Sega might've declared 2024 the Year of Shadow, but Shadow the Hedgehog has been enjoying the adoration of preteens entering their edgy red-and-black phase since he first declared himself the ultimate lifeform back in 2001. And who could blame them? Shadow's like the Platonic ideal of the hero's dark mirror archetype: He's grumpy, he's a reluctant hero, he's constantly proclaiming his superiority, he's got hair spikes with an arrogant upward sweep where the carefree locks of his lighthearted counterpart might droop downwards. Actually, now that I think about it, that sounds a hell of a lot like a certain prince of all space warriors I know…
