Mythology of Lost - Plot Devices - The Man in Black/The Monster

The Man in Black/The Monster

The Island is home to a mysterious entity, consisting of a black mass accompanied by mechanical-like sounds and electrical activity within, dubbed the "Smoke Monster" or just the "Monster" by the survivors. The monster has been described by Lost producer Damon Lindelof as "one of the biggest secrets" of the mythology. 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). The smoke monster is established as an antagonist in Lost from the very first episode, "Pilot". The producers' initial plan was for the monster to represent the id, in a manner similar to the "id monster" from the 1956 film Forbidden Planet. This idea was changed by the end of season one, when the character Danielle Rousseau describes the monster as a "security system" for the Island, specifically the ruins of the temple on the Island. This plan was continued into season five, when Rousseau's husband, Robert, describes the monster as a security system that guards the island's temple. It has been repeatedly described as a "security system." It emerges from vents in the ground to attack people, though it does not always attack those it encounters. The Monster is capable of lifting a grown man, and in one instance tosses a man nearly fifty feet into the air. In another it wraps a tendril of smoke around a man's arm, severing it.

In the first episode of season 6, "LA X", it is revealed that the "Locke" with whom Ben is traveling is The Monster, an incarnation of Jacob's nemesis. It appears in the remains of the statue of Taweret and kills five people. One of the people manages to create a ring of ash around himself, temporarily hindering the smoke monster. The monster throws a rock at the man, knocking him out of the circle and making it possible for it to kill him. After the men are all dead, the smoke monster exits, and Jacob's nemesis, in the form of John Locke, immediately appears, stating that he is sorry that Ben had to see him "like that". It has since been stated that it used to be a man that only has the goal of leaving the Island and "going home". After claiming Sayid to his side, and giving the Others the chance to join him, he stormed the temple and massacred all those who did not comply. In "Recon", he gave Sawyer a mission to investigate Hydra Island to see if the coast was clear for him and the Others to travel over there so they could take the Ajira plane and fly off the Island. Later in the episode it tells Kate he is sorry about Claire. He tells her that his mother was crazy just like Aaron's mother, Claire. In the final episode he is rendered mortal again along with Jack, the new protector of the island when the Light at the center of the island is disabled. Trapped in the form of John Locke, the Man in Black fights Jack on the cliffs, stabs him and almost kills him, but after Kate shoots the Man in Black in the back, Jack kicks him off the cliff, killing the darkness before it could cross over with a boat to the hydra in order to escape the island with the plane.