Niobe (The Matrix)
Niobe is a female film character who features in The Matrix.
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Biography
Niobe was a female human who was born in the time when the Machines had taken over the world. She came to be among the few free humans that escaped them and resided in their hidden underground city of Zion. During that time, she was noted to had met Morpheus where the two were romantically involved in those years. This was until one day when Morpheus made a visit to the Oracle whereupon he dedicated his life to finding the prophecised figure called the One who was said to free humanity from the Matrix. This led to the couple drifting apart and eventually breaking up with Niobe then becoming involved with Jason Lock. During her time with the Resistance, she successfully piloted a hovercraft through mechanical lines, something that no other member of the Resistance has been able to do.
After finding out that Thadeus left a box within the Matrix before his ship crashed, Niobe decides that they should jack in and go retrieve it. While both Ghost and Sparks have reservations about this plan, Niobe believes that the contents of that box are extremely important given the fact that Thadeus has never used the method before, a risky emergency broadcast drop. The box is located within a heavily guarded post office but they are able to get it. After they retrieve the package, Niobe drives with Ghost to an exit located on the rooftop of a building. On their way to the exit they encounter Agent Johnson blocking the telephone. After narrowly avoiding Agent Johnson, they manage to exit the Matrix. The disk, held within the box, contained the last transmission of the Osiris before it was destroyed and its crew killed. Thadeus explained that they ran into an army of Sentinels just above Zion, tunneling to the city with Diggers. Niobe orders that the data be transmitted to Zion. After Commander Lock views the data, he contacts the Logos and orders that Niobe lead a full recall of all the ships, returning them to Zion.
Due to the number of outcalls being made to all of the captains, Niobe suggests that they use the airport telephones within the Matrix so that the Machines cannot trace them. As they continue calling all of the captains, Niobe contacts the Vigilant and gets an immediate response from Jax, the ship's operator. Warning him about having to talk, Jax informs her that Axel has been captured by Agents. He also reveals that Captain Soren and the rest of his crew went to find him but were cornered by Agents attempting to do so. Meanwhile, the other Agents are moving Axel to the tarmac and fear that, in the eventuality that the plane takes off, Jax will have to kill Axel. Niobe orders Ghost to help Soren with the Agents while she tries to find Axel.
Overview
Personality and attributes
In appearance, Niobe was a Black woman of African descent who possessed a formidable and commanding presence that matched her reputation as a elite pilot. She had a compact, athletic, and slender physique, standing at approximately 4'9". Her facial features were defined by her brown eyes and black hair, which she wore in a distinct and elaborate style consisting of numerous tightly coiled knots or small buns across her head. Within the Matrix, her costume was a departure from the standard long black trench coats of her peers; she famously wore a form-fitting, deep red or burgundy leather jacket with a high collar and a unique, quilted or ribbed pattern on the shoulders and sleeves. This was paired with matching red leather trousers and sturdy black combat boots, as well as the signature small, dark sunglasses that were a staple of Zion's resistance fighters.
Niobe was characterized by a pragmatic and skeptical personality, often serving as a grounded foil to the more spiritual or prophetic beliefs of others in the resistance. She was a highly disciplined and scrupulous leader, known for her unwavering confidence in her own skills—particularly her unmatched abilities as a pilot—rather than in myths or legends. Unlike Morpheus, she initially refused to believe in the prophecy of the One, viewing the war through the lens of military strategy and tangible action rather than destiny. Despite this skepticism, she possessed a deeply loyal and courageous heart, eventually supporting Neo not because she believed in the stories, but because she believed in his character and the potential for his actions to change the world. Her demeanor was often stern and decisive, yet she harbored a quiet, enduring affection for those she had loved, maintaining a professional but emotionally complex bond with Morpheus long after their romantic relationship had ended.
In the past, she was noted for having been romantically involved with Morpheus. The two eventually broke up after he dedicated his life to finding the One. This saw her becoming involved with Jason Lock but despite that she was shown to still love Morpheus.
Powers and abilities
Niobe was one of the many humans born within the world controlled by the Machines. This meant that her life initially consisted of her being plugged into the Matrix. As such, she possessed all the natural traits of the species. Eventually, she was freed from the Matrix and learnt the truth of the world.
In terms of her capabilities, Niobe was widely regarded as the most skilled pilot in the Zion fleet, possessing an extraordinary level of precision and intuition when navigating the real world. She famously piloted the Logos, the smallest and most maneuverable ship, performing near-impossible aerial maneuvers such as a 270-degree flip through the tight, cluttered 'mechanical lines' to evade Machine Sentinels—a feat no other pilot had ever achieved. Inside the Matrix, she was a formidable martial artist and a highly proficient driver, demonstrating her expertise during the freeway chase when she expertly steered a vehicle through heavy traffic to catch Morpheus as he fell from a moving truck. Her powers were not supernatural like Neo's, but rather the result of peak human training and an indomitable will, allowing her to survive multiple encounters with Agents and the Merovingian's superhuman henchmen.
Within the virtual world of the Matrix, Niobe was one of Zion's most gifted martial artists. She has "killed" at least one Agent, survived multiple encounters with the Merovingian's superhuman thugs, faced Seraph in one-on-one combat, and even managed to survive and escape from a confrontation with the replicating entity Smith.
In the real world, she was the most skilled pilot among the rebel forces. She demonstrates this on several occasions. She maneuverer the hovercraft Mjolnir which was the largest hovercraft in the fleet and pilot it through the narrow, cluttered passage of a mechanical line. This was done so whilst under heavy attack and pursuit by Sentinels), a feat no other pilot has successfully performed. She also performed a 270-degree flip with the hovercraft, as an evasive maneuver, which apparently no previous pilot had even attempted before.
Notes
- Niobe was created by The Wachowskis and portrayed by actress Jada Pinkett Smith where she featured in the setting of The Matrix universe.
In other media
Video games
Appearances
- The Matrix Reloaded:
External Links
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