Fan Creation:Gumbyspotting

Gumbyspotting
Gumby (left) is often mistaken for the Symbol.

Gumbyspotting is the fan-created term for the overzealous search for the Symbol in anything vaguely curvy which appears in an episode of Heroes.

About

Gumby treks through Heroes searching for instances of the Symbol.

Almost as soon as Heroes fans began to notice the Symbol, some fans began to notice the Symbol even when there was no Symbol, and other fans found a great deal of pleasure in gently mocking these Symbol-minded folks.

The fact is that few if any of the appearances of the Symbol are particularly subtle, and even those that are well-concealed or small are rather unmistakably shaped exactly like the Symbol. Nevertheless, this has neither stopped nor slowed fans from excitedly pointing out how, if you squint your eyes, or turn the contrast on your TV all the way up, or stand on your head, or watch an episode through a piece of gauze and in a mirror, this or that vaguely curved, vaguely ladder-like object looks kind of, barely, sort of like the Symbol, and that even though the object they've identified is backwards, or doesn't have enough (or any) rungs, or isn't really curved, or is in fact identifiable as an everyday object, it's almost certainly intended to be the Symbol by the producers, despite the fact that most of the other occurrences require no such leaps of faith or logic to find, and many appear to be drawn on with a Sharpie.

Most of the time, this over-optimism leads to nothing more than harmless message board mockery. However, when the issue is whether or not an appearance qualifies for inclusion in this Wiki, the debate can become more heated. After several dubious Symbol appearances were discussed on Talk:The Symbol, skeptics began to notice that an inordinate number of alleged symbol appearances kind of look more like lovable Claymation hero Gumby than the Symbol--and thus was born, from the ashes of humorless dissension, the fun and fabulous new sport of Gumbyspotting.

Gallery

• 
  The similarity is uncanny.
• 
  Ewww ... gumbystains!
  (Genesis)
• 
  Pokey gets in on the action.
  (Genesis)
• 
  Gumby appears in the sand as Niki buries bodies.
  (One Giant Leap)
• 
  Gumby appears on the underside of the vehicle under which Hiro and Ando hide.
  (The Fix)
• 
  Gumby appears in the items on Nathan's desk.
  (Run!)
• 
  Gumby appears in a wisp of smoke after Mohinder fires his gun at Sylar.
  (Parasite)
• 
  Gumby appears among the knives in the kitchen of the Corinthian Casino.
  (Parasite)
• 
  Future Hiro doesn't only use his string web as a map of time.
  (Five Years Gone)
• 
  Even Gumby makes it to Charles Deveaux's rooftop.
  (Lizards)
• 
  Gumby leaves fecal freckles on Claire's nose.
  (Kindred)
• 
  Gumby is a proprietor of excellent Italian cuisine.
• 
  In a possible future, Gumby is everywhere.
  (I Am Become Death)
• 
  Vortices lead to Gumby.
  (Angels and Monsters)
• 
  Somehow, Peter survives his fall from a high window.
  (Eris Quod Sum)