Theory:Arthur Petrelli

Main Article Theories about Arthur Petrelli Main Discussion

The following fan theories are about Arthur Petrelli.

For help on adding theories, see the help section.

Theories

Theory	Citations	Notes
The playing cards in the vault are from a game of poker played between Kaito Nakamura and Arthur Petrelli that caused them to join forces.	None	+ Arthur was in SE Asia during the Vietnam war and could have traveled through Japan. + Kaito's power of probability would be extremely helpful when playing cards. + Arthur seems to have an ability that helped him win at cards, as it would be unlikely that his unusual adeptness at cards would be included as extraneous material in War Buddies, Part 2 + All of the items in the vault are said to be big clues to plot points.
Mr. Petrelli has powers similar to Sarah Ellis (aka Eden McCain). The ability to persuade people with his voice	None.	+ Maury seems to be doing whatever Arthur says. Probably because he can hear Arthur's voice in his head. + Angela could not move once she heard Arthur's voice saying to "Not move". + It's probably why he's on a respirator and can't speak, i.e. The Company tried to kill him by destroying his vocal cords.
Mr. Petrelli has powers similar to the Scarlet Witch of X-Men fame. The ability to influence reality and probability	None.	+ Maury seems to be afraid of Arthur, what short of the ability to alter reality could cause the Nightmare man himself to be afraid? + Arthur continued to win games of Poker in Vietnam. This would be a very basic version of this ability. Causing the improbable to happen.
Angela didn't love Arthur.	None.	+ She cheated on him with everybody under the sun. + When Angela discovers that he is in fact alive, her demeanor is one of surprise and fear, rather than any sort of relief or joy.
Mr. Petrelli is an evolved human.	None.	+ Linderman, Bob, Angela, Linda Tavara and Victoria Pratt insinuated it.
Mr. Petrelli is NOT an evolved human, but possesses a synthetic ability that he gave to himself.	None.	+ In War Buddies, he didn't seem to have any powers. But the hints that his associates keep giving are pretty overwhelming... this would solve both issues. Plus, from what Angela said about their decision to give Nathan an ability, this would seem to fit with Arthur Petrelli's own personal view on powers.
Mr. Petrelli has a power related with probability.	None.	• He kept winning in the card games. (War Buddies, Part 2). - He could just be good at cards, and have a good poker face. + Based on the seemingly random nature of evolution, and the fact that Linderman says that D.L. & Niki were orchestrated, and have an evolved child, it's possible that Arthur does have some control over chance. + Several cards are present in the Company's vault. + Dallas was the only squad member who survived in War Buddies, Part 2 because Austin healed him, which could be seen as an act of luck. + If it was a Viet Cong sniper, they were trained not to leave any alive. Arthur survived to be healed because of the chances that the shot would miss any fatal location. + His law firm represented Linderman in his many actions. Lawyers occasionally lose; however, Linderman is never scared in his "business ventures" so Arthur must be either a good lawyer or really lucky. + Linderman runs a casino business. This would be the most logical job imaginable for Linderman if he had a man with incalculable and infallible luck as a best friend. Especially a friend with this ability who also happens to owe Linderman a life debt. + Arthur thought he was invincible. Having infinite good luck will do that to a person. - If Arthur was so lucky, he wouldn't have had any reason to commit suicide, and he'd have survived any attempt on his life. + It could be that Arthur never committed suicide and faked his death to escape the Company. + Not necessarily. To a man in a severe state of depression, "lucky" might reflect a successful suicide attempt rather then a failed one. Equally, people do not become depressed solely by being unlucky, which means he would not be saved from it by luck.
Mr. Petrelli has the power of immortality.	Angela Petrelli states that Mr. Petrelli thought he was invincible. (Don't Look Back)	+ Angela's comment suggests that he was in some way resistant to death. Perpetuity would explain this fact. • Mrs. Petrelli has lied about her family's "delusions of grandeur" on more than one occasion. - Petrelli knew Linderman had the healing power, so any physical injury could always be healed. Perpetuity isn't necessary and is likely not the case, since he seems to have eventually died. + In Elle's First Assignment, Part 1, Bob compares Claire's power to Linderman and Arthur. Both of their powers involved healing. - Bob refers to Claire's bloodline saying that "she comes from great stock", mentioning that "she could be the next Linderman or Arthur Petrelli", in an excellent leader quality, not in the nature of her abilities, at that point in time Claire's powers were unknown.
Arthur has no powers.	None.	+ In War Buddies, Mr. Petrelli displays no powers. - It's possible that Arthur's power hadn't activated yet. - The photo shown in The Kindness of Strangers showed Mr. Petrelli in the presence of a group of people, some of whom have displayed powers. • Arthur may have been the human voice to the group. He may have urged human-centric ideals to the Company such as human-evolved human partnerships, etc. - Linderman told Nathan that Mr. Petrelli had "great power". • Linderman was an old friend to Arthur, and may have been speaking metaphorically. - It is repeatedly stated by Angela that Nathan and Peter are like their father in that they have delusions of grandeur, despite the fact that they have powers. Angela is clearly covering up the powers of her sons, and it would seem is doing the same with the powers of the father. • Mrs. Petrelli has lied about her family's "delusions of grandeur" on more than one occasion. + Arthur wears horn-rimmed glasses, possibly a purposeful homage to another powerless, but powerful character. - "They both wear glasses, therefore they both are powerless" is a deceptively inconclusive point. • Like Bennet, Arthur has military/special ops skills. He may have been skilled in ways unrelated to evolved abilities. - Every Company agent appears to be trained in military ops; for example, Eden was an expert in hand-to-hand combat in Elle's First Assignment. • Perhaps Mr. Petrelli was trained before his power was unleashed, or his power has nothing to do with combat. + All of the group of twelve don't necessarily have powers. It would be helpful for them to have a lawyer to help build the company, and he would already know of Linderman's powers. He has also previously shown that he can fight for the greater good, which the company tends to do. - The group of twelve came together because they all had powers. - In Elle's First Assignment, Part 1, Bob compares Claire's power to Linderman and Arthur. This wouldn't make sense if Mr. Petrelli had no power. - In War Buddies, Part 7, Arthur's name is in Linda's notebook, which most probably holds names and addresses of people she hunts for taking their abilities. It would not make sense to have Arthur's name there if he had no powers.
Mr. Petrelli was in hiding from Mr. Linderman, possibly as a part of the Witness Protection Program. He faked a suicide, possibly with the help of Nathan to protect his wife and family and so not to be put into a position either against his son or against Mr. Linderman.	Peter did not sense his own father's passing, like Charles Deveaux's or Nathan's accident. Their mother stated that Nathan was the one who found his father dead.(Genesis, Six Months Ago).	• Since Peter's father supposedly committed suicide after Nathan's accident, he had already experienced his first vision. - This theory requires that nobody other than those in on the fake suicide had seen Mr. Petrelli's body or that they were somehow able to produce what appeared to be his body. - While Nathan tells Peter that their dad is dead from a heart attack, Angela Petrelli told Peter in the hospital not only that his father suffered delusions of grandeur and had committed suicide, but that he had attempted it several times before. If his death was faked, those previous attempts are no longer explained. • Mrs. Petrelli has lied about her family's "delusions of grandeur" on more than one occasion.
Mr. Petrelli is Mr. Bennet's biological father.	Noah Bennet's father needed glasses. (Company Man) Mr. Petrelli needed glasses and apparently wore a horn-rimmed version. (The Kindness of Strangers)	+ All of Mr. Petrelli's sons (if you include Noah) are named after prominent Biblical characters. - A lot of Anglo Saxon Names appear in the bible, including Matthew, Thomas, Gabriel, and Daniel aka D.L.
Arthur's power is weather manipulation.	None.	+ During Bob's explanation to Nathan about the strong influence Adam has on people, he talks about a snowstorm that was for Nathan and could've easily been a tsunami, insinuating that Arthur was the creator of the snowstorm. - He seemed to be talking in a general manner, not actually indicating that the snowfall was actually for Nathan in any way. There's no reason to suspect that snowfall in Miami would have been anything special to Nathan, especially as they (at least seemingly) are from New York. - The article referenced is from November 21, 2006 Miami Bugle; Arthur Petrelli allegedly died April 2006. + Just because the article the text is extracted from is from that date, that doesn't mean the that the intention of the article in the show is to be from that date as well. The date is conspicuously absent from the clipping in the book. + A newspaper clippings on the map reads "'Rain' Man Saves Town from Drought". - There's nothing to tie that clipping to Arthur Petrelli specifically, it just seems to make it clear that there is a weather manipulator out there.
Arthur Petrelli has empathic mimicry.	None.	+ Some powers seem to be inherited. + Arthur allegedly thought himself invincible, and this would be similar to Adam and his ability to regenerate, while he is also said in Elle's First Assignment, Part 1 to have a power similar to Linderman. + Arthur is said to have shown no abilities in War Buddies, which would be consistent with an empath who had not yet been both 1) not near anyone with an active ability, and either 2a) not aware of his own abilities, or 2b) not near any evolved human at all. + Arthur appears to communicate with Maury Parkman telepathically in Angels and Monsters. - Arthur has most likely met Adam Monroe and would be able to heal, negating a reason for him to be using a respirator.  :+ Adam hasn't exactly had the time to visit all of his old friend its highly unlikely that he would show up at Pinehearst with The Company looking for him.  :- Adam joins with the 12 founders in the beginning, so he has assuredly met Arthur before.
Arthur Petrelli is the true villain of Heroes.	According to War Buddies, "Dallas" has an extremely utilitarian philosophy, torturing a native for several hours to find the lost Skyhawk, and then destroying an entire village along with killing a young girl to win the war. Many of the antagonists related to the Company appear to use the same modus operandi: Linderman wanted to unite the world by killing .07% of its population.	+ In Truth & Consequences, Victoria tells Peter, "Adam's a murderer, and since you're helping him, you're one too... Just like your parents." + Arthur was a close friend of Linderman, and one of the founders of the Company. Linderman was a main villain of season one, and certainly the most manipulative. He is also married to Angela, who also supported Linderman. + Bob claims that Linderman was Adam's disciple; however, Arthur appears to have taught Linderman more about "the ends justifying the means" than Adam did. (War Buddies, Part 5) + Bob says that with her power (the same as Adam's), Claire could "become a major player. The next Linderman. The next Arthur Petrelli." The emphasis on Arthur could be indicative of something. (Elle's First Assignment, Part 1) + Linderman told Nathan that Mr. Petrelli had "great power." (Landslide)
Arthur Petrelli is Howard Grigsby.	None.	+ Both characters have been said to have delusions of grandeur. - It is unlikely that a minor graphic novel character would actually be a central character.
Arthur has the ability to cause immobilization or temporary paralysis in a victim	None.	+ In Angela Petrelli's dream Arthur stated "...You won't even be able to move..." - Her paralysis may be caused by Maury Parkman. + Maury Parkman was at Pinehearst in New Jersey. Angela was at the Company facility in Hartsdale. Maury's ability is shown to work only in close proximities as of yet. - In Season Two's episode The Kindness of Strangers, Maury put Molly Walker in a coma-like state. Molly was in New York City, Maury was in Philadelphia. - Maury was able to affect Molly from a great distance because he sensed her ability, which has a far greater range, and used the "link" or her projected consciousness to put her in that state. + Angela wasn't experiencing an illusion, she was experiencing her own ability, precognitive dreaming. + In Angela Petrelli's dream, Arthur was able to kill Tracy, Nathan, and the all-powerful Peter, a feat that seems unlikely by an old guy unless he could stop all of them in thier tracks. • The atmosphere of the dream doesn't fit with the dreams that are usually associated with Angela's power, notably her speaking directly with Arthur. Most likely, the dream was induced by Maury and not precognitive. • There's no way you can say that, considering that we have only seen one precognitive dream from Angela before the events of Angels and Monsters.
Arthur has the ability to control evolved humans but not humans.	none	+ A young and innocent Linderman assists in the secret beating interrogation in Vietnam; the human had to be beaten to give up the info. + Controlling the powers of the original company (Bob's alchemy, Linderman's healing, Angela Petrelli's precognitive dreaming, and so on) makes him the most powerful man on the planet, with unlimited resources. Controlling from behind the scenes is his preference, like calling himself Dallas. He likes to be hidden. + He pushed for research into synthetic evolved humans, because he can't control humans. He was also disappointed with Nathan for not being born with abilities; he gave him artificial abilities so that he could someday control President of the United States. + With the help of Maury Parkman, he could have faked his own death. If human influence in the company led to a assassination attempt coup d'état style, what better way to lay low than with the help of someone who can manipulate humans and evolved humans, and make everyone think he is dead? + Possibly because of Linderman's demise, Arthur has now been confined to a life support system, without the initial direct contact with certain evolved humans to gain control of them. He hunts these terrorists down using the likes of Claire and the team we saw, and that he is now attempting to assemble. {[plus}} The future that Angela dream with a dead Peter could have been because Peter could have taken Arthur's power, and he would have snapped everybody out of it. - If Peter absorbed precognitive dreaming from Angela, it is likely that he absorbed it from Arthur too. + In both possible futures Hiro is a sought after "terrorist" but is to be captured, not killed like Peter. With a time controller, Arthur could correct his past mistake and take over much sooner and easier, as well as avoid being put on life support.
Arthur has the same power as Sylar.	None	+ Sylar's mother is Angela so Arthur may be his father. + He has been said to have great power. + He may want Adam to gain his powers, this would bring him back to perfect health as show in Angela's dreams. + He has show a mix of abilities.
Arthur has the ability to alter fate.	None	+ If he played a card game against Kaito Nakamura and Kaito's power to alter probability is cannon, then fate would be the only thing that could trump probability. As stated elsewhere, a card game between the two could explain the appearance of the cards in the vault and how Kaito was convinced to join in forming the company. + It would explain the abundance of coincidences found throughout the series. - The coincidences might be plot devices.