HomageEdit

I doubt the Baton is a homage to the Brian K. Vaughan comic book character. Ben had the baton long before Vaughan joined Lost. Telescopic batons are common self defense weapons, that many people own, so I don't think its introduction into the series was based on one random comic book character... especially since this weapon pre-dates Vaughan on the show. I think that it should either be clarified that that bit of trivia is a theory, or it should be removed completely unless there is a source that actually backs up that statement. Congested 23:39, 15 May 2008 (PDT)

The Baton: The Key to Lost?Edit

Interesting notion brought up here [1]...Basically, what looks like the baton can be seen lying next to a dazed Jack in the opening few seconds of Pilot 1.1, and perhaps Jack wasn't actually waking up from the crash, but from a time trip from the future (from whence he got Ben's baton).Crazy stuff for sure, but then again there's always been the rumour of a big clue in the Pilot....--Kivipat 13:41, 17 May 2008 (PDT)

• I don't know, I think the object in that screen shot is way too thick to be a telescoping baton. It also appears too shiny, the handles are usually a duller "matte" finish. Along this same line I think the "First Introduced" note should be changed to the first time we see it actually used, when there is no doubt . -- LOST-Flash 12:38, 3 June 2008 (PDT)

• Nope... compare the length of that object to that of Jacks head, it's at least twice the lenght of the baton (or Jack/Mathew Fox has in real life a ridicoulisly small head which is normally hidden through clever camera work). --HenrieSchnee 23:40, 3 June 2008 (PDT)

• Either way, we don't have any reason to believe that it was Ben's baton, so the "First Introduced" part needs to be changed to "Every Man for Himself" ==Crash815 17:35, 13 June 2008

Pilot, Part 1Edit

I'm pretty sure it was a telescopic baton in Pilot, Part 1 next to Jack's head when he wakes up... It would be a cool Easter Egg cos it is foreshadowing the others.... Anyway, I think it WAS a baton. Julietfan2626 Talk Blogs 09:12, September 28, 2010 (UTC)

But... why? What would a baton possibly be doing there? --- Balk Of Fame ♪ talk 09:14, September 28, 2010 (UTC)

Ugh, I've seen this brought up so many times on other forums. It doesn't make sense why it would be there, what would be the point? To foreshadow a weapon that ultimately is just a weapon? If it was the Jughead core or something, I could understand a little speculation. But it's just a baton. And I don't even think it looks like the baton. It's just a black piece of bamboo.--Baker1000 12:15, September 28, 2010 (UTC)

Maybe it's a shiny baton :) But that is NOT bamboo! Julietfan2626 Talk Blogs 18:09, September 28, 2010 (UTC)

Why would it be there? Simple. One day, Ben was walking through the jungle and he dropped it by accident... And it would be there to foreshadow that there are others on the island... And it doesn't look like bamboo... It looks totally man made, and it can't be a blooper, cos I'm sure Matthew Fox would notice something showing a few centimetres away from his head. Julietfan2626 Talk Blogs 16:23, September 28, 2010 (UTC)

• 

  I'm still not sold. Again, to me it looks much to shinny and smooth to be the handle of a baton which normally have some sort of grip. It also appears to be too thick. If anything it looks like a Maglite flashlight to me. It gets thicker near the top right of the screen. HD screenshot attached. --LOST-Flash 18:07, September 28, 2010 (UTC)

• Whatever that object is, it's not significant! It could be bamboo that shows up weird under the lighting, it could be a piece of plane wreckage, or flashlight or curling iron from someone's luggage or an empty paper towel roll. Whatever it is, it never came into play on the show. It's just yet another case of fans seeing too much in something totally insiginficant. --Celebok 18:36, September 28, 2010 (UTC)

Except it is one of the first things we see in lost, it looks exactly like a baton, and it seems like they wanted us to see it by the positioning of it. And it is probably foreshadowing the others... Julietfan2626 Talk Blogs 18:38, September 28, 2010 (UTC)

I disagree. Given it's location on the island I think it is much more likely to be debris from the plane as opposed to an item dropped by the others. --LOST-Flash 18:43, September 28, 2010 (UTC)

I disagree with that, the writers didn't have all their locations sorted out by then, it was random. Cos let's see, Goodwin was at the crash site immediatly, but when we saw them see the crash, he was MILES away. So I think the location of the others is irrelevant cos they didn't have it sorted out, it was merely an object to foreshadow. Julietfan2626 Talk Blogs 18:46, September 28, 2010 (UTC)

Fair enough, it looks like we're going to have to agree to disagree on this one. However since most agree that it is something other then the baton we'll have to treat this like NFL replay. The original ruling will stand unless we get incontrovertible evidence that it actually is a baton. One last argument from my side. Compare the thickness of the item in the pilot to the baton held by Ben in this clip. The pilot item is at least twice as thick. --LOST-Flash 19:00, September 28, 2010 (UTC)

Whoever posted that picture of Ben holding the baton - Yes, that isn't shiny, but perhaps when he lost his shiny baton, he got a new one, a non-shiny one... Julietfan2626 Talk Blogs 19:31, September 28, 2010 (UTC)

As mentioned above, I linked that baton photo into the discussion from the main article. I think you're stretching things a little far here. There is no evidence whatsoever that Ben had more then one baton. Every instance of the baton we definitively see is identical. --LOST-Flash 19:44, September 28, 2010 (UTC)

Darlton have said there are no questions from the Pilot left unanswered. Therefore, the question of what it is does not exist. :)--Baker1000 19:29, September 28, 2010 (UTC)