Shadow the Hedgehog, commonly known as Shadow II, is a supporting character in the Sonic the Comic Online webcomic. He is an artificial intelligence based off the original Shadow, created by Ovi Kintobor to have a free moral choice. He emerged after the demise of the original Shadow, traversing the Internet and cleansing it of Dr. Robotnik's influence.
Biography[]
Past[]
Shadow II was created by Dr. Kintobor by using the Drakons' unfinished living weapon, Shadow, as a template. He intended for the program to have full moral agency and be guided by its conciense. Years later, long after Kintobor turned into the evil Robotnik by a lab accident, the original Shadow was completed by Dr. Zachary but died in a battle against Sonic. Shadow II, meanwhile, would be discovered by a teen mouse Iggy, or "Ichneumon", who gave him a design based off his predecessor and maintained his functionality.
Sonic the Comic Online[]
During the New Robotnik Empire's invasion of Mobius, the evil doctor flooded the Internet with malware and propaganda, and Shadow II stepped up to clear the web of his influence. He had a few run-ins with Espio the Chameleon of the Chaotix, but refused to team up with him or anyone else due to being a loner.
As the war went on, both Chaotix and Robotnik tried to sway Shadow II to their side by bribing him with mutually beneficial deals. Eventually, he decided to play both sides by seemingly selling the Chaotix out to the Empire and luring them into a trap, only to rescue them in the last minute and assault Robotnik, deleting many of the programs that he used to control Badniks. However, he ended up deleting the program the Drakon Empire used to keep the doctor in check as well, leading to him going rogue. Shadow II, meanwhile, was accepted by the heroes and even given a physical body.
After the war was over, Shadow II met up with Sonic just as he was about to ambush Vermin during an arms deal. Unaware of his existence, Sonic mistook him for the original Shadow being up to no good once again, but the new Shadow tried to explain the confusion, assuring that he was a different kind of person. The two hedgehogs teamed up to fight Vermin, but he gained the upper hand and began to strangle Sonic. Shadow II sacrificed himself to save Sonic by using up all of his life energy to conjure a Chaos Blast that forced Vermin out of his Cybernik armor. After a few parting words with Sonic, he turned into pure energy and flew towards the stars.
Personality[]
Shadow II is, for the most part, a gruff and aloof person, only doing what he wishes to do, with no regards to others' wishes. While he never stooped to the same level his organic template did, he has still done a number of amoral acts, from mocking Espio over the destruction of his home to almost selling the Chaotix out to Robotnik. After becoming allies with the Chaotix and getting a physical body, he becomes nicer and more willing to fight for what is right.
Trivia[]
- In contrast to the original Shadow, whose characterization isn't much different from his game counterpart's portrayal in Sonic Adventure 2, Shadow II's personality, such as his tendency to remain a loner and choose a path that benefits him, resembles his portrayal in later games.
