*Maria Robotnik is a character that appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. She was a young human, the granddaughter of Gerald Robotnik and the cousin of Dr. Eggman. Born on Earth, Maria suffered from a terminal illness with no known cure. To save Maria, Gerald brought her aboard the Space Colony ARK to keep her condition in remission, while he worked on Project Shadow in hopes of developing a cure. Gerald's research produced Shadow the Hedgehog, with whom Maria became close friends. When G.U.N. later shut down the ARK, Maria was killed by a G.U.N. Soldier while trying to assist Shadow in his escape from the colony. Her passing had a major impact on Shadow's psyche, and proved to be an event that would strongly influence the fate of the world in the decades that followed.

Maria was described as beautiful, yet frail in appearance. She was a young human girl who stood about a head taller than Shadow. She had wavy shoulder-length blonde hair, light blue eyes, and pale peach skin. For attire, she wore a dark blue puffy-sleeved blouse with a white stripe running down the middle over a light blue, knee-length dress with long sleeves, a dark blue hairband, and matching blue shoes with white soles.

In Sonic Adventure 2, Maria's clothes were paler in color, and she was barefoot. In Shadow the Hedgehog, her blouse goes all the way down to her hips as opposed to stopping just under her stomach, and she did not have the long sleeves. The white stripe on her blouse was also much thinner prior to Shadow Generations.

While frail in appearance, Maria was strong in spirit. Eternally cheerful, optimistic and positive despite her condition, Maria could see the good in almost anyone or anything. She was likewise a very kind, loving and generous soul who always put others before herself, supported her friends, and held an unconditional love for the people of the world, even showing compassion towards her enemies when they were distressed. Because she never got to visit Earth after she was moved to the Space Colony ARK, Maria was very interested in the planet and wished to see it. She was as well very encouraging as she could make others accept themselves and calm others down when in stressful situations, including Shadow. She had unwavering faith in the people she trusted, as she strongly believed that Shadow and her grandfather would cure her illness.

Always gentle and thinking about others before herself, Maria was one who found it easier than most to forgive and forget, not to mention trust. Even after G.U.N. violently raided the ARK and shot her down, Maria did not hold any ill will against the people on earth and only wished for them to live happy lives. She was also utterly selfless as she sacrificed her life for Shadow's sake, having faith he would carry on her dreams for her.

Despite her youth and frailness, Maria was brave, determined, and had a strong sense of righteousness. When the Artificial Chaos were on a rampage, Maria wanted to stop them to save the innocent, and during the G.U.N.'s raid on the ARK she refused to leave the injured researchers behind. Even on her deathbed, Maria remained undeterred and only wished for Shadow to fulfill his purpose.

Maria may have a taste for the macabre or unconventionally cute, as shown by her enthusiasm and care for Shadow, despite his intimidating appearance and knowledge of his alien origins, as well as her comments on finding the Artificial Chaos "kind of cute" when they split apart.*