Shadow is the "ultimate life form", created in an experiment by Professor Gerald Robotnik aboard the Space Colony ARK. His exact age isn't known, but he is assumed to be around 50 years old. Once hungry for revenge after the death of Maria, Gerald's granddaughter, he is now aware of his past, and who he "is." He prefers to be a loner, but he occasionally tags along with Sonic and his friends when Eggman is up to no good. He uses his ability, Chaos Control, to harness the powers of the Chaos Emeralds to enhance his natural abilities. While he is unable to move very quickly on his own, he possesses fire-powered jet skates, which allow him to move much faster than he can without them.