Shadow the Hedgehog

Shadow is a black-furred anthropomorphic hedgehog. He has red eyes, a patch of white fur on his chest, a black nose, a tan muzzle, and small, triangular ears with tan canals. He also has six quills on his head, four of which curve upwards while the other two curve downwards, two spines on his back, and a short, pointy tail. He has red stripes on each of his head quills, around the edges of his eyes, and on his arms and legs.

For attire, Shadow wears white gloves with black cuffs and red tongues, and Air Shoes which, like his gloves, have black cuffs and red tongues. Shadow also wears Limiter Rings, one on each of his wrists and ankles.

Being Sonic's polar opposite personality-wise, Shadow is, bluntly put, a brooding loner. He usually acts with a cool and businesslike indifference, only occasionally showing his vulnerable side. He is rarely seen with others for an extended period and usually distances himself from essentially everyone as a natural introvert. He is usually blunt and does not speak much, but he always knows exactly what to say in combat. However, Shadow never bluffs; if he makes a threat, he has every intention of carrying it out. Tying into this attitude, the Japanese script has his self-pronoun be the more humble "Boku", with his pronoun for others switching between either "Kimi" or "omae" depending on his mood.

As the most violent and merciless character in the series at times, Shadow's ruthlessness and aggression lead to enemies never treating him lightly. Alongside his dark and violent demeanor, Shadow can be smug and stubborn. He usually treats others in a very callous manner, throwing in his opinion no matter how cold-hearted it is and not caring for whatever the response is. Shadow is also shown to have a sharp wit; during the Space Colony ARK incident, after being called a faker by Sonic, he replied that the latter was not worth being considered his fake.

Said to be Sonic's equal in almost every ability, Shadow can easily rival the blue hedgehog's various physical skills. His abilities and skills in combat are an extremely powerful force to be reckoned with, and he is a match for even the most powerful foes in the series. He similarly never willingly holds back his immense strength, making him a brutal fighter. On his own, Shadow has been able to take down G.U.N.'s various combat mechs, Dr. Eggman's battle robots, Black Doom and his empowered state, and even deities. To best put his skills into perspective, Shadow was capable of defeating even Sonic while he had Diablon for support, as seen in some of the scenarios during the Black Arms incident. He even managed to best Emerl in combat after the latter had acquired all seven Chaos Emeralds as a power source. (although Emerl quickly surpassed him afterward).

Shadow wears a pair of specialized shoes called Air Shoes. These footwear are the primary source of Shadow's speed, producing small jet streams that let him hover-skate at speeds supposedly even surpassing Sonic's speed. Alternatively, Shadow can use his Air Shoes' exhausts to attack opponents with fire, empower his jumps, or achieve midair hovering.

Shadow wears four Limiter Rings, one on each of his wrists and ankles, that limit the amount of power he uses during combat and other situations. By removing them, Shadow can utilize his full power.

During the Black Arms incident, Shadow made use of a vast selection of weaponry. This included anything from close combat weapons like Survival Knives and Black Swords; guns like Pistols and Sub-Machine Guns; cannons like Bazookas and Grenade Launchers; lock-ons like 8-shot RPGs and Worm Shooters; to lasers like Laser Rifles and Refractors.

Shadow wears a pair of specialized shoes. These footwear are the primary source of Shadow's speed, producing small jet streams that let him hover-skate at speeds rivaling Sonic's supersonic running speed. Alternatively, Shadow can use his rocket skates to produce fire to attack opponents or achieve midair hovering.

By harnessing the power of the seven Chaos Emeralds, Shadow can enter a Super State, transforming him into a Super Shadow. In this state, all of Shadow's abilities far surpass his normal ones, and his chaos powers are increased to their full limit. He is also able to fly and is nearly invulnerable. Initially, Shadow found it difficult to stay in this state due to inexperience, but he has since mastered it. In addition, this transformation consumes a lot of energy, meaning it cannot be maintained for long.