Editing Shadow the Hedgehog (section)

==Concept and creation==
Shadow was conceived as part of the development of ''[[Sonic Adventure 2]]'', which aimed to build on the success of ''[[Sonic Adventure]]''. The game's director, [[Takashi Iizuka]], wanted to explore the dichotomy of [[Wikipedia:Good and evil|good and evil]], leading to the creation of characters that would challenge the established heroes and assist [[Doctor Eggman]].<ref name="Summer">{{cite web |author=Paul.STR337 |title=Summer of Sonic 2011: Sonic Team on Stage |url=https://www.sonicstadium.org/2011/07/sos-2011-stage-interview-barrels-brown-sonic-and-crash-bandicoot-discussed/ |publisher=Sonic Stadium |date=18 July 2011 |accessdate=23 July 2023}}</ref><ref name="Rivals 2 Interview" /> One of these characters was Shadow, while the other became [[Rouge the Bat]].

[[File:Shadow_Concept_Pg188_1.png|thumb|305x305px|left|One of the most famous early designs of Shadow, then known as "Terios".|alt=Concept artwork of a dark gray anthropomorphic hedgehog with an unhappy expression and a muscular torso. He has an ivory scar over his left eye which partially obscures it, long spines on the back that arc downwards, gray skin, and a red right eye. He wears gray gloves with a vertical white line in the middle and golden cuffs, similarly colored boots, and a red neckerchief.]]
The initial idea for Shadow was to create an anti-hero who would contrast sharply with [[Sonic the Hedgehog|Sonic]]. Inspired by American comic book anti-heroes such as [[Wikipedia:Spawn (character)|Spawn]], Shadow was envisioned as a character who would match Sonic in coolness.<ref name="Windii"/><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date = 7 July 2024 |title = Stream Archive: Anime Expo 2024 - Sonic X Shadow Generations Dark Beginnings Panel |url = https://youtu.be/bgzLocJ8_Hw?si=lFPsK-Pcd6FNik3b |work = YouTube |accessdate = 9 July 2024 |quote = '''[[Takashi Iizuka]]''' (translated by the panel's translator): So Shadow was really born in 1999, when we began development on ''Sonic Adventure 2''. In the beginning, we kind of thought, 'we want a rival character, something to really contrast Sonic, so we need a rival character in this game.' At that time, all of the team flew over to America, and we started living and working in America. When we got there we realized dark heroes, heroes like Spawn, were really popular in America. And that really inspired us to make Shadow a different kind of character, and that's when we thought 'we don't want him to be a rival to Sonic, we want him to be a dark hero.' And that's really where Shadow was born, from an idea.}}</ref> Various early designs of Shadow ranged from having long spines with tufts of fur in front of his eyes to sporting capes, shades, or even a missing eye.

The final design was developed by [[Shiro Maekawa]], who considers himself Shadow's creator and feels a deep personal connection to the character. Maekawa struggled coming up with his personality. One night, while he was brainstorming lines for a scene in which Sonic confronts Shadow for impersonating him, Maekawa came up with Shadow's first line: "''Hmph, aren't you'' [Sonic] ''the fake one here?''".<ref group="note">This line was used in the final version of ''Sonic Adventure 2'', translated into English as "''Hmph. Aren't you the fake hedgehog around here?''"</ref> To further shape his "subtle" character, Maekawa envisioned Shadow would refer to himself with the more humble [[Wikipedia:Japanese pronoun|Japanese pronoun]] {{Nihongo|''boku''|僕}} in that language.<ref name="Sega6">{{cite web |title=006:前川 司郎 |url=http://sonic.sega.jp/SonicChannelOld/creators/006/index.html |website=[[Sonic the Hedgehog]] |publisher=[[Sega]] |accessdate=23 July 2023 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160308142010/http://sonic.sega.jp/SonicChannelOld/creators/006/index.html |archivedate=8 March 2016 |language=Japanese}}</ref>

Shadow's original name was "Terios" ("reflection of").<ref>{{Cite book |date = 6 September 2013 |title = [[The History of Sonic the Hedgehog]] |publisher = Les Editions Pix'n Love |pages = 249 |chapter = Characters |isbn = 978-1-926778-96-9}}</ref><ref name="Iizukainterview">{{Cite web |first=nuckles87 |date = 11 June 2024 |title= Takashi Iizuka on Sonic Team's Expansion and Shadow's Evolving Motivations - TSS Interview |url=https://www.sonicstadium.org/news/features/interviews/takashi-iizuka-on-sonic-teams-expansion-and-shadows-evolving-motivations-tss-interview-r2254/ |publisher=The Sonic Stadium |accessdate=11 June 2024 |quote = '''[[Takashi Iizuka]]''': ....[when we] created Sonic Adventure 2, [we] were always calling the character "Terios."}}</ref> [[Kazuyuki Hoshino]], another key figure in Shadow's creation, claimed that the character's red stripes were inspired by [[Wikipedia:Kabuki|Kabuki]] ''sujikuma'' makeup.<ref name="SSL">{{Cite web|url=https://youtu.be/3uDjvNzzJdQ?t=1484|date=21 March 2021|title=ソニックステーションLIVE！ with 悠木碧（2021.3.21放送回）|work=YouTube|publisher=ソニック・ザ・ヘッジホッグ【公式】|accessdate=11 July 2021|language=Japanese}}</ref> Early concept art included "Vegeta" as a keyword to describe Shadow, drawing a parallel to the ''[[Wikipedia:Dragon Ball|Dragon Ball]]'' character [[Wikipedia:Vegeta|Vegeta]]. However, Iizuka has denied this comparison, emphasizing that while Vegeta became a friend and teammate of the heroes, Shadow would always follow his own path and not be a friend of Sonic.<ref>{{Cite web |date = 7 July 2024 |url = https://youtu.be/bgzLocJ8_Hw?si=lFPsK-Pcd6FNik3b |title = Stream Archive: Anime Expo 2024 - Sonic X Shadow Generations Dark Beginnings Panel |work = YouTube |accessdate = 9 July 2024 |quote = '''Zeno Robinson''': I had it in my notes, I was under this impression, that he was also inspired by Vegeta from the ''Dragon Ball'' franchise, but wait wait, but Iizuka-san told me that's not true! It's not true!}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |first = Lewis |last = Catherine |date = 28 August 2024 |title = Shadow the Hedgehog is "not Vegeta in any way," and is "not friends with Sonic," his creator says |url = https://www.gamesradar.com/games/sonic-the-hedgehog/shadow-the-hedgehog-is-not-vegeta-in-any-way-and-is-not-friends-with-sonic-his-creator-says/ |work = GamesRadar |accessdate = 28 August 2024}}</ref>

Shadow was initially only intended to appear in ''Sonic Adventure 2'', which ended with his apparent death. During the development of ''[[Sonic Heroes]]'', there were internal meetings at [[Sega]] regarding whether Shadow (and characters such as [[E-102 Gamma]]) should stay dead or return.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://x.com/mizuhano/status/989707353237868544|title=@mizuhano on Twitter|date=April 26, 2018|author=[[Shiro Maekawa]]|quote=It was tumultuous between the opposing "Shadow DID die" faction and "DIDN'T" faction. "If dead characters can't reappear, why are E-102 and Chaos here?" "E-102's shell remained so the inner part was replaced. Chaos didn't die. He kinda ascended." "That's a fallacy." "It's not a fallacy." "I didn't intend that scene to be his end." "What, why?"}}</ref> However, his popularity among fans led to his return in future games.<ref name="Summer" /> Additionally, Sonic Team was interested a spin-off game starring Shadow, which eventually became ''[[Shadow the Hedgehog (game)|Shadow the Hedgehog]]''. Iizuka mentioned that they had always intended to maintain the mystery around Shadow and had wanted to feature him in his own game since his introduction.<ref name="Yahoo Iizuka">{{Cite web|url=http://videogames.yahoo.com/news-1130385|title=Shadowing a Hedgehog|accessdate=16 December 2008|work=Yahoo!}}</ref> Shadow's character allowed the developers to introduce elements otherwise considered inappropiate for the series, like weapons.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3146055|title=Shadow the Wrestling Hedgehog|accessdate=26 January 2009|publisher=[[Wikipedia:1Up.com|1Up.com]]}}</ref> ''Sonic'' series co-creator [[Yuji Naka]] also believed that by focusing on Shadow for his own game, they could use his different identity from Sonic to build upon the ''Sonic''  brand.<ref name="GSpy Naka">{{Cite web|url=http://ps2.gamespy.com/articles/654/654749p1.html|title=Sega's Yuji Naka Talks!|accessdate=11 July 2008|publisher=[[Wikipedia:GameSpy|GameSpy]]}}</ref>