Theory:Arthur Petrelli

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The following fan theories are about Arthur Petrelli.

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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.
Angela didn't love Arthur.	None.	+ She cheated on him with everybody under the sun. - The only confirmed affair was with Kaito Nakamura. + 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 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 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 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. + 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 Arthur's ability too. + If Arthur can control evolved humans, he could have kept Peter from picking up new abilities. The first ability he manifests is Angela's dreaming the night that Arthur 'dies'. + 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 arranged for the unwitting reporter to discover a link between Niki Sanders and Tracy Strauss and use that to blackmail Tracy in order to stress her out and trigger her powers.	none	+ Arthur Petrelli is a master manipulator much like Daniel Linderman. Under Arthur's orders Maury (as Linderman) has been manipulating events to push Tracy and Nathan together in much the same way that Linderman manipulated Niki and DL's lives in order to produce Micah.
Arthur has the ability of aura absorption, the same as Linda Tavara.	None	+ His power is similar to how her ability worked, touching people and taking their abilities. • He might've learned how to only take a person's ability, seeing as how aura absorption usually kills the victim. + When he took Peter's power, something looked like it was being pulled out of him, like what it looked like when Linda used it.
Arthur is God	None	+ He seems to be able to do whatever he wants. + He was upset when Nathan was born without powers, possibly because he was not created in his image. • It is said that God created man in His image. - It would be highly controversial and offensive to some to call God a villain, and would not be a good idea on the part of the producers. • Howard Grigsby had delusions of granduer and believed he was God's light. If Arthur really does have the same delusions, he could believe that he is God because of his power. • To add on, it is possible that Arthur believes he is God, but unlikely that he is actually meant to be God, due to aforementioned reasons.
Arthur can only use Lightning and Invisibility from Peter, but left Peter with none	none	+ Arthur only displays Lightning to peter + Peter only used Lightning and Invisibility around Arthur - Arthur referd to Peter's powers (plural) + Arthur would be become near invincible with all of Peters powers and those he has attained already.
The reason Angela wanted to destroy New York in Season 1 was to kill Arthur.	None	+ Pinehearst's address is listed as Fort Lee, NJ. This is just northwest of Long Island. - Angela was shocked to see him in her dream, she likely believed him to be truly dead.