Sonic the Hedgehog 3 finally explored Shadow the Hedgehog’s story in the live-action Sonic the Hedgehog cinematic universe, but the character’s backstory was already subtly referenced in the Knuckles spinoff show. Before Sonic the Hedgehog 3 was released, Knuckles the Echidna got the spotlight in his own spinoff show on Paramount+, with it following Knuckles as he trains Wade Whipple to face his father in a bowling tournament. While the Knuckles series is mostly a self-contained comedy, the show did set up a major reveal from Sonic the Hedgehog 3 in a big way.

Shadow the Hedgehog was teased at the end of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, with him appearing in the film’s post-credits scene and being set up for Sonic the Hedgehog 3. However, another project set in the Sonic the Hedgehog cinematic universe was released between these films: Knuckles. Although Sonic and Tails do appear in Knuckles, the story of the spinoff has almost no impact on the mainline films, with Sonic the Hedgehog 3 barely acknowledging Knuckles. However, after seeing Sonic the Hedgehog 3, viewers who rewatch Knuckles will see that there was one major setup.

Sonic The Hedgehog 3 Confirms Shadow Crash Landed On Earth In 1974

50 Years Before The Events Of The Movie

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 slightly changes Shadow the Hedgehog’s origins, revealing that he is an alien who crash-landed on Earth. After being discovered, Shadow was taken in by the Guardian Units of Nations, with him being at the center of Project Shadow. Gerald Robotnik was brought in to experiment on the Ultimate Lifeform, with G.U.N. planning to use the hedgehog’s powers for some nefarious purposes. Eventually, however, an explosion led to the project being shut down, with Shadow being in stasis for 50 years until his escape 50 years later.

Surprisingly, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 gives a lot of details regarding the timeline of Shadow’s story. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 opens in 1974, revealing that this is the exact year that Shadow landed on Earth. While it was initially thought that he may have landed on Earth a little earlier than this due to a character in 2022’s Sonic the Hedgehog 2 mentioning that Project Shadow was shut down 50 years ago, this could have been an estimate. Shadow spent an indeterminate amount of time with Maria and Gerald before the project was shut down, with him then being imprisoned for decades.

Knuckles’ Finale Referenced Shadow’s Origin With 1974 Alien Event

An Alien Appeared At The Bowling Tournament

As it turns out, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 wasn’t the first project in the Sonic the Hedgehog cinematic universe to reference Shadow’s 1974 arrival date. The finale of the Knuckles spinoff series finally sees the show’s two main storylines collide, with Knuckles fighting the villains as Wade Whipple competes in a bowling compeтιтion in Reno. During Knuckles’ fight, the echidna is thrown through a wall, with him landing in the building in which the bowling compeтιтion is being held. However, this isn’t all that surprising to the attendees.

After Knuckles’ arrival, the two ESPN Ocho commentators discuss the matter, explaining that this isn’t the first time that this has happened. One of the commentators mentions that a 1974 bowling tournament was interrupted by an alien event, although very few details are given regarding who this alien was. However, since Shadow the Hedgehog is the only known alien who arrived on Earth in 1974, it isn’t a stretch to think that the bowling tournament alien and Shadow are one and the same.

Sonic The Hedgehog 3 Doesn’t Fully Align With Knuckles’ Shadow Reference

Shadow Never Appears At The Tournament

While the joke from the Knuckles finale is fun, it doesn’t fully align with Sonic the Hedgehog 3‘s portrayal of Shadow’s arrival. When Shadow is found, the space rock that he is contained within seems to have landed in the middle of a random field, with G.U.N. immediately surrounding him. There are no signs that Shadow interrupted the 1974 bowling tournament, as it seems that he went straight into imprisonment as part of Project Shadow.

It could be that Shadow’s immediate arrival wasn’t what interrupted the bowling tournament, with it being possible that the alien encounter occurred later that year. Maybe Shadow broke out at one point, with this not being shown on screen. It could also be that another Sonic the Hedgehog alien arrived in 1974. For example, it would make sense that Black Doom would come after Shadow the Hedgehog, with him possibly appearing at the bowling tournament. However, since it is just a gag, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 probably wasn’t too worried about maintaining this bit of continuity.