Poor Matrix! He has his detracters, as well as his fans. For every 1 fan that loves him (for whatever reason...), he seems to have at least 5 that hate him for reasons as trivial as his attitude, or as contraversal as his Gun.
Hardly seem fair, does it? Those who hate him don't seem to want to look any closer at his life than nessassary, but by doing so, they miss out on a more three dimentional character then they think.
Here is something I posted to the ReBoot LiST about my thoughts on Matrix:
Matrix has had a long, hard childhood. Consider...
1. At some point in Enzo's childhood, Megabyte and Hexadecimal arrived in Mainframe, and began doing their damage. Enzo --and the other Mainframers-- has had to live in constant danger.
2. In "Talent Night" (touted in the US as the first episode of Season 2), Enzo aged a "year". Older, meaning new responsibilities.
3. In "Web World Wars", Enzo is made a Guardian Cadet. Even more new responsiblities.
4. In the same episode, Mainframe loses Bob. Not only has Enzo lost a mentor and a friend, but now, Enzo is Mainframe's Guardian. All the responsibilies that Bob had, is now Enzo's. The next four episodes emphasises this. In a short time, Enzo has had to grow-up very quickly.
Prehaps a quote from a Superboy comic might put Enzo's postion into prospective:
Clark (Superboy) Kent is agonizing about calling a girl he was dating, and had to leave when a job for Superboy came up. Pa Kent is in the foreground of the scene, thinking, "Poor Clark! He has responsibilies that would make a grown man cringe, and he's saddled with the emotions of a teenager to handle them with!"
Enzo is a lot like this. To paraphrase Pa Kent, he has responsiblities that would make a grown sprite cringe, and he's saddled with the emotions of a child to handle them with.
5. Then comes, "Game Over" and the game. Enzo not only loses the game, but his eye. That would be trumatic for an adult sprite, but even more so for a child forced into an adult role.
6. We next see Enzo as the grown Matrix, having been saved from nullification by his Game Sprite Mode. We never see them grow up, so we don't know what happened to them in the games. He apparently still has the heart he always had (the thing in "Icons", where he says that he doesn't care what happens to the system is apparently a recruiting trick AndrAIa and he do in the systems they visit. It works, too.). At the end, just before AndrAIa, Frisket, and he leave with the game, Matrix gives Backup his yoyo. His voice is soft, even gentle, as he speaks to the boy. Matrix even winks at him.
7. "Number 7" is Matrix's "wake-up call", where his subconcouss is saying, "Wake up and see what you are becoming!" Matrix does. After he wakes up (for real), Matrix declares an end to their game-hopping, and the begining of their earnest search for Bob and Mainframe. AndrAIa kisses his cheek, and says, "Welcome back." Matrix is now on the road to recovering his lost sence of purpose. But the change won't happen overnight. He will still be "Mighty Matrix" for a good, long time. He won't ever recover his lost childhood. That part of him is gone. But he's still Enzo Matrix, big or little.
8. Despite tiffs, he's gentle with AndrAIa. His scenes with her after she is bitten by the Web Creature are soft and tender, full of emotion. He blames no one but himself for her perdictument, realizing that it was his jealously (in his eyes and mind, anyway) that caused her to be bitten. When Ray is believed lost (a BIG, tooth-mark-shaped piece is missing from the surfboard), Matrix goes out to finish what Ray started. During the energy transfusion, when Princess Bula says "Might hurt.", Matrix responds with, "Do you think I care?" He doesn't care if the transfusion hurts, if it will help AndrAIa.
9. Then, Bob returns. Matrix is so happy, we almost get treated to the "Enzo-tackles-Bob" gag that ran so much in Seasons 1 & 2. Almost. Bob, for his own health, stops him in time. Can you imagine how it might have gone, if Bob hadn't stopped him:
(Bob removes face mask, then turns to face Matrix.)
Matrix: BOBBBBBBBB!!!!!!!!!!!! (runs, tackles Bob.) [SPLAT!]
Bob(painfully): I'm...happy...to...see...you...too, Enzo. Now, please...get...off...me...
Matrix (does so): Oops! Sorry Bob.
10. Then, the return to Mainframe and the reunions. Matrix faces Megabyte. They agree to fight without "toys", but Megabyte cheats (villian's prevlidge), unsheathing his claws. AndrAIa throws Matrix her trident, making things even, once more (no matter HOW strong Matrix is, or HOW skilled, those claws would tear him to ribbons). Matrix wins after a long battle, getting Megabyte into a position where Matrix could kill the virus. But does he? No. Matrix's humanity and Guardian codes win out. Matrix instead spares Megabyte's life, something Megabyte would not do for Matrix. Honor over Dishonor. Even though Megabyte escapes, Matrix still won. (And Megabyte lost, anyway. Mouse and her portal to the Web).
I've noticed, BTW, that there are some characters that can get away with calling Matrix, "Enzo": Bob, AndrAIa, Dot, and Phong, formost amoungst them. Bob calls him Matrix because he thinks Matrix has earned the right to be called however he wants to be called.
Just my two cents.
There seems to be more to Matrix than anyone thinks. Despite his attitude and aggressiveness, he's still the little sprite everyone knows as "Enzo". How he will fare as "big brother" to the "Little Enzo" backup copy of himself is anyone's guess. Maybe they cover it in one of the movies...