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Two wheels are better than four, as Shadow moves up to first!


Announcer, Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing

The Dark Rider,[1] also known as the Bike,[2] is a vehicle that appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It is Shadow the Hedgehog's personal motorcycle.

Description[]

Originally, the Dark Rider had the GUN logo emblazed on it. This has since been replaced with the symbol of the Black Arms that Shadow reclaimed.

Game appearances[]

Shadow the Hedgehog[]

Shadow-the-hedgehog--with-motorcycle-min (1)

Shadow on the Dark Rider, from Shadow the Hedgehog.

The Dark Rider first appears in Shadow the Hedgehog as an unnamed vehicle. It is shown in the game's intro, where Shadow uses it to smash into a Black Arms soldier, blowing it up in the process. It can be found and ridden in Lethal Highway.

Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)[]

A594 SonictheHedgehog PS3 69

Shadow riding the Dark Rider, from Sonic the Hedgehog (2006).

In Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), the Dark Rider reappears. Here, it can be used in Radical Train and Aquatic Base. It also appears in Shadow's seventh Town Mission, "Motorcycle License Test". It has been completely redesigned, is now armed with machine guns, and its speed can be increased using an ability called the Boost Dash. Unlike in Shadow the Hedgehog, the Dark Rider is needed on certain missions to advance as it allows Shadow to travel faster.

In gameplay, the Dark Rider is harder to steer. While it is faster than the Buggy and can jump higher from Ramps, the Dark Rider has weaker armor. Additionally, should the rounds for its machine guns empty, it will reload in seconds. If the Dark Rider rams at into a wall at full speed, it will overturn and cannot be flipped back unless the player gets jumps off of it and back on again. When its Health Gauge is critical its engine starts to smoke, and when it empties, the vehicle will explode (without harming the player).

To board or dismount the Dark Rider, the player can press XboxY/PSTriangleButton. Pressing XboxX/Square makes it reverse/brake, pressing XboxA/Cross twice triggers a Boost Dash, and Xbox-Button-RT/R2 fires its machine gun.

Other game appearances[]

Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing[]

In Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing, the Dark Rider appears as Shadow's vehicle. Its appearance is identical to that in Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), but it lacks its machine guns. Instead of the GUN insignia, it has the Black Arms insignia on its fuel tank. It has the following statistics:

Speed Acceleration Handling Turbo-Boost
5/10 9/10 9/10 6/10

Other game appearances[]

Shadow the Hedgehog Flash[]

In Shadow the Hedgehog Flash, the Dark Rider appears as an unnamed vehicle. It is ridden by Shadow in the entirety of Westopolis Act 2.

In other media[]

Books and comics[]

Archie Comics[]

In the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-offs published by Archie Comics, the Dark Rider debuted in Sonic Universe #23. In its debut, Amy asked why Shadow had the bike, since he could run as fast as Sonic, and he explained that all G.U.N. agents must be issued with a vehicle. Rouge pointed out that he did not need it, but customized and maintains it himself, to which he admitted that he "really like[s] that bike." Shadow sometimes works on the bike when he is stressed out.

Merchandise[]

DarkRiderJazwares

Dark Rider toy, by Jazwares.

Currently, all merchandise of the Dark Rider uses its design from Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing. The Dark Rider was first made into a toy for the Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing 3" scale action figure series by Jazwares, coming with a Shadow figure with hands especially molded so that they could wrap around the handlebars of the bike, thus keeping him on it. A miniature version was also made by Jazwares. The Dark Rider was made into a radio-controlled toy with a working headlight by NKOK. A miniature pullback toy of the Dark Rider was made by Gacha/Tomy. In 2024, a Lego minifigure-scale version of the Dark Rider will be included with set 76995, which also debuts the Lego Shadow minifigure.

Trivia[]

  • The Dark Rider bears resemblance to the 2003 Harley Davidson XL1200 Custom Anniversary Edition.

References[]

  1. Sumo Digital (23 February 2010). Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing. PlayStation 3. Sega. Area/Level: Racer Select. "Shadow the Hedgehog's profile".
  2. Sonic the Hedgehog (Xbox 360) United States instruction booklet, pg. 15.



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