3 Attachment(s)
Why Agent Smith’s Clones Didn’t Help Fight Neo In Matrix Revolutions
The Neo vs. Agent Smith fights throughout the Matrix movies were a highlight of the franchise, yet their battle in The Matrix Revolutions raises the question of why didn’t Smith’s clones help fight Neo. While The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions were not able to capture the magic of the first The Matrix, the sequels expanded on the universe and delivered incredible action pieces. That includes Neo and Smith’s fight on a rainy Matrix street.
The Matrix Reloaded revealed that Smith had survived his encounter with Neo, The One, in the first Matrix. In addition, Smith was now free from his programming and much more powerful as he had combined his powers with those of Neo. However, whereas Smith used his seemly infinite clones to fight Neo in The Matrix Reloaded, Smith’s clones only watched the fight in The Matrix Revolutions. This begs the obvious question of why they stood by.
Smith Had Already Become Too Powerful After Absorbing The Oracle
Before facing Neo at the end of Matrix Revolutions, one of the Smiths had absorbed The Oracle to become the most powerful version of Agent Smith by far. From that point onward, that version of Smith was a combination of regular Agent programming, part of Neo’s The One programming known as the Prime Program, and The Oracle’s unique code. No one inside the Matrix simulation, human or program, had ever become that powerful – the only exception being Neo. Therefore, compared to that Agent Smith who absorbed The Oracle and went on to fight Neo, the Smith clones would be of little help in combat.
It can also be argued that Smith, having now The Oracle’s powers, was able to see the future and realize that he could defeat Neo with just that one version. Also, when it comes to creative decisions, it made sense to have a Neo vs. Agent Smith one-on-one fight rather than another Matrix Reloaded’s Burly Brawl. Neo fighting dozens of Agent Smith’s clones had already been done in the previous movie, and there was no need to repeat it. One of the Matrix’s sequels' biggest strengths was the action, with everything feeling bigger and more unexpected compared to the previous installment. Neo and Smith's final fight certainly delivered on that score.
Why Smith Still Couldn’t Defeat Neo (Despite Being So Powerful)
In a way, Smith did defeat Neo in Revolutions. It didn’t take hundreds of clones for Smith to defeat beat The One in a fight, as the combat technically ended with Smith punching a hole through Neo and transforming The One into one of his many clones. However, losing that fight allowed Neo to make the ultimate sacrifice and stop Smith. Now truly combined with Smith’s programming, Neo was able to destroy all the Smiths – and himself – following his deal with the machines. Curiously, not only did Neo and Smith die together, but they were also resurrected together in The Matrix Resurrections as “hero Smith" was now part of Neo.
By the end of Revolutions, Smith had become as powerful as Neo, if not more. That is why not even the machines could put an end to the Smith threat, with the rogue program risking the destruction of the symbiotic relationship between humans and machines. Still, had it not been for Smith’s rebellion against the machines, Neo would have never been able to achieve a truce with Deus Ex Machina and put an end to the war. In exchange for Neo to destroy Smith, the machines would allow humans to exit the Matrix freely and live peacefully in Zion. Essentially, Smith did win The Matrix Revolutions’ fight, but that actually helped Neo.
