Information/Headcanon Post

[shadow_dance]

While this Shadowman is canonly from the games, things from other mediums are mixed in.

So traits from things like the Archie comics, or the manga mixes, or even various cartoons might end up getting mixed up in here. Some of the things they put forward are honestly very cool, and it's more fun implementing those things than trying to fill in all the gaps on your own.

Shadow is not a traditional Wilybot; Wily didn't build him, he just found and fixed him...

Shadow was made by an unknown but certainly far before the present day civilization. While I do go with the "alien" explanation (much like Terra or the Stardroids, right up to the "found in ruins" part) there's no real proof besides how different he is from even what Light makes. Because of his deactivation and decay, Shadow himself has no memories of it. And it's uh... kind of a sore spot, so try not to bring it up.

...and Wily even mucked that up.

Shadow's scanning systems are actually very highly optimized and advanced -- he could probably have out-performed Pallette and Layer combined if he was running at full strength. Unfortunately, Wily's unfamiliarity with Shadow's systems (and Wily's less than subtle tendencies) means that the "good doctor" ended up doing harm while doing good. Shadow's systems, while still close to that strength, have become almost detrimental to be used, giving him the robot equivalent of a severe migraine for some time afterward he stops using his scanning, until it either fades on its own or he gets a recharge/repair.

On top of that, while it once could work for full sight and even touch, it only operates through Shadow's right eye now, and sometimes refuses to turn off when told. In the latter case, he often holds that eye closed to prevent it from scanning anything and making the "migraine" worse.

He has the ability to actually merge into shadows, use them for travel, or just hide inside of them.

Pretty self explanatory. If you're familiar with Kingdom Hearts, think of it as something like pseudo-corridors, just completely harmless to him and under his full command to use as he pleases, when he pleases.

The trick to this is that it must be thick shadow (not thin ones you can get in heavy sunlight under something like an umbrella) and that there must be enough of them for him to actually fit into them. He can, in fact, bring other people through those corridors, but he doesn't do it often if he can help it, as he has to keep constant contact with whoever he's bringing through them. Otherwise...

Well, let's just say Magnetman isn't fond of traveling with him anymore.

While the Shadow Blades are his main method of ranged combat, he has a slew of other weaponry he uses.

From a hidden katana to smoke bombs to kunai, the chances are that if a ninja used them either historically or in pop culture, Shadow probably has them somewhere. (As if the metal-eroding acid on his Blades wasn't enough) After all, why argue with having more ways to stabapproach a problem? He can also use kawarimi -- distracting opponents to attack something other than himself, or outright replacing himself with something else so an attack misses him.

He occasionally wears a lower face mask, though the reasons why are are unknown. Shadow simply says he has his own reasons for doing so.

He does do the typical ninjutsu hand signs... as misdirection.

Hand gestures like those, while subtle or small at times, tend to draw people's eyes to them, making it easier for him to do what he wants without being noticed. Even if they don't fully work, they're still another distraction, which helps him out immensely.

All of his "civilian" clothes are old-time yukatas or kimonos.

All men's, of course... but there are a few women's ones hidden very carefully. While he never wears those, they're good for a joke -- or a failed bet -- so he can't resist keeping ahold of them.

Shadow prefers these clothes to anything more modern, but if he needs to avoid standing out while mingling with the populace as a whole, he does have simple, uninteresting street clothes he can throw on.