"The light shines even though the star's gone. This whole mess is my fault. I've been so blinded by rage, I thought… I had no choice." Shadow is an extremely bitter, resentful, aggressive, and hostile hedgehog, most of his character traits having been acquired by the loss of his best friend, Maria, before his eyes, leaving Shadow sinking into a sadness that ultimately became deep pain. After being put into suspended animation for over 50 years, Shadow was stuck in a repetitive nightmare, constantly reliving the moment Maria died over and over again which only made him angrier. Before the tragedy, Shadow proved to be a skeptical and shy creature to his new surroundings on Earth, having little understanding of Maria's childish antics at his expense until he began to bond with her. He could see very well that the scientists studying him viewed him more as a thing than a being, even leading him to believe that he might be nothing more than a monster. Maria's comfort helped him see life in a better light, that he could be whatever he truly wanted to be. Wary and brutal, Shadow has no qualms about attacking those who stand in his way, displaying great violence and total contempt. Since Maria's death, the only person Shadow feels close to is Gerald Robotnik, allying himself with him to get revenge on the G.U.N. and by extension humanity, no matter what. His contempt for the G.U.N. has spread to all of his members, having brutally attacked Tom disguised as Commander Walters as soon as he recognized him (although, in all due fairness, Walters was also responsible for putting Shadow in stasis in the first place). And due to the great amount of power he possesses combined with his dark and aggressive persona, Shadow is a highly dangerous being, who strikes fear into the hearts of the few individuals who know of his existence. And because of how strong Shadow is, he knows he can easily crush anyone who would dare stand in his way, which is why he doesn’t fear anyone or anything.Despite his dark personality, Shadow is not a monster. He openly believed that a person is not a prize to be won. While willing to avenge Maria's death, Shadow was unconvinced that destroying the Earth would have been something Maria would have wanted, his reluctance being easily manipulated by Gerald. While Shadow immediately despised Sonic and considered him weak after their first fight, he began to view him differently upon seeing Sonic horrified by what Shadow had done to Tom, as well as Shadow showing some regret for seriously injuring Tom, causing him to relive the moment Maria died, although he still believed he had to do so. His opinion of Sonic changed once again when he realized that Sonic was just as consumed by anger as he was after losing Maria, even stating that they were no longer that different from each other. When Sonic got the upper hand on him and was almost going to kill him, Shadow encouraged him to do it, showing that Shadow places no value on his own life. After Sonic spares his life, Shadow was confused about it, believing he had deserved his fate, only for hearing Sonic's tale of how pain never completely goes away to cause him to realize how horrible things he had done because he had let his own pain and rage blind him and therefore he had sullied Maria's memory with his desire for revenge. Once he finally realized his mistake, Shadow decided to make amends, even if it meant turning against Gerald to save Earth. He became more relaxed in the moment, commenting on Sonic's need for a catchphrase and adopting a more friendly competitive attitude about who could destroy the most robots. At the last moment, he convinced Ivo to do what was necessary to prevent the Ark's explosion from radioactively contaminating Earth, in order to make up for their mistakes. Shadow would then give his life to save humanity, sacrificing himself above all for the love Maria gave him so long ago. Fortunately, back on Earth, he managed to survive the Eclipse Cannon's destruction and found his lost Inhibitor Ring.