Hello, all. As of today, I noticed a comment about Shadow's apparent edginess. Well, what would you be like if you saw your girlfriend/sister figure get shot in the chest right in front of you, and you saw said girlfriend use her final breath to ensure your escape, only to get captured and stuffed in suspended animation for fifty years? And what would you be like if when you finally got out of suspended animation, you took a fall from a space colony to the Earth?

In other words, I think Shadow has a right to be edgy. He's been through pain and suffering the likes of which we will never know. So, stop whining about him being edgy!

Thank you.

SPEAK THE TRUTH BROTHA!!!

5380590 true

Didn't I already do a post about this?

Shadow's rage and inner demons are earned. His edginess is his character. Let those who stand against him BURN!

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Actually, you did one about his nicer side. This one is about people moaning and groaning about how he's edgy. Honestly, why don't they whine this much about how Batman's the same way? Only thing he has that Shadow doesn't is an infinite bank account and a credit card that's good through forever.
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AMEN TO THAT, BROTHERS AND/OR SISTERS!

the people of today don't know what a true edgelord is.

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and a credit card that's good through forever.

A BAT CREDIT CARD! YOU BASTARDS!

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Just trying to make a point. And honestly, these days Bats' edginess could drive the Batmobile in circles around Shadow's, but you don't seem him getting bashed for it, so why should Shadow?

5382317 I know, but I couldn't resist. Maybe I should have mentioned I was trying to be funny.

Uh... Yeah. No, guys.

The thing is, Shadow has had a lot of good character development in the past. Sonic Adventure 2 is one of the best 3D games in the series and, while flawed, I still felt Shadow the Hedgehog did a good job of fleshing out the guy's past and bringing closure to a lot of unanswered questions. Shadow's edginess and general anti-hero mindset was built upon past trauma and the frustration of having no answers to many a question that lingered in his head.

The only problem with him being edgy these days? It's not doing him any favors when being edgy is the ONLY thing he has going for him right now.

With so much closure at the end of Shadow the Hedgehog, you'd think the guy would finally be able to move on. Maybe learn to look to the future without constantly dwelling on the past. You know, enjoy life a bit. But because of how misguidedly profitable his character is to the fanbase, nothing was allowed to change. He was edgy because of past pain. Now he's edgy just for the sake of being edgy and anyone can tell you that's not a good character type. Hell, he pretty much single-handedly started the "black and red overly edgy constantly angry douchebag anti-hero" cliché that has spread like wildfire to countless fandoms and is a plague to OCs all over popular culture. (There's even one such character showing up in the MLP movie coming out in 2017 and I don't even need to say how bad an idea it is for this series to embrace this outdated stereotype) One of the most despised and overused clichés out there. Shadow has not aged well. So yes, there's plenty of reason to complain about his edginess by this point. Even Maria would be disappointed in him if she could see him now. The Sonic series is renowned for most characters being relatively one-note. And now even Shadow has fallen into that trap when he was once an exception to the norm.

Furthermore, it's unrealistic for anyone who act the way he does all the time. Haunted by past trauma? Difficulty letting go? I've got one word for this guy and every other edgy douche out there. Therapy. Maybe it won't make you forget the pain, maybe it won't truly fix all your problems, but it will do you a world of good, maybe teach you to find something in life that makes you smile, and teach you to enjoy life. When you have the option to at least seek help when you're not able to help yourself, then it's your own fault if you choose not to pursue it. Shadow is a bad character type and is a walking stereotype solely because he doesn't care about getting better and would rather just stay angry and miserable, even to the detriment of his own existence. It's just such a toxic mindset and lifestyle that's a lot more problematic than he lets on. Maybe that's the fault of SEGA and their writers, but it's still a problem.

So yeah. Plenty of reason to mock this guy for his edginess, probably even more so now that there's nothing stopping him from seeing a therapist to take care of his demons. Quite frankly, that would make for some awesome fanfiction material and would help thaw relations between the rest of the cast. Imagine, Shadow still being the soft-spoken aloof loner we know him as, but finally at peace with himself and able to interact with his allies on a positive note while even smiling sometimes. Maybe even dropping by once in a while when he has nothing else to do. Maria would be proud.

Of course, that's not going to happen. Largely thanks to the fanbase's ravenous appetite for more games while being way too easy to please and the widespread misguided interpretation of what makes a true badass. Shadow is barely one anymore when he is so much more a stereotype than anything else. I hear the Sonic fandom is one of the worst in the world, but I never would have guessed they would defend the extremely flawed character of someone who started the "darker and edgier" stereotype 15 years ago. That's just sad.

I don't really like how Shadow's been portrayed in Sonic BOOM. Also, I don't particularly like his new voice actor either. Personally, the best Shadow is the 'Shadow The Hedgehog' (Amnesia suffering) Shadow, and the best voice actor is Jason Griffith.

5507155 Well, Shadow couldn't possibly have been portrayed worse than Knuckles. And... uh... not a lot of people like 4K Media for doing English dubs as if they think their target audience is stupid. But yeah, the game Shadow the Hedgehog does have the 4K Media voice actors not being themselves and actually allowing them to act.

5380590 The image says it all. Shadow FTW!