Precognition

Precognition
Isaac paints in a prophetic trance.
Originally held by:	Isaac Mendez, Usutu
Absorbed by:	Peter Petrelli, Sylar
Ability to:	Accurately foresee future events
Examples of precognition

Precognition is the ability to accurately foresee future events.

Characters

Confirmed

• Isaac Mendez is the first character known to have this ability.
• Peter Petrelli has absorbed this ability. (Don't Look Back)
• Sylar has stolen this ability. (.07%)
• Usutu has this ability.

Unconfirmed

• According to NBC.com's interactive map, Byron Bevington possesses precognition. (Heroes Evolutions)
• According to Chandra's journal, a Brazilian teenager potentially had this ability. (Seven Minutes to Midnight)

Limits

Isaac Mendez

Isaac always made prophecies in the form of paintings or drawings.

When painting a prophetic image, Isaac entered a trance-like state and his eyes became completely white. He was largely unaware of his surroundings in this state. (He did not enter such a trance when making prophetic sketches.)

Isaac was able to depict the past, the present, and the future. The 9th Wonders! graphic novel that Isaac created (namely, Issue #14) contains events from both the present and future timelines (see here for more information). Additionally, at least one of his series of eight paintings depicts a scene from 1671.

Isaac was initially able to make prophetic images only under the influence of heroin. In Fallout, he overcame this limitation.

As of Distractions, Isaac could focus his precognitive powers. He made numerous paintings in an effort to locate Peter Petrelli, but he did not realize that all of them were accurate until he realized that Peter was invisible in them.

It is not known if all the works Isaac created were prophetic or not.

It seems that Isaac could only know the future by painting it because he had to look at the finished work. Peter seems not to make any mention of what he saw in the future, so painting the future is the only way to "record" what one sees. (Distractions)

The events depicted in prophetic images are not completely inevitable. Isaac painted a mural depicting the the explosion happening at ground level, and he and Peter later created several images depicting the destruction it caused. Thanks to the actions of several characters, the explosion occurred at a very high altitude, where it apparently did no damage to the city.

Peter Petrelli

Peter looks at a blank canvas and is able to see flashes of a painting from a distance. Once in front of the canvas, he appears to be locked into the precognitive trance until he finishes. (Fight or Flight)

Sylar

It is unknown if painting is the only way for Sylar manifest this power, as Sylar was shown receiving quick flashes of the future after being stabbed at Kirby Plaza.

Usutu

Usutu has this ability, but was able to correctly identify Matt Parkman (although as Park-Man) because he had foreseen it. This may show a greater control of his ability than Isaac, as Isaac could often not identify the people he painted. Also, while Issac's painting all focused on the path to a certain event - the explosion in New York City, Usutu's all focus on the life of Matt Parkman, showing several key events in his life.

Selected Examples

• 
  Isaac painted and sketched numerous prophetic images.
• 
  Peter has also created a few paintings and sketches.
• 
  Sylar, after killing Isaac, has created several paintings.

Memorable Quotes

"Look around you at all these paintings! Every one of them has come true."

- Isaac Mendez (to Simone Deveaux) (One Giant Leap)

"You think you can paint the future? Paint one without me in it."

- Simone Deveaux (to Isaac Mendez) (One Giant Leap)

"You really can paint the future, just like the professor said. Fantastic."

- Sylar (to Isaac Mendez) (.07%)

Notes

• In Distractions, Peter's eyes glazed over like Isaac's do when he entered a prophetic trance, and Peter again had visions of himself exploding. This was later confirmed to actually be a prophetic dream, an ability he had absorbed from Angela Petrelli. Why his eyes glazed over remains unknown.
• At times, Isaac has painted images of events that seem to be occurring in the present, not the future. However, he could easily be painting events in the near future that actually take place before he has time to finish the painting.

See Also

• For the similar ability to dream the future, please see precognitive dreaming.
• For the paintings created by this ability, please see Isaac's paintings, Peter's paintings, Sylar's paintings, or Usutu's paintings.

Fan Theories

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

Evolved Human Abilities edit
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