Theory:Arthur Petrelli

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The following fan theories are about Arthur Petrelli.

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Theories

Theory	Citations	Notes
Arthur Petrelli can take powers from others without stealing them.	-"What do you have in mind Daniel?" - "The question is : what's not in yours?" Angela and Linderman. (Villains)	+ Arthur does have the Telepathy, that Maury still had. And this was a pretty rare power. + Arthur wipes Angela's memory, the same way the "Haitian's power" allows it. But Arthur didn't absorbed Peter at that time, so I assume if he used Haitian's power on Hiro, that's because Telepathy could not be used for "wiping memories". That implies he somehow had Haitian's power before. - The writers interviews don't seem to follow that logic, but maybe in order to prevent spoilers. - The effects used in the scene suggested telepathy, and Arthur did use mental manipulation on Hiro, as confirmed in the BTE interview.
Kaito Nakamura didn't have an ability at the end of his life because Arthur stole it.	Arthur has the ability to absorb powers from others.	+ Having a character who most likely has an ability die without demonstrating it is unusual for Heroes. - Charles did die without demonstrating it. + Arthur could have taken Charles' ability as well. + This could be how Arthur obtained telepathy. - In a deleted scene, Kaito reveals his evolved ability to Ando; it has to do with predicting probabilities. - Unaired scenes are non-canon. Therefore, Kaito's ability could indeed end up being something different. - When asked if Kaito's powers would ever be revealed, the writers replied "examine his death scene". Kaito's last words were "of all of them, I never expected it would be you." • That phrase makes sense if Kaito's ability is probability prediction, like it is in the deleted scene. "Of all of them, I never expected it would be you" could imply that when calculating the probabilities of who would kill him, Adam was not a major part in his prediction. + This could be the event that divided the Company.
Arthur's ability is a more advanced form of intuitive aptitude.	None.	+ Arthur is the father of Sylar, who has intuitive aptitude. + He requires some form of physical contact, which maybe the same as Sylar needing to look at a person's brain. - Arthur completely takes away the ability. Sylar did not take away Claire's ability. • Sylar noted that Claire is 'different' and 'special'. • Claire believes he was referring to her hosting of the catalyst. • Sylar's other victims have had their brains (and therefore abilities) removed. • This is very different from Arthur's removal of abilities but not brains. - Arthur has not been seen knowing how things work. - The writers say that Arthur does not have the hunger, because he has not activated intuitive aptitude (which he stole from Peter).
People who lose their abilities to Arthur can regain them through use of the Formula.	None.	• According to Mohinder, a person's DNA determines what their innate ability is. • If Mohinder did inject Peter with the formula, Peter might have his own ability back and copy his old ones from Arthur; including Arthur's own ability. • The writers have stated that Peter cannot absorb his future self's absorbed abilities; therefore, he may not be able to absorb abilities that Arthur gained (indirectly) through Peter's ability. • Arthur was nowhere near Peter when Mohinder was preparing to inject him with the Formula. Most likely, he didn't want Peter to regain his abilities by using empathic mimicry on Arthur if he regained the same ability Arthur stole.
Arthur's ability is a more advanced form of empathic mimicry.	"You will be what I am" is the English meaning of seventh episode in season three.	+ "You will be what I am" may refer to Peter, that he will have such power when he learns to use it so. - Peter doesn't steal abilities; he basically copies them and pastes them into his DNA. Peter's subjects still have their abilities and the process is painless. Arthur has to put his subjects through a painful process of stealing their ability to the point where they don't have it anymore. In this case, Peter's empathic mimicry is more advanced than Arthur's power absorption. + Arthur may be able to choose whether he lets them live/die or keep/remove their ability. Peter may only be able to copy as of yet. + Looking at it from a strictly evolutionary standpoint, Arthur's might be more advanced. Evolution is "survival of the fittest", not "survival of the nicest". Although Peter's ability does not cause pain, make the subjects unaware of the "copying and pasting" or stealing their powers, it doesn't give a distinct advantage to the the empath besides leveling the playing field so both subjects have equal footing. With Arthur's ability, you would gain the advantage of stealing a new power to use in addition to depriving your opponent of their power to fight back with, providing Arthur with a double advantage. - This would mean that having to touch someone is a better aspect then just being around them. (or/and seeing the power being used in the first place). With the "Rule of Ted" in mind mimicry would be the safer and more successful approach. Peter can watch it happen + learn and use, Arthur needs to get close and touch. A lot of abilities work from range and Peters range of learning abilities is larger then Arthur's. Trying to touch someone with the ability to turn into a nuclear weapon can be bad for ones health. - However, Arthur can't get abilities without taking them from others, thereby depriving himself of powered allies. Peter's ability let him get abilities from others without disabling them, making him more powerful without disabling those who had the abilities. He could have similar powers as his allies without having to disable the persons. He could also absorb the powers of his enemies without having to get close enough to touch them, which could be an issue. Arthur would have a hard time taking powers unless he could either gain the person's trust, disable him, or hold on to him long enough some other way. + Empathic mimicry is emotionally based, this could mean that Peter who can connect with people emotionally easily can copy abilities from a distance without stealing them, while Arthur who is shown to have a taker personality would take power forcibly. - If Arthur had empathic mimicry, his "targets" wouldn't be left powerless. + Like Matt Parkman has the same power as his father, Peter may have inherited his power from Arthur. + Matt Parkman's power changed and became more like his father's as he got better control over it. This same thing might happen to Peter, where not only can he just absorb abilities from others, but he can take them as well. - Peter's power is already better then Arthur's power. For starters, Peter doesn't have to kill to gain abilities. He can take people's powers without the evolved human even knowing Peter is taking their power. + Arthur doesn't need to kill to take an ability. Adam most likely died cause he no longer had his power to keep him young. Peter and Maya didn't die when had their power stolen.
Arthur Petrelli's ability is a synthetic one, not a natural one.	None.	+ In War Buddies, Arthur had no obvious powers, but it is clear as of Dying of the Light that he does. This means that either A) his power didn't manifest until he got to be pretty old, which seems fairly rare among people with natural abilities, or else B) his ability is synthetic. - Arthur could have already had his ability and not known it, or had manifested his ability after returning from the war. + As Angela revealed in Angels and Monsters, "[Arthur Petrelli] was disappointed that Nathan wasn't born with the genetic code" and that this was Arthur's justification for granting Nathan a synthetic ability. This implies a belief that a lack of abilities is a thing to be assiduously avoided, and it also implies that he does not discriminate between natural and synthetic abilities with regards to authenticity. + From what we've seen so far regarding abilities and their inheritance, it seems likely that the natural possession of an ability is a recessive trait. There is only one recorded case of a normal child born to two evolved parents (Penny Logan) and it is possible that Penny Logan simply never manifested, as she died at a fairly young age. Conversely, there is an overwhelmingly large number of cases of evolved children born to two normal parents. If the natural possession of an ability is recessive and Arthur Petrelli's ability was natural, Nathan could not have been born without a natural power. Children of two parents with the same recessive phenotype will ALWAYS have the same trait as their parents--Arthur and Angela could not have produced a normal child. - Genes don't work that simply always, like with height there is something like 6 genes governing it, abilities may have 12 genes or more governing it, considering human DNA is 90% junk space that doesn't do anything, its possible there could be any amount of genes controlling powers, not just one. Arthur having a natural ability would fit in with the theme that Sylar and Peter inherited the capability to take on many abilities from Arthur, where Nathan got flight as his ability wasn't inherited. Also, Angela tells Nathan when referring to giving him a synthetic ability, "we thought because of your lineage you could handle it, and obviously we were right" further suggesting that both Angela and Arthur had naturally occurring abilities. • If he injected himself, that could have changed his DNA structure enough that by the time Gabriel and Peter were conceived, the gene got passed down to them. Niki's abilities were synthetic, and that at least didn't adversely affect Micah, though we don't know if D.L.'s were natural or not. Claire had one parent with synthetic abilities too. • D.L.'s mother had a natural ability. D.L.'s was probably natural too--since Niki and D.L.'s relationship was a Company experiment, that makes sense, because they'd probably learn more from a union of a synthetic and a natural than from two synthetics. - Angela specifically says that Arthur was disappointed that Nathan didn't have an ability, despite his lineage, implying that both Angela and Arthur were born as evolved humans. The fact that Arthur had no ability in Vietnam can be explained simply by the fact that he had yet to steal any abilities from another evolved human; much like Peter, he had to realize that he wasn't special alone but need someone else with him to be special. + But he wasn't alone. He came into physical contact with Linderman several times, including once when he forcibly restrained Linderman during the attack on Au Co. The sheer level of emotional stress during the war should have been enough to cause his power to manifest, but nothing happened. + Also, at the end of War Buddies: Part 6, Arthur had been in intimate physical contact with Angela Petrelli since they were shown with children when Linderman showed up at his door. He didn't absorb her dreaming ability either. - Angela Petrelli could have been given her dreaming ability after Arthur was disabled, and Angela could have had another ability that Arthur took from her. - The formula that gives people powers was created by the Company, after its formation. Arthur Petrelli was one of the twelve founders of the Company and it has been stated several times that the founders were all individuals with special abilities. They found each other because of their abilities, meaning that for Arthur to have been found and become a founder, he would have had to have an ability before the formula was ever created. + Victoria Pratt didn't seem to have an ability. And if none of the Company founders were normal humans then where the heck did the "one of us, one of them" policy come from? - The policy possibly came from the fact that when twelve people with special abilities got together, they started to think they were gods. + Well yeah, exactly. And gods generally don't like to impose restrictions on themselves. Thus, some of the Founders were probably normal humans. - It is assumed all the Founders found each other and joined together through their powers. This means we assume Arthur had a power before the Company's founding - thus before synthetic powers were created. + That seems like a big thing to assume, especially since Linderman and Arthur found each other long before they knew Arthur had an ability. He also found Angela long before he exhibited any signs of an ability.
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. - That is pure speculation based on nothing. South-East Asia and Japan are two very geographically different places and there is also no reason for a man in the US military to have met a Japanese businessman. + The power of probability, which Kaito has in a deleted scene, 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 (which include some playing cards) are said to be big clues to plot points.
Angela didn't love Arthur.	None.	+ She cheated on him with Kaito. + When Angela discovered that he is, in fact, alive, her demeanor was one of surprise and fear, rather than any sort of relief or joy. - That's because the last time she saw him, she'd tried to kill him (and thought she'd succeeded). - On the contrary, Angela seemed to love Arthur very much. (Villains) + It is possible she fell out of love with him after she learned that he tried to kill their son.
Arthur Petrelli is Noah 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. • If Claire meets Arthur, she would recognize him as her adoptive grandfather.
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) + Previews for Angels and Monsters claimed that Arthur's been "pulling the strings" through the whole history of Heroes.
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 the President of the United States. - If this was true, then why would he want to kill Nathan in "Villains"? Wouldn't it have made more sense for him to just control him instead? Either that or he cannot control people with synthetic abilities, proving this wrong either way. + Nathan was a public figure, such a sudden change would raise questions. + 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 dreamt 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". However, he is to be captured, not killed like Peter. With a time controller, Arthur could correct his past mistakes and take over much sooner and easier, as well as avoid being put on life support. • Arthur's natural ability is not the ability to control evolved humans. However, it is possible that he has absorbed this ability from another source. - Adam had to be forced into touching Arthur so that he could take Adam's power. If he had control of evolved humans, he could have just told him to give him his power. + Arthur couldn't talk.
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 D.L.'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 have 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. • He might have learned how to only take a person's ability, seeing as how aura absorption usually kills the victim. - If Arthur wanted to get super powerful, then the logical option is to get a power that gets more powers. Like making a wish to have 1000 wishes. Making a Formula to give that specific power is not the case since its imperfect. It's too much of a coincidence that Arthur has this power naturally. Perhaps another evolved human with power transfer took power theft from another evolved human?
Arthur Petrelli now has "the hunger".	Arthur said, "You don't have your abilities anymore, Peter...because I have them now." : - Arthur (Dying of the Light) "You have the hunger. You're like me, brother..." : - Sylar (to Peter) (I Am Become Death)	- Chris Zatta says that he doesn't. - Peter did not have the hunger until Gabriel showed him how to use intuitive aptitude. + He may have the hunger but he can control it. Arthur showed to control newly acquired powers instantly (electricity, telekinesis). + Maybe he doesn't have Sylar's hunger but he might have one of his own. So far we haven't seem him take useless (like Mohinder's) or already owned abilities like Sylar's (since Peter already got them all). - Joe Pokaski & Aron Coleite say that he'll only get the hunger if he taps into intuitive aptitude, just like Peter did. - Arthur probably doesn't know he has this ability. + He did use powers Peter hadn't used in his presence.
The only way for Peter to regain his powers is if Sylar removes Arthur's brain and shows Peter how to take the ability.	None.	+ Sylar's ability allows him to see how things work, but has never been specifically stated to let him take abilities. Therefore, it is possible that with knowledge attainable only by a person with intuitive aptitude, an ordinary human being can take an evolved human's abilities. + From a story standpoint, it would be fitting for Sylar to give in to the hunger he has been fighting for most of the third season, but then use it to help others. - If Sylar helped Peter in this manner, it could mean Sylar would again be consumed by his hunger, effectively sacrificing his new self for his brother's sake. Sylar is unlikely to take action that would not necessarily be for the greater good; and although he might care for his brother, he doesn't appear to trust him at this point. - Peter is powerless at the moment, so even if Sylar "showed him" Arthur's brain, Peter would have no idea what to do with it, as he no longer possesses intuitive aptitude. Sylar would actually have to open up Peter's skull as well, to modify it "manually". But since Peter no longer possesses rapid cell regeneration, this process would likely kill him. + Sylar does not open his own skull to "add" an ability and he began gathering abilities for himself without having rapid cell regeneration. Thus, he could be able to copy his own or other people's abilities to other humans like his brother without killing them.
Nathan was born with an ability, but Arthur stole it, either knowingly or by accident.	None.	+ Angela said Nathan was born without an ability despite his lineage, yet Angela has been known to misrepresent the truth to control Nathan. + If Arthur unwillingly stole Nathan's powers, that would explain why he spearheaded Pinehearst to create synthetic abilities out of guilt and desire to fix what he did. - Arthur has demonstrated a distinct lack of remorse for everything he's done.
Arthur seeks to absorb/drain the abilities of every evolved human.	None.	+ He has absorbed Adam's ability when he could have just used his blood and used him as an asset. - He could have taken his ability as revenge. + Arthur likely desired a permanent cure for his disablement and didn't want to take a chance with Adam's blood. + He knew Peter had a lot of powers and likely wanted them all for himself. Although he wouldn't necessarily need a duplication power like empathic mimicry or a second copy of rapid cell regeneration, he may not have been able to choose to only take some abilities from Peter and not others. + Peter's power makes this much easier.
Arthur can return powers to those from whom he took them.	None.	+ He's keeping Peter alive. Without any powers, Peter would be useless to him. - Peter is Arthur's son so he may not want to dispose of Peter just because he no longer has any powers. - If Arthur could return those powers, he would not have had Mohinder inject him in the new version of the formula. + Arthur has not made physical contact with Peter since stealing his abilities. Also, he has security guards physically restrain Peter when Peter tries to escape the facility. Perhaps a second touch from one of Arthur's victims reverses the power transfer? + This might allow Peter to regain all of his abilities without Arthur dying, or it might kill Arthur if Peter takes both copies of rapid cell regeneration from him. - Peter asked him if his powers were gone forever and he said yes. - Chris Zatta says he can only return powers to people if he gets that power from someone else.
Arthur's powers will return to their original owners once he dies.	None.	+ This could be a way to restore Peter's and other people's abilities. - It may be more desirable for Peter to remain powerless so he can learn to use his mind again, and not just his abilities. + Peter may need his abilities again to prevent the future he saw from coming to pass.
Arthur will be killed by Angela and Company with the aid of the Haitian.	None.	+ The Haitian is really the only one that can stop Arthur as he seems he'd be the most experienced with abilities and cannot be touched, literally and in context because of his power blocking. - Arthur may have access to the Haitian's ability thanks to Peter's encounter with the Haitian in the exposed future. If so, Arthur may be immune to the Haitian's power blocking. + It seemed to have almost succeeded in Villains, reducing him to recover in hiding at Pinehearst.
Arthur Petrelli's power theft is a synthetic ability and he originally had a much simpler power.	None.	+ Angela implies that Arthur had some sort of power prior to Nathan's birth. + Nathan did not inherit the ability to copy powers, but Peter did. Perhaps Arthur did not give himself the ability until after he was satisfied with the results on Nathan. - Without other supers nearby, it's likely Arthur had no reason to believe he was different. - According to Mohinder, a person with one power cannot use the formula to gain another power. The formula takes the current genetic structure of the person and unlocks and manifests the powers hidden in that genetic code. A person can only have one power, unless their power is to gain other powers (such as Arthur, Sylar, and Peter). He could not have had one ability and then gained a synthetic ability. + The limitation is something Mohinder talks about in regards to his own formula, not the Company's. The Company may have found away around that and become capable of replicating other people's individual abilities. And if the Company had gained access to any of Linda Tavara's genetic material, it could be that Arthur obtained her ability synthetically.
Arthur used a mix of dream manipulation and persuasion to go into Angela's dream and paralyze her.	None.	+ It does appear like he used these two abilities - dream manipulation would allow him to go into Angela's dream and persuasion would make Angela do whatever he said and/or implied, thus "You won't even be able to move" would paralyze her. - Maury can easily do this with his power, too. - Molly Walker was placed into a coma, trapped in her head like Angela. This was done by Maury using no other power than telepathy.
Over time, Arthur will lose his stolen abilities and they will be returned to their owners.	None.	• It is unknown if Arthur's stolen abilities will last forever, maybe if he touches the people he stole the powers from again they will reacquire them. • In Eris Quod Sum, it could appear as though Arthur was attempting to avoid touching Peter. This might explain why. + Arthur seemed to hesitate when responding to Peter's query about whether or not his powers were gone forever. He could have lied when he said they were. (Eris Quod Sum) - Didn't seem like he was.
Arthur was lying to Sylar about Angela's attempt to drown him.	None.	+ Faking one's own death speaks poorly for one's trustworthiness. + Future Peter said that the creation of the formula led to the exposed future. Arthur told (present) Peter that he wants to prevent the exposed future. So why is Arthur doing the very thing (creating the formula) that helped bring said future about? + Arthur unsuccessfully tried to murder Nathan; Angela tried to poison Arthur to prevent him from trying again. Clearly, Angela has strong maternal instincts. - She may feel guilt over having tried to kill a son herself. + If Angela was truly trying to stop a killer, why would she have felt guilty about it? + Only Arthur has shown the willingness not only to kill his own son, but to kill anyone he sees as an impediment. • It is possible Angela did have a dream showing what Sylar would become, but she gave him up for adoption rather than drown him.
Arthur plans on giving everyone abilities (as seen in the future) so he can absorb them all.	None.	+ It would be the perfect plan for a villain to gain more power: give everyone abilities so he can take them all using his and Peter's powers combined to steal them from a distance. • In Eris Quod Sum, Arthur appeared to have knowledge of what Peter was talking about when Peter claimed that Arthur's plan was to give everyone abilities. • This could be because he absorbed Sylar's ability. • The writers say that Arthur has not activated Sylar's ability. - Arthur claims that this isn't what he wants. • Arthur is trying to create the formula that, according to Future Peter, led to the exposed future.
Arthur isn't an evil villain.	None.	+ It'd make for some twist. - Villains are evil by definition. + He removed Maya's power for her. - He probably just did this to gain power and allies. - He killed Maury only because he went against him. Maury was doing a heroic thing: defending his son. - He killed Adam because he needed his regeneration ability. - He made no effort to stop Sylar from attempting to kill Peter. + He could have been meaning to let Peter go and keep Sylar there. It could have been Arthur that used psychic powers to cushion the fall. - Arthur deduced that Sylar has empathy because Sylar saved Peter. - Perhaps waffles cushioned Peter's fall. - Arthur thinks he is better than everyone else. + It doesn't mean he's evil. - Those things tend to go hand-in-hand. - Arthur holds the threat of death over Daphne's head. + She's a cheating thief. - Since when is thievery punishable by death? Not to mention that she was stealing *on his orders*. - Arthur ordered Matt to be killed. + It was later seen with his conversation with Daphne that this wasn't the full plan. - Because Daphne talked him out of it. - Arthur seems to hold a strict "if you're not with me, you're against me" policy. - He put Angela in a coma. + She let other people like Bridget die, by letting Sylar loose. Maybe he wants to stop her evilness. - Arthur doesn't seem to have a problem using Sylar for his own ends. - He stole Peter's powers. + He could have foreseen what would happen with Peter having the hunger and potentially turning evil. - More likely, he didn't want Peter to interfere with his plans. - He calls his own team "the bad guys" and "villains." + He could have been sarcastic. - His tone was not one of sarcasm. - Promos for Dying of the Light and Angels and Monsters stated that Arthur is the leader of the villains. + This doesn't mean much. - On the contrary; why would the promos call him the leader of the villains if he's actually a hero? - Arthur has recruited Knox, who is evil. - Arthur has recruited Flint, who is evil. - Arthur likes Sylar the way he is; that is to say, a killer. + He could be recruiting all the villains together so they don't go killing others, and so he can have them all together to steal their powers and stop them from being a threat to society. - So Arthur's plan is to prevent villains from being a threat to society. Yet Arthur himself is a murderer. - Arthur killed Peter, Nathan, and Tracy in Angela's dream. + He wasn't shown to have killed anyone, except maybe Peter in self-defense. Peter was the one with blood on his hands. - Arthur had blood on his hands as well. - He was fully behind the New York plan, and wouldn't hesitate to kill his own son to protect himself. - To add, even Linderman had his reservations about his boss. - He killed Usutu. - Arthur removed 15 years worth of memory from Hiro's mind. - Hiro saw Arthur in his "villain-seeking" dream. - Even Nathan thinks Arthur is insane.
Arthur has adopted an "ubermensch" philosophy.	He is seen reading Nietzsche while waiting for Peter to wake up in Eris Quod Sum.	+ When Peter tells accuses Arthur of feeling superior to other people (even evolved humans), Arthur simply states that it is a "fact". + He demonstrated an early form of this philosophy in War Buddies.
The four villains in Angela's dream were meant to represent Arthur.	None.	+ Arthur has already killed two of the villains, Adam and Maury, and has both of their powers. If he kills Knox and either Tracy or Barbara at some point, he will, in a sense, represent all four villains. - The dream was most likely only a possible future that will no longer come to pass.
Arthur's power absorption effects people with artificial powers and genetic powers differently.	None.	+ Arthur killed Adam Monroe when he absorbed Monroe's cellular regeneration however, but when he took Maya and Peter's powers they were only shown to experience severe discomfort. - As far as it's known, Adam, Maya and Peter's abilities were all natural. - Adam Monroe died because once his power was taken from him, his body could not hold off the aging process and so he rapidly aged 400 years in a matter of seconds. Peter or Maya's abilities were not necessary to sustain their bodies. + Adam Monroe's power was rapid cellular regeneration, the regeneration was so fast and efficient the cells regenerated at the same rate as aging destroyed them, there was no build up of 400 years of aging that was suspended over him because his cells were dealing with the aging as it happened, if having his powers removed would kill him wouldn't the Haitian accidentally do it like as soon as they met? • Logically you are completely correct, but this is a fictional television show with writers that are human and make mistakes. It is impossible to determine what they were thinking. - The writers of Heroes are all superhumans with Amplified Intelligence. • Yes, it would seem that instead of aging quickly, when Adam lost his regeneration ability, he would have just ceased staying the same age, and begun aging at the normal rate of any other normal person. + Adam Monroe first showed signs of his power hundreds of years ago long before an artificial formula was created, Peter is a son of Arthur it is known that Arthur used the formula on Peter's older brother Nathan, Maya could have been artificially given powers when she was younger with Alejandro their past has as of yet not been shown in flashbacks. - Nothing hints at Maya and Peter's abilities being synthetic. • It seems highly coincidental that Peter's power would be similar to Arthur or Sylar without it being an inherent power.
Arthur absorbed Maury Parkman's powers before the beginning of the series, and over time Maury regenerated them.	None.	+ Maury was one of the company founders, so it stands to reason that he and Arthur came into contact many times prior to the series. So it is very possible that Arthur stole his powers from Maury. • This would mean that stolen powers do regenerate over time, since Maury had his powers in season two. - Arthur seems confident that his power absorption is permanent, yet he has been working with Maury again for an undisclosed amount of time, and obviously knows that Maury still knows that Maury still has his ability. + Maury could have regained his powers by using the formula.
Arthur has stolen dream manipulation from Sanjog Iyer.	None.	+ Arthur has entered Angela's dream, spoken to her and put her into a coma. He also did a similar thing to Matt Parkman, creating a dream-illusion of Daphne to attack Matt while he was inside Angela's dream. + Neither Matt nor Maury have been seen to be capable of using their telepathy at such great a distance (Arthur was in New Jersey, while Angela was in New York); suggesting that Arthur was not using telepathy during these circumstances. - Maury was able to use his telepathy on Molly Walker once she located him. Arthur used a similar connection to Angela when she dreamed of him. Arthur told Hiro "I understand you've been dreaming about me", so apparently he senses those dreams in much the same way that Maury sensed Molly locating him. + We haven't seen Sanjog in a while, and Pinehearst has been locating and capturing a lot of evolved humans lately. - There is no evidence that Arthur has ever heard of Sanjog, much less captured him.
Arthur is or was an empath.	None.	+ Peter and Sylar are both empaths and have abilities similar to Arthur. - Arthur's ability has nothing to do with emotions or understanding people. - Arthur said that Nathan was most like him and Nathan is not an empath. + The fact that Arthur, Peter, and Sylar all collect abilities from others didn't keep Arthur from saying this either. - Just because Sylar can acquire new abilities by understanding someone's emotions doesn't make him an empath. + He is now an empath, because he has stolen Peter's abilities, including empathic mimicry. However he was not an empath before that point, because he needed to kill Adam to take his power, instead of using empathic mimicry. - The limits, scope, and breadth of Arthur's ability are unclear at this time. He may be able to consciously activate and deactivate powers he has absorbed, such as empathic mimicry and intuitive aptitude. His own ability requires active concentration, but it is unknown if absorbed abilities require active concentration, as well.
The naturally powered Petrelli men (Arthur, Peter, and Gabriel) are empaths, though each has his own "version" of it.	The fact that Sylar had always been an empath, according to Arthur, and the fact that all three men have the ability to acquire the powers of others.	+ Perhaps his power is a branch of empathy, as are Peter's and Gabriel's/Sylar's. Peter's is the receptive type, Sylar's intuitive aptitude is the inquisitive type (learns), while his is somewhere in the middle. + His power involves accessing the particular emotions associated with the activation of powers (i.e. the emotion that Peter feels for Claire which allowed him to access her healing ability) and then "draw out" the power by drawing out the actual emotion used to activate it and not the actual power. + At first, he couldn't control this power and he began to sense all emotions around him and it started driving him insane. However, later on, he noticed that he could tap into specific emotions from the people around him and "draw power" from them to control himself. + Later on, he noticed that not only can he draw or absorb emotional strength from evolved people but also their powers. And when he accesses the correct emotion from evolved humans, he can draw the very power that they posses by detecting the emotional key of it and from there absorb all the energies associated with that emotion (but not the actual power). He was able to take Peter's power because it's emotional trigger is love. He may have all the powers Peter has acquired so far but he is yet to master which emotion (and memory) triggers which power. + He was able to take Maya's power since that is triggered by panic and rage. + And since Arthur, Sylar, and Peter's powers are all branches of empathy, they all have the same "potential" of leaning the powers of other people. This was why Sylar finally learned to "empathize" with Elle and gain her power. But, unlike Peter's, he has to "understand" the emotional key first before he could access it. + The reason why the evolved people from whom Arthur drew powers from are unable to access their powers is because they can no longer "feel" the association between their emotions and their powers. This thus leaves the illusion that they have lost their powers when in fact they only lost the ability to draw out their powers through emotions. - Some abilities are passive and not actually triggered by emotions or memories (i.e., Peter having amnesia and still somehow being able to use his powers, Claire's ability to heal). + They may seem passive, but each ability is actually triggered by an emotion. Peter's abilities during his amnesia are accessed whenever he's distressed/panicked. Claire may not be aware of it, but panic is a trigger of her powers and she may not be aware of it, but her body is still in a "sense of panic" so much so that it triggers the ability without her knowledge. - What about precognition or space-time manipulation? These powers were activated by accident and were not triggered by the same emotions that were used by the Heroes later on (i.e. Hiro was day dreaming when he teleported to New York and yet later on he has to focus to activate that same power; Isaac is often high when he accessed his powers early in the series). + Specific emotions are tied to specific powers. Perhaps Hiro was calm when he teleported to New York and his latter concentrations grant him this same level of calm in later applications (he cannot just teleport out of panic). Isaac's power may be triggered by euphoria. - Hiro couldn't have been calm when Hope was about to shoot him and Ando and still he accessed it. + On the contrary, he and Ando were "getting back together" and both have resigned each other to death which brings in calm... + Sometimes powers can run in the family such as Matt and Maury and Meredith and Flint. • It has been indicated that powers are tied to a person's emotions and triggered by a specific emotion. (i.e; Telekinesis is triggered by anger). When the triggered emotion is at the most powerful the person's ability has greater strength. Elle's lightning ability could be triggered by "panic and threat". She created an electrical outburst when she was threatened - Peter manifested this ability in the docks when he was about to be beat by one of the thugs and when he felt Caitlin being threatened. Hiro's space time-manipulation could be triggered by confidence - we can clearly see that when he lacks confidence his powers are weak or they simply do not work at all. Since Hiro believes he is 10 now - a child, usually is over-confident, thus why Hiro has greater control over his ability now when he was an "adult". The ability to phase through matter could be associated with calm - To phase through something is to pass through water which is a calm and soothing substance - Peter manifested this ability when he exhaled a breath in relief and calmness - releasing himself from being tied. - Brian didn't look angry when he displayed his ability, and Sylar is calm most of the times he is seen using Telekinesis. • The abilities are triggered by a specific emotion - once out the user doesn't have to feel that emotion in order to use it - But the ability would be at it's most powerful if the user feels the triggered emotion. Brian's telekinesis was really weak because he was nervous and feared something was wrong with him. "Powers are tied to emotions". Weak emotions shows weakened abilities - Strong emotions show stronger abilities, but in some cases it can be vice versa.
Authur has plans on stopping anyone that can see and try to prevent his version of the future.	None.	+ Arthur stole Peter's powers, which include space-time manipulation, precognition and precognitive dreaming. + Arthur put Angela in a coma. + Arthur killed Usutu. + Arthur tried to wipe Hiro's mind.