Neo’s Powers In The Matrix Movies Explained Fully

Neo has a plethora of powers in The Matrix movies, from flight to telekinesis, but what those powers are, how he controls his powers, and the way he acquired these powers gets pretty complicated. When audiences are first introduced to Neo in the first Matrix movie, he’s a bored office drone named Thomas Anderson. But the character is better known by his hacker alias, “Neo,” which becomes the name he goes by when he’s liberated from the Matrix and brought into the real world to rage against the machines.

When Neo takes the red pill and awakens in the real world, he’s told that what he knows as reality is actually a computer simulation. The laws of physics aren’t hard-and-fast rules; they’re just written into the Matrix’s code, and Neo can train to ignore them. This ends up giving Neo a wide-ranging roster of superpowers with a lot of complex lore behind them. Neo demonstrated some truly impressive feats of power across The Matrix movies, but what exactly are his powers, and how did he get them?

Why Neo Has Powers Inside The Matrix

He Broke All The Machines’ Rules

When Morpheus first frees Neo from the Matrix and introduces him to the real world, he explains that what he knows as reality can be bent to his will. Since the Matrix is just a computer program, it has rules that can be tweaked or even broken. Abilities like defying gravity and being a kung fu master can be downloaded and used to his advantage. At first, Neo has a tough time wrapping his head around this. He knows he can break the rules of the Matrix’s simulation, but he remains tethered to them for most of the movie.

Then, in the film’s glorious climactic set-piece, Neo finally taps into his abilities and starts bending the Matrix to his will. He flexes and the entire hallway moves with him. He stops the Agents’ bullets in mid-air and effortlessly fights off their barrage of punches with one hand behind his back. This is when Neo finally lives up to his destiny as “The One.” Morpheus has been telling him he’s the One since they met, but Neo doesn’t fulfill the prophecy until this triumphant moment.

What Makes Neo “The One” & What It Means

Neo Is Destined To End The War Between The Humans & The Machines

The One is the messianic figure who is prophesized to finally end the war between the humans and the machines. Several other people before Neo were believed to be the One, but they all failed to live up to the prophecy. The rest of Morpheus’ crew were initially skeptical about Neo, but Morpheus was convinced he was the One. This is common for “chosen one” figures in pop culture. When Qui-Gon Jinn was convinced that Anakin Skywalker was “The Chosen One” in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, the rest of the Jedi Council weren’t so sure.

Also known as the Prime Program, the One is a systemic feature of the Matrix in which a random human being is assigned special code that gives them superpowers. The One is described as the sum of all anomalies; the anomaly to end all anomalies. Not everyone in the Matrix knows about the One; only a select few programs are privy to his existence. The Oracle knows about the One, because it’s her job to point the human race in his direction, and the Architect (the creator of the Matrix) refers to the One as an “eventuality.”

All Powers Neo Has In The Matrix’s Original Trilogy

Neo Can Fly, Move Things With His Mind, & More

Neo has a bunch of incredible powers in the original Matrix trilogy. After he taps into his abilities as the One, he’s pretty much unstoppable. He has superhuman strength and superhuman speed. He’s capable of flight (or, as Link describes it, “his Superman thing”), phasing, and telekinesis. He’s near-invulnerable to attacks; he can see the code of the Matrix, similar to heat vision; and he even possesses a precognitive awareness. He’s practically a one-man Avengers or Justice League; he doesn’t really need the assistance of the rest of his team.

How Neo Can Use His Powers In The Real World

Neo Has A Wireless Connection To The Matrix

Initially, Neo is only able to use his powers within the Matrix by breaking the rules of the code. However, he quickly learns how to use those abilities in the real world, too. There are a handful of theories as to how Neo is able to use his powers outside the Matrix. One theory is that the Machines need the One to reload or reboot the Matrix, so they need to keep the One alive and they need him to be able to use his powers outside his connection to their mainframe.

The most solid evidence in the movies themselves is that Neo doesn’t need any extra equipment to get in and out of the Matrix. The use of pay phones implies that getting in and out of the Matrix requires a connection to Wi-Fi through a hard landline. But Neo doesn’t need a landline; he has a wireless connection to the Matrix. This allows him to take his powers outside the Matrix and into the real world. The theory that the machines need the One is a little more interesting, but this explanation is more practical.

How Powerful Neo Is Compared To Other The Matrix Characters

Neo Is So Powerful That He Leaves The Others Awestruck

Neo is by far the most powerful character in The Matrix franchise. The Agents’ abilities come close, because the Matrix itself gives them carte blanche, but it takes dozens of them to even stand a chance against Neo. Trinity’s powers in the Matrix are better than most Zionites — she killed an Agent — and Morpheus is probably the second most powerful character after Neo. Other than that, everyone else’s abilities pale in comparison to Neo; that’s why they’re so awestruck when he finally gains the powers of the One and defeats the Agents.

Why Neo Loses His Powers In The Matrix Resurrections

Neo’s Brain Is Back Under The Control Of The Machines

At the beginning of The Matrix Resurrections, Neo is back in the Matrix and he no longer has any of his powers. He’s even been convinced that he’s Thomas Anderson, the Matrix isn’t real, and the events of the original trilogy are just a video game he created. This is because his brain is no longer liberated from the machines; his mind is back under their control, so they can make him think and believe whatever they want. All of Neo’s character development from The Matrix trilogy is undone and he has to re-liberate himself from the machines.