Shadow Androids are robotic replicants of the Ultimate Lifeform, Shadow the Hedgehog. Created by Dr. Eggman, these androids were produced from the data that the doctor obtained from the real Shadow after his fall from the Space Colony ARK in Sonic Adventure 2.
Description[]
The Shadow Android is a robotic duplicate of Shadow the Hedgehog. It matches the shape and size of the real Shadow and appears to share his standard apparel of white gloves and white shoes with red-and-black cuffs, as well as imitations of Shadow's Inhibitor Rings. However, not all Shadow Androids share the same fur or skin colour as the real Shadow; many of these androids have grey fur, grey skin, metallic chrome fur and black eyes with either red or orange irises. The colour of their stripes and the highlights on their gloves and shoes tend to differ as well.
History[]
Sonic Heroes[]
Though Shadow was presumed dead following the ARK incident, Eggman managed to find his body and preserved it in stasis while he conducted research to produce a new series of robots with which to destroy Sonic the Hedgehog. When his research was completed, Eggman abandoned his laboratory and left Shadow in his stasis pod, leaving E-123 Omega behind to guard it.
After establishing his Egg Fleet, the doctor assembled his new Shadow Android army in secret aboard his Final Fortress. During the events of Sonic Heroes, Team Dark discovered the androids aboard the Final Fortress still in stasis. Upon seeing the androids, Rouge thought that the Shadow she had been travelling with might be an android too, but Omega assured her that the original Shadow must still exist somewhere.
Shadow the Hedgehog[]
When the Black Arms invaded Earth, Dr. Eggman finally decided to mobilize the Shadow Androids to help fight against the alien menace. The android army performed well against the forces of G.U.N., but were not so effective against the real Shadow and E-123 Omega, who managed to tear through the android force and storm Eggman's Lava Shelter base.
Abilities[]
The Shadow Androids look identical to Shadow and behave in a similar manner. They do not quite match his speed, but they possess excellent reflexes and can perfectly deflect any physical attack Shadow makes toward them. They do not possess Shadow's Chaos powers, but they do carry heavy firepower; they can launch missiles from their palms which deliver heavy damage and can be fired in quick succession. Although close range attacks don't work on them, they are still vulnerable to firearms such as rifles and lasers.
Appearances in other media[]
IDW Publishing[]
Dr. Eggman put the Shadow Androids to great use in IDW's ongoing Sonic the Hedgehog series. They first appeared in the Tangle & Whisper mini-series during a flashback of the Eggman War, in which Whisper the Wolf describes how the Diamond Cutters fell victim to a trap set by the traitorous spy, Mimic. Smithy the Lion, Slinger the Ocelot and Claire Voyance had infiltrated an Eggman Empire base where they entered a storage bay containing dozens of Shadow Androids in stasis. Upon entering, the room was sealed and the androids activated, attacking and killing the mercenaries while Whisper watched and listened through her mask while observing the base perimeter.
During the mainline series' Urban Warfare arc, Dr. Eggman deployed multiple squads of Shadow Androids to stop Sonic, the new Diamond Cutters and Team Dark from completing their raid on Eggperial City. They proved to be formidable opponents against the heroes, who couldn't take them down hand to hand. The heroes were forced to get away from them and fight with Team Dark. Shadow and Omega's attacks were ineffective against them as well. The combined powers of the whole group allowed them to hold off the Shadow Androids, but not eliminate them. The androids then took down Omega and Shadow was convinced to resort to using Chaos Control to take them out. This proved to be effective, however, Shadow drawing power from the giant Fake Chaos Emeralds caused his Chaos powers to overload and destroy his surroundings.
Rouge, Blaze, and Silver soon came back to find Omega and Shadow. They found many of the Shadow Androids trapped under the rubble or destroyed. They managed to get Omega free and found Shadow in the Memorial Garage. Several Shadow Androids blocked their path to them and Omega had to use all his weaponry to clear a way for them.