406 | ** After his return, Shadow still acts somewhat cold towards pretty much everyone, and borders on a destructive nature. Despite this, he's shown to care about others deep down, also developing a bond with his partners, Rouge and Omega. |
| 407 | ** Shadow and Rouge, especially Rouge trying to loosen Shadow up, playfully flirting/teasing him or get him bother by her safety. Kinda crosses over with SlapSlapKiss. |
| 408 | ** Although Sonic is still his rival, he does respect him to a degree and always shows up to help him when he needs it the most. Lampshaded in ''VideoGame/SonicColors''. |
| 409 | --->'''Shadow:''' Looks like I don't need to be worried.\ |
| 410 | '''Sonic:''' What was that?\ |
| 411 | '''Tails:''' Were you worried if we would get hurt, trying to save the wisps?\ |
| 412 | '''Shadow:''' Hmph!\ |
| 413 | '''Sonic:''' I'll take that as a compliment. |
| 414 | * TsurimeEyes: Compared to Sonic's style of eyes. He also has triangular markings around the outer corners of his eyes, making them appear even sharper than they actually are. |
| 415 | * UltimateLifeForm: TropeNamer. He is ageless and has a perfect immune system. If he's never killed by outside forces, he will live forever. And that never happens either, since he's basically able to beat ''anyone''. |
| 416 | ** The FinalBoss fight with the [=Finalhazard=] does have him bring up the question of whether ''Sonic'' is actually the real Ultimate Life Form which is a valid proposal considering [[TheAce everything]] [[FastestThingAlive he]] [[OneManArmy can]] do compared to Shadow who's [[{{Artificial H|uman}}edgehog manufactured]] and requires rocket skates to keep up with Sonic. This topic is never brought up again in later games though. |
| 417 | * UndyingLoyalty: |
| 418 | ** To Maria, keeping his promise to her at all cost, even if it means protecting the humans he despises. |
| 419 | ** He also develops this with his Team Dark partners, Rouge and Omega. |
| 420 | * TheUnfettered: The key difference between him and Sonic. The latter wears his heart on his sleeve and always acts on how he feels; Shadow, on the other hand, will not let his personal feelings get in the way of getting the job done. |
| 421 | * UniversalDriversLicence: He can pilot hang gliders, Humvees, motorcycles, and alien hovercraft. He doesn't even own any of this himself, he just finds them lying around! |
| 422 | * UnscrupulousHero: Shadow does what he can to protect the Earth and his people. His intentions are good, but at the same time, he doesn't care what he has to do in order to achieve his goals, which leads to aggressive and often destructive acts. He also doesn't care what others think of it, which is what separates him from Sonic and his friends. |
| 423 | * UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: [[spoiler:He is responsible for Infinite's StartOfDarkness in ''VideoGame/SonicForces'', having given him a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown and derided his weakness.]] |
| 424 | * UnwittingPawn: In ''Shadow the Hedgehog'', he this to both Doom ''and'', to a lesser extent, Eggman. |
| 425 | * VillainousFriendship: Forms one with Rouge in ''Adventure 2''. Despite denying that their connection is anything other than professional, Shadow still [[PetTheDog saves her life when he really doesn't have to]], with Rouge being grateful after the fact. Upon reawakening in ''Heroes'', Shadow's first instinct to protect Rouge from Omega's blasts, [[AmnesiacResonance despite having no memory of her at that point]]. |
| 426 | * VitriolicBestBuds: |
| 427 | ** He and Rouge tend to snark at each other on occasion. |
| 428 | ** He also displays this with Sonic as evident in ''VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog'' where he is irritated by the blue hedgehog's friendly attitude and adventurous nature. |
| 429 | * VocalEvolution: Creator/KirkThornton's take on Shadow in ''Generations'' and the ''Boom'' sub-franchise was rather deep and gruff, and almost sounded villainous (which fits the latter, as Shadow is [[AdaptationalVillainy much more evil]] in his ''Boom'' appearances). By the time he voices Shadow in ''Forces'' and the 2017 Twitter Takeover, he's hit a voice that's more similar to David Humphrey or Jason Griffith's take on the character, downplaying the deepness in his voice. |
| 430 | * TheVoiceless: In ''VideoGame/SonicForces'', [[spoiler:the Shadow virtual constructs never talk or even vocalize a sound during the main campaign. Considering the Zavoks can do both, it makes the Shadows' lack of speech odd]]. |
| 431 | * WellIntentionedExtremist: |
| 432 | ** He is a ''very'' warped example in ''Sonic Adventure 2''. Thanks to Gerald Robotnik altering his memories, Shadow genuinely believes that Maria's final wish was for him to get revenge on humanity. As such, Shadow vows to wipe out Earth both to honor her memory and to destroy the corrupt species that ended her life. |
| 433 | ** Even after his HeelFaceTurn, Shadow remains an UnscrupulousHero who is more than [[GoodIsNotSoft willing to get his hands dirty for the greater good]]. As recently as ''Sonic Forces'', he's shown wiping out the Jackal Squad to keep them from assisting Eggman's plans, all without an ounce of hesitation. |
| 434 | * WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Being immortal, Shadow will outlive most of the supporting cast. Curiously, it is unknown whatever happened to Shadow in the future timeline after the CosmicRetcon. Silver does not mention him, and the two meet for the first time in ''VideoGame/SonicRivals''. |
| 435 | * WithFriendsLikeThese: He and Sonic's rivalry seemed to have become slightly more friendly over time, but he's still annoyed by the blue hedgehog's unserious attitude, and their rivalry is still rather intense and aggressive when they're not cooperating against a bigger threat. |
| 436 | * WithUsOrAgainstUs: He doesn't fully play with this trope, but if he feels that you're hindering him from reaching his objectives, he will assume that you're against him and will stop at nothing to attack you. He states this in his game after clearing a mission. |
| 437 | -->'''Shadow:''' Anybody who gets in my way is my enemy. |
| 438 | * WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: In ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'', his initial goal was to end humanity after G.U.N killed off his family, Maria and Gerald. In general, those experiences are the reason why Shadow is so isolated and reserved. And depending on which path you take in the ''Shadow the Hedgehog'' game, he can also be this. Both in the ''evil'' ending where after learning his DarkAndTroubledPast, goes back to his revenge quest in his debut, or in the ''Slightly Hero'' ending where he feels so guilty about letting Black Doom use him to destroy the humans that he feels like he should never have been created. |
| 439 | * WorldsBestWarrior: Shadow is called ''The Ultimate Life Form'' by himself and many others, including Doctor Eggman, and he is considered one of the very few people that can truly challenge Sonic in terms of both speed and power. |
| 440 | * WorthyOpponent: |
| 441 | ** Considers Sonic as this, and the feeling is mutual. In ''Sonic Adventure 2'', he seemed pretty upset when it looked like [[spoiler:Sonic died in Eggman's trap]] and was impressed when not only [[spoiler:he survived]], but managed to use Chaos Control with a ''fake'' Chaos Emerald. It was at this point Shadow acknowledged Sonic as his equal and how dangerous he is. From then on, Shadow seems to enjoy the occasional bouts he and Sonic have. |
| 442 | ** One of the endings to ''VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog'' invokes this as well. The route makes Shadow pretty much a complete hero, but if you chose to do the dark mission right before the FinalBoss, you'll be fighting Sonic (and a mech powered by the GUN Commander) and he asks why Shadow is siding with the Black Arms. Shadow claims he doesn't really care about the Black Arms and just wanted a chance to fight Sonic, and winning has him boasting about being the "Ultimate Hedgehog". |
| 443 | ** While not as pronounced as his rivalry with Sonic, Shadow respects Omega's strength and is hinted to have sparred with him in the past to see which one of the two is stronger, fittingly they both use the title of Ultimate to describe their power. |
| 444 | * WouldHurtAChild: Simply put, there's no one he won't beat up. [[WouldHitAGirl Gender]] or [[WouldHarmAChild age]] is no deterrent. If you're the target or a hindrance to his goals, then you're just as eligible for a beatdown as the villains. |
| 445 | -->'''Shadow''': (''After finding a Chaos Emerald in plain sight.'') A Chaos Emerald? You've got to be kidding me, guys! This is like taking candy from a baby, which is fine by me! |
| 446 | [[/folder]] |
| 447 | |
| 448 | [[folder:Rouge the Bat]] |
| 449 | !!Rouge the Bat |
| 450 | !!!'''Debut:''' ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2''\ |
| 451 | '''Voiced by:''' Rumi Ochiai (Japanese); Creator/LaniMinella (English, 2001-2004), Kathleen Delaney (English, 2005-2010), Creator/KarenStrassman (English, 2010-present)[[labelnote:additional [=VAs=]]]Marie Lenoir (French, 2011-present), Creator/JasmineLaurenti (Italian, 2011-present)[[/labelnote]] |
| 452 | [[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rouge_sa2.png]] |
| 453 | ->''"I despise anyone who takes jewels from me... all the world's gems are mine to keep!"'' |
| 454 | |
| 455 | A treasure-hunting bat in search of gemstones. She also works as a freelance government agent -- paid in jewels, of course. After Eggman had released Shadow, The president of the United Federation had assigned her to infiltrate the inner circle of GUN and gather as much info on "Project Shadow" as possible. Sometime later, she came across the Master Emerald and tried to add it to her collection, but an intervention by Eggman and Knuckles thwarted her attempt. Afterward, she continued with her mission while trying to gather any Master Emerald shards before Knuckles could. After her mission was completed, she tried to make off with every set of emerald shards, but after a threat from Shadow and a final confrontation with Knuckles, she cut her losses and tried to escape before Professor Gerald's plan forced her to work with the rest of the cast to save the planet. Soon after, she gets wind of Eggman having a secret treasure and opts to loot it for herself, but only discovered an amnesic Shadow and the walking armory Omega, Rouge assumes leadership over the operation and an unlikely alliance is formed in order to get answers. Afterward, Rouge makes occasional appearances apart of Team Dark and as a freelance agent of GUN proper. |
| 456 | |
| 457 | Rouge is vain, shady, manipulative, and cunning. She loves getting her way and absolutely despises people who deny her that. Despite her questionable personality and motives, she does have a conscience. While it started off as professional, she does grow to genuinely care about her comrades' well-being, and shows gratitude towards gestures of kindness. She's also willing to put aside her selfish ways when there's a big enough threat. |
| 458 | ---- |
| 459 | * AffablyEvil: She might seem like an evil, chiropteran thief working for Eggman and Shadow in her first appearance, but she actually works for the president, which means that she was on the good side, so she's obviously not evil. She also acts polite towards her friends. |
| 460 | * AffirmativeActionGirl: The first additional female character added to the series after Amy and debuted as TheRival to Knuckles in ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2''. |
| 461 | * AllGirlsWantBadBoys: She has shown romantic interest in both Knuckles and Shadow. The former is a hard-headed guardian of Angel Island, and the latter is an AntiHero with a violent streak. Subverted with her attraction to Sonic, who’s a laidback NiceGuy. |
| 462 | * AlmostKiss: With Knuckles after he saves her from falling into a molten metal pit in ''Sonic Adventure 2''. Also shares one with Shadow in ''Sonic Battle'' after letting him spend the night in her house so he could recover from a fight. She also offers Sonic a kiss in the DS version of ''Sonic Colors'', but he politely turns her down. |
| 463 | * AntiHero: She's a spy for the government, and actively engages in world saving missions, but is greedy, vain, and expects to be paid or rewarded for things more altruistic heroes do freely. She also wants to take any gem that catches her fancy without regard for how it might affect others (ie. Trying to take the Master Emerald for herself even after being told it is the only thing that keeps Angel Island afloat). |
| 464 | * TheArtifact: Rouge being an agent of the government and GUN tends to be referenced quite a bit, even though none of these elements had a prominent role since [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006 2006]] and humans other than Eggman haven't appeared in the games since [[VideoGame/SonicUnleashed 2008]]. By the time of ''VideoGame/SonicForces'', her [[ContinuitySnarl background]] is a complete mystery, though incidental dialogue in various games still indicate she's a prominent treasure hunter and thief. |
| 465 | * AscendedExtra: Despite spending most of her time being a supporting cast member inherently linked with Team Dark, ''WesternAnimation/SonicPrime'' and ''VideoGame/SonicDreamTeam'' positioned her as part of the main cast, with ''Dream Team'' not featuring Shadow or Omega in any capacity. |
| 466 | * AuthorityInNameOnly: PlayedWith. She's the official leader of Team Dark, but Shadow is more aggressive and stubborn in his goals, so more often than not, she follows his lead. Though she's the one most likely coordinating them as a team and giving out orders, so she does have some authority in the team. |
| 467 | * BadassInDistress: She is locked inside a safe on Prison Island in ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2''. Shadow saves her before the island explodes. |
| 468 | * BareMidriffsAreFeminine: She’s the only female member of Team Dark and has a feminine personality, and she often wears crop tops, such as her two-piece outfit from Sonic Adventure 2 Battle, her outfit from the Sonic Riders series and Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, her race outfit and raider outfit from Sonic Rivals 2, her business tycoon outfit from Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog, and her beach outfit from the April page of the 2024 Calendar Comedy. |
| 469 | * BeautyIsBad: She is the MsFanservice of the Sonic series, and is manipulative, sassy, greedy, and full of herself, being the least nice of the four female heroes. However, she is still a [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold kind-hearted person deep down]]. This trope applies most strongly in her first appearance as an antagonist in ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2''. |
| 470 | * BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: This is the main reason that she gives Knuckles the remaining Master Emerald pieces after he saves her life in ''Sonic Adventure 2''. |
| 471 | * BerserkButton: Don't come between her and jewels if you know what's good for you. |
| 472 | * BunnyEarsLawyer: She's a notorious criminal and an incredibly vain person, yet the government keeps her under their employ because she's just ''that good'' at performing spy work. |
| 473 | * CastingAShadow: Her "Black Wave" LimitBreak from ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'' as a boss and 2P Battle Mode character. |
| 474 | * CharacterizationMarchesOn: |
| 475 | ** In ''Sonic Adventure 2'', Rouge had a bratty streak[[note]]Such as when she panicked and throttled Knuckles for breaking "her" Master Emerald[[/note]] and occasionally a haughty one, but in games released after ''Anime/SonicX'' premiered, she's a {{Deadpan|Snarker}} FemmeFatale. Notably, the latter portrayal is more in-line with her character art from ''Adventure 2'', if not her actual in-game role. |
| 476 | ** When she debuted in Sonic Adventure 2, Rouge was positioned opposite Knuckles, being his {{Foil}} and MirrorCharacter by turns. But starting with ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes'' Rouge became formally attached to Shadow and this constant connection has seen their relationship become more developed than the one she has with Knuckles. |
| 477 | * ClassyCatBurglar: While she'll insist that she's a "[[InsistentTerminology treasure hunter]]", Rouge is a thief well-known for getting into just about any high-tech security system if it means stealing what she wants. |
| 478 | * CombatStilettos: Equipped with metal soles on her boots that allow her to dig into the earth like Knuckles does, and also aid her in combat. |
| 479 | * CoolCar: Has one in ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'' and it's shaped just like [[Franchise/{{Batman}} the Batmobile]]. |
| 480 | * CuteLittleFangs: She has subtle fangs in her mouth. |
| 481 | * DarkActionGirl: In her debut, she was an EnigmaticMinion with questionable agenda at best. Afterward, she's [[AntiHero more or less]] working for the good guys, if only because [[HeroicNeutral she's often forced into it]]. |
| 482 | * DarkIsNotEvil: Downplayed. Despite using attacks of darkness like "Black Wave", she's more of an AntiVillain than pure evil. Certainly when compared to the likes of the Black Arms or Mephiles the Dark, Rouge is a moral paragon by comparison. |
| 483 | * DeadpanSnarker: She never holds back her sass. She's particularly fond of [[TheGadfly riling up Knuckles with it]]. |
| 484 | * DefrostingIceQueen: She became a much more caring person after striking up a friendship with Shadow. By the time of ''VideoGame/SonicGenerations'', she's the only member of her team to be on such good terms with Sonic and his friends that she was invited to his birthday party. |
| 485 | * DemotedToExtra: While she was the founder and leader of Team Dark when it first appeared in ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes'', ''VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog'' and ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006'' relegated her to Shadow's supporting cast when he became TheFace of the team. The next decade's mainline games generally featured her in cameo roles at most, but starting with ''VideoGame/SonicForces'', she has assumed a more assertive role, and in some media is seen alongside the core four of Amy and Team Sonic. |
| 486 | * DivergentCharacterEvolution: Rouge started off as a MovesetClone of Knuckles in ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'', retaining all of his techniques such as gliding and digging. Upon returning in ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes'', Rouge was reworked as a Fly-type character to contrast with Knuckles' Power-typing, granting her a completely different moveset from him[[note]]She originally was supposed to be the power type character of Team Rose, which would've kept her status as a female counterpart to Knuckles. But she was changed to team Dark instead and was changed to the flyer since Shadow and Omega wouldn't qualify[[/note]]. However, she was made a MovesetClone of Tails instead, to the point of retaining all of his moves, even his dummy ring bomb attack on-foot. Later appearances such as ''VideoGame/SonicBattle'' give her a completely different moveset than either of them, and ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006'' gave her her now-signature bat bombs. |
| 487 | * DragonWithAnAgenda: Despite seemingly working for Eggman in ''Adventure 2'', it's clear that Rouge has her own motivations beyond simply stealing the Master Emerald. As it turns out, she's an agent of G.U.N. sent to collect intel on both Eggman and Shadow; stealing emerald shards is just a nice bonus. |
| 488 | * DudeMagnet: Knuckles is implied to have a thing for her, and a mini-game in ''VideoGame/SonicGenerations'' shows that she's ''so sexy'' that even [[InterspeciesRomance Eggman's robots fall for her]]. |
| 489 | * EmpoweredBadassNormal: Most of her Emerl card skills in Sonic Battle mention her receiving intensive training as an agent and even implies that it's where her boulder-shattering leg strength and most of her general abilities and skills come from. Even her Beauty Shock attack, which is her creating a wave of ultrasonic energy (which also stems from her being a bat), is stated to be a move she learned through training. |
| 490 | * EvenEvilHasStandards: She instantly turns against Shadow at the end of ''Adventure 2'' upon realizing that his true goal is to [[KillAllHumans wipe out the planet]]. |
| 491 | * TheFace: Being TheSocialExpert, TheTease, and TheHeart, Rouge serves as someone who knows how to socialize and liven things up the way she wants. |
| 492 | * FemmeFatale: She's sexy, and she knows it. She often uses it [[ShowSomeLeg as a distraction]] or to [[IHaveBoobsYouMustObey get what she wants]]. |
| 493 | * {{Flight}}: In most of her appearances, her wings allow her to fly. |
| 494 | * FoeRomanceSubtext: She has plenty of ShipTease with Knuckles, who guards the Master Emerald which she wants to steal for herself; she often flirts with him and enjoys seeing him get flustered, and he in turn seems to reluctantly enjoy her company. It's downplayed in later games after both end up OutOfFocus, but still present in games such as ''VideoGame/SonicRivals 2'' (where they pull an EnemyMine) and ''VideoGame/SonicGenerations'' (where they have a friendly conversation during Sonic's party). |
| 495 | * FurryReminder: |
| 496 | ** In ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'', when Rouge first introduces herself to Shadow and Eggman on the ARK, she appears hanging upside down from the ceiling, just like real bats do when they perch. Rebel Rouge, one of her Shatterverse counterparts, does the same thing while she's sleeping in ''WesternAnimation/SonicPrime''. |
| 497 | ** Certain media like the ''Anime/SonicX'' anime tends to give her a weakness towards loud noises. |
| 498 | * GirlyGirlWithATomboyStreak: She’s obsessed with jewels and dresses and behaves in a very ladylike manner at the surface, but her way of thinking and some of her interests are masculine. |
| 499 | * GuileHeroine: She's quite clever and crafty. She manages to talk her way onto Eggman's team in ''Sonic Adventure 2'' despite spying for the president, and even gets pretty close to breaking Shadow's morale in the same game with information about Project Shadow. |
| 500 | * {{Greed}}: Part of what makes her a WildCard is that she's often just interested in what benefits ''her'', even if that means screwing over her allies in the process. She loves jewels a bit ''too'' much - she wishes that all the world's gems were hers, and doesn't have a problem with simply stealing them. She has special interest in the Master Emerald in ''Sonic Adventure 2'', despite Knuckles warning her that it's the only thing that keeps Angel Island afloat. This gets downplayed as time goes on, mainly because she gets wrapped up in plots that take priority over her own vices. |
| 501 | * HartmanHips: She is noticeably curvy on the hips, which also fits her status as MsFanservice. |
| 502 | * TheHeart: Literal hearts on her suit aside, Rouge is a very downplayed and non-traditional case. Rouge is both the one who gets Omega and Shadow to stop fighting as well as the one to band them together, even being their leader to help them be a cohesive unit. ''However'', she's very much not this to anyone else, as while she can be nice and help out others, she's usually just focused on her self-interest rather than trying to support anyone emotionally. |
| 503 | * HeroicNeutral: She would prefer to be entirely left alone with her jewels, or planning heists to steal said jewels. The various forces that threaten the world often give Rouge no choice but to act, lest she lose any chance at stealing what she wants. |
| 504 | * HiddenHeartOfGold: She may be a thief and obsessed with jewelry, but she's far from being one of the bad guys. When push comes to shove, she will help others and do the right thing. |
| 505 | * HeelFaceRevolvingDoor: Whether Rouge is going to help or hinder Team Sonic relies entirely on her interest at the time. She's had times where she saves the world when bigger threats show up, but she's also had her moments where she ignores the bigger issues to do what benefits her (for example, planning to use Emerl to help her steal things) and fights Team Sonic to make sure they don't take any treasure from her. |
| 506 | * HotWitch: She had a hidden costume in the battle mode of ''Sonic Adventure 2'' where she was dressed as a witch. This witch outfit would later be incorporated in other media, such as [[http://lastminutecontinue.com/wp-content/gallery/wallpapers/S/sonic-channel/wp144_1920x1200.jpg a Sonic Channel illustration]] and ''Sonic Forces Speed Battle''. |
| 507 | * HumanoidFemaleAnimal: Aside from her head, ears, wings, and tail, she has the most human-like body proportions in the series. She also has less fur than even other mammalian animal characters. |
| 508 | * ImageSong: "[[VideoGame/SonicAdventure2 Fly in the Freedom]]". |
| 509 | * ImprobableAge: She's a high-ranking government agent at the age of ''18 years old''. |
| 510 | * InformedAttribute: Rouge is the leader of Team Dark, but because Shadow is a [[{{Foil}} foil]] to the franchise's main character and tends to be placed front and center in the lineup, Rouge's status as leader is not so apparent (outside of ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes'', at least). |
| 511 | * ItsAllAboutMe: She likes to act this way, though she's smart enough to know [[HiddenHeartOfGold it's not actually true]]. |
| 512 | * ItMustBeMine: Rouge has a fascination with jewels in particular, and she gets around the fact that they don't belong to her [[IRejectYourReality by insisting that they already do]]. |
| 513 | -->'''[[VideoGame/SonicAdventure2 Rouge:]]''' ''All the world's gems are mine to keep!'' |
| 514 | * JerkWithAHeartOfGold: She's a selfish, sassy, and vain seductress who feels that all of the world's gems are hers to keep. But she's capable of expressing gratitude when someone helps her, and shows genuine concern for her two comrades. [[CharacterizationMarchesOn She changes more as the series goes on]], and slowly [[TookALevelInKindness becomes more heroic]]. |
| 515 | * JigglePhysics: In ''Sonic Adventure 2'', Sonic Team made extremely liberal use of this when designing Rouge, to the point where her bust bounced [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g39NeeU2IzE pretty much]] [[http://archive.is/q3dEj constantly]]. It's been toned down significantly since then, but it still exists in [[http://archive.is/HQRpF much subdued form]]. |
| 516 | * KickChick: She primarily attacks with her powerful legs which are just as strong as Knuckle's fists and punches. She even has metal soles on her boots for digging, using them to drill into the ground. |
| 517 | * TheLeader: What the manual to ''Sonic Heroes'' [[InformedAttribute ''says'' she is]], but in practice, Shadow is the one who tends to be front and center and acting as the figurehead. [[ZigzaggedTrope That said]], she does seem to be the one with her head in the game most of the time and giving out orders. She's also the one most likely to coordinate with other heroes, such as Vector or Team Sonic. |
| 518 | * LightFeminineAndDarkFeminine: The Dark to Amy's Light Feminine. |
| 519 | * ALighterShadeOfBlack: Rouge is a criminal, but in the face of Dr. Eggman or his latest EldritchAbomination, she comes off as small-time. |
| 520 | * LimitedWardrobe: Averted. Unlike most characters which basically keep the same outfit game after game, she regularly had different costumes. Her outfit from ''Sonic Adventure 2'' is her most common one, but she also had a different spysuit in ''Sonic Heroes'' that was later the basis for her outfit in ''Sonic Prime'' and ''Sonic Speed Simulator''. |
| 521 | * LovableAlphaBitch: A downplayed example, as most of the time the "lovable" far outweighs the "alpha bitch" part, but still certainly [[IHaveBoobsYouMustObey knows how to use her looks and sex appeal to get her way]]. |
| 522 | * LovableRogue: She's a government agent, but she's still a thief, too.[[note]]In this case, the title works even if [[RougeAnglesOfSatin you misspell it]]![[/note]] |
| 523 | * MaleGaze: She [[InvokedTrope intentionally]] poses in ways that [[http://images.wikia.com/sonic/images/4/47/Rouge_2.png highlight]] her [[http://images.wikia.com/sonic/images/2/29/Sonic_Generations_VS_Rouge_1.png cleavage]]. |
| 524 | * ManipulativeBitch: Sometimes treads into this territory when jewels are involved. She tried [[BreakThemByTalking breaking Shadow's resolve]] in ''Sonic Adventure 2'' even though it didn't work, and tried stealing the Master Emerald for no reason except that she wanted it. |
| 525 | * TheMole: In ''Adventure 2''. |
| 526 | * MovesetClone: |
| 527 | ** She was more or less created to be a female counterpart to Knuckles in her first appearance in ''Sonic Adventure 2'' (much like Shadow to Sonic) and thus, has the exact same moveset as him. Only differences are either aesthetic (Kicking instead of Punching) or for 1 upgrade Knuckles has that she doesn't (Air necklace). |
| 528 | ** She was initially planned to also play like Knuckles in ''Heroes'' as the power character of team Rose (with Amy and Cream still being speed and flying respectively). But she was then put on Team Dark with 2 characters who couldn't fly and thus, took on that role and became a clone of Tails as a result. |
| 529 | ** ''Sonic '06'' split the difference and she instead plays like Tails and Knuckles combined, having the long range bombs that Tails has, combined with the ability to glide and climb like Knuckles. |
| 530 | ** Her appearance in ''Dream Team'' is a much straighter and deliberate example, [[PurelyAestheticGender where she plays exactly like Knuckles]]; they both can glide and climb special walls the other characters (Sonic, Amy, Tails, and Cream) can't. |
| 531 | * MsFanservice: To ludicrous degrees, what with her overtly flirty attitude, large bust, [[HartmanHips wide hips]], and [[SensualSpandex tight]], [[ImpossiblyLowNeckline low-cut]], [[SexyBacklessOutfit backless]] outfit. Her unlockable outfits in ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'' cement this further, with at least one of them being [[http://archive.is/DXaia outright fetish-wear]] that bumped up the game's rating when it was discovered. |
| 532 | * MsViceGirl: Despite being heroic, no matter what side of the line she is on at the time, she wants "all the world's jewels". |
| 533 | * MsExposition: Rouge, being the smartest and most knowledgeable person of Team Dark, tends to be the one who explains a lot of things. This is especially prominent in ''Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)'', where she frequently explains the going-ons of Soleanna. |
| 534 | * {{Narcissist}}: Her victory quotes in ''Sonic Adventure 2'' has her bragging about her accomplishments. She in general holds herself in very high esteem, very often bragging about her skills, looks, and intelligence. |
| 535 | -->''(getting a "B" rank)'' It's all too easy for me!\ |
| 536 | ''(getting an "A" rank)'' How was that? Perfect, like me? |
| 537 | * NewJobAsThePlotDemands: A thief in some media, but is also either a treasure hunter like Knuckles or an agent of Team Dark. |
| 538 | * NiceMeanAndInbetween: Downplayed but the nice one of the three. Though she isn't the friendliest person in the world, she's the closest to nice in the group and by far the most social. |
| 539 | * NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Kathleen Delaney's voice for Rouge heavily resembles Creator/AngelinaJolie. |
| 540 | * NonIndicativeName: Zigzagged. Despite being named after the French word for "red" she doesn't have any red on her (unless you count pink as a kind of red). On the other hand, "rouge" is a catch-all term for makeup, which Rouge is definitely wearing. |
| 541 | * NonStandardCharacterDesign: Her design eschews the RubberHoseLimbs of the rest of the cast and gives her [[HumanoidFemaleAnimal actual anatomy -- namely human-like breasts and hips]]. |
| 542 | * NotQuiteFlight: In ''Adventure 2'', ''Battle'', and ''Sonic 06'', her wings allow her to glide like Knuckles. |
| 543 | * OddFriendship: Despite not interacting much, she gets along fairly well with Sonic despite him being Shadow's rival and her being Knuckles and Amy's rival. Their friendship is also odd due to Sonic being much more selfless than Rouge, as he always helps people for free while Rouge makes the government pay her for helping to protect the world. |
| 544 | * OnlyInItForTheMoney: If Rouge is on the scene, that's because there are jewels and/or gems nearby. She does her "treasure hunting" when not on government business. |
| 545 | * ParentService: Her appearance and many of her quirks were built for titillation. |
| 546 | * PinkMeansFeminine: The front of her suit is shaped like a pink heart. |
| 547 | * ProudBeauty: She often brags about her looks, and wears a lot of tight outfits that show off her cleavage and/or midriff. |
| 548 | * PunnyName: Rouge the Bat --> Baton Rouge. |
| 549 | * SensualSpandex: She wears a skintight outfit and acts as the resident MsFanservice. |
| 550 | * SexyBacklessOutfit: [[http://archive.is/Og34z Her outfit has no back on it.]] Unlike all the other {{Fanservice}} tropes surrounding her, it's justified by the fact that she has wings. |
| 551 | * ShadowArchetype: To Knuckles. While he cares about his emerald because of his job as its guardian, she believes that it's her job to collect all the jewels in the world for her own personal gain. Also, though they both have a tendency to stay calm in tough situations, Knuckles is far more hot-headed, which is one of the reasons why she likes teasing him as well. |
| 552 | * ShamelessFanserviceGirl: Rouge has a slender, curvaceous physique and she enjoys wearing outfits that show off her body. |
| 553 | * ShipTease: She gets this a lot with both Knuckles and Shadow. |
| 554 | * SkewedPriorities: In any scenario she's in that involves jewelry, the jewels ''always'' come first. |
| 555 | * SlapSlapKiss: With Shadow and Knuckles (to a lesser extent). |
| 556 | * TheSmartGirl: She's easily the most cunning and clever of Team Dark, and in general, her craftiness is right up there with the likes of Eggman. |
| 557 | * SmarterThanYouLook: Said to be mistaken for [[TheDitz a ditz]] due to her frivolous and flighty nature, but she's ''very'' sharp, cunning, and it's [[ObfuscatingStupidity very well likely her intention]]. |
| 558 | * SmugSnake: When she thinks she's right, she'll love rubbing it in her target's face. When she confronted Shadow in ''Adventure 2'' with information that he wasn't the "original" Shadow, she lowered her eyes and put on a knowing smirk. Too bad for her that Shadow [[ShutUpHannibal didn't really care]]. |
| 559 | * TheSocialExpert: Rouge is ''quite'' smart, and knows just how to manipulate people to help her get what she wants without throwing a single punch. Granted, it doesn't always work in her favor, but her skill is there regardless. She'd also have to be this when she's considered TrueCompanions with two arrogant, antisocial, stubborn, and generally unpleasant people like Shadow and Omega. |
| 560 | * SpyCatsuit: Her standard outfit, complete with ImpossiblyLowNeckline. Her ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes'' outfit has a CleavageWindow instead. |
| 561 | * StealthExpert: One of two people in Sonic's universe that can really qualify for this. She's shown being able to frequently sneak up on people and infiltrate all sorts of areas with relative ease. |
| 562 | * SuperScream: The basis of her "Shot" attack in ''Sonic Battle'', complete with a sound clip of a vaguely bat-like screech that plays whenever she fires it. |
| 563 | * TeamMom: Not as much as Amy is to Team Rose, but it's still pretty apparent that Rouge treats the rest of Team Dark like this in ''Sonic Heroes''. |
| 564 | -->'''Rouge:''' Now you two make up so we can start looking for Eggman together! ''[gets Shadow and Omega to form a TeamHandStack with her]'' Aw, yeah, baby! This makes us a team! |
| 565 | * TheRival: Her relationship with Knuckles skirts around this. She and Amy aren't on particularly good terms either. |
| 566 | * TheTease: Particularly towards Knuckles, Shadow, and Sonic. |
| 567 | * TeenGenius: She's an expert treasure hunter and government agent despite being only 18 years old. |
| 568 | * TeenSuperspy: Rouge is a master thief who works for the G.U.N. military force. She is also 18 years old. |
| 569 | * TeethClenchedTeamwork: With Knuckles in ''Sonic Rivals 2''. |
| 570 | * ThrowDownTheBomblet: Uses Dummy Ring Bombs in ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes'' and Heart Bombs in '''06'' and ''Generations''. |
| 571 | * TomboyAndGirlyGirl: The diamond obsessed girly girl to Wave's inventor tomboy. |
| 572 | * TookALevelInKindness: As time goes on, we see she is willing to do the right things without the rewards, putting her closer and closer to an actual heroine. |
| 573 | * TokenFlyer: She is the "flight" member of Team Dark. Shadow needs his TrickedOutShoes or [[SuperMode Super State]] to fly. |
| 574 | * TokenGoodTeammate: Of the Dark Side path in ''Adventure 2''. She had no truly villainous or vengeful intentions, but she was still assisting Eggman to complete the Eclipse Cannon. |
| 575 | * TragicKeepsake: [[spoiler:When Shadow supposedly dies in the Last story of ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'', Sonic gives Rouge Shadow's Inhibitor Rings.]] |
| 576 | * UndyingLoyalty: In '''06'', she tells Shadow that even if the world turns against him, she will always be by his side. |
| 577 | * UngratefulBitch: |
| 578 | ** Invoked in ''Sonic Adventure 2'', where she has an AlmostKiss with Knuckles after he saved her from falling down to the lava, only for her to reel back and start insulting him to ward off any chance of RescueRomance. Nonetheless, she gives him back the pieces of the Master Emerald that she stole, [[BlatantLies under the premise that 'they stink like echidnas do']]. |
| 579 | ** In spin-offs, she has a habit of manipulating people who honestly just wanted to work with her to accomplish a goal. |
| 580 | * {{Vaporwear}}: The top half of her outfit is backless, and it's pretty clear from that fact that she's not wearing a bra. |
| 581 | * VillainousFriendship: Despite secretly working behind their backs, she gets along surprisingly well with Shadow and Eggman during the events of ''Adventure 2''. Her friendship with Shadow in particular leads to her being both shocked and overjoyed upon seeing him alive in ''Heroes''. |
| 582 | * VitriolicBestBuds: With Shadow post ''Heroes'', even declaring to stand by his side no matter what in ''Sonic '06''. Although she and Shadow tend to snark at each other on occasions. |
| 583 | * VocalDissonance: Kathleen Delaney's Rouge voice makes her sound much older than the 18-year-old Rouge is. |
| 584 | * VocalEvolution: Kathleen Delaney's voice for Rouge initially starts off rather soft-spoken in ''VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog'', though subsequent games would see her deliveries become more energetic over time. |
| 585 | * WeakButSkilled: For a given measure of "weak" anyway, she's strong enough to destroy Eggman's robots with ease and her kicking is just as strong as Knuckle's punching but she lacks the raw destructive firepower or powerful; chaos abilities of Omega or Shadow. That said, she is very quick-thinking, agile and quite durable, in addition to being a talented thief that makes use of a seemingly endless barrage of ring bombs, her magical charm and deafening bat shrieks to disorientate large amounts of enemies at the same time. She knows how to quickly fly around without getting exhausted (unlike Tails or Cream) and can scale walls, swim, and dig into certain areas. ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'' also establishes she's Knuckles' equal as a combatant due to her techniques having more finesse and skill to them despite being slightly weaker than him in terms of physical strength. |
| 586 | * WhenSheSmiles: Look carefully in ''Sonic Adventure 2'' after her fight with Knuckles. After he leaves, she makes not one, but ''two'' genuinely beautiful smiles that are completely different from her normal devious and seductive expressions. |
| 587 | ** In the same game, she genuinely throws Sonic a smile when he gives her one of his Inhibitor Rings, showing the apparent love and affection she developed with Shadow as a teammate to a friend, and how much his sacrifice meant to her. |
| 588 | * WhiteHairBlackHeart: She's not evil, but she's selfish and manipulative enough to qualify. |
| 589 | * WingedHumanoid: She's a HumanoidFemaleAnimal with impossibly tiny bat wings that [[ArtisticLicensePhysics she can fly with.]] |
| 590 | * YoungerThanTheyLook: Even keeping up with Rouge's greediness and obssession with jewels and treasure, her status as TheTease, {{Vaporwear}} and TeamMom makes her seem to be much older than she stated to be by canon. |
| 591 | [[/folder]] |
| 592 | |
| 593 | [[folder:[=E-123=] Omega]] |
| 594 | !!E-123 Omega |
| 595 | !!!'''Debut:''' ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes''\ |
| 596 | '''Voiced by:''' Creator/TaitenKusunoki (Japanese); Creator/JonStJohn (English, 2004), Jeff Kramer (English, 2005), Creator/MaddieBlaustein (English, 2006-2008), Creator/VicMignogna (English, 2010-2017), Creator/AaronLaPlante (English, 2019-present), Creator/RogerCraigSmith (English, ''WebAnimation/TailsTube'' Episode 6)[[labelnote:additional [=VAs=]]]Luc Boulad (French, 2017-present), Marco Pagani (Italian, 2011-present)[[/labelnote]] |
| 597 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/omega_sonic_channel.png]] |
| 598 | -->''"I am Omega, the ultimate E-series robot!"'' |
| 599 | |
| 600 | The last robot in Eggman's E-series line, fittingly named "Omega". After Eggman had moved onto to building bigger and better robots, he locked Omega away in one of his bases, with the implied purpose being to contain Shadow. After Rouge unwittingly awakened him, he decides to take revenge upon his creator to prove his worth, joining Rouge and Shadow on their quest. Sometime later, he would join his two friends as apart of GUN. |
| 601 | |
| 602 | Fittingly, Omega has a very robotic personality, only single-mindlessly focused on his revenge mission and nothing else. He does grow to consider Shadow and Rouge close friends though, and will always prioritize their word above anything else. Since he was designed as a battle robot, his first directive is to shoot first and ask questions never. |
| 603 | ---- |
| 604 | * AmbiguousSituation: For a time, it's unknown if Omega has a Flicky powering himself like Gamma and the rest of the E-series. But given that Omega is still active 200 years later in ''Sonic '06'', it's doubtful he has anything organic in him. |
| 605 | * AndThenWhat: It's only made explicit in ''Shadow The Hedgehog'', but after Omega achieves his revenge, he's perfectly willing to rule over a robot empire and in a couple non-canon endings, he does just this with Shadow. |
| 606 | * AntiHero: In ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006'', seeing how he also expresses regret when it was revealed that he was the one who sealed Shadow away, and it was implied to be against his will. |
| 607 | * AntiHeroSubstitute: To E-102 Gamma, who was a AntiVillain before making a [[HeelFaceTurn Heel–Face Turn]] out of care for others. Omega is a AntiHero who's less "reformed" than "[[NominalHero on the side that lets him defeat Eggman]]". |
| 608 | * ArchEnemy: Considers himself Eggman's, but it's pretty one-sided on his part as Eggman barely acknowledges him as a threat. |
| 609 | * ArmCannon: Two that have ''many'' weapons in them. |
| 610 | * BerserkButton: Anything relating to Dr. Eggman. Also, in ''06'', Mephiles referencing [[spoiler:his (presumably unwilling) participation in sealing Shadow in the future]]. |
| 611 | * TheBigGuy: He's considered the "Power" of Team Dark and it shows. |
| 612 | * BetaTestBaddie: Being abandoned by Eggman in favor of other robot models has lead him to seek and destroy them to prove he is the best. |
| 613 | * BloodKnight: He shows more shades of this in the Japanese version of ''Heroes'', which is justified due to him being driven by {{revenge}}. He consistently shows an aptitude for violence and frequently voices a desire to decimate anything -- and anyone -- that stands between him and [[ArchEnemy Dr. Eggman]]. |
| 614 | * BrutalHonesty: He's rather blunt, and doesn't care to filter out his thoughts, which makes it incredibly awkward for anyone outside of his TrueCompanions trying to know him better, as he'll make it known he just doesn't care to share the sentiment. It also makes it that much more notable when Omega comforts Rouge when she's uncertain if Shadow's the real deal or not. |
| 615 | * CardCarryingVillain: He seems to consider himself an evil force, since he taunts Eggman by claiming that Team Dark will "show him what true evil is". [[CharacterizationMarchesOn He sort of gets better on later games, though.]] |
| 616 | * TheComicallySerious: A few remarks of his sound like this, seeing as he is, after all, a robot (this is especially present in the Japanese version). His lines during stages like Casino Park and Bingo Highway are pretty good examples. |
| 617 | -->''"Beaten by fruits. How weak they must be."''\ |
| 618 | ''"Calculating odds: Jackpot."''\ |
| 619 | \ |
| 620 | '''Shadow:''' ''BINGO'' on this table.\ |
| 621 | '''Omega:''' Just a reminder, but...\ |
| 622 | '''Rouge:''' I know, I KNOW. But we can't work without having a bit of fun! |
| 623 | * ContrastingReplacementCharacter: Like Gamma, Omega is a member of the E-100 line of robots, has also turned against Eggman, and even somewhat shares Gamma's character design. However, Omega is a lot more violent and destructive than Gamma is, as Omega will destroy anything that gets in his way, whereas Gamma only destroyed what needed to be destroyed. Furthermore, while Gamma [[GrewBeyondTheirProgramming grew beyond his programming]] when he came to realize the immorality of Eggman's actions, Omega opposes Eggman out of sheer spite. |
| 624 | * DeadpanSnarker: This observation for when the rest of Team Dark fall off the stage arena in ''Heroes'', and continues this attitude throughout his portrayals: |
| 625 | -->''Well, that's a load off my back.'' |
| 626 | * DemotedToExtra: By far the one who suffers from this the most among his group; Shadow is a one-man SpotlightStealingSquad and still gets major appearances, Rouge occasionally shows up even if its only in a minor role and has reemerged as a major character in some media, but poor Omega hardly shows up at all. For reference, after ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006'', Omega's only appearances outside of spin offs were a cameo in the handheld version of ''VideoGame/SonicColors'', as a character profile in ''VideoGame/SonicGenerations'', and only has two scenes in ''VideoGame/SonicForces'', one of which he was deactivated and doesn't show up again until the climax. That's ''eleven years''. |
| 627 | * {{Determinator}}: One of the most stubborn and determined characters in the franchise, it doesn't matter what happens to him, he'll keep pushing forward no matter what. Case in point: after subjected to a beat down so bad by Infinite, Omega is left dysfunctional for several months, his ''very first'' action after coming back online is to try to get his revenge. |
| 628 | * DoAnythingRobot: He has a weapon built in for ''[[CrazyPrepared any]]'' situation. |
| 629 | * DumbMuscle: A notable aversion. Despite seeming like a dumb bucket of bolts craving nothing but violence, Omega is actually decently observant and capable of being empathetic and analytical. However, he chooses to really only focus on destruction. |
| 630 | * EvilSoundsDeep: Despite his robotic voice, he does show a good level of this in his voice tone; more so in Japanese. Downplayed, however, as Omega isn't evil so much as very anti-heroic and a {{jerk|ass}}. |
| 631 | * FasterThanTheyLook: Zigzagged. On one hand Omega is a MightyGlacier that's normally slower than most of the Sonic cast, on the other hand, he's fast enough to keep up with his teammates and was designed to keep Shadow contained (even succeeding in the BadFuture). |
| 632 | * FireBreathingWeapon: Omega uses a pair of Flamethrowers in ''Heroes'' for his Level 2 ThreeStrikeCombo, and can also use them as a technique in ''Sonic Chronicles''. He also has a pair of Napalm Cannons that he can use in mid-air to rain explosive fireballs down on any foes below. |
| 633 | * TheFriendNobodyLikes: Downplayed, but he's only actually ''friends'' with Shadow and Rouge, to everyone else he's kind of an ass who doesn't really care about what anyone thinks beyond whether or not it lines up with his own personal goals. As such, Sonic, Tails and the like are never really sure what to say to win him over, but they at least consider him important enough to have Tails try to repair him after he's been beaten by Infinite. |
| 634 | * GatlingGood: Has a pair of concealed Gatling Cannons that he's ''very'' fond of using. |
| 635 | * HeroicComedicSociopath: He's usually on the good guys' side (even if his [[{{Revenge}} motives]] aren't that heroic), but he enjoys violence a bit ''too'' much and his dialogue can be rather disturbing at times. |
| 636 | * HiddenDepths: Despite all of his KillerRobot tropes, Omega is capable of empathy. When Rouge shows concern in ''Sonic Heroes'' that Shadow might not be the real Shadow, Omega states, in a roundabout way, that the real Shadow must exist which gives Rouge hope. He's also shown to be genuinely upset when told by Mephiles that he'll betray Shadow, attacking the former and telling the latter of this as soon as possible. |
| 637 | * HyperspaceArsenal: There is no other explanation for all his weapons. In ''Heroes'' he even launches multiple giant drill-tipped missiles that seem larger than his entire arm, and that's after his hands retract and seemingly vanish into thin air. Downplayed in ''Sonic 06'', where Omega's arsenal is (somewhat) more limited and he mentions having to reload with spare magazines. |
| 638 | * ImageSong: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhZDbhqnAWE This Machine]]. |
| 639 | * {{Jerkass}}: He can be pretty violent and TriggerHappy, and never addresses any character by name other than Shadow, Rouge and Dr. Eggman. |
| 640 | * JerkassHasAPoint: No one's going dispute the fact that being created as a ridiculously powerful robot only to be sealed away for an indefinite amount of time isn't reason to lash out at Eggman and his creations. |
| 641 | * JerkassToOne: Inverted. He's a jerk to everyone ''but'' Rouge and Shadow. |
| 642 | * JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Just like Shadow and Rouge. Much like them, Omega is on the side of good (although in some cases [[NotInThisForYourRevolution not for the same motives]]) and he genuinely cares for his teammates, even if he doesn't really show it traditionally. |
| 643 | * KillerRobot: On the ''very'' subtle end of the spectrum. |
| 644 | * LackOfEmpathy: Unless he's talking to Shadow or Rouge, he could care less about anyone else. |
| 645 | * LargeHam: He's loud, dramatic, and violent. |
| 646 | * LastOfHisKind: He's the final and most powerful model of the E-100 line of robots, which is fitting as [[MeaningfulName Omega is the last letter of the Greek alphabet]]. |
| 647 | * LeeroyJenkins: In Issue Three of the ''Sonic Forces'' prequel comic, Looming Shadow (and in the Episode Shadow [=DLC=] that depicts this moment), Team Dark was supposed to use stealth to infiltrate Eggman's base, but Omega decides to abandon that strategy and goes in head first and guns-blazing, much to Rouge's annoyance. This ends up biting him hard in his shiny metal ass when he encounters Infinite, who wastes no time dealing out a CurbStompBattle. |
| 648 | * MachineMonotone: How he talks in every game, though some voice actors add a bit of "monster truck announcer" inflection on top of it. |
| 649 | * MacrossMissileMassacre: Has missile launchers as some of his many weapons. |
| 650 | * MadeOfIron: In addition to being one of the physically strongest heroes, he's also undoubtedly the toughest. |
| 651 | * MeaningfulName: Omega is the last letter in the Greek alphabet. He is the last -- and by far, the strongest -- in the line of the E-100 series of robots. |
| 652 | * MightyGlacier: He's very powerful, but a lot slower than most other Sonic characters. That being said, he can at least keep up with his faster teammates with his jetpacks. He was designed to keep Shadow contained after all. |
| 653 | * MoreDakka: He's a walking arsenal who's packing more heat than the US Military can dream of. |
| 654 | * MotiveDecay: He seems to have at least partially gotten over his grudge against Eggman for abandoning him, although it's evident he still loathes the doctor. |
| 655 | * NiceMeanAndInbetween: Mean to Rouge's Nice and Shadow's In-Between. A hulking, brutish KillerRobot who's ([[HiddenDepths mostly]]) on the team for the sake of destruction and revenge. |
| 656 | * NoisyRobots: Definitely. Especially noticeable in '''06''. |
| 657 | * NominalHero: He only ever does anything heroic either because it involves his goal of getting revenge on Eggman for abandoning him for other robots, or because Shadow and Rouge asked him to help them out. |
| 658 | * NotSoAboveItAll: A few of his lines in ''Heroes'' have him (in his monotone robot voice) reacting to stuff much like his teammates. He can also have fun with his teammates, as ''Team Sonic Racing'' (and the comics and animation based around the game) portrays him as perfectly willing to participate in the race, despite it being non-violent beyond driving cars. He's also willing to dress up for Halloween despite looking down on organics. |
| 659 | * OOCIsSeriousBusiness: |
| 660 | ** Considering his single-minded desire to destroy Eggman, you know it's a big deal when he formally changes targets to [[spoiler: Metal Sonic]] in ''Sonic Heroes''. |
| 661 | --->'''Omega:''' New target acquisition! Sights locked on [[spoiler:Metal Sonic]]! |
| 662 | ** In ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006'' he makes no [[WhyDontYaJustShootHim attempt to attack]] [[KillHimAlready Eggman]], who is in the vicinity while [[spoiler:Solaris is destroying everything]]. |
| 663 | --->'''Omega:''' Our targets are the Chaos Emeralds. I will begin the search immediately. |
| 664 | * OnlyFriend: Rouge and Shadow are his TrueCompanions and the only ones he'll really listen to and respect; everyone else however, has a far more strained relationship he doesn't much care for. |
| 665 | * OutOfFocus: He's easily the character with the least amount of screen time or appearances in Team Dark and when he is on screen, his interactions are more often than not [[SatelliteCharacter with Shadow or Rouge]]. This is partially justified however, unlike Shadow who often has connections to other characters plotwise, and Rouge who is by far the most social and willing to cooperate, Omega is antisocial when it comes to anything outside of his desires and uninterested in interacting with anyone ''but'' his friends. |
| 666 | * PetTheDog: Despite his single-minded obsession with killing Eggman, he comforts Rouge at the end of their story in ''Heroes'' when she worries Shadow might be a clone or android. |
| 667 | * PintsizedPowerhouse: Compared to Gamma. Omega is only 4 feet and 11 inches tall, whereas Gamma was 7 feet and 1 inch. That said, he ''is'' a lot wider and heavier, tipping the scales at 1230.512kg (2712.82lb) against Gamma's leaner 825.256kg (1819.378lb) frame. |
| 668 | * PowerFloats: As with Gamma, he too can hover, though he doesn't seem to use this ability as often. |
| 669 | * {{Pride}}: For a robot, Omega has a ridiculous amount of pride, outshining the likes of Shadow and Sonic; he constantly views himself as the strongest thing around and won't accept the idea that he can't beat an opponent, which risks him running into TooDumbToLive territory when he gets in danger despite being told of risks beforehand and simply brushing it aside. |
| 670 | * PurpleIsPowerful: Omega isn't purple himself, but he has a purple "aura" in ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes'' when performing actions like jumping and is the physically-strongest member of Team Dark, capable of defeating and containing even [[UltimateLifeForm Shadow]] (as seen in the BadFuture for '''06''). |
| 671 | * RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver: Downplayed; Omega is red and black and is a both a NominalHero who only wants revenge on Eggman and a major {{Jerkass}} to everyone except Shadow and Rouge. |
| 672 | * RedEyesTakeWarning: How he's first seen in ''Sonic Heroes'', he doesn't live down the menace, much. |
| 673 | * RedIsViolent: His color scheme is red and he's pretty TriggerHappy. |
| 674 | * RedOniBlueOni: By contrast with the stoic and collected Shadow, he's pretty violent and [[LargeHam hammy]]. |
| 675 | * {{Revenge}}: He wants revenge on Eggman for abandoning him for other robots, but is willing to hold off on it if there is a significant threat that must be disposed of such as Metal Sonic or Solaris. Even when [[WhyDontYaJustShootHim he has a clear shot]] [[KillHimAlready at Eggman]] who is in the vicinity. |
| 676 | * RoboSpeak: "Affirmative." ''Sonic Heroes'' played this mildly, with a cold monotone befitting an unfeeling robot but fairly smooth speech, ''06'' plays this painfully straight, with noticeable pauses between every syllable. ''Forces'' seems to have gone back to his ''Heroes'' speech pattern. |
| 677 | * RobotBuddy: To Shadow and Rouge. Those two are the only people that Omega would consider to be his "friends". |
| 678 | * RoboticPsychopath: Omega is a relatively heroic example but he still counts, having a penchant for violence. |
| 679 | * SatelliteCharacter: Became one to Shadow and Rouge after ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes'' - he never shows up without them and anything not related to destroying Eggman's robots is related to Team Dark somehow. |
| 680 | * SkewedPriorities: No matter what situation he faces, destroying Eggman and his armies ''always'' comes first. Especially shown in ''VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog'' where despite the fact there was an ''alien invasion'' happening, his only priority was Eggman. Which is jarring considering there are other times he changes targets such as in ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes'' where his priority is [[spoiler:Metal Sonic]] and in ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006'' where his priority is to gather the Chaos Emeralds to defeat [[spoiler:Solaris]]. Even when [[WhyDontYaJustShootHim he has a clear shot]] [[KillHimAlready at Eggman]] who is in the vicinity. |
| 681 | * TheSlowPath: He takes a Chaos Emerald and enters standby mode for about 200+ years to help Shadow when he was trapped in the future. |
| 682 | * SmugSuper: Omega considers himself to be the best of Eggman's creations and views every other robot created before or after him to be complete rubbish. To be fair, he's legitimately powerful and probably is ''one'' of Eggman's best. [[spoiler:In ''Episode Shadow'' of VideoGame/SonicForces, Infinite even refers to him as "the world's most powerful robot," and treats his effortless victory over the mech as further proof of the Phantom Ruby's immense power. If there was any doubt about his power, Omega even defeated [[TheJuggernaut Shadow]] and sealed him away in the BadFuture in ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006''.]] |
| 683 | * SpectacularSpinning: His entire body rotates while his legs stay still. In ''Heroes'', if Omega's leveled up, the third hit of his Power Combination attack involves spinning around to shoot at pretty much everything in sight (with either [[GatlingGood bullets]], [[KillItWithFire flamethrowers]] or [[MacrossMissileMassacre missiles]], depending on his current level). He also does this for Team Dark's [[LimitBreak Team Blast]]. |
| 684 | * StaticCharacter: Compared to his teammates, Omega's personality doesn't really change or develop throughout his appearances, [[TropesAreTools not that this is minded by his fans]]. |
| 685 | * StrengthEqualsWorthiness: One of his many motivations for fighting Eggman and his robot armies, and the main motivation for his destructiveness in general. |
| 686 | * SuperiorSuccessor: He has far more weaponry than his "brother" Gamma ever did. While Gamma only had a single lock-on blaster and a jetpack, Omega has machine guns, flamethrowers, missiles and giant claws, in addition to being far more durable as well. |
| 687 | * SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: Omega has been on both sides of this trope. |
| 688 | ** Omega mixes and matches traits from the Eggman-betraying E-102 Gamma and the extra-lethal KillerRobot E-101 Beta. And he knows it, too--get an E-rank as Team Dark in ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes'' and Omega may gripe about failing to outdo either of those robots. |
| 689 | ** Omega failed to appear in ''VideoGame/SonicBattle'' (which was developed alongside ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes'', but released just ahead of it by a month), which instead features a copy of Gamma named ''Chaos'' Gamma--[[LampshadeHanging Rouge notes that the newcomer reminds her of Omega]]. |
| 690 | ** Omega was also left out of ''VideoGame/SonicFreeRiders'', and the "power-type robot on Team Dark" role went instead to E-10000B. |
| 691 | * TeethClenchedTeamwork: Initially with Shadow and Rouge in ''Heroes''. They get better in later games. |
| 692 | * TelescopingRobot: How his {{Arm Cannon}}s seem to function. |
| 693 | * TinMan: As a robot, he's mostly emotionless, but he is capable of understanding the emotions of others and reacting accordingly. |
| 694 | * TokenRobot: While he's not the ''only'' robotic companion in Sonic's franchise, he's the only returning one on the side of good in the main games. |
| 695 | * TokenEvilTeammate: Not so much evil as he is a NominalHero. Omega's just a violent, revenge filled person with no worries about anything other than the status of his friends and pursuit of his goals. In non-canon Shadow routes, Omega has no issues helping Shadow do morally grey actions and makes no attempt to steer him on a better path, even intending to rule an empire by his side. |
| 696 | * TokenGoodTeammate: [[NominalHero Technically.]] He's the only (active) Eggman robot that's frequently working against Eggman and actively despises him, even if his motivations and methods aren't too heroic. |
| 697 | * TriggerHappy: Not that he means to, but his shooting sprees do usually come out of left field. |
| 698 | * TurnedAgainstTheirMasters: |
| 699 | ** If there was one word to describe him, his relationship with Eggman, it certainly wouldn't be "loyal". |
| 700 | ** In ''Shadow the Hedgehog'', Omega wants to take control of Eggman's army to create ''his own'' robot empire. |
| 701 | * UnexplainedRecovery: In ''VideoGame/SonicForces'', his encounter with Infinite leaves him damaged and offline, with Tails being unable to fix him despite his best efforts. After Tails' attempt to fix him, he is never seen or mentioned until [[spoiler: the Resistance's final stand against Eggman and Infinite, where he abruptly returns in inexplicably perfect condition to get his revenge on Infinite.]] |
| 702 | * UnknownRival: To Eggman, who never really seems to acknowledge him as a threat. |
| 703 | * UnskilledButStrong: Omega seems to be this: He's got quite the powerful arsenal and he's up there with one of the physically strongest character, but his strategy tends to be MoreDakka and destroying everything as fast as possible with no remote hint of finesse. |
| 704 | * WalkingArsenal: And ''how''. Omega's wide arms conceal a terrifying (and frankly, insane) amount of weapons, including [[GatlingGood Gatling Guns]], [[FireBreathingWeapon Flamethrowers, Napalm Cannons]], [[HomingProjectile Lock-On Missiles]] and [[EnergyWeapon Laser Guns]] of both the [[ArmCannon Wrist-Mounted]] and [[WaveMotionGun Cannon]] kind. Even his regular hands are razor-sharp steel claws. |
| 705 | * WaveMotionGun: Omega combines this with SpectacularSpinning during Team Dark's "Chaos Inferno" [[LimitBreak Team Blast]] in ''[[VideoGame/SonicHeroes Heroes]]''. He retracts his arms into massive laser cannons as Shadow uses Chaos Control to [[TimeStandsStill stop time]], allowing him to wipe out every enemy in sight. |
| 706 | * WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: Shadow and Rouge treat him with more respect than they do most people, and are tolerant of his violent comments and occasional single mindedness. For the most part, Sonic and friends treat him as if he were flesh and blood (even if they can be uncertain of how to interact with him). Eggman treats him as a failed, replaceable machine. |
| 707 | * WorldsBestWarrior: He boasts about being the "Ultimate E-Series Robot" which is true in that he is far more powerful than any of his predecessors. He also claims to be the "Ultimate Robot", a claim that is not as clear cut, but is specifically cited as such by Infinite. |
| 708 | * WorfHadTheFlu: He's easily defeated by Infinite due to both surprise attacking him and being unprepared for the power of the Phantom Ruby, [[HoistByTheirOwnPetard which was entirely his own fault due to rushing in without thinking.]] |
| 709 | * WorthyOpponent: He considers Shadow to be the only person worthy of being his rival, and will occasionally express desire to test out which one would come on top, a sentiment Shadow shares. |
| 710 | [[/folder]] |
| 711 |
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FollowingContext Characters / SonicTheHedgehogTeamDark
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