About

Where's That Damn Fourth Chaos Emerald? is a line spoken by the character Shadow the Hedgehog in the 2005 video game of the same name. Due to the use of the word "damn" and the way the line was delivered, it has become a popular in-joke in the Sonic the Hedgehog fanbase.

Origin

The line was originally featured in the game Shadow the Hedgehog, a darker take on the Sonic franchise featuring the popular character of the same name. The game was one of the first Sonic games to feature profanity, most evident in the constant use of the word "damn."^[1] In one scene, Shadow says "Where's that damn fourth chaos emerald?" which was widely parodied after the game's release.^[2]

Spread

In the years following the game's release, Shadow's line became mocked within the Sonic fanbase, who saw it as a blatant attempt to be edgy:. On March 24th 2009, DeviantArt user Flying Mario uploaded art of Shadow saying the line while holding an AK-47 machine gun (shown below, left). On November 17th, 2011, an entry for the line was added to Urban Dictionary.^[3]

In addition to the creation of art and image macros made in parody of the meme, the line has also been parodied on YouTube. One of the earliest popular edits, dated November 21st, 2007, paired the clip with Tourette's Guy, gaining over 89,000 views. On September 5th, 2017, YouTuber Hypertech12 parodied it by animating it into a Sonic Mania parody, gaining over 300,000 views (shown below, left).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References