Who's the Better Character: Sonic or Shadow?

[Spin Slasher]

I think Shadow the Hedgehog is better because He is the Ultimate Lifeform, But I still like Sonic the Hedgehog, and Shadow is made 50+ years ago by Gerald Robotnik and Sonic is a 15 year old, Shadow is much older than Sonic in the Universe but Younger in Real Life 

[MetalSkulkBane]

1) That's highly subjective in general, so we won't reach conclusion. I vote Shadow, but I bet most will vote Sonic.

2) Which Shadow? "I'm the coolest" smug guy from SA2? The brooding avenger from 06 period? Asshole we have now?

3) "better because He is the Ultimate Lifeform" is terrible argument. I can create OC who's Super Form 24/7, beat Mephiles and Infinite at the same time and even Sonic admits he's jealous of how cool he is. And this OC will still be much worse than Lemur with long tail and unbridled optimism.

Power doesn't make character interesting. It just means that logically more stories will center around the guy, thus increasing chance people will like him.

[RadicalLaRuby]

I prefer Shadow from the SA2 era, because he has layers as a person. Not to say that Sonic doesn't, but he's the main character so we for the most part know what to expect from him. Sonic's the hero who will save the day. He represents freedom for everyone and always fights against injustice. But I don't wanna downplay the blue boy.

While Sonic can be a bit of a wisecracking jerk, even he is insightful on topics like hate and revenge when stating to Tikal in SA1, that imprisoning Chaos will not help it or anyone, and it'll repeat history, thus destroying the world once more. Some of that insight may be warranted given he travels and has gone on many adventures at this point. Strong enough knowledge and experience with the emeralds in the past allows him to tap into the positive energy and guide Chaos to a happier ending. I personally miss the Adventure days when he wasn't afraid to show emotion or concern for his friends safety (such as Amy being held at gunpoint while Tails is face to face with Eggman in a bargain for the (fake) chaos emerald).

Definitely some shonen anime stuff during that era of the series, but I think his characterization aside from the genesis games was at its best there.

 

Shadow learns and grows in the very same game he debuts in. We can see early on that although he's a bit of a cocky bastard like Sonic, he's not an evil or reprehensible person. He saves Rouge from Security Hall in the midst of the guilt of not being able to save another person he knows, even though everyone on Team Dark was mostly distrustful and had their own agendas. (Eggman thinks Shadow is on his side in taking over the world, Shadow wants everyone dead due to a misinterpreted last wish from his best friend + brainwashing from Gerald, and Rouge just there to get paid from the government and steal the Master Emerald once she gets the chance).

Shadow's fragmented memories and guilt drive his character throughout SA2 as he gains slight respect from Sonic on the few times they duke it out, surprised each time as Sonic's emerald experience and strong will allows him to even learn Shadow's signature move. It's not until killing the Boilizard in their Super Forms when Shadow realizes Sonic can handle this form pretty well compared to him who never transformed before. A humbling last moment for Shadow before he "died". His artificial design and makeup possibly based on the legend of  a golden warrior from the murals in Hidden Palace, yet he realizes that he is not that "legend" and just focuses on what always been most important to him, Maria's wish in letting all live and be happy.

Heroes did the "cool character comes back through popularity", much like well known examples like Vegeta or Sasuke, and was kinda in standby during this game to create a new air of mystery. He builds an interesting bond with omega and Rouge who again, have their own agendas for sticking together, but they become brothers in arms by the end. The way the game was designed hurt the narrative overall, and by extension, Shadow's character since he's just kinda there until his own game, which gave him extra unneeded backstory and a very sloppily told angsty adventure (Team Dark isn't even present here. The best thing to come out of the game was the ending where lets go of the past to finally move on. Sonic Battle brings him to a slightly more antagonistic role when he realizes how dangerous Emerl is, hoping for a sentient weapon to not have to go through the same troubles he did, and thus thinking destroying Emerl is the only way (which it kinda was unfortunately given the Gizoid's functionality). It takes for Sonic to remind Shadow that Emerl can develop a heart, like he did when he fought for Maria. Shadow doesn't seem to worry about Omega, since Omega just hates Eggman and his other robots. But Shadow plays his part in allowing Emerl to learn and grow as a person, giving him a chance. It's implied some memories came back after his amnesia, so Shadow by this point is definitely a good person who may not see eye to eye with Sonic, but the respect he gained is still there and he is now also a well traveled and experienced hedgehog, after basically always waking up from deep sleep and forgetting things.

06 expanded on Team Dark, and the last time we see Shadow tackling another theme of revenge, only this time, he fully knows better and fights for and with the friends he believes in. Even showing sadness and concern for Omega being in standby in the future, and disturbed when finding out Omega is the one to bring him down (by the very humans who betrayed him the first time). Being a scapegoat for being too powerful in the end did not stop him from doing the right thing. He even works with G.U.N., the ones who directly killed everyone he loved. But I take this as him never wanting that government conspiracy bs happening again, he can watch them closely and continue to do his part is keeping the world safe. Shadow is always an analogue of power for others.

 

While Sonic has the extroverted experience, Shadow always had the introverted ones, like fighting his inner demons. While both characters have layers, by far Shadow has the most....until post 06, where his direction is that of one of the bad endings in his own game, to be the strongest hedgehog in the world and act like a big meanie who suddenly has no friends. Where the worst parts of shonen anime and mid 2000's memes seeped into his character writing. Now from Colors till present day 2022, Shadow is absolutely lame and insufferable. Archie treated him with proper respect during their run, but certainly not the games. He was my favorite until this point. But that honor goes to Blaze now, and she has at least been consistent since Rush in 2005 despite her sporadic appearances on the games.

[TailsGotTrolled]

I think shadow loses automatically because rocket skates.  Also just because some scientist says he created the ultimate life form doesn't mean it's true.

 

I still like the character but sonic comes out ahead in my book (even after the writers got strangled by mandates)

[MetalSkulkBane]

1 hour ago, TailsGotTrolled said:

I think shadow loses automatically because rocket skates.

Shadow's rocket skates makes him less cool.

That is single most illogical sentence I ever heard

[Dr. Mechano]

I have to say Sonic, insofar as he has a consistent character.

While both Sonic and Shadow have certainly varied in terms of how they're written over the years, Sonic's stuck closer to the basic fundamentals established in his first appearance: He's cool, he's cocky, he's a little impatient, but still fundamentally a good dude. Nothing too deep, but it works and most iterations of the character haven't strayed far from that.

What even is Shadow's personality? He's quiet and contemplative in some games and an enraged arrogant jerk in others. This isn't the same thing as a character changing due to going through an arc, as Shadow has (the same arc twice, thanks amnesia) but rather his baseline personality constantly shifting depending on the game and depending on the writer.

I don't have a good sense of who Shadow is. I do have a good idea of who Sonic is, and I feel like that makes him the easier choice.

With all of that said, even if Shadow's characterization was consistent, I still like Sonic at the worst of times better than Shadow at the best of times. I just find Sonic's personality more fun and likable.

[Trevor Culleton]

I’d say Sonic. While he can’t do as much with the chaos emeralds as Shadow does, Sonic could do chaos control with a fake chaos emerald. Shadow was surprised at this, knowing he can only do it with the real thing and Sonic had shown to do chaos control with both real and fake chaos emeralds. Also, had beaten Shadow on the space ark and in the archie comics, he had saved the entire planet Mobius from an alien threat with his super speed.

Sure Sonic is cocky, but at least he’s not edgy as Shadow is and Sonic doesn’t shut people off either. Also Sonic would corporate with others when necessary while Shadow often hesitates which would lead to his downfall as it shown in the IDW main series. And yes I’m describing three versions of Sonic and Shadow, but all three versions have the same personality.

Edited February 1 by Trevor Culleton

[Zadent]

I think they both have their strengths as characters.

I would agree that Sonic’s character is often a lot more consistent. He’s simple in being a fun guy that loves adventure and freedom, and tries to keep people from using their freedom to hurt others. It’s a simple thing, he doesn’t really change much, which is fine and allows him to easily be thrown into a game’s adventure.
 

Shadow, on the other hand, has had ranging characterizations, from his adventure-Dark age character arc of antagonist to hero, determined to help, to meta era where he’s just…Sonic’s rival…to Forces and the comics where he is shown having more going on besides fighting Sonic. He seems to do better when he can be a focal character or in a more story heavy game. That said though, he seems to vary a lot based on mandates and the writer (there have been interactions at least in the comics, Prime, and admittedly Forces where he’s been made to work enough even under the mandates). 
 

So to me, Sonic is more consistent and is easier to pop into an adventure and be fun, while Shadow has high potential, but is more dependent on the story/writer and his variety of characterizations in his appearances can lead to greater inconsistency. Consistent but static vs high potential but volatile. …if any of that made sense.

 

edit: oh, this was an old thread. Whoops. I thought it was more recent from it popping up on my feed.

Edited February 6 by Zadent

[Shiny Gems]

I’d say I prefer Sonic as a character. He is the protagonist of the series after all, and not only is he cool, I can relate to him better than I can with Shadow. Shadow is kind of cool, but Sonic came first. I just happened to like Sonic more, as he is a childhood hero of mine.

[Trevor Culleton]

On 2/7/2024 at 4:07 AM, Shiny Gems said:

I’d say I prefer Sonic as a character. He is the protagonist of the series after all, and not only is he cool, I can relate to him better than I can with Shadow. Shadow is kind of cool, but Sonic came first. I just happened to like Sonic more, as he is a childhood hero of mine.

Me the same. Shadow is cool too, but Sonic's personality is lighter and easier to tolerate. Sure Shadow can do Chaos spear and chaos blast, but unlike Shadow, Sonic can do more with chaos control than just warp. He could also time stop and in the comics set reality back to normal with it.

Edited February 13 by Trevor Culleton

[castell-neath]

Neither. Its Silver. Hands down.

Don't bother arguing about it,

IT'S NO USE!

[Trevor Culleton]

On 2/7/2024 at 12:51 AM, Zadent said:

I think they both have their strengths as characters.

I would agree that Sonic’s character is often a lot more consistent. He’s simple in being a fun guy that loves adventure and freedom, and tries to keep people from using their freedom to hurt others. It’s a simple thing, he doesn’t really change much, which is fine and allows him to easily be thrown into a game’s adventure.
 

Shadow, on the other hand, has had ranging characterizations, from his adventure-Dark age character arc of antagonist to hero, determined to help, to meta era where he’s just…Sonic’s rival…to Forces and the comics where he is shown having more going on besides fighting Sonic. He seems to do better when he can be a focal character or in a more story heavy game. That said though, he seems to vary a lot based on mandates and the writer (there have been interactions at least in the comics, Prime, and admittedly Forces where he’s been made to work enough even under the mandates). 
 

So to me, Sonic is more consistent and is easier to pop into an adventure and be fun, while Shadow has high potential, but is more dependent on the story/writer and his variety of characterizations in his appearances can lead to greater inconsistency. Consistent but static vs high potential but volatile. …if any of that made sense.

 

edit: oh, this was an old thread. Whoops. I thought it was more recent from it popping up on my feed.

I’m not saying that Sonic is better, anyway Shadow had shown to be quite a challenge for Sonic since he’s more powerful and had him in trouble with G.U.N. I give him props for that.

Edited February 14 by Trevor Culleton

[Trevor Culleton]

On 2/13/2024 at 8:16 PM, castell-neath said:

Neither. Its Silver. Hands down.

Don't bother arguing about it,

IT'S NO USE!

well I'm gotta say, I'm with you on this. First time Sonic countered Silver, he held Sonic in place with his telekinesis with ease. Sonic would've been done for if Amy Rose didn't come to his aid. Though Sonic did show to be match for him on generations.

[Sonicfan787]

I am a huge fan of all the hedgehogs, but a I gotta say, Shadow survived a fall from space so... Yeah, kinda self explanatory.

[Maple Syrup]

I like Sonic and Shadow... But we all know the GOAT.

[Cuz]

10 minutes ago, Maple Syrup said:

. But we all know the GOAT.

 

We certainly do...

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

9 minutes ago, Cuz said:

We certainly do...

Ahem…

Screw Sonic and Shadow. This woman here is peak*.

Spoiler

*a shame she’s not canon. But I can dream.

 

[Cyb3rkn1ght]

12 hours ago, Cuz said:

We certainly do...

Calm down ladies, no need to fight