Peter Petrelli

Peter Petrelli
Portrayed by	Milo Ventimiglia
First appearance	Genesis
In-story stats
Known abilities	Empathic mimicry Known abilities mimicked: Precognitive dreaming, Flight, Precognition, Rapid cell regeneration, Telepathy, Invisibility, Telekinesis, Space-time manipulation, Induced radioactivity, Super strength, Lightning, Phasing, Pyrokinesis, Intuitive aptitude, Super speed
Nicknames	Pete, Petey
Gender
Age	27
Date of birth	December 23, 1979
Home	New York, NY
Residence	Peter Petrelli's apartment
Occupations	former home hospice nurse, former mobster
Significant others	formerly Simone Deveaux (deceased), Caitlin
Parents	Angela Petrelli, Arthur Petrelli
Siblings	Nathan Petrelli, Sylar
Other relatives	Niece: Claire Bennet Nephews: Simon Petrelli, Monty Petrelli

Peter Petrelli is the youngest son of Arthur and Angela Petrelli, a brother of Nathan and Sylar, and worked as a common hospice nurse caring for Charles Deveaux while living in New York City. Peter appeared to his family as a witless dreamer, who believed he had a greater place in life than just saving one life at a time. He discovered he was an evolved human who had the ability to absorb and use the powers of other evolved humans. Peter has since decided to use his abilities to save the world.

Character History

Season One

For an episode-by-episode summary, see Peter Petrelli: Season One History.

Peter Petrelli is a hospice nurse who keeps having amazing dreams that he can fly. Later, he stands on top of a building, throws himself off, and is met by his brother Nathan, who can also fly. Peter eventually learns that his power is actually the ability to absorb the powers of those he meets. Peter visits Mohinder Suresh, looking for the author of Activating Evolution. While Peter and Mohinder are on a subway train, time freezes, and Peter has a visit from a Japanese man, who tells him that Peter must "save the cheerleader, save the world".

When he meets Isaac Mendez, Peter finished a painting depicting a dead and mutilated cheerleader. Peter realizes he must save this girl, and upon seeing another painting, heads to a homecoming, in Odessa, TX. There, he meets Claire Bennet, and manages to stop her from being killed by a mysterious stranger. He falls off a building and breaks several bones, although he quickly regenerates, mimicking Claire's power.

Outside the sheriff's department, Peter collapses and has a vision of himself bursting into red flames and exploding in the middle of the city. Peter meets the invisible Claude Rains, who helps Peter discover that he can access the powers he has absorbed by thinking of the person from whom he absorbed the ability.

Later, Peter visits Isaac's loft again, and confronts the painter about his association with Mr. Bennet. A fight ensues, and Simone is accidentally shot. Then, Peter visits Mohinder's apartment, but is confronted by Sylar, who begins to cut off the top of Peter's head. However, Peter heals his wound, fights Sylar, and dies when struck with a shard of glass in his brain. He revives when Claire removes the shard. At Kirby Plaza, Peter absorbs Ted's power, and has difficulty controlling it. Peter has a final confrontation with Sylar. They trade blows, and Peter's hands begin to glow dangerously. He tells Claire to shoot him, but Nathan appears, picks up his brother, and flies away into the sky where Peter explodes.

Season Two

For an episode-by-episode summary, see Peter Petrelli: Season Two History.

At a shipping yard in Cork, Ireland, Ricky, Tuko, and Will search for a shipping container for iPods, but find a half-naked Peter handcuffed inside the empty container who can't remember anything. When attacked, he shocks Tuko and looks completely suprised. The men tie up Peter in a pub, where he later heals from cuts, escapes through ropes, and disarms a man who attacks Caitlin, Ricky's sister. When Ricky later asks Peter about helping them on a job, he tells Peter his name and offers a box of Peter's belongings as a reward. After using him ability to help Ricky, Will betrays Ricky and shoots Peter. Peter, however, heals himself and chokes Will before letting him go. Ricky thanks him and accepts him as family. He gives Peter the box, but Peter doesn't open it, and instead hopes for a new future with Caitlin.

A woman asks about Peter at the docks, and Ricky tells Peter to stay with Caitlin at her flat. While there, Peter finds in the box his passport, a plane ticket to Montreal, and a picture of himself and a man. Peter sees a blank canvas, then starts painting a picture. When he finishes, Peter sees a painting of himself and Caitlin in Montreal. Caitlin receives a phone call, and the two find Ricky killed, and Peter decides the two needs to go to Montreal. They find a warehouse at the intersection Peter painted, and the two find a note from Adam written to Peter. Peter hugs Caitlin, and is suddenly teleported in the future. While there, Peter learns that a virus killed 97% of the human race. Before he can save Caitlin, he teleports back to present time, and meets Adam.

Adam helps Peter remember the things he forgot using regeneration. Peter remembers everything, including the night of the explosion. He remembers saving Nathan after exploding, bringing him to a hospital, where he is captured by Elle and Bob. Peter was brought in by the Company so he can't hurt anyone. They give him ability negation pills so he cannot use his ability. He is put in a cell next to Adam's cell, where the two decide to escape to help save Nathan. After Adam gives Nathan some of his blood, the two try to get to Montreal, but are met by Elle and the Haitian. They separate, and the Haitian forces Peter into a container in a shipping yard. He takes his memory and leaves him. After remembering everything, Adam and Peter decide to save the world.

Peter and Adam go to see Victoria Pratt, who was a founder and knows about the virus. Peter goes in alone, and tries to get information from her. After Peter leaves, Victoria comes out of the house and shoots Peter and before she shoots Adam, Peter knocks her out. They find out that the virus is at Primatech Paper, then Adam kills Victoria. When the two arrive at Primatech, time suddenly stops, and Hiro appears. Hiro tells Peter he must kill Adam, but Peter prevents it, knocking out Hiro by shocking him. Time unfreezes, and the two make their way to the Company vault. Peter rips the door off the vault, but Hiro teleports to stop them. Peter begins to choke Hiro with telekinesis, but Matt appears and makes him stop chocking Hiro. Peter stops Matt then throws him back. Nathan comes and tells Peter that Adam is trying to release the virus, and he's using Peter. When the three run to the vault, Adam and Hiro are gone, and Peter catches the vial of the virus. He destroys the vial, then Nathan suggests that they stop the Company. A press conference is setup, and as Peter stands next to Nathan, an assassin shoots Nathan, where he falls into Peter's arms.

The Second Coming

Immediately after Nathan is shot, Peter pursues his future self, who shot Nathan. Peter chases him into a bathroom, where his future self somehow transfers the present-day Peter's consciousness into the body of Jesse Murphy, a prisoner held in Level 5.

The Butterfly Effect

Peter, imprisoned in Murphy's body, witnesses Sylar's confrontation with Noah and Elle, and is released from his cell when Elle knocks Sylar out and disables the electric grid. Peter tries to wake Elle and tell her who he is, but Knox, unaware of Murphy's true nature, grabs him and escapes with the other prisoners. Later, at a gas station, Flint and the German have "fun" with the patrons. Peter tries to tell Nathan about his situation on a payphone, but Knox interrupts him, so that the villains can make their getaway.

One of Us, One of Them

Worried that the escapees will cause further harm, Peter goes along with them as they rob a bank. After stopping Flint from abusing a hostage who tried to trigger an alarm, Knox notices 'Murphy' acting out character and catches Peter out with a trick question. Later, when Noah is sent in, in exchange for the release of the hostages, Peter pleads with Knox not to hurt anyone and to walk away, which Knox refuses. Peter then manages to use Murphy's ability of sound manipulation to knock Flint out, and to knock Knox and Noah over, when his future self stops time and releases him from Murphy's body. After arguing with Future Peter, they both travel to the future.

I Am Become Death

After arriving four years into the future with Future Peter, Peter finds that any normal person has access to abilities, ranging from flight and super speed to causing earthquakes. While they are talking, Future Peter gets shot dead by Claire. After learning that these powers will cause the world to be destroyed, he visits Mohinder, but learns that Mohinder has been horribly disfigured by the effects of the formula. After visiting Sylar, who at this time has a son, Noah, he gains the ability of intuitive aptitude by fixing a watch. Peter learns that Sylar is his brother and then they are attacked by Claire, Knox, and Daphne. In the midst of fighting, Knox causes Sylar to crash into his own son, killing him instantly. At his son's death, Sylar becomes enraged and remorseful, causing him to lose control and blow up all of Costa Verde in a nuclear explosion. Peter is then captured by Claire who tortures him until Nathan, now the President, walks in and commands her to stop what she is doing. He tells Peter that he knows what has happened, and apologizes. A side effect of Sylar's intuitive aptitude takes hold of Peter, and he begins to scalp Nathan. He stops in the middle, but it's too late: Nathan is dead.

Angels and Monsters

Peter teleports back to the present, and tells Sylar what has happened and what is going to happen. Sylar tells him that he is just like him, but Peter refuses to believe it, and breaks Sylar's neck before confronting Angela about the secrets she has kept from him. When Angela refuses to explain what else she is hiding, Peter starts cutting into her skull before Sylar regenerates and knocks him out. Angela and Nathan later sit over Peter, who is lying inside a Level 5 cell after being placed in a medically-induced coma.

Evolved Human Abilities

Much mystery surrounded Peter's status and abilities, or lack thereof, early in the series. While every main character was said outright to have a power in press releases, Peter was simply billed as "trying to convince his brother he can fly". Later, after his brother flew, Peter himself displayed the ability to levitate not long afterward (Don't Look Back). Peter is actually an empathic mimic who duplicates the powers of others. His crude levitation sketch shows that he gained Isaac's ability to draw the future, but without needing to be induced by drugs (Don't Look Back). Later, Peter visits Isaac and finishes Isaac's painting without the aid of heroin or any other drug (Hiros).

Early on, Peter's duplicated powers typically only lasted while the person he was mimicking was nearby. He was unable to fly when not in the presence of Nathan, and he became visible when Claude walked away from him, but he was still able to use Isaac's precognition the day after he met him (Don't Look Back). In Distractions, he duplicated Claire's power of regeneration, even though he had not been near her for weeks; this was the first time he ever consciously "recalled" a mimicked power.

While Peter's crude stick figure drawings originally seemed to indicate that he could duplicate only someone's powers, and not their skills, the painting he completed at Isaac's studio seems fairly well done (though not of the same style). This could indicate that his ability is maturing and developing, much like the others with powers.

After Peter first discovered his powers, he generally used one power at any given time. As he gained greater control over his ability, Peter demonstrated that he was able to access multiple powers at once.

Powers Mimicked

Prior to having his power stolen by Arthur Petrelli, Peter was able to duplicate the abilities of other evolved humans; after he acquired the ability, he did not need to be in the person's presence. To date, Peter had conclusively duplicated the abilities of:

• Precognitive dreaming (Genesis) from Angela Petrelli (The Second Coming)
• Flight from Nathan Petrelli (Genesis)
• Precognition (Don't Look Back) from Isaac Mendez (Genesis)
• Rapid cell regeneration from Claire Bennet (Homecoming)
• Telepathy from Matt Parkman (Fallout)
• Invisibility from Claude Rains (Godsend)
• Telekinesis (Unexpected) from Sylar (Homecoming)
• Space-time manipulation (Unexpected) from Future Hiro (Collision)
• Induced radioactivity from Ted Sprague (The Hard Part)
• Enhanced strength from Niki Sanders (How to Stop an Exploding Man)
• Phasing (Four Months Ago...) from D.L. Hawkins (How to Stop an Exploding Man)
• Electric manipulation (Four Months Later...) from Elle Bishop (Four Months Ago...)
• Pyrokinesis (I Am Become Death) from Flint (One of Us, One of Them)
• Intuitive aptitude (I Am Become Death) from Sylar (Homecoming)
• Super speed (I Am Become Death) from Daphne Millbrook (Our Lady of Blessed Acceleration)

Powers Exposed

Other evolved humans had been within Peter's proximity, exposing him to their abilities. However, Peter never exhibited these abilities:

• Daniel Linderman's Healing (Villains)
• Arthur Petrelli's Ability absorption (Villains)
• Eden McCain's Persuasion (Collision)
• Sylar's Freezing (Homecoming)
• Sylar's Shattering (Homecoming)
• René's Mental manipulation (Unexpected)
• Sylar's Melting (Parasite)
• Sylar's Enhanced hearing (Parasite)
• Molly Walker's Clairvoyance (How to Stop an Exploding Man)
• Micah Sanders's Technopathy (How to Stop an Exploding Man)
• Bob Bishop's Alchemy (Four Months Ago...)
• Jesse Murphy's Sound manipulation (One of Us, One of Them)
• Future Mohinder's Enhanced strength and senses (I Am Become Death)
• Future Gabriel's Clairsentience (I Am Become Death)

In the original timeline, Peter was exposed to Sylar's enhanced memory. (Homecoming) However, Hiro Nakamura went back in time, preventing Sylar from obtaining it in the first place. (Once Upon a Time in Texas)

Equipment

Formerly

• Activating Evolution--Chandra Suresh's book detailing the emergence of extraordinary abilities
• Paintings -- Drawn after absorbing Isaac's precognition
• A pendant of the symbol.
• A box containing some of his possessions.

Currently

Memorable Quotes

"I've been up here all night thinking about this, thinking about my destiny."

"What are you doing, Pete?"

"It's my turn to be somebody now, Nathan!"

- Peter, Nathan (Genesis)

"Saving you ...did I save the world?"

"I don't know, I'm just a cheerleader."

- Peter, Claire (Homecoming)

"Charles Darwin bred pigeons when he was working out his theory of evolution--married up various permutations to get maximum potential."

"What do you mean by that, 'maximum potential'?"

"I think he meant you, friend."

- Claude, Peter (Unexpected)

"Haven't I killed you before?"

"Didn't take."

- Sylar, Peter (How to Stop an Exploding Man)

Notes

• Milo Ventimiglia (Peter Petrelli), in a behind-the-scenes video, reveals that Peter passes out at the end of Fallout because he is overwhelmed by all of the abilities he has been absorbing.
• Nathan Petrelli is Claire's biological father (Distractions), which would make Peter her uncle. Despite their many interactions, Peter was unaware of his connection to Claire, according to his mother, Angela (.07%).
• According to Joe Pokaski, Peter has the ability to recall all of the powers of those he has been in contact with.
• On one of the covers of Entertainment Weekly's May 11th, 2007 issue (#933, cover 3 of 5), Peter is shown to be exhibiting pyrokinesis, although, at the time, Peter did not meet any evolved humans known to possess pyrokinesis. He does, however, seem to exhibit the ability at the end of Five Years Gone and in Walls, Part 2. This may be a continuity error on the part of Entertainment Weekly.

Trivia

• In an interview, Tim Sale said, "Peter's [likeness] is kind of easier to caricature because he's got that silly hair and that kind of knife-like face."
• Both his first name and last name, Peter and Petrelli, come from the Latin term petra meaning "rock".
• In an interview, Jason La Padura said that Peter and Nathan were originally written to be twins.
• According to the official site for the Season One DVD, Peter's AIM screen name is ppetrelli07.
• In the commentary for .07%, Andrew Chambliss says that Tim Kring's early drafts of the pilot call Peter "Harrison", "Ethan", and other names. His last name was Cambell, and he was supposed to be in his mid-30s.
• The style of a floppy angular fringe hairstyle has been named a Petrelli.

See Also

• For Peter Petrelli's history in the "explosion future", see Peter Petrelli (explosion future).
• For Peter Petrelli's history in the "exposed future", see Peter Petrelli (exposed future).
• For images of Peter, see Images of Peter Petrelli.
• For articles related to Peter, see Related Articles:Peter.
• For other members of the Petrelli family, see Petrelli (disambig).
• For other uses of Peter, see Peter (disambig).

Fan Theories

Please refer to Theory:Peter Petrelli for fan-created theories and other speculation.