Maria Robotnik is Shadow the Hedgehog's closest friend and the driving force behind his entire character arc. She's the granddaughter of Professor Gerald Robotnik and cousin to Dr. Eggman, appearing in flashbacks throughout Sonic Adventure 2, Shadow the Hedgehog, and the anime Sonic X.
Maria suffered from NIDS (Neuro-Immuno Deficiency Syndrome), a terminal illness with no cure at the time. Desperate to save her, her grandfather Gerald launched Project Shadow—the research that would eventually create Shadow himself. The two bonded deeply after Shadow's creation, but their time together was devastatingly brief. When G.U.N. stormed the ARK space station, Maria was fatally shot during the raid. In her final moments, she sealed Shadow into an escape pod and made him promise to bring hope to humanity and give people chances to find happiness.
That single promise became everything to Shadow. Her death traumatized him and left scars that haunted him for years, but it also shaped his entire purpose. Ultimately, his determination to honor Maria's wish is what pushes him toward redemption and friendship with Sonic, enabling him to save Earth multiple times over. Fans often note that Maria is the emotional core of Shadow's story—without her, there's no Shadow as we know him.
Content compiled by AnimeList.moe from publicly available sources.
