Anthony Cooper is the best known alias of John Locke's biological father, another of which is Tom Sawyer. Cooper was shown to have also used the alias of Adam Seward, and he claimed to have used Ted MacLaren, Louis Jackson, and Paul. He is, by his own admission, a con man. He seduced James Ford's mother, Mary Ford, and then used her in order to obtain money from her and her husband. This prompted James to take Sawyer's name, and hunt him down. Cooper was killed by Sawyer in "The Brig".
Off the Island
Anthony tackles Locke, resulting in the latter's fall
Earlier in Cooper's life, he conned a woman named Mary Ford under the alias of Tom Sawyer for $38,000. This con resulted in her husband killing her and himself over the incident, and sent their son, James Ford, on a quest to murder the man he perceived as killing his parents. He wrote a letter when it first happened, and vowed to make him read it out loud to him before he killed him. ("The Brig")
When John Locke first found him, Anthony was on dialysis and in need of a new kidney. He got close to John by taking him hunting occasionally, and eventually conned him out of a kidney in a ploy using John's mother, Emily Annabeth Locke. ("Deus Ex Machina")
Cooper moved in an attempt to get away from Locke, who was stalking him, but John managed to find his new home. Helen eventually convinced John to move on, and he and Anthony were out of contact for a while. Some time later, he faked his own death to avoid retribution for a $700,000 retirement con he pulled on Jimmy Bane. He asked John to retrieve the money from a safety deposit box and left him $200,000 as promised for his help. ("Lockdown")
Several years later, John stumbled into another of Anthony's cons. Going by the name "Adam Seward," he was attempting to marry Mrs. Talbot in order to steal her money. Peter Talbot, her son, suspected his plan and attempted to intervene, but died suddenly and mysteriously. John suspected Anthony, but Anthony said he had nothing to do with it. When John turned his back, however, Anthony pushed him out an eight-story window, causing John's paralysis. His actions make it very likely that he did kill Peter Talbot. Soon after, Cooper was suspected to have fled to Mexico and he disappeared. ("The Man from Tallahassee")
Cooper's last recollected memory before coming to the Island is of being in a car accident in Tallahassee and of an EMT injecting something into him. ("The Brig")
On the Island
Anthony tied up on the island.
When Locke arrived at the Barracks, Ben told him about a "magic box" on the island that could grant wishes and later asked Locke if he wished to see what Ben had found inside. He then opened the door to a small basement room in which Anthony was sitting bound and gagged. Previously, Ben had referred to Cooper as "the man from Tallahassee." Locke asked Ben how he got here, and he told him to ask Cooper. When Locke removed his gag cloth, Cooper bit him on the hand, then yelled out "Don't you know where we are, John?"
Cooper was brought with the Others when they left the Barracks, and was later seen tied to a stone column at the edge of their camp site. Ben informed Locke that he could not become a full member of their group until he made a definitive break with his past--by murdering Cooper. When Locke balked at killing him, Cooper started to mock his son, claiming he still "wants his daddy." Shortly after this, the Others broke camp and left Locke and Cooper behind, with Ben telling Locke that he shouldn't follow them unless he's carrying his father's corpse on his back.
Sawyer murders Anthony inside of the Black Rock.
Acting on knowledge obtained from a file given to him by Richard Alpert, Locke carried Cooper to the Black Rock and then lured Sawyer there to kill him, claiming that the man he was holding captive was Ben. After Locke locked Sawyer and Cooper in the Brig together, Cooper told Sawyer about how he came to the island, corroborated Naomi's claim that Flight 815 was found with no survivors, and shared his belief that the island is actually Hell. Cooper then inadvertently revealed his past connection to Sawyer, who handed him the letter he wrote to the original Sawyer as a child, demanding that he read it. When Cooper mocked Sawyer and tore up his letter, Sawyer strangled him to death with a chain. ("The Brig")
Trivia
- Locke's fathers apartment number, where Locke fell from the window, is #3801.
- Anthony Cooper is the second person Sawyer has killed on the Island, the first was an unnamed Other.
- In "The Man from Tallahassee" we can see this picture in his room, before he pushes Locke out an eight-story window: [1]
- Anthony Cooper's mysterious appearance on the Island in "The Man from Tallahassee" was at first completely unexplained, and a mindf*ck to both John Locke and the Lost audience. (Literary techniques)
Cultural references
- The alias Cooper may be derived from the philosopher Anthony Cooper. (See main article, Philosophy)
- The alias Sawyer may be derived from the character created by Mark Twain
- Tom Sawyer is the title character of the Mark Twain novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876).
- Tom Sawyer, is also a popular song of the band Rush from their Moving Pictures album.
Unanswered questions
| Unanswered questions |
|---|
|
- For fan theories about these unanswered questions, see: Anthony Cooper/Theories
- What happened between his auto accident and his arrival on the Island? ("The Brig")
- Why did the others want Locke to kill him? ("The Brig")
- If Anthony Cooper was one of his aliases, what is his actual name? ("The Brig")
