Theory:Hooded killer

Main Article Theories about the hooded killer Main Discussion

The following fan theories are about the hooded killer.

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Theories

Theory	Citations	Notes
The killer is West.	Det. Fuller suggests that one way the killer escaped is that he/she flew from the roof of a building. (Lizards)	+ They share similar physiques, have a fondness for sweatshirts, and lead mysterious lives. + West has the ability to fly. The killer was somehow able to escape falling 30 stories. - West is but a teen, and the killer's history appears to be much older. + The fact that Kaito recognized the killer does not mean that the killer is as old as him. - West would have to have flown from California to New York in a very short amount of time. • West may be able to fly at supersonic speeds like Nathan can.
The killer is Takezo Kensei	Det. Fuller suggests that one way the killer escaped is that he/she fell off a building and walked away. (Lizards) Claire jumped from a building and walked away. (How to Stop an Exploding Man)	+ Takezo can heal, like Claire, thus would be able to walk away from the fall. - It is highly unlikely that Takezo Kensei is alive in the present. • Takezo Kensei's healing abilities may keep him youthful like X-Men's Wolverine. + Takezo Kensei could have traveled to the present with Hiro. This course of events is hinted at in the 5th part of the documentary created by the Yamagato Fellowship. + Kaito recognized the person and stated that he never expected it to be him. Kaito is a great follower of Kensei. + The painting with a dead Noah Bennet shows Claire hugging someone. Kensei may want to marry Claire as she has the same powers as he and thus maybe able to live forever. Kensei may have founded the Company to identify someone with his powers so he can have a companion. + Takezo is the first person currently known to use the single helix as his personal symbol.
The killer is Claude Rains	None	+ Claude has an association with the Company. - Why would Claude stay visible while attacking Kaito? - Claude would not be able to escape from the fall. Even if he was willing or forced to commit suicide, invisible people become visible after they die (.07%), so his body would have been seen on the street. + Falling people saving themselves by grabbing a ledge or other protrusion after disappearing from view is a time-honored action-scene cliche dating back to Arthur Conan Doyle (or before), and requires no powers. Invisibility would allow Claude to make an easy getaway after that.
The killer is Nathan Petrelli	None	+ Nathan bumps into Ando on the street just before Ando hands Kaito the newspaper with the marked picture inside. Nathan could have put the picture in the paper. + Nathan has the ability to fly, which could explain how the killer escaped unseen. + Angela Petrelli received a similar death threat moments after Nathan called her evil. She found the picture outside Peter's apartment, where Nathan had entered moments before. - It seems unlikely that Nathan would threaten to kill his own mother, even if he did call her "evil" in a drunken rage. - Kaito seemed to recognize the killer as a member of the group to which he belonged. - At the time of Angela Petrelli's attempted murder in Lizards, Nathan was outside the interrogation room talking to Matt Parkman - Nathan's copy of the group picture is clearly not cut up like the death threats. • He could have easily made a copy of the photo to tear up and give to his victims.
The killer is Jessica or Niki Sanders	None	+ She may be killing off former members of the Company as revenge for nearly killing her (sister), her husband, and son. + Her strength and agility would likely allow her to survive the fall and escape unharmed before Ando noticed. - It is highly unlikely she was involved in the Angela incident. + D.L. may be assisting her, and could phase in and out of the police station. - D.L. is deceased. + Kaito may have been familiar with Jessica/Niki from Linderman's surveillance.
The killer is D.L. Hawkins	None	+ D.L. may have "crossed the line" with the killing of Linderman, and is destroying the Company one senior official at a time. + D.L. may have used his phasing ability somehow to survive the fall. :- It is hard to imagine how he could have survived a 30 story fall with phasing. + Kaito may have been familiar with D.L. from Linderman's surveillance. - D.L. was badly injured in his last appearance, and it is hard to imagine him making a full recovery in four months. - In Kindred, Niki Sanders visits a grave with D.L.'s name on it. + He has the ability to get in and out of a police station and not get caught. + This could explain why Linderman was tracking D.L.'s and Niki's lives. - D.L. died from his wounds (Kindred) + If you don't see a body, they're not dead.
The killer has the ability to reverse the powers of others, negating them in the process.	None	+ A similar death to Kaito Nakamura's seems to await Angela Petrelli in Lizards, where her mind is engulfed by a mental-based attack - not long after she tells Matt Parkman to 'get out of her head'. Matt does not seem to be able to use his powers in this case, though no evidence suggests that he tried.
The killer is Angela Petrelli.	None	+ She was in the immediate area shortly before murder. + She would know the significance of the symbol. + May have faked the attack upon herself to throw the trail off, as well as possible manipulation of Nathan. - The killer appeared to be male, and athletic, so this would involve numerous previously unsuspected powers.
The killer is Mr. Petrelli.	None	+ Angela confirmed that she recognized the symbol as her husband's Law Firm. + Angela stated that she had a sexual relationship with Kaito, so it make sense that Mr. Petrelli will be interested in the death of his cheating wife and her lover. - Angela may have had her relationship with Kaito before marrying Mr. Petrelli. + Mr. Petrelli was connected to the elder group of evolved humans, so he might have powers. Those powers might served him to escape from that fall from the rooftop. + Despite the fact that Mr. Petrelli committed suicide, he may had faked a suicide or someone tried to kill him that day, and had a mistake while he confirmed his death. so the suicide was a cover to a murder. - Mr. Petrelli is presumed dead by all members of his family.
The killer is Peter Petrelli.	Det. Fuller suggests that one way the killer escaped is that he/she flew from the roof of a building. (Lizards)	+ They share similar physiques, and Peter has been known to wear all black as well as hooded sweatshirts. + Peter has the ability to fly. The killer was somehow able to escape falling 30 stories. + Peter also has the ability of rapid cell regeneration, so he could survive a fall from that height. + Although Peter appears to have been in Ireland at the time of Kaito's death, he has the ability of space-time manipulation, so it is possible for him to seemingly have been in two places at once. + Peter could have combined his abilities of space-time manipulation and invisibility to attack his mother, Angela Petrelli, in the episode Lizards. + Angela Petrelli viewed Peter's explosion at the end of Season One as inevitable and hoped it would help Nathan rise to power. Peter may be angry at his mother for selling him out. He may have attacked Kaito because of Kaito's connections to Linderman. - It is unlikely that Peter would try to kill his own mother, especially after she confessed to him in Don't Look Back that he was always her favorite child. - Kaito showed a high degree of familiarity with his murderer, suggesting a more detailed relationship than has been illustrated between him and Peter. - Even when he had his memory, Peter has never actually shown any ability to teleport small distances, let alone across an ocean. Also note that Peter is unaware of just how much he can do, he has yet to show awareness to his ability of Space/Time Manipulation. + Peter may have developed control over the powers he absorbed from Hiro in the four months between seasons 1 and 2. + If Peter has the power of time travel, then a past or future version of himself, with different motivations and more skills, could be operating in the present. For that matter, the Peter we're following in Ireland could be from the future.
The killer is Noah Bennet.	Kaito is familiar with Noah Bennet (Company Man).	+ Bennet may have decided to take the drastic step of eliminating the surviving members of the group of twelve in his attempt to take down the Company. + Kaito may very well not expect the practically powerless Bennet as the one taking down this very powerful group. - Bennet seems more adept to using covert measures, than killing Company founders outright. - Bennet could not have likely been behind the attack on Angela Petrelli. + Bennet may be working with an evolved human with those powers. • Bennet was very quick to change the subject when Molly mentioned the "man who could see her." - Bennet was on the other side of the country (Costa Verde) when Kaito was killed and Angela attacked. It is unlikely and near-impossible for him to cross the country in so short a time without his family noticing. - The last image in the series of eight shows Bennet dead, presumably killed by the same killer as the other seven. + The killer's death would obviously end the killings, and be an appropriate ending to the "story" told by Isaac's paintings.
The killer is Mr. Parkman (Matt's father) AND has the ability to control the minds of others.	none	+ Angela's attack wounds were confirmed to be self-inflicted but it was clear she was not acting under her own power. + The killer slowly walked up zombie like and spoke no words as it tackled Kaito in a clumsy attack as if being remotely controlled. + In Fight or Flight, Mr. Parkman used his power to make Nathan and Matt attack and come close to killing each other without realizing what they were doing, or even questioning the dreams they were experiencing. Parkman could have used a dream to make Nathan pull Kaito off the roof and fly away, and he might have dismissed the entire experience as a nightmare - if he remembered it at all. + Matt found a picture of Bob torn off from the photo of the group of 12, with the symbol drawn on it, in his father's apartment. The only people who have carried those photos have been the victims and the killer.
The killer is Mr. Parkman AND he uses telepathy, specifically to induce nightmares or hallucinations, to trick others into killing themselves (or others).	Kaito's body was the only found after his fall. (Four Months Later) Angela wounded herself. (Lizards) Matt and Nathan fought each other while the other appeared as a figure in a nightmare. (Fight or Flight)	+ Kaito was alone when he was killed. This would be consistent with the theory that the killer was one of Maury's illusions. • This could mean that while the person causing the killings is Maury Parkman, the hooded figure in Kaito's death scene could be anybody. Kaito may have recognized that he was experiencing an induced nightmare and was referring/talking to Maury Parkman when he said "I never thought it would be you" or he may have been fooled by the nightmare and been talking to whoever from Kaito's past was dredged up for the nightmare. - Mr Parkman had a picture of him with the symbol on it, just like Kaito and Angela. It seems unlikey he would kill himself.
The killer is making use of Molly's abilities.	Kaito Nakamura said "of all of them, I never thought it would be you," indicating that the killer, as he recognized them, is not someone likely to be presumed violent. (Four Months Later) Molly's nightmares feature the same symbol as the one used by the killer. (Four Months Later) Mr. Parkman has demonstrated some ability to influence or combat Molly's powers. (The Kindness of Strangers)	+ Molly's known power, or a similar one, would seem necessary to find the people attacked with the degree of precision demonstrated. + Molly has an established connection to the symbol. - Presumes Molly or the person controlling her has powers not yet demonstrated.
Future Hiro is the killer.	None	+ His ability to teleport means he could have teleported in mid-air. Also, he could have teleported into the interrogation room and attacked Angela. + His father recognized him on the rooftop. • With "present-hiro" in the past, traveling back during this specific time period would be the only safe way to not cause a rift + Future Hiro already tried to manipulate the past to "fix" the future. • It is not necesseraly "the" Future Hiro that we know, it could be one from yet another alternative and new future, maybe one who is evil.