Agent Smith - Personality

Personality

Agent Smith is significantly more individualistic than the other Agents from the start. While other agents rarely act without consulting each other via their earpieces, to the point where they often finish each other's sentences, Smith is usually the one giving orders or using his earpiece to gather information for his own ends. Smith also appears to be the leader of other Agents in the first movie, as he has the authority to launch Sentinel attacks in the real world. As with other Agents, Smith generally approaches problems through a pragmatic point of view, but if necessary will also act with brute force and apparent rage, especially when provoked by Neo.

The earpieces represent some form of control mechanism by the machines. It is notable that when he is interrogating Morpheus, he sends the other agents from the room, then removes his earpiece, releasing himself from the link to the machines before expressing his opinion of humanity. Early in the second film, Smith's earpiece is sent to Neo in an envelope as a message from Smith, representing Smith's newfound freedom.

Agent Smith complains to Morpheus that the Matrix and its inhabitants smell disgusting, "if there is such a thing ". Smith has an open hatred of humans and their weakness of the flesh. He compares humanity to a virus, a disease organism that would replicate uncontrollably and eventually destroy their environment were it not for the machine intelligences keeping them in check. Ironically, Smith eventually becomes a computer virus, multiplying until he has overrun the entire Matrix.

At the same time, Smith develops an animosity towards the Matrix itself, feeling that he is as much a prisoner of it as the humans he is tasked with controlling. He later develops an immense and increasingly open desire for the destruction of both mankind and machines.

He was also shown to be a nihilist, which eventually cumulating to his stating that the purpose of life is to end, and crediting Neo's life for his determining this.

Agent Smith's vehicle of choice, as seen in The Matrix Reloaded is a black Audi A8 with black tinted windows and medium sized five-spoke aluminium wheels. Its registration plate reads IS 5416, which is a reference to the Old Testament.

The Wachowski brothers have commented that Smith's gradual humanization throughout The Matrix is a process intended to mirror and balance Neo's own increasing power and understanding of the machine world.