Agent Smith

"Mr. Anderson!"

- Agent Smith whenever he sees Neo, his most famous quote. "I should thank you, Mr. Anderson, for it was you who taught me the true purpose of life: the purpose of life is to end."

- Agent Smith's famous quote from The Matrix: Revolutions.

Agent Smith (simply known as Smith) is the main antagonist of The Matrix trilogy.

He was portrayed by Hugo Weaving, who also portrayed Red Skull in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Creation
Agent Smith and his two allies were created by The Architect to secure the Matrix for 600 years. During the first five centuries, he had pursued the five Ones but was unsuccessful.

The Matrix
600 years have passed and the sixth One was created. Smith was one of the three Agents sent to deal with Morpheus. After Neo (the sixth One) is successfully removed from the Matrix, Smith arranges Morpheus's capture by bribing Cypher, a disillusioned member of Morpheus's crew with being reintegrated into The Matrix. When Neo manages to free Morpheus, Smith and his fellow Agents engage in a lengthy cross-town chase. He and Neo fight, with Smith dominating most of the fight. Shortly after Neo escapes the fight, Smith guns him down. Neo revives, realizes his power as the One, and enters Smith, to destroy him from within.

The Matrix Reloaded
As a result of his contact with Neo, Smith is "unplugged"; no longer an Agent of the system but a "free man". He still possesses the abilities of an Agent, but instead of being able to jump from one human to another, he is able to copy himself over any human or program in the Matrix through direct contact; this includes humans wired into the Matrix, non-Agent programs with human forms, redpills, and humans already possessed by Agents. Smith retains the memories and abilities, if any, of the one over which he copies himself. This ability is much like how a virus replicates, creating an ironic contrast with where Smith likens humanity to a virus during his speech with Morpheus.

He makes the claim that Neo has set him free, indicating that he now has not only the vision but also the ability to break free of the Machines' control and exist as a singular being. He is now allied with no one but himself, rendering him an outlaw to both the Matrix and the human minds which populate it. Being free of burden, however, Smith is also compelled to feel that he is still crushed by the weight of purpose.

He essentially correlates purpose with imprisonment, and because he still exists within the Matrix, there is an unseen purpose which binds together Neo and himself. He tries to copy his programming onto Neo, but when this fails, he and several of his clones attack him, forcing Neo to flee. Later, he and his clones try to stop Neo from reaching the machine mainframe, but this too fails.

The Matrix Revolutions
Smith has managed to copy himself over nearly every humanoid in the Matrix, giving him complete control over the "Core Network" (the underlying foundation of the inner workings of the Matrix), thus rendering him immutable by even the machines themselves. The Oracle explains to Neo that he and Smith have become equal in power and that Smith is Neo's negative, a result of The Matrix equation trying to balance itself. Also, she reveals that if he is not stopped, Smith will destroy everything. For this reason, the only way Smith can be eliminated, is for the equation to be "unbalanced". The Oracle herself is eventually taken over by Smith, granting him her power of foresight, or omniscience, as well as reality-bending powers equivalent to those possessed by Neo.

Neo engages in battle with Smith on the Machines' behalf in exchange for Zion's safety. The Smith created from the Oracle battles Neo alone; as he explains, he has foreseen his victory, and has no need for the help of his copies. The two are almost evenly matched, though Neo's combat abilities seem arguably superior to that of Smith, the latter who seems to attack more out of brute force, rather than the technical skill he used when he was an agent. In the midst of this battle, Smith explains to Neo his final nihilistic revelation: "It was your life that taught me the purpose of all life. The purpose of life is to end.".

When Neo is near defeat, Smith demands to know why Neo continues to fight, knowing he cannot win. Neo responds, "Because I choose to" and is beaten unconscious by the enraged Smith as a result. Suddenly recognizing the scene from his prophecy, Smith is compelled to deliver the line he said in it: "I say... Everything that has a beginning has an end, Neo".

Confused by his own behavior, Smith suddenly becomes frightened by the effect Neo has on his words- then, on the effect his words have on Neo. At this point it is not known whether Neo's attrition contributes to his collapse, or it is part of his plot to sabotage Smith's attempt to infect all of the Matrix. In any case, unable to overpower Smith, Neo seems to concede to Agent Smith that he can never win, and thus submits to defeat. Neo's successfully 'sells' his 'defeat' to Smith. Smith, unaware of Neo's subterfuge, absorbs him, and for a moment, believes himself to be the victor; however, after copying himself onto Neo, Smith and his clones explode in a simultaneous flash of white light.

The Matrix: Path of Neo
In the alternative ending of The Matrix Revolutions in The Matrix: Path of Neo the final boss is the MegaSmith. The MegaSmith was used for gameplay reasons, because though the Wachowski Brothers thought the martyr approach suitable for film, they also believed that in an interactive medium such as a video game (based upon the successful completion of goals), this would not work. So, described by the brothers as "A little Hulk versus Galactus action", this character was created to be the more appropriate "final boss" of Path of Neo. The MegaSmith is composed of destroyed buildings, cars, and parts of the road, with the "spectator Smiths" standing around the crater and in the streets acting as the MegaSmith's muscles, resulting in Smith not only becoming the city's people, but the city itself.

Personality
"Why, Mr. Anderson? Why, why, why? Why do you do it? Why? Why get up? Why keep fighting? Do you believe you're fighting for something? For more than your survival? Can you tell me what it is? Do you even know? Is it freedom or truth?! Perhaps peace?! Could it be for love?! Illusions, Mr. Anderson, vagaries of perception! Temporary constructs of a feeble human intellect trying desperately to justify an existence that is without meaning or purpose! And all of them as artificial as the Matrix itself, although only a human mind could invent something as insipid as love! You must be able to see it, Mr. Anderson! You must know it by now! You can't win! It's pointless to keep fighting! Why, Mr. Anderson?! Why?! WHY DO YOU PERSIST?!"

- Smith shows his deep nihilism and misanthropy to Neo

While other agents rarely act without consulting each other via their earpieces - they are, in fact, so in sync with each other they are sometimes known to finish each others' sentences - Smith is usually the one giving orders or using his earpiece to gather information for his own ends, signifying he is their leader, which is further proven because he is shown to have the authority to launch Sentinel attacks in the real world. As with other Agents, Smith generally approaches problems through a pragmatic point of view, but if necessary will also act with brute force and apparent rage.

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Agent Smith