About

Shadow the Hedgehog is a character from the Sonic the Hedgehog series of video games. The character was created as "The Ultimate Lifeform" by Dr. Robotnik and becomes the arch-rival of Sonic. He generally appears as an anti-hero. Online, he is often parodied in ways that send up his serious and nihilistic demeanor, usually by portraying him as comedically edgy.

History

Shadow made his debut in Sonic Adventure 2, which was released for the Sega Dreamcast on June 23rd, 2001.^[1] He was created by Dr. Robotnik as a way to find a cure for deadly illnesses, specifically for Robotnik's daughter, Maria.^[2] Over the course of the series, he breaks from Robotnik and vows to save the planet to avenge Maria. He sometimes aids Sonic in games, but often is working towards his own ends.

In 2005, Shadow was the title character of his own game, Shadow the Hedgehog, released on the GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox. The game went in a darker direction than other Sonic titles, notably by giving Shadow a gun.

Shadow continued to appear in Sonic games throughout the series and notably has a borderline romantic partnership with Rouge the Bat.

Online Presence

Online, Shadow has been the subject of numerous memes that send up his nihilistic and serious personality, often characterizing him as an edgelord. For example, in the Sonic fanfiction Tails Gets Trolled, Shadow advocates murdering the villainous trolls, whereas other characters look for more diplomatic solutions. YouTuber Jehtt, known for making Sonic the Hedgehog parodies, will often use Shadow to voice edgy opinions (example shown below, left).

This characterization of Shadow can be seen in numerous image macro parodies, often using Shadow as a way to undermine the vitriol of the text (examples shown below).

Where's That Damn Fourth Chaos Emerald

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.

The game was one of the first Sonic games to feature profanity, most evident in the constant use of the word "damn." In one scene, Shadow says "Where's that damn fourth chaos emerald?" which was widely parodied after the game's release.

Ow The Edge

Ow The Edge is a catchphrase used in response to images, videos or posts that seem to fit in the edgy stereotype. The line has been heavily associated to the Sonic the Hedgehog character Shadow the Hedgehog and the 2005 video game of the same name, and inspired a series of Expand Dong-styled images.

The earliest instance of the catchphrase comes from a block thread on 4chan's video game board /v/, where users try to highlight some words or sections from video games covers by blocking parts of it. A post made on September 22nd, 2012 featured an edited version of the 2005 video game Shadow the Hedgehog cover, highlighting the words "OW THE EDGE".

Shadow X Shrek

Shadow X Shrek, sometimes shorten to Shredow is a popular crack ship between Shrek and Shadow the Hedgehog, each character being from the Shrek series and The Sonic the Hedgehog series respectively. Due to the rather bizarre pairing, it has often recognized as a cringeworthy ship.

Nice Cock

Nice Cock refers to an image macro series based on images of various characters captioned with the compliment "Nice Cock." Stemming from an image of Shadow the Hedgehog captioned with the phrase, the macros have been used both as reaction images and for ironic meme purposes. The meme later mutated to include "Nice Pussy," "Why Is It So Small" and other variations, with some users printing out the memes and putting them up in public toilets.

Search Interest

External References