Keanu Reeves’ most glorious moment as Neo in The Matrix was a great scene, but it also doomed the sequels. While The Matrix holds up as a timeless sci-fi action masterpiece that deftly balances its meditation on the nature of reality with its high-octane martial arts fight sequences. It was universally acclaimed by critics and audiences alike, it made a boatload of money at the box office, and it brought the concept of “the simulation” into the mainstream. But none of its three sequels have managed to match that success.

Part of the reason why The Matrix’s sequels never lived up to the original is that a key scene from the first movie irreversibly changed Neo from a relatable protagonist to a walking, talking deus ex machina. There are a ton of iconic moments in The Matrix, like the lobby shootout, the helicopter crash, Neo and Morpheus’ fight in the digital dojo, and any scene involving the Wachowskis’ revolutionary “bullet time” technique. But one moment in particular ruined the sequels.

Neo's Transformation Into "The One" Is The Matrix's Most Glorious Moment

It's the ultimate superhero origin story

In the climactic sequence of the first Matrix movie, after Neo and Trinity have successfully saved Morpheus and they’re all returning to the real world one by one, Neo is ambushed by Agents. While Trinity and Morpheus managed to get back to the real world in time, Neo is stranded in the Matrix. He has to race across the simulation to get to a phone and return to the real world before the Agents catch him. When they have him cornered in an apartment building, Neo finally transforms into “The One.”

Neo gains the ability to bend the Matrix to his will. When the Agents shoot at him, he stops their bullets by waving his hand. When they try to hit him with a barrage of punches, he effortlessly dodges every single one and fights with one hand behind his back. Morpheus and the rest of the crew are in awe that The One is real and he’s just as spectacular as the prophecy promised. It’s a truly awesome scene and the perfect climax to this story. But it also came at a cost.

Neo's Abilities In The Matrix Made Him Ridiculously Overpowered In The Sequels

Neo wasn't vulnerable for the rest of the trilogy

Neo’s transformation into The One made him so ridiculously overpowered that he wasn’t vulnerable for the rest of the trilogy. If a legion of gunmen all opened fire on him, all he had to do was raise his hand to stop all the flying bullets in their tracks. What made The Matrix so compelling was that the audience could see themselves in Neo – he’s just a regular guy; a fish out of water – but in the sequels, that element was gone as Neo became Superman in sunglasses.