Theory:Angela Petrelli

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The following fan theories are about Angela Petrelli.

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Theories

Theory	Citations	Notes
Angela is an empath.	None.	+ Angela's evasive answer to Claire indicates she may have a power. (.07%) + Claude has apparently encountered an empath before, since he seems familiar with Peter's powers. - However, he was not familiar with how an empath's powers work. • This could have been because the Empath he knew had powers that worked differently. Also, he could have intentionally been misleading Peter about how his powers would work. + Empathy could explain any number of odd abilities she seems to have. + Future Angela helps Peter remember who he is. (Out of Time) She possibly showed him her own life experiences. Peter possibly absorbed her empathic powers to do this. - If Angela was an empath, then she would have Matt's telepathy and that would have caused a mental feedback, where two telepaths can't read each others memories. + Angela talks to Heidi and tries to maintain physical contact with her by touching her hair and holding her arm where they zoomed in on. (Four Months Ago...) It could be that Angela was sending out an emotion to make Heidi want to leave Nathan. That could explain Heidi's sudden change of heart, her leaving Nathan for a "condition" doesn't seem right. • Empathy should not be confused with Peter's ability. Yes, his ability is done through and emotional and mental level but that is Empathic Mimicry, not Empathy itself.
Angela may have clairvoyance.	None.	Angela's evasive answer to Claire indicates she may have a power. (.07%) • When Nathan had his accident, Peter somehow knew about it the moment it happened. Since Peter's abilities are derived from people he knows or has met, he may have been tapping into her clairvoyance. - Peter had a dream; it is more likely that his empathy connected with Nathan and he saw the accident through his point of view. He even mentions that he was connected with his brother, and explains to his mother how he was connected -- "No, I'm saying before the call. Like he was telling me, 300 miles away. I woke up, and I knew that he'd been hurt." (Genesis) + Ask Ausiello revealed that Angela has a power that is "very similar to a power possessed by another hero, only in her case, it takes a lot less effort to get from Point A to Point B." To get from Point A to B is a way to say 'to get from start to finish, or to the end result'. Angela Petrelli's power could be a simpler version of Isaac Mendez' power - the effort reduced is the fact that she doesn't need to paint to see the future (the end result of Isaac' power).
Angela has the as-yet unexplained power of transportation.	None.	+ Angela's evasive answer to Claire indicates she may have a power. (.07%) + She has possibly referred to the aspect of mental transportation by: 1) knowing Claire spit up bullets, 2) knowing about Peter and Nathan's powers before they did. + She has possibly referred to the aspect of physical transportation by: 1) talking about "taking Claire" to Paris. 2) Ask Ausiello revealed that Angela has a power that is "very similar to a power possessed by another hero, only in her case, it takes a lot less effort to get from Point A to Point B." One interpretation is that it is a physical transportation power of getting from A to B, like Hiro's teleportation. • Transportation could have both mental and physical applications, therefore allowing Angela to mentally transport into the minds/memories/dreams of others, as well as to physically transport from location to location similar to telekinesis. It could also be something along the lines of astral projection. + She implies that though it didn't seem like she was there for Claire, she was there in ways she might not understand. • It seems more likely that she was referring to how she was watching over Claire from a distance, such as by ordering the Haitian not to wipe her memory.
Angela has the power of memory restoration.	None.	+ When Angela told Peter that he has to remember, he did so very quickly and accurately. He had been trying hard before but could not. - It is more likely that Peter read Angela's memories of being Peter's mother, and thus learned who she was; the theme sound for Matt's telepathy was also playing in the background at the time. + The memories were from Peter's point of view. If he was reading her mind he would see from Angela's point of view. - Peter did not regain his memories beyond finding out that Angela was his mother; he did not know he had a brother, and he did not recognize Adam. + Angela might have only wanted to restore those memories, instead of restoring all of them. - Peter can regain his memories by healing, so he would not need Angela to restore them. (Four Months Ago)
Angela has persuasion (similar to Eden)	In 'Out of Time' Angela tells Peter to remember who he is. Soon, he begins to remember Angela and finally realizes that she is his mother.	• Angela may need to be close to a person or touch them in order to do this. + She convinced the police to drop the charges of shoplifting in Don't Look Back. - Nathan got the police to drop the charges. As far as we saw, she did nothing but call her son and ask him to bail her out of trouble. + When trying to convince Nathan to just let the explosion happen, she places her hands on his back. Moments later, he is agreeing with her, saying variations of exactly what she said. Later, when Peter reads Nathan's mind, he is thinking the same thing ("It can't be stopped.") over and over again. + In 'Four Months Ago', Angela is speaking with Heidi. During Angela's speech to her, she begins to touch her and even stroke Heidi's hair. In the scene, a lot that was shown was of Angela touching her, almost desperate in a way. Then, when she asks Heidi if she can count on her, she suddenly gives a almost hypnotized nod. + Angela was able to convince Nathan to go ahead with Linderman's plans, but he changed his mind. Perhaps her power requires "less effort to get from Point A to Point B" than Eden's (she doesn't have to use a deep voice), but is also easier to resist. + In 'The Kindness of Strangers' Angela was able to convince the police, except Matt, that she was the one who killed Kaito Nakamura. - Eden was able to convince Matt to eat donuts. If Angela has the same power as Eden, she would have been able to convince Matt that she was the killer. + Now that Matt has developed his power, he might be harder to convince. + In 'Out of Time' Angela forced Peter to remember when he could not. - It is more likely that Peter read Angela's memories of being Peter's mother, and thus learned who she was; the theme sound for Matt's telepathy was also playing in the background at the time. + The memories were from Peter's point of view. If he was reading her mind he would see from Angela's point of view. - Peter did not regain his memories beyond finding out that Angela was his mother; he did not know he had a brother, and he did not recognize Adam. + In Four Months Ago, Adam tells Peter that he can regain his memory by healing, as Adam does, but he has to exert himself mentally to do this. Angela may have used persuasion only to force Peter to remember her, the relationship she most valued. + In Four Months Ago, The camera seems to spend a little too much time focusing in on Angela's hand upon Heidi. This is up until she asks her if she can handle keeping Nathan's 'disease' a secret. Heidi agrees, and maybe the "Point A to Point B" part of this ability is that instead of having to say something persuade them, all she needs is to merely touch them. - in 'Cautionary Tales' she should have been able to more directly battle Matt's attempt to persuade her. She did resist, but this seemed to be more a matter of will-power than power. + It seems that her persuasion is related to touching, and since she didn't touch Parkman, she couldn't persuade him.
Angela and Adam are Nathan's true parents.	None.	+ All related characters have powers that are somewhat similar to their parents. For example, Matt and Maury Parkman. If Angela is an empath (as theorized above), Peter has special power empath abilities allowing him to absorb others' powers. Claire's power of regeneration possibly come from Adam (if it's a recessive gene). Nathan's power must come from Angela's side in an unexplained way. - It's not true that all related characters have related powers. There was no example of this until Maury Parkman was introduced. For example, Niki has enhanced strength and D.L. could phase, but they produced a child with technopathy (Micah). Also, Nathan can fly and Meredith (Claire's biological mom) can control fire, but Claire can regenerate. - In Four Months Ago, Adam tells Peter he's been locked up for 30 years. Peter is in his mid-20's, and Nathan isn't much older. This makes it highly unlikely that Adam is their father.
Angela's power is precognition.	None.	+ Ask Ausiello revealed that Angela has a power that is "very similar to a power possessed by another hero, only in her case, it takes a lot less effort to get from Point A to Point B.". This could be explaining how she doesn't have to go through the effort of painting a picture to see the future or past, like Isaac Mendez. Likewise it could be similar to Hiro's ability except that she doesn't physically travel through time. + Peter's prophetic visions are actually a subconscious use of his mothers ability. + The creators of the show have stated that no character has more than one power. Peter would need to have absorbed his "vision" ability from somewhere, and he was in close proximity to his mother for most of his life. + She avoids death at the hands of Adam/Maury by knowing she needs to be arrested in order to be able to be saved. + She is also alive in the "Shanti Virus future" showing she may have insight as to how to survive and keep from contracting the virus herself. - Both Nathan and Angela thought that Peter was dead at the start of season two. + Angela, more than any other elder, is careful not to give away the existence of super powers. By now she would be self-disciplined enough not to overreact to her visions. + The Haitian has probably not yet informed her of Peter's current status. - If Angela has precognition she would know about Peter's status so nobody has to inform her about it. + If Angela is the source of Peter's precognitive visions, hers likely function the same way--giving flashes or random visions of the future, not whatever knowledge she's looking for. While she may have honed her abilities somewhat more, it is unlikely she can just ask for a vision of Peter and see exactly what he'll be doing next week.
Angela Petrelli is not good.	None.	+ In Truth & Consequences, Victoria tells Peter, "Adam's a murderer, and since you're helping him, you're one too... Just like your parents." + At the end of Powerless, Angela appears to be talking to the person who shot Nathan.