The IDW one was mainly a case of having the Idiot Ball forced upon him. I think in other continuities, that’s one problem most would agree he didn’t have.
My musician pageIn Sonic X, which is the closest depiction to his game counterpart, Shadow is a jerk.
He shows up, he starts beating people up without explaining why (it's a noble cause, trust us), and then leaves.
To win, you need to adapt, and to adapt, you need to be able to laugh away all the restraints. Everything holding you back.Prime seems to be trying to change the ratio between good and not nice more towards the good side. ie Sonic did something really stupid that put a lot of innocent people at risk, so he deserves a whooping. That punch to the face was followed up by perfectly valid criticism for any hero that wants to be successful.
A bit more in line with 06 who will at least show you the truth if you ask him.
FTR, it was the edgeiness that was the source of complaints.
Edited by magnum12 on Dec 16th 2022 at 8:04:57 AM
I think it’s in part a function of Shadow not really having anything to do any more.
He’s basically entirely defined by his contention with Sonic now, which is a bit awkward because otherwise his characterization is being calm, collected and Good Is Not Nice.
That makes this weird effect where when Sonic is doing a good job, they keep using Shadow as an example of why Good Is Not Nice is bad, but on the flip side when Sonic is screwing up they use him as someone who actually knows what he’s doing. There isn’t really in between, because his only role these days is to be Sonic’s counter.
I still think they should’ve emphasized Team Dark as ThoseThreeGuys, because imo Shadow really needs characters to contrast with that aren’t Sonic, but Sonic Team disagrees.
They could’ve had them pop in and out of stories as sometimes antagonists, sometimes allies, but always in a Hero of Another Story sort of way.
Edited by KnownUnknown on Dec 16th 2022 at 11:06:32 AM
Heck, I dunno , they could even just give him a relationship with someone in the main cast who isn’t Sonic. I’ve always thought he and Knuckles would have an interesting dynamic, but I don’t think they’ve ever interacted in the games at all.
Shadow has gone from simply being a character who is is a loner - which is cool - to literally not interacting with anyone who isn’t Sonic, which has its problems.
Its a similar problem Vegeta has in modern media...but what can you do if that's what fans want and like.
Shadow actually did have a rivalry with Knuckles in Archie for a bit.
In fact, Archie Shadow's stories don't really involve Sonic much, if at all.
The problem is that since his rivalry with Sonic is literally one of the main reasons people like him.
Sooooo....here we are.
A lazy millennial who's good at what he does.Got this from elsewhere and seems to be on point:
Sure, 00's broody angst and edge was just sort of a popular thing back in the day, but as the Archie Comics and Flynn's writing could show, fans really got a kick out of a lighter-hearted Shadow who is all gruff and serious on the job, but loves his motorcycle dearly, pouts when Amy points out how nice he's being, and hams up his reputation just to mock a bad guy he ripped head hairs off of to throw back in their face. He's a dork that will shoot the dog if he has to save the world, but would rather Sonic solve the problem if he can find a way.
Sega Execs thought him being The Edgy Rival™ was the only thing that made Shadow sell, and don't seem to realize no one actually cares for that. Did you ever wonder why he seemed randomly antagonistic in the Boom continuity stuff? Yeah, this shit's been going on as far back as 2014 by mandates. But Sega Execs being out of touch with all of their franchises and I Ps is nothing new and hasn't been since the 90's.
What issue of Sonic Archie comics was this?
There are plenty of ways for Shadow to interact with others besides Sonic.
Having a respect for Tails being a Child Prodigy even if he disagrees with the idealism part.
A wholesome Amy reminds him of Maria angle.
Change up the conflict dynamic between Sonic and Shadow into a Idealism vs Cynicism angle. Maybe Shadow found something REALLY important that everyone else is missing and is trying to protect A LOT of innocent people but his solution is his trademark pragmatic no nonsense Good Is Not Nice approach. At worst, Wrong For The Right Reason.
My point is that Good Is Not Nice was NEVER the problem with Shadow (its the edgelord flanderization). Its just that the Good aspect needs to be more obvious/less ambiguous. Such as having Shadow’s motives being just as noble as Sonic’s but with more pragmatic ruthless approaches.
Think modern (post 2018) depictions of Venom or Injustice universe Jason Todd style of “Violent Side of Chaotic Good”
The “dang it protag” conflict is not a bad angle either. In fact, its the key root of the conflict between Kirby and Metaknight. Kirby’s recklessness causes all sorts of problems and Metaknight often sees what’s really going on and tries to act directly.
Edited by magnum12 on Dec 16th 2022 at 3:52:09 AM

I thought IDW was the one everyone meme'd as bad?
A lazy millennial who's good at what he does.