Shego

Shego
Kim Possible character
Shego in Kim Possible Movie: A Sitch in Time
First appearance	"Crush"
Created by	Mark McCorkle Bob Schooley
Portrayed by	Nicole Sullivan

Shego is a fictional character from Disney's animated television series Kim Possible, voiced by Nicole Sullivan. The character, ever since her first appearance in the pilot episode, "Crush"^[1] appears as Dr. Drakken's sidekick, though in some episodes acts as a mercenary for other villains.^[2] She is one of the franchise's main antagonists, and one of its most recurring characters.

Characteristics

Personality

Shego is one of the most mature characters in the franchise. Unlike most other Kim Possible villains, she is not afflicted with megalomania or narcissism. However, despite her generally rational and sane demeanor, she is frequently impatient and quick to anger, especially when she feels that someone is being obnoxious, stupid, or sexist.^[3] Her brother, Hego, once summed her up as a "cranky smart-mouth, prone to excessive violence."^[4]

As a villain, Shego is dedicated to her work, but often appears unmotivated and unambitious, dividing her free time between lounging in Drakken's lair reading villain magazines, filing her clawed gloves, and visiting spa resorts. For the most part, she does not initiate any schemes of her own, instead preferring to assist others as an enforcer or infiltrator. Despite being one of the smartest villains (or perhaps because of this fact), she generally prefers simple tactics, often involving physical force or intimidation, instead of the use of high technology gadgets and elaborate schemes.^[5] Because of her effectiveness as a sidekick, Shego appears to be well respected among the villain community, as some of them have broken her out of prison in order to enlist her assistance.^[6] Nevertheless, Shego has nothing but contempt for the franchise's other villains.

Despite her fearsome persona, Shego is one of the few antagonists in the franchise who has a moral compass. She has expressed concern over cruelty to animals^[5][7] and pauses at the thought of stealing a wheelchair from a handicapped boy, stating that it is "a low act" even for villains such as Drakken.^[3] However, she usually puts aside her misgivings once a plan appears to be working out. Shego has never actually killed anyone on the show, though she has demonstrated a callous disregard for human life. Once, while partnered with Motor Ed, she excitedly remarked that the shockwave resulting from a high-powered rocket reaching full speed would "doom the world to chaos!"^[8]

Appearance

Shego is young, with long black hair, an athletic build, sharp jawline, and narrowed green eyes. She stands about a half foot taller than Kim. Her exact age remains unknown, though it was stated that she was in her early-to-mid 20's^[9] and it was revealed that she is a college graduate (unspecified degree in child development^[10]).

As a result of being struck by a glowing, rainbow colored comet as a child (see below) her skin is pale green. Her signature costume is a green and black full-body catsuit with matching gloves and boots, arranged in a harlequin's dazzle pattern. The gloves are tipped with metal claws, which she has occasionally been seen filing to keep sharp. On the occasions when Shego has been seen to wear different outfits, they typically follow the same color scheme as her signature outfit. In the Kim Possible movie A Sitch In Time: Future Story, Shego conquers Middleton and she wears the same color with a matching black cape.

Powers and abilities

Shego is an expert in all kinds of fields, with infiltration and sabotage as her specialties.^[11] She possesses extensive martial arts training and impressive fitness and agility, rivaling the skills displayed by her nemesis Kim Possible. Her attack is also enhanced by metal claws on her gloves, and on occasion she has used her claw-like fingernails to similar effect. She is often seen filing them.^[2]

Shego is endowed with a superpower: the ability to generate green, flame-like bolts of energy in her hands. This energy can be used to heat or melt anything she touches, or fired as a directed energy attack ranging from laser precision to a destructive blast. Originally, Disney described Shego's green flames as being purely concussive in nature, although in later episodes she was shown using her flames to burn or melt things.^{[7][10][12][13]} These powers were first stated by Disney as being generated by her gloves,^[11] making them a weapon rather than a superpower. However, this fact was retroactively changed during Season 2, when these abilities were revealed to be a true superpower resulting from exposure to the rainbow-hued comet which also empowered her four brothers.

In addition to her energy attack, Shego appears to possess superhuman durability that allows her to survive situations of calamitous destruction that would probably kill other characters. In the film So the Drama, she was kicked into a live electrical signal tower, which shocked her and then proceeded to collapse on top of her. She came out of the incident with slightly torn clothes and frazzled hair.^[14][15]

Series history

Shego was once a hero who, alongside her brothers, defended Go City against a number of villains as the superhero group Team Go. Shego eventually left the team for reasons that were never fully specified, but anecdotal evidence suggests there were two primary reasons: a fascination with villainy and irritation with her brothers. At some point, she abandoned her family and their quest for justice for a life as a mercenary-for-hire.^[4]

It is unknown what happened with Shego right after leaving her family, but from the beginning of the series Shego has been, for the most part, in the employ of Dr. Drakken as his sidekick and enforcer. It is during this stage of her life in which the series mostly revolves, leading her and Drakken to multiple confrontations against Kim Possible. Throughout the series, Shego is repeatedly defeated by Kim Possible and sent back to jail. She is (as previously mentioned) a formidable fighter and gets the better of Kim Possible a few times, whereupon her successes are usually stopped by Ron (often accidentally), Rufus, or, on occasion, bungling from Drakken or interference from his machinery.

In the second season, one of the most notable events involving Shego was her reunion with her brothers; she had to team up with her rival Kim to retrieve their powers, which had been stolen by an old enemy of hers, Aviarius. This was the first time the show took the time to detail bits of Shego's past.

During the fourth season, Shego’s character went through some development which pointed to the possibility that she may have been growing tired of her established role as a villainous sidekick. She walked out on two separate capers,^[16][17] and on two occasions she actually saved Kim's life. Shego states her reason for doing so is because nobody is allowed to kill Kim, except for her.^[6][10] Finally, at the series' end, she and Drakken put villainy aside and team up with Kim and Ron to save the world from an alien invasion. Because of this, they are greeted as heroes.^[18]

Relationships

Kim Possible

Shego has a powerful rivalry with Kim on the battlefield, which is sometimes kept at a "professional" context, but usually involves a few insults. This rivalry, however, has been progressing along the series, becoming more and more personal for both fighters.

Like Bonnie, Shego talks down to Kim as if she were a child, often referring to her by the diminutive "Kimmie" or nicknames like "Princess" or "Pumpkin", as well as putting down both her appearance and wardrobe.^[19] However, Kim doesn’t seem to be quite as affected by Shego's insults as with Bonnie's, and her retorts have a better effect against Shego. Over time and despite this rivalry, or possibly because of it, Shego has developed a professional respect which she often shows for Kim as a rival and a [Warrior|fighter], and is less than impressed when she manages to ruin Drakken’s scheme. In some instances they share a bond, especially when they are stuck in the same "sitch," usually leading to small and almost friendly conversations. They also have a habit of picking their noses when no one's looking.

This relationship has somehow grown to be much more personal for Shego, also indicating a gradual development in her personality. In certain situations, Kim and Shego have teamed up against common enemies,^[4][6] and Shego has gone as far as to save Kim from other enemies, claiming that only she has the right to destroy her.^[6][10] It was even demonstrated during the events of "Stop Team Go" that they have the potential to be great friends, if only Shego weren't evil. At one point during the episode, Kim referred to Shego as a "big sister."^[10] In the series finale, Kim herself teasingly states that Shego actually cares for her.^[18]

Drakken

Dr. Drakken is Shego’s usual employer; she has been stated to be his sidekick. They have worked together for most of their schemes, but she rarely shows much concern over him even though he claims that he likes to think of them as some kind of “evil families”. Their relationship teeters between a familiar, cooperative interaction and annoyance or frustration with each other.

As a sidekick, she started out in the series being respectful towards Drakken. As the franchise progressed, she began to develop a stronger personality and to openly show contempt for him. Eventually, Shego became the dominant one, and began threatening him with violence if he stepped over the line with her.^[4][20]

She is rarely taken aback when Dr. Drakken's plans are foiled - going so far as to chide him for making overly complex or unconventional plans.^[21] On the few occasions that such schemes appear to be working, she has been seen to be pleasantly surprised^[22] and appears to be happy for his minor successes.^[14] Even though Shego's tolerance for Drakken and his failure-prone evil schemes has steadily decreased, she still remains in his service, usually without much reluctance unless she wants a vacation from him or sees a better opportunity.^[16][23] In fact, she reacts badly when he twice replaces her with new sidekicks (Warmonga and Frugal Lucre). As poorly as she treats him, Shego sees her place as being in Drakken's employ and has proven to actually care for him.^[18]

Señor Senior, Junior

Junior is one of the few characters that has managed to earn Shego’s respect. Señor Senior Sr. hired Shego to teach his son Junior the finer points of villainy, and although the training practically started with complications, Junior eventually proved to be an apt pupil, and Shego a capable instructor. They may be in mutual pursuit of evil schemes, but their relationship seems to be based on a friendly teacher-student dynamic, although her loyalty towards him is rather questionable.

Shego is unusually cooperative and patient with Junior, and he is one of the few people who can bring out her softer side. Junior also sought Shego’s help while developing a scheme on his own for impressing his father, and Shego willingly assisted.^[24] Together they showed the potential for being a formidable team, somewhat matching Kim and Ron.^[25]

Family

Shego has four brothers: Hego, Mego, and a set of twins who were never identified in the first episode, but were later revealed to be called Wego.^[26] All of them granted with unique super-powers like her, which Hego referred to as a "Go-Team-Glow" in the episode "Go Team Go!". With them, she used to be part of Team Go.

Shego has a huge resentment towards her brothers’ attitude, finding them incompetent, argumentative, and irritating, and their dysfunctional and annoying relationship was part of the reason she abandoned Team Go's fight for justice to pursue evil. Her brothers, on the other hand, are fairly oblivious to the fact their sister has turned to a life of villainy. Hego has called her a "cranky smart mouth, prone to excessive violence",^[4] but still considers Shego to be his sister unconditionally. Although they have disagreements, in the episode "Go Team Go," Shego deserts Dr. Drakken to help her brothers regain their powers from minor villain "Avarius."

Shego apparently provided the brains and initiative of Team Go. It was through her efforts they kept focused and organized as a super-hero group: when she left, Team Go collapsed into ineffectual bickering and soon disbanded. When they briefly, fully regrouped in "Stop Team Go" they quickly regained their fighting effectiveness.

Despite the fact that Shego claims to dislike her siblings and even though she would never admit it, it was strongly suggested that Shego still has a sense of familial love for them, as pointed out by both Kim and Drakken.^[4]

Motor Ed

Shego first encounters Motor Ed in the episode "Steal Wheels". She finds him extremely annoying because of his sexist attitudes and incessant attempts to hit on her. Her attempts to discourage him (up to and including attacking him with her energy blasts) only increase his infatuation.

In the episode "Car Alarm", Motor Ed breaks Shego out of prison in hope that she would assist him in his latest scheme. She reluctantly agrees to help him. Motor Ed turns a stolen rocket into a vehicle capable of going fast enough to cause devastation wherever it goes. In the end, Shego finds out she was just an "accessory" and bails out of the car, dragging Motor Ed behind, and causes them both to fall into a river.

Alternative versions

In addition to the stock edition of Shego, her character and design has been modified on a number of occasions in order to fit in with specific plot devices and episodes.

The Supreme One

In the multipart episode A Sitch In Time, a future version of Shego was shown as the only Kim Possible villain ever to successfully take over the world.^[23]

Using the Tempus Simia, a mystical idol with the power to create portals through space-time, Shego, acting on the advice of her future self, managed to take over the world by strategically separating Kim and Ron, thus splitting up Team Possible and decreasing their effectiveness. This way, they failed to stop Shego from obtaining the idol and dragging them into the future, leaving the world for her to dominate.

Twenty years in the future, Shego, now known as The Supreme One, establishes Middleton as her capital, renaming it "Shegoton", and transforms Club Banana into "Club Shego". She has dissenters brainwashed in special totalitarian facilities and everyone, aside from a small band of resistance fighters, is forced to wear a dress code based on Shego's green and black costume.

Although mostly the same, this version of Shego appeared to be much crueler and more evil than her present self, using her subordinates (other villains) to fight her enemies instead of doing it herself ("the Supreme One always delegates!"). However, when the Supreme One was defeated by the intervention of present-day Kim and Ron, her world was erased as this version of her and everything else went back to normal.

Miss Go

In the Season 4 episode "Stop Team Go", Shego's personality was temporarily reversed by an enhanced version of Jack Hench's Attitudinator, wielded by an old enemy of Team Go, the techno-powered villainness Electronique. Electronique's plan had originally been to turn all of the members of Team Go evil, but since Shego was already evil, she was turned good instead.^[10]

Assuming the alias Miss Go, Shego used her degree in Child Development to land a job as a substitute teacher at Middleton High School, taking over one of Kim's classes. As Miss Go, Shego is a genuinely kind, caring and even girly person who is into shopping and romantic movies. She has a lot in common with Kim and the two quickly become close friends, with Kim going so far as to describe her as being "like a big sister." Shego also attracts the attention of fellow substitute teacher Steve Barkin, and they enjoyed a brief romance.

At the end of the episode, Shego was accidentally transformed back to her original self by Ron, and the Attitudinator is damaged beyond repair. Right after this, Shego rejoins with Drakken. At the episode's close, she is seen looking wistfully at a strip of photo booth pictures of Kim and herself, suggesting that she might have regrets about losing their brief friendship. She then burns the pictures as Drakken approaches, apparently because she did not want him to see them. Later during the credits Barkin tried to win her back. Though at the beginning she thought about it, as soon as he started to sing she used the lair's defense system on him.

Creation and reception

Initially, Shego was meant to be 'just' Dr. Drakken's sidekick, designed with green and black as what the creators considered to be known as "bad colors".^[27] However, it was after hearing Nicole Sullivan’s performance as Shego that they started to develop her unique relationship with Drakken, as Nicole portrayed Shego as sarcastic and smarter than Drakken, which prevailed along the series as trademark, even though the characters’ voice actors had already worked together in Buzz Lightyear of Star Command.^[28] Originally, Shego wasn't included in the first versions of the pilot chapter ("Crush") of Kim Possible, but was added in later versions of it.^[29]

Shego has become the most popular villain of the series^[11] besides one of the most popular characters, and also one of the main character’s most popular love interests among fan art and fan fiction. Her popularity led the authors of the series to keep her, alongside Drakken, as one of the most recurring characters, even though they had intended to work less with them.^[29]

Besides being one of the most recurring characters of the franchise, Shego is one of the few characters who has had appearances outside the series. She appeared in the Lilo & Stitch: The Series crossover episode entitled “Rufus”, again as Drakken’s sidekick in his attempt to kidnap Stitch.^[30] She also appeared in almost every Kim Possible videogame, most notably in What's the Switch?, where she is a playable character alongside Kim and covers up half of the adventure. Curiously, her powers in said game are portrayed as being electromagnetic rather than thermal.

References