Ability immunity

Ability immunity
The "rule of Ted" dictates that Ted cannot be harmed by his own ability.
Ability to:	Use one's own ability without being harmed

Many evolved humans demonstrate immunity to various effects of their own special abilities. Not all abilities come with such protection, however. Furthermore, immunity to the effects of one's own ability does not necessarily imply immunity to the effects of the same ability used by someone else.

Examples of Immunity

Acid secretion

Cushing generated an acid strong enough to eat through metal in seconds and burn flesh. His own hands, however, seemed no worse for wear. (Trust Issues, Part 1)

Appearance alteration

Connie Logan can change the appearance of others, but cannot use her powers on herself. (Assignment Tracker 2.0)

Chlorine gas exudation

Tina Ramierez is able to exhale chlorine gas as opposed to carbon dioxide. Even though the haze is frequently drifting from right in front of her mouth and nose, she appears unaffected by it, whereas her victims are knocked out. (Viewpoints)

Flight

Nathan is able to fly at apparently supersonic speeds without suffering any harm from friction with the atmosphere. Similarly, West is able to fly to altitudes of tens of thousands of feet without suffocating or freezing in the thin, cold atmosphere.

Freezing

Tracy can freeze people, even to the point of killing them (The Butterfly Effect), but when she activates her ability, no part of her body even lowers in temperature. (I Am Become Death)

Gravitational manipulation

Stephen Canfield is normally immune to the effects of his own vortices: when producing gravitational vacuums, he is generally not attracted towards them. He could, however, voluntarily cancel this immunity: he allowed one of his vortices consume him. (Angels and Monsters)

Induced radioactivity

Ted was never harmed by his own ability: while his wife was poisoned by his radiation (Seven Minutes to Midnight), he remained healthy. He is also immune to the powerful explosions and extreme levels of heat caused by his ability. Ted was the epicenter of explosions in the Bennets' home (Company Man), FBI Headquarters (Seven Minutes to Midnight), and in front of his cabin (How Do You Stop an Exploding Man?, Part 2). Though these explosion burned and killed many people nearby, Ted walked away virtually unharmed.

Peter and Sylar have also absorbed and used this ability. Unlike Ted, they both used the ability to create atomic bomb-sized explosions, but nonetheless neither of them ever had any lasting effects from it. Peter exploded above New York City (How to Stop an Exploding Man), but the radiation did not affect him (Four Months Ago...), though he also had rapid cell regeneration at that point. Also, in a possible future, Sylar caused a nuclear-scale explosion destroying most of Costa Verde, California (I Am Become Death). Sylar also had rapid cell regeneration, but his condition after the explosion was unknown.

Invisibility

When Claude and Peter become invisible, nobody else can see them. However, they can still see themselves and see each other. (Godsend)

Poison emission

Maya's poison kills others, but does not kill Maya herself. (Four Months Later...)

Pyrokinesis

Both Flint and Meredith appear unharmed by the fire and heat created by this ability. In fact, Meredith is even immune to the indirect effects of her ability, allowing her to breathe in a shipping container whose oxygen was consumed by her fire (One of Us, One of Them).

Sound manipulation

Both Echo and Jesse have severely hurt others with their powers--Echo even killed a man (Going Postal, Part 2)--but neither have ever been harmed by the destructive sounds they have made.

Space-time manipulation

When Hiro or Peter stop time, everybody and everything around them freezes. However, when one of them stops time in the other's presence, both continue to move normally and can interact with each other. In fact, this happens involuntarily. (Collision)

Super strength

When Niki Sanders -- or her alternate personality Jessica -- performs feats of superhuman strength, she does not injure herself, even though the force she applies would sometimes be sufficient to break her own bones. Similarly, Knox is able to punch through steel without hurting his own hand.

Telepathy

Matt tries to send thoughts into Peter's mind, but is unsuccessful when Peter starts using the same power to prevent it (Powerless). The ability to read the minds of people with the same ability can have different effects, and seems to be dependent on the level of control of those involved. In Fallout, Matt tried to read Peter's mind, and they each experienced a feedback, each reading the other's mind. In Fight or Flight, Matt tries to read Maury's mind, and they each experience a feedback, neither able to hear the other's thoughts. In The Second Coming, Matt tries to read Future Peter's mind, and is not only unable to, but experiences a feedback, whereas Future Peter seems to be completely unaffected.

Examples of Lack of Immunity

Power absorption

Arthur is able to steal his son's abilities, even though Peter was exposed to his father's ability first. (Dying of the Light)

Dehydration

Rollo Fusor's accomplice can be affected by her own ability. While she was able to normally touch herself, once she activated her power, Haram turned her hands towards her, dehydrating her until she died (Golden Handshake, Part 4). However, it has been noted that portions of the file that the Golden Handshake series is based on was falsified.

Laser emission

Eric Doyle specifically asks Michael whether he is immune to the lasers he generates. When he learns that Michael is not immune, Doyle proceeds to control his movements, murdering Michael by forcing him to shoot a laser at himself. (Doyle)

Lightning

Elle can create electrical currents; usually Elle is not affected by her lightning, but she has the potential to be harmed nonetheless. Most notably, this happens when she is in contact with water, making her unable to produce electricity without receiving part of her own electrical discharge (Cautionary Tales). Additionally, Elle is able to render Peter unconscious with her power, despite him having absorbed it. (Four Months Ago...)

Sound absorption

While an agent's ability allows him to absorb all sound waves directed at him, including even Echo's devastating sonic blasts, he is not immune to the adverse effects of is power, rendering him permanently deaf. (Going Postal)

Telekinesis

Sylar and Peter are susceptible to the effects of telekinesis, despite possessing the power.

Telepathy

Maury is able to trap his son in a nightmare using his ability, even though Matt has the same power, though Matt eventually uses this power to escape (Fight or Flight). Matt later uses their mutual power to escape another nightmare, leaving his father trapped in the dream. (Out of Time)

Notes

• While Ted, Peter, and Sylar are immune to their ability to generate radiation, Amid Halebi from the unaired pilot had severe radiation burns on his hands.

• Writers Aron Coleite and Joe Pokaski commented in an interview about the ability immunity demonstrated by some evolved humans, calling it the "rule of Ted", in reference to Ted Sprague's ability to be unharmed by the radiation he creates. The writers said "the oven can't be hurt by the heat".

• Immunity to the harmful side effects of flight may even apply to passengers, as Matt seems completely unaffected by flying with Nathan, despite travelling from New York to Texas in a short time. (Powerless)

• The level of immunity to telepathy seems to depend on the levels of control of those using it. In Fallout, Matt was still trying to understand and control his ability, and Peter wasn't even aware he had it. The result was a feedback for them both, and each hearing the other's thoughts. In Fight or Flight, when a more experienced Matt tries to read Maury's mind, they each experience a feedback, neither able to hear the other's thoughts. Maury had a very high level of control over his power. In The Second Coming, Matt's level of control has progressed greatly, but Future Peter has had four more years to perfect the power. This results in Matt not only failing to read Future Peter's thoughts, but experiencing a painful feedback, while Future Peter seems to be completely unaffected.

Evolved Human Abilities edit
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