Sonic fans are left hoping that IDW's comic continuity won't follow suit.

In Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Shadow is presented as an alien when he was originally created by Professor Gerald Robotnik. The choice eliminated a dark irony connecting Sonic, Shadow and the Robotniks. This irritated fans who already knew about Shadow's original backstory, whether it was from the Sonic Adventure 2 game, where it debuted, Archie Comics' special tie-in issues or even the Sonic X TV show.

Of course, Sonic 3's retelling could have been much more of a disaster. Paramount could have easily tried to make the movie more family friendly by not having Maria die, removing a key tragedy. But Shadow being an alien is still an inferior version of his story, which is why IDW is Sonic fans' last hope.

Sonic the Hedgehog: Chasing Shadows Is Going To Be A Shadow Solo-Adventure

Chasing Shadows' Timing Makes It The Perfect Moment To See Where IDW Publishing Stands on the Antihero's Origin

IDW's comic continuity began its story after Sonic and Shadow were already acquainted. In fact, the first time Shadow appears, Sonic the Hedgehog fights him, so there was never a need to rehash what most readers already knew about the Ultimate Life-Form. However, now that Sonic 3 has made quite a few changes to Shadow's backstory, many fans are now desperate to see the comics uphold Sonic Adventure 2's original vision. Fans of IDW's Sonic may get an answer quicker than they realized. Next month, IDW is releasing a special one-shot featuring Shadow titled Sonic the Hedgehog: Chasing Shadows #1, from the creative team of Kiel Phegley and Mauro Fonseca.

The fact that Chasing Shadows will debut just a few weeks after Sonic 3 left theaters presents fans with enough hope that the one-shot could very well explore Shadow's past, putting to rest whether IDW will use the original origin from Sonic Adventure 2 or the movie version from Sonic 3. However, there's one major caveat. Even though the one-shot is a Shadow solo adventure, there are no allusions in the official synopsis to the Ultimate Life-Form confronting his past. All that's shared is that he is going to "unravel the dark secrets" of an old isolated village where strange things are occurring.

IDW's Sonic Canon Can Reclaim The Dark Irony That Sonic Adventure 2 Created

It's More Powerful That Dr. Robotnik's Grandfather Is The Source of His Current Suffering

While every pop culture fan harbors some affection for the original version of a story, Shadow's Sonic Adventure 2 origin story actually created an intriguing dynamic that Sonic 3 eliminated in favor of the possibility that Shadow and Sonic are related. The fact that Dr. Ivo Robotnik's grandfather Gerald Robotnik created Shadow in Sonic Adventure 2 is ironic because of how that creation would later impact Ivo. Although Shadow initially teamed up with Ivo, the Ultimate Life-Form would later become an ally to Sonic. Gerald's experiments created a major thorn in Ivo's side. It's an echo of how Robotnik's arrogance is often turned against him, expanded to a generational level. Open the image gallery below for s showing Gerald working on Project: Shadow.

Ivo's grandfather created a creature that would eventually ally with his grandson's greatest nemesis. From Ivo's perspective, his grandfather created something that would make it much more difficult for him to destroy Sonic. Even more importantly, Sonic Adventure 2 showed Gerald made Shadow specifically as an antidote for Maria. This is probably the most ironic thing of all, since Ivo and Maria are supposed to be cousins. What began as an antidote for Ivo's cousin became a poison for Ivo himself. While Sonic 3's retcon still has Gerald involved in Shadow's experiments, he's no longer the source of his grandson's suffering and defeat.

Chasing Shadows Can Avoid Sonic the Hedgehog 3's Massive Cliché

Sonic Adventure 2 Already Connected Sonic with Shadow through Robotnik's Grandfather, So Why Make Them Related Too?

It's not just that making Shadow Gerald's creation is a good idea - the original backstory exists in place of a needless cliché introduced by the movie. It's obvious that Paramount wanted to connect Shadow with Sonic in the strongest possible way by bonding them by blood. But this conflicts with how Sonic Adventure 2 already connected Sonic's world to Shadow's past by making his nemesis, Dr. Ivo Robotnik, the grandson of the man who created his incredibly powerful ally.

Adding another tie between Sonic and Shadow feels like overkill, especially because the 'secret relative' trope is used in so many other movies. Sonic lore already gave Shadow and Sonic a far more unique connection - one that IDW will hopefully keep in favor of the movie retcon. While Sonic the Hedgehog: Chasing Shadows may well be a simple solo adventure, hopefully IDW uses the one-shot as an opportunity to look back at Shadow's lore and confirm that he's a product of the Robotnik family's dark science, not just an alien branch on Sonic's family tree.