Talk: The Man in Black/Theories

Other Unconfirmed Manifestations

Emily Linus

The Man in Black took on Emily's form to convince Ben to go beyond the sonar fence, and eventually on to be leadership of the Others. Note, how Richard asked Ben did Emily die on the Island - similar to how Jacob asked the same of Isabella to Richard when he arrived. This was part of MiB's long-game to ultimately exploit Ben's loneliness and need to be powerful to take him on a path to eventually kill Jacob. --WhoShotWaldo 23:03, May 21, 2010 (UTC)

Dave

The Man in Black took on Dave's appearance to exploit Hurley's insecurity over Libby and have him kill himself, and hence, remove him as a potential candidate. --WhoShotWaldo 23:03, May 21, 2010 (UTC)

Harper Stanhope

The Man in Black took on Harper's form to convince Juliet to stop Faraday and Charlotte's goals to stop there interfering with the Tempest... as it would result in everyone on the Island being killed, including all of Jacob's candidates. Bit of a harder one to swallow as Harper was not confirmed to be dead between the crash and the present day events of The Other Woman; but it's likely MiB knew Juliet would not know Harper has died since they joined the beach-camp. It would also explain Harper's rather ridiculous explanation Ben is mainipulating events while captured by Locke, which is frankly impossible at that point in the story. (Ben clearly did not anticipate getting captured when he met the survivors in Through the Looking Glass). --WhoShotWaldo 23:02, May 21, 2010 (UTC)

New theory -- MiB as composite

Hi everyone, I've added a new theory to the page inspired by Everyone Loves Hugo. Specifically, I think the explanation of the Whispers tonight suggests, maybe very faintly, that the purgatory-like aspect of the island may in fact be key to MiB's identity -- that is, we have been assuming he's one guy all this time when maybe he's a sort of hive-identity composed out of all those poor souls who've died on the island thus far. What do you think? Am I Crazy? Is there conclusive evidence to disprove this?--Falstaft 03:33, April 14, 2010 (UTC)

• I approach this question with a bias that MiB and Jacob are more like brothers. How they both came to be on the island(as the entities we see) or have the abilities they do I cannot completely explain. However, something occurred to them for each to choose the paths we see. Jacob wanting to heal the world and make it a better experience and MiB not giving a care, applying an eye for an eye principle. I can see MiB feeding off the malevolence and negative energy of those dead on the island. In other words MiB set out on a path to remove, literally remove that which he deems evil. Likewise Jacob set out on a path to prevent or heal that which is not benevolent and good, so he is an embodiment of all the good souls that died on the island. The island as purgatory has been discounted(writers). However, the island as a cork which can keep or lock in malevolent spirits(or entities) is a very reasonable conclusion. There is a saying which goes like ...if you go chasing monsters be careful that in the process you do not become one too. That is what MiB has become. MiB represents the darkness that exists in all human beings souls, including those that have died on the island. Even the good souls on the island since good and evil exists in every human being, but those who have expressed the evil have not been able to move on. You are not crazy, at least not until we know exactly how MiB came into being. My counter argument though not conclusive is that MiB tells Jacob he does not want humans coming to the island cause they never change (kill corrupt destroy etc) that is he very much does not like the human condition, so why would he be a Hive of their 'poor' souls. VeryBadRobot 19:35, April 23, 2010 (UTC)

Why Recruit

We seem to be missing why he wants to recruit. Jacob's motives have seem to be clear to protect the island. But this guy's motives are unknown if he wants to be alone then leave no need to recruit Claire and Sawyer. Cooldude 832 22:25, February 24, 2010 (UTC

• As MiB stated he needs the candidates on his side( together) in order to leave. That was part of his loophole plan. With Jacob dead, only those who are candidates can prevent him from leaving. Once he is able to influence them to help him, that's it. The point is to always remember to separate what MiB thinks and wants as MiB and what MiB as Flocke does in order to execute his escape. Like he told Claire, when they get off the island, whatever she wants to do to Kate is up to her. When MiB gets off the island, whatever happens to the candidates is not his concern. But for now, he needs people to help him bring his plan into fruition...simply part of the loophole process.VeryBadRobot 18:46, April 23, 2010 (UTC)

Patricide

Ben had to kill his Ben's father, so did Locke. Yet Locke had Sawyer kill Locke's father.
Could there be any significance to this?
Was Locke ever the rightful leader of the others
Any other proposals?
--Shomas 00:13, 16 May 2009 (UTC)

Due to the fact, that Locke self-proclaimed himslef special in the 50s, because Richard told him he was special in 2004, because Locke told him in the 50s....yes, I too believe he never was the righteous leader. Thefonz 12:38, 18 May 2009 (UTC)

Not Locke, but Jacob's Nemesis. --Ragnanox 13:50, 18 May 2009 (UTC)

I didn't think there was much to the "MIB is the Lich King" at first glance, but after thinking about it for awhile it does make a lost of sense. --Dick Alpert 20:00, February 16, 2010 (UTC)

Alt Explanation for the Jacob - Locke Convo

Hi, this is my first post, so if its in the wrong section or something, please re-assign without prejudice. :)

Ive been reading some of the discussions touching on whether locke at the end of the incident p2 is locke or whether its actually jacobs nemesis.

I personally thought that the opening 1800 convo between nemesis and jacob, the phrasing in it and the the setting are all good indications that endlocke and jacobs nemesis are one and the same. It is the simplest explanation and connects the two scenes very well, and it achieves the "im shocked by the outcome, but I understand the motives" reaction at the end of the season, but still leaves me anticipating the next season.

However, maybe there is an alternative explanation for their conversation at the end of the episode and the particular phrasing in it. It would be good if you guys (who have better cannon knowledge) could review and let me know what you think. Why do I think the alternative is possible? Its a complex show guys, at least for me it is. Maybe they want us to think we've figured it out (its pretty obvious) so that the ooh-ahh factor is greater next season when the actuality is confirmed by the script.

Thats a long intro, the interpretation isnt that long. My points/questions are bordered with a << and >>

JACOB: You like it? I did it myself. It takes a very long time when you're making the thread, but, uh... I suppose that's the point, isn't it? << not related to this theory, but making the thread could be a very rounded reference to setting up schemes, planning the outcome and future >>

LOCKE: Hello, Jacob. JACOB: Well, you found your loophole. << the LOOPHOLE! Its simple to think the is THE LOOPHOLE from the 1800's convo. There was one other thing mentioned in the earlier episodes, kind of like a law or something, this is where the pros comments would be good. When Ben is about to move the wheel which locke moves later. Wasnt there something around that event that someone says that once someone moves the island, the person doing the act can never return to the island? Its not as beautifully simple as the mention of the "LOOPHOLE" in the other scene, but is it possible? >>

LOCKE: Indeed I did. And you have no idea what I've gone through to be here. << Following from the above, he went through a lot. Whether he did it as locke or as nemesis. Time travelled, left the island, died, came back (or did he?), set up the time travel thing for the past self. And this is all just to get back >>

BEN: Have you met before? LOCKE: In a manner of speaking. [Whispers] Do what I asked you to, Ben. << Following from the above again. They did meet before and it was really "in a manner of speaking". Remember the finale scene where Jacob goes over to the sprawled Locke at the base of the building. He touches him on the shoulder and saves him or revives him, whatever. But John does see Jacob and Jacob says "Don't worry, everything's gonna be alright. I'm sorry this happened to you." >>

JACOB: Benjamin... whatever he's told you, I want you to understand one thing. You have a choice. BEN: What "choice"? JACOB: You can do what he asked, or you can go, leave us to discuss our... issues. << Still following from the above. Ben has a knife, lockes telling him to do it. Its obvious that locke wants bad stuff to happen to Jacob, hence there are "issues" that he thinks he can discuss with locke >>

What am i proposing? Locke is still alive? Nemesis is not a bodysnatcher? Neither of the above, actually. Just thinking of an alternative to the simplest explanation, which shows like this inspire out of many of us. Ofcourse if the above is accurate, then the bigger mystery is the body in the coffin. I confess that I dont have a theory on that which would support the above interpretation of the conversation.

Anyway, post post, let me know what you think. Jsubsh 14:42, 8 June 2009 (UTC)

I moved the note about the derivation of the name Samuel out of Cultural References (to the trivia section) because the episode contains no direct reference to the name Samuel.

Furthermore, I was thinking that note is a bit misleading, it reads....

"Samuel in the Bible was a prophet and judge who anointed the first two kings of Israel, Saul and David; similar to how Jacob appoints leaders of the Others, such as Charles Widmore, Eloise Hawking, Benjamin Linus and John Locke."

...yet, we don't know that Jacob "appoints leaders of the Others". In fact, Richard Alpert said the Others have a fairly extensive criteria for choosing their leader, something that seems to contradict the idea that the leader is merely "appointed" by Jacob. I think that part of this piece of trivia should be deleted.... does anybody disagree?

• Well.. it isn't clear what the actual alternative explanation you're proposing is? Right now I think the writers have just about coherently explained that Locke is in fact dead and the monster has taken his place, to then say that is all wrong too is a bit of a stretch.. I think that at the moment it is clear that Locke IS the monster but there may in fact be more to their rivalry .. such as what are the issues Jacob wants to discuss? Why didn't Jacob put up a fight? --Integrated (User / Talk) 03:07, 9 June 2009 (UTC)
  • It's a stretch to definitively say that the nemesis is the monster. It's likely, but just a theory. I'm moving this to the theories talk subpage. -- Sam McPherson  T  C  E  22:18, 14 June 2009 (UTC)
  • Yes, unless there is more evidence the monster is best left as a mysterious, sentient guardian of the island that has the ability to judge one's right to remain there. The above explanation seems simplistic, not to mention disappointing if it were to be true. --Nedgey 02:07, January 26, 2010 (UTC)

• It appeared that the Others (especially for Richard) had prior knowledge that the smoke monster is the nemesis of Jacob long time ago. In that case, why would Ben listened to the monster in following all instruction of Locke? (Season 5 Dead is Dead) It appeared to me that the producers simply didn't think about that beforehand.

--Windphantom 03:19, February 4, 2010 (UTC)

Connection With Locke - Flocke is Locke

Act 5 of "Dead is Dead" Locke (MIB) says to Sun: "I realize how strange this all is--me, here. But I assure you, Sun, I'm the same man I've always been...."--Judeood 19:37, March 31, 2010 (UTC)

Considering the fact that baby Locke had picture of the smoke monster and that when he looked at the monster he saw light, and the fact that the monster chose Locke rather then any other dead candidate as his permanant form, I'm guessing Locke has some deep as yet undiscovered connection with the monster.

Also given that the monster is stuck as Locke, I think its possible that the monster is merging with Locke: the monster takes the memories of the dead person it imitates (E.g. Yemi, Alex etc) and since it's stuck as Locke it seems to be gaining Locke like behaviour (Shouting "dont tell me what I cant do at the boy) Also ABC said that the Locke/Jack conflict will escallate in season 6 which (unless they lied like the time they said there would be no time traveling in the show) means that Locke will come back in some shape or form. (JeremyFisher 22:34, February 24, 2010 (UTC))

Also we see that Locke's name is not crossed out in the cave. Jacob must have known Locke was dead as he recognises that its not locke and its the monster. (JeremyFisher 22:36, February 24, 2010 (UTC))

So, a while ago I came up with this crazy theory, after watching "Recon". What sparkled it was Flocke's chat with Kate, when he told her he had mother issues. I already came to the conclusion that Flocke must be a known character since they are obviously and deliberately hiding his name (of course I'm not sure of that, I assumed the same thing with Jacob back in season 5). So: which known character has had mother issues? some of'em. Claire, Aaron... but what struck me was Locke. here's a copy and paste of the theory, with objections made and my replies, before my cleaning.

• Flocke is Locke. Because of some unpredictable event in the next episodes (perhaps the finale), the FS Locke will be thrown into the past, where he will be touched by Jacob.
• Evidence:
  • Emily Locke is crazy: John was born in 1956, so since before the Incident both timelines were one and the same, the effect of John's troubled childhood are felt in both timelines.

Objection: Not likely since Richard Alpert himself is present when John Locke is born. Also, MIB is already what he is back in the 1800's, before Richard came to the Island, and more or less of a century before Locke was born.

Reply: Indeed. The point is that, since MiB is on the Island "ab aeterno", FS Locke will end up in the past.

• • Flocke is stuck in Locke's shape. Why is that? Because it's HIS OWN shape.

Obj 1: No. We don't really know the rules to whose form MIB can assume, but it seems he can assume anyone's form once the dead body is brought to the island, or that person died at the Island. Ex.: Alex, Yemi and Locke. Also, Alex was dead and MIB assumed her form while Ben went to be judged by the Island, and MIB was switched from Locke to Alex, just like that: Snaps Fingers. Obj 2: It could just be that MIB's transformation ability is a scare tactic with setbacks. MIB only appeared to individual people before assuming his Flocke appearance. When the real body of John Locke was exposed to the MIB's group, MIB became stuck in that form. The setback is that MIB technically can't parade around in these forms, because if his deception is revealed, he has to stay that way.

Reply: Since we don't really know the rules, you can't just negate it. The point is that MiB is STUCK in Locke's form. Under the hypothesis that he was John Locke, albeit existing in a different timeline, he was stuck in Locke's form because, originally, it was his own. If your reply is "so why didn't he assume it in the 1800's?", it's a good point. I say it's a narrative device (leaving the surprise for the finale, like the NAME), and again it is something depending on the "rules", like you said.

• • "Don't tell me what I can't do". has the MiB somehow, by taking Locke's shape, gained some of Locke's personality, or is Locke's personality somehow emerging? You know where I'm going.. yes, it is emerging. But MiB never GAINED it by taking Locke's shape. Again, it's HIS OWN personality.

Obj: Clearly MIB didn't gain some of anyone's personality. He already wanted to leave the island and kill Jacob before Locke was even born.

Reply: Again, you are missing a time travel. and yeah, I never said he gained any personality. he already had his own, which is the point...

• • A few people who meet Flocke are clearly aware (sometimes, like Sawyer, at first sight) that he's not John Locke.

Obj: And they’ve explained why: His personality is different from Locke’s. MIB knows the Island’s and People’s secrets , thus making him aware and self-confident which are opposed to John Locke’s confused and not-knowing-what-to-do personality.

Reply: The original point read "It's a bit of a stretch, yes. But I will take for evidence what looks like COUNTER EVIDENCE by assuming that the writers are deliberatly remarking that he is not John Locke, to make us completely reject the absurd hypothesis that he might be John Locke in any way except for the outer shape". There's the answer.

• • Desmond said "You're John Locke". Desmond is special.
  • Locke wanted to stay, Flocke wants to leave. We've seen the differences between the two realities: people in the FS are opposites (ok, maybe not TOTALLY opposite, but it's safe to say that there is something in their personalities, or in their lives, which is definitely opposite) of their counterparts in the original timeline. Jack is a man of faith. Sawyer is a cop. Locke is a man of science. Ben is a good father figure to Alex. and so on. if Flocke is FS Locke, his urge of leaving the Island fits perfectly, as it is the opposite of Locke's urge, staying on the Island at all costs.

Obj: This contradicts the "Gained some of Locke's personality" statement you made. Since they have opposite personalities in the FS.

Reply: Does it? I never said he gained anything, so nothing gets contradicted. After 14 episodes, it looks clear that the FS somewhat reverses some characteristics of the guys. Sawyer a cop, not a conman to name one. But the "core", so to speak, remains the same: Jack is still the obsessive compulsive fixer, Sawyer still bent on revenge, etc. What about Locke? Can you still envision him saying "don't tell me what I can't do"? hell yeah. But he's not a man of faith. and MiB wants to leave as bad as Jack wanted to leave in season 3 and 4, where he wasn't a man of faith.

• • "I realize how strange this all is--me, here. But I assure you, Sun, I'm the same man I've always been...." Season 5, "Dead is Dead", Flocke to Sun.

--Idioteca 02:50, May 6, 2010 (UTC)

Cleanup suggestion: independent "Man in Black versus Jacob/theories" section

I hope I'm not beating a dead horse (by the way, what happened to Kate's horse?) but since the Man in Black theories cannot be separated from the Jacob theories, wouldn't it make sense to have a separate section focusing on the dualism between the two and just placing corresponding links on the Man in Black and Jacob section? Namaste! --SokratesOne 15:41, March 6, 2010 (UTC)

Truth or Manipulation?

I have noticed something, when a person is under some sort up upset or is at a place of emotional turmoil, it seems that the man in black always has some sort connection to them. I am wondering if this is just a form of manipulation. Examples: Sawyer: Sympothising with Sawyer has a gun put a gun to his head. Him feeling trapped and Sawyer could understand that. "I know what it's like to feel joy, to feel pain, anger, fear, to experience betrayal. I know what it's like to lose someone you love.". Playing at Sawyer's loss of Juliet. Kate: Saying he [MiB] had a crazy mother and it made him have some growing pains, and now Aaron has a crazy mother. While we may be getting more information about the Man in Black, I also think this this clearly is just another form of him manipulating people. He told Claire he would get Aaron back to her. Sayid that he could have anything he wanted. Ben that he could have the island after everyone left. This is just a deeper way of him manipulating the survivors.--Phryrosebdeco23 07:01, March 17, 2010 (UTC)

MiB's escape plan

Having been the one suggesting it in the first place a couple of weeks ago, I have taken the liberty of removing the Frozen Wheel from the / my theory. A couple of weeks ago, the Frozen Wheel might have been an option but now - halfway through season six - MiB had plenty of opportunity to use it (which he didn't) and instead goes for Hydra Island and the Ajira plane or for the submarine (where I speculate he's going to end up).--SokratesOne 12:13, March 18, 2010 (UTC)

Same or new theory?

I theorize that the MiB is the Hell itself. This would explain why he is able to take the appearance of dead people and has all their memories. Is this considered a new theory or does it fall under this: Vehicle of the darkness the island is holding? --Cah51o 14:30, March 25, 2010 (UTC)

MiB is a Fallen Angel

I suggest that The Man in Black is actually a fallen angel fighting with Jacob. This come from the biblical story of Jacob. When Jacob was travelling back to canaan he encoutered a mysterious stranger who didn't give its name ( Genesis 32:29 ). This is really interresting given the MiB has just no name like the stranger Jacob ecountered.

They fought from dawn to dusk and when Jacob overthrowed him, the man asked Jacob to let him go. To which jacob answered "I will not let you go unless you bless me." ( Genesis 32:25 ). The battle between Jacob and MiB is well represented here. MiB wants to leave, Jacob don't want to let him go until he blessed him ( or join him )

When the man asked his name Jacob gave him straigthly. ( Genesis 32:25 ) Just like Jacob answer straight to anyone asking who he is.

Adding to this theory, being a fallen angel would make MiB have more power than Jacob. Yet Jacob is still powerful enough to overthrow him. Stpinker 15:17, March 26, 2010 (UTC)

Id, Super Ego, Ego Theory expansion

Given that this theory postulates the MiB(ID) and Jacob(SUPER EGO) and even Aaron as one and the same thing, can anyone provide a reasonable explanation as to how they split up to be the two entities. With the island as the 'ego', that may even be a split into three entities. More precisely answers that fit within the lost-verse as we have come to know it. A space time continuum fracture? Some magical entity? The collective unconscious of people who chance upon the island? A naturally occurring electromagnetic anomaly, like an MRI machine which causes a split?

Since babies are born (by fruedian principles) with the 'Id' already hardwired could this account for the reason the pregnancies are rejected by the mothers hence unsuccessful births on the island? VeryBadRobot 07:36, April 24, 2010 (UTC)

Identity: Removed from main article.

None of these have evidence internal to the show. They are mostly worthy discussion items better suited to the MiB Theories Discussion page but I have moved them here. Please not that the writers have said that while influenced by religion/mythology/etc it is not their primary source and the "solutions are not to be found there.    Charles Kane     talk  contribs   email   03:02, April 26, 2010 (UTC)

A Participant in a Future Time Travel Experiment Gone Wrong

In the future, the MiB participates in a time travel experiment, but it goes horribly wrong. He becomes a shape-shifting cloud who becomes so powerful, he endangers the population of this future time period. He is captured (most likely in a magnetic field) and imprisoned on the island which has then been placed in a time loop in the distant past. He can be killed, but people of the future don't believe in a death penalty. Jacob is his prison guard. The MiB is neither good or evil, just insane. He's allowed to live as long as he lives by the rules - one being he cannot kill Jacob. Jacob is neither good nor evil, but one who taunts the MiB and occupies his time competing or testing the MiB in ways akin to a chess match.

The Man in Black is Randall Flagg

Randall Flagg, also known as "the Dark Man" or "the Walkin’ Dude", is the main antagonist of the novel The Stand. He is the embodiment of evil, an antichrist-like being whose goal is destruction and death. In the novel, he is presented as diametrically opposed to Mother Abagail’s personification of good wich could refer to Jacob.

Flagg is also the main villain in The Eyes of the Dragon, and there are some passages in that book that allude to Flagg being immortal and pure evil.

Flagg's appearance shifts between human, demon, and various animals, and it is implied that he has lived many lives in many times; "Flagg" is just the name of his present form. Flagg is described by Tom Cullen as follows: "He looks like anybody you see on the street. But when he grins, birds fall dead off telephone lines. When he looks at you a certain way, your prostate goes bad and your urine burns. The grass yellows up and dies where he spits. He’s always outside. He came out of time. He doesn’t know himself."

Like Mother Abagail, Flagg appears to various survivors in their dreams, providing a choice and attracting those who are drawn to structure, destruction and power. He rescues Lloyd Henreid from starvation in prison and with him as second-in-command establishes a community in Las Vegas, Nevada. This is similar like the rescue of Richard from chains. Though Flagg has the ability to predict the future, along with several other demonic powers, as the events of The Stand unfold he begins to lose his power little by little as his plans go more and more awry. At the end of the novel, the Hand of God detonates a nuclear bomb, destroying Flagg’s gathered followers and Las Vegas. The uncut edition of the novel includes an epilogue in which Flagg, in a new incarnation, awakes on an unknown tropical Island, where he meets a primitive tribe, telling them that he has come to teach them civilization and identifying himself as Russell Faraday.

The "Real" Devil

The man in black is the entity that people have associated the "devil" with.

• He tempts humans with things they want
• Exploits their emotional desires and weaknesses

"The Monster from the Id"

• David Fury stated in an interview that one of the influences for the Smoke Monster was The Monster from the Id from Forbidden Planet.
  • The Monster from the Id is a monster born from Dr. Morbius's subconscious Id. The "plastic educator" was a device the Krell used to manifest whatever they wanted with their minds; however, they did not account for the inherent "darkness" inside each person. This device destroyed them, because it brought into being the Monster. Similarly, Morbius becomes obsessed with using the machine to raise his IQ and to conjure up his desires, but did not account for his evil side.
  • Forbidden Planet is a sci-fi adaptation of William Shakespeare's The Tempest, another source LOST has appropriated into its mythological framework. In The Tempest, Prospero, the wizard of the Isle, abjures his "rough magic" and rejoins humanity, and this is what saves him from inevitable disaster, while Morbius never gave up his "dark arts."
  • The Monster from the Id is invisible, can change shapes, and can come out of nowhere, like the original properties of the Smoke Monster from the early seasons.
• The Man in Black is characterized by the characteristics of the Freudian "Id"
  • Based on the "pleasure principle." In essence, the Id wants to have a good time.
    • If these needs are not met, then someone can get anxious, nervous or irritable.
      • It is actually the other way around, if the SuperEgo needs are not met, Anxious behaviours can occur.
  • Doesn't care about the needs of someone else, only themselves.
  • Instinctive and primal behaviors, like self-defense.
  • It's the primary component of our personalities.
  • "Barbaric"
• Following this logic, then that would make Jacob the "superego" which is characterized by...
  • Moral standards.
  • Spiritual agency
  • Conscience
  • "Civilization"
• Neither one is "good" or "evil," rather just aspects of our mind that we need to reconcile and find a medium between.
• If the Monster is the "Id," then Claire and Sayid getting infected is "super-charging" their subconscious "Ids." They haven't become "evil" or are lost forever; rather, their more primal sides have taken over their egos.
• For the record: Sigmund Freud always criticized the application of "subconscious" for the "unconscious mind" as subconscious suggests a 'topographic' inferiority ("sub-"). Actually he considered "conscious mind" (immediate awareness)and "unconscious mind" (unawareness) to be on equal footing, which Jacob and the Man in Black appear to be.
• the Island would then be the Ego balancing the ID(MIB) and SuperEgo(Jacob).

Is a Djinn/Genie

• According to general Genie folklore, a genie appears from a lamp in a cloud of smoke - The Man in Black has appeared as a cloud of smoke
• General folklore also says that Genies grant wishes, i.e. your greatest desire - The Man in Black makes such promises
  • Depending on the story, these wishes are often granted, but at a terrible price.
  • His ability to grant "wishes", or at least promise to, could be related to the so-called magic box, rather than an intrinsic ability.
• Genies are said to be imprisoned in their lamps - The Man in Black is a prisoner of the Island
• Djinns can take the form of humans or animals - The Man in Black has exactly done this at several occasions
• In Islamic culture, Djinn are the third creation of God, the other two being Humans and Angels. While Djinn are said to have free will, they are often seen as the evil opposite to Angels, with humans caught in the middle.
  • Jacob is an Angel, MiB is a Djinn.
• Marid are a type of Djinn with a connection to the sea.
• Egyptian Djinn are said to be servants of Set.

Jacob's prisoner

• Jacob is not necessarily the "good guy" he seems to be. In their dialogue, MiB says to Jacob "you brought them here". And so it would seem that Jacob brings people to the Island, presumably to be some sort of "prisoner".
• Smoke Monster, when he is in the form of Locke, tells Ben that he admires Locke but that he wants the one thing that Locke doesn't - to go home, ie. he is being held there against his will.
  • Note that MiB/Flocke says to Richard Alpert "it's nice to see you out of the chains", implying that Alpert was some sort of prisoner, too.
    • Suggests that the MIB last saw Richard when he arrived on the black rock and was in chains. Perhaps MiB interfered too much with Jacob's experiment with the Black Rock and was imprisoned back then.
    • In the beginning of season six Flocke has made repeatedly statements indicating that he wants to get off the island. Jacob's rug depicts an image of a prisoner (MIB) being transported on a ship (to the island). The Others may be prison guards who - with 'Jacob the warden' gone - are now equally "out of the chains" with Flocke suggesting (or knowing) they won't have the powers to stop him from finally leaving. To accomplish his 'prison break' he attempts to manipulate the Valenzetti Equation by killing the candidates representing certain numbers, though he has been warned by mysterious boy not to do so.

Just as a candidate can take over the role of Jacob, the MIB needs a candidate to replace him as the MIB for him to be free and "go home". The MIB is trying to turn Sawyer into the new MIB to replace him. Sawyer has nothing more to live for after Juliet's death and has no good left in him. But first the MIB has to infect him and Sawyer needs to die first. The MIB is dead, this is why he cannot be harmed but Jacob can be killed. At the same time Jack will become the new Jacob and protect the island. This is why Jacob told Hurley Jack is important. Because it is Jack that Jacob wants to protect the island, so he can make up for the terrible things that happened when he was the leader of Flight 815. This is why Kate is not a candidate. Her only role is to pit Jack and Sawyer against each other so they can fulfill their destinies to become nemesis. The final scene of the series will be a recreation of the opening scene of season 5 finale The Incident where Jacob and the MIB talk. Only It will be between Jack and Sawyer hundreds of years into the future.

• Dogen states that MIB was imprisoned for years. This implies that he was indeed the "help me" invisible character in the cabin. This suggests that he was unable to leave the cabin in those "years". This throws up the question - who was the smoke monster at the time of the crash - I nominate Jacob.

Jacob's Brother

The MIB and Jacob are of the same family - most likely cousins or brothers.

Evidence For

• Despite the extent of MIBs powers, in their interaction on the beach Jacob did not appear to be concerned by his presence. This would imply that he has similar powers, with which he could defend himself, but we have yet to see them in action. If they were similar types of creature, they could be of the same family and, given the similarities in age, a brotherly relationship would make more sense than father/son.
• The young boy Flocke saw in the trees may have been a young Jacob. Flocke recognized him, implying that he knew him when he was small - around the time they were both given the "rules" that the boy spoke of. This would lead to them either being childhood friends or brothers.
• The Biblical Jacob had a twin brother (Esau), whom at one time vowed to kill him. There mother also favored Jacob, which MIB(Locke) said is the reason that he is struggling on the island (having a crazy mother). In the biblical story Esau the oldest was due to receive the inheritance, but his mother helped his younger twin deceive his father so that he might receive it instead. There is also an point in which Jacob's brother gives up his birthright in exchange for some food. In the first encounter shown, Jacob offers MIB so food and he refuses, then Jacob smirks. The biblical Jacob was presented as being fair, while his brother Esau was know to be a hairy man.

Evidence Against

• They don't look that similar - one dark hair, one light hair. And all we do see is just a human form that the MIB chose to be in. "He" could equally be female, or something entirely different.
  • The biblical Jacobs brother, Esau, is dark and Jacob is light skinned.
  • One of my roommates in college had dark hair, and his brother was practically an albino. Rare, but it happens.
    • Especially if one considers genetics: It is perfectly possible for parents with different skin and hair color to have their offspring looking different from one to another. Not to mention that happening in biovular twins. Which could explain why they (Jacob and MIB) are so different and at the same time similar.
• If they were brothers (i.e. the same type of creature) then Sayid would have killed or injured the MIB when he plunged the knife into him. At the very least, he would have bled like Jacob.

MIB is from Future

Both Jacob and MIB are from the future. MIB is of course a prisoner of Jacob who feeds on electromagnetism (like doom or magneto). The whole island is a prison for the MIB

Evidence for:

• Jacob is well versed with all time periods he is in. MIB mentions how its all going to end.

Against:

• John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men is "a little after [MiB's] time."
• There is nothing futuristic about MiB or Jacob, or their surroundings. Contrarily, they are associated with simple or ancient things: the ancient dagger, the cave, the lighthouse, simple cloth attire, hieroglyphics, ruins, etc.
• MiB does not say anything about how it is "going to end." Rather, he states that it "always ends the same" based on past observation.
• What's futuristic about electromagnetism or an island?

Mythology

Removed here. No internal evidence. Writers have denied direct link with religion    Charles Kane     talk  contribs   email   03:11, April 26, 2010 (UTC)

Christian Mythology

Lucifer

• MiB is Lucifer. Catch A Falling Star plays as he exits triumphant from the Temple. Lucifer, the fallen one, was called the Morning Star.
• Jesus was also called the Morning Star. Rev 22:16 (NIV) "I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star."
• With all of MIB's talk about wanting to "go home," isn't that what Lucifer always wanted; to return to heaven (home)? In this sense the island IS Hell, though more of a Dante's Inferno Hell rather than the common conception of Hell. In Dante's Inferno, Lucifer was depicted as a prisoner of Hell rather than having any kind of power over it. This could also mean that Jacob is some kind of angel sent to guard the "gates of Hell" and keep Lucifer from "spreading" to the world.

The Holy Ghost / Azrael (Angel of Death)

1). The smoke "monster" is actually the Holy Ghost. In Christianity, the Holy Spirit (or Holy Ghost) is the Spirit of God. As part of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit is equal with God the Father and with God the Son. The Ghost appears to judge the dead, if it escapes the Island it will be capable of judging the living and the dead and ACTing as the 2nd coming of Christ - in the body of John Locke. Evidence includes the myriad of forms the Ghost can take based on the subject's accumulated karma, as well as it's ethereal and smoke-like nature.

2). In the Old Testament, Jacob's name became Israel (he who has struggled with God) after he outwitted the Angel; thus, he became the patriarch of the nation of Israel. The man in black may be regarded as Azrael, Angel of Death, and Israel's dark side; he is everything Jacob is NOT and vice - versa.

Set/Seth

• Jacob is Horus, so his arch-enemy is Set. Set and Horus were obligated to live in peace in the ruling from the gods, so even though Set hated Horus, they couldn't kill each other.
  • After Set was demonized and became thought of as Apep, another Egyptian god representing evil, Egyptian priests evidently wrote about how to fight and condemn Apep. Among ways listed to fight against Apep is defiling Apep with the left foot--the foot of Taweret that remained. Taking a knife to smite Apep and laying fire upon Apep are also listed, and this may be why Smokey/Set chooses to kill Jacob/Horus, expressing vengeance by killing in the method of the threat against him. Smokey/Set even kicks Jacob into the fire with his left foot.
  • If Smokey is just portraying Set and Apep is separate, this would still explain his style of killing Jacob. He kills Jacob in the way he would normally kill Apep, which was his main function for thousands of years. If Richard is Apep, which fits since Apep was said to be bound in chains at one point, this explains why Set attacked him so mercilessly.

Apep

• MIB is Apep, the demon serpent. Imprisoned in the Underworld, Apep is restrained by Taweret.
  • This is absolutely correct. Taweret was the Egyptian God of fertility and is pictured pregnant. This god in the show is represented by Claire. Taweret was married to Set but hated him and she would keep him on a chain in order to control Apep from killing the Boat traveling across the sky represented by oceanic 815.
  • If Taweret was restraining smokey, wouldn't they have built the statue facing inland ? Odd to have your back to something you should be keeping an eye on.
• The Incident, Parts 1 & 2 opens with Jacob weaving a tapestry in the chamber underneath the statue of Taweret. The tapestry depicts, among other things, the Eye of Ra, indicating Jacob's connection with Ra. Apep was viewed as the greatest enemy of Ra, and thus was given the title "Enemy of Ra." He was typified as a 16-yard long serpent with a head made of flint. A similar description could be given to MiB in his smoke form. Apep was said to inhabit Duat, the underworld in Egyptian mythology. Duat was considered the place where peoples' souls went after death for judgment, which would explain the presence of the passengers on the respective Oceanic and Ajira flights that have crashed there. Myths sometimes say that Apep was trapped in Duat, because he had been the previous chief god and suffered a coup d'etat by Ra, or because he was evil and had been imprisoned. This would explain both the MiB's imprisonment on the island and his enmity for Jacob. It was believed that Apep's roar would cause the underworld to rumble, something the smoke monster has done on numerous occasions. Apep was known to have a gaze that would enchant anyone he looked at, which may be why Dogen warned Sayid to kill him before he could speak. He was also seen as a potential impediment to the successful posthumous journey of individual souls. The Egyptian Book of the Dead suggests that the individual soul will take part in the titanic struggle with the forces of evil on its way to the land of the dead. The nature of good and evil has been an underlying theme in the show since the series began. Apep could not be permanently killed because he already resided in the underworld. When "killed," he had the power of rising in new forms and obstructing the passage to the heaven world, thus explaining MiB's ability to assume different forms.

Anubis

• Jacob's enemy is Anubis. Being a god of the underworld Anubis may be able to take the form of dead people such as Locke, Christian, Boone, Eko, Charlie, and Yemi. Also when Ben confronts the Monster in the Temple, there is Ben's Moth a hieroglyph of Anubis and the Monster facing each other, perhaps saying the Monster follows Anubis.
• Anubis was responsible for measuring the good and evil in ones heart after death. Thus explaining his various judgments and his interaction with the scale in Jacob's cave.
• Anubis is Jack. I could explain exactly why but it would take too long. His father is Set until Set became evil. Represented by his father Christian. Jack is also a play on the word Jackal which was the animal Anubis represented. This is why Hurley's fortune teller asked Locke what type of animal he thought he was.
• MIB compared Claire to his mother. Claire replaces Aaron with a jackal skull -- Anubis is represented with the head of a jackal.

Cerberus

• Jacob’s enemy is Cerberus. The Island has several "Cerberus Vents" (CV) that are identified on the blast door drawing that Radzinsky worked on while in the Swan station.
  • In Ancient Greek mythology, the god Hermes and the monster Cerberus (smoke monster?) are thought to derive their origins from the golden jackal. The Egyptian god of embalming, Anubis, was portrayed as a jackal-headed man, or as a jackal.
    • Did you notice that the big statue has four toes? That's how many toes a jackal has on its feet.
    • Jacob might be Hermes: Hermes helps people with injuries, which might tie into why people can heal quickly on the island. Hermes embodied the spirit of crossing-over: He was seen to be manifest in any kind of interchange, transfer, transgressions, transcendence, transition, transit or traversal, all of which involve some form of crossing in some sense. This explains his connection with transitions in one’s fortune. In the final episode of season 5 we see Jacob/Hermes show up at the transition point of people’s lives (Kate/stealing, Locke/becoming a cripple, Sayid/losing his wife, Jack/surgery, etc.). Jacob gives Jack an Apollo candy bar (the one that had jammed in the vending machine). Medicine and healing were associated with the Greek god, Apollo. In many Greek myths, Hermes was depicted as the only god besides Hades, Persephone, Hecate, and Thanatos who could enter and leave the Underworld without hindrance.[all of this was sourced from material found on Wikipedia]
  • In Greek mythology, Cerberus was the guardian to the gates of the Underworld. This ties in nicely with the Smoke Monster being a protector of some sort on the island.

• The MiB is what the Greeks called Cerberus, the guardian of the underworld the mythology of the time. The misconception is that many thought Cerberus guarded Hades from those attempting to enter who shouldn't - but, he performs a corollary duty as well; he prevents Hades, hell, or death (also represented by Anubis), from escaping into the rest of the world. Just as Jacob said, if he leaves the island, Hell escapes. Jacob was, in effect, the guardian of the guardian, he has to keep the MiB on the island, or the cork is pulled and Hell spreads across the world. In mythology, Cerberus also judged those who entered the underworld. This explains the scanning of the memories that the MiB performs when he is in his black smoke form. Over the many years he has performed the duty of being the guardian of the underworld, he has become jaded as to human nature (understandable if your job was to judge the worst of the worst that humanity had to offer), and thus no longer cares if Armageddon happens or not. Jacob, in keeping hell and earth two separate domains, is worshiped as the Egyptian deity Taweret - the personification of pure good - by the original inhabitants of the island. The fact that Taweret is traditionally female lends credence to the idea that Jacob is not the first guardian of the MiB.This theory integrates much of the mythological references in the show, and Jacob explanation as to the purpose of the island.

Hephaestus

• The MIB is Hephaestus: god of technology, blacksmiths, craftsmen, artisans, sculptors, metals, metallurgy, fire and volcanoes.
  • Son of Hera - He was thrown into the ocean by his crazy mother because he was born lame.
    • He builds himself a wheelchair. He relates to Locke in his wheelchair, and heals his lameness. MIB was discarded by his parents, just like Locke.
  • The metallic sounds of the smoke monster are appropriate for a god of technology, metals, blacksmiths.
    • The boom at the end of every episode sounds like it could come from a forge.
  • The form of smoke appropriate for a god of fire and volcanoes.
  • The wheel that moves the island could be attributed to a god of technology.
  • The magnetic energy of the island could be tied to a god of metals, metallurgy.
  • This god of sculptors made the statue of Egyptian goddess Taweret (goddess of protection, birth and fertility, in the form of part hippo, part cat, part other animals) as an insult to Hera with the sentiment: "This beastly goddess is a better mother than you. You can be ugly and be good - unless you get rejected...."
    • Hera was not pleased with the statue and destroyed it.
  • His forge is located on an island.
  • Hephaestus created Pandora, who opened the box/jar releasing all the evils of mankind.
    • The only thing left over in the box/jar was Hope. Jacob is Hope.
      • The island is Pandora's box/jar.
    • Jacob is also noted to 'hate technology'
      • "Hope is the only good god remaining among mankind; the others have left and gone to Olympus. Trust, a mighty god has gone, Restraint has gone from men, and the Graces, my friend, have abandoned the earth. Men’s judicial oaths are no longer to be trusted, nor does anyone revere the immortal gods; the race of pious men has perished and men no longer recognize the rules of conduct or acts of piety." -Theognis of Megara
      • Jacob's final remains (ashes) remind one of an urn - like Pandora's jar or Zeus' two urns (of good and evil).
      • MIB also desires to 'go home', potentially to return to Olympus

Morpheus

• Morpheus was the god of dreams, and took the form of a shadow or a cloud of smoke. Morpheus could take the form of anyone he pleased, and often used his dreams to push people, especially heroes, towards their destinies.
  • His mother was the goddess of hallucinations and hallucinatory drugs. That's a pretty crazy mom.
    • He had a brother, who was the god of nightmares

Shiva

• For
  • Shiva's duty is to destroy the world so that Vishnu can create it anew. They are antitheses in balance, but not necessarily "good and evil". Destruction of the world, in this case, could refer to the sinking of the island so that the new timeline may be formed.
  • Shiva is known to be clever and seductive and has a multitude of "guises".

• Against
  • There are few references to Hinduism, the show is primarily concerned Egyptian culture rather.
  • Interesting theory, but if that was the whole point to the MiB, there are two major flaws. One, it was not the MiB that sank the Island, it was the Losties when they detonated the bomb, so it would not be MiB causing the destruction. Two, if that was the sole purpose of MiB, the conflict ould have ended already.

Post Across The Sea Cleanup

Now that we know the origin of the Man In Black, I'm moving all the theories about his origins here. I'm keeping them around because there is some thought to the current Man In Black and Jacob's brother not being the same person, i.e. Jacob's brother did not become the Smoke Monster. And frankly, I'm glad to get them off the main theory page because many of them were pretty half-baked and took up way too much space. Uzerzero 21:58, May 12, 2010 (UTC)

Identity

The MiB is John Locke

When John Locke turned the icy wheel, a duplicate of himself was sent to Tunisia in present day, while the original was left stuck in the far past (at least prior to the digging of the well over the icy wheel). Evidence is that the Orchid had a Dharma video that showed a rabbit getting duplicated in the Orchid, and a man saying that the rabbits could not touch each other. When John Locke was about to touch the wheel, the MiB as Christian refused to touch him to help him to his feet.

The duplicate went on to get himself killed by Ben. Meanwhile, the original John Locke was stuck on the Island, unaging because of Jacob's touch (when he fell out the building).

Other evidence for:

• The current MiB has used Locke's phrase, "No one tells me what I can and cannot do."
• The MiB ridicules John Locke, because he despises the naiveté of his younger self at thinking the island was special and getting himself stuck there.
• The MiB said his mother was crazy. John Locke's mother had schizophrenia.
• John Locke alone thought the smoke monster was beautiful when he saw it. Everyone else who saw it had to run for their life.
• The MiB's name has not been revealed for a long time, suggesting that the writers know that he is another form of an established character.
• John Locke in Season One was talking all about light and dark backgammon pieces. When he said this, he had the personality of Season Six John Locke, not Season One.
• The smoke monster has used the form of John Locke exclusively ever since he had the ability to. Fondness for his true form?
• Desmond smugly told the MiB that he knew he was John Locke. Desmond seems to have a lot more knowledge about what's going on ever since his last electromagnetic incident.

Evidence against:

• The smoke monster did touch John Locke on one occasion, attempting to pull him underground.
• There is no duplicate of Ben, who also turned the icy wheel. However, John was exposed to extreme electromagnetism when the Swan imploded, which may have set him up to get duplicated.

Volcano spirit

The monster appears as black smoke because it is a "spirit" or "essence" whatever of the energy contained by the island volcano. It is "trapped" because the volcano is dormant. His escape implies an eruption and perhaps a global catastrophe as a shroud of ash and smoke encircles the globe, leading to mass-starvation and nuclear winter (Katla).

Daniel Faraday is MIB (and Jacob)

MIB is stuck and longs to leave the island. He said he has known love, betrayal and has a crazy mom. Daniel Faraday experiments with time travel, he has experimented love (Charlotte), betrayal (their fathers) and has experienced mental breakdown, he has a crazy mother (Eloise). He traveled back to the island and accidentally got stuck in the island, and suffered a split in personality in the MIB body and Jacob (hence, the rules, the white/black balance, and the timelines spiting apart). Daniel also stated if something goes wrong Desmond will be my constant (Desmond has time-travel ability and he is a bridge between the two timelines). Jacob=MIB want to recruit candidates (constants) because this would help him return to the original timeline. Jacob desires this by free-will, MIB by force and deceiving. Most LOST players are candidates, but Faraday is not a candidate.

• There is no evidence to suggest that Eloise is crazy.

Jacob = MiB = Aaron

The child in the jungle is Jacob. The child is MIB, the child is Aaron. Every man balanced their scale between light and dark, good and evil. Jacob is pure light and pure good - and as stated before, MIB is pure evil. MIB is missing a body, he mimics other bodies when he is not in the form of smoke. So he is the evil expelled from Jacob some how and without a body.. He can only mimic other bodies. He stated that Jacob (the devil as he stated) STOLE his body. Some how this child, Jacob\MIB combo, eventually (probably when he gains the position as island protector) let his dark side split from himself into the form of the black cloud. And instead of battling between evil and good within himself, he battled as good against the darkness. This explains why MIB cannot kill Jacob - because they are one in the same. Also, Jacob and MIB are Aaron. MIB says that his mom was crazy just like Aarons mom. He goes on to say how that caused a lot of problems that could have been prevented. All the work MIB has done to get Aaron off the Island and out of the care of Claire is him trying to prevent what happened so that he never gets trapped.

Has Always Existed

• The entity has always existed as the smoke monster, or at least as long as the island has existed. It is a manifestation of all of the negative energy of those on the island who bear negative karma, and collects it with their lives. This is why the monster has been frequently referred to as "judgment." The MiB's human form (Titus Welliver) is merely one of many forms claimed by the entity. Tired of being trapped on the island and feeding off the negative energy (remember Pierre Chang referred to the electromagnetic energy as "negatively charged exotic matter" --* juxtaposition *) of those who are brought there, It wishes to escape ("go home,") although the island is the only place it has known; it wishes to see the outside world and be free of this ancient obligation. It may be that "going home," is a metaphorical term for going somewhere where it will not have to be imprisoned both physically and in its task as judge.
  • Perhaps the "job" of the smoke has always existed, but MiB was not always a smoke. MiB is a "who" not a "what," did not always "look like this," was once was a man, and had a crazy mother, etc.

Another "pawn"

• MiB was brought to the island by Jacob and was told he had to do something for a reason, but was never told why.
• Over time, MiB lost faith (as have many others at various points in the show) and has decided that nothing bad will happen if he leaves the island.

Is Part of Jacob

• This could be why MiB can't kill Jacob. Because if MiB killed Jacob he would kill himself too. He would have to get someone else to do it for him (i.e. Ben killed Jacob in season 5's finale). If MiB wanted Jacob dead and nothing else then he could just kill him. MiB wants off the island so he has been trying to find a way around it.
• MIB said "Inside Joke" when he threw the white stone into the ocean, because they really are the same person hence the joke being "Inside" more literally.
• Perhaps 'Jacob' wanted to or somehow 'shed' part of himself (MIB) which is why they represent opposites/duality. MIB is all the things 'Jacob' isn't which doesn't mean hes exactly evil or bad, but he is all the things 'Jacob' didn't want or didn't like about himself such as doubt, anger, sadness, regret, inpatients and so on.
  • The Man In Black is Jacob's FST counterpart.

Prisoner of Quarantine

The Man in Black is a contagious carrier of a virus / plague ("the Sickness") to which the Island provides (mostly) a vaccination effect and keeps the virus confined to the Island. If the Man in Black where able to leave the Island, it would cause a worldwide and lethal pandemic.

It would appear that the virus ("the Sickness") is transmitted by physical contact with the Man in Black / Smoke Monster (e.g. Rousseau's team), where only those touched by Jacob or subsequently through Richard (the Others) remain immune.

Prisoner of the Island

The unusual electromagnetic properties of the Island help to keep the Man in Black prisoner. Otherwise it would seem to be a very odd coincidence than an island with these unusual properties also happens to be the prison for an entity with supernatural capabilities.

The Others are thus technically speaking not the wardens of the Man in Black - though immune to his smoke monster attacks as long as Jacob was alive - but a safety measure to prevent other humans from messing with the island or being manipulated by MiB to do so (and hence have adopted their "shoot first, ask no questions" policy as they suspect any new arrival to be a potential helper of the Man in Black).

Yet, the Man in Black has been successful in manipulating certain events and characters to discharge the electromagnetic energy that is keeping him prisoner. First at the Swan Station (forcing Desmond to use the Fail-Safe Key), then at the Orchid Station by having Ben and/or Locke push the Frozen Wheel, resulting in further depletion of the island's energies.

Charles Widmore has returned to the island with Desmond, whose (secret) mission is to replete the island's energies (during her interrogation of Jin Zoe was eager to learn about the electromagnetic pockets Jin had charted previously) while Widmore and his people keep the Man in Black distracted and preoccupied with other matters, enabling Desmond's mission on the main island to have a high probability of success.

Collective Souls of the Island's Dead and Unfulfilled

MiB has been shown repeatedly to have access to the memories and forms of people who have died or arrived DOA on the island. Rather than a distinct personality, MiB is the collective, fused consciousness of all those who have perished, unfulfilled in some way, on the island. Evidence for this includes:

• Reluctance of the writers to divulge an individual's name to the MiB - because he isn't a single man or personality, but a composite character.
  • Possibly complicated by MiB's insistence to Ben in LAX Part 2 that he's a "who" not a "what." Nevertheless, he could still be many "who's", and is merely stating that he is not an inhuman monster/security system/cloud of nanobots/whatever.
• Association with the Whispers, which were revealed in Everybody Loves Hugo to be the voices of people who died on the island and are stuck for whatever reason. This may be because of a sin they have committed.
• Desire to escape the island. The island serves as a corked bottle to prevent the MiB from escaping. If MiB is composed of, or acts on behalf of, the unfulfilled dead, naturally he would wish to leave this eternal purgatory.
  • Yemi, whose form MiB has been known to assume, surely wasn't a bad, or even necessarily unfulfilled, person.
  • Neither were the Medusa spiders.
• Assertions by other characters that MiB is pure evil -- is in fact judgment of the many flawed and angry people spiritually stuck on the island, a large number of whom are "bad" see good and bad people.

Lost souls? ("Sundown")

• Preferred form is an amorphous, multiform cloud of smoke, not a body.
  • Countered by the appearance, at least in the 1800s, of MiB as a distinct man with a distinct personality, rather than a mass of smoke particles.
    • Could very well have been the form of a long deceased person we have never met; he can't talk to people in smoke form.
• Ease and facility on MiB's part of assuming the identity of the broken, unfulfilled people on the island. Access to their memories not via brain-scan or downloading, but by actually being, in part, those dead.
  • Possibly countered by the fact that he clearly must access Richard Alpert's memories in some manner to assume the shape of Isabella, who was not DoA on the island.
• In "Sundown", when the smoke-monster rushes over Claire's pit, you can see somthing like shadows wich appear like spirits, ghosts or lost souls.

Known Character

• The MIB is a character already known to the audience. The show deliberately avoids giving him a name, teasing the audience with several set-ups where it seems poised to do so. This may indicate his name will be meaningful to the audience when ultimately revealed.

The Real Jacob

• The MIB is really Jacob. The Others used to serve him, but they turned on him to help [imposter] Jacob in exchange for gifts (like Richard's immortality). The entity we know as Jacob is not actually Jacob, but actually the Nemesis!
  • This could help explain why the MIB is "disappointed" in the Others.
  • The other's mission is to keep the MIB (possibly the real Jacob) trapped. The leaders of the Others are chosen to this end. So far the leaders seem to be extremely ruthless people, not people you would associate with "harmony, peace, and forgiveness". For example, Ben killed his father than planned/led the attack that killed the entire DI. Widmore sent Keamy and his team to kill everyone on the island with poison gas. Eloise Hawkings killed her own son in the past, and knowing that she would do this, sent him to the island in the future. She also helped Jack and Sayid in finding the bomb that would be used to nuke the swan station (presumably preventing people on Flight 815 from ever crashing and potentially helping the real Jacob to escape via Locke's death).
    • The name Jacob associated to the blond man is correct all along. See Season 5 finale The Incident episode (opening scene, etc.) and Season 6. Even a body swap is not plausible, but, more likely debunked, because this association is maintained in those episodes. As for if Jacob is good or evil, the theory above appears to describe him as evil (the Nemesis), if understood correctly.

• Both the MIB and the MIW are two different sides of Jacob. The first time we see the two of them together MIW has just caught and eaten some fish and offers some to MIB. MIB declines saying that he "just ate". "Jacob" has now been killed by MIB using Ben and is now MIB (the evil side of Jacob) is in complete control of the island.

The MiB is Tezcatlipoca

In Aztec Mythology, Tezcatlipoca was a god of night winds, war, and strife, he was in constant battle with Quetzalcoatl, a god of wind and light, who more than likely represented by Jacob.

The MiB is Set

In Egyptian mythology (the hieroglyphs are all over the Island), Set (also spelled Seth, Sutekh or Seteh) is an ancient god, who was originally the god of the desert, storms, darkness, and chaos (which will be released if he escapes from the Island). Set was mostly depicted as a mysterious and unknown creature, referred to by Egyptologists as the Set animal or Typhonic beast. The exact meaning of the name Set is unknown, but is usually considered to be either (one who) dazzles or pillar of stability, one connected to the desert (which may explain his aversion to water), and the other tending to indicate the institution of monarchy. The myth of Set's conflict with Horus, Osiris, and Isis appears in many Egyptian sources.

These myths generally portray Osiris as a bringer of civilization and Set, envious of his younger brother, killed and dismembered Osiris. Isis reassembled Osiris' corpse and another god embalmed him. Osiris' son Horus (Jacob perhaps) was conceived by Isis with Osiris' corpse, or in some versions, only with pieces of his corpse. Horus naturally became the enemy of Set, and many myths describe their conflicts (the character Horus Goodspeed was most likely a reference to this as he was "the leader" of the Dharma Initiative on the Island). These myths regarding Set's familial relationships may indicate what the MiB is reffering to when he explains his past.

It is also stated that Set's consort was the Egyptian Goddess Tawaret who's likeness was represneted in statue form until the Black Rock hit it. Was ("power") scepters represent the Set-animal. Was scepters were carried by gods, pharaohs, and priests, as a symbol of power, and in later use, control over the force of chaos (Set)(Eko's "Jesus Stick" could be reference to this). In the Doctor Who serial Pyramids of Mars: Sutekh "the destroyer" appears as a nearly omnipotent alien (last member of a race called Osirians). After thousands of years of imprisonment beneath an Egyptian pyramid at the hands of his brother, Horus (who's eye keeps him trapped), he is inadvertently released by an archaeologist to resume his destruction of all life. This draws an almost exact parallel to LOST events.

Daniel Faraday

• In the episode Recon, Jacob's Nemesis reveals that he had severe mother issues that could have been avoided. Daniel Faraday's mother, Eloise Hawking not only pushed him excessively as a child, but accidentally murdered him in the episode The Variable. We have seen that Faraday is versed with the ins and outs of time travel. Though he is clearly dead in the present time line, is it possible he, like (speculatively) Desmond, somehow has the ability to swap from the Flash-sideways time-line into the main timeline *far* in the past and, using some of his super science know-how, transformed his body into a cloud of nanotechnology?
  • As a corollary, could his nemesis, Jacob, be an incarnation of Desmond, another character with a knack for time-travel?
  • While the show's creators have roundly dismissed the possibility that the Man in Black is *merely* a cloud of nanobots installed to protect the island, maintaining instead that its nature is less prosaic, the above theory might put a new, non-perfunctory spin, on the MiB's nature.

Aaron

First of all, in order to understand the time paradoxes, you have to consider the OT as a loop. MIB as Locke tells us parts of his backstory:

• Jacob would have got his body, which is Aaron's body and the body of the Mysterious boy. There have been some speculations about Jacob being Aaron. They look quite similar. That makes Jack the uncle and Christian Shephard the grandfather of the MIB, but that is another story. Considering the casting calls, there is no evidence for that matter. Jacob/MIB's former body is played by an actor of any ethnicity... (?)

• He had a crazy mother, which in fact is not like Claire, it is Claire, which partly is the reason for the suffering he mentioned.

This is the simple reason, why the name of MIB is kept a secret: He is Aaron. As the fortune teller has told Claire Aaron must not be raised by others. That comes true in OT. Without an intervention of consciousness-crossing Desmond the MIB defeats Jacob and his followers, he'll get off the island with the candidates (?) including Claire. She will be the insane mother to Aaron, who will go back in time to become the MIB - there's the loop. It has to be ended to establish the FST as definitive timeline.

David

• The flash sideways is a lucid dream, akin to the false reality in Vanilla Sky. David is not real, but a character that is created by Jack's subconscious to fulfill an unspoken desire or need. This is a good argument for David as the MIB. If Jack is to replace Jacob, then his future and MIB's are linked for eternity. The lucid dream is how MIB fulfills his promises. By appearing as Jack's son, MIB can monitor the dreamers, particularly Jack - his adversary.
  • This is essentially the function of Kurt Russell's character in Vanilla Sky.

Extradimensional

• The Man in Black, and presumably Jacob and perhaps others, are extraterrestrials exiled to, imprisoned on, or having chosen to live, on Earth. They were regarded as gods by the ancient Egyptians and others, but there's nothing truly supernatural in the spooky sense about them, they're just very alien and have alien abilities. Home for the Man in Black is somewhere far away. Jacob has been part of what keeps him from returning home.
• Jacob and The Man in Black could be like Demi-Gods , Protecting a paradise but The Man in Black's lack of faith disturbs order on the Island. Maybe Jacob Turns MIB into the smoke monster and Enslaves him to protect the Island , ever since then MIB has longed to destroy Jacob and all of his candidates, doing this sets MIB free so he can find his "home". I'm also sure that someone needs to fill MIB'S position on the Island why would there be two of them on the Island then?. Maybe the ones that MIB "claims" are certainly doomed to take his position.

Religion

• The Nemesis is the Fallen Angel (aka: Lucifer) who wants to re-enter Heaven. Heaven is his home.)

Jacob is Also a Smoke Monster

Jacob and the man in black are both the same kinds of immortal beings, and both of them can turn into smoke monsters. For most of the series, the Man in Black (MiB) was trapped inside "Jacob's Cabin" inside the ash ring there. The smoke monster seen for most of the series has actually been Jacob. Neither being can cross ash circles in most cases (though in the case of the temple, the death of Dogen appeared to allow the MiB in, so that needs to be explained).

Evidence For

• MiB cannot cross ash circles, like the one around the cabin
• Clair is currently with the MiB, like she was with Christian inside the cabin.
• The MiB has shown the ability to take the form of dead bodies. He is doing it now with Locke. If Jacob had the same ability, he could have done the same thing to help guide Jack in the first few seasons. Inside the cabin with Clair, MiB could have been looking like Christian to influence Hurley and ultimately Locke.
  • Jacob represents free-will you idiot. If he guided Jack it wouldn't be his own choice. God some of you people are fucking retarded.
• When Ilana and team went to the cabin, she said that "somebody else has been using it" and ordered the cabin to be burned. She also saw that the ring of Ash was broken and seemed very afraid of that.
• When Ben and Locke went to the cabin, Ben was very very careful not to disturb the ring of ash. If Ben was a follower of Jacob, he wouldn't want to keep Jacob in the ring.
• Under the temple, when Ben saw Alex, this was Jacob. The MiB could not enter the temple. This chamber was inside the Ash ring, which MiB could not cross.
• When Ben summoned the smoke monster to kill Keamy and the rest of the mercenaries, the smoke monster (Jacob) showed up to help. However, when Ben summoned the smoke monster at Locke's request, the smoke monster did not show up. Locke (MiB) wouldn't have needed Ben to summon himself. Instead, Locke needed Ben to summon Jacob so Jacob could get killed.
• Killing Keamy and team would have been good to "protect" the island, which is something the MiB does not seem to want to do.
• Jacob was trying to weed out a list of "candidates" from the crash survivors. For this reason he (as the smoke monster) would have killed people who were not worthy, such as Eko. He would not have hurt people who might have been candidates, like Locke. Killing the pilots in the first episode would have been important since the pilots might have known the location of the island while they were flying.
• The smoke monster appeared to originate from a grate under the temple wall. The temple is a site that appears to be very influenced by the existence of Jacob, and the MiB living so close to that would have been an issue.
• When asked about the black smoke monster, Ben and the Others did not seem to regard it as an evil presence.
• The smoke monster could show people images from their earlier lives. We know that Jacob would have seen these things from the lighthouse.
• When Ben told Locke about his meeting with Alex under the temple wall, Locke (MiB) appeared pleased and told Ben to kill Jacob. There are multiple ways to interpret this, but if "Alex" was really Jacob and was tormenting Ben, it might be seen by Locke as "justice" for Ben to kill Jacob. Also, on the beach together when MiB said he was going to kill Jacob, Jacob seemed to be accepting of that. Maybe Jacob, as Alex, was urging Ben on because Jacob accepted his own death.
• Ben took Locke to the cabin, but did not expect to find "Jacob" there, even though Ben claims later to have never met Jacob and to not know where he lived. Maybe Ben did not expect to see Jacob because he knew the ring of ash would keep Jacob out. If anything, the cabin is the one place on the island Ben knew Jacob would not be. This is why he was surprised when things happened in the cabin.
• Inside the cabin, the voice said "Help Me". Jacob lives in the foot statue and was in regular contact with Richard, who we could have asked if he needed help. However, trapped inside the cabin, MiB would need help.
• The face Hurley saw inside the cabin was clearly not the current Jacob character (though casting errors and other bloopers may make this point unimportant).
• The plaque in the temple said "To Summon Protection". Jacob is the protector of the island, not the MiB.
• Jacob (as the smoke monster) attacked the DHARMA initiative, and they created the sonic fence to keep him out. DHARMA and the Others, who were lead by Jacob, were enemies. Jacob would have attacked them if they were a threat to the island.
• Yemi asked Eko to atone for his sins. This may have been a test by Jacob to see if Eko could be a worthy candidate. Eko did not atone, was killed by Jacob, and his name was not put on the list of candidates (at least, not the list that we have seen so far).
• None of the victims of the smoke monster appear on the lighthouse or cave lists, not even among the crossed-out names. If Jacob was writing those lists, presumably he wouldn't add names of people he was going to kill himself.

Evidence Against

• We saw Christian both inside and outside the circle at the cabin, and both of them seemed to want to help Locke to move the island. Maybe the two were working together to fix the time skips, but it seems unlikely that the two would work together (unless the island skipping through time was bad for both of them). Maybe, MiB wanted Locke to leave the island so his corpse could return. Maybe the ash circle was broken shortly before that point, and it was Jacob both inside and outside helping Locke to move the island.
• Ilana expected to find Jacob inside the Cabin. Also, Ilana was upset when she saw the ash circle around the cabin was broken. If everybody loves Jacob, I doubt they would all want him to be trapped inside the cabin. However, maybe the ring of ash was designed to keep MiB out and keep Jacob safe. If MiB could not kill Jacob, why would he need to be protected by a ring of ash? Why would Ilana expect to find Jacob in the cabin, but Ben was surprised when something happened and it looked like Jacob was there? If anything, Ben lived on the island and would have known more than Ilana, who was not from the island. Maybe Ilana had old information that Jacob lived in the cabin, but Ben knew Jacob had already left it.
• The smoke monster in earlier seasons, who I presume to have been Jacob, appears to be much more violent and murderous than Jacob appears in season 6. This may be an artifact of the transformation into smoke monster.
• Inside the temple, Alex tells Ben to follow Locke (MiB). Jacob wouldn't do that if he knew it would lead to his own death.
• We see Lock and Ben inside that temple corridor, when later it seems like there is an Ash circle around the temple which the MiB cannot cross. Locke says that the temple is actually a half-mile away from that outer wall, so the chamber they went into might not have been past the ash circle (in which case, "Alex" that Ben saw was actually MiB, and there is no reason why she wouldn't tell Ben to follow Locke). Maybe ash circles do not prevent him from going under.

Purpose

Temple's Protector

• MiB was the temple's guardian, and grew tired of the role.
• Sometime between The Incident and when Rousseau's team showed up on the island, MiB was "released" from his duty.
  • He tricked Dogen into taking over as protector, allowing him to leave.
    • This parallels what has happened in the hatch between Radzinsky/Kelvin, Kelvin/Desmond, and Desmond/Other losties.
    • MiB may have begun protecting the temple under a similar circumstance as Dogen: an unpleasant bargain that he ultimately regretted agreeing to.
  • He no longer believed the temple needed protecting, analogous to how Locke stopped believing that the button in the hatch needed to be pushed.
    • His role as the temple's protector involved something else analogous to entering the numbers and pushing the button every 108 minutes. For example, bringing 6 candidates together (entering the numbers), and fulfilling or having them fulfill some task (pushing the button) every so many years (decades? centuries?).
      • He is trying to kill the candidates to prevent the analogous button from being pushed, similar to how Jack tried to prevent Locke from pushing the button when he didn't believe it was necessary.
• Prior to being released, the smoke monster was never seen on the island. Further, MiB looked like he did as we saw him in the 1800s - this is how he looks.
• Possibly, Radzinsky was involved in releasing MiB. Either post-purge or pre-purge, he was exploring the island and discovered a way to visit the MiB ("CV" on Radzinsky's map refers to "Cerberus Vent").
  • Multiple people have referred to "the smoke monster" as a "security system". This is the kind of language Radzinsky might use. We have seen MiB absorb characteristics of John Locke as he manifests him, and he similarly manifested himself as Radzinsky to others (the French expedition, etc).
• Possibly, part of escaping his duty as the temple's protector involved some action (ancient ritual, scientific process, religious ceremony, ...) that involved sacrificing his body in order to become "the smoke monster". Prior to this he was a long-living human being, like Richard.
  • This is what he refers to when he says "You have no idea what I've gone through to be here".
  • Adam may be his corpse, as a side effect of his transformation.
    • He doesn't want to be "the smoke monster", but saw no other way out. This is why he is offended by Ben "calling him names" when he is referred to as "the monster".
  • This is why Richard was struck speechless when he finally understood who John Locke was. Even after seeing Locke's corpse, and another Locke walking around, he didn't conclude that this was MiB. When forced to confront this, his response was "You?" with an incredulous tone. Later, his first question to MiB was "Why do you look like John Locke?" It seems from this that Richard, at least, had never conceived of the possibility that MiB could be somebody else.

Removed non-theory: Metaphoric References to His Identity

Removed here. Non theory by definition, all of it unprovable, CC & DL clear that while they are influenced , there is no biblical or other mythologies in Lost etc. Should be in authors blog as better suited. Removed in entirety here    Charles Kane     talk  contribs   email   01:44, May 17, 2010 (UTC)

Conflicting Sides or Duality of One Being

• It is possible that we saw him, however, in season 4, when we see a flash-forward of Jack in his office. The smoke detector goes off, perhaps meaning that the Smoke Monster was present, and then Jack sees his father. Not only that, but his father was wearing the same old white tennis shoes and the same suit he was placed in the coffin with. This could be the Smoke Monster/Jacob's nemesis off of the Island.

• This could explain why the smoke monster displays such varying behavior, from righteously judging to vengeful - it is sometimes the white side, sometimes the black or even a mixture.

• At the beginning of "The Incident", Jacob is shown in white while his nemesis wears black ("The Incident, Part 1"). In season 1, Locke explain backgammon to Walt saying "Two sides. Two Players. One is white, one is dark".

First, to identify Jacob and the MiB as good and evil is shallow at best. Based on the logic and mythos inherent to the show it makes more sense to view Jacob and the MiB as conscious manifestations of the electromagnetic energy that is innate to the Island. The entire show is saturated with principles of dueling opposites, i.e. yin/yang, black/white, and an alternate universe. If we remember back to one of the earlier Dharma videos, the chief scientist mentioned the “dark exotic energy” that is in the core of the Island. Thus, it would follow that the MiB’s wanting to go “home” actually represents the desired “release” of the exotic energy. Jacob on the other hand, represents the magnetic opposite, that which attracts! Hence, Jacob attracting and influencing people to come to the Island; for further emphasis, if one reflects back on the initial episode that showed Jacob, you should notice his “spinning of yarn.” This is a folk-metaphor to exhibit the strands of life, or that of elaborate deception, that are predetermined by fate. To supplement this idea just remember the names in the cave. Finally, remember in “Ab Aeterno” Locke said Jacob stole his body. Hence, Jacob always looking the same and the MiB now taking on the shell of Locke.

Since I am romanticizing the wonder of dualities, let me go one step further by putting forth the claim that those who exist in the alternate-universe are the exact opposite of those who exist in the original story line. They are the opposite, yet they are the same; this leads me to my boldest of predictions: Jacob and Locke are the same. They can’t directly kill each other, and once the nuke went off they cease to exist in the alternate-universe. WANT SOMETHING EVEN MORE MIND-BOGGLING: remember when they were both sitting on the beach and Jacob caught and ate the fish. The MiB walks up, sits down, and is asked by Jacob if he was hungry. The MiB says, “no, I just ate.” He just ate b/c Jacob just ate! In sum, in order to know what the Island, Jacob, and the MiB/Locke are one only needs to remember the book Jacob was reading, “That which arises must converge.” From that, I think I can deduce that they are all the same.

As a final thought, the thesis of this show seems to be, “It only ends once, everything else is just progress.” This seems to be right. One universe DID end via the nuke and created the two universes we are experiencing in this final season. However, these 2 “arisen” universes will converge. How so? The emotion and memories that are able to be transferred from one verse to another via any particular character’s “Constant”. This transference not only addresses the infinite dualities inherent to the show, but it also promotes a progress that is unending. After all, life really does end once.

The Man in Black represents the Grim Reaper aka Death, Jacob represents Life

The Grim Reaper or Death is usually portrayed as a figure dressed in black. As the black smoke monster he is associated with death and during his beach conversation with Jacob he expresses a very nihilistic point of view, wondering why life makes any sense at all as it is defined by suffering. As the Man in Black he has control over the deceased, knows what went through their minds when they died (e.g. John Locke) and even claims that he can bring people back from the dead. His realm is the underworld (subterranean temple area, cliffside cave?).

Jacob on the other hand believes that life makes sense as it is defined by change and progress. He has the power to give life (e.g. John Locke after his fall), his interactions seem to focus on the living and he probably doesn't know what people thought when they died (is this where Miles Straume comes in?). Unlike the other manifestations of dead people on or off the island, which might simply be apparitions of the Man in Black (i.e. a disguise), Jacob's manifestation (to Hurley) most likely is genuine. His realm is the Taweret statue and/or the Lighthouse.

MiB and Jacob as Representations of a Biblical Figures of Good and Evil

• Many people have noted the contrasting colors between Jacob and MIB, white versus black. Jacob represents a Christ-like figure (right down to the fishing & healing business) that someone has appointed as a divine entity or disciple.
  • In the same way, his nemesis represents Satan. The conversation the two had at the beginning of the season finale mirrors the discussion God had with the devil regarding humanity in the prologue to the Book of Job. Additionally, in the book of Revelation, it is prophesied that the devil will be bound by chains prior to being set free to deceive humans shortly before the end of time. Jacob's nemesis was previously imprisoned in the cabin by the surrounding perimeter of ash. The ash kept Jacob's nemesis in, but people could still go into the cabin (e.g Locke and Ben were still able to visit the cabin and hear the nemesis in "The Man behind the Curtain.")
  • But, just as explained in Revelation regarding the end of the world, Jacob let his enemy out of the cabin to roam the Island and deceive the people. Yet, his nemesis couldn't simply kill Jacob. In the Bible, the devil could not kill Jesus, any attempt to do so would have been thwarted by angels appointed by God to watch over his Son. Well, the Bible never actually says this, but logic kinda/sorta dictates it. To fulfill the prophesies, become a martyr, and the Christian Savior of the human race, humans had to kill Jesus. Jacob's nemesis deceives Ben into killing Jacob (as a Pontius Pilate figure) in order to keep his hands out of it.
  • Additionally, Revelation 13:14 ESV refers to the beast, stating "it deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived." The "image for the beast" parallels MIB's ability to take the form of man, while "the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived" is seen plainly in the events of "Sundown".
  • Adding to the above theory, it's important to note Faraday's remark before he was killed about how we, as in humans, are "variables." Perhaps Jacob and his nemesis are in some way bound by fate, and hence unable to harm one another. But seeing as Jacob's nemesis manages to convince Ben to kill Jacob out of his own desire, this does not count as the nemesis's action. Also, the fact that the nemesis actually kicked Jacob into the fire seems to show that it is the action of Ben "rejecting" him, rather than the stab wounds themselves, which kill him.

• The Monster hates sin. People brought to the Island because of Jacob bring sin. To stop the sin committed on the Island, the Monster has to stop Jacob from bringing more people by killing him. However the Monster can only kill those who have "committed sin". As Jacob doesn't commit sin, only uses the Others to do his will, the Monster has no power to kill Jacob. The Monster found his "loophole", and used Ben to kill Jacob.

• Adding a new biblical spin, MIB is actually the archangel Michael. According to Wikipedia.org, "in the Roman Catholic Church, Saint Michael has four main roles or offices. He is the Christian angel of death, carrying the souls of all the deceased to heaven, where they are weighed in his perfectly balanced scales. At the hour of death, Michael descends and gives each soul the chance to redeem itself before passing, thus consternating the devil and his minions...Last, he is the supreme enemy of Satan and the fallen angels." The MIB meets the judging aspect through Old Smokey. He also has his own set of scales in the cave. Maybe Michael is tired of judging all these souls on earth and is ready to rejoin the heavenly hosts. Bringing forth the end of the world would help this. In addition, MIB's major enemy is Jacob. Perhaps, Jacob is the fallen angel Lucifer. Lucifer was thrown from heaven for failing to bow down to "Adam" and his judgment was put on hold until final "DAY of Judgment" aka the Apocalypse. Until then, according the Islamic tradition, Lucifer also known as Shaitan, causes trouble on earth by testing the descendants of Adam and their ability to choose freely. In the final battle of the Judgment, it is said Michael and Satan will each compile their followers one on one. Isn't what Jacob has been doing shockingly similar to Lucifer? Also, the name Lucifer translates to "Light-bearer" or "Morning Star". Interesting that Jacob directed Jack and Hugo to his "lighthouse" and he wears light clothing.

The episode title Sundown & the song "Catch a Falling Star" (played during the episode) infer that MIB would be Morning Star or a fallen angel.

MiB and Jacob as Representations of the Biblical Figures of Esau and Jacob

• Jacob's name speaks for itself.
• Jacob and Esau were twins. In Genesis 25:23, God tells their mother Rebekah "Two nations are in your womb and two people from within you will be separated; one will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger." This verse gives clues to the rivalry between Jacob and MiB.
• The firstborn Esau by right was entitled to the family birthright but Jacob bartered for it when Esau was starving. Just as we see Jacob offer MiB some fish to eat in their conversation, the first conversation between Jacob and Esau found in Genesis finds Jacob cooking and offering Esau food.
• Jacob means "trickster" or "supplanter," which supports theories that neither character is all good or all bad.
• Rebekah loved Jacob more than Esau and helped him deceive his father. This could be MiB's motivation for his strong negative feelings about his mother. The deception required Jacob to appear to be Esau in order to receive his father Isaac's blessing, given by touch. Jacob physically touches those that he has selected. MiB is deceiving people by appearing to be Locke.
  • When Isaac realizes he has blessed Jacob, not the firstborn Esau, he tells Esau, "You will live by the sword and you will serve your brother. But when you grow restless, you will throw his yoke off your neck. (Gen. 27:40)." Esau immediately begins plotting the murder of his brother.
    • Neither Esau or any of his agents ever killed Jacob (biblically speaking). In fact Jacob and Esau reconcile somewhat.
      • This would fit Cain and Abel (sons of Adam and Eve) more than Jacob/Esau.
    • Agreed: the representations do not perfectly fit the Biblical story. In fact, the failure of Jacob and MiB to reconcile is a striking difference. Instead, Isaac's prophecy noted above was indeed fulfilled.
• Esau is one of only two hunters described in the Bible. MiB has taken the form of Locke, easily the most skilled hunter of the survivors.
• Jacob led his family to Egypt and spent the last 16 years of his life there. On the island, Jacob's last home was in the statue of Taweret.
• Jacob was buried in a cave with his wife Leah along with his grandparents and parents. Adam and Eve could be a reference to Jacob or his lineage.
• Richard may represent Joseph, sold into slavery, and ending up in Egypt. Then he is given an important job as Pharaoh's right hand man.
  • At a later time, the Biblical Benjamin is given the responsibility of overseeing the family affairs.
• Incidentally, Jacob is the great-great-grandfather of Aaron.

MiB and Jacob as Representations of Fate and Free Will

• Jacob is Fate. He touched the Losties he touched at pivotal points in their character development. Kate thinks she's getting away with something, and dragging someone she thinks she loves through the ordeal with her. Touched!=Fate! Young James Ford is writing a letter of revenge to "Sawyer" Touched=Fate!(this is fulfilled when Sawyer(Ford) kills Anthony Cooper and starts answering to James) Jack is arguing with his dad, and feels like he's got something to prove to himself, and everyone, in a stressful situation. Touched!=Fate! Being touched by Fate also means you'll end up on the island. The Enemy/Smokey on the other hand is Free Will. He can Judge and kill you based on the choices you've made. He also uses the ability to look into your past to his advantage (i.e. Locke and his destiny, Ben and "Alex"). The events of 1977 and 2007 coincide to the Losties, and are happening simultaneously on the show. With Jacob dead, there is no longer Fate. The 1977/Incident events can now alter the future.

• Jacob was a believer/controller in/of fate. MiB was a believer/controller in/of free will. The DHARMA Initiative was set up to find a way to rescue humanity's inevitable demise (fate) by changing (free will) one of the Valenzetti equation's numbers. This is why the smoke monster was deemed a "security system." He was protecting the DHARMA Initiative because he believed they could change fate, thus proving Jacob wrong. All the while, the Others-under the direction of Jacob-were unknowingly (thereby having no free will) trying to stop the DHARMA Initiative and let fate run its course.

• The Enemy is angry at Jacob for perpetuating the cycle of violence and destruction which he feels will continue so long as people are brought to the island. He clearly wants the cycle to end, but by stopping new people from coming. Jacob seems to imply there may be some breakthrough to end the cycle. But what does the Enemy want? No people on the island, or does he want a select group which is already there to not be interfered with? Either way, he seems to be correct in thinking that the cycle continues. Also, Jacob has spoken to several people about things turning out "alright", and he stressed the fact that people have free will. This may further imply that his disagreement with the enemy is over the issue of fate vs free will. Another significant point is that Jacob seemed unconcerned about violence, death and corruption, calling it "progress" . This seems to indicate that Jacob is not necessarily purely "good", and by contrast, the Enemy is not necessarily "evil", since he is arguing for an end to the destruction. Or it may be that their disagreement is on a level that is beyond good and evil - something concerning the growth of humanity as a whole.

• The MiB is thought by some to mirror Thomas Hobbes, who (very generally and loosely speaking) mirrors John Locke and David Hume. David Hume wrote "The Problem of Induction" which discusses the induction paradox, in short "if a tree falls in the forest, does it still make a sound?" We can never know for sure whether or not something in nature will continue in the way it has gone in the past. And even if it seems to be doing the exact same thing, how do we know it isn't doing the opposite when our backs are turned? Jacob, mirroring Rousseau, is trying to emphasize the belief that those who are raised in civilization are born and die slaves. By bringing people from civilization to the Island, he is trying to show that it is civilization that is the beast, the true corruption of mankind. The purpose of the fertility experiments and trying to bear and raise a child on the Island is because Jacob wants to prove that someone who is raised apart from civilization will become the ideal person. Those raised in civilization are brought to the Island, where all they want to do is escape from this place back to their civilization, society, slavery by whatever means necessary. Jacob desires for some to be willing to remain on the Island and became the "Natural Savage" that Rousseau speaks of. Richard is one such person. Hurley definitely appears to be somebody who doesn't want to go back to society. As a result of a "bet" between the MiB and Jacob concerning the loophole, the MiB was allowed to finally kill Jacob and have power equivalent to his. The reason why he wants to leave the Island is because he wants to return to civilization, to his birthplace. This, however, will close the loophole, allowing either Jacob to be resurrected or for his successor to become known. So in the end, everybody wins. By the MiB getting what he wants and leaving the Island, Jacob will be put back in power.
  • Richard came aboard on the Black Rock, evidently as a prisoner/slave. Because of his upbringing, he was sheltered from the destructive powers of civilization. Consider for a moment that perhaps the Black Rock crew wound up killing each other, while Richard was the only one who tried to find a way to help others and survive. Now compare this with Jack. In the beginning of the series, we see him intent on attempting to help others survive. He does, however, want them to be rescued as quickly as possible. As a result of the events that happen in the course of the show, he comes to realize that perhaps the Island is a better place for them. Locke appeared to be the opposite of this. He wanted to fend for himself and didn't really care too much if the survivors were rescued or not. He was happy. Which is the attitude that a civilized man would take? The MiB would argue that Jack is civilized, while Jacob would say that Locke is civilized. Jacob wants to save and help everybody; the MiB only wants to save himself.
  • (I do realize that there seems to be some issues with this, such as the Purge. But since our modern definition of a civilized man is different than what Jacob may imagine, there may be something that we're not seeing here. I'm just introducing/reiterating some philosophical concepts that I think will play an important part in the show, especially the part about everybody winning in the end. It'd be a good way to end the series.)

MiB and Jacob as Representations of impatience versus patience Jacob seems to have all the time in the world and occupies himself with contemplative activities like weaving his tapestry. During his encounter with MiB (who just stays for a few minutes) he is very relaxed and calm. MiB in comparison displays characteristics of a caged animal, being restless, roaming the island as the smoke monster with his only contemplative activity thus far being standing at the Ajira beach and looking to the distant horizon. During their encounter in the foot of the Taweret statue MiB is lamenting how difficult it had been for him to find the "loophole" (understandable given his impatience to get off the island) and jumps to premature conclusions after Jacob's death ("He realized he was beaten"). Obviously self-assured that his plan is working out nicely, he seems to be so impatient that he becomes oblivious to the fact that Jacob has been working on a counterplan, ignoring Ilana. Jacob has probably been aware of the Man in Black's impatience for a very long time, but has waited long enough until the point were the impatience of the Man in Black would cause him to make crucial mistakes.

Change thumbnail to Welliver

Perhaps it would be a good idea to make the icon/thumb relating to this character an image of Titus Welliver's portrayal, since that is his original, true form.

The Origin of the Monster

The first time the monster is seen on Lost, he is sliding past the cabin window of the plane. In "The Colour Out of Space" by H.P. Lovecraft, the first time Nyarlathotep is encountered he is seen sliding past an attic window. Nyarlathotep takes many forms. He is most noted for appearing as a strange man, whom everyone seems to be drawn to. He is known as the Man In Black, The Black Pharoah, The Black Boar, The Howler in the Dark, etc. In Lost, he appeared as the three boar eating the bodies of the fuselage crew. Later in the series, he appeared as a massive boar who was feeding on the bodies of the Black Rock slaves. In both the Cthulhu Mythos and Lost, caves and wells are associated with MIB/Nyarlathotep. He is often heard "chuckling" when a character meets death or when he leaves someone to suffer; a strong trait in the Cthulhu Mythos. Humans cannot speak or make the sounds of the monster's language, that is why he is 'not to be named'. The sound that humans have the most trouble with is the 'gutteral stop' (the croaking-clapping Predator sound) that most of the entities of the Mythos make. The Egyptian symbol used to represent the 'gutteral stop' was the fourth heiroglyph seen on the Swan Station clock. In the Mythos, Nyarlathotep is said to return to R'lyeh, the island that Cthulhu and the Deep Ones reside within which is said to be an uncharted, unseen island somewhere in the South Pacific. It's location in space-time is said to change therefore it always appears to 'move'. Nyarlathotep is said to be bound to the island until the Great Awakening of Cthulhu has begun. He may then return to whatever part of the universe he was created from.--Jdam1 06:06, January 14, 2011 (UTC)Jdam