Theories:Events

This article will archive all of the published and fan theories that exist for events from Heroes.

For help on adding theories, see the Help section.

To view disproven theories, see here.

Explosion

Theory	Evidence	Notes
Ted Sprague is the cause of the explosion.	He intimates that if he were to die, he could explode like an atomic bomb. (Nothing to Hide)	In Peter's vision, Peter himself is the cause of the explosion. However, the veracity of the vision is not established.
Sylar kills Ted Sprague, absorbing his power. Peter Petrelli then confronts and/or defeats Sylar and, for a short time, takes on Sylar's powers. But Peter doesn't know how to control Ted's powers and blows up.	In his vision, Peter tells Nathan that he absorbed "his" power and that he can't control it. (Godsend)	It's also possible that Peter mimics Ted's power directly, rather than through Sylar.
The explosion could be a "rift" of the kind about which Future Hiro warned Peter. This could have been caused by Hiro taking the comic book back into the past with him, and that is what it looks like when things are taken out of their proper place in space/time.	None	Peter believes he is the cause of the explosion, but could be incorrect. The explosion began before Hiro jumped back to the present.
Peter absorbs all of the other main characters' powers, which cause him to overload and blow up the city.	According to Claude, Peter's illness was caused by exposure to too many powers. (Distractions)	It's possible increased exposure could cause a larger meltdown of the sort Peter began to experience in Distractions.
It's the simultaneous combination of Ted's abilities and Claire's that allow Peter to reach some sort of 'critical mass' without dying so as to be able to explode.	None	This theory would explain why Claire's survival is so important, as a large enough nuclear explosion would cause problems, not just for the immediate area destroyed by the explosion, but potentially the entire world depending upon where the fallout spreads.
Peter becomes Sylar, through some mechanism.	The watch on Peter's wrist during his vision looks similar to the one Gabriel Gray was fixing when he took the name Sylar. (Six Months Ago) Peter's trench coat is also similar to Sylar's.	Peter has been shown to wear a trench coat (Genesis), and a lot of the characters wear watches. Peter's watch in the vision is not broken, and is a different shape than Sylar's.
Peter will duplicate Nathan's ability to fly to minimize the damage from the explosion		It should be noted that an air burst explosion (from say 100-200 Feet) is much more damaging to surface buildings then one right at ground level.
If Peter turns out to be the cause of the nuclear blast, one possible escape would be for him to mimic Hiro's powers and jump back in time to the Mesozoic Era (a time in which a nuclear blast may be considered to have much less impact on the state of the world today -- humans have not yet evolved and many forms of life will eventually become extinct). He will become the cause of the extinction of dinosaurs.	None.	This could possibly be where Peter gets his scar.
Hiro jumps back to prehistoric times in order to find Peter and lend him the ability to return to the present day.	None	If the above turns out to be the case -- Peter saving NYC from the nuclear blast by taking it with him into the prehistoric past -- the others may realize or fear that Peter would be unable to return without being able to tap Hiro's powers, although in Distractions Peter learned he could use any ability he'd come into contact with, without the benefactor of the specific power being present. This could be a possible motivation for Hiro traveling back to a time and having to face a T-rex. In Isaac's painting of Hiro facing a T-rex, Hiro is still wearing his glasses implying that the dinosaur confrontation will occur prior to becoming the future Hiro who met Peter on the train. However, Hiro's encounter with the T-rex may have already occurred in the Museum of Natural History, so it is unclear that he will face another (see here for more theories related to this painting).
Uluru causes Peter to explode or tries to kill him.	None
Peter is the explosion. He absorbs Ted's power and cannot control it.	Peter has a more detailed vision in which he tells Nathan that he absorbed "his" powers and can't control them. (Godsend)
Peter, knowing that he is the cause of the explosion, catches a flight to Las Vegas to escape into the desert and avoid destroying the New York City. He chooses the Nevada desert because of all the nuclear tests that take place there, believing that he'll just be written off as another nuclear test. However, he will encounter Ted Sprague and unintentionally absorb his power, which is what will cause him to explode. After his encounter with Ted, his family will locate him and bring him back to New York to receive medical attention, and before he can escape the city again, he will explode.	Peter books a flight to Las Vegas, intending to go into the desert. Ted Sprague is hiding out at a cabin in the Nevada desert. (Godsend)	In Graphic Novel:How Do You Stop an Exploding Man?, Part 2, Ted is said to be hiding in the New Mexico desert, though this is likely the Mojave Desert which is in both Nevada and New Mexico, and could be in error, since Part 1 and Godsend both give his location as Nevada.
Peter and the others will work together to stop Ted Sprague from causing the explosion, but Peter will absorb Ted's power, lose control of it, and become a threat himself in the process.	During Peter's visions, all of the other characters are present. (Fallout, Godsend)
Nathan winds up in league with whoever plans to blow up New York, using the disaster to distract away from the shady circumstances of his election victory and make himself look like a great leader in the process as he leads the campaign to rebuild New York.	In Peter's vision, Nathan is very calm as Peter is about to explode. (Godsend)	It's possible Nathan expects he can fly to escape the explosion and be rid of his embarrassing brother.
Peter does explode, but does so while using D.L. Hawkins's power of phasing. Isaac's paintings would still depict future events accurately, but nothing would be harmed.	None	There's no reason to necessarily believe that the explosion would also be phased merely because Peter is.
Future Hiro told Peter to "Save the Cheerleader, Save the World" so Peter could mimic Claire's powers. Then he wouldn't die when he exploded and he could somehow fix everything.	None	Future Hiro tells him to "Save the Cheerleader, Save the World" but he didn't tell him how he was saving the world by saving Claire. Maybe it was because Peter had to live in order to save the world.

The Message

Theory	Evidence	Notes
Claire's life will somehow be put into danger in a non-physical sense.	None	Claire's regeneration would make her immune to most physical threats. As seen when she "died"" during Brody's assault, an injury to the brain can prevent her from healing. Sylar taking her brain might be a physical threat to which she would not be immune.
Claire may be in danger of being killed by having her brain removed by Sylar.	Sylar has told Mr. Bennet he is after Claire to steal her ability. (Fallout)	One of Isaac's paintings depicted a cheerleader with her head cut open, but it turned out to be Jackie. However, Sylar only attacked her because he thought she was the evolved human.
Claire's survival is critical, so that Peter will be able to utilize her regenerative ability in a showdown with Sylar.	None	Peter is able to duplicate Claire's ability even when she is not present. (Distractions)
If Sylar is able to remove Claire's brain, he will become indestructible and destroy the world.	None	Sylar doesn't seem interested in destroying the world. He seems only motivated to steal powers to make himself more unique.
The message is two different commands, meaning the characters have to save the cheerleader, and save the world.	Ando seems to think so. (Fallout)	Hiro thinks the latter part depends on the former part, and it's his "future self" who gave the message. (Fallout)
Claire's regenerative ability will be used to enter the radioactive area caused by the explosion to stop Peter Petrelli (or possibly Theodore Sprague) from dying/overreacting.	None
The message is vague for a reason. Had Future Hiro been too specific with the message (relaying Claire's full name, her address, or even the town where she lived), he might have created a paradox (causing a rift). Had this occurred, he would instantly have been pulled back into his "present"	None	This is similar to what happened after his attempt to persuade Charlie to come to Japan with him. (Six Months Ago)

Peter's visions

Theory	Evidence	Notes
Peter's visions are not entirely predictive and can be changed.	When Peter explodes in his vision he does not yet have a visible scar which future Hiro said he will have. (Hiros) Also, his dream about Charles Deveaux didn't come true. (Nothing to Hide)	It's unclear at this point how Peter will develop a scar, if at all, now that he can regenerate whether Claire is present or not. (Distractions)
Peter can envision himself as other people rather than himself.	Peter dreamt he was flying when, in reality, Nathan flies. (Genesis)	This could also be the case with the bomb. He can be seeing himself as Ted or Sylar. However, Peter did eventually fly, after Nathan dropped him.
Peter's power revolves around empathy, and therefore allows him to put himself in the shoes of others during these prophetic visions.	Peter dreamt he was flying when, in reality, Nathan flies. (Genesis)	As said above, he sees himself fly when it's actually Nathan who is capable of doing so. (However, Peter has flown, including shortly after Nathan dropped him, so the dream did come true in a fashion.) His main power also seems to be empathetic, since no actual physical contact is required to absorb powers. With the bomb, he could easily be putting himself in the shoes of Ted or Sylar. As for the jail cell dream, it could be that Nathan is supposed to eventually turn evil, since he turned into a face which Peter associates with evil: Sylar.
Peter's visions are a lingering effect of duplicating Isaac's power of precognition, making them truly prophetic.	Peter duplicated Isaac's precognition. (Don't Look Back, Hiros, Distractions) He can recall abilities he has duplicated in the past (Distractions)	Peter's interpretation of his visions is compatible with Isaac's prophecies and Hiro's experience in the future. In Distractions, Peter experienced Isaac's precognitive powers without needing to paint/draw an image. However, Peter began experiencing his dreams before he met Isaac (Genesis, Six Months Ago)
Peter's visions are not a separate power nor the result of his copying another person's power. They are a manifestation of his empathy powers allowing him to tap into the collective unconscious of humanity.	None	This would explain how Peter is seeing people who he has never met before but who are still connected to him in ways he can't yet perceive.
Peter's visions are merely symbolic of future events, and not literal representations of the future.	None	In his explosion dream, Isaac is pulling Simone away from him. This could symbolize Isaac's reunion with Simone which Peter witnesses. (Distractions) Also, Peter's blowing up could be a symbol for the stress his powers are causing him.
Peter's visions are not truly precognition, but a form of Astral projection, caused by his empathic abilities.	None	Most of Peter's visions only occur while he is unconscious, meaning it is possible that his spirit/soul is leaving the body and going somewhere else. It is also possible that he absorbed this ability from Simone's father. (See Charles Deveaux theories) However, Peter has experienced visions while conscious as well. (Distractions)
Ando, Simone, and Mohinder all have undiscovered powers.	None	Everyone in Peter's visions are already pre-existing known empowered individuals, with the particular exception - thus far - of these three.
Peter's visions are the result of his copying Sanjog's power.	None	The visions are too unlike Empathic mimicry to be the same power. It may be that the range with which Peter can copy a power depends on the power; he has copied different powers at different ranges, and Sanjog's power seems to have a larger range than any other thus far.
Sanjog is giving Peter the dreams in an attempt to help him	None	There is no apparent range to Sanjog's power and he can accurately depict images of place people and events he has never seen. Peter mostly has these vision when he's unconscious, just as when Sanjog entered Mohinder's dreams before he'd ever met Mohinder. However, Peter has also had visions while awake, and stylistically the dreams are very different. Mohinder's were of past events and exact, whereas Peter's are of future events and vague.

The train wreck

For disproven theories, see here.

Theory	Evidence	Notes
The train may have been derailed in order to steal nuclear material	According to the newscast Isaac sees, it was registered to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. (Genesis)	See In His Own Image. The train wreck was initially part of a nuclear terrorist plot in the unaired pilot episode. The engineer, a character who eventually evolved into Ted Sprague, was originally a terrorist. This basic plot was abandoned, but some aspects of it remain.