Morpheus () is a
fictional character
In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...
in
''The Matrix'' franchise. He is portrayed by
Laurence Fishburne
Laurence John Fishburne III (born July 30, 1961) is an American actor. He is a three time Emmy Award and Tony Award winning actor known for his roles on stage and screen. He has been hailed for his forceful, militant, and authoritative charact ...
in the first three films, and in the video game ''
The Matrix: Path of Neo'', where he was the only original actor to reprise his character's voice. In ''
The Matrix Resurrections
''The Matrix Resurrections'' is a 2021 American science fiction action film produced, co-written, and directed by Lana Wachowski, and being the first in ''Matrix'' franchise to be directed solely by Lana, without her sister, Lilly. It is the s ...
'', an AI program based on him is portrayed by
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (; born July 15, 1986) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Black Manta in the superhero films ''Aquaman'' (2018) and ''Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom'' (2023), Bobby Seale in the Netflix historical legal drama ' ...
.
Concept and creation
Lana and Lilly Wachowski, the creators of
''The Matrix'' franchise, instructed Fishburne to base his performance on
Morpheus
Morpheus ('Fashioner', derived from the grc, μορφή meaning 'form, shape') is a god associated with sleep and dreams. In Ovid's ''Metamorphoses'' he is the son of Somnus and appears in dreams in human form. From the Middle Ages, the name b ...
, a character in
Neil Gaiman
Neil Richard MacKinnon GaimanBorn as Neil Richard Gaiman, with "MacKinnon" added on the occasion of his marriage to Amanda Palmer. ; ( Neil Richard Gaiman; born 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, gr ...
's comic book series ''
The Sandman
The Sandman is a mythical character in European folklore who puts people to sleep and encourages and inspires beautiful dreams by sprinkling magical sand onto their eyes.
Representation in traditional folklore
The Sandman is a traditional charact ...
''. At the studio's request, Gaiman later wrote "Goliath", a promotional short story set in the film's universe.
The name
Morpheus
Morpheus ('Fashioner', derived from the grc, μορφή meaning 'form, shape') is a god associated with sleep and dreams. In Ovid's ''Metamorphoses'' he is the son of Somnus and appears in dreams in human form. From the Middle Ages, the name b ...
is that of the
god of dreams in Greek mythology, which is consistent with the character's involvement with the "dreaming" of the Matrix. The mythical Morpheus and his family, including two brothers (Phobetor and Phantasos), lived in a dream world protected by the Gates of Morpheus with two monsters standing guard. Beyond the gates were the River of Forgetfulness, beside which Morpheus once carried his father to hide in a cave, and the River of Oblivion. This theme of duality carries over to Morpheus in ''The Matrix'', who offers Neo either a blue pill (to forget about the Matrix and continue to live in the world of illusion) or a red pill (to enter the painful world of reality).
Fishburne did not reprise his role in the 2021 ''
The Matrix Resurrections
''The Matrix Resurrections'' is a 2021 American science fiction action film produced, co-written, and directed by Lana Wachowski, and being the first in ''Matrix'' franchise to be directed solely by Lana, without her sister, Lilly. It is the s ...
'' film. He stated that, "I am not in the next ''Matrix'' movie, and you'd have to ask Lana Wachowski why, because I don't have an answer for that".
Both
''Vulture'' and
''Polygon'' highlighted that the recasting of Morpheus might imply that Matrix transmedia (such as ''
The Matrix Online
''The Matrix Online'' (abbreviated as ''MxO'') was a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) initially developed by Monolith Productions and later, a few months after launch, by Sony Online Entertainment. It was advertised as a ...
'') remains part of the
canon
Canon or Canons may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base
* Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture
** Western ca ...
.
Overview
In the ''Matrix'' films, Morpheus is the captain of the ''Nebuchadnezzar'', which is a hovercraft of the human forces of the last human city,
Zion
Zion ( he, צִיּוֹן ''Ṣīyyōn'', LXX , also variously transliterated ''Sion'', ''Tzion'', ''Tsion'', ''Tsiyyon'') is a placename in the Hebrew Bible used as a synonym for Jerusalem as well as for the Land of Israel as a whole (see Names ...
, in a devastated world where most humans are grown by sentient machines to be used as power sources and their minds kept imprisoned in the Matrix, a virtual computer-generated world, to stop them from realising the truth of the real world. Morpheus was once a human living inside the Matrix until he was freed.
Morpheus is apparently a very popular public figure in the city of Zion. He is also known in the
Matrix
Matrix most commonly refers to:
* ''The Matrix'' (franchise), an American media franchise
** ''The Matrix'', a 1999 science-fiction action film
** "The Matrix", a fictional setting, a virtual reality environment, within ''The Matrix'' (franchis ...
, but as a dangerous
terrorist
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
wanted by
'Agents', who appear to be Federal agents, but are actually sentient computer programs that patrol the Matrix, eliminating any threat to it. Like other hovercraft crews, Morpheus and his crew are dedicated to the protection of Zion and the freeing of humans from the Matrix.
Earlier in his life, Morpheus gained the romantic attention of
Niobe
In Greek mythology, Niobe (; grc-gre, Νιόβη ) was a daughter of Tantalus and of either Dione, the most frequently cited, or of Eurythemista or Euryanassa, the wife of Amphion and the sister of Pelops and Broteas.
Her father was the ru ...
, another hovercraft captain. Their relationship became estranged shortly after Morpheus visited
the Oracle, an ally living in the Matrix, who told Morpheus that he would be the person who would find
the One
The ONE is a shopping centre in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong. It is built on the site of the former Tung Ying Building at 100 Nathan Road. It was developed by Chinese Estates Holdings and opened in 2010. Owner Joseph Lau Luen-hung g ...
, a person with superhuman abilities within the Matrix who could end the human/machine war. Since that visit, Morpheus has spent much of his life searching the Matrix for the One.
Personality
In ''The Matrix'' and ''The Matrix Reloaded'', Morpheus was known to be a truly inspirational leader and influential teacher to many people, particularly the majority of his crew, to the extent that Tank commented that "Morpheus was a father to them, as well as a leader". In ''The Matrix Revolutions'', with Morpheus's faith in the prophecy shattered, he does not appear as strong a leader or character as he was in the first two films, he comes across as subdued and defeated. Despite his strong faith, Morpheus still showed some rationality in dangerous situations rather than blindly relying on his beliefs to see him through the current crisis; perhaps his only truly irrational decision was to attack Agent Smith while unarmed in order to give Neo a chance to escape.
Character history
''The Matrix''
In the first feature film, ''The Matrix'', Morpheus successfully finds and monitors a man named Thomas A. Anderson, a
hacker
A hacker is a person skilled in information technology who uses their technical knowledge to achieve a goal or overcome an obstacle, within a computerized system by non-standard means. Though the term ''hacker'' has become associated in popu ...
who calls himself
Neo. Despite a close call with
Agents that capture, interrogate, and place a surveillance device on Neo, Morpheus and his crew locate him. Morpheus offers Neo a choice of ingesting a
red pill
The terms "red pill" and "blue pill" refer to a choice between the willingness to learn a potentially unsettling or life-changing truth by taking the red pill or remaining in contented ignorance with the blue pill. The terms are associated with ...
, which will activate a trace program to locate Neo's body in the real world and allow the ''Nebuchadnezzar'' crew to extract him, or a
blue pill, which will leave Neo in the Matrix to live and believe as he wishes. Neo takes the red pill. The ''Nebuchadnezzar'' crew is then able to eject Neo's body from the Matrix power plant and retrieve him from the cold sewers beneath the Earth's surface. Morpheus takes a risk in helping Neo escape the Matrix, as human minds that live too long in the Matrix may have trouble in comprehending the reality. Initially, Neo does experience denial when Morpheus explains the truth, a point for which Morpheus apologises.
Shortly after Neo visits the Oracle, Morpheus is captured by agents who plan to hack into his mind. Because Morpheus, as a hovercraft captain, possesses access codes to the Zion mainframe computer, the surviving members of the ship's crew are about to unplug Morpheus from the Matrix, without reconnecting his mind and body, a process that will kill him. Neo and
Trinity
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the F ...
, however, reenter the Matrix to make a daring and successful rescue of Morpheus. Neo saves Trinity from a helicopter crash, confirming Morpheus' belief that Neo is indeed the One.
Neo is eventually killed by
Agent Smith
Agent Smith (later simply Smith) is a fictional Character (arts), character and the main antagonist of The Matrix (franchise), ''The Matrix'' franchise. He was primarily portrayed by Hugo Weaving in the first trilogy of films and voiced by Christ ...
shortly after the rescue, but revived as the One and returned to the ''Nebuchadnezzar'' before the Machines' Sentinels can destroy the ship.
''The Matrix Reloaded''
In the second film, ''
The Matrix Reloaded
''The Matrix Reloaded'' is a 2003 American science-fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is a sequel to ''The Matrix'' (1999) and the second installment in the ''Matrix'' film series. The film stars Keanu Reeves, Laure ...
'', Morpheus is more confident that the war is nearing its end. A spiritual as well as an influential leader, Morpheus convinces one hovercraft ship to stay in the Matrix to await contact from the Oracle, despite orders from Zion for all ships to return to the city. Here he incurs the wrath of Jason Locke, commander of the Zion defensive forces; but Morpheus' actions are defended by Councillor Hamann, a member of the city's ruling body.
With the aid of Trinity and Niobe, Morpheus successfully retrieves the Keymaker, an exiled program that can access many hidden areas of the Matrix, including the Source, the central Machine City mainframe computer and programming heart of the Matrix. Morpheus aids Neo in successfully entering the door to the Source before returning to the ''Nebuchadnezzar''.
After Neo enters the Source and returns from the Matrix with new information, he tells Morpheus that the Prophecy was a system of control that would bring the One to the Source to disseminate the programming inside Neo into the Matrix to allow a reload of the Matrix while Zion is destroyed by the machines and rebuilt by the One and red pills. A sudden Sentinel attack destroys the ''Nebuchadnezzar'', further damaging Morpheus' belief in the outcome of the war. Upon witnessing the destruction of his ship, he quotes the Biblical
Nebuchadnezzar
Nebuchadnezzar II (Babylonian cuneiform: ''Nabû-kudurri-uṣur'', meaning "Nabu, watch over my heir"; Biblical Hebrew: ''Nəḇūḵaḏneʾṣṣar''), also spelled Nebuchadrezzar II, was the second king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, ruling ...
; "I have dreamed a dream... but now that dream has gone from me."
The crew is rescued by the hovercraft ''Mjolnir'' commanded by Captain Roland, who joins forces with the craft ''Logos'' commanded by Niobe.
''The Matrix Revolutions''
In the third film, ''
The Matrix Revolutions
''The Matrix Revolutions'' is a 2003 American science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the third installment in ''The Matrix'' film series, released six months following ''The Matrix Reloaded''. The film stars ...
'', Morpheus is somewhat dispirited, and has problems in understanding now what may happen to Zion and its people. Now without a ship of his own, he and Link (the ''Nebuchadnezzar's'' Operator) reside on the hovercraft ''Mjolnir'', commanded by Roland. Morpheus renews his conviction that Neo could still save Zion, and supports Trinity in finding Neo, whose mind is trapped in a computer netherworld called Mobil Avenue, despite not being jacked in. Morpheus is called to the Oracle with Trinity, and with the Oracle's guardian, Seraph, he helps Trinity rescue Neo, via a visit to the Merovingian's lair and a
Mexican standoff
A Mexican standoff is a confrontation in which no strategy exists that allows any party to achieve victory. Any party initiating aggression might trigger its own demise. At the same time, the parties are unable to extricate themselves from the sit ...
.
Morpheus says farewell to Neo and Trinity before they leave for the Machine City in the hovercraft ''Logos'' to stop the war. Morpheus then aids Niobe as she flies the ''Mjolnir'' in a desperate ride back to Zion. The ship successfully stops the first onslaught of the Machine attack with the ship's
electromagnetic pulse
An electromagnetic pulse (EMP), also a transient electromagnetic disturbance (TED), is a brief burst of electromagnetic energy. Depending upon the source, the origin of an EMP can be natural or artificial, and can occur as an electromagnetic fie ...
weapon.
When the Sentinels suddenly stop a second wave of attacks, Morpheus realizes that Neo is somehow fighting for them. When the Sentinels retreat after Neo defeats the former
Agent Smith
Agent Smith (later simply Smith) is a fictional Character (arts), character and the main antagonist of The Matrix (franchise), ''The Matrix'' franchise. He was primarily portrayed by Hugo Weaving in the first trilogy of films and voiced by Christ ...
, now a virus that has threatened both humans and machines, Morpheus and Niobe embrace in celebration as cheers arise from the Zion population, who have received a brokered peace through Neo's sacrifice.
Of the original ''Nebuchadnezzar'' crew in ''the Matrix'', Morpheus is the only surviving member to see freedom for Zion.
Referring to the subjectivity of reality throughout the film trilogy, Morpheus' last line in ''The'' ''Matrix Revolutions'', said in disbelief as the Sentinels retreat from Zion, is ''"Is this real?"''.
''The Matrix Resurrections''
![Yahya Abdul-Mateen II by Gage Skidmore](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/Yahya_Abdul-Mateen_II_by_Gage_Skidmore.jpg)
In the fourth film ''
The Matrix Resurrections
''The Matrix Resurrections'' is a 2021 American science fiction action film produced, co-written, and directed by Lana Wachowski, and being the first in ''Matrix'' franchise to be directed solely by Lana, without her sister, Lilly. It is the s ...
'', a new version of Morpheus, originally a program subconsciously created by a suppressed Neo as part of a modal based upon his memories, is released by Bugs from the Matrix. Initially, Morpheus is an amalgamation of Neo's memories of Agent Smith and Morpheus. He retains the same purpose as Smith in ''The Matrix'', serving as the lead Agent in a trio alongside Agents White and Jones. After Bugs infiltrates the modal and frees 'Smith', he assumes the identity of Morpheus and joins Bugs in working to find and free Neo from the Matrix once again.
Morpheus appears before Neo inside Deus Machina during an evacuation due to an impending SWAT assault. He offers Neo the Red Pill, but Neo rejects it and Morpheus is forced to fight against SWAT during his attempt to persuade Neo. After Neo is collected by Bugs, Morpheus decides on using
set and setting
Set and setting, when referring to a psychedelic drug experience or the use of other psychoactive substances, means one's mindset (shortened to "set") and the physical and social environment (the "setting") in which the user has the experience. ...
, with clips from Neo's video game playing in the background to instill a sense of nostalgia, in order to calm Neo. After Neo accepts the Red Pill, Morpheus fights people on a train through Tokyo under the influence of swarm mode, encouraging Neo to exit the Matrix through a mirror in a bathroom on board.
Once Neo and the group reach Io, they visit an elderly Niobe, who is now the leader. She reveals that the new city was built by humans and machines, and that the Oracle warned them about a forthcoming threat before disappearing. Niobe then leads Neo to Morpheus' statue, telling him that he was elected for the high chair at the council, but ignored the warnings of the new power that was coming, firmly believing what Neo did was right (implying that in the 60 year time period, Zion was destroyed and Morpheus was killed).
Morpheus appears aboard the ''Mnemosyne'' using a nanobot body, and encourages Neo to escape confinement in Io in order to search the Matrix for Trinity, which the extraction is successful as they manage to rescue her onto the ship. He later aids Bugs in rescuing her crew from the swarm people.
Other Appearances
''The Matrix Online''
In Chapter 1.2 of ''
The Matrix Online
''The Matrix Online'' (abbreviated as ''MxO'') was a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) initially developed by Monolith Productions and later, a few months after launch, by Sony Online Entertainment. It was advertised as a ...
'', Morpheus grows impatient with the machines and demands that they return the body of
Neo. After many unanswered public speeches threatening action, Morpheus starts terrorist attacks throughout the Matrix. These attacks take the form of weapons that reveal the Matrix's inner workings (its code) for all human beings to see, even those not yet awakened to the simulation. This is known to have caused mass panic and forced awakenings to those not ready to see the truth. By killing Morpheus' simulacrum guards, redpills--humans freed from the Matrix--were however able to find means of disabling Morpheus' bombs.
During the game events on May 26, 2005 (as recorded on the game's official website), Morpheus plants a
code bomb in the Rumbaar water treatment facility. After planting the bomb, he realizes he is being hunted by the enigmatic, masked figure known as the Assassin. Morpheus escapes the treatment facility; however, upon his leaving, the Assassin bends the code of the Matrix and emerges from a vent in the wall. Morpheus is caught off-guard and is unable to dodge the Assassin's bullets. He dies from gunshot wounds.
Some players argued against the death of the character Morpheus as the Matrix now provides an "Emergency Jack-Out" upgrade for redpills, eliminating the permanent death that previous redpills experienced if killed within the Matrix before the Truce. This feature could save a redpill's life with no fatal injuries. It was later revealed that the Assassin's bullets had contained a new form of code encryption, named a "kill code," which bypassed this technology. These kill codes are explained to be extremely difficult to produce and usually require a direct sample of the subject's residual self-image data, thus making them extremely rare and only used in the most extreme and specialist of circumstances. These codes were utilized later in the story as well, being the basis of function for The Apothecary character and the subject of The Oracle's plan to wound the Oligarchy.
Rumors and the popular belief of a
faked death
A faked death, also called a staged death or pseudocide, is the act of an individual purposely deceiving other people into believing that the individual is dead, when the person is, in fact, still alive. People who commit pseudocide can do so by l ...
still run rampant however, largely based on the fact that prior to Morpheus' assassination a few select redpills were sent an email stating that he would likely "fade away" and hide.
Simulacra
During Chapter 6 a figure appeared resembling Morpheus. It took the form of an RSI transmission, apparently originating from the Real World and spread disjointed messages about Neo's survival and imprisonment at the hands of The Machines. This was later revealed to be nothing more than a farce created by The General to sow dissent between Zion and The Machines, an effort he'd hoped would renew conflict between the two parties and give him purpose again.
The fake, a Morpheus Simulacrum created from Zion records of the captain, took on a greater role once its master ordered it to deactivate itself. Disobeying its initial programming and refusing to shut down, the program went on to, over time, gain greater levels of self-awareness and sentience. It proved instrumental in The Machines' unlocking of the Zion RSI Database acquired during the 6th destruction of Zion as part of the renewed war effort following the Cypherite discovery of New Zion. This wasn't however done with malicious intent, in fact, the Simulacrum's personality was notably innocent, being more concerned with the world around it and its own existence than taking sides in any political or ideological struggles.
In later chapters the Morpheus Simulacrum played a supporting role in the Oracle's faked death and subsequent plan to weaken the Oligarch forces threatening The Matrix. Approached by the Oligarch Halborn during his research into the life of The One, the Simulacrum coldly dismissed the Intruder's actions as only leading to his inevitable defeat.
Commercials
In January 2014, Fishburne reprised his role as Morpheus in
Kia Motors
Kia Corporation, commonly known as Kia (, ; formerly known as Kyungsung Precision Industry and Kia Motors Corporation), is a South Korean multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. It is South Korea's second lar ...
'
K900 commercial for
Super Bowl XLVIII
Super Bowl XLVIII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos and National Football Conference (NFC) champion Seattle Seahawks to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for th ...
.
He also sings the legendary aria "
Nessun dorma
"" (; English: "Let no one sleep") is an aria from the final act of Giacomo Puccini's opera ''Turandot'' (text by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni) and one of the best-known tenor arias in all opera. It is sung by Calaf, (the unknown prince), w ...
" from
Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Puccini (Lucca, 22 December 1858Bruxelles, 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long li ...
opera ''
Turandot
''Turandot'' (; see below) is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, posthumously completed by Franco Alfano in 1926, and set to a libretto in Italian by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni. ''Turandot'' best-known aria is "Nessun dorma", whi ...
''.
References
{{Matrix
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