Theories:Powers

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

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Enhanced strength

Theory	Citations	Notes
Accompanied by her enhanced strength, Jessica may also possess enhanced reflexes.	None	In more than one instance (including one caught on video), she killed an entire room full of men, some of whom were armed, without receiving any discernible injuries herself. Further evidence of this was seen in episode 18 as she played her son's video game with exceptional skill.
Niki and Jessica are two separate individuals, with Niki possessing superstrength and Jessica possessing some kind of psionic ability to possess others.	None
Niki/Jessica obtained their enhanced strength from steroid use.	None	Linderman seems to be funding Niki/Jessica with supersteroids. A supersteroid is a special drug that is altered from a normal steroid pill. This can also back up the theory that Jessica is really a man.

Intuitive aptitude

Theory	Citations	Notes
Sylar's abilities may extend beyond just figuring out systems and objects. His intuitive analysis may extend to figuring out "clues" about people and things—a sort of super-Sherlock Holmes level of observation and intuition.	When Sylar is first imprisoned in his cell and being questioned by Mr. Bennet, he seems to quickly figure out who Claire is—that she is the cheerleader he wanted, that she is Bennet's daughter, etc. (Fallout)	Given that he was previously misled as to the cheerleader's identity (Homecoming), it is hard to explain how he suddenly came to these conclusions about Claire. If this theory proves true, Sylar figured this out by watching Bennet as they were talking and picking up on intuitive clues, bits of data he did not have before he could "observe" Bennet. He did say that he can figure out what makes people "tick". An alternative Notes is that Sylar possesses some other telepathic ability similar to Matt Parkman's and was reading Bennet's mind. This seems less likely, however—especially since the Haitian can easily block such abilities. Sylar's "native" power of intuition may have been much harder to suppress, and he could still use it even while imprisoned. If his powers were slowly coming back to him after being captured, it may make sense that his first ability was also the first to return and be usable. Also, the Haitian's blocking ability seems to work best against powers that require concentration, and Sylar's intuitive aptitude may be something he does unconsciously.
Sylar might be able to "fix" himself on a molecular level.	Sylar recovers rapidly from bullet wounds. (Road Kill)	This could also explain how he acquires powers. He adds other evolved human's DNA to his, which would make him sick, unless he could integrate it into his own. This could also explain how Sylar recovered from being drugged by Mohinder. While it originally impaired the parts of his brain required to use his telekinesis, he soon figured out what exactly it was doing to his brain, and figured out a way to avoid the effects until his telekinesis recovered enough to turn off the IV.
It is quite possible that this ability is what allows Sylar to "absorb" the powers of his victims, removing their brains and analyzing them in order to see how the power works and is manifest, his brain then adjusting itself to accommodate this.	Sylar makes a neat incision to remove his victim's brains. (Seven Minutes to Midnight, Homecoming, Parasite) Sylar has mentioned seeing how his victim's powers work as he attacks (Six Months Ago, Parasite)	Were Sylar merely ingesting the brains, such a precise incision would not be necessary. This coincides with the above theory about Sylar "fixing" himself with the data acquired from reading the brains.

Isaac's paintings

Theory	Citations	Notes
The visions in Isaac's paintings may be inevitable and fated to occur.	Most of Isaac's paintings have come true. (See Prophecy for examples and citations.)	So far, the envisioned imagery occurs, even if the underlying event/circumstances are not as initially expected, i.e. a cheerleader died even though it did not turn out to be Claire as believed and feared by the characters. By this reasoning, the explosion, or the vision of it at the least, may be fated to occur as (although it may not neccassarily be Peter who explodes) Isaac has already painted it (presuming it is one of his vision paintings, as it seems to be). In an interview, the writers implied that Isaac's paintings are only a possible future outcome. Nevertheless, so far nearly all have come true. One consideration is that if the visions in the paintings could be completely averted, the story could be left with the inconsistency of Isaac's paintings (done using his power) no longer foretelling the future. However, this could be addressed, possibly as a predicted event that was barely prevented at great effort and cost (presuming, of course, the evolved humans will succeed in preventing the explosion somehow). Or the inconsistency could be ignored as was Charlie's not seeming to remember Hiro from 6 months before when meeting him again.
Isaac's paintings show what might happen, not what will happen.	Minor inconsistencies in the outcomes of the paintings indicate they may be less-than-perfect. (See Prophecy for examples and citations.)	For the most part, every event that Isaac has painted has come true - albeit not exactly as envisioned. There is one exception to this so far: in Collision, Isaac experiences a vision and sees Claire fall down alone on the steps. Later, in Homecoming, because of Isaac's paintings, Peter is there to help Claire up and see her to safety. Given the speed at which Peter is running (he is with Claire just as she falls), he should have been in the painting too if Isaac had seen a predetermined event. Another minor inconsistency is in the painting of Hiro and the Dinosaur: in the painting, Hiro's sword is unsheathed, while in reality, the replica sword was sheathed. Whether this event will ever appear exactly as depicted is not yet clear. In a blog post, Greg Beeman noted that the inconsistencies in the Homecoming paintings arose because the scenes had not yet been filmed when Tim Sale painted the paintings. He usually creates the paintings using photos from the filming, leading them to be very precise reflections of one another. However, paintings made prior to filming sometimes depict events that can't be filmed exactly as depicted.
Isaac's paintings are eyewitness testimony of what he saw in his vision.	Isaac sees the events unfold as he paints them. (Collision) Isaac paints Peter's location repeatedly, but fails to paint an invisible Peter. (Distractions)	Eyewitness testimony is infamously fallible. Isaac paints Hiro with a sword, facing a T. rex. What he missed in that moment was that the T. rex was not actually alive and the sword was not naked. He painted what he could remember of the flash of vision. Many of Isaac's paintings are ambiguous. Some paintings from the Homecoming Series have been misinterpreted because of their equivocal nature. In Distractions, Isaac tries to find Peter using his paintings but is only able to paint a series of landscapes. It is not until the end of the episode that he realizes his paintings did show where Peter was, but that Peter (because of Claude's presence) was invisible. Since Isaac couldn't see Peter in the visions, this seems to support this theory that Isaac's visions are subject to normal visual limitations.
Isaac paints in a fugue state and is not aware of the content of his paintings while creating them.		In Distractions, Isaac paints Peter's location but is not aware until afterwards that Peter was invisible. He appears to need to study his paintings afterwards in order to derive meaning from them, as he needs to notice Peter's footprints to find him.

Liquefaction

Theory	Citations	Notes
After an object melts, it re-solidifies.	Shadows and gaps are visible under some of the "puddles" in Zane Taylor's home where they don't meet the tarp, and some of them have thick, rounded edges. (Run!)	This may change the definition of the power further, to "the ability to disassemble an object's molecular structure."
Organic matter cannot be liquified.	Zane's body was shown completely un-liquified. (Run!)	He was on tarps so Sylar may have tried to liquify but could not. Or maybe Zane was just immune to his own power, just as those with invisibility are immune to invisibility effects they have on others, and those who can create fire or radiation are not burned, and those who can stop time are not themselves stopped. Turning things to goo would be pretty sucky if you could accidentally turn yourself to goo.
If Zane got a sword, and liquefaction was reversible, then, with sufficient training, he can morph the blade into several different shapes depending on the necessary occasion.

Powers

Theory	Citations	Notes
All evolved human powers are manifestations or variations on the classic psychic abilities of telepathy, telekinesis, and extra-sensory perception (ESP).	According to Chandra Suresh, all powers appear to originate from a particular mutation in the brain. (Six Months Ago)	If true, enhanced strength and regeneration are manifestations of telekinesis; mental manipulation is a variant of telepathy; precognition and electronic data transception are types of ESP, etc. Sylar, using his ability to discern how things work, identifies the brain as the source of powers, and takes powers after opening up the brain, including super-hearing which would normally be associated with the ears. When Claire's brain is damaged,she is unable to regenerate until the stick is removed.
Even further, all evolved humans have the same power, they just manifest different aspects of it.	None	Both Peter Petrelli and Sylar are able to acquire seemingly any power. The underlying core power may be a special connection with a different level of reality, with the ability to both sense more and to manipulate reality under the control of the mind. A counter to this is that when Sylar is jailed, it is suggested he has DNA for Telekinesis. This contradicts Chandra Suresh's belief that they all share the same mutation. It could be that the same genetic mutation can manifest itself in different ways for different people (compare Promicin from The 4400).
Children of evolved humans are likely to have powers, and they manifest them at an earlier age than "first generation" evolved humans.	Micah Sanders and Claire Bennet discovered their powers at an earlier age than the other powered characters. (Nothing to Hide, Six Months Ago)	Micah and Claire each have two parents with powers. Molly Walker's father presumably had powers (he was on the List and targeted by Sylar), but she has not yet shown any powers. Sanjog Iyer's parents are unknown. Not enough is known about Simon and Monty Petrelli to determine the power status of children with only one powered parent.
Natural-born super powers are a result of evolution and adaptation being influenced by the subconscious whims of the subject. In short, a person gets an ability that helps them in their day-to-day life, based on what they (either consciously or subconsciously) think they need.	None	Peter's empathy would be useful in an occupation (nurse) that depends on feeling and healing the suffering of others. Nathan first manifested his flight power when he needed a fast escape. Matt's telepathy could be useful for a cop and a man who struggles in knowing what he should say to people. Niki vocally expressed her desire to be two people and her worries about being strong enough for her son several times. D.L.'s ability to phase through matter would certainly be useful for a man in prison seeking escape. Sylar's ability to understand how complex systems work would be a boon to any watchmaker. Additionally, Tim Kring has stated in interviews that the character's powers are reflections of their personalities (compare The Ring from Lord of the Rings).
The Company has the capability to alter the DNA of people they deem worthy.	Mr Bennet made an off-hand comment about how the people with powers "don't always deserve them" and how his organization is working to fix that. (Godsend)	Hana Gitelman claims she was genetically altered to have powers by the Company, but her belief is as yet unsupported. Given that she is out for revenge against Mr. Bennet by any means necessary, her word is suspect. Mr Bennet's comment could simply be suggesting that the Company either kills or imprisons those it deems "undeserving".
The Company doesn't "give" people powers, but can make them manifest earlier.	Matt Parkman had already experienced telepathy prior to his first known abduction (Don't Look Back), and is on the list. (Homecoming)	Hank was testing Sylar for abilities (Godsend); the emergence (and in Matt's case massive augmentation) of their original abilities may be merely a side effect. Hana's training with the Company seemed to involve extensive medical monitoring as if they expected her level of control to change suddenly.
The Company doesn't "give" people powers, but rather gives them more control over their powers.	Matt Parkman had already experienced telepathy prior to his first known abduction (Don't Look Back), and is on the list. (Homecoming) Isaac was able to paint the future without heroin shortly after his stay with the Company. (Fallout)	Hiro hasn't been to the Company, so his control is dwindling. Perhaps there is a natural limitation on the frequency with which one can use their powers, and the radioactive isotope injected into their blood has been found to counteract this limitation.
The powers are designed by a higher power	None	There are many references to religion in Heroes. For example, many of the characters are named after biblical figures. Also, Chandra Suresh's door is number 613, a holy number in the old testament. The creators of the show have also hinted that there's a supernatural element to the character's powers. Tim Kring studied divinity in school, and Joe Pokaski and Aron Coleite have commented on the preponderance of Biblical names. However, religious symbolism doesn't necessarily imply a religious cause.
All powers are actually physical manifestations of emotions.	None	Peter Petrelli is referred to as an empath. He exhibits traditional empathic abilities. The mimicking of powers is just an expression of his empathy of the feeling. Ted Sprague uses anger to control his power. Nathan Petrelli seems to only fly when scared - especially when it first triggered. Niki Sanders flips to Jessica only when scared for her son. Claire Bennet may have healing triggered through pain. The other characters may be using different emotions to get to their powers, though there are many powers that this doesn't seem to fit for--D.L.'s phasing, Micah's technopathy, etc...
All powers also have compensatory secondary abilities that make their use survivable and usable.	Meredith is unharmed by her own fire. (Distractions) Ted is unharmed by his own radiation. (Company Man) Nathan seems immune to the air pressure and wind sheer effects of supersonic flight. (Hiros)	Claude's invisibility would also render him blind, as it would make his retinas unable to refract light. He possesses some kind of compensatory mechanism in order to see, which is what allows Peter to see him. Hiro and apparently Peter negate the effects of the lack of molecular motion which would result from suspending time which would theoretically cause absolute zero temperatures.
Twins have the same or similar powers.	None.	It just make sense that twins would have similar powers because they are closely connected. For example, Claire's twin might have rapid cell regeneration.
Powers are the result of a virus.	None.	Viruses alter DNA, and transposons literally can cut and paste genetic material and have had a large impact on evolution. 40% of human evolution is the result of transposons. The long incubation time in some viruses could mean mutation caused in such a way wouldn't manifest until late in life in the first generation, and late childhood/early teens in the second generation.
Abilities are passed on from mother to child.	Nathan's two sons have yet to show any abilities, yet Micah and Claire, both children of mother's with abilities, have.

Rift

Theory	Citations	Notes
Rifts are holes in space and time, caused by paradoxes and other conflicts in causality.	Future Hiro states he risks causing a rift by returning to the past. (Hiros)	Hiro would have created a causality paradox by going into the past (i.e. if he saves Charlie from Sylar, he never has a reason to go back and save her), which could theoretically create a rift—possibly explaining his sudden return to the present. Hiro has not been able to fully access his powers since. This is also one common definition of a temporal rift in science-fiction literature.
Rifts interfere with the abilities of time-travelers, either by leaving time-travelers unable to use their powers or by creating points in time they cannot travel to.	Future Hiro speaks of rifts as something to be avoided (Hiros)	Also, Hiro's powers do not function properly after his trip to the past to save Charlie Andrews.
Rifts are not portals in space and time.	None	While a rift, in science fiction literature, can refer to either a portal in space/time or a wound in space/time, it seems clear by the context of Future Hiro's remarks that they are using the later sense of the word as rifts are suggested to be a bad thing.
Hiro may have experienced a rift when he tried to go back in time to prevent Charlie's murder.	After Hiro and Charlie confess their love for each other and are about to kiss, Hiro abruptly and unexpectedly jumps through time to the present. (Six Months Ago)	He later told Ando that he tried repeatedly to go back to save Charlie, but couldn't. In theory, space-time spontaneously corrected itself to keep Hiro from creating a causality paradox; he could not do anything in the past that would keep him from having a reason to go to the past.
The T. rex in Isaac's latest painting (Fallout) may have appeared in the present because of a temporal rift, or Hiro may have entered the past because of one.	Both Hiro and Future Hiro have mentioned the possibility of causing a temporal rift with their powers. (Hiros)	Exactly what they mean by a "temporal rift" is not yet clear. While the dinosaur Hiro encounters at the museum is just a model, it is still possible that Hiro might face a real T. rex, as most of Isaac's paintings come to pass with remarkable similarity in detail. The discrepancies between Isaac's painting and Hiro's encounter with the dinosaur in the museum are not yet clearly explained; they could be the result of Isaac's unfamiliarity with painting without heroin, the result of unintentional errors in his eyewitness account, or an indication that another encounter is fated to occur.

Space-time manipulation

Theory	Citations	Notes
It is possible to change past events.	Future Hiro implores Peter to save the cheerleader in order to stop "all of it" from happening. (Hiros)	It seems unlikely that Future Hiro would risk a rift if there were not some possibility that his powers allowed him to change his own past. Even if causality would not allow him to take direct hand in things (as he tried and failed to do with Charlie), he could still steer past events indirectly, as he did with Peter. From a writing stand-point, it doesn't make sense for Hiro and Isaac to have the powers that they do if they cannot use those powers to change future events.
There is some kind of higher-power/cosmic authority that prevents Hiro from creating paradoxes.	When Hiro seems on the verge of saving Charlie and thus causing a causality paradox, he returns unexpectedly to the present. (Six Months Ago)	Hiro's forced return to Present-Day Japan and inability to use his powers to go back and make further attempts to save Charlie Andrews suggest that something is blocking his ability to go back to that specific point in space time. Also, Future Hiro has to get someone else to go back to present-day Odessa to save Claire rather than taking matters into his own hands, perhaps due to his inability to return to that point in space and time due to a rift his past self created.
Hiro's presence in the past manipulates objects, but not people's memories.	Charlie does not recognize Hiro when she first meets him in the present. (Seven Minutes to Midnight)	Charlie still had a Japanese phrasebook in the present after Hiro gave it to her in the past. Yet Charlie did not seem to remember Hiro when he first came to Odessa in the present nor did any of Hiro's co-workers at the diner recognize him despite his having worked there six months earlier. The change in the photograph of Charlie's birthday party also shows an object recording a historical event that nobody remembered. However, when Ando shows the photo to Lynette, she does recognize Hiro, telling him "they were tight".
There is no predestination in the world of Heroes.	Hiro's trip to the past appears to have actually changed past events from his perspective. (Six Months Ago)	If Hiro's trip to the past to try and save Charlie were meant to have happened, then all of his former co-workers at the diner (to say nothing of Charlie herself) should have recognized Hiro when he came into the diner for the first time, six months after he had been working there. From a writing stand-point, it doesn't make sense for Hiro and Isaac to have the powers that they do if they cannot use those powers to change future events.
Hiro may be able to freeze, reverse, and fast-forward time around a specific location.	Hiro concentrates on Hope and the gun, the bullet stops, then reverses back into the chamber. (Unexpected)	In Genesis, Hiro claims to have caused a subway train to be late by 14 seconds. If this was actually a manifestation of his power and not merely a coincidence, then only the train slowed down, not all of space-time (as is normal with Hiro's power).
Hiro cannot control where (or when) he teleports, but rather teleports somewhere that is in danger, ala Quantum Leap.	Hiro teleports to New York City before and after the explosion. (Genesis, Parasite)	In Genesis he was focusing of an advert for New York, in six months ago he went to the place he had intended if not the exact time frame.
Hiro's power is prevented from creating a causality paradox by not allowing him to change anything in the past which would prevent him from making the trip in the first place.	When future Hiro spoke with Peter, he said that Peter was the only one who could help. (Hiros)	Hiro went back to talk to Peter, because when performing a time-stop, if he enters the same vicinity as Peter, Peter will unintentionally mimic the time-stop. This will allow Hiro to speak with Peter, because Peter's power maintains the time-stop. Hiro's may normally stop, and return him to his own time, but Peter isn't creating a causality paradox, because he hasn't traveled back in time, merely stopped time, thus allowing a loophole in Hiro's apparent causality paradox prevention system.
Hiro's ability is the cause of others' abilities, by transporting himself or someone else into the past. It would represent a closed loop.	None	It is possible that Hiro or someone he maroons in the past is the source of the genetic mutations.