We are officially in December, which means the promo campaign for Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is ramping up. Trailers are playing before every age-appropriate film in theaters, Times Square has billboards with Sonic and Shadow’s faces on them, and merchandise fills every toy store. That includes a new promotion with Build-A-Bear that lets you make cuddly, suited-up versions of Sonic, Shadow, and Tails. I can’t lie, I’m somewhat drawn to the idea of making Shadow and dressing him up in cool clothes. I’m not sure if the fashion for these little guys has gotten better since I last entered a Build-A-Bear maybe seven years ago, but Shadow is one of the few characters who might get me to try it out. [What’s wrong with Gengar, you monster—Ed]
The most interesting thing about the promotion, however, is that Build-A-Bear might have dropped a hint about Sonic the Hedgehog 3’s story by giving Shadow a specific accessory. The antihero comes bundled with a Master Emerald to carry, and that has some big implications about the direction Sonic 3 might go. Assuming this is a reference to the film itself and not Shadow’s game appearances, this implies Shadow may seek out the Master Emerald, which was last seen in the care of Sonic and his friends at the end of Sonic 2.
Up to this point, Shadow’s appearances in the movie’s trailers haven’t made the connection between him and the emerald, which houses the Chaos Emeralds in the movie’s continuity. These are used to transform Sonic and Shadow into their super forms, which give them the ability to fly, make them more powerful, and turn their quills into a golden yellow or white. There’s a brief clip in the film’s second trailer that some fans think might imply the two hedgehogs will fight in their super forms, and a similarly-brief shot of the rivals reaching for the emeralds without any explanation in recent TV spots, but the trailers haven’t fixated on this plot point at all.
Meanwhile, Sonic has a golden ring accessory, and his red shoes come as a separate set. Kinda seems like a baldfaced attempt at getting money out of people for a complete character, especially considering Shadow and Tails have their shoes already. Weird choice, but a transparent one. Click through to see the full set.