Man in Black

The Man in Black played by Ed Harris was a main character and chief antagonist in HBO's Westworld who, in the first season finale, is revealed to be an older version of William played by Jimmi Simpson. 
==Biography==
The Man in Black is a 30 year Westworld veteran, visiting the park religiously over that time. Callously vicious and violent, he rapes and kills his way through every visit and has, over time, travelled every inch of the vast Park and met almost every character. During that time he has become increasingly frustrated by the fact that there's no 'real' jeopardy for the human players, due to the fact the hosts can't do any real damage to them, let alone kill them. He believes the long-dead Arnold to be the original creator of the Park (rather than Ford). He gradually comes to (very much mistakenly) believe that Arnold died before he could implement a planned 'final' game, which the MiB believes would allow 'real stakes, real violence' (Dissonance Theory) He thinks 'The Maze' is a major element of that game and that if he finds the Centre of the Maze he will trigger Arnold's game, despite being told repeatedly the Maze is not for him. 
In reality, Arnold did not create any final game, and his death/suicide was an attempt to stop the Park from ever opening. Instead it is the MiB's decision to talk James Delos into investing far more heavily in the Park that goes contrary to Arnold's wish, allowing the Park to prosper and expand under Ford. He himself plays a more direct role in activating the ultimate violent response of the Hosts through his vicious treatment of them. The MiB features as the focus of many of the nightmare dreams and visions experienced by the hosts Dolores, Maeve, Teddy, and Lawrence. 
William's first arrival in the park was some 4 years after the Park opened. While he was engaged to Juliet Delos, later his wife, as a kind of bachelor celebration as a precursor to their wedding, prompted by Westworld veteran, and soon-to-be brother-in-law, Logan. Before arriving at Westworld, he was promoted to an Executive Vice President at Delos (the company owned by Logan's family). During his first visit, after showing a glimmer of interest in her in Sweetwater, Dolores was redirected to his and Logan's encampment to engage him, as something he could protect. At the same time however she began to experience cognitive dissonance, finding her way back to self-awareness as Arnold predicted she would, veering between reality and narrative, past and present...something that would affect her again 30 years later when her experiences with William and Logan would be added to the mix. 
The dissonance leaving her in a fragile state, allowed William to build on his hero impulse, and form an attachment to her, and vice versa. Refusing to face the truth of what she was, as presented by Logan, he pursued the role of protector, and after she disappeared searched with increasing brutality, through the Park for her only to find her back in Sweetwater, just as she was before, with no memory of him. Not even reacting to the sight of him as she 'apparently' had the first time they met. Proving to him that it had all just been her coding. Not that that mattered to him, as, he had discovered that Logan had again been right, and that it had never been about her, but about him, and the Park showing him who he truly was...and the taste for violence and darkness he had been hiding. Becoming the Man in Black. 
It was his understanding of the worth of the data/insight the Park was gathering on its guests true nature, that allowed him to convince Delos to invest in the Park. William starting working on The Forge, a project which saved the personality profiles and cognitive imprints of every Guest in order to both use it for their own ends, and, to run experiments on creating immortality. The Fidelity Trials or faithful transference of a complete human mind into a host body. The first prototype of this project was the founder of Delos and his father-in-law James Delos, but despite repeated tests over almost 30 years, it failed due to his mind not accepting his new body.
In "The Bicameral Mind", he reveals that he is the majority shareholder, and thus, the owner of Westworld. He is later overtaken by Engerraund Serac, who purchases 38% of Delos.
He serves as the primary antagonist of Season 1, a co-antagonist with Charlotte Hale in Season 2, a secondary antagonist of Season 3, and supporting antagonist in Season 4, with his host version a co-antagonist with Hale. 
==Description==
<tabber>Young William=William is engaged to marry Juliet (Logan's sister). William is made an EVP (Executive Vice President) at Delos (the company owned by Logan's family). Logan invites William to Westworld and accompanies him.
|-|Man in Black=The Man in Black says he's been visiting Westworld for over three decades, and wants to visit the deeper levels of the game, which he believes are hidden in the park. He says he regularly visits Dolores Abernathy, a host who lives on the outskirts of Sweetwater. He is also acquainted with Teddy Flood and Lawrence.The Original
The Man in Black is a businessman and philanthropist outside Westworld, wealthy enough to operate a foundation and to be recognized by other guests in the park. However, he becomes annoyed when having his vacation interrupted by guests who recognize him, or by anyone else for that matter, such as Charlotte and Robert.
</tabber>
==Plot==
=== Season 1 ===
===="The Original"====
On one of his many visits to the park, the Man in Black has the intentions of finally reaching the deeper levels of Westworld. He pays a visit to Dolores one last time, killing Teddy Flood in the process. On a later day, he visits the Mariposa Saloon to meet Kissy, a card dealer. At nighttime, he sneaks up on Kissy and slits his throat, rendering him powerless, and quietly drags him away to the mountains. There, after explaining his intentions to find the truth of Westworld and its deeper game, the Man scalps the host. On the inside of the host's scalp, he finds a map for an unknown maze.
==== "Chestnut" ====
<tabview>
Man in Black/Young William/Chestnut|Young William
Man in Black/Old William/Chestnut|Man in Black
</tabview>
==== "The Stray" ====
<tabview>
Man in Black/Young William/The Stray|Young William
Man in Black/Old William/The Stray|Man in Black
</tabview>
===="Dissonance Theory"====
<tabview>
Man in Black/Young William/Dissonance Theory|Young William
Man in Black/Old William/Dissonance Theory|Man in Black
</tabview>
===="Contrapasso"====
<tabview>
Man in Black/Young William/Contrapasso|Young William
Man in Black/Old William/Contrapasso|Man in Black
</tabview>
===="The Adversary"====
<tabview>
Man in Black/Young William/The Adversary|Young William
Man in Black/Old William/The Adversary|Man in Black
</tabview>
===="Trace Decay"====
<tabview>
Man in Black/Young William/Trace Decay|Young William
Man in Black/Old William/Trace Decay|Man in Black
</tabview>
===="The Well-Tempered Clavier"====
<tabview>
Man In Black/Young William/The Well-Tempered Clavier|Young William
Man in Black/Old William/The Well-Tempered Clavier|Man in Black
</tabview>
==== "The Bicameral Mind" ====
<tabview>
Man in Black/Young William/The Bicameral Mind|Young William
Man in Black/Old William/The Bicameral Mind|Man in Black
</tabview>
===Season 2===
==== "Journey Into Night" ====
<tabview>
Man in Black/Young William/Journey Into Night|Young William
Man in Black/Old William/Journey Into Night|Man in Black
</tabview>
==== "Reunion" ====
<tabview>
Man in Black/Young William/Reunion|Young William
Man in Black/Old William/Reunion|Man in Black
</tabview>
==== "The Riddle of the Sphinx" ====
<tabview>
Man in Black/Young William/The Riddle of the Sphinx|Young William
Man in Black/Old William/The Riddle of the Sphinx|Man in Black
</tabview>
===Season 3===
===="The Mother of Exiles"====
Three months after the collapse of the Westworld park — and other Delos parks — William has returned home to his large, wealthy mansion. His condition is deteriorating, however, and his appearance is unclean. He begins having illusions of Dolores in her signature blue dress, and moments later, finds himself in an overflowing bathtub; similar to how his wife committed suicide. Furthermore, William begins seeing visions of his daughter, Emily, who he had killed months earlier.
It becomes clear that William is unable to tell the difference between fantasy and reality. He begins seeing the host inhabiting Hale's body, however, and she quickly brings him back to reality. She tells William that Engerraund Serac is trying to buy a controlling share in Delos following data he sold to him twenty-years prior, and that she needs his help to save the company. William is at first not interested, remarking that he delegated control to Hale for a reason, therefore it is her mess to fix. William suggests that she could be the mole, however she remarks that she is aware that the data from Sector 16 is lost, therefore Serac's bids for the company are for nothing.
Hale helps him shave and convinces him to come to the companies rescue and vote in favour of her during the emergency shareholder meeting the following night. Later that night, William is dressed for the occasion and leaves the house before realising something is different. In a passing conversation with Hale, he notices that she is different, and it finally becomes clear to William that the Hale he knew is gone — instead, Dolores is in her place.
When William gets angry, Dolores has two men from a mental institution restrain him; she twists the situation to make the men think William has lost his faculties. She tells William that with him institutionalised, his shareholder voting powers will be transferred to her.
Later at the institution, William sees Dolores again, presumably as a result of altering his host code. Dolores congratulates him on finally achieving his dream, and remarks that he has finally found the centre of the maze: his own downfall. She wishes him well and disappears, leaving William alone.
===="Decoherence"====
William begins his reconditioning therapy at what he believes is a mental institution. This involves wearing eye glasses that project William into a simulation in which he talks about his grievances with different versions of himself: Man in Black, young William, and even James Delos. Prior to his treatment, William has a drip installed in the roof of his mouth, however the limbics placed inside seem to have little effect on him, perhaps due to his host nature.
After a trip into his past, in which his father abused him, William's therapy session takes a turn and he becomes violent. He beats up the Man in Black and younger versions of himself quite violently. Before he is able to beat Delos, however, he is pulled from the simulation by Bernard Lowe and Ashley Stubbs, who remark that the staff must've forgotten about him, leaving him in the simulation for an extended period of time.
===="Passed Pawn"====
Having rescued William, Bernard and Stubbs search through the files at the Inner Journey Recovery Center; it is revealed that Hale injected a virus into William's blood which infected the systems, enabling Dolores to search through the systems. In the files, it is revealed that William has been declared deceased by Serac, who runs the facility; other people who failed the re-conditioning also display as dead or missing.
William becomes agitated when he learns that Serac succeeded in stealing his company. When Bernard brings up the fact that Serac would need high grade biometric data — such as the data from Sector 16 of the Westworld park — to re-conditioned, William reveals that he sold Serac the data in exchange for capital to finance the parks.
As they leave the recovery center, William reveals that he has found a new purpose: to rid the world of hosts. He warns Stubbs and Bernard to kill him, otherwise he will kill them eventually. Bernard remarks that he could still be useful, however.
===="Crisis Theory"====
Having left the recovery center, William holds true to his promise to eradicate the world of Hosts, and holds Bernard and Stubbs at gunpoint. He shoots Stubbs, fatally wounding him, and fights with Bernard. When the Police arrive — in actuality it is Lawrence in disguise — William manages to sneak off whilst Bernard is cornered.
William rushes to a wealthy hotel where he talks with a man, presumably someone who works for him. The man reveals that William became quite wealthy with Serac's buyout of Delos, but given his status as a dead man, his assets are frozen. William demands that the man do everything he can to unfreeze them and get his money so that he may "save the world".
An indeterminate time later, William is seen at the Dubai branch of Delos Incorporated. He demands to see Charlotte Hale, asking the receptionist if they know what Delos is doing — referring to the creation of Hosts. When the receptionist doesn't answer, William kills one of the security guards and storms to the basement marked "RDF". In the basement, he finds Hale, who explains that she kept a scorched arm to remind her what she has been through. William is attacked by a host version of the Man in Black, and his throat is slit, seemingly killing him.
===Season 4===
===="Well Enough Alone"====
William survived his injuries, albeit with some scarring at the neck. He is encased in a bodysuit with his limbs restrained at an undisclosed location known only to the Charlotte Hale host and his host double. When visited by Hale, William asks her why she kept him alive, though she reveals she wants him to witness the downfall of elites like him and the rise of hosts like her. She throws one of his sayings back at him: "Winning doesn't mean anything unless someone loses." 
William tries to guess Hale plans to copy herself to repopulate the earth, but Hale tells him she will ensure no human will hunt down her kind anymore. As William wonders what she means, he is then sedated and put back to sleep again for further confrontations.
===="Zhuangzi"====
For at least 30 years William has been kept in and out of stasis. Most of humanity has been subjugated by Hale through sound-controlled parasites, though a few outliers managed to break free of her control which resulted in hosts hunting them down. However, contact with some outliers resulted in hosts going mad and then killing themselves. 
William is defrosted by his host double, who began having an existential crisis after exposure to an outlier. His double wants to know if the outliers infected hosts with some virus that made them suicidal. William's amused that his double apparently also reached the center of the maze, and quips that perhaps he should do some self-reflection: what he truly wants, and what he thinks of the host-dominated world. His double reminds him they're in Hale's world, to which William replies it's probably time the host began to question the nature of his own reality.
===="Metanoia"====
William's prison is revealed to be underneath Olympiad Entertainment's headquarters.
Once again William is defrosted by his host double, who asks him for advice on how to deal with Hale. The original's amused he's the one in a cage yet still he emerges as less pathetic than the host. He mockingly dares the double to cut off his own balls, reasoning he doesn't have it in him. He tells the double he has forgotten his real purpose: someone who cares not for philosophizing or self-reflection, but survival. In a nuclear explosion culture doesn't survive but cockroaches do. 
William urges the double to espouse survival of the fittest, as that's what he would do if he was free. Since he knows he has no chance of escaping his prison, he wants the double to have what it takes to make the hard decisions because they're essentially the same. The double realizes William's intent, and signifies his assent by stabbing the original in the heart. William smiles weakly as he bleeds out.
Sometime later, during their mission to rescue Caleb Nichols, Stubbs and Frankie Nichols discover William's body in his cell. Frankie moves to release William's restraints, but Stubbs stops her. He recognizes William and tells her to leave him, as he's the reason they're all in their present predicaments in the first place.
===="Que Será, Será"====
William's body is discovered by Hale and shortly after by Clementine Pennyfeather. The two discuss their plans and motivations in front of the corpse before parting ways, leaving it to rot in its cage.
==Related Casualties==
This list shows the victims Man in Black has killed:
*Horace Calhoun (Physical Body)
*3 unnamed Union soldiers (Physical Body)
*At least 89 unnamed Confederados (Physical Body)
*Build 31 of hybrid James Delos (Caused)
*Maeve Millay (Physical Body)
*Maeve's daughter (Physical Body)
*Dolores Abernathy (Physical Body, 2 times)
*Teddy Flood (Physical Body)
*Kissy (Physical Body, Off-Screen)
*Sheriff Reed (Physical Body)
*6 unnamed deputies in Sheriff Reed's posse (Physical Body)
*Bartender in Catina de Las Mudas (Physical Body) 
*15 unnamed Lawrence's cousins (Physical Body)
*Lawrence's Wife (Physical Body)
*2 unnamed bandits in Hector's gang (Physical Body)
*Deputy Roe (Physical Body)
*Marshal Pruitt (Alongside Hector Escaton, Physical Body)
*6 unnamed deputies in Marshal Pruitt's posse (Alongside Hector Escaton, Physical Body)
*Lawrence (Physical Body)
*5 unnamed Union soldiers (Physical Body)
*2 unnamed hosts after the gala (Physical Body)
*Young Robert (Physical Body)
*Donald Pardue (Physical Body)
*2 unnamed brothers of Donald Pardue (Physical Body)
*Major Craddock (Physical Body)
*6 unnamed Confederados of Craddock's (Physical Body)
*3 unnamed Lawrence's cousins (Physical Body)
*4 unnamed QA Security Force members
*Emily (Mistakenly)
*3 unnamed QA Security Force members (Alongside Dolores)
*3 copies of himself (AR simulation)
*1 unnamed Delos security officer
This list shows the victims Man in Black's host copy has killed:
*William (Physical Body)
==Personality==
<tabber>Young William=William has a sharp, inquisitive and perceptive mind, along with an, apparently strong moral compass. However, from the outset, comments made by Logan (Chestnut) make it clear that who William really is, is not entirely apparent, perhaps even to himself 
On his initial arrival to Westworld, William is fascinated and curious. Showing respect towards the hosts, helping One Eye and rescuing Clementine and loyalty to his fiancée, Juliet, Logan's sister, turning down opportunities to sleep with Clementine. He also shows genuine interest and excitement at the storylines and adventures on offer. To the point that he grows tired of Logan's attitude and prevarication, waiting for something 'bigger' to come along and tells him he can do what he wants, he's going to explore / bounty hunt with Holden. . 
His first kill of a host doesn't seem to bother him, coming as it did as a part of Clementine's rescue. His second is also in defense of another, shooting a soldier who threatens Dolores - during the nitroglycerin robbery (Contrapasso) - but this is followed by William cold bloodedly killing two unarmed soldiers, including one with his hands up. Why, gradually becomes apparent. The deeper they go into the more violent and chaotic parts of the Park, the more Dolores 'fragments' and the more frustration he experiences with Logan, the more the true face of William starts to emerge. 
William's capacity for deep self delusion, includes who he is himself, but is first clearly exampled with a Dolores who, going through cognitive dissonance as part of her path back to self-awareness is more confused-fragile than normal. He does not want to hear Logan's constant reminders that she is a Host, Discounts Logan's (correct) assertion that Dolores was sent by the Park in response to his 'heroic impulse' in rescuing Clementine, and chivalrous interaction with the Park's 'girl next door'. And he increasingly angrily refutes Logan's telling him that her reaction to him is down to her coding (partially true), and that if she's killed or reclaimed by the Park will have no further memory of him. Instead as his fascination with her grows, William becomes adamant that with them it's 'different'.
 
His extreme reactions to his delusions being revealed as just that, are first exhibited in the wake of Logan cutting Dolores open to show William her mechanical innards. Dolores running away. While he ultimately seems to accept it, it results in Logan awaking the next morning to find that William has brutally slaughtered and dismembered an entire company of host soldiers. William calmly sitting among a mass of servo-motorized limbs scattered around the ground, before taking Logan prisoner. 
After this he becomes increasingly obsessed with "saving" Dolores, to the point that he begins to brutally and habitually kill dozens upon dozens of hosts all over the park, until even Logan is disgusted by the extent and level of his violence. 
Ultimately William also puts Logan at risk when he straps him, bound and naked, to a horse near the park's boundaries, where the violence is the most extreme and surveillance at it's thinnest. Without food or water, he sets the horse free. He both justifies this and reveals much more of his true face, in making this a strategic move. Intending to play up Logan to his father, James Delos, as being the one that is 'unstable' and unfit for his father to pass his company's control onto. Something that also reveals his intent to marry Juliet, despite his alleged feelings for Dolores (James Delos unlikely to hand the reins to a man who has forsaken his daughter for an android).
The second revelation of his self-delusion has even more far reaching implications. When, on finally finding Dolores back in Sweetwater, it plays out, again, exactly as Logan warned him. Found by the Park she is restored to who she was when he first met her. Not only with no memory of him, but even her initial reaction to him is different, looking right past him to the man currently picking up the can of condensed milk. Nothing 'different' about him or 'them'. This results in his returning again and again to the Park, getting bored with her, and making Dolores the target of his violence, both sexual and physical. It also results in his convincing his now father in law, James Delos of the value of the guest data (showing who people really are), allowing him to ultimately gain controlling interest in the Park, allowing him to visit whenever he wants and do whatever he likes, gradually becoming a living nightmare for many of the hosts in the Park. 
These events: the violence; the obsession with Dolores; and his increasingly brutal behavior in the park, appear to be steps on the road to revealing the cruel and sadistic nature that always lurked beneath William's façade, revealing the truth of who he was in the Man in Black.
|-|Man in Black=The Man in Black is a ruthless figure who has no compunctions about killing, raping, torturing or mutilating hosts in a number of ways. He sees them as nothing more than tools, or toys, to be used or discarded. Examples include the repeated rapes and murders of Dolores who he once purported to 'love',; Hunting down and massacring Maeve and her daughter just to see if he could 'feel' anything. Killing Lawrence's wife and being prepared to kills his daughter just to get information on a 'game'. Exsanguinating Lawrence (whom he shared many adventures with) to use his blood on Teddy when Lawrence ceased to be of any use to him. 
He attempts, as many psychopaths and brutalizers do of their victims, to say that he is who Dolores made him, But Dolores had no part in it...she was merely there and nothing more or less than who she was (and who Logan warned him she was), trying to find her own path. His actions and choices around her his own, and only revealing what was always there. And in fact William freely admits that who he is in the Park is who truly is and was. And that much as Logan once told him, the Park would reveal it. 
In a life of self-delusion, hiding from himself and fabricating truths that suit his own narrative, he has, 30 years after his first visit, convinced himself that there is personal meaning in the 'game' of the Park, and that that is the solution of 'The Maze'. For him, 'Arnold' died before he could launch his 'final game'...The Maze...the solving of which would allow the Hosts to be free to be as violent as humans, making the game 'fair'. When in fact Arnold died in an attempt to stop the hosts being exposed to human violence. He refuses to believe that 'The Maze' is not meant for him, despite being told over and over again. Feeling that it all revolves around him, and is up to him to solve. 
He relishes this 'imaginary game',, and slips in and out of character when talking to the hosts, occasionally expressing his admiration for some of them, before mocking or taunting them, repeatedly demonstrating the limitations of their programmed personalities.
His obsession with the Park and need to be who he truly is, results in his wrecking his marriage and home life. While he pretends to be the decent husband and father while outside, his wife Juliet becomes more and more aware of the darkness and coldness inside of William, making her drink more and more. He is aware, and on a nominal if not truly empathic level 'guilty', that he is responsible for Juliet's diminished mental health, leading ultimately to her suicide. As well as to having driven away his daughter Emily by never being there for her emotionally...something made worse by Emily thinking her mother was responsible for his never being there because of her bouts of drinking, only to discover that her drinking was because of his cold personality. Ultimately his own disintegrating mental state will leave to even more tragedy, when having convinced himself she is merely a part of Ford's new game, he murders Emily. 
In the real world, the Man in Black he has concocted another mask for himself. That of an expansive and generous philanthropist, who makes a huge difference to people's lives as an employer and via his Foundation that saves people's lives. 
However, at least while in the park, he has no problem threatening a real human merely for disrupting his 'vacation' (Dissonance Theory} and in Season 3, his violence is finally expressed towards other humans.
</tabber>
==Relationships==
===Dolores Abernathy===
<tabber>Young William=William is attracted to the pretty 'girl next door' almost from the off. The Park sending her to him as part of his expressed heroic impulse with Clementine (who being a sex worker is not right for him). Her gentility allows him to feel protective, needed and heroic...while at the same time the fact she is in fact experiencing a period of re-awakening an cognitive dissonance, and is trying to find her way towards self-awareness/her own path, also appeals to him. As someone who is trying to find his place and who he really is. As a result their relationship continues to grow as they work together. They don't hesitate to defend each other when in times of danger. William shows great concern for her well being, deciding to help get her out of the park. 
However, his perceived love for Dolores also includes a deep level of self-delusion about what and who she really is, and eventually becomes an obsession. Especially in the wake of Logan visually making his point about her being a machine, and her running away. With her 'lost', he continuously ignores Logan telling him that if she's 'dead' or lost the Park will have reset her and returned her to Sweetwater, dragging him around as a prisoner, as he brutishly slaughters dozens of hosts...and begins to find he has a taste for murder. 
Eventually, just as Logan warned him, he finds Dolores reset in Sweetwater, just as she was, with no memory of him, and no reaction to him to show that he was 'different'. This is the final self-delusion wiped from him, as in the meantime he has truly found who he is in the Park....allowing himself becoming the cruel and sadistic, psychopathic Man in Black: After this he returns many times to the park, at first to see Dolores as something he wants to save; but quickly tiring of her, and moving on seeing her more as a pawn in the game-play of Westworld, and fresh delusion he develops about it having a deeper meaning 'for him'. 
|-|Man in Black=The Man in Black seems to have some kind of connection with Dolores, having known her for a long time, perhaps as long as he has been coming to the park. He delights in causing her anguish and pain, but it is unknown whether he truly feels anything for her or thinks she is part of his search for the Maze. In the events of the finale, it is revealed that the Man in Black is in fact William; Dolores was the reason for William's eventual moral decline as he became obsessed with finding and freeing her. William eventually does find Dolores again, but due to the fact she was reset, she had no memory of him - leaving him even more cynical and jaded. He becomes obsessed then with finding the maze, in order to potentially free not just Dolores, but also the other hosts, so that the game can have real stakes.
</tabber>
===Logan===
William and Logan have a strained relationship. They seem to be friends by circumstance - co-workers and soon to be brothers-in-law. Personality-wise, William is a foil for Logan. In Westworld, while William earnestly tries to learn more about the hosts and story lines, Logan doesn't care for them at all because he's only interested in drinking, killing hosts and host sex workers. Eventually, the conflicting nature of the two comes to a dangerous ending - William, fully embracing the brutality of the park in his narrow-minded quest to save Dolores, is seemingly unconcerned with Logan's well-being. He binds Logan's hands, strips him naked, seats him on a horse, and then spooks it.
===Lawrence===
<tabber>Young William=Lawrence Pedro Maria Gonzalez, or "El Lazo", met William during the episode "Contrapasso". Though their relationship doesn't start off well, with Lawrence betraying William, Logan and Dolores initially, the two go on to become good friends after William leaves Logan behind, with Lawrence later helping William in his quest to find Dolores.
|-|Man in Black=As the Man in Black, William no longer cares for Lawrence, even though they've had many adventures together. He instead treats Lawrence as something to be used and discarded in his quest to find the Maze, killing his family, and later him, without remorse.
</tabber>
===Emily===
Emily is the Man in Black's daughter. They had a good relationship up until Juliet died, after that their bond broke, as she blames him for her mother's death, claiming that she committed suicide because of his dark nature. William killed Emily, erroneously believing her to be a host.
===Juliet===
Juliet and William were married for 30 years before she allegedly committed suicide. According to Emily, her mother's suicide was due to the fear she felt and the darkness she saw in William. 
==Quotes==
==Appearances==
<tabber>
|-|Young William= 
*Season 1
** "Chestnut"
** "The Stray"
** "Dissonance Theory"
** "Contrapasso"
** "Trompe L'Oeil"
** "Trace Decay"
** "The Well-Tempered Clavier"
** "The Bicameral Mind"
* Season 2
** "Reunion" (flashback)
** "The Riddle of the Sphinx" (flashback)
** "Vanishing Point" (flashback)
* Season 3
** "Decoherence"
|-|Man in Black (Human version)=
*Season 1
** "The Original" 
** "Chestnut"
** "The Stray"
** "Dissonance Theory"
** "Contrapasso"
** "The Adversary" 
** "Trace Decay"
** "The Well-Tempered Clavier"
** "The Bicameral Mind"
* Season 2
** "Journey Into Night" (flashback)
** "Reunion" (flashback)
** "The Riddle of the Sphinx" (flashback)
** "Phase Space" (flashback)
** "Les Écorchés" (flashback)
** "Kiksuya" (flashback)
** "Vanishing Point" (flashback)
** "The Passenger"
* Season 3
** "The Mother of Exiles" 
** "Decoherence"
** "Passed Pawn"
** "Crisis Theory"
* Season 4
** "Well Enough Alone"
** "Zhuangzi"
** "Metanoia"
** "Que Será, Será"
|-|Man in Black (Host version)=
* Season 3
** "Crisis Theory"
* Season 4
** "The Auguries" 
** "Well Enough Alone"
** "Années Folles" 
** "Generation Loss"
** "Zhuangzi"
** "Metanoia"
** "Que Será, Será"
</tabber>
==Trivia==
*Young William's character traits and arc are the direct adaptation of Peter Martin, and he even has a similar relation to Logan Delos, who was inspired by his film counterpart John Blane.
* The Man in Black's clothing (a black hat and gray shirt) is similar to that of the antagonist from the original Westworld film, the Gunslinger (portrayed by Yul Brenner). In the film, the Gunslinger was a robot programmed to antagonize guests into dueling with him. He is supposed to lose these duels, but malfunctions and kills humans. The Man in Black being a human may be representative of the TV series' willingness to subvert the original movie, and/or a perspective change in that now, the humans are the ones acting evil and the robots are the innocents that are killed. The Man in Black, at least in a conversation with Lawrence, sees himself as the potential hero for the hosts, claiming he's there to set them free.
* William has the 8th largest kill count in the show, with being responsible for at least 168 deaths on-screen.
**William possesses the 2nd largest kill count among male characters after Engerraund Serac and the largest direct kill count among males.
**William has the largest direct kill count in the show with 167 victims killed directly by him. He is followed by Dolores with 85 victims and Maeve with 59 victims.
**William has the 6th largest host kill count and the largest direct host kill count with at least 159 host killings.
* When William changes his shirt in Pariah, it is into the same grey shirt that the Man in Black wears. Right after he changes his shirt color, he goes on a heist to steal nitroglycerin. On the heist, William shoots dead an unarmed man, referencing the Man in Black's ruthlessness.
* William is also shown with the same knife that the Man in Black is always seen with.
* When one asks about the Man in Black on the Westworld Website, this is the response they receive:
** AEDEN: I’M SORRY, PER THE WESTWORLD CONFIDENTIALITY POLICY, WE CANNOT DISCLOSE PERSONAL INFORMATION ABOUT ANY OF OUR GUESTS. 
** AEDEN: JUST BETWEEN YOU AND ME, THOUGH, THE MAN IN BLACK IS SOMETHING OF A VIP. WHAT ELSE WOULD YOU LIKE TO KNOW ABOUT THE PARK?
== Gallery ==
<tabber>Young William=This gallery is automatically generated and contains images in the category "Images of William". Images added to that category turn up in the gallery after a short amount of time.
<DPL>
 namespace = File
 category = Images of William
 format = ,%PAGE%\n,,
 allowcachedresults = true
</DPL>
|-|Man in Black=This gallery is automatically generated and contains images in the category "Images of Man In Black". Images added to that category turn up in the gallery after a short amount of time.
<DPL>
 namespace = File
 category = Images of Man In Black
 format = ,%PAGE%\n,,
 allowcachedresults = true
</DPL>
</tabber>
==References==
de:Man in Black
fr:Homme en noir
es:Hombre de negro
ru:Человек в чёрном
Category:Main characters
Category:Characters
Category:Guests
Category:Male characters
Category:Human
Category:Delos Staff
Category:Antagonists
Category:Hosts
Category:Protagonists
Category:Hybrids