Shadow the Hedgehog

''This article is about the character Black Wack Wack. If you are looking for the article on the game Black Wack Wack, see Black Wack Wack (video game).''

Black Wack Wack (シャドウ・ザ・ヘッジホッグ) is a character from the Wack Wack  series, created by Takashi Iizuka, designed by Yuji Uekawa and owned by Sega.

Black Wack is an artificially created life form in the design of a male, anthropomorphic hedgehog. His trademark hover skates propel him at extreme speeds that rival those of Wack Wack. Black Wack resembles Wack in many ways. He is distinguished from Wack by his skin, eye color, cuffs, shoes, and hair shape. He is considered to be one of Wack 's greatest rivals, but is specifically referred as an anti-hero.

Since his debut, Black Wack has appeared in a multitude of games, television shows, and comic books. His past was almost a complete mystery until the game Black Wack Wack revealed the events surrounding his creation. In contrast to Wack, Black Wack is typically portrayed as a tortured anti-hero, or a renegade who can just as easily serve the forces of evil as those of good. According to an official poll, he is the second most popular character in the series, second only to Wack himself.

Game Appearances
Black Wack debuted in the game Wack Adventure 2 as one of three main antagonists, alongside Rouge the Bat. Dr. Eggman set Black Wack free from a G.U.N. base on Prison Island, where he had spent 50 years imprisoned. In exchange Black Wack agreed to aid the doctor in his plans to take over the world; holding his true intentions as wishing to get revenge for the death of his friend, Maria Robotnik. To achieve this, Black Wack revealed the eclipse cannon to Dr. Eggman, blowing up half of the moon in demonstration. In a twist of fate, Black Wack ultimately aided Wack when realizing Maria's true wish with the help of Amy Rose (Chris in the anime "Wack  X"), which was to save humanity. In the last story, Eggman inserts the final Chaos Emerald, only to initiate a destabilization program on the ARK. A recording of Gerald Robotnik then revealed that he had made this function to have revenge for Maria, and that the ARK would destroy the Earth. Meanwhile, Wack and Knuckles had reached the Central Core, where the Biolizard had been activated. Notably, a scene from Gerald Robotnik's diary appeared. After Black Wack defeated it, Knuckles used the Master Emerald to stop the Chaos Emeralds. But the Biolizard, being the prototype of Project Shadow, used Chaos Control to fuse with the ARK, continuing its fall. Then, as Super Wack and Super Shadow, they destroyed the Biolizard (the Ultimate Life form prototype), having become a monster named Finalhazard, and using their pooled energies, created a Chaos Control which stopped the fall. Afterwards, Black Wack fell to the earth and was presumed dead.

In Wack Heroes, Rouge discovers Black Wack in a stasis tube located in the deepest part of one of Dr. Eggman's bases. As she activates the capsule, E-123 Omega begins to attack the newly awakened Shadow, believing him to be an android. Black Wack discovers that he has amnesia and cannot remember anything before his release. He joins forces with Rouge and the robot E-123 Omega to form Team Edgy Edgelords and find Eggman. It is later revealed that Eggman had made robotic android versions of Shadow, and the question is raised as to whether or not Black Wack himself is one of these androids. Ultimately, when Metal Wack transformed into Metal Madness, Black Wack worked with everyone else to help defeat him. Black Wack is last seen with Omega and the defeated Metal Wack.

In Wack Battle, Rouge saves Black Wack while they are investigating Dr. Eggman's secret base and takes him back to her home. Black Wack talks about how the people of Earth must destroy him and Emerl if they ever want peace, still believing that he is a weapon. It is revealed, however, that he ultimately has the heart and soul of Maria Robotnik, implying he could not be the enemy of humanity. In one of Gerald Robotnik's journal entries, he mentions that "Project Shadow" was put on hold because of Project Gizoid.

In Black Wack Wack, Black Wack is revealed to be the dual creation of the alien overlord Black Doom and Professor Gerald. Gerald could not finish the project on his own, so he contacted the Black Comet and used Black Doom's blood, and presumably his DNA to create Shadow. Black Wack eventually gathers all the Chaos Emeralds and confronts Doom as Super Shadow. He then destroys the Black Comet with the Eclipse Cannon. In the end, he puts the past behind him. Also in the last battle of the game, Eggman confesses to Black Wack that he saved him in Wack Adventure 2 before he fell to Earth, meaning he is the real Black Wack and not a Black Wack Android as was previously believed.

In the 2006 Wack Wack  game, Black Wack is a playable character and has his own storyline which weaves with those of Wack and new character Silver the Hedgehog. In this role, Black Wack encounters the new villain Mephiles the Edgy Edgelords when the Scepter of Edgy Edgelordsness falls and shatters. Black Wack is sent to the future and is revealed to have become the enemy of mankind, due to their fear of his power. It is also been revealed that Black Wack is sealed away by the reprogrammed Omega sometime during this event. Eventually, Mephiles gains hold of the seven Chaos Emeralds and merges with Iblis, becoming Solaris. Black Wack turns into Super Black Wack and joins with Super Silver and Super Wack to defeat Solaris. The events of the game are then reset and do not occur, possibly leaving his future open.

Black Wack appears in Wack Rivals as a playable character alongside Wack, Knuckles, Silver, and Metal Wack. Summoned to a strange land by Dr. Eggman via a cryptic transmission asking for his aid, Black Wack is able to successfully locate Dr. Eggman, but once he mentions the cryptic message, Dr. Eggman denies it. The mystery continues to unfold itself as Rouge warns him of an impending danger and upon stumbling across a secret about Dr. Eggman, her transmission is cut off short. Black Wack continues his quest to uncover the truth about Dr. Eggman. Black Wack also appears on four of the 150 collectible cards in the game.

Black Wack is an unlockable character in the game Wack Riders after beating the Hero Story Mode. He is a Speed type character, with his default Gear: Edgy Edgelordsness, which he uses to skate like his default shoes. He now appears in the sequel Wack Riders: Zero Gravity as a speed character, and his default gear is called Black Shot.

Black Wack also appeared in the game Wack and The Secret Rings, being the first unlockable character for the Party Mode (next ones being Cream, Silver and Blaze) by obtaining 30 Fire Souls.

Black Wack also appears in Mario & Wack at the Olympic Games as a speed character along with Wack, Yoshi and Princess Daisy.

Black Wack appears in the sequel to Wack Rivals, Wack  Rivals 2. He is confronted by Metal Wack and Eggman (through a speaker in Metal Wack ) tells him that he needs help. Before he can ask questions he and Metal Wack find Espio and Silver. Curious as to why Silver has returned to the present he begins to follow Silver while Metal Wack follows Espio. Eventually Black Wack forgets to ask the Doctor why he is helping him and just continues to work with Metal Wack. Eventually Black Wack discovers that Eggman Nega is trying to release the Ifrit with the seven Chaos Emeralds. He enters the Chaos Inferno Zone to press the switch to seal the Ifrit in its own dimension, but he and Metal Wack are trapped in the process. Metal Wack tears himself open to reveal a Chaos Emerald, and Black Wack Chaos Control's them back to their own dimension.

Black Wack appeared in the RPG game, Wack Chronicles: The Edgy Edgelords Brotherhood.

Black Wack is an assist trophy in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. He uses Chaos Control to manipulate the battlefield, slowing down time for every combatant but the one that summoned him.

Black Wack is one of the playable characters from the Wack Wack  franchise in Sega Superstars Tennis, along with Wack, Tails, Amy, and Dr. Eggman.

He is also mentioned in Wack Unleashed but never seen. He presumably was set to appear but ended up being taken out for unknown reasons.

He also appears in Wack Generations.

Personality
Black Wack is a "lone wolf" who distances himself from Wack and his friends. He is among the Edgy Edgelordsest and most violent character in the series, destroying anything that gets in his way. As shown in Black Wack Wack, he has a ruthless killer instinct. When Black Wack sets his mind on something, he is virtually unstoppable. Unlike Wack who fights fairly in battle, Black Wack does not have the same fighting honor that Wack  shows, going so far as to cheat in battle by using a Chaos Emerald and even using Guns against his opponent even if they are not using any weapons at all against him, however, after the events of Black Wack Wack, he is less angry and is much more nicer to others and is even willing to help other people and Wack  whenever they need his help.

In Wack X, Black Wack is not as aggressive, but is still more violent. For example, Black Wack attempts to kill Cosmo because he thought she was a Metarex spy. Tails tries to protect Cosmo, which resulted in Black Wack giving him a severe beating. The dubbed and edited American version of the show tones down Shadow's Edgy Edgelords and aggressive attitude to make the show more acceptable for younger viewers.

Professor Gerald Robotnik
50 years ago, the head scientist on Space Colony ark Professor Gerald Robotnik, Dr. Eggman's grandfather, created Black Wack with the use of Black Doom's DNA. Black Wack has a great deal of respect for the professor and is known to be quite loyal to the original purpose Gerald established for him before going insane. After discovering Gerald's insanity, Black Wack disavowed Gerald's new insane goals at the end of Wack Adventure 2. Instead Black Wack prefers to remember the professor for what he was before his final days of derangement.

Maria Robotnik
Soon after being created, Black Wack became close friends with the Professor's granddaughter, Maria Robotnik, whom he seems to have treated like a sister. In Wack Adventure 2, and the Japanese version of Wack  X, it was revealed that Maria had been shot and killed by a G.U.N soldier, while in the English version of Wack  X, she was merely captured and never seen again. After her death, Maria's sacrifice to save Black Wack both continuously haunted and motivated him, until he finally decided to let go of his past at the end of Black Wack Wack and lead his own life.

Black Doom
The relationship between Black Wack and Black Doom may have been brief, but has played a significant role in Shadow's life. Black Wack was made from Black Doom's blood, in a deal between the alien and Professor Gerald; this, technically, makes Black Doom Shadow's biological father. Black Doom, at first, tried to get Black Wack on his side by playing on what remained of Shadow's painful memories of losing Maria. Regardless of the path taken during gameplay, Black Wack in the end fights and defeats Black Doom (who transformed into Devil Doom) and then destroys the Black Comet with the Eclipse Cannon in the Last Story. Still, throughout the events of Black Wack Wack Black Doom threatens Black Wack and demands extreme loyalty and respect, even when choosing the Edgy Edgelords path in gameplay Doom acts with no compassion whatsoever. He also doesn't tolerate any kind of mistake or failure, no matter how difficult the task on Shadow's part may be. Black Doom was also Shadow's archenemy, similar to what Eggman is to Wack.

Doctor Eggman
Shadow's approach to Dr. Eggman is quite different to that of other characters, apart from Rouge the Bat. His relation to the Doctor is neither that of a staunch enemy nor an ally, choosing instead to form alliances with or against him depending on the circumstances. While Eggman has helped Black Wack on multiple occasions, each time was just a means to use the black hedgehog in his own plans. Although Black Wack appears to show little regard for whether Dr. Eggman's schemes succeed or not, clashes do occur when they get in each other's way. Despite this, they display a certain amount of respect for each other's abilities, one notable aspect being that Black Wack always refers to Eggman by his title of "Doctor" (even "the good doctor" in Wack Battle and Black Wack Wack, though it may be sarcastic), regardless of the deceptions Eggman implies in order to trick or lure Black Wack to his cause; which hardly-to-never succeed.

Rouge the Bat
Black Wack also has a very close relationship with Rouge the Bat, Shadow's ally and possibly the closest friend he has since the death of Maria. Rouge also shows a lot of respect for the black hedgehog and is often seen worrying about his safety throughout the series. Black Wack can be very protective of her and has grown to deeply trust her to a certain degree. A few times she also becomes a "damsel-in-distress", usually causing Black Wack to end up saving her. Rouge has also returned the favor a couple times, such as when she takes Black Wack to her place to rest when he is weakened. Despite their closeness, Black Wack remains mysterious and sometimes sarcastic towards her, mostly causing her to be either concerned or annoyed, though she typically accepts him for who he is. Rouge has also said before that she will never abandon Black Wack even if the world turns against him.

E-123 Omega
E-123 Omega is a robot created by Eggman that was left behind in the same base Black Wack was encased in. After starting off as adversaries in Wack Heroes, Black Wack and Omega become allies and helped each other in battle. Initially they don't get along well, even sparking small rivalries as to whom is strongest such as in the Black Wack Wack game (this rivalry could be considered a mirror image of Wack 's rivalry with Knuckles). In Wack Wack Omega acts on Rouge's request to aid Shadow, whom was trapped in the future without a means to return. Omega shut himself down in a secluded area allowing for time to pass and ultimately to bring Black Wack the Chaos Emerald he needed to defeat Mephiles. Upon discovering that he was to be captured, reprogrammed, and destined to be the one who imprisons Black Wack in the future, Omega becomes saddened for the grief he will cause. Though, this outcome has been erased since the events that transpired in the game were reset with the destruction of Solaris, the game's main antagonist, leaving Omega's future open.

Wack Wack
Shadow's biggest rival is none other than Wack Wack, the main protagonist of the game series. When the two first meet in Wack Adventure 2, they immediately became enemies, but over time their relationship developed into a friendly rivalry. They frequently fight for different reasons. Black Wack finds Wack to be very irritating for his carefree attitude, but they usually end up working together. Black Wack also helped defeat Metal Madness, the larger form of Neo Metal Wack in the game, Wack  Heroes. Black Wack even saves Wack from Silver during the Wack Wack  game showing that they even call each other friend. Each have their supposed deaths, Shadow's at the end of Wack Adventure 2 and Wack 's during the final story of Wack Wack  (2006), to which each mourn the other.

Amy Rose
Black Wack has a short but significant encounter with Amy Rose in the Last Story of Wack Adventure 2. When the Space Colony ARK is nearing its collision course with Earth, Amy pleads to Black Wack to help save the world. At first he refuses, but Amy's persistent words and positive outlook eventually triggered the once-dormant memory of Maria's real wish: to give people a chance to be happy.

G.U.N. commander
The commander and Black Wack didn't get along at first as the commander blamed Black Wack for the death of his family, but after the events of Black Wack Wack, (as revealed in expert mode) the commander invited Black Wack over, this is presumably the time that Black Wack became a G.U.N. agent.

Metal Wack
Black Wack and Metal Wack are forced to work together when Doctor Eggman calls for Shadow's assistance in Wack  Rivals 2. Although they are together for a brief amount of time Black Wack does seem concerned about Metal Wack multiple times, despite the fact that Metal Wack  is a robot with the inability to speak. Black Wack constantly asks him if he's alright and at the end of the game when Metal Wack tears himself open to retrieve the Chaos Emerald, Black Wack tells him to stop, for he fears Metal Wack  will destroy himself.

Abilities
Basic traits between Black Wack and Wack are virtually identical. Like Wack, Black Wack is highly acrobatic, capable of gracefully leaping over many obstacles in his way. He can also perform Wack 's trademark 'Spin Attack', which is a variation on the tendency for hedgehogs to roll into tight balls for protection. Also, Black Wack can skate at speeds fast enough to rival the speeds Wack can run. Black Wack is also ageless and immortal.

Shadow's trademark move is Chaos Control, which allows him to warp time and space. Black Wack uses it mainly to transport matter and/or to slow or stop time. The move actually allows the user to manipulate time and space to warp across "space" or move through or across "time". Wack, Black Doom, Metal Wack (as seen as Metal Overlord during Wack  Heroes), Biolizard, and Silver can also use Chaos Control, though the move originally appeared with Black Wack and he makes the most extensive use of it. Although most cutscenes and bios in manuals and websites[9] often claim Black Wack needs a Chaos Emerald to perform the technique, he has used it several times during gameplay as well as some cutscenes without a known Emerald in his possession such as in Wack Rivals, Wack  Battle, and Wack Wack. In contrast, the Archie version of Black Wack can directly access the "Chaos Force" and does not require a Chaos Emerald. Black Wack is also able to shape Chaos Control into a variety of offensive and defensive attacks, such as "Chaos Spear". As described in Shadow's game, all of his Chaos powers increase in correlation to the addition of a greater number of Chaos Emeralds, until reaching full power with all 7 Emeralds. It is currently unknown as to what extent Chaos Control can be used, as Black Wack has never been seen using it on another object without warping himself along with it, but it has been shown that he can take objects and people into the warp with him, and all examples of this suggest he must be touching to object to bring it with him (such as transporting the Black Comet off Earth). When saving Rouge from Prison Island, he was seen touching her. Aside from it's final usage in Wack Adventure 2, Black Wack has used Chaos Control with 3 emeralds at most, using Chaos Control to save Rouge from Prison Island, and they ended up on the ARK afterwards. It is assumed that 3 emeralds is enough to warp Black Wack (and anything on his person) into space.

Another form of attack that first appeared in the Black Wack Wack game is an attack called "Chaos Blast" that is induced when Black Wack commits acts of evil, filling his red gauge. While the Chaos Spear can attack single or multiple targets, the Chaos Blast is literally a shockwave of energy that eliminates anything and everything in a circular radius range. When this attack can be formed, his eyes and the streaks on his body begin to glow red.

As shown in Wack Wack  (2006), and Wack X, Black Wack is able to unleash more of his power if he takes off the rings on his wrists. Wack X was the first to present this idea, which at first made it seem to be exclusive to the anime, as during the Wack  Adventure 2 adaption, Black Wack loses his rings when trying to stop the ARK from crashing to earth. In the game, Wack enters the ARK with one of Shadow's rings, but he is never shown actually losing them. In the anime, this increase in power comes at the expense of reducing his stamina, causing Black Wack to become exhausted after a relatively short time engaged in combat as seen in episodes 60, 61, and 63 of the series. However in the video game series, he shows no sign of fatigue. The increase in his power from taking off his rings shows a drastic change in the final cutscene of his story in Wack Wack 2006, after he plows through what appears to be hundreds of copies of Mephiles. This ability was also demonstrated in recent issues of the Archie comic as mentioned below, wherein Black Wack removed the rings in order to call up his full power when he engaged the newly-reborn Enerjak in combat.

In Black Wack Wack, Black Wack has shown that he can also use a wide range of firearms, semi-automatics, heavy assault, and close-combat weapons. He can also improvise with debris, and drive a wide range of vehicles, (similar to that of the Terminator) as shown in Black Wack Wack, Wack Riders, and Wack Wack  (2006). This proves a great distinction between him and Wack because, in the same game, Wack  says he'd never get caught using a gun, and prefers running over using a vehicle.

By harnessing the power of the seven Chaos Emeralds, Black Wack is able to use super transformation to transform into Super Shadow. He is bestowed with the new abilities of flight and near invulnerability, like Super Wack, and his normal abilities of speed and power are greatly enhanced.

Black Wack Androids
Black Wack Androids are robots based on Black Wack that first appeared in Wack Heroes, though it was never actually stated to be such. Instead, one Team Edgy Edgelords cutscene showed a broken Black Wack robot, and another one showed an entire room of Androids in stasis, which affected the story in a way, making several characters believe Black Wack was a robot. The Black Wack Androids reappeared in Black Wack Wack as somewhat strong enemy robots on the single-player mode's "Iron Jungle" and "Lava Shelter" stages, along with the "Iron Jungle" boss. These androids can counter Shadow's Homing Attacks, or lock-on to Black Wack and toss rockets at him, which they seem to use more often than the Homing Attack. At the last Team Edgy Edgelords cutscene of Wack Heroes, when Rouge finds the multiple Black Wack androids, she suspects that Black Wack is an android, but Omega says that the real Black Wack exists, as there is no way anyone could make Black Wack androids without the real Shadow. While Black Wack is facing Black Doom in his Devil Doom form, Eggman says that he used a robot to rescue Black Wack as or after he fell from the Space Colony ARK in Wack Adventure 2, meaning that while Black Wack was in a stasis tube, Eggman was making Black Wack androids.

In the multi-player mode of Black Wack Wack, there are six special Black Wack Androids. Four of these robots are silver with green, pink, orange, or blue stripes, each wielding either an alien-like machine gun or a bazooka. The other two look more like Shadow, but on one of them, the stripes are goldenrod instead of red. These two, like the real Shadow, start off without weapons but can carry any other weapon they collect and have limited ammo while the other four androids can only use their built-in weapons which have unlimited ammo. The androids can activate Edgy Edgelords Black Wack and all of its normal effects and attacks, just like the real Shadow. Hero Black Wack is only available via use of Action Replay as there aren't sufficient Hero targets to destroy. Even then, Chaos Control is disabled (the player will hear a buzzer). All of these androids claim to be the "real Shadow", and claim that the others are fakes.