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The Man in Black then comes to Ben, who is forced to dig his own grave by Ilana, and tells him that if he goes to Hydra Island that the Island will be Ben's. However, Ben stays with Ilana's group after she forgives him.<ref name = "Dr. Linus">{{cite episode | title = Dr. Linus | episodelink = Dr. Linus | series = Lost | serieslink = Lost (TV series) | credits = [[Mario Van Peebles]] (director) , [[Edward Kitsis]] (writer), [[Adam Horowitz]] (writer) | network = ABC | airdate = 2010-03-09 | season = 6 | number = 7}}</ref> The Man in Black sends Sawyer on a recon mission to see what has happened on Hydra Island. Sawyer returns from Hydra Island and tells the Man in Black that all the Ajira passengers are dead and [[Charles Widmore]] is on the other Island and has set of pylons to destroy him.<ref name = "Recon">{{cite episode | title = Recon | episodelink = Recon (Lost) | series = Lost | serieslink = Lost (TV series) | credits = [[Jack Bender]] (director) , [[Elizabeth Sarnoff]] (writer), Jim Galasso (writer) | network = ABC | airdate = 2010-03-16 | season = 6 | number = 8}}</ref>
The Man in Black then comes to Ben, who is forced to dig his own grave by Ilana, and tells him that if he goes to Hydra Island that the Island will be Ben's. However, Ben stays with Ilana's group after she forgives him.<ref name = "Dr. Linus">{{cite episode | title = Dr. Linus | episodelink = Dr. Linus | series = Lost | serieslink = Lost (TV series) | credits = [[Mario Van Peebles]] (director) , [[Edward Kitsis]] (writer), [[Adam Horowitz]] (writer) | network = ABC | airdate = 2010-03-09 | season = 6 | number = 7}}</ref> The Man in Black sends Sawyer on a recon mission to see what has happened on Hydra Island. Sawyer returns from Hydra Island and tells the Man in Black that all the Ajira passengers are dead and [[Charles Widmore]] is on the other Island and has set of pylons to destroy him.<ref name = "Recon">{{cite episode | title = Recon | episodelink = Recon (Lost) | series = Lost | serieslink = Lost (TV series) | credits = [[Jack Bender]] (director) , [[Elizabeth Sarnoff]] (writer), Jim Galasso (writer) | network = ABC | airdate = 2010-03-16 | season = 6 | number = 8}}</ref>

==Abilities==
The Man in Black is quite a powerful force and has many abilities. Its most notable ability is to shapeshift into other people's forms. However, according to Ilana this power is currently heavily limited since the death of Jacob and can now only go between his Locke and Smoke forms. He also seems to have some amount of precognition, since he was able to tell when Locke would teleport to a certain point in time. In his smoke form he can scan people and read their minds. It is unknown if he is able to read minds in human form though. The Monster can disparate immediately and can not be killed by any standard means, since he has been both shot and stabbed in human form and easily survived. In Smoke form he can pick up many people at a time and can't be stopped, although he does have some weakness toward Dynamite since that made him let go of Locke in "[[Exodus (Lost)|Exodus]]". He does have some weakness to the Sonic fence around the DHARMA Barracks and has some slight weakness to a certain type of ash which is around Jacob's Cabin, although it is more of a nuisance than being damaging to the Monster.


==Development==
==Development==

Revision as of 17:50, 30 March 2010

Template:Infobox Lost character

"The Man In Black" (Also known as "The Monster" or "The Black Smoke") is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost. The De facto antagonist of the series, the Monster frequently appeared as a cloud of black smoke until the final episode of season 5, where it appeared as a middle-aged man dressed in black. Most recently it has taken on the appearance of John Locke to achieve its goals.

A long time resident of Lost's main setting The Island, the true nature of the Man In Black is often shrouded in mystery. It has been described by Lost producer Damon Lindelof as "one of the biggest secrets" of the mythology,[1] and the producers have often hinted that the black cloud of smoke is not a monster in the traditional sense, nor is it a cloud of nanobots as some fans have speculated.[2][3]

Fictional Biography

Before the Crash

The Monster's first chronological appearance in the mythology is in "The Incident" where he and Jacob sit and talk on the beach as a sailing ship is arriving. The Monster, in the form of a Man in Black robes (played by Titus Welliver), disapproves of Jacob bringing people to the Island feeling that all they bring is corruption and destruction claiming that it always ends the same. Jacob says that anything that happens before the end is just progress. He tells Jacob that he wishes to kill him but he must find a loophole to do so.[4]

After Richard Alpert crashes on the Island as a slave on the Black Rock. Jonas Whitfield, an officer of the ship, goes below deck and begins executing all the slaves. When he is about to kill Richard, the Man in Black appears as the Monster and kills every crew on the Black Rock but spares Richard. The Monster later manifests into Richard's wife Isabella, and fools Richard into thinking that she was taken. The Man in Black then comes to Richard in human form and sets him free. The Man in Black then tells him that they are dead and are in hell, and that the Devil has taken Richard's wife. He tells him that in order for him to get his wife back and escape from hell, Richard would have to kill Jacob, whom the Man in Black refers as the Devil. Richard agrees, but he is assaulted by Jacob, who convinces Richard that he is not dead. He tells Richard that the island acts as a cork that is the only thing keeping the darkness (the Man in Black) contained. As the Man in Black sees it, people are evil, while Jacob believes they are good. Jacob brings people to the island, so that they may prove the Man in Black wrong; however, he does not believe in telling people what to do, since this would supress their free will to choose good. Jacob then offers Richard immortality for his service. Later, Richard visits the Man in Black to give him a white rock by Jacob. The Man in Black tells Richard that if he ever changed his mind that his offer for giving his wife back would still stand and gives him his wife's necklace before disappearing. Shortly after this, Jacob goes to visit him and approaches him about having Richard try to kill him. Jacob then says that as long as he is alive that the Man in Black will never leave the Island, and even if he does kill him, that someone would replace Jacob. The Man in Black then says that he will also kill the people who would take Jacob's place.[5]

In 1988, the Man in Black attacks Rousseau's crew, joined by a time-jumping Jin, as the Monster. One of Danielle's crew members is dragged under the Temple Wall by the monster. Jin demands that Danielle, being pregnant at the time, remain outside, while the rest of their crew go inside to save the missing crewman. What exactly happened under the Temple Wall is unknown, but when Jin jumps into the future, he observes an encounter between Danielle and her lover, Robert. During the exchange, Danielle accuses Robert of 'being changed' by inside the Temple. He denies this, but then attempts to kill her when she lowers her guard, leading her to kill him when he discovers that his weapon had its firing pin removed.[6]. In the episode LAX, when the castaways are taking a critically injured Sayiid to the Temple on orders from Jacob, they discover the remains of at least one of Danielle's crewmen in the area the Man In Black took him into.

After the Crash

On the night after the crash, the survivors hear a loud, unidentifiable sound coming from the jungle and witness trees being shaken and torn down in the distance. Jack, Kate, and Charlie saw the power of the Monster up close when it ripped the pilot from the cockpit of the plane they crashed in and left the mangled body in a tree.[7] Locke also had a direct encounter with the Monster but was spared. When Michael later asked Locke if he had seen it, Locke lied and claimed that he had not. Locke later told Jack, "I looked into the eye of this island, and what I saw was beautiful."[8]

In "Exodus, Part 2", Locke's second encounter provided the first on-screen glimpse of the Monster as a cloud of black smoke.[9] Charlie and Eko also had a confrontation similar to Locke's. As Eko stared down the Monster, the black smoke briefly flashed images of Eko's past.[10] John Locke later relates his own experience to Eko, to which Eko replies, "That is not what I saw." The monster in the form of Yemi comes to Eko and demands that he repents for his sins. When Eko refuses to repent, the Monster reveals that he is not really Yemi. After disappearing, the Monster reappears in its Smoke form and kills Eko by slamming him repeatedly against nearby trees and the ground.[11]

Kate and Juliet also encountered the Monster; when it appeared, it released a series of bright flashes. The Monster re-appears later on, where it is revealed that it cannot penetrate the Others' sonic wave fence. Juliet tells Kate that the Others don't know what the Monster is, but they know it doesn't like their fence.[12]

When Locke holds Ben at gunpoint and asks about the Monster, Ben claims ignorance. [13] However, it becomes apparent that Ben knows more about the Monster than he has let on. After becoming enraged over the death of Alex, Ben disappears into a hidden room, which has an ancient stone door covered with hieroglyphs, only to emerge several minutes later covered in a dark ash like substance. The Monster then suddenly arrives and proceeds to attack the mercenaries, but spares most of them.[14]

After the crash of Ajira Flight 316, the Man in Black takes the form of the deceased Locke. The other passengers are frightened by his appearance since no one saw him on the plane and he claims to have been killed by another passenger, Ben.[15][4] Later, the Man in Black in Locke's form and Ben travel to Smoke Monster's lair so that Ben may be judged by it. The lair lies in a series of underground tunnels beneath the temple. It emerges from a stone grate on the floor. Above the grate is a series of pictographs depicting a strange, lightning bolt-shaped monster approaching what appears to be Anubis. The monster in its smoke form confronts Ben, showing him images of his life with Alex up to her death. After the monster retreats back into the grates, it manifests itself into Alex, warning Ben not to harm John Locke under threat of death. "Alex" orders Ben to follow Locke's every word, to which he complies.[16]

The Man in Black and Ben, along with Sun, arrive at one of the Others camps to get Richard to give the real Locke (who is flashing through time randomly) the compass Locke gave Richard and for Richard to tell Locke that he would have to die. The Man in Black then demands that Richard take him and the Others with him to see Jacob. Richard reluctantly complies. The Man in Black tells Ben the next day his plan to kill Jacob, but once Ben tells The Man in Black what Alex told him back in the Monster's liar, The Man in Black informs Ben that he will have to be the one to kill Jacob. After arriving at the four-toed statue of Taweret, where Jacob lives, with the Others, The Man in Black and Ben enter the statue and meet Jacob. Ben then kills Jacob when he appears to be completely indifferent to Ben's suffering on the Island, and The Man in Black kicks Jacob into the fire.[4]

Later, Jacob's protectors enter the statue and attempt to kill the Man in Black, but he changes into the Monster and proceeds to kill them. Bram, one of the protectors, manages to create a ring of ash around himself, temporarily hindering the Monster. However, it destroys the ceiling of the statue, knocking him out of the circle and making it possible for it to kill him. After the men are all dead, the Man in Black reveals to Ben that his intention is to "go home." They then exit the statue and The Man in Black then confronts Richard, who realizes who the man is, but the Man in Black quickly knocks him out and announces that he is disappointed in the Others as he carries Richard into the jungle.[17]

Later, the Man in Black gives Richard a second chance to join him, but Richard refuses. The Man in Black then tracks down a drunken Sawyer (who recently lost Juliet), but Sawyer immediately realizes that the Man is not John Locke, since he knew Locke was scared. The Man in Black tells Sawyer that if he follows him he will tell him why he is still on the Island; Sawyer agrees. On their journey they come across a young blond boy, and the boy says to the Man in Black that he can't kill "him". Sawyer and the Man in Black eventually reach a cave near a ledge, and in it it has writing all over the walls. The writings are all people's names and have a number beside them. The Man in Black reveals to Sawyer that the names represent the candidates to replace Jacob. The Man in Black then has Sawyer join him on a mission to leave the island.[18]

It is revealed that the Man in Black has kept Claire company, and that he told her that the Others have taken her child.[19] Later, The Man in Black recruits Sayid to his side by promising him the "woman who died in his arms". The Man in Black requests that Sayid deliver a message to the Others warning them to leave the temple by sundown or else they will be killed. He also requests that he kill Dogen, since Dogen being alive kept the Monster from entering the Temple. After Sayid kills Dogen, the Man in Black enters the temple as the Monster and kills all of the Others remaining inside. Once he is finished, he gathers the Others who have left the Temple to follow him off of the Island, and Sayid, Claire, and Kate (who survived the Temple) leave with the Man in Black.[20]

The Man in Black then comes to Ben, who is forced to dig his own grave by Ilana, and tells him that if he goes to Hydra Island that the Island will be Ben's. However, Ben stays with Ilana's group after she forgives him.[21] The Man in Black sends Sawyer on a recon mission to see what has happened on Hydra Island. Sawyer returns from Hydra Island and tells the Man in Black that all the Ajira passengers are dead and Charles Widmore is on the other Island and has set of pylons to destroy him.[22]

Abilities

The Man in Black is quite a powerful force and has many abilities. Its most notable ability is to shapeshift into other people's forms. However, according to Ilana this power is currently heavily limited since the death of Jacob and can now only go between his Locke and Smoke forms. He also seems to have some amount of precognition, since he was able to tell when Locke would teleport to a certain point in time. In his smoke form he can scan people and read their minds. It is unknown if he is able to read minds in human form though. The Monster can disparate immediately and can not be killed by any standard means, since he has been both shot and stabbed in human form and easily survived. In Smoke form he can pick up many people at a time and can't be stopped, although he does have some weakness toward Dynamite since that made him let go of Locke in "Exodus". He does have some weakness to the Sonic fence around the DHARMA Barracks and has some slight weakness to a certain type of ash which is around Jacob's Cabin, although it is more of a nuisance than being damaging to the Monster.

Development

The original appearence of the Man in Black as the Monster was the first major plot twist of Lost and changed how the viewers and characters perceived the Island. In the Pilot episode, Rose commented that, "I keep thinking, there was something familiar about it." The producers had difficulty finding the right sound for the monster to make, and eventually settled on the receipt printer from a New York City taxi, which is why Rose, from The Bronx, New York, finds it familiar.[23] The writers have made mention on numerous occasions that the Rover from the British TV series The Prisoner was an inspiration for the Monster.[citation needed] Theories regarding the monster being a cloud of nanobots has been refuted many times by the producers.[24][25] In the March 21, 2008 official Lost podcast, Damon Lindelof said that manifestations of the Monster included Yemi, the Medusa Spider that bit Nikki, and some of Walt's appearances while he was not with the survivors, although they were in more of a joking manner so they may have not been serious.[26] Regarding the Monster's appearence in season 5, Daniel Dae Kim, who plays Jin, said in an interview that "the origin and nature of the malevolent dark cloud will be disclosed and viewers will even get a glimpse of its lair. Turns out the monster is as 'old as the island' that's been home to the Oceanic jet-crash survivors and their foes."[27]

References

  1. ^ Lost TV, "It's Not About the Dinosaur: the Official Damon Lindelof Interview, 18 August 2004
  2. ^ Wharton, David Michael (17 July 2005). paff_id=0&this_cat=Comics&action=page&obj_id=49194 "Comicon 2005 news". Cinescape.com. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help)
  3. ^ Grillo-Marxuach, Javier (22 July 2005). "Burning Questions". TheFuselage.com.
  4. ^ a b c Jack Bender (director) , Damon Lindelof (writer), Carlton Cuse (writer) (2009-05-13). "The Incident". Lost. Season 5. Episode 16 and 17. ABC. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ Tucker Gates (director) , Melinda Hsu Taylor (writer), Greggory Nations (writer) (2010-03-23). "Ab Aeterno". Lost. Season 6. Episode 9. ABC. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ Paul Edwards (director) , Edward Kitsis (writer), Adam Horowitz (writer) (2009-02-11). "This Place is Place". Lost. Season 5. Episode 5. ABC. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ J. J. Abrams (director) , J. J. Abrams (writer), Damon Lindelof (writer), Jeffrey Lieber (writer) (2004-09-22). "Pilot". Lost. Season 1. Episode 1. ABC. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ Jack Bender (director) , David Fury (writer) (2004-10-13). "Walkabout". Lost. Season 1. Episode 4. ABC. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ Jack Bender (director) , Damon Lindelof (writer), Carlton Cuse (writer) (2005-05-25). "Exodus". Lost. Season 1. Episode 24 and 25. ABC. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help)
  10. ^ Matt Earl Beesley (director) , Damon Lindelof (writer), Carlton Cuse (writer) (2006-01-11). "The 23rd Psalm". Lost. Season 2. Episode 10. ABC. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help)
  11. ^ Jack Bender (director) , Alison Schapker (writer), Monica Breen (writer) (2006-11-01). "The Cost of Living". Lost. Season 3. Episode 5. ABC. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help)
  12. ^ Karen Gaviola (director) , Damon Lindelof (writer), Elizabeth Sarnoff (writer) (2007-04-04). "Left Behind". Lost. Season 3. Episode 15. ABC. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help)
  13. ^ Stephen Williams (director) , Drew Goddard (writer), Brian K. Vaughn (writer) (2008-02-07). "Confirmed Dead". Lost. Season 4. Episode 2. ABC. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help)
  14. ^ Jack Bender (director) , Drew Goddard (writer), Brian K. Vaughn (writer) (2008-04-24). "The Shape of Things to Come". Lost. Season 4. Episode 9. ABC. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help)
  15. ^ Jack Bender (director) , Damon Lindelof (writer), Carlton Cuse (writer) (2009-02-25). "The Life and Death of JJeremy Bentham". Lost. Season 5. Episode 7. ABC. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help)
  16. ^ Stephen Williams (director) , Brian K. Vaughn (writer), Elizabeth Sarnoff (writer) (2009-04-08). "Dead is Dead". Lost. Season 4. Episode 9. ABC. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help)
  17. ^ Jack Bender (director) , Damon Lindelof (writer), Carlton Cuse (writer) (2010-02-02). "LA X". Lost. Season 6. Episode 1. ABC. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help)
  18. ^ Tucker Gates (director) , Elizabeth Sarnoff (writer), Melinda Hsu Taylor (writer) (2010-02-16). "The Substitute". Lost. Season 6. Episode 4. ABC. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help)
  19. ^ Jack Bender (director) , Damon Lindelof (writer), Carlton Cuse (writer) (2010-02-23). "Lighthouse". Lost. Season 6. Episode 5. ABC. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help)
  20. ^ Bobby Roth (director) , Paul Zbyszewski (writer), Graham Roland (writer) (2010-03-02). "Sundown". Lost. Season 6. Episode 6. ABC. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help)
  21. ^ Mario Van Peebles (director) , Edward Kitsis (writer), Adam Horowitz (writer) (2010-03-09). "Dr. Linus". Lost. Season 6. Episode 7. ABC. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help)
  22. ^ Jack Bender (director) , Elizabeth Sarnoff (writer), Jim Galasso (writer) (2010-03-16). "Recon". Lost. Season 6. Episode 8. ABC. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |episodelink= ignored (|episode-link= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help)
  23. ^ Cuse, Carlton, Lindelof, Damon and Burk, Bryan, "The 23rd Psalm". Lost: The Complete Second Season – The Extended Experience, Buena Vista Home Entertainment. Audio commentary, disc 3. Released on September 5, 2006.
  24. ^ Wharton, David Michael (2005-07-17). "Comicon 2005 news". Cinescape.com.
  25. ^ Grillo-Marxuach, Javier (2005-07-22). "Burning Questions". TheFuselage.com.
  26. ^ The Official LOST audio podcast: March 21st, 2008, at ABC.com
  27. ^ LAURI NEFF, "`Lost' star says Smoke Monster secrets to emerge," ksl.com (February 10th, 2009).
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