Exploding Man (painting)

Isaac Mendez painted a foreboding image of an exploding humanoid figure.

The Exploding Man or Burning Man is a painting by Isaac Mendez. It depicts a prophecy which has not yet been fulfilled.

In Homecoming, we first saw the picture, which Isaac painted at the end of Seven Minutes to Midnight. The painting depicts a humanoid figure who appears to be burning or exploding. Isaac painted this image after taking a dose of heroin, and he showed the characteristic signs of being in one of his precognitive trances, so the painting is almost certainly a prophecy of future events.

The image bears a disturbing resemblance to a dream that Peter Petrelli had when he collapsed at the end of Fallout. In that dream, Peter saw himself glowing and grimacing in pain or frustration, as if he were about to explode.

Exactly how this prophecy will be fulfilled, if it will be fulfilled, remains to be seen. The figure in the image may be related to the explosion foreseen in another of Isaac's paintings. The "burning man" may also be an image of Ted Sprague, who often emits radiation in an uncontrolled manner and has expressed a fear that he might explode like an atomic bomb if killed. Peter Petrelli mimics the powers of other evolved humans, so he might be the figure in the painting, duplicating Ted's radioactive abilities.

Note

The filename for the painting as it appeared as an Easter Egg in Graphic Novel:Fathers and Daughters was "Energy Man".

Gallery

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  Under Eden's coercion to retake drugs, Isaac paints the future.
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  Peter Petrelli has a vision of himself apparently about to explode.
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  Isaac painted a huge explosion in Midtown Manhattan on the floor of his studio.