Theory:Ability theft

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The following fan theories are about power theft.

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Theories

Theory	Citations	Notes
Sylar is dying because he attained his powers unnaturally or because his power was fatal, and the only way he's staying alive is by consuming the brains of other evolved humans.	None.	- If Sylar were dying, he most likely would have died before Five Years Gone. - While it's possible that either Sylar's power or his acquired powers are damaging him in some way, there's no evidence to support such a conclusion. + It is confirmed that he is taking (but not necessarily eating) brains to absorb powers.
Sylar is suspected to have learned one or more of the following powers from his victims: concussive resistance or bullet-proof skin, super-jump, enhanced reflexes or flight.	After being hit by several of Matt's bullets, Sylar rises a minute later, almost "lifting" himself from the floor, seemingly unharmed. The sound of metal hitting to the floor is heard, as if Sylar was able to shield himself from the bullets. (One Giant Leap) Sylar escapes, possibly by leaping up the wall or flying. (One Giant Leap) Sylar is relatively unharmed after a fall which badly mangled Peter. (Homecoming) Sylar tells Eden that bullets can't harm him. (Fallout) Sylar seems to move faster than normal in getting to his feet and out the back door of the Bennet home. (Distractions)	- Sylar could have used his telekinesis to stop the bullets, lift himself up (giving the appearance of flight), and could have possibly protected himself from the fall with the same power. - In an interview, Aron Coleite and Joe Pokaski state that much of Sylar's apparent invulnerability is in fact merely his telekinesis. + Mr. Bennet confirmed that Sylar had more than one power. (Fallout) + On two occasions when Sylar was shot, he was apparently surprised; telekinesis wouldn't be very helpful then, but he still wasn't seriously hurt. - If Sylar already had powers of invulnerability (however limited), this would somewhat weaken the importance of Claire to his plans, which seems to have been a major plot point in the series thus far.
Sylar could have stolen the ability of shadow travel.	None.	+ In How to Stop an Exploding Man, Sylar was able to sneak up on Noah and Peter, even though they were in an open area. + In One Giant Leap, Matt corners Sylar, who disappears without the camera watching while it didn't sound like he jumped. It was dark on the floor and on the side of the building. + In Homecoming when Peter tells Claire to go find people, when he turns back, Sylar is right in front of him. When Peter was talking to Claire, they didn't behave as if Sylar were approaching, or else they would have indicated as such. Sylar could have crept through the shadows that were surrounding the bleachers. + Also in Homecoming, a strange shadow is seen flying quickly across the wall shortly before Claire and Jackie are attacked by Sylar. + Also in Unexpected, Dale asks Sylar why she didn't hear his footsteps. Sylar replies, "Because there weren't any." - This may be because Sylar was using his telekinesis to float or fly over the ground. + In Isaac's painting of Claire being chased up the stairs of the stadium, Sylar's shadow appears much larger than any normal projected shadow would be. - Telekinesis can, in theory, propel an individual similar (but limited) to flight, allowing for quick travel without touching the ground. + In all the dark areas he seems to move faster than normal. + If telekinesis propels Sylar in flight, Dale may have heard him traveling, although he would have been very quiet and her music may have cancelled out the sound. - Dale said that she didn't hear footsteps. However, in the scene, Sylar's heartbeat was audible and it was evident that Dale heard it the whole time. + It is possible that Sylar can stop his heart beating temporarily, as he fakes his own death. This, combined with whatever form of silent movement would probably have made him completely inaudible to Dale, who had her headphones playing loud music. + However, the scene doesn't necessarily show the time that Sylar took to appear, but simply the time that Dale noticed. It is possible that, since Sylar has some psychopathic and sociopathic tendencies, Sylar just waited until either he was ready or that Dale noticed he was there, possibly to show her the true reason his heart raced when he met her.
Sylar has a limited form of tissue regeneration as a side-effect of his ability.	At one point, Sylar is able to alter his physiology enough to fool Hank into thinking that he is dead. He then appears to recover from the condition. (The Fix)	- This would seem to be inconsistent with his strong desire to acquire Claire's ability. - It is also possible that he used a limited form of mind control to force Hank to tell Mr Bennet that he was dead, although this would also seem to inconsistent with his desire to acquire Eden's ability. - The visual significance of the cockroach in his cell suggests that he acquired his ability to "play dead" from said insect (see cockroach).
Sylar has the ability of hibernation.	Sylar is able to fool Hank into thinking that he is dead. (The Fix)	+ He is able to trick Hank, who is (apparently) a trained doctor; a comatose or catatonic state could easily be mistaken for death, even by a doctor. + Hibernation could also help to explain how Sylar recovers from his injuries, such as when he falls in Odessa or when Modinder runs a board into him in New York. - Sylar has the ability to freeze things. He could have simply frozen himself enough to stop his heart. • How would Sylar heat himself up again to "unfreeze" his heart?
Sylar doesn't actually have to kill to absorb new powers. Like Peter, he just needs to learn to access the powers in a new way. He has Claire’s power already, but doesn't know it, because of his strongly held beliefs about how he acquires powers.	None.	+ He survived his fall in Homecoming without significant injury. He was clinically dead and regenerated after they stopped giving him the tranquilizers that killed him. He was shot, yet managed to recover. - Sylar landed on Peter. He didn't have significant injury because Peter broke his fall. Sylar was even shown limping and Mr. Bennet said that he had lost a lot of blood. - Sylar may be hurt by gunshots, but his telekinesis lessens the damage. He healed like any normal person. - Writers Aron Coleite and Joe Pokaski have said that much of Sylar's apparent invulnerability is merely application of telekinesis and that if he had Claire's power, he would truly be unstoppable. This means that he does not have Claire's power.
Sylar's powers become weaker when he absorbs more powers.	None.	+ Sylar doesn't seem to notice his watch is stuck at 11:53. Later he may have fixed it but this could show that his powers are becoming weaker. - However, 11:53, the time that he killed Chandra Suresh, was after he had adopted the identity of Sylar. He had shed his role as a simple watchmaker to become something more. This is reinforced by the fact that the only time he fixes a clock after that point is at his mother's house, when pretending to be his old self and looking for her permission to just be normal. + In Unexpected, he is having trouble with headaches from his enhanced hearing. This could also be a sign that his powers are weakening or that he is simply going through the same process that Dale did as she learned to control her powers.
Sylar absorbs personalities as well as powers when he steals someone's powers.	None.	+ Sylar's internal monologue mirrors Charlie Andrews's way of talking as he is using her eidetic memory. (Road Kill) + After killing Zane Taylor, when pretending to be Zane and using Zane's power, Sylar seems to be much more nervous and excitable than usual. (Run!, Unexpected) • In the commentary for Unexpected, Zachary Quinto and Greg Beeman both comment upon the subtle clues in the lighting and acting that show Sylar "changing". - He was probably just doing this because he was pretending to be Zane, and wanted to convince Mohinder. + Mohinder had never met the real Zane, so Sylar would have no reason to act differently while pretending to be Zane. - Moninder talked to Zane on the phone. Sylar had no clue what Mohinder knew about Zane, so the safest bet would be to mimic Zane entirely.
Sylar won't be able to absorb Peter's powers.	None.	+ Sylar's method of power theft seems to depend entirely upon his ability to logically understand how that person's brain works through intuitive aptitude. Since Peter's power is based off of emotion, it is possible Sylar will not be able to figure out what makes Peter "tick". Peter's power-duplication ability relies on empathy. Because Sylar isn't at all empathic, he won't be able to use Peter's ability. Sylar doesn't have any feeling for others, so he won't be able to duplicate anything he might get through Peter's power anyway. - We have been given no evidence that Peter's ability is any less grounded in the brain than anybody else's. • Even if he does gain access to Peter's powers, he may not gain access to the other powers that Peter has absorbed.
Sylar obtains powers through the manipulation of transposons.	None.	+ Transposons have the ability to literally cut and paste genetic material, and are responsible for 40% of human evolution. If Sylar had worked out how to manipulate them it would allow him to cut the desired genetic material and paste it into his own genome.
Sylar does eat the brains in order to absorb the soul of the person.	Chandra told Sylar if "the human soul exists, scientifically speaking, it exists in the brain." (Six Months Ago)	- If Sylar is getting his powers by eating brains then a supernatural explanation would likely be needed, because eating brain matter itself would only add whatever nutrients/fats/etc. that were present in it to his own body, much like the meat of animals that people consume every day. - Sylar's method of acquiring a victim's power apparently doesn't take much time; when he kills Candace, he seems to expect to have her power within seconds of doing his deed. + Molly said that "[the boogeyman] sees into your soul, and then he eats your brain." (The Hard Part)" + Sylar's medical report showed that he has an abnormality in LDL (cholesterol levels) and triglyceride count (fats). The normal levels for an average person are <200 triglycerides and <30 LDL. He might have consumed such a large amount of fat and cholesterol by eating brains. • He could just like the taste of brains, a la Hannibal Lecter.
Sylar may not have mastered Charlie's power.	None.	+ Sylar picks up a post-it note with Isaac's name and phone number. However, he seems to remember Isaac's information only after reading the torn comic book page. • It is not confirmed how much of Isaac's information was on the post-it note. We only know that his name and phone number were on the note. Sylar knew the state because the note was on the New York part of the map. + Sylar got upset when Mohinder's list (on his laptop) was destroyed. - He may simply have not had a chance to read much of the list, if any at all, by the time it was destroyed. If he'd had plenty of time between freeing himself and Peter's arrival, he probably would have already killed and discarded Mohinder, as opposed to pinning him to the ceiling.
Sylar has the power of metabolic control	None.	+ Sylar has shown resistance to high doses of sedatives on at least two occasions. + Sylar has been able to mimic a death-like state at least once (The Fix) and possibly twice (How to Stop an Exploding Man) - This might not be a power, but rather something he has learned to do using his intuitive aptitude. There are examples in real life of people who have a high degree of control over their own body and its processes, so his intuitive aptitude power just lets him do that without years of training.
Sylar has absorbed the "powers" of a cockroach, allowing him to survive a radioactive explosion.	None.	+ Sylar pretends to be dead and cockroaches can slow their heart rate which would give the illusion of death. - He could have just frozen himself, an ability he already has. As for the ability to survive a radioactive explosion, Ted Sprague was immune to radiation, and Sylar has taken Ted's ability. It also seems that Peter (who also absorbed Ted's power) is immune to radiation, though this may be due to his power of healing.
Sylar may have a secondary ability to control his body or genetic structure in a similar way to Peter Petrelli.	None	+ Sylar holds Peter up telekinetically and states "You're like me aren't you?" and says he'd love to see that work. • Sylar could simply have meant that Peter can take powers as well. + Sylar pretends to be dead after watching a cockroach crawl on the floor. Cockroaches slow their heart rate, just as Sylar seemingly did to fool Hank into thinking he was dead. + Possibly if he has a secondary ability to control his genetic structure, he may have to use his intuitive aptitude first to see how things work with a certain power. Taking the cue from Dr. Chandra Suresh that everything stems from the brain, he learned to read brains from a book and then used his secondary ability to alter himself to fit it. - Noah Bennet said that all the evolved humans with whom the Company has come in contact have only had one power each. (Fallout)
Sylar does not use telekinesis to slice open his victims' heads, but rather an unidentified power stolen from someone else.	None.	+ When Sylar is slicing flesh, a sound effect similar to an electric can opener is heard. Telekinesis is not shown with an associated sound effect at any other times in the show. - Ripping bone from the skull must not be a quiet operation. - Drilling noises may be for dramatic effect only. • The crew of the show have already stated that they use sound effects for a "coolness effect" (e.g. Sylar's creepy voice).
Anyone can perform power theft by eating the brain of an evolved human, Sylar's intuitive aptitude merely allows him to realize that power theft is possible.	None.	+ No one else besides Sylar has eaten the brain of an evolved human (assuming he actually does eat the brains), so there is no indication that a special ability is required to "digest" someone's power - This makes no scientific sense whatsoever. • Many of the phenomena seen on the show make no sense according to real-world science.