The concept of "Black Arms Maria" upends this binary. In various fan reinterpretations and "what-if" scenarios explored in expanded media, this version of Maria asks a disturbing question: What if the cure for Maria’s illness came with a terrible price? Black Doom and the Black Arms race possess genetic immortality—the very thing Professor Gerald Robotnik was trying to engineer to save his granddaughter. If Maria had been "cured" by the Black Arms biology, she would no longer be the frail girl in the observation deck. She would become a hybrid, a weaponized form of the innocence Shadow tried to protect.

To save Maria from her terminal illness ( NIDS ), Gerald Robotnik uses Black Doom 's alien DNA directly on her instead of (or in addition to) creating Shadow.

Description. The moment @Cylent-Nite announced the Black Comet Event, I got the Idea of Maria being fused with the Black Arms DNA, DeviantArt·EnderCatAGZ

We all know Maria Robotnik’s final wish was for Shadow to give humanity a chance to be happy. But people often forget why G.U.N. raided the Space Colony ARK in the first place: They discovered Grandpa Gerald’s secret research into the alien DNA.

Stories often focus on her struggle to maintain her humanity while dealing with the aggressive, "corruptive" instincts of the Black Arms DNA.