Claire Bennet

Claire Bennet
Portrayed by	Hayden Panettiere
First appearance	Genesis
In-story stats
Known ability	Rapid cell regeneration
Alias	Vivian Lewis
Gender
Home	Odessa, TX
Residence	Claire Bennet's home
Occupation	High School student
Significant other	Formerly Brody Mitchum
Parents	Adoptive parents: Sandra Bennet, Mr. Bennet ("HRG") Biologicial parents: Meredith Gordon, Nathan Petrelli
Siblings	Younger adoptive brother: Lyle Bennet Younger half brothers: Simon Petrelli, Monty Petrelli

Claire Bennet is a high school cheerleader from Odessa, TX. She lives with her adoptive family. Claire discovers she has the ability to heal seemingly any wound, nearly instantaneously.

About

Claire is trying very hard to remain a typical teenager. Her fear of seeming different appears to be somewhat tied in to her concerns about her adoption; when her brother Lyle learns about her powers, her main concern is that her family will reject her or regret adopting her. While she loves her adoptive family very much, she still remains curious about her origins. Claire's insecurity can sometimes lead her to be insensitive, but usually her better nature wins out. For example, while she initially broke off her friendship with Zach to try to fit in better with more popular kids like Jackie (who accuses Claire of trying to be just like her), she eventually comes to realize the nature of her mistake.

Character History

Genesis

Claire's school classmate Zach videotapes her climbing up to an 80-foot height and jumping off. After falling to the ground, Claire brushes herself off and re-locates her dislocated right shoulder. Turning to the camera, she says, "I'm Claire Bennet, and that was attempt number six." She lists her attempts as breaking every bone in her body, stabbing herself in the chest, and shoving a steel rod through her neck. She confesses that she fears being seen as a freak by her friends, right before rescuing someone from a semi-truck/train accident and then fleeing without injury.

After coming home, she attempts to tell her mother about her abilities during dinner, saying, "I walked through fire and didn't get burned." Claire's mother doesn't comprehend, believing her daughter's statement to be metaphorical. Later, Claire mentions to her mother that she knows she is adopted and asks about her "real parents." Her father comes home, and turns out to be the man with the horn-rimmed glasses, who has been encountering Mohinder Suresh in India and New York.

Don't Look Back

Claire talks with her father about her adoptive parents. He is very protective of her, yet also seems understanding and the discussion ends on good terms, though not to Claire's satisfaction. At school, authorities are trying to find out who saved the man from the fire at the train wreck. Another cheerleader eventually steps up to take the credit, though Claire does find out the man, still in bad shape, is grateful to be alive. Out on the school football field, Zach tells her he cannot find the tape. Shocked motionless, Claire is accidentally tackled by a practicing player, Brody Mitchum, suffering a broken neck in the process, but recovers quickly without her injury being noticed by anyone except Zach.

After she comes home, Claire's adoptive father says he's in the process of finding her biological parents, admitting that her earlier comments convinced him. After Claire leaves, her adoptive father reveals that he is in possession of the missing tape, which means he also knows of her regenerative abilities.

One Giant Leap

Claire's father notices her attraction to Brody Mitchum, the quarterback of the football team before an away game. The team, cheerleaders and other students hold a bonfire after the game. Claire and Brody wander off to the privacy of nearby bleachers. When things get too sexual for Claire she tries to stop it, but Brody attempts to rape her. As she tries to push him off her and get away, she is knocked down on a pile of wood and a branch impales her through the back of her neck into her skull, apparently killing her. Later, the branch is removed and her eyes revert from glazed over back to their original color as she gasps and coughs for air. Looking around, she notices the severity of her current situation: she is on an autopsy table with the skin of her entire chest laid open for the examination, exposing her ribcage.

Claire wakes up exposed.

Collision

Claire's body begins to heal itself after the medical examiner pulls the tree branch out of her head. The coroner notes that the naked body of a "Jane Doe" washed up on a river bank and the teenage girl appears to have been the victim of a (possibly accidental) homicide. When the coroner steps out of the room for a moment, the now regenerated Claire sits up, gets off the autopsy table and steals a lab coat from the cupboard. She sneaks out a side entrance as the coroner returns and is flabbergasted by the missing body.

Claire sneaks in the front door of her home just in time to hear her mother call her to the breakfast table. Claire goes upstairs and changes into a clean shirt, but neglects to wash off her dirty feet. Her father sees the grit on her bare toes and asks her if she has been out all night. Claire lies that she played poker with her friends and says "nothing happened." Her father suspects that she is lying and says they will have a "throw down" about her staying out all night when he returns home. Claire's mother calls from the kitchen that waffles are ready and her brother is sent to tell her to come to breakfast. After he leaves, Claire sits on the staircase and bursts into tears.

Later, at school, Brody spots Claire in the hallway and is stunned speechless. Claire's friend Zach questions her about the attempted rape and murder the previous night. Claire said even if she wanted to report the attempted rape, she doesn't have a mark on her. Later, another girl approaches Claire and says she saw Claire go off with the quarterback the previous night. She says she was also sexually assaulted by the quarterback. Claire later waits in the stands for Brody to finish football practice. She pretends not to remember what happened and asks the quarterback for a ride home. She asks him to let her drive. In the car, they converse about what happened the night of the bonfire and Claire says she remembers his attack on her. Brody says she "wanted it" and she should get over it. Claire realizes he plans to keep assaulting girls and he replies that there is nothing she can do about it. Claire replies, "I can do this," and deliberately crashes the car into a wall at high speed.

Graphic Novel:Aftermath

After their car crash, Claire goes back to save Brody from a would-be fatal explosion. As Claire muses about her desire to be normal, Brody regains conciousness. He witnesses Claire healing quickly from major wounds, prompting him to ask, "What are you?"

Hiros

Claire is wheeled into the hospital with doctors and paramedics buzzing around her, though she insists she is fine. Her frantic mother calls Mr. Bennet to let him know what has happened.

When her father arrives at the hospital, she confesses that she deliberately crashed the car because of what Brody did to her. Later, she visits Brody in his room and tells him that even though what he did was wrong, so was what she did. He insists he doesn't know who she is or why she's calling him Brody, thanks to her father's mysterious assistant.

Better Halves

Claire's father tells her he has arranged a meeting with her birth parents, Hank and Lisa. After discussing with Zach how she might broach the topic of her powers, she meets with her biological parents. She asks if there's anything she should know about their medical histories, but to her disappointment they only mention normal medical conditions.

Later, while discussing the visit with her mother, Claire learns that an earlier attempt to locate her birth parents when her parents believed she had a genetic disorder ended in frustration.

Nothing to Hide

When Claire's mom takes Mr. Muggles to a dog show, she leaves Claire in charge of her brother Lyle. Zach shows up, to let her know he's found the tape. She stashes the tape and while she and Zach help her mother load her car, Lyle discovers it and watches it. Claire claims it's all special effects but Lyle suspects otherwise, and drives a staple into her hand. When the wound heals before his eyes, he grabs the tape and runs.

Zach and Claire chase him through the neighborhood, but he locks himself in his parent's SUV. On the verge of tears, Claire pleads with him not to tell anyone about what he's seen because she's afraid it means their parents will regret adopting her and they won't be a family any more. In the end, Lyle relents and gives her back the tape, and she hugs him.

Seven Minutes to Midnight

Mr. Bennet tells Isaac the truth about Claire's birthparents: his organization monitors evolved humans. About fourteen years ago, a situation arose with one of the people they were monitoring which orphaned her young daughter. The Bennets were having trouble conceiving a child of their own, so they adopted Claire.

Later, Claire visits her father at the Primatech Paper Co. looking for paper to make a homecoming banner.

Homecoming

At Union Wells High School, Claire has lunch with Zach while Principal Marks posts the Homecoming Queen announcement. Jackie taunts her about her unpopularity since injuring Brody, but then discovers that Claire won, thanks to the unpopular majority.

Zach admits that he campaigned for Claire, and gives her a copy of Activating Evolution that he found on the internet. Jackie comes up to them and teases Zach about his sexuality, and Claire punches her in the face, knocking her down.

At home, Mr. Bennet grounds her for punching Jackie and says she's not to leave the house, even though it means missing her chance to be Homecoming Queen. Zach sneaks into her room through the window, however, and convinces her to sneak out..

At school, Claire runs into Peter Petrelli on the way to the locker room. He claims he's an alumnus and asks her about a newspaper clipping showing Jackie winning an award for rescuing the man from the train wreck. She tells him Jackie will be on the field shortly for the halftime show, since she's a cheerleader.

In the locker room, Jackie holds Claire back after the other girls leave to tell her that she thinks she's a menace. Claire confronts her about taking credit for the rescue of the train wreck victim. Just then, the lights go out. As they leave, Sylar grabs Jackie and begins to kill her, slicing her head open telekinetically. Claire tries to stop him and he tosses her across the room, smashing her into a bloody mess. When he sees her begin to regenerate, he drops Jackie and chases Claire out into the hall.

Claire bumps into Peter, who tries to stall Sylar before following her out to the stone bleachers. Peter tells her to head for the stadium and that Sylar doesn't want to be seen. She runs off.

Later, Claire returns to the gym to find Peter mangled on the ground, though he is regenerating. He sends her for help, but before she leaves, they ask for each other's name. Peter asks her, "Are you the one? In saving you, did I save the world?" She simply responds, "I don't know. I'm just a cheerleader."

She runs into her father and attempts to convince him to go back for Peter, but he tells her the police will handle it. He says she's lucky to be alive, but she tells him there's more to it than luck.

Six Months Ago

Jackie meets Claire in Claire's room. She congratulates Claire on becoming a member of the Union Wells High School cheer squad. They argue over Claire's enthusiasm of her new honor, resulting in Claire tripping and falling, cutting her hand on a cabinet. Sandra Bennet wraps Claire's hand and drives her and Jackie to the hospital. Mr. Bennet tells her to be more careful.

Later, after Mr. Bennet has learned of Claire's power, he discovers her practicing her cheerleading routine in her bedroom. He gives her a bear from New York City, from where he has just returned. He removes her bandage to discover her palm completely healed.

Fallout

Claire and Mr. Bennet return home after the Homecoming game, and Mr. Bennet admits that he already knows about Claire's regenerative abilities. He then warns her that there are people who would hurt her and asks if anyone else knows about her power. She admits that Zach helped her film attempts to test her powers, and that Lyle secretly discovered the tape. Mr. Bennet instructs her to destroy the tapes and make sure that Zach doesn't tell anyone about her power.

Claire is taken in for questioning about Jackie's death. Audrey and Matt ask her about the incident, in particular asking if Peter and Sylar had any special abilities, which Claire claims she knows nothing about. Matt tries to read her mind, but is unable to due to interference. After the questioning, Claire asks to speak to Peter, realizing she is not the only one with her power. She thanks him for saving her, claiming that he is her hero.

Claire and Zach meet on the football field, and Claire destroys the videos made of her regeneration tests. She then asks Zach to not speak about this to anyone, to which he agrees. She also calls him the best friend she has.

Upon arriving home, Claire asks Lyle about the videos, which he appears to know nothing about. When she asks who picked him up after practice (which her father had claimed he would do) he says he doesn't remember. Concerned, Claire once again calls Zach and asks him to meet her on the football field and tells him that Lyle has had his memory erased somehow, but Zach accuses her of pulling a prank on him, claiming that they haven't spoken since the sixth grade. Claire realizes that Zach's memory has been erased as well, and she runs away. When she gets home, she calls her father, panicked, and asks her if he remembers about her ability. He assures her that he does and tells her to stay home until he arrives. Suddenly, The Haitian sneaks up on her and grabs her, telling her that her father ordered him to erase her memory, but insists that she must remember, and tells her to keep her knowledge a secret.

Graphic Novel:Wireless, Part 3

At the Bennets' home, Claire asks her dad for help with her schoolwork, but Mr. Bennet tells her he is busy at the moment.

Godsend

Claire watches the news about Union Wells opening up after the murder of Jackie while her dad makes breakfast. They talk about the murder, and Claire keeps repeating that she doesn't remember anything from Homecoming night. Her dad comforts her by reminding her that sometimes not remembering can be a blessing.

At school, Claire meets up with Zach in the hall. Claire asks Zach to look at her and tell her if he believes they could ever be friends. Zach looks at her briefly and then says plainly that he doesn't think so.

Some time later, Claire meets up with the Haitian at the site of her apparent suicide jump. He tells her that Hank and Lisa work for her father and that he cannot give Zach his memories back.

She leaves him and fetches Zach to that same site. There she tells him to take his camera and film her as she climbs up the construction and jumps once more. She gets up and pushes some bones in her chest back into place and begins healing. Speaking to the camera she says, "This is Claire Bennet, and as far as you know that was attempt #1."

The Fix

Claire and Zach work together to find out the truth behind Claire's past and Mr. Bennet's lies. To keep up appearances, they tell Mr. Bennet that they are working on a biology project, studying manatees. Her attempts to locate information on the family computer prove futile. Claire is desperate for some answers, so she places a wind chime in her window. Soon thereafter, she meets the Haitian at abandoned refinery. He tells that he doesn't know anything about her birth father, but that her birth mother died years ago. Claire and Zach review newspaper articles from 14 years ago and find an article about a fire in an apartment in Kermit, TX, in which a woman named Meredith Gordon was killed. Claire makes phone calls to track down the woman, surprised to actually speak to the woman she believed dead.

Distractions

Claire convinces her mother to let her and Zach skip school under the pretense of going to see the manatee exhibit at the aquarium; Claire has even procured pamphlets as "evidence" that they went. Zach and Claire drive to Kermit, TX to visit Meredith Gordon at her trailer park, where Claire and Meredith get acquainted. Claire demonstrates her power of regeneration by cutting her arm and letting it heal. Meredith responds by creating a small ball of fire in the palm of her hand. Claire accepts a necklace from Meredith, and asks about her biological father, but Meredith says it's too complicated. When Claire and Zach return home, Claire reminds her forgetful mother about her plans to go to the aquarium.

Run!

Claire is in her living room when Sandra and Mr. Bennet return home from Sandra's neurology appointment. Mr. Bennet claims Sandra will be fine, but Claire becomes angry and reminds him of her mother's memory loss. Later, her father visits her in her bedroom, tells her he knows her aquarium tickets were fake, and grounds her indefinitely. She tells him he's not her real father, and he reminds her he's the closest thing she's got.

Claire calls Meredith to ask about her birth father. Meredith says he's coming down from New York but hesitates when Claire asks to meet him. When Claire shows up unannounced at her trailer, she tells Claire that he's only good for money, but will otherwise disappoint her. When Nathan arrives, Claire hides outside Meredith's trailer and overhears their conversation. Claire hears Nathan grudgingly agrees with Meredith that he is just there to give them money. As his limo drives away, Claire grabs a large rock and throws it at the car, cracking the back windshield.

When Claire returns home, she finds her mother yelling at Mr. Muggles. Sandra says she doesn't know the dog ... or Claire.

Unexpected

When Claire returns home to find that her mother doesn't recognize her, she begins to worry. While Claire is studying, the thoughts of her mother's episode still concern her. Claire confronts her mother and suggests that Sandra is being brainwashed. Suddenly, her mother collapses, and Claire calls her father in a panic begging him to come home.

Later, at the hospital, Claire tells an unbelieving doctor that there is a man who can erase memories simply by touch. When Mr. Bennet arrives, Claire screams at him, angry about his constant lies. At home, Claire expresses the desire to run away, but feels compelled to stay to protect her family from her father. At that moment, she and her family are taken hostage by Ted Sprague and Matt Parkman.

Company Man

As Claire, Mr. Bennet, her mother and brother come home, Ted and Matt hold them hostage to get answers from Mr. Bennet. Matt reads her thoughts to reveal that the Haitian did not take her memory (much to Mr. Bennet's surprise). Matt takes Claire aside to ask further questions about her father. After talking about Peter Petrelli and his ability to do what they do, Matt asks if Claire is "different". She thinks about her ability to heal, prompting questions of whether Mr. Bennet "did this" to her.

Tension increases between Ted and Mr. Bennet after Bennet attempts to retrieve a hidden gun. Ted points the gun towards Sandra, prompting Claire to put herself between the weapon and her mother. Realizing Ted will not budge, Matt shoots Claire, causing the situation to slow down. Bennet and Matt bring Claire to her bedroom, where she heals and spits out Matt's bullet. Bennet orders Claire to stay in her room to keep the situation contained.

With Matt and Mr. Bennet gone, Claire watches as Ted sparks in the living room. After creating a distraction with Mr. Muggles, Claire releases Lyle and Sandra, but Sandra remains to protect her daughter from Ted's radioactive grasp around her neck. After securing Claire and Sandra, Ted waits for Matt and Ted to return. The Haitian removes the restraints and takes the ladies outside.

After Ted is shot by Thompson, the house begins to erupt in flames. Realizing her father has not come out of the house, Claire runs into the house. Bennet tries to give Ted a tranquilizer, but cannot get close enough. Claire takes the tranquilizer, and successfully drugs unstable Ted. As dust clears the front lawn, Claire emerges from the house badly burned, only to instantly heal before everyone's eyes.

Graphic Novel:Hell's Angel

In 1992, baby Claire is trapped in a fire in her mother's apartment. Mr. Bennet, on a "bag and tag" mission, discovers the baby girl and carries her to safety.

Parasite

On Mr. Bennet's orders, the Haitian prepares to take Claire out of the country, when she manages to outwit him and steal his passport and boarding pass, separating the two at airport security. She then manages to make her way to New York, searching for Peter Petrelli, but instead she is found by Angela Petrelli (with the Haitian's help) who reveals that she is Claire's grandmother.

Graphic Novel:Family Man

After the fire at the Bennets' home, Claire is burned to a "human skeleton", but heals. Thompson tells Mr. Bennet that he only has one hour to turn her in to the Company. The Haitian, Claire, and her father head to the bridge, stopping at a coffee shop first. Claire watches her father get shot, and then tearfully leaves with the Haitian.

Powers

Claire can regenerate.

Claire exhibits the power of rapid cell regeneration, a trait that allows her to recover from almost any injury in a matter of seconds. She also feels relatively little pain from even serious injuries, including burns and compound fractures, although she did grimace when her hand was damaged while retrieving a class ring from a running garbage disposal. She has not yet reached a limitation in her powers. Along with the injuries stated above, she suffered an injury where her neck was broken and turned around 180 degrees. This would be fatal for most humans. Indeed, between her tolerance for pain and seemingly unlimited healing potential, Claire is somewhat similar to the X-Men character Wolverine. Panettiere herself even loosely compared Claire to that same character when explaining her powers during an interview.

Apparently, Claire cannot heal an injury if a foreign object is obstructing the wound. This is true of other characters with healing factors, who can still heal incorrectly, incompletely or not at all if certain conditions are not met, just like normal humans. For example, in the first episode, the bones of Claire's ribs were sticking out at one point. After a comment from Zach brought this to her attention, Claire had to move them around a bit before they would heal properly. The injury she received in One Giant Leap was billed by a TV Guide article as an extreme test of her powers. In this incident, she was clinically dead for hours, only to revive when the tree branch that killed her was removed. Her healing powers restored her to health despite the destructive biological processes that happen to bodies immediately upon severe trauma or death (brain death, lividity of blood in the tissues and coagulation of same, et al.) Still, as stated before, there were still limitations. Her upper torso had still been spread open from the classic "V-Cut" made in the chest of autopsy subjects and she had to close the flaps of skin back into place manually before they healed.

A painting by Isaac Mendez and Peter Petrelli showed a cheerleader's body dead at the feet of a shadowy figure, with her head sawed open and her brain removed. Once thought to be Claire, it was theorized that such an injury might well be fatal.

Memorable Quotes

"You're totally my hero."

- Claire (to Peter Petrelli) (Fallout)

"I've died before. It's no big deal."

- Claire (to Peter Petrelli) (Fallout)

"'Save the cheerleader, save the world' ... Have I been saved, or do I still need saving?"

"You are saved for the time being."

- Claire, The Haitian (Godsend)

"Your 'gift'? Is that what you call it?"

"What do you call it?"

"My own private freak show."

- Claire, The Haitian (Godsend)

Notes

• There are conflicting references as to Claire's age and birthdate. Before production began, a press release noted her age would be 17. In the televised episodes, a newspaper article reported Claire's age as 18 months during the fire on February 28th 1992, which would put her birth in August of 1990, and her age as 16. In The Fix (which takes place in October 2006), Claire says she is "almost 16"; this would suggest that her birth was in or after October of 1990. Further, Claire's birth-mother tells Nathan that their daughter is now 16 (Run!). Her MySpace page indicates her zodiac sign as Leo (which would place her birthday between July 23rd and August 22nd) and her age as 18.
• Claire learned she was adopted in 2003. (Company Man)

Trivia

• Claire collects teddy bears from all around the world. Her father brings them back to her from his "business trips". (Six Months Ago)
• The Odessa Register calls Claire a "Mysterious Good Samaritan". This is a reference to the parable of the Good Samaritan from the Bible (Luke 10:25-37). Jesus told the parable to demonstrate that mankind should show compassion for all people.
• Claire's phone is a pink T-Mobile Sidekick II.
• To date, Claire is one of two characters (Hiro is the other) who have appeared in every episode of Heroes. Hayden Panettiere is the only actor to appear in every episode to date.

See Also

• Related articles for Claire

External Links

• Claire Bennet's official MySpace page

Fan Theories

Please refer to Theory:Claire Bennet for fan-created theories and other speculation.