Shadow and Maria would soon become friends on the colony. Gerald specifically wanted to find a cure for the terminal illness Neuro-Immune Deficiency Syndrome (N.I.D.S), which his granddaughter, Maria Robotnik had contracted. He was the result of a successful government medical project in collaboration with the leader of the Black Arms, Black Doom, called Project Shadow, which had the goal of finding a way for life to be immortal. Eggman's grandfather, Gerald Robotnik, on the Space Colony ARK.

Shadow was created several decades before the events of Adventure 2 by Dr. He features in his own self-titled game, Shadow the Hedgehog, released in 2005. In later games, Shadow appears often appears as an anti-hero with inherently good intentions, even if his methods are violent and ruthless. Unlike his heroic counterpart, Shadow is a much darker character, willing to do whatever it takes to reach his goals. Since his debut, he consistently holds second place as the most popular character in the franchise, trailing the eponymous character. An artificially-created hedgehog known as the 'Ultimate Lifeform', he made his first appearance in Sonic Adventure 2 as an antagonist who becomes an anti-heroic protagonist as the game progresses. Shadow the Hedgehog, like Knuckles the Echidna, is a rival of Sonic the Hedgehog. Shadow performing Chaos Control in Sonic Adventure 2. Shadow the Hedgehog ( シャドウ・ザ・ヘッジホッグ, Shadow the Hedgehog) is a character from the Sonic the Hedgehog series. Official artwork of Shadow the Hedgehog for Team Sonic Racing. For the Japanese smasher, see Smasher:Shadow (Japan) Shadow the Hedgehog For the Salvadorian smasher, see Smasher:Shadow (El Salvador).

For the Tri-state smasher, see Smasher:Shadow.

Shadow in sonic 1