The Sonic the Hedgehog series has featured plenty of dark and emotional moments, and a recent holiday image references the heartbreaking backstory of Shadow the Hedgehog and Maria Robotnik. Ever since he was first introduced in 2001’s Sonic Adventure 2, Shadow has been presented as an edgy, brooding rival to the happy-go-lucky Blue Blur, matching him in speed while serving as Sonic’s polar opposite in terms of personality. Shadow’s grim outlook on life isn’t entirely unwarranted, though, as the self-proclaimed Ultimate Lifeform has one of the darkest origin stories in the usually lighthearted Sonic franchise.