Do you think there's anything left to develop with Shadow character ?

[u/Reasonable-Plum160]

From the moment he recalls his promise and his sacrifice in Adventure 2.

The bonds he forms with Rouge and Omega , Shadow accepting himself and moving from his past in Shadow the Hedgehog.

To his reunions with Gerald and Maria and his victory against Black Doom in 05 and Generations.

And finally integrating G.U.N. joining the organization that made him suffer in the past, both to keep an eye on them and to become more effective in his missions, all while strengthening his ties with his friends and finally rejecting Mephiles despite his future, knowing his true purpose and that he isn't alone.

Shadow story is pretty complete and there is little left to add. I remember imagining that he might eventually become a mentor to Silver, but that will likely never happen.

[u/Parzival-Bo]

I want him to do something new, after SxSG I think his current arc has pretty much run its course. There's definitely room to give him interactions with Surge now, I hope that's the direction they go with him, but I'd rather he move forward rather than regress on his arc again.

[u/Reasonable-Plum160 → u/Parzival-Bo]

Having Shadow helping and guiding someone else that share very similar trauma would be something good but unfortunately with the way he act in IDW I don't know if this is possible

[u/Islamforlife → u/Reasonable-Plum160]

I mean he didn't mention the IDW comics so it could be through another media. And even in IDW, he's gotten much better since the Urban Warfare arc. At least he's not an edgelord who doesn't care about Team Dark anymore, so I could see that happening. 

[u/cjbdec → u/Reasonable-Plum160]

Idw is only canon as far as it’s convenient for what the games are doing. Game Shadow is a fully different person than idw shadow

[u/Michael_The_Madlad → u/Parzival-Bo]

If anything, an interesting story idea for Shadow I would want to see is what would happen if he encountered someone who suffered a similar tragedy to him. Can Shadow apply every lesson he’s learned throughout his life to save someone from making the same near-world-ending mistakes he once made?

Said antagonist doesn’t even need to be connected to Project Shadow and his backstory to begin with. (It could be similar to how Shadow and Sonic saved each other in Sonic Movie 3.)

[u/SILVIO_X]

Honestly no, hell, I think Shadow's Character Development essentially concluded in 06, Shadow Gens can essentially count as an Epilogue to it to show how much he's come because he doesn't exactly change in that game, we just get to see how his Modern Self reacts to getting confronted with his past again after how much he's grown in the previous games.

To me, future appearances from him should just stop having his past be a huge element of his character and just focus on him being who he is, a Hero who contrasts Sonic by being more introverted and serious but still being a good guy at the end of the day.

They could give him another character Arc in a future story probably, but for now it's not really necessary.

[u/Alternative-Tap1024 → u/SILVIO_X]

shadow original character arc as already finished in sa2 lol. the amnesia one was second.

[u/Abyssal_Usurper_G → u/SILVIO_X]

He does change in Shadow Generations; he goes from trying to deny the past to learning to truly accept it despite the pain it brings him.

[u/JakeClipz]

Develop? Not nearly as much as his initial arc. But that's not a bad thing, because most Sonic characters don't develop at all. Even characters like Knuckles and Blaze only develop as far as their first game.

If Sonic can stand the test of time as a static protagonist whose stories are largely about influencing others because he's already fulfilled with himself, then so can Shadow. Look at Sonic X's Metarex saga, Sonic '06, Rivals 1 and 2, Chronicles, Prime, even The Murder of Sonic. He doesn't change in any of those stories, but he's given opportunities to show us how far he's come, sometimes in ways that give him more depth than we initially knew. His worldview is sometimes challenged, but he stands his ground and finds the best way to see his goals through.

His iconic '06 quote isn't just something to wrap up his '06 story; it applies to a lot of what Shadow can do in the modern day.

[u/brobnik322]

Yes, what we saw in his interactions with Emerl in Battle.

Shadow finding other characters who were designed as "weapons" or experiments; grappling with whether they can be redeemed or not; empathizing with their pain; and helping them become fully-formed people the way he did; making sure his mistakes are never repeated.

[u/FauBetten]

Absolutely. They've only now started to scratch the surface of his alien biology in Shadow Gens. There's a lot you can still do with that.

Also, the fact that he is straight-up immortal has yet to be explored in any meaningful way, and that stuff is like open season for storytelling

[u/Reasonable-Plum160 → u/FauBetten]

I do wonder if they will ever explore the immortal aspect of Shadow, maybe if they decide to do a story around Silver future one day.

[u/dark_volter → u/Reasonable-Plum160]

They need to introduce him to Tikal (who is still around and alive just like chaos as the prologue to Sonic Frontiers showed) and set up that friendship and team early, so we can get a game with Shadow and Tikal in the current era taking on challenges and building up that shadow won't be alone, and so he can have somebody to relate to who is also immortal.

[u/Final_Pharaoh]

Archie Comics did it best. Doubt we'll ever seen Shadow Development like that again

[u/shayed154]

Yes, but it would involve moving forward with his character which I think Sega is very resistant to doing with any Sonic character

[u/GreedyGobby]

Ugh, they're so cute. I want it to be official so bad. It'd be so good for the both of them.

[u/Reasonable-Plum160 → u/GreedyGobby]

This is official to me, even if the event of 06 was retconed, it doesn't change anything with Shadow relationship with Team Dark.

[u/cjbdec]

There’s plenty they could do with shadow’s character, as with almost everyone else. Just because one part of their story has reached a conclusion doesn’t mean they can’t develop further

[u/Drew__Drop]

Yes, there's lots to develop. Instead we just get random bullcrap after 06..

[u/Sonicmasterxyz]

There absolutely is more, if they play their cards with Surge correctly.

[u/Borvoc]

Ye

[u/Parallelgate]

Well, with Infinite still being alive it would be good to make him Shadow’s new antagonist due to his actions in Forces

It’d be interesting to see what Chaos control could do to a phantom ruby

[u/WinterCareful8525]

Kind of but not really he could be more open to befriending others and accepting of the friendships he has.

[u/Abyssal_Usurper_G]

There is an interesting idea to go with, and it's in the name of his team; Team Dark. None of these people are traditional good guys, Rouge is selfish, Omega is the haha killing machine, and Shadow would literally work with Eggman in order to fulfill Maria's wishes. We could focus on that part of Shadow; maybe his willingness to cross moral boundaries gets him in trouble that he wouldn't have if he had limitations. He may have a deep love for Maria and his allies, yes, but how far will it take him if he only shows hate towards his enemies?

[u/Connor-Pazzi-Evans]

For me it would be to become the ultimate life form.

Remember that Gerald never completed his experiments with him, so maybe a new path would be to find someone to help him evolve or transform into the ultimate life form.

Maybe someone from G.U.N. Or even Maria's Little sister follows Gerald's footsteps and she's the only one able to help reach his full potential.

[u/JMO-559]

Yes, develop his Black Arms DNA and his biology as a whole, and develop his relationship with the rest of the cast. Shadow doesn't need to be buddy-buddy or friends; I just feel like the writers are wasting opportunities for Shadow to interact with other characters.