The Potential of Shadow's Limiter Rings

[@chaomix]

How powerful do you think Shadow is after taking off all 4 limiter rings in his Super form? Also, huge thank you to Manscaped for making this video possible! Get 20% OFF + Free International Shipping @Manscaped with promo code CHAOMIX at manscaped.com/CHAOMIX!

[@KnucklesMasterEmerald]

Idk

[@DramaticBatu]

I'd say just a bit more powerful than super sonic 2. Hyper sonic could easily beat him

[@Roobieee]

Will you update your Shadow lore video once SonicXShadow comes out since the lore seems to be a little different now

[@JakeThehedgehog-m1x]

@@chaomix let's not find out because if he unleashed his true power and release his rings off he will kill himself in process aswell

[@OyinkansolaAgboola]

​@@JakeThehedgehog-m1xSo shadow removing his inhibitor rings is kinda like kioken, gaining great power but having a price. And when I think of shadow removing the rings in super form I think of Goku using kioken in super Saiyan. Yeah I agree with you he is probably going to die

[@Paraflaflat]

I refuse to call them “Limiter rings”. They are inhibitor rings in my heart

[@brandonwilliams6119]

Here’s a meme for everyone Which side are you on? Team Inhibitor Team Limiter

[@NIDER3]

alright

[@liljudah5776]

I'm on team inhibitor(Tysm for the likes this is the most I've got in my life)

[@rando6677]

@@liljudah5776agreed

[@CopingContinuous]

What’s the difference

[@Rextri0]

“If the world chooses to become my enemy, I will fight like I always have”

[@SupremeSR]

The best line in the Sonic Game Series of all time.

[@Rextri0]

@@SupremeSR “It’s no u-

[@agentomecha634]

I like to imagine that while on the ARK, Shadow wasn’t able to properly utilize his Chaos abilities properly and would often become drained due to not being able to control the output of his powers. Which would result in Professor Gerald creating the inhibitor/limiter rings to allow Shadow to not only better control his powers, but also allow him to not over exert them either. Shadow only ever removes his limiter rings when the situation calls for him to utilize his full power.

[@Starrmonster02]

Have you watched the project shadow fan film

[@ItsSherbb]

I feel like there could be no other way he got them

[@taibasarovadil]

could it be that Gerald gave them to Shadow as a crutch while he is mastering his abilities, but now Shadow is just always using them because its easier than actually mastering his abilities

[@pencilvoid]

Maybe Gerald intentionally designed Shadow to overexert himself as a failsafe? He resented the idea of the military using such a powerful weapon, so he only gave them one chance to use it at maximum capacity. He then added the limiter rings after the ARK was raided and he began to lose his mind, as it was too late to change Shadow's physiology to prevent overexertion.

[@Noname-gm5om]

I doubt it. Shadow has also grown in strength and speed like sonic over the years, he’s probably gained a lot more energy since he dropped inhibitor rings first. Like how he couldn’t handle super shadow the first time and later in his own game he controls it effortlessly without strain. Shadow probably grew in chaos energy over the years increasing how much he can let loose in his unlimited mode

[@ccelite3782]

That's still a REALLY powerful blast, though. We're talking multiple nukes worth of power if he takes the rings off and let's loose

[@estrelaplatinada6506]

Simple, it depends on who commands on the history.​@@Noname-gm5om

[@tatocezar1]

Its probably just a consequence of being an artificial life form, but it doesnt seem like he can die from overexertion, just pass out and maybe enter a recovering state which makes him lose memories(maybe the plummeting from space that made him lose memories).

[@thechargedfoxie456yt2]

This is now fisproven by shadow generations where its shown that maria designed the inhibitor rings to stop shadow from overexerting himself

[@luigiscartoons9223]

"your balls" - Chaomix

[@math3us420]

balls jumpscare

[@-MrPinapple-]

Balls jumpscare

[@ehx3419]

Although as much as I'm starting to get annoyed at Manscaped as a sponsor, Chaomix still got me to watch the whole segment with his tie-in references.

[@NoisePilled]

​@@ehx3419 Balls jumpscare

[@Sonicthehedgehog1994-genesis]

I'm outta here

[@lgill6710]

9:54 this isn't an inconsistency, it's actually just a brief flashback to the ending of SA2's events in the Archie timeline, as there were parallels between that fall and his fall in the present.

[@Gaia_BentosZX5]

Bit of an archie cope, still an inconsistency since you wouldn't notice it's a brief flashback due to it not being presented as such all that well (whoops!). Errors are pretty common in comic books, especially in mainstream bi-monthly issues where infighting is prone to occur.

[@slyp5409]

⁠@@Gaia_BentosZX5It’s shown quite clearly though? Just because it’s subtle doesn’t mean it’s inconsistent. It as very much intentional. This isn’t Even an Archie Cope, a lot of media have done similar things, people just tend to be dumb or ignorant to nuance. Not everyone likes everything spelled out to them like they’re 4.

[@HellsChef45]

@@Gaia_BentosZX5 It's clear you haven't read this issue, throughout the comic, there are multiple flashbacks to the events of SA2, not just this one panel.

[@chocolatesensei5648]

The flashback wasn’t the inconsistency. The inconsistency is shadow having his rings back on and still fading out of consciousness

[@supergamerboy1177]

Oh also dude enerjak was able to Defeat a fully power Chaos shadow Is because it will last for a few minutes Which you Failed to mention also enerjak Own power last forever And can literally go Toe to toe With supersonic Which is far beyond chaos shadow Also, I do want to Shadow removing his limiter rings More often because the shows The double side to his power Sure he got some massive power Boost But only lasts for a few minutes Like seriously dude Do some research on the Archie sonic Comics because enerjak Defeat shadow Actually makes sense If you actually see the context of it

[@syweb2]

7:29 Apparently, in the Japanese version, Shadow is seen visiting Molly's grave after this, so he didn't die.

[@battleworld2457]

Yes, and it was here in the french version too, which is the french interpretation of the show, rather than many others versions which are sometimes censored.

[@panafa3617]

I could only saw the Adventure 1 and 2 arcs in Sonic X, why do the french and japanese versions seem to be the best versions of Sonic X?

[@battleworld2457]

@@panafa3617 If I have the good informations, it seems that the other versions are censored, with many elements missed in comparison of the original (japanese version). And the french version doesn't have this censure, it's the equivalent of the japanese version but in french. I don't know if all others versions are censored but it's what I heard about this.

[@Lionwoman]

@@battleworld2457 Afaik the other I know to be censored are the USA and (Spain) Spanish versions.

[@nomad155]

It thought it meant that Shadow's soul was with Molly.

[@thetruej7872]

The last cutscene of Shadow's episode of Sonic 06 with him taking off his inhibitor rings was so awesome

[@Dankboi68]

If the world chooses to become my enemy, then I will fight like I always have

[@n.abookgirl2457]

​@@Dankboi68This, this line right here needs be spoken by, Keanu!💫💫💫💫

[@gameboy3800]

may i point out that shadow SURVIVED teleporting that blast away at the end of sonic x!!! yes look at the credits of the sub (idk about dub lol), and you'll see his shadow over molly's grave as her planets forests are returning. he went back to fulfill her dream of seeing her planet get restored.

[@sethisevilone02]

Oh shit

[@MorfsPrower]

Shadow is unobliterablebl... Unblebliteraba... Unbeliblerab... Ya can't kill him.

[@CodesTheOtaku]

@@MorfsPrower Ayyyyyyyyy! XD

[@minerpig04]

"Shadow's organs were designed to store chaos energy" so if someone stabbed him would he just explode?

[@nithinshakthithiruppathi4028]

We actually have no idea about his anatomy. The Bio-Lizard is stated to have organs, not Shadow.

[@lordx8844]

@@nithinshakthithiruppathi4028what if you went in the biolizard?

[@NinetailsNinetales5TimesFast]

​@@lordx8844This new Scrouge backstory is sus as hell

[@tuvtheultrasonicved2636]

No

[@FreddyMannLive]

Why did I laugh at this? ...

[@flameheart87]

11:40 I've literally had this headcanon for a long while now. Shadow is able to store chaos energy within himself, but it's like a battery. If he uses too much energy, it's gone and he needs to recharge it with a chaos emerald. But if he holds a chaos emerald, he can use as much as he wants. It's like using your phone while it's charging. Time to add more to it, yay. He always has chaos energy backed up. If he takes off his limiter rings, he uses the backup power. It's also more powerful, kinda explosive, like a last resort. If he runs out of chaos energy completely, he gets exhausted. This guy runs on chaos energy. (i need to work on this more, if you can't tell)

[@YamiCJMErl]

"they looked different in the original Sonic Adventure 2" yeah because they WERE NEVER MEANT TO BE ACTUAL RINGS. They were just wrist straps for his gloves; they got retconned into being actual Rings in the SA2 arc of Sonic X, and (iirc) one of the writers on Sonic X also wrote for Sonic 2006, which is where they made their first *proper* appearance in-game. They were always just gold-colored straps before that.

[@nithinshakthithiruppathi4028]

If this true, could you explain Heroes?

[@YamiCJMErl]

a lot of character designs got tweaked a bit in Heroes; it was more than likely just an aesthetic choice to simplify his model. (Heroes is the first game to give Sonic blue eyelids too, which was carried over into Sonic Adventure DX) Also Heroes was likely in development before the episode of Sonic X that first introduced the Limiter Rings was written, as that game released in Japan around the same time as the airdate of the conclusion of the SA2 saga in X.

[@LucidTUN3S]

The confusing part behind all of this is that the hand drawn renders of SA2 Shadow don't depict the gold bands as straps, tho. They're just drawn as typical rings like Amy's ring bands thats part of her glove. What's interesting tho is that the "Terios" concept art has some sort of "gold lock" that's independent of the glove that it wore. So it could be so that the "limiter" idea was always some sort of hold over? Who knows tho.

[@TheSultan1470]

There you go.

[@BrandonScott-mi5pz]

EXCELLENT WORK. CHAOMIX POTENTIAL OF SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG POWER LIMITER RINGS

[@hedgehogsonic11]

As for the Sonic Universe #2 issue, the issue was flashing back between the events of SA2 and the present day. It wasn't an inconsistency in drawing- it was literally an entirely different moment in time with Super Shadow

[@LightningSpark]

2:24 that's the craziest way to transition to sponsors.

[@SomebodyJustExisting]

fr

[@SuperGamefreak18]

I've always seen him removing his inhibitor rings as the situation that requires super sonic levels of power but he's unable to access the form or doesnt have the time to reach the form. Something that would RARELY happen but still something that can happen.

[@Starrmonster02]

Yeah exactly I feel like the only time shadow takes off his inhibitor rings is when the scenario is getting serious that’ll be the time when he takes them off

[@SuperGamefreak18]

@@Starrmonster02 Now I think about it as well it would be a good way of finishing a fight quickly, like he's on the clock and he needs to basically instantly or fully defeat someone so he can move to his real goal and they are just strong enough that they wont go done easily in a normal fight, take off the rings down them, put them back on and get back on track.

[@Starrmonster02]

@@SuperGamefreak18 yeah exactly

[@Noname-gm5om]

Could just be it’s power exactly like super sonic except the chaos emeralds have infinite energy and shadow doesn’t. So he goes semi super shadow but can’t maintain it which is why he runs out so quickly. This probably becomes less as a problem as he grows stronger and stores more chaos energy

[@ChargedTheHedgehog]

That was the MOST CRAZY ASS TRANSITION TO A SPONSOR

[@1DAR26]

14:11 in the Sonic Battle lore, that's not why Emerl went berserk. He went berserk due to a program embedded in him triggering that Sonic and friends didn’t know of. That program was if Emerl is shown power that exceeds his own then he'll break his former link with his previous master and bond a new link with the new master. Eggman destroyed nearby stars to which Emerl happened to be looking at. This is what made him go berserk. Emerl can perfectly control the power of the Chaos Emeralds.

[@MorfsPrower]

Yup. "Show me your power, or I shall not obey..." Emerl just needs to witness the strongest display of power in front of him to link to it. Eggman's display established a link not to him, but to his Death Egg instead. This is a funny situation though, as Emerl linked with Gerald half a century prior to a similar situation where technology was also showcased to him as a proxy power. I guess the core difference was the power that Gerald displayed was in his knowledge and ingenuity. That and Gerald used lifeless tech like guns to link him. Eggman has a knack for accidentally giving certain levels of sentience to his machines, making them capable candidates for linking. This has to have allowed Emerl to link with the fortress itself, implying that it has some semblance of thought as a mechanical being.

[@gameingtothemax6266]

also they completely ignore mecha sonic straight up having a super form

[@FlashOfSonic]

@@gameingtothemax6266 Mecha Sonic can only maintain his super form in short bursts though. That's how you can beat him in S3&K - hitting him when he loses his super form and has to go back to the Master Emerald to power up again.

[@dominicbrock4350]

I have an idea as to why the appearance of the limiter rings change appearance after SA2: During Shadows creation, the limiter rings he had were artificial and meant to LITERALLY limit his chaos energy output. However, after the events of SA2, those rings were destroyed in his fall to Earth due to their artificiality. Eggman, knowing this information and how these items work, searched through Project Shadow files to recreate them, to no avail and thus prompted him to find other solutions. This is where he finds out that rings not only store small fragments, but rather A) act like sponges to chaos energy, or B) act as a ventilation system for chaos energy, and decides to use these as replacements, of course with a few modifications. Of course, this is just what I'm thinking, so take it with a grain of salt or maybe a few

[@commentdouchery2838]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who's had this thought about the gold rings. I figured rings were nature's way of neutralizing overwhelming chaos energy. While it likely wasn't intended by Sonic Team, gold is one of the best energy conductors and rings being a symbol of perfection. They spin because they're converting chaos energy into harmless kinetic energy as a kind of dampener. Which is also why the emeralds are normally hidden away in giant rings that harbour chaotic pocket dimensions. They're just the balancing force to the emeralds. It's why you need rings to transform and maintain it. Shadow being able to produce his own chaos energy only adds to the idea of needing rings to stabilize him.

[@MorfsPrower]

Holy hell I love this theory, it makes a lot of sense.

[@KOTEBANAROT]

New headcanon acquired. W comment

[@kinghyperheart1571]

A design choice based on real world science and fits in with visuals and lore of the games perfectly? Brilliant!

[@LucidTUN3S]

Little tangent, but this helped me realize how Shadow's Air Shoes actually utilizes his innate Chaos energy for his speed as opposed to some thinking the shoes just doing all of the work. Case in point: The limiter Rings. Why would there be a need for limiter Rings if "his Air Shoes is what gives him speed?" like some folks say and how Eggman in the Shadow lore 101 vid kinda implies how the shoes work? I always knew the Chaos Drives was what gives Shadow functionality and thus his speed since that's been officially stated through the SA2 Perfect Guide book, and the Purple / Green Chaos Drives quite literally gives a user flight and speed, and chaos energy works in tandem with machinery all the time, making Shadow himself and his more overtly mechanical parts no different in the Sonic verse. They just never outright said "This is how Shadow's shoes works." but instead tell you in pieces. But the Limiter Rings being on his ankles pretty much just proves that the shoes do work through Shadow's energy output.... The only thing holding back this idea is the fact that 06 never took the "shoe limiters" off so it _technically_ can still be argued despite looking identical to the wrist limiters =P I just never really liked the idea of the "shoes" giving the user everything. That's like arguing Sonic shoes gives him his speed like how the old 90's US manuals used to try to push.

[@Noname-gm5om]

I’ve always known shadows shoes ran on his own internal power. It’s not like he’s putting Jet fuel in his shoes he’s fueling them with his life energy

[@agilortiz21]

The shoes thing did happen in Sonic labyrinth where in the manual, Eggman’s replaced his shoes with fake one, making him slow. For some reason it also explains why Tails wasn’t there, he was on vacation so Labyrinth and Sky Patrol or adventure take place at the same time.

[@chillihog1543]

Always find it interesting that Gerald build chaos energy for Shadow and have him wear inhibitor rings to limit his powers (Shadow basically took a page from Frezia where Frezia only used his first to third form to limit his true birth power). Kinda of a reach, but Gerald practically made Shadow almost a half super hedgehog breed since Shadow is able to have access to chaos abilities but in a short amount of time (Which kinda makes sense since Gerald based off Shadow’s design off of the Hidden Palace prophecy of Super Sonic fighting Eggman). Plus while I doubt this was intentional, still I like how Sonic n Silver’s base spikes are down while Shadow is the only hedgehog with his base spikes up. Then once Super Sonic n Silver transforms, u see their spikes go up while Super Shadow spikes stay the same. Reason why I say this is because Shadow already got chaos energy inside of him so I imagine that he’s basically a semi super hedgehog and that’s why he might be the only hedgehog with most of his spikes up like Adventure Super Sonic. While Ik Sonic Team just explained the inspiration n concept of Shadow’s design, still I like to imagine a funny bit where Sonic Team just took how Super Sonic looked in Adventure and redesign it for Shadow (Which would be extra funny cuz Paramount kinda did the same thing for Movie 2 ending where they just grab Movie Super Sonic and recolor it to Shadow to save time). Again all of what I said is a reach n probably wasn’t intentional, but still I just want to point out the detail of what makes Shadow more different compared to the other hedgehogs.

[@luizmiguel5484]

in short, the Inhibitor Rings or Limiter Rings (since it seems that they have now added an alternative name) restrict Shadow's total power, if I were to make a guess I would say that each of the four restricts 25% of his power, but an important detail is that they only restrict the potency and output of the powers since apparently as chaos energy is very intense and absurdly powerful, unbridled use puts the user's body under stress if he is not careful, so it is common to see Shadow exhausted if he use for prolonged periods

[@ZenithintheMaking]

Eggman just wanted to be different.😒 It's always gonna be Inhibitor Rings

[@dangerouslydubiousdoubleda9821]

Not to be too much of a math nerd but if Shadow is at 100% power when all 4 are on, then by your logic, when he has the inhibitors on, he's at 0% power. and I doubt he's using 0 power.

[@luizmiguel5484]

@dangerouslydubiousdoubleda9821 I said that the percentage refers to the power output, it's like a filter that helps control the power of his powers, here's an example: let's suppose that Shadow is going to throw a Chaos Spear at a rock to make a hole, with all the inhibitor rings he can control the energy and force deposited to cause controlled damage, with each ring that is removed he spends more energy without control in addition to not properly filtering the power of the attack, so if he fires a Chaos Spear without the rings the projectile will cause much greater damage than desired (evaporating the rock and creating a crater for example) in addition to exhausting Shadow due to the lack of optimization that causes excessive stress on his body.

[@MrAppleSalad]

The thing with Super is that it's not a multiplication of your base power like Super Saiyan in Dragonball, it's an addition. You're gaining additional power from the Emeralds, so I don't really think that concept works too well with the latent power that Shadow has due to the limiters. It wouldn't multiply that latent power, removing them would just add that power onto the Super form as well as probably tire him out quickly and cause him to burn through his rings at a rapid pace. It'd barely be a noticeable boost due to how much stronger the Super Form already is compared to Shadow's base power. I should also mention that in that Shadow vs Knuckles fight you showed the english version cut a scene from it, that's why it flows weirdly. In the original, Knuckles actually is the one that pulls the limiters off Shadow's arms during that attack, in hopes that it'd cause him to burn out and collapse.

[@AFeralTrout420]

One cool idea i also had about Shadows rings is that they were also designed to keep him protected from Black Doom's mind control. And also act as lifesavers if he were to go all out with his chaos energy. Meaning even just putting one ring on him can pull him out of a near death state.

[@starsilverinfinity]

I imagine they changed the name to Limiter Rings cause Inhibitor Rings sound more like a tool you'd use to weaken someone, not hold back their power. Like magic absorbing restraints in some fantasy settings. Limiter makes it clear that Shadow is holding back, not doing some weird training or bound by some unknown restraining tool

[@TheSultan1470]

...except they were always limiter rings in Japanese

[@evdestroy5304]

The slap bracelets are a Battle thing and weren't in the original. Shadow taking off an inhibitor ring in SA2 being the reason he "dies" is technically canon, but it's also a retcon that wasn't created until later. The Archie panel isn't an inconsistency, that's how it looks in-game. Flynn wanted to use them during the Metal Virus saga to have him wear himself out and turn into a zombot that way instead of what we got in the comic.

[@ZenithintheMaking]

Yeah I think Sonic X is to thank for that.

[@jamiegioca9448]

Now that I think about it, both Ian and Sega could have their cake and eat it too, had Sega allowed Shadow to remove the inhibitors

[@elmemearana]

@@jamiegioca9448 tbh, I guess Shadow could easily outsource all the metal virus within the people's organism utilizing his inhibitor rings and Chaos energy. Although, it probably didn't happen because it would lose all the climax of the story and SEGA wanting to write Shadow as a completely self-centered asshole in IDW Comics so he couldn't think right.

[@msporte0999]

@@elmemearana I really dislike how they wrote Shadow in IDW. He's already gone through all the games, he's made friends(ish) with Sonic and crew, he's already realized he isn't the "True" Ultimate Lifeform, but he's back to being an arrogant ass because why not? It feels like they rolled back his character a little just to kill him off.

[@elmemearana]

@@msporte0999 true. I hope in the latest issues he actually has improved his character more (but I don't know how to say it, since I'm kinda off-hand of the new editions, lately).

[@Sonic_gamer91]

I always knew them as inhibitor rings and ways very confused when they called them limiter rings in “shadow 101”

[@modest9584]

Probably cus lil Timmy who just got shadow generations for his birthday won’t know what inhibit means

[@jamiegioca9448]

@@modest9584 Sonic fans explaining why “inhibit” is preferable to “limit” even though they have the same meaning

[@modest9584]

@@jamiegioca9448 I’m just explaining why they probably changed it. I didn’t say I preferred either 😐

[@jamiegioca9448]

@@modest9584 I’m sorry, I mistook it for a rant because of the “lil Timmy” thing

[@BlackFlash09]

Movie Sonic (and now Sonic in Sonic Frontiers) can access Chaos energy within his body, turning his eyes and quills blue. I think this is similar to Shadow taking off his Inhibitor Rings, but Sonic doesn't get burned out.

[@adamtaurusragnathebloodedg8407]

@BlackFlash09 I guess that's why in SA2 Final Hazard Boss fight Shadow says that Sonic is the true Ultimate lifeform

[@msporte0999]

@@adamtaurusragnathebloodedg8407 That's actually an amazing connection, I don't know how I didn't think of that. Sonic having such a mastery of Chaos, especially in Super form, made Shadow realize he wasn't truly the pinaccle.

[@adamtaurusragnathebloodedg8407]

@msporte0999 it reminds me of Broly being called a legendary Super saiyan tho I believe that Goku would fit that depiction better due to him going though most of the forms and mastering them

[@YplanAnimator]

​@@adamtaurusragnathebloodedg8407it wasn't because of that, it was actually because shadow was really tired at the moment, as was stated in the comic con panel during the fan Q&A section. after sa2, when shadow was retrieved, he changed his mind

[@adamtaurusragnathebloodedg8407]

@@YplanAnimator 😮

[@2oo_Gnarly]

Not to mention, even though it may not be Canon sonic in X also uses rings to power himself up granting him the ability to use a stronger spin attack.

[@mattm7220]

The one small hole I could poke in this would be that example of Shadow using Chaos Control in the Shadow the Hedgehog game "without an emerald". In Westopolis at the start of the game, the Chaos Blast and Chaos Control abilities are unusable until Shadow collects the first Chaos Emerald from a sealed cage/box near the start of the level, so that would imply that even Shadow himself *does* require at least 1 Chaos Emerald to use Chaos Control 🤔

[@soundwavetheminiconcarrier]

He uses it without a chaos emerald in the last way,

[@mattm7220]

@@soundwavetheminiconcarrier I completely forgot about that! Perhaps it could be theorised that Shadow's body can passively absorb Chaos energy by being around the emeralds, and it accumulates to the point where he can use it without them 🤔

[@TheAllSeeingEye2468]

He isn't called the ultimate life form for nothing

[@tommythesparta4912]

I can see Shadow taking off the limiter rings being a thing for the final boss in Shadow Generations

[@Rishi123456789]

What I would love to see in Sonic 3 is Super Shadow taking off all of his limiter rings to defeat the Final Hazard or Devil Doom or whoever the final enemy is but the sheer power flowing through his body at that time is too much for him to survive and he knows this, so Shadow fulfills his promise to Maria to save Earth by defeating the final enemy at the cost of his own life.

[@androwaydie4081]

6:40 in the French dub it is explicitlely stated that Knuckles took them off from him while handling the dash

[@JakeThehedgehog-m1x]

Imma keep it simple shadow's chaos energy is extremely powerful and unpredictable like even he can't handle it so the inhibitor rings are basically keep his power in check and limited so shadow don't die because of his own power.

[@Starrmonster02]

EXACTLY

[@joeykornegay4587]

I am so glad someone else understands this. From the bottom of my heart thank you for this. We all know plot is the only reason sonic is able to to keep up if not defeat shadow. This man was matching with Sonic WHILE wearing his inhibitor rings.

[@ehx3419]

Fan animations actually have him take a new form when removing all the rings. Chaos Shadow is plain red and pretty much on par with Dark Sonic (a form that's usually upscaled to be between Super and Hyper in terms of power), and while he does have rather limited energy, Shadow has shown significantly higher stamina all around, which also translates to his Chaos form being usable much longer than it would in source material. Did I mention this form can stack with Super and Hyper? Although it does seem like the exhaustion starts hurting him then, similar to Kaio-Ken-like techniques.

[@jamiegioca9448]

If we ever see Uninhibited Super Shadow in his true force, literally everyone is fricked

[@Norinia]

Including Shadow himself.

[@jamiegioca9448]

@@Norinia Facts on that

[@thefollower2933]

I personally think that the reason his inhibitor rings look different in SA2 is because they're "artificial" rings, not actual rings, considering Shadow himself was already an artificial creation, i don't see why the inhibitors wouldn't be too.

[@Raytrausarts]

2 million balls - chaomix 2024

[@vixsonas781]

Fun fact:Amy's rings are weights Source:Sonic battle

[@JizardKelly]

9:48 , DONT SPEAK TOO SOON! LMAO

[@mesomaxi]

have to say that the thumbnail art is so good!!

[@mathuasher9184]

My post-work supper video is an important part of my humble day. Usually, the video has to feel right. And this day, it is this video. And I am grateful for that.

[@SonicTheHedgehogX15]

2:27 what a way to show the sponsor

[@MobileBoySonicFan]

Plot twist he still has rings on his ankles

[@jennyholiday88]

i like to think shadow has tails' artificial chaos emerald when he doesn't have a real one, allowing him to use chaos control without them

[@paintitpurple0]

Chaos drives must have a bit of chaos energy in them, their artificially made though I assume

[@nulls5408]

Shadow is usually portrayed as the “vegeta” to sonic’s “goku,” especially in the older comics. But we later learned that vegeta after training on yardrat that he never learned to focus his power, and just let it explode out of him. Technically meaning that vegeta has always been stronger than goku, with his lack of training being why he fell short. If they ever really wanted to do, the sonic team could have shadow train himself to passively control his energy so he wouldn’t need the ring’s anymore while allowing him to use his power more effectively. Think kaio ken and how it was originally thought to be dangerous to go past x3, only for goku to much later stack x20 with his transformations.

[@ColdFuse96]

11:57 This theory could even be applied to the movie continuity. Chaos Control is very frequently shown to be used for teleportation, like with Chaos Snap or the warp they did with the Space Colony Ark, and in the movies that's literally what the rings are for, to open up portals for people to teleport somewhere else. I highly doubt the writers took this into account, but it could definitely still hold true that the rings are basically single use chaos energy batteries used for this one teleportation move.

[@Vince-A-N-O]

Uninhibited Mode + Chaos Boost Lvl 3 and Super Form?! I still don't understand why Sega/Sonic Team hasn't made a scene with this idea.

[@MobileBoySonicFan]

Bro he would be WAY too op😂

[@Christopherh1234]

Shadow Is The Most OP Broken Character In General Especially In Sonic Battle ( GBA ) He Was Very Broken Character In The Game But He Was Very Good In Every Sonic Game He was In Since SA2 Introduced Me To This Character And Mostly My 3rd Sonic Game In General In The 2000s Since I've Always Been A 2000s Kid .

[@byotch72]

I’m starting to think Shadow’s power was inspired by Broly similar to how Silver is just future Trunks

[@darkenai0045]

My head cannon on why the rings look different after sa2 is he took them off in the fight with bio lizard (hence why sonic has one to show when he returns to the ark), and when eggman found shadow he made new ones in order to keep shadow under control while he made his androids

[@alexanderwsm6296]

Actually, in Sonic X after the fight with Knuckles, it is implied that it was Knuckles, who managed to snatch Shadow's rings so Shadow would overexert himself during the fight. That somewhat worked but Shadow managed to kick Knuckles' ass before that.

[@existential_narwal9257]

9:52 I don't think thats a mistake, i think it was on purpose because thats how shadow looked while falling to earth in SA2. Super shadows model still shows him wearing his rings while falling. While sonic X probably shows what was suppose to happen, SA2 doesn't show this explicitly, so it could easily be interpreted that shadow didn't take them off. So archie is technically correct and incorrect at the same time.

[@slyp5409]

It’s clearly a flashback if you look at the background of the super version, and look at the other flashback moments. Chaotic either didn’t do his research and simply grabbed a few panels without reading, or didn’t bother to pay attention when reading.

[@fatalwaffle1715]

Awesome Video Bro!

[@mikeclark7026]

I NEED this to matter for Shadow Generations

[@Norinia]

To be fair about Shadow verse Enerjak, Enerjak was an insane being of chaos worshiped as a god. It’s not surprising Shadow’s first assault on him failed by underestimating him. (Also, “Okay, *Ultimate Light Show”* will never not be an hilarious taunt on him.)

[@Hypersonic-hg8kd]

No doubt the rings looked more like a slap bracelet back in SA2 but I don’t think it was intentional cause even in the artwork it shows he was meant to have rings

[@Starrmonster02]

I literally know everything about shadow the reason why shadow wears inhibitor rings is because shadows chaos energy is powerful and unpredictable so his inhibitor rings keeps his powers limited and checked so he won’t die from his own powers because he can’t handle it

[@Caydeeboi]

I fucking LOVE Shadow Hegehog

[@brandonwilliams6119]

I love that _DAMN_ Shadow the Hedgehog!

[@TheSultan1470]

The only good comment.

[@Nomorepolar]

And that's just a theory, A Sonic Theory! Thanks for watching!

[@lozm4835]

Personally, the vibes I'd like for Shadow minus his Limiters is "As powerful as Super Sonic... for a fraction of a second as there's NONE of the control." So, whilst Super Sonic is incredibly powerful, Sonic doesn't have much problem controlling that power, because part of that power is that it self-regulates. Sonic doesn't accidentally cause huge windstorms as he zips about at mach 20 or whatever, because Chaos Energy takes care of that. Even the 50 rings limit is a characteristic of the form self-regulating so it doesn't burn out right away. Shadow's full power doesn't have that, so he's had to train extensively just to not accidentally kill people with it. Hence why so few situations warrant the use of their removal: the use case for that much power that could cause that much collateral is pretty limited. Super Shadow minus the rings wouldn't be that much, if at all more powerful, but might give an increase in time left, or permit Shadow to have more manual control. Hell, maybe having them on just makes his super form worse.

[@terrencehill502]

I can't wait for his videos for Sonic x Shadow Generations and the 3 Episode Animated Prologue.

[@bathilra5364]

one thing you talk about with rings being related to chaos emerald energy seems obvious but apperintly rings only exist for the purpose of gameplay

[@SlickerSonic]

You bring a smile to my face every time you upload :)

[@craigbarker4675]

One thing you could point out with both mephiles and the shadow androids is that both their inhibitor rings are dull/darker than shadow's possibly indicating to the lack of power within them. Or it's just that the shadow androids are low poly and that mephiles is just to fit with his colour scheme.

[@GojiBoiEarth1964]

“You see Black Doom…you aren’t dealing with the average Hedgehog” - Shadow probably

[@Buhhhdy]

13:09-13:18 kind of reminds me of phazon energy from Metroid, where if they took in too much and survived they'd end becoming very violent life-forms.

[@jeshirekitenkatt1212]

holding minute amounts of chaos energy also explains why rings might sometimes be used as currency, especially among something like chao.

[@Norinia]

Of course, wouldn’t portable chaos batteries be very valuable?

[@jessiebell6884]

Archie didn't really overuse them. Preboot, he only used them twice. The third time with Black Death, the whole series had been reset. Both preboot times, he's using them only in extenuating circumstances. Him using them against Enerjak wasn't for the sake of a cheap powerup, because in that arc, everything is leading up to showing just how big of a threat Enerjak was. He can rip things apart molecule by molecule with a thought, and reverted an army of cyborgs back to flesh and blood without even harming a single one. That's why Shadow took off his inhibitor rings and still got his ass kicked. The second time, they specify that they absolutely have to stop the laser cannon because, "it will vaporize your force field, your camp, and half of the Eggdome itself." Side note, the Eggdome is a land-locked Death Egg. Frankly, I think they're underused. They function more like decoration these days.

[@ChrisdanKathyBarouzi]

Great video 😊

[@Je-S1001]

Honestly I always thought that only the ones on his wrist were The Inhibitor Rings, and that the ones on his legs were just part of his shoes since he never takes those ones off and the Eggman video only ever shows two.

[@xxlarrytfvwxx9531]

6:49 Little bit of an inacurracy, the big ship is called the blue typhoon, the small silver ship is called the X Tornado

[@sandsstandsmans6624]

They've consistently done shadow dirty

[@PolarityOfNeoSoulCity]

Huh, I feel like looking at the original design and then the current one, I kind of now think I have a hint of a headcanon brewing... Maybe Eggman actually recreated his own versions of the Limiter Rings and that's why Shadow's Limiters have changed in design (obviously the designs past SA2 got tweaked, but I like to headcanon an in-universe explanation. It does make me wonder if Eggman ever considered the route of Sonic Labyrinth and replacing the Limiters with ones designed to essentially nerf Shadow

[@reggielacey2235]

Also IN IDW shadow stated he needed a chaos emerald to use chaos control

[@Flight_of_Icarus]

Chaos Control itself has always interested me. As it was very first introduced, it was an ability unique to Shadow, though even throughout SA2, Sonic was using it himself. Sonic and Shadow both use it together to shift the ARK out of the collision course as well. My assumption was that anyone could use Chaos Control, if they had a Chaos Emerald, except for Shadow, who didn't need an Emerald because that was his special ability. Shadow's specialty was that he always had a refined use and control over Chaos energy that other characters simply don't have. Sonic was managing to do it, but he always had a Chaos Emerald with him, as he even managed to do it with a fake emerald, but it shattered in the process. Later on in 06, we'd see Silver use it too. I think even Eggman has used it with machinery at some point. Shadow never needed an Emerald, but using one could make his abilities much easier and much more powerful. Makes me wonder if Sonic couldn't manage to pull off a Chaos Blast in his Super Form if he really wanted to.

[@AzureXEyes64]

Love the intro animation.

[@universejumper5371]

During the fight with Final Hazard if you make it last to the 8 minute mark and are currently in control of Sonic Shadow will outright say Sonic is the actual ultimate lifeform

[@universejumper5371]

Also the reason shadow needs inhibitors is because He is an artificial and unstable version of the kind of being Sonic is.

[@universejumper5371]

And the reason Sonic is stable is because he's 1. A natural chaos energy user And 2. He is a character who has a heart capable of handling the full strength of chaos Thus Sonic doesn't need to have limiters on to prevent fatigue while shadow does it's because since shadow is artificial his heart and thus chaos power is unstable

[@HappyGreyCat-ho7sc]

I always think of his limiter's rings as thesame as kaioken. A short burst of power, advancing all abilities but needed to finish the opponent quickly before exhaustion or getting the price of strain on the body. You can also push it, but not too much.Needing precise timing and accuracy to finish the opponent when pushing it too far before exhaustion or pain...

[@aldenaoc8847]

I've always headcannoned rings are magical items that bind mystical powers to the holder. They bind Shadow's power inside him, they bind chaos energy to super forms, keeping it tied to the user during a super form, and they even bind character's lives to them, seeing as how no matter what it's very hard to die in sonic games if you have rings. In shadow 05 it's said they even are needed to help build eggman's park, almost as if they help the structure stay together. They are a separate power to chaos energy. TLDR; Rings aren't infused with chaos energy, they're magic duct tape.

[@800vampires]

love how the limiter rings are in the movie during the sa2 esque final act

[@jackchallis4229]

Love this video 🥇Shadow is written like Vegeta but his inhibitor rings align him with the power restraints of Broly - if he was ever written in a way that his powers could be unleashed without him exploding like Gerald said in Shadow generation he couldn’t be stopped by anyone. Those inhibitor rings are there to keep the Shadow fans happy when it comes to a Sonic vs Shadow debate and to protect the main character from being over powered

[@InternetFanatic]

My issue with the -limiter- inhibitor rings being in the games is that it just comes out of nowhere, if they wanted to use this idea which was introduced in the X anime which isn’t the game universe, they should’ve directly established it earlier in 06 or another game Just wanted to get that out there

[@thechargedfoxie456yt2]

My personal headcanon, the reason the shadows inhibitor rings are different in adventure 2 than every other game is he removes all his inhibitor rings at the end of sa2 Then when eggman saves him, using the research from gerald that he took from the arc, he created new inhibitor rings for shadiw, basing them on the classic golden rings we see in sonic

[@idkman-b8e]

Sonic has been collecting the limiter rings since 1991

[@Sonicthehedgehog1994-genesis]

Uhh.. wha?

[@Fanatic_Foremem]

you misread that first Sonic universe appearance, the super shadow stuff was in a flashback, Sonic catching him was in present day. The story was simultaneously about a sonic and shadow team up prior to issue 200 and a proper adaptation of SA2, cutting back and forth between the two stories.

[@Norinia]

That, and when he pointed out how Shadow was drawn with the rings in the past scene, I figured that was because that’s how he usually sees himself, until he’s snapped back to reality by Sonic catching him, in which scene, the inhibitor rings are shown missing again. They’re as much a part of him as the chaos energy is, as far as he is concerned.

[@zeehero7280]

Depends which version of the sonic universe you're talking about. He's certainly more powerful than Team Sonic combined multiplied a few times. Not counting super forms even. But some versions of the Sonic Universe get crazy.

[@HYPERSPEED609]

Nice Video !!

[@gmaster2647]

I actually kinda wonder if Shadow Generations is gonna tease a bit more of his Limiter/Inhibitor Ring potential.

[@warriorsunite]

On the topic of the inhibitor rings,I've heard an interesting theory that maybe Amy has inhibitor rings too,the theory states that maybe as she got older she got stronger. This explains why Classic Amy doesn't wear inhibitor rings while Modern Amy's always shown with gold bracelets,they're not just accessories for her. I have a cool idea,imagine how stronger Sonic could get if he decided to have inhibitor rings just like Shadow,he would be suppressing more of his powers

[@glowisbored]

Shadow has them because he probably doesn’t want to use his full energy.

[@thechargedfoxie456yt2]

Its now been revealed in shadow generations that gerald didnt design shadows inhibitor rings, maria did I havent seen the actual journal page but i believe, like you said, gerald had kept shadow in a machine to prevent him from overexerting chaos energy, but by the time he was finished and they needed to take him out of it maria created the inhibitor rings for shadow

[@flynnroberts7787]

Although I'd prefer the Rings to be called Inhibitors, the idea of Limitations by certain accessories is very well executed for Shadow.

[@BlazingHanauta]

6:52 It could come from the french dub but in it, it's said that Knuckles suceed to rip Shadow's limiter from his arms to weakening him.

[@ucky9226]

the absence of limiter making shadow tired seems a good explanation since sonic was exhausted after using chaos control in SA2. In 06 it seems stupidely fine tho 💀

[@Evangelionism]

Aren't they called Inhibitor Rings? Haven't heard Limitor Rings as a term before this video. Or was that in error?