Shadow Wing

"Okay, okay, what do we know? Big dragon. Wait, we gotta call these things something. All right. All right, so what do they do? They follow, they herd, they shadow. That's it, yes. Shadow Wings."

- Hiccup

The Shadow Wing, also known as the Large Shadow and Alpha Shadow, is a large Stoker Class dragon that first appeared in Dragons: Race to the Edge.

Official Description
"This large, sturdy Dragon acts as a protector for its smaller cousins. Watch out for bombardment when they form a pack under its wings! Its booming roar not only disorients victims, but also serves as a call to its kin. Small Shadows flock under its great wings, firing explosive lava in unison."

- Dragons: Rise of Berk

"The Shadow Wing eclipses its prey and keeps a special symbiotic relationship with the smaller bombardier dragons that deploy from his massive wings – He flies, they fire! The Shadow Wing represents a rare binary breed – two related dragons working together for a common goal. In this case, that goal is destruction! The small Shadow Wing first presents itself as injured to unsuspecting victims, then lures them to its much larger cousin. This "bait and switch" tactic keep the big Shadow Wing fed and the smaller drones in its good graces. On their own, these dragons are dangerous. But together – they are deadly!"

- Richard Hamilton

Egg
In Rise of Berk, a Shadow Wing's egg is similar to that of a Small Shadow. However, it is green in color and has five spikes on it instead of two.

Hatchling to Adult
The Shadow Wing is a large green dragon with wide jaws, body, and wings akin to that of a bomber plane. Its legs are also quite stocky, and it has spaced out triangular spines that run along its back. The Shadow Wing's head also slightly resembles a whale's and a snapping turtle's as well.

Titan Wing
Not much changes when a Shadow Wing reaches the Titan Wing stage. Instead of light green, it is dark green with red spots all over the body. Additional tail fins grow on its tail, several spikes grow on its head and the wings develop a small claw. It is also larger in size.

Intelligence
The Shadow Wing is intelligent enough to give the Small Shadows protection and cooperate with them to take down any potential threat.

Bomber Formation
The Shadow Wing's most iconic feature is its tendency to gather Small Shadows to attach to its wings, firing blasts in rapid succession while the Shadow Wing acts as a giant carrier. In this formation, the Shadow Wing gains massive frontal prowess and can annihilate almost anything that got caught in the hail of molten explosives.

Roaring
The Shadow Wing can produce a powerful roar that can disorient its enemies and affect its surroundings. The roar is also a signal for Small Shadows to attach to the larger dragon's wings to create their iconic bomber formation.

Strength
The Shadow Wing can carry the weight of ten Small Shadows on its wings easily with no signs of a struggle. Its strong enough to tail whip Toothless enough to make the tail fin to be unable to fly for short time.

Speed
Despite its large size, the Shadow Wing is fast enough to catch up to Toothless, especially when the former still has Small Shadows attached onto its wings.

Behavior and Personality


The Shadow Wing is a powerful and fearsome dragon that forms a symbiotic relationship with Small Shadows. It usually relies on Small Shadows to do its work, but it will take matter to its own claws.

Weaknesses
"Okay, the big one isn't as fast as we are or as maneuverable."

- Hiccup

Due to their large size, Shadow Wings aren't as fast or agile to keep up with faster dragons like Toothless the Night Fury.

Season 4
In the episode "The Longest Day", Hiccup and Toothless are chased by Baited Breath and her pack and lured to a Shadow Wing. However, they managed to outwit and escape both of these dragon varieties.

Dragons: Rise of Berk
The dragon also appeared in this game along with its Titan form. However, its name is Alpha Shadow.

Trivia

 * The Shadow Wing has a shot limit of 60, which is the highest of any known dragon species.
 * In Dragons: Rise of Berk, it is referred to as Alpha Shadow.