- "It was a black site, sir. Someone worked very hard to keep this hidden."
"My God. Project Shadow." - ―G.U.N. Mean Bean Agent and Walters[src]
Project Shadow was a top-secret initiative by G.U.N. focused on studying Shadow the Hedgehog and his Chaos Energy. However, upon recognizing the potential threat Shadow posed, G.U.N. launched a raid to secure him. The operation succeeded, resulting in Shadow’s capture and subsequent containment on Prison Island.
History[]
Foundation[]
The meteorite containing Shadow is placed in a laboratory
- "It begins over fifty years ago, with a meteor crash in a quiet corner of Oklahoma. The meteorite contained a lifeform, the ultimate lifeform. Shadow's power, his chaos energy, went far beyond any living creature. The scientists who discovered it believed this power would usher in a new era for humanity."
- ―Walters to Team Sonic[src]
In the early 1970s, a meteorite housing a powerful life form crashed in Oklahoma, creating a massive crater that drew the attention of local onlookers. G.U.N., a military organization inept in extraterrestrial matters, secured the site and initiated Project Shadow to study the meteorite. Transported to a G.U.N. facility in the Rocky Mountains, the meteorite was placed into a cryogenic pod. As the meteorite gradually dissolved, the life form within awakened.
Professor Gerald Robotnik was appointed as project leader, overseeing experiments on the life form, now named Shadow the Hedgehog, named eponymously to the project. One such test was a field test in Lab 03, where Shadow, equipped with his newly given Air Shoes, would run around in circles at great speeds, gradually generating more of a biologically generated electric current dubbed as "chaos energy." Robotnik and the other scientists shared the belief that Shadow's eminent power would usher in a new era for humanity.[1]
Arrival of Maria Robotnik[]
- "The way the scientists looked at me. I can tell they're afraid. Like I'm the horrible thing from that movie we watched. I don't know... what I am."
"You're my friend. And you can do or be anything you want. Not because of your powers, but because of who you are... in here." - ―Shadow the Hedgehog and Maria Robotnik[src]
By 1974, Professor Gerald Robotnik requested that his granddaughter, Maria Robotnik, move into the laboratory from home. Upon her arrival, Maria navigated the lab’s hallways on roller skates but was stopped by a soldier when she attempted to enter the next corridor. Captain Walters, overseeing Project Shadow, permitted her to proceed but required her to remove her skates. As Maria followed directions to her room, she met Shadow the Hedgehog by himself in his cryo-pod. Amused by his stern expression, she playfully drew a bunny face over the pod’s glass with a marker from her handbag. Maria then placed her hand on the pod, as did Shadow, forming a bond between them.
Exploring their newfound friendship, Shadow and Maria would partake in various activities and escapades. Besides learning how to dance with her, Maria invited Shadow out of the medical room. Placing the Holtor monitor and electrodes attached to him onto a teddy bear, Shadow charioted Maria, who held onto Shadow with a rope, using his Air Shoes through the laboratory, Maria hollering as her roller skates emitted smoke. The two crashed into a food cart and made snow angels with the fallen pastries. Watching Beware the Alien Freak!!, the films title left Shadow dismayed considering his nature. To comfort him, Maria stole a scientist's ID and brought Shadow above the laboratory to stargaze, telling him that Gerald had told her a star's light can take long to reach Earth, perhaps no longer existing by the time it does. Amazed by the fact, Shadow told her he didn't know which star he hailed from when asked. Though reassured Earth is his home, Shadow asked Maria if he poses a threat, recounting the looks the scientists give him as if he was the "alien freak" from the film. Maria begged to differ, stating that he is capable of doing or being what he wants to because of who he is inside. Relieved, Shadow took Maria's hand as they continued to stargaze.[1]
Cancellation[]
Raid of Gerald Robotnik's Laboratory[]
- "Shadow's power proved too dangerous. A terrible accident destroyed the lab, taking human lives with it. The project leader was blamed for the accident and imprisoned. With the program canceled, Shadow was a loose end no one knew how to deal with. Too dangerous to be walking free, too valuable to destroy. So, I had him placed into stasis. Indefinitely."
- ―Walters to Team Sonic[src]
Sometime later, Maria was playing guitar for Shadow in her room, only to be interrupted by an agitated Gerald urging the two to follow him. G.U.N. was raiding the laboratory in an effort to contain Shadow after ruling his power as far too hazardous. As the three made their way to the entrance, G.U.N. soldiers followed suit aiming their weapons at them. Walters apprehended one of the soldiers, who accidentally shot at a vial containing chaos energy. The vial cracked and eventually breached, destroying the laboratory in a fiery explosion.
Amidst the destruction lied Maria, who succumbed to her injuries and was attended to by her grandfather. Gathering his senses, Shadow rushed over to the corpse, struggling to settle his emotions as G.U.N. soldiers surrounded the three. Project Shadow was officially cancelled. While Robotnik was detained and later kept in a top-secret prison, Shadow was successfully contained, G.U.N. being presented with an ultimatum as he was too dangerous to let roam free and too valuable to exterminate. Walters had him ultimately placed in cryostasis on a prison island near Tokyo, Japan.[1]
Post-Cancellation[]
Walters learns that Project Shadow has been rediscovered
- "When we were wiping Robotnik off our database, we found something: A file buried deep in our system and dating back over 50 years."
"What was it?"
"Coordinates, sir." - ―G.U.N. Mean Bean Agent and Walters[src]
Following the Chase of San Francisco in 2023, one of the many incidents caused by another extraterrestrial named Sonic the Hedgehog, the Guardian Units of Nations was reestablished as a military force protecting Earth from alien threats. After the defeat of the villainous Doctor Eggman, Gerald Robotnik’s grandson, a G.U.N. agent informed now-Commander Walters of files discovered within the organization’s database which contained coordinates to Robotnik's laboratory. Walters concluded that said files related to Project Shadow.[2]
Shadow breaks out of Prison Island
G.U.N.'s monitoring of Prison Island would later resume with Kyle Lancebottom placed in charge as security monitor. In 2024, the systems controlling Shadow's containment tank was unexpectedly hacked by Robotnik, who reactivated Shadow. Shadow escaped, reuniting with Robotnik despite being followed by Sonic and his team. The two enlisted the help of Doctor Eggman and Stone to enact a revenge plot to destroy Earth, ultimately causing the extinction of the human race. Shadow eventually disagreed with Robotnik's attempt at honoring Maria Robotnik, joining forces with Sonic to stop him after he told him to embrace the love he and Maria shared instead of the pain caused by her death.[1]
Trivia[]
- In the video game series, Project Shadow was a medical research program conducted by the United Federation intending to conceive immortality and a military weapon, which resulted in the creations of the Biolizard and Shadow the Hedgehog. Deemed possibly fatal, military forces shut the project down, which indirectly resulted in the deaths of Gerald and Maria Robotnik.
References[]
