He's debatably just as fast as sonic, even in IDW; The statement about his "'reliance'" on the hoverskates actually implies that the skates are a *_DETRIMENT_* to his speed, if he doesn't know how to use them properly. Makes sense, really; using your tools the wrong way will make worse work than without the tools at all. Shadow being a zombot in this instance just shows that being a zombot removes higher brain functions, such as the memory of how to properly utilize the hoverskates.
Sega stated that sonic need frictionless shoes and shadow needs air shoes to reach their maximum speed, but they are still fast without them. Sonic is also able to teleport with a chaos emerald, though it was a fake emerald (we can imply he can use chaos control with a real one too).
It's worth noting that Shadow appears to still have his inhibitor rings on in that comic panel. He can probably haul ass with them off. Our common perception of Shadow's strength and abilities are extremely nerfed.
Edit: please stop telling me he took them off on 06, I fucking know Thing is, the whole inhibitor ring thing is not really canon. Every time they’ve been used has been on non-canon forms of media, like in the archie comics and sonic x. He’s only ever taken them off ONE TIME in canon, and even that time he didn’t really show any impressive feats. Hell, he didn’t take them off against, the Biohazard, Solaris or Black Doom.
Fun fact about shadows "teleport" it is stated in some games that shadow doesnt actually teleport, instead, he uses chaos control to freeze time as he rushes, giving us the illusion of teleporting pretty neat
I’m pretty sure that it is teleporting. In Sonic Adventure, Sonic is in a pod hurdling towards Earth and escapes via teleportation with a Chaos Emerald.
He's an evil doctor with a rad genius and bad minions To help him sink the planet into his dominion A baddie with an IQ like you've never seen He's the meanest, vilest villain that's ever been on your screen He's iconic with his bionic animatronics Got a chronic knack to catch the hedgehog they call Sonic His temper is atomic, his mustache is on fire Welcome to the new world, Eggman Empire
I like to imagine that Shadow is ever so slightly slower than Sonic. Sonic is described as the fastest thing alive so Shadow has to be at least slower and he can make up that slightly slower speed with his chaos abilities.
the problem is that shadow almost never uses his all as seen in 2006, shadows rings controls his force, and when he get some of them off he just takes down a whole army of aliens in seconds, with that info, during sonic adv2 where sonic and shadow fight and run, shadow isnt at his fatest
@@sanicspeed21 he isn’t alive like you and me, but there have been a few where he definitely has sentience, and that’s about as close as one can get to being alive
That's with classic sonic tho, currently sonic is way way faster, there was an instance in which overloaded metal sonic just matched modern sonic's and that was a long time ago, sonic left his metal copy just way too behind currently but nothing an upgrade can't fix i guess
@@Jordaxio I think I know which you’re talking about torch. I will try a counter argument. Metal was using the master emerald in case sonic would’ve went super himself using the normal chaos emeralds. Yes, he did power himself up, but he was just toying with sonic and knuckles. Then shadow pops in for a surprise attack and depowers him. Only then Metal Sonic was able to copy chaos control to become metal madness.
I will never get over that scene where Sonic saw Shadow moving mid teleport and just thought he was really fast. No dude, he was teleporting "instantaneously" and somehow you _saw_ it.
That wasn't teleportation. Chaos Control is the slowing or even stopping of time. Shadow doesn't learn Chaos Snap (teleportation) until 06. Edit: correction, the player can't use Snap until 06. The CGI Opening of Shadow's 2005 spin-off shows him using it.
I like to think it was the mural in the Mystic Ruins that Gerald modeled Shadow after. Not only was Adventure the game where Super Sonic was redesigned with the quills Shadow would later resemble, but it would also explain the Biolizard, being based off Perfect Chaos. It was always weird that they went from giant lizard for the prototype and then tiny hedgehog for the actual Ultimate Lifeform, but if Gerald studied the prophecy of the battle between Super Sonic and Perfect Chaos, it makes a lot more sense
I figured that Shadow is fast without the shoes, but was given the Air Shoes in an attempt to become the fastest thing alive. They couldn’t manage to create a life form with natural speed like Sonic’s, so they settled with making Shadow as fast as they could and then making special shoes to enhance the the speed to be equal to Sonic.
I mean not physically nerfed, if anything they get more durable with a healing factor. The issue is they're zombies so they have no idea how to use a lot of abilities.
I don’t know why but I kinda like the thought of Shadow relying on his air shoes to keep up with Sonic. As the self-proclaimed ultimate lifeform he is probably already much faster than a normal person, but his gear probably gives him the full speed he needs to keep up with Sonic
Exactly, otherwise would have no reason to even make him with this function, i believe that he indeed is more strong and powerful than Sonic (base Sonic of course), but he definitely is not even close to Sonic's speed without his air shoes
I too believe he is fast on his own as in Sonic X, when Shadow is committing various crimes so that Sonic gets arrested, he specifically runs like Sonic when fleeing the scene, not using his shoes at all. It makes sense too since he needs to be convincing with his movements to properly deceive the authorities.
but you forget Amy mistook shadow for sonic and shes the fan girl, but the casual on looker may think there one in the same. like when Spidey is wearing the blacksuit but it isnt the symbiote
@@7ninja79 There's a reason for that actually. In Shadow's early design, he was much closer to Sonic's design. Quills pointed the same way, his fur was a dark blue (darker than Sonic's) and I think the shape of his shoes were similar too. Logically they should have updated the story elements to accommodate that but I assume that'd have set things back a bit. Maybe someone should ask Iizuka about why the plot was left alone following Shadow's design finalization but I suspect it was a late change.
@@FTN_Ale The shoes work by gliding over the ground, the way Sonic (and Shadow in those scenes) runs involves running far more normally. If he used the shoes he'd wind up on his face.
My general take is that Sonic and Shadow are equal when 'relaxed', with Shadow being fast as hell but only really being able to keep up with Sonic in full when his air shoes are fully in use. However Sonic seems to have multiple 'gears' of speed that he tends to cycle through depending on how serious he is. For the sake of simplicity, lets say: Gear 1 is Sonic's casual speed which he uses to run around with Tails, Knuckles, and other friends who are quick, but not crazy fast. Gear 2 would be his most known speed of Mach 2 where he tends to reach when he's stopping eggman's schemes or facing another speedster like Shadow. This probably has some range to it, but this is the speed that Shadow tends to sit at. Gear 3 would be Sonic when he's truly locked in and dead serious. His speed at this point gets completely uncapped and he basically just becomes as fast as he needs to be to whoop some ass. This is probably well beyond what Shadow can reach, unassisted. However, with a chaos emerald, Shadow should be able to reach or top that kind of speed. This is also the speed Sonic probably uses when facing someone like Metal Sonic, who is designed to match and surpass Sonic's full speed. So it'd basically be Shadow + Chaos Emerald>Full Speed Sonic>Metal Sonic=>Shadow
Oh did you see the sonic Twitter take over Where they asked "If you're the ultimate lifeform, how come you need rocket shoes to go fast while sonic doesn't" And shadow got maaaaad lol
@@neelmodi7765 Yes but for different purposes. Shadow needs his hovering air-shoes to ignore friction, since he's simply not fast enough. Sonic's shoes _do_ have friction, otherwise he wouldn't be able to control his momentum, they're actually _really strong_ shoes, since they're meant to endure the intensity of Sonic's kinetic energy, meaning they're probably heavier than standard shoes (and likely more protective, which can be important for a dude whose mortal enemy likes slapping spikes on everything)
@@neelmodi7765 That's only in non-canon media (such as Archie comics and spin-off stuff), no main-continuity has confirmed Sonic's default Sneakers assist in his speed, and again it's more likely they'd hinder it. Notice how fast Sonic comes to a stop in modern games? That's friction, meaning his shoes actively have _higher_ friction with the ground for better control.
@@neelmodi7765Ive only seen that be the case in the Archie comics, nowhere in canon media was it ever stated that his shoes give him the ability to run fast, I actually think he gets faster with every game since Forces confirmed that Sonic becomes faster and more powerful with every second.
I think shadow without his shoes doesn't count. If Jerald designed him to be fast, it's possible he gave him the air shoes as a work around as he couldn't do it himself.
imo i think sonic can casually run as fast as he does, while shadow needs to exert himself more to reach those speeds. they’re both nearly as fast, if not the same, as each other but sonic doesn’t need to push himself constantly to attain it.
I think this way, too. Sonic in character does not try his hardest since the word "trying" would be uncool. Shadow isn't one to hold back in a fight, even against hus pal sonic.
@@romanplays1the problem is that Shadow IS stronger and faster, ONLY when they come off, and he cannot last long without them. So essentially Sonic is that little faster overall but Shadow CAN have a single burst of speed that goes beyond before he has to slow down quite a bit
Shadow is equally as fast as Sonic. The air shoes is just the style in which he runs but his legs still move fast at top speeds in SA2. He’s also capable of actually running without hovering and his reaction time matches his running speed similar to Sonic’s. He’s probably considered faster because of his chaos powers in Battle but even then I’m sure that also just refers to his running plus fighting speed combined as Shadow uses chaos powers and is more combative. Lastly, Shadow being based on Super Sonic from the Hidden Palace mural is just a theory I came up with. (And probably many others) But as far as I know, it’s never been confirmed.
@@Axxidous Where else would dr Eggman's GRANDFATHER see SUPER SONIC when SONIC wasn't even BORN YET, other than an ancient PROPHECY depicting super sonic vs his grandson.
@@Zero432ZX I said in real life. In real life Gerald Robotnik doesn’t exist. The character designers based Shadow’s finalized design off of Super Sonic. In-universe they have not said anything about where the hedgehog design came from. It’s weird having someone lecture me about why my own freakin theory is probably true. I mean thank you for believing in it that much. Even though I know others have theorized the same thing. Regardless, it’s never been confirmed or hinted at and that’s just a fact for right now. That’s all.
The thing with Shadow is that I think he'd still be fast on his own if he's designed to be so. I mean, if his Air Shoes did all the work, there'd be no way he'd have the reflexes and skill to keep up with Sonic hand to hand the way he does. On some level Shadow would have to be extremely close to Sonic in raw speed, especially when it's show multiple times that he's clearly got the edge in hand to hand at those speeds.
i quite enjoy the idea that shadow needs his air shoes to match sonic's speed, sure hes meant to be the ultimate life form and all, but hes still an articifically created lifeform, so i enjoy the idea gerald couldnt figure out how to make him fast naturally so he engineered the shoes to make shadow faster
I always figured that since Shadow is an artificial creation made and a further iteration on the clearly cybernetic Biolizard, Shadow is at least partially robotic, or at least cybernetically enhanced. This, tied with his inherent control of Chaos energy, would explain how his Air Shoes work: They're a part of his body controlled in part by Chaos energy.
That was his intended purpose by the human side to his creation. But not the only side. Black Doom intended him to be a destructive weapon. So he is still intended as the ultimate life form in all regards. Immortal. Strong and fast. Has so much chaos energy inside him that he's naturally adept at chaos power manipulation in ways others aren't, on top of being a small chaos reactor himself, like how Godzilla is a walking nuclear reactor. In Sonic X, and 06, we get proof he needs inhibitors, otherwise his own power would overwhelm him if he didn't have chaos emeralds to help control it. So... Pretty dumb take from you. 💀💀💀
I also have a personal head canon that Maria was the creator of Shadow's hover shoes and the reason Shadow is in to vehicles. Since shes a robotnik, Maria would have a nack for some type of science/engineering. Possibly Automotive engineering with her dreams of one day going to earth once she's cured and becoming a racer / car developer. In her free time she would develop Shadow's shoes from the hover technology from the vehicles on board the space colony ark.
I'd like to think that despite him needing his shoes, he can still perceive that speed which is still impressive in itself, on top of having a mastery over the chaos emeralds
I can think of at least 2 separate instances in Sonic X where Shadow was running without the boost from the air shoes, and at least of them showed him keeping up with Sonic.
My theory is that Shadow is slightly slower than sonic and his air shoes help him by reducing the drag and friction that happens when going at his insane speeds.
He saw both. Gerald knew about the Chaos Emeralds, Knuckles race, Chaos and based Shadow The Hedgehog off of Super Sonic. Dr Eggman Robotnick's Death Egg is his own Space Colony, Black Doom knew about the Chaos Emeralds and Knuckles race also, he existed for over 2000 years Black Doom, The Biolizard is based off of Perfect Chaos and most likely has Doom's dna, Biolizard made similar sounds to the Black Arm worms, and hiss breath like Metal Madness when he gets hit, both Perfect Chaos, Biolizard/Final Hazard and Devil Doom have the same majestic roar cry, probably to show their godliness
The “Ultimate Lifeform” is a just a name for Gerald’s goal in making shadow, a being that doesn’t age, doesn’t tire, and is immune to disease. By that metric, he succeeded. Shadow is as essentially meant to be a walking medical breakthrough that they could reverse engineer in cases like Maria’s.
I imagine without his shoes he still surpasses characters like Tails who can "keep up with" Sonic but just the shoes give him the edge that matches Sonic specifically.
In my point of view,Sonic and Shadow are equally fast,since Shadow was literally created to be Sonic's perfect evil replica,but also having some superior and inferior capabilities (By superior being Shadow's Chaos Powers as examples,and by inferior being the fact he doesn't seem to be able to handle great levels of Chaos Energy for a long time,as seen in SA2's ending).
I’d say in terms of speed with Sonic being 100%, Shadow running without his skates is like 80%, with skates 90% pushing 100%, with his teleportation letting him match Sonic. But we’re not even talking about that power-up he gets from taking his rings off.
I think somewhere it says that his shoes are powered by his chaos energy so basically While the shoes make him FAST he is the one making his shoes give that power
I like to believe Shadow is fast like how Tails is. In actuality decently fast, but using some assistance (two tails/rocket shoes) he can catch up to Sonic.
also just thought about this but the limitor rings probably factor into his true speed as well, unless it was canonically stated that those are only really related to strength rather than speed
I find it funny how Gerald robotnik managed to make a life form to match Sonic's speed by looking at a mural of a glowing hedgehog fighting against a robot with a mustache
I like how Sonic's canon speed just kinda jumps from sound to light game to game to movie to game without them really giving a shit about consistency. Just do whatever the fuck this one's lore needs.
Watch the full video here: ruclips.net/video/Zd3vWLwxW8o/видео.html
Then again he starts running/jog before using the air shoes
You sound like TG5
He's debatably just as fast as sonic, even in IDW;
The statement about his "'reliance'" on the hoverskates actually implies that the skates are a *_DETRIMENT_* to his speed, if he doesn't know how to use them properly. Makes sense, really; using your tools the wrong way will make worse work than without the tools at all.
Shadow being a zombot in this instance just shows that being a zombot removes higher brain functions, such as the memory of how to properly utilize the hoverskates.
@@TeamSkillGaminGG💀
Maybe he's not wearing shoes
Sega stated that sonic need frictionless shoes and shadow needs air shoes to reach their maximum speed, but they are still fast without them. Sonic is also able to teleport with a chaos emerald, though it was a fake emerald (we can imply he can use chaos control with a real one too).
He and shadow were able to use it to teleport the Ark at the end of SA2, so yes.
Sonic being able to use Chaos Control with a fake emerald is sure an awesome feat,and shows again his great prowess with the Chaos Emeralds.
Frictionless shoes is still sonics speed. Hes still the one running
@@uneditg6848 yes but in order for him to get maximum speed he needs them
The frictionless power shoes thing has veen reconned, actually.
Shadow the hedgehog dosen’t pay his taxes.
epic
big if true
I mean, he works for the government, he probably collects the taxes
He knows taxation is theft. Based Shadow.
Role model (I don't either)
It's worth noting that Shadow appears to still have his inhibitor rings on in that comic panel. He can probably haul ass with them off. Our common perception of Shadow's strength and abilities are extremely nerfed.
In Sonic X he destroys a whole army with one attack without them.
In Sonic X he was able to surpass the raw strength of Knuckles without them in a deleted scene from the japanese dub
Edit: please stop telling me he took them off on 06, I fucking know
Thing is, the whole inhibitor ring thing is not really canon. Every time they’ve been used has been on non-canon forms of media, like in the archie comics and sonic x. He’s only ever taken them off ONE TIME in canon, and even that time he didn’t really show any impressive feats.
Hell, he didn’t take them off against, the Biohazard, Solaris or Black Doom.
@@awa5785Didn't everyone already have the Emeralds gathered against all three of those?
@@awa5785He uses them for an obvious reason, to not die from his own power.
Fun fact about shadows "teleport"
it is stated in some games that shadow doesnt actually teleport, instead, he uses chaos control to freeze time as he rushes, giving us the illusion of teleporting
pretty neat
ZA WOURLDO
That makes no sense and is way lamer
@@srcoeiu6100 its way cooler then to teleport
@@tawagotoCage No bruh, its lame...
I’m pretty sure that it is teleporting. In Sonic Adventure, Sonic is in a pod hurdling towards Earth and escapes via teleportation with a Chaos Emerald.
"Sonic is the fastest thing alive"
Classic Robotnik:
"How can a man that fat move so (bleep) fast"
-sonic
😂😂😂😂😂lol he knew the risks and he played it
Robotnik also outrunning Modern Sonic in Sonic 4:
He's an evil doctor with a rad genius and bad minions
To help him sink the planet into his dominion
A baddie with an IQ like you've never seen
He's the meanest, vilest villain that's ever been on your screen
He's iconic with his bionic animatronics
Got a chronic knack to catch the hedgehog they call Sonic
His temper is atomic, his mustache is on fire
Welcome to the new world, Eggman Empire
@@lifeform83I’m loving the sonic paradox reference from the old animated videos from pre 2010
I like to imagine that Shadow is ever so slightly slower than Sonic. Sonic is described as the fastest thing alive so Shadow has to be at least slower and he can make up that slightly slower speed with his chaos abilities.
the problem is that shadow almost never uses his all as seen in 2006, shadows rings controls his force, and when he get some of them off he just takes down a whole army of aliens in seconds, with that info, during sonic adv2 where sonic and shadow fight and run, shadow isnt at his fatest
@@joinha7169the thing is this cost him his life while sonic is still faster with no boost it's kinda hard L last resort condition.
@@noor_xd9473i believe sonic is slightly faster but shadow has the upper hand bc of the chaos emerald
@@mk47zkting sure, but anyone with a hold of some Familiarity with chaos power can pretty much use chaos control so do you real count that ?.
sonic cant use choas control with one chaos emerald tho
“Become the ultimate lifeform”
(Eventually, shadow stopped thinking.)
When i hear ultimate life form. I can only think of Kars, and Perfect Cell
@@Faiqal_x1103ikr
Tyrant
Nintendo even made their own ultimate life form in the form of fecto elfilis
We all know the true ultimate lifeform is curious george.
There is also Metal Sonic. He is made to be Sonic’s equal in every way, and by overclocking his engine, he can ever outrun Sonic
But he ain't alive now, is he?
@@sanicspeed21 he isn’t alive like you and me, but there have been a few where he definitely has sentience, and that’s about as close as one can get to being alive
That's with classic sonic tho, currently sonic is way way faster, there was an instance in which overloaded metal sonic just matched modern sonic's and that was a long time ago, sonic left his metal copy just way too behind currently but nothing an upgrade can't fix i guess
I remember a metal Sonic needed to go super in IDW to match Shadow, Sonic and Knuckles at the same time.
So it's safe to say base Metal gets blitzed
@@Jordaxio I think I know which you’re talking about torch. I will try a counter argument. Metal was using the master emerald in case sonic would’ve went super himself using the normal chaos emeralds. Yes, he did power himself up, but he was just toying with sonic and knuckles. Then shadow pops in for a surprise attack and depowers him. Only then Metal Sonic was able to copy chaos control to become metal madness.
I will never get over that scene where Sonic saw Shadow moving mid teleport and just thought he was really fast. No dude, he was teleporting "instantaneously" and somehow you _saw_ it.
In the comics Sonic had a race across the universe against a teleporter. He won. By a landslide.
@@MuckowitchI think you confused sonic with the flash
@@sopix7761 Either that or they both did it. Hard to say given how crazy both comics have been.
@@MeriliremThey both did it but ik for a fact flash did it I'll jus give this guy the benefit of the doubt and say sonic did it too
That wasn't teleportation. Chaos Control is the slowing or even stopping of time. Shadow doesn't learn Chaos Snap (teleportation) until 06.
Edit: correction, the player can't use Snap until 06. The CGI Opening of Shadow's 2005 spin-off shows him using it.
I like to think it was the mural in the Mystic Ruins that Gerald modeled Shadow after.
Not only was Adventure the game where Super Sonic was redesigned with the quills Shadow would later resemble, but it would also explain the Biolizard, being based off Perfect Chaos.
It was always weird that they went from giant lizard for the prototype and then tiny hedgehog for the actual Ultimate Lifeform, but if Gerald studied the prophecy of the battle between Super Sonic and Perfect Chaos, it makes a lot more sense
I’m more interested in what powers his rocket shoes. I would assume they are powered by Chaos energy.
Chaos Drives maybe?
@@chaomixID imagine his own body’s innate chaos energy.
Probably the inhibitors Rings in his shoes
My headcanon is that since the rings are controlling his energy output, it redirects some to his rocket shoes
Shadow is made entirely of chaos energy and Black Doom juice, they’re probably powered by his natural energy
I figured that Shadow is fast without the shoes, but was given the Air Shoes in an attempt to become the fastest thing alive. They couldn’t manage to create a life form with natural speed like Sonic’s, so they settled with making Shadow as fast as they could and then making special shoes to enhance the the speed to be equal to Sonic.
Yeah, this is what I thought too
fair
No because sonic didn't exist yet when they created shadow. Shadow is 35 years older canonically
@isaiahplayzbass6028 he's over 50 actually, though granted almost all of them were spent in stasis
@@Deoix9877 yes I know he's over 50, but about 35 years older than sonic since sonic is 15.
I always figured Shadow could move at that speed on his own too but just uses the air shoes to glide
They reduce friction
Bro's just lazy
To be fair, all of the characters were nerfed as zombots.
I mean not physically nerfed, if anything they get more durable with a healing factor. The issue is they're zombies so they have no idea how to use a lot of abilities.
I don’t know why but I kinda like the thought of Shadow relying on his air shoes to keep up with Sonic. As the self-proclaimed ultimate lifeform he is probably already much faster than a normal person, but his gear probably gives him the full speed he needs to keep up with Sonic
Fun Fact: Shadow does not see himself as the Ultimate Lifeform. He himself admits that Sonic is the Ultimate Lifeform.
Exactly, otherwise would have no reason to even make him with this function, i believe that he indeed is more strong and powerful than Sonic (base Sonic of course), but he definitely is not even close to Sonic's speed without his air shoes
@@Muckowitch true
Thinking this way, in the end, both are the ultimate lifeforms
I too believe he is fast on his own as in Sonic X, when Shadow is committing various crimes so that Sonic gets arrested, he specifically runs like Sonic when fleeing the scene, not using his shoes at all.
It makes sense too since he needs to be convincing with his movements to properly deceive the authorities.
but you forget Amy mistook shadow for sonic and shes the fan girl, but the casual on looker may think there one in the same. like when Spidey is wearing the blacksuit but it isnt the symbiote
@@7ninja79 There's a reason for that actually.
In Shadow's early design, he was much closer to Sonic's design. Quills pointed the same way, his fur was a dark blue (darker than Sonic's) and I think the shape of his shoes were similar too.
Logically they should have updated the story elements to accommodate that but I assume that'd have set things back a bit.
Maybe someone should ask Iizuka about why the plot was left alone following Shadow's design finalization but I suspect it was a late change.
He could still be using the shoes to move, and he doesn't need to go at max speed in those occasions
@@FTN_Ale The shoes work by gliding over the ground, the way Sonic (and Shadow in those scenes) runs involves running far more normally. If he used the shoes he'd wind up on his face.
Sonic X is not canon people
We all know Sonic 3’s Eggman is the fastest thing alive
No cap
fr💀
And in 2 we can't catch him after beating Silver Sonic
What's the game in the first clip
@@Weloveasahisonic generations
Shadow has two rings around his wrist to limit his power so he could be faster, canonically
He has on his legs too😮
Yes
Egg man is the fastest,in Sonic3&Knuckles he ran faster than sonic when I was in debug mode, DEBUG FUCKING MODE
@@Incognito02004 Debug my ass, what can eggy do against chaos control
@@KingGoji-m1r3 damn
Shadow is the ultimate lifeform, not because of his speed, but his ability to actually withstand moving at said speed.
The way I see it, Shadow can match Sonic's reaction speed, but cannot physically match Sonic's running speed without assistance
I like to believe he's almost as fast Sonic, with his shoes giving him just enough of a boost to match Sonic near perfectly.
Yeah
That's what i figured.
It’s stated in the books sonic is way faster. But shadow isn’t slow not one bit 💯💯
Interesting because if I remember correctly the air shoes only act as a glide system rather than a speed inducing crutch
Almost no friction tho
Yeah! If Shadow were actually running around, wouldn't the force of every footstep reduce asphalt to rubble????
@@diamonshade7484 Sonic's shoes also reduce friction
I always figured that he is able to match Sonic's speed on his own, and that the shoes are just so he doesn't rip his feet apart doing so.
You're probably right
I never realized until now that eggmans bomb says “EGGMAN BOMBOM” on it
The air shoes are allegedly supposed to limit his powers, just like the inhibitor rings
My general take is that Sonic and Shadow are equal when 'relaxed', with Shadow being fast as hell but only really being able to keep up with Sonic in full when his air shoes are fully in use.
However Sonic seems to have multiple 'gears' of speed that he tends to cycle through depending on how serious he is.
For the sake of simplicity, lets say:
Gear 1 is Sonic's casual speed which he uses to run around with Tails, Knuckles, and other friends who are quick, but not crazy fast.
Gear 2 would be his most known speed of Mach 2 where he tends to reach when he's stopping eggman's schemes or facing another speedster like Shadow. This probably has some range to it, but this is the speed that Shadow tends to sit at.
Gear 3 would be Sonic when he's truly locked in and dead serious. His speed at this point gets completely uncapped and he basically just becomes as fast as he needs to be to whoop some ass. This is probably well beyond what Shadow can reach, unassisted. However, with a chaos emerald, Shadow should be able to reach or top that kind of speed.
This is also the speed Sonic probably uses when facing someone like Metal Sonic, who is designed to match and surpass Sonic's full speed.
So it'd basically be Shadow + Chaos Emerald>Full Speed Sonic>Metal Sonic=>Shadow
That "Gear 3" speed is faster than Shadow until he takes off his Inhibitor rings.
That is only your headcanon. In official sources there are no "gears", Shadow said to be Sonic's equal in terms of speed. Period.
Golly gee it's almost like I said "my general take". Headcanon is kind've implied with that lmao.@@ceylancobalt3117
Luffy gear 2, gear 3, Gear 4, Gear 5!
Imagine how fast Soic would be in gear 5. He would just have infinite speed
I think that he uses hover shoes for the same reason he uses guns, not because he needs them, but because they make him look cool
Oh did you see the sonic Twitter take over
Where they asked
"If you're the ultimate lifeform, how come you need rocket shoes to go fast while sonic doesn't"
And shadow got maaaaad lol
But... Sonic uses specifically designed shoes too???
@@neelmodi7765 Yes but for different purposes. Shadow needs his hovering air-shoes to ignore friction, since he's simply not fast enough.
Sonic's shoes _do_ have friction, otherwise he wouldn't be able to control his momentum, they're actually _really strong_ shoes, since they're meant to endure the intensity of Sonic's kinetic energy, meaning they're probably heavier than standard shoes (and likely more protective, which can be important for a dude whose mortal enemy likes slapping spikes on everything)
@@commodorex Actually I'm pretty sure Sonic's shoes are designed to make him faster too, same as Shadow's
@@neelmodi7765 That's only in non-canon media (such as Archie comics and spin-off stuff), no main-continuity has confirmed Sonic's default Sneakers assist in his speed, and again it's more likely they'd hinder it.
Notice how fast Sonic comes to a stop in modern games? That's friction, meaning his shoes actively have _higher_ friction with the ground for better control.
@@neelmodi7765Ive only seen that be the case in the Archie comics, nowhere in canon media was it ever stated that his shoes give him the ability to run fast, I actually think he gets faster with every game since Forces confirmed that Sonic becomes faster and more powerful with every second.
Robotnik making the perfect organism a fucking hedgehog will never not be wild
Bro, Shadow is built like the World's Greatest Cup of Coffee scene from Elf.
I think shadow without his shoes doesn't count. If Jerald designed him to be fast, it's possible he gave him the air shoes as a work around as he couldn't do it himself.
All sonic needs is a really long slope to roll down.
hella jeff
Shadow can roll down slopes as well, every character can do that.
And then bro can't even make a simple jump in Chemical Plant despite that
@@mattbelcher7135 yeah but shadow needs shoes to do that
eggman?@@mattbelcher7135
imo i think sonic can casually run as fast as he does, while shadow needs to exert himself more to reach those speeds. they’re both nearly as fast, if not the same, as each other but sonic doesn’t need to push himself constantly to attain it.
???
I think this way, too. Sonic in character does not try his hardest since the word "trying" would be uncool. Shadow isn't one to hold back in a fight, even against hus pal sonic.
@@neelmodi7765 ??
@@sleepsounds1403 bro litterally does constantly hold back though. the only times shadow goes all out is when the inhibitor rings come off.
@@romanplays1the problem is that Shadow IS stronger and faster, ONLY when they come off, and he cannot last long without them.
So essentially Sonic is that little faster overall but Shadow CAN have a single burst of speed that goes beyond before he has to slow down quite a bit
Shadow admitted that he couldn’t outrun Sonic, but he could beat him in a fight.
I like how his quills spike up to mimic super sonics appearance.
You never see a sonic character without their shoes
Except cheese the chaos and very few exceptions but not from the main cast for sure
Sadly I’ve seen these cursed pictures, you don’t wanna see em trust me. It’s actually disgusting
which is why i still have some sanity left
@@jorgeabdielalejandrochavar650Big the cat is an exception, he wears sandals
Good let’s keep it that way
Shadow is equally as fast as Sonic.
The air shoes is just the style in which he runs but his legs still move fast at top speeds in SA2. He’s also capable of actually running without hovering and his reaction time matches his running speed similar to Sonic’s.
He’s probably considered faster because of his chaos powers in Battle but even then I’m sure that also just refers to his running plus fighting speed combined as Shadow uses chaos powers and is more combative.
Lastly, Shadow being based on Super Sonic from the Hidden Palace mural is just a theory I came up with. (And probably many others)
But as far as I know, it’s never been confirmed.
Wtf bro it's obvious that shadow is modeled after that.
@@Zero432ZX It’s obvious that in real life he was designed like Super Sonic, but not that he was based on the mural.
@@Axxidous Where else would dr Eggman's GRANDFATHER see SUPER SONIC when SONIC wasn't even BORN YET, other than an ancient PROPHECY depicting super sonic vs his grandson.
@@Zero432ZX I said in real life. In real life Gerald Robotnik doesn’t exist. The character designers based Shadow’s finalized design off of Super Sonic.
In-universe they have not said anything about where the hedgehog design came from.
It’s weird having someone lecture me about why my own freakin theory is probably true. I mean thank you for believing in it that much. Even though I know others have theorized the same thing. Regardless, it’s never been confirmed or hinted at and that’s just a fact for right now. That’s all.
The thing with Shadow is that I think he'd still be fast on his own if he's designed to be so. I mean, if his Air Shoes did all the work, there'd be no way he'd have the reflexes and skill to keep up with Sonic hand to hand the way he does. On some level Shadow would have to be extremely close to Sonic in raw speed, especially when it's show multiple times that he's clearly got the edge in hand to hand at those speeds.
“With a Chaos Emerald, he can even surpass it”
Yes, just like how, with my car, I can surpass Usain Bolt.
i quite enjoy the idea that shadow needs his air shoes to match sonic's speed, sure hes meant to be the ultimate life form and all, but hes still an articifically created lifeform, so i enjoy the idea gerald couldnt figure out how to make him fast naturally so he engineered the shoes to make shadow faster
"Sonic is the fastest thing alive"
The cameraman: Sup.
Sonic on a slope: Sup.
rainboweirdo on sight
Even the ultimate lifeform needs drip
fr
I always figured that since Shadow is an artificial creation made and a further iteration on the clearly cybernetic Biolizard, Shadow is at least partially robotic, or at least cybernetically enhanced. This, tied with his inherent control of Chaos energy, would explain how his Air Shoes work: They're a part of his body controlled in part by Chaos energy.
I think he is more like an hedgehog clone mixed with Black Doom cells. So basically a half-hedgehog half-alien being.
The end just made me think about “I’M GONNA CREASE YOUR JAYS SHADOW”
“After all he’s supposed to be the ultimate life form”
In longevity and curing diseases 💀
That was his intended purpose by the human side to his creation. But not the only side. Black Doom intended him to be a destructive weapon. So he is still intended as the ultimate life form in all regards. Immortal. Strong and fast. Has so much chaos energy inside him that he's naturally adept at chaos power manipulation in ways others aren't, on top of being a small chaos reactor himself, like how Godzilla is a walking nuclear reactor. In Sonic X, and 06, we get proof he needs inhibitors, otherwise his own power would overwhelm him if he didn't have chaos emeralds to help control it.
So... Pretty dumb take from you.
💀💀💀
He has inhibitor rings on his ankles, making him slower, and then he'd need assistance via his air shoes
It's like Rock lee's weight too
Or goku's weighted clothes
@austria-hungary7680 why just why did you have to bring goku into this
"You're a beta male, Sonic."
I also have a personal head canon that Maria was the creator of Shadow's hover shoes and the reason Shadow is in to vehicles.
Since shes a robotnik, Maria would have a nack for some type of science/engineering. Possibly Automotive engineering with her dreams of one day going to earth once she's cured and becoming a racer / car developer.
In her free time she would develop Shadow's shoes from the hover technology from the vehicles on board the space colony ark.
Nice theory 👌
I'd like to think that despite him needing his shoes, he can still perceive that speed which is still impressive in itself, on top of having a mastery over the chaos emeralds
I can think of at least 2 separate instances in Sonic X where Shadow was running without the boost from the air shoes, and at least of them showed him keeping up with Sonic.
My theory is that Shadow is slightly slower than sonic and his air shoes help him by reducing the drag and friction that happens when going at his insane speeds.
I think he saw the perfect chaos mural instead, as the biolizard matches him almost 1:1
I think he saw both!
Would explain the 3 artificial chaos types
He saw both. Gerald knew about the Chaos Emeralds, Knuckles race, Chaos and based Shadow The Hedgehog off of Super Sonic. Dr Eggman Robotnick's Death Egg is his own Space Colony, Black Doom knew about the Chaos Emeralds and Knuckles race also, he existed for over 2000 years Black Doom, The Biolizard is based off of Perfect Chaos and most likely has Doom's dna, Biolizard made similar sounds to the Black Arm worms, and hiss breath like Metal Madness when he gets hit, both Perfect Chaos, Biolizard/Final Hazard and Devil Doom have the same majestic roar cry, probably to show their godliness
“Sonic is the fastest thing alive”
Other characters who have incalculable speed: Bro wtf
Imagine flash meeting Sonic, bro gonna cry when he finds out Sonic solos him with or without the speed force
Shadow is very fast, just not as naturally fast as Sonic.
Just cuz he’s *supposed* to be the ultimate life form doesn’t actual *make* him the ultimate life form.
Exactly!
The “Ultimate Lifeform” is a just a name for Gerald’s goal in making shadow, a being that doesn’t age, doesn’t tire, and is immune to disease. By that metric, he succeeded. Shadow is as essentially meant to be a walking medical breakthrough that they could reverse engineer in cases like Maria’s.
Now think about this for a moment. One is not necessarily required to outclass other beings in all categories in order to be the Ultimate Life Form
I imagine without his shoes he still surpasses characters like Tails who can "keep up with" Sonic but just the shoes give him the edge that matches Sonic specifically.
I cant watch that vid without hearing "I was wondering why so many of the radial left partake in speedrunning"
In my point of view,Sonic and Shadow are equally fast,since Shadow was literally created to be Sonic's perfect evil replica,but also having some superior and inferior capabilities (By superior being Shadow's Chaos Powers as examples,and by inferior being the fact he doesn't seem to be able to handle great levels of Chaos Energy for a long time,as seen in SA2's ending).
Hes not supposed to be made as a evil replica
He's
@@SinkingInTheWater I'm talking about character designing
@@ReaperKris my bad sorry
@@SinkingInTheWater No problem
He’s slower than sonic but almost as fast with the shoes and has more powers. They’ve been nerfing him for a while now.
Shadow's Ultimate Lofe Form thing is less about him being powerful and more about him being immortal
I always figured Shadow is a Jack of all traits but he wears the rocket shoes to enhance his already good speed to match Sonic
Shadow's the ultimate life form because he lets the stick talk. Not cause he's fast😈😈😈
Gerald had to make the ultimate Jordan’s first if he wanted the ultimate life form
"not so fast when you don't know how to work your rocket skates, are ya?"
-sonic from the IDW comics
I think he's called the ultimate lifeform for being very powerful *outside* of speed. Then it's his rocket shoes that make him a lot faster.
I’d say in terms of speed with Sonic being 100%, Shadow running without his skates is like 80%, with skates 90% pushing 100%, with his teleportation letting him match Sonic. But we’re not even talking about that power-up he gets from taking his rings off.
I think somewhere it says that his shoes are powered by his chaos energy so basically
While the shoes make him FAST
he is the one making his shoes give that power
Talk about the ultimate lifeform, he still needs rings to survive and his speed are gifted by his shoes.
I like to believe Shadow is fast like how Tails is. In actuality decently fast, but using some assistance (two tails/rocket shoes) he can catch up to Sonic.
Peppino spaghetti: I'm-a four parallel universes ahead of-a you
Shadow: You’re a beta male, Sonic
"You were made based on a prophecy about me" is something I hope Sonic says to Shadows face.
Surge is also an example, it was confirmed that she can match Sonic's speed as well.
"Shadow was created aboard the space colony ark to be the ultimate lifeform"
Sonic: You supposed to be ahead of me 💀
Its amazing how sonic reacted to literal teleportation
I imagine Shadow's clones have no feet, they just have shoes that they never take off
“I’m Shadow the Hedgehog….the Ultimate shoe owner.”
Canonically, Sonic fell off the Asteroid Coaster into the void of space.
big rigs over the road racing in reverse : am i a joke to you ?
The whole looking like sonic thing made more sense with his original design
The air shoes are probably what allow him to match sonic but he is probably still extremely fast without them
I love how most speedsters have teleporting to be faster than them, and then there's the Flash. Ran a race against a teleporter and won.
Every speedster hero ever created is essentially the fastest person alive… until they aren’t
Then there's Metal Sonic.
I LOVE how shadow skates on his shoes
“You’re a beta male, Sonic.”
-Shadow
We need to remember that each Sonic is slower or faster
also just thought about this but the limitor rings probably factor into his true speed as well, unless it was canonically stated that those are only really related to strength rather than speed
Shadow: "I am the ultimate life form!"
Also shadow: *Proceed to grow wings.*
I find it funny how Gerald robotnik managed to make a life form to match Sonic's speed by looking at a mural of a glowing hedgehog fighting against a robot with a mustache
"Oh you touch my tralala..." -Shadow the Hedgehog
The fact shadow is modeled after Sonic’s super form is dope asf
I like how Sonic's canon speed just kinda jumps from sound to light game to game to movie to game without them really giving a shit about consistency. Just do whatever the fuck this one's lore needs.
I always thought the camera man in all sonic games was the fastest thing alive
I think that shadow is naturally fast and gets an further increase by the air shoes that he wears
Shadow is basically like Heavy from tf2
"Ive yet to meet who can outsmart bullet"
“No, but we have shoes that will make us run really, Really fast”
- Shadow From Sonic Adventure 2 Dark Story / Final