Theory:Peter's scar

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The following fan theories are about Peter's scar.

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Theories

Theory	Citations	Notes
Sylar will get jealous of Peter's power and will try to remove his brain, but the attempt will be stopped by the other characters, leaving Peter with a horizontal scar along his forehead.	When future Hiro meets Peter, his eyes travel upward. (Collision) Most of Sylar's victims have had their skulls cut open by an incision on their forehead so Sylar could remove their brains. (Don't Look Back, Seven Minutes to Midnight, Homecoming)	+ It can be assumed that a man would look very different with a scar along the entire length of his forehead, and Sylar has met Peter and may have an intuitive understanding of his power. - Sylar has already attempted this, and Peter healed himself almost immediately. If he is still destined to acquire a permanent scar, then some explanation will have to be given as to why he didn't heal it. For example, he may keep the scar as an emotional reminder of what he has lost. - Future Peter's scar was shown in Five Years Gone, and was inconsistent with Sylar's brain-removal techniques.
Either Claire will die, or Peter will never see her again after he gets his scar.	None.	- While wounds healed by Claire's power leave no scars, there's no reason to assume that a scar from a wound Peter healed normally would disappear if he encountered her later. - Peter is able to heal outside Claire's presence. (Distractions) - In the timeline in which Claire was saved but the explosion still occurred, Peter still had the scar, despite having met Claire and learned her power. - After Ted died, Peter was still able to recall his power.
Peter will get the scar from exploding.	None.	• The heat of a nuclear explosion should at least be able to cauterize an existing injury, thus allowing it to become a scar before it regenerates, though the actual injury may have been caused by something different. + The Haitian once told Claire that The Company could do things to her that "even she couldn't recover from." It is possible that blowing someone up with a nuclear explosion might fall under that category. - Ted Sprague also exploded, but showed no signs of wounds. - Peter has the ability to regenerate, meaning he would not scar. - Peter does not have the scar when he is found in the shipping container four months after he exploded.
The scarred Peter never met Claire Bennet nor saved her, and therefore does not have her powers. The scar is not from the explosion but rather from the battle in which the explosion took place.	Peter never mentions the cheerleader.(Five Years Gone)	+ Sylar indicates he waited a long time to get ahold of Claire before he took her brain. + He is never shown healing himself.
Peter will no longer get the scar.	None.	+ Future Hiro changed the future by going back and telling Peter about saving Claire which only changed the future of that timeline and not his, creating an alternate dimension, kind of like Future Trunks in DBZ. + It's possible that Peter received the scar in the timeline in which Claire was not saved, and will not receive the scar in this timeline since damage healed with Claire's power seems to leave no scar. • This would create a causality paradox for Future Hiro: he'd have no reason to return to the past to warn Peter. • Peter got the scar in a version of the future where he could not regenerate, in an "ideal" future (without the Sylar problem) Peter would have no scar, but in Five Years Gone, Hiro visited a mixture of different possible futures, where Claire is still alive (for a while) and Peter still has he scar. - Present-day Hiro believes he cannot change the past because he was unable to save Charlie from her death. If he is correct, then Future Hiro may have come from a future in which Claire was already saved. Alternately, because Hiro knows that his past self returned, and knows what he told Peter, he may go back in time at some point in the future to ensure that the timeline is not compromised. This would not involve a paradox, but would be an example of an Ontological Paradox; but as such a paradox involves no inherent contradiction, it would still result in a consistent timeline. - In the future, Future Peter has a scar, despite Future Hiro traveling back in time and Peter saving Claire. • He may have decided to keep the scar for sentimental reasons, for example if he obtained it while trying to defend Nathan (or Micah, if he'd already encountered Niki).
Peter will get the scar from Hiro.	None	+ Peter will meet Candice, where he gets her power. For some reason, he takes the form of Sylar. Hiro sees Peter, and, thinking it's Sylar, slices Peter across the face. Because it is a special sword, Claire's power can't fully heal Peter. - Future Hiro tells present-day Hiro that he tried to kill Sylar, but the wound regenerated. + Peter's scar is the shape of a line, just the shape a sword slash would leave.
Peter will get the scar in the presence of the Haitian.	None.	The Haitian can suppress at least some powers, so if Peter was wounded in his presence and the scar formed, cell regeneration would not heal an existing scar.
Peter's scar is the mirror image of a scar Linderman has.	None.	+ Linderman has a faint scar that is most visible when pausing episodes, most notably .07%. - The scar mirror images could be irrelevant, as the scar could be actor Malcolm McDowell's and not the character's.
Peter will get his scar during his time with amnesia.	None	+ Peter's abilities center around his memories of others with abilities. With no memory of his past, Peter would no longer remember Claire, thus forgetting about his regenerating ability. - When Caitlin appears to clean the blood off Peter's face, she tells him that he has no cut. • He unleashes a blast of electrical energy when he's found in the shipping crate, despite not knowing how he received the ability. • He uses phasing to get out his bonds. • He later saves Caitlin by unleashing the electrical energy to knock out the first thug, pushes the shotgun off the other's hands with telekinesis, and punches him strong enough to send him flying to a wall with enhanced strength.