Theory:Sylar

Main Article Theories about Sylar Main Discussion

The following fan theories are about Sylar.

For help on adding theories, see the help section.

Theories

Theory	Citations	Notes
Sylar is meant to be Peter's literary/thematic antithesis.	None.	+ He has a similar motivation (to be special), similar looks, (perhaps) similar powers, both have mothers that don't believe in them, and both men have even talked to a Suresh who ultimately gave up on him before he could prove that he was special. One major difference between them is that Sylar's main power depends upon logic and Peter's power depends upon emotion - a common theme in many literary conflicts. + In Five Years Gone, when Sylar and Peter fight, Sylar uses cryokinesis while Peter uses the power of pyrokinesis. In other words, Sylar is cold and emotionless ice, while Peter is hot and passionate fire. + The cast commentary confirms that it was "fire and ice". + Peter and Sylar have the same initials as a well-known pair of comic book nemeses: Peter Parker (Spider-Man) and the Green Goblin.
Sylar may also be a thematic foil to evolution itself.	None.	+ His profession of watchmaker is often used as an analogue to an intelligent designer. Rather than following an evolutionary imperative, he appears to be redesigning himself using existing powers as a template which he then improves upon. + Evolution requires reproduction of the fittest, not merely survival of the fittest. So, unless he starts trying to have babies, he can't affect evolution at all. In fact, by taking so many evolved people out of the gene pool, he is actually slowing down evolution. + With all the alterations to his DNA, it is possible that he will cease to be genetically human and will therefore be unable to reproduce.
Sylar can be identified with some supernatural harbinger of the end of the world.	None.	+ Sylar builds and restores watches. The notion of supernatural "watchmaker," setting the laws of science in place then letting them tick away, is one frequent symbol for God (a rather apt one for a show centering around apparently God-directed evolution). + Sylar, like the biblical Lucifer/Satan, became dissatisfied with his status in life, wanting desperately to be more important, more special. By acquiring more and more superhuman powers, he appears to be making himself God-like, an act of supreme hubris. + "Gabriel" is the name of the archangel supposed to arrive immediately prior to the apocalypse. • The first episode of the first season (Genesis) and the first episode after the mid-season break (Godsend) both had titles of religious significance, the first being "Genesis" and the next being "Godsend." The Haitian associates these powers with being from God, and Jessica's character flippantly rejects the need for God's help at the end of Godsend. There are many religious references (predominantly Christian) throughout the show, which could be hints that Sylar plays a significant role in a supernatural scheme. • Both "Genesis" and "Godsend" begin with a G, as do both of Sylar's real names (Gabriel Gray).
Sylar has at least one brother.	The shop that Gabriel Gray worked at when Chandra Suresh found him was his family's business Gray and Sons. (Six Months Ago)	+ Gabriel was a second-generation watchmaker, meaning his father first owned the store. - The Gray in Gray and Sons may refer to Sylar's grandfather; the sons may be his father and uncle(s). • The name of the store could also mean that Sylar owned the store, and he himself had unmentioned sons, who he feels the need to be special for. + If his brother had an ability, Gabriel would feel ordinary by contrast, contributing to his pathological need to be special.
Sylar is the half brother of Peter and Nathan Petrelli through an affair of Mr. Petrelli.	Sylar states he used to wish that "some stranger would come and tell [him] that [his] family wasn't really [his] family" because they were so insignificant, and he wanted to be special. (Six Months Ago)	• So far, neither of Sylar's parents are known to have had powers. + There are an incredible number of parallels and coincidences between Peter and Sylar. Both wanted desperately to be special, their powers are similar (though Peter's is born of emotion rather than logic), both men have talked to a Suresh who prematurely gave up on them being special, when Peter imagines himself as a bomb he is wearing a similar (but not identical) coat and watch to Sylar's, and when in the hospital Peter has a vision of his brother Nathan suddenly becoming Sylar (which may have been a mix of his recent trauma and a foreshadowing of their relationship). + These two characters are the only two to have alliterative initials, Peter Petrelli and Gabriel Gray.
Sylar is Peter Petrelli's twin brother.	None.	+ Tim Kring said "Peter and Sylar are two halves of a similar coin". + Their abilities are both absorbing powers, although differently. + Both Zachary Quinto (Sylar) and Milo Ventimiglia (Peter) were born in 1977. + Sylar's comment about "brother against brother" in Five Years Gone would have been coincidentally accurate, making a dark joke out of Peter's reply that his brother can't phase through walls.
Sylar may have a secondary ability that works with his intuitive aptitude to alter his genetics.	None.	+ Sylar takes brains and does something with them, but we don't know what. + Sylar somehow altered his own body to mimic death when he was in the cell at Primatech. + Several evolved humans seem to have multiple, related abilities (Hiro bends time and space, the Haitian removes memories negates abilities of those around him). - Noah Bennet said that all the evolved humans with whom the Company has come in contact have only had one power each. Whatever Sylar does to give himself more powers should be just another facet of his own ability, or something that anyone could do (but only Sylar knows how). + If Sylar had some secondary ability to alter his body as long as he understood the principles and what was needed, he could modify himself in order to add powers to the core of his specific genome that gives all evolved humans their abilities. This is similar to Peter's mimicking, which is perhaps the reason Sylar said, "You're like me aren't you? I'd like to see how that works."
Sylar's intuitive understanding of how things work is not a special power, but some form of autism or savant ability.	None.	+ When Chandra first tested him, none of the tests suggested that he had an ability. + While being tested by Hank at Primatech, Hank could see no signs of any special abilities other than telekinesis, possibly suggesting that before he killed Brian Davis and acquired his ability, he had none of his own.
Sylar is a different species of evolved human.	None.	+ there is much about him that is different from the others know evolved humans, and his original power was not detected by Chandra. - Chandra might have lacked the necessary equipment to detect intuitive aptitude. + Only his telekinesis was detected by The Company. + This would make him a even better villain and a opposite force for other characters.
Sylar has Mosaic DNA and is a Chimera	None.	+ This explains why the company only found "telekinesis DNA" when tested him.
Sylar steals abilities by eating part of an evolved human's brain.	Referring to Sylar, Molly Walker said, "You can't stop the boogeyman. He sees into your soul, and then he eats your brain." (The Hard Part)	• As yet, there is no conclusive proof that Sylar actually consumes any part of the brains he steals. + January 20, 2007 Kring confessed that he does eat at least part of the brains at Wizard Universe a con similar to Comic-Con. + The removed brains are never found. Since Sylar is always on the move, eating them would be the quickest way for him to dispose of them.
Sylar can recover from near-fatal wounds (such as being shot) by using his telekinesis to perform surgery on himself.	None.	+ There were many medical textbooks in Sylar's apartment, which he could have memorized once he gained enhanced memory. + In the graphic novel Road Kill, Sylar definitely shows bullet wounds where Noah shot him, and he mentions "These bullet holes wouldn't be a problem if I had just gotten to that cheerleader." However, he still manages to recover remarkably fast. His telekinesis could also have eased the impact of the bullets. + The writers have stated that much of Sylar's apparent invulnerability is due to his telekinesis.
Sylar has some sort of enhanced durability or a super charged immune system power.	None	+ Hank told Noah Bennet that they had administered enough glycimerine to kill an elephant. + He hit the Bennet's fridge with enough force to dent it and was able to escape the Haitian with relative ease. + Sylar has killed at least ten people but has only conclusively exhibited seven acquired powers. + Sylar fell off the roof of Union Wells High and walked away. When Peter sustained the same fall, his legs were mangled and entire body bloodied. + After being stabbed through the chest, it took four months for him to heal enough to wake up, but he did heal.
Sylar wasn't going to kill Molly Walker; he was going to kidnap her and use her to find other evolved humans.	None	• Sylar normally left no signs of physical contact when attacking his victims. Sylar causes a ruckus when he tries to drag Molly away when he could have easily killed her in the blink of an eye. (One Giant Leap). + Sylar showed that he had some conscience when he was afraid of blowing up after painting the explosion. He may have, at first, also been opposed to killing a child.
Even if the Haitian were to remove the memories of Claire from Sylar, Sylar would not be affected because of the enhanced memory he gained from Charlie.	None.	- Having an eidetic memory means one can form memories quickly and accurately, and in volume. Those memories can still be lost by damage to the brain, so the Haitian could excise those memories like any others. However, Sylar's precise memory may make it more likely for him to notice incongruities in what is left. + Charlie's power comes from a genetic anomaly, and not simply eidetic memory. The Haitian could suppress her power long enough to erase her memories, but might have to continually nullify her power to keep her memory from returning via enhanced memory. + The first trailer for Godsend included a shot of Sylar lying on the floor of his cell with Mr. Bennet saying "He is to have no memory of Claire." This may mean that, in an unaired scene, Mr. Bennet had the Haitian erase Sylar's memories of Claire. If so, Sylar somehow resisted having his memories erased.
Sylar killed Claude and stole his power.	None.	+ In How to Stop an Exploding Man, Noah and Peter go to Kirby Plaza, but they don't see Sylar. Peter says that he must be "hiding in plain sight." Sylar then seemingly appears out of nowhere behind Noah. - Sylar has always been sneaky. He could use telekinesis or an unknown power to increase his speed or stealth. - Claude is invisible, making it near impossible for Sylar to find him. - Invisible people can see other invisible people (Peter first finding Claude). In Mohinder's apartment when Peter saves Mohinder from Sylar, Sylar cannot see Peter, and so uses the glass shards to find him.
Sylar has gained a power which repairs or enhances his vision.	Gabriel Gray wore glasses. (Six Months Ago) After this time, he did not wear them until visiting his mother. (The Hard Part)	- It is possible that he only wore glasses in Six Months Ago because he was working on a watch. - Gabriel wears glasses while talking to Chandra and outside of his apartment. - Sylar could be wearing corrective contact lenses. + With his apparent knowledge of optical lenses, Sylar could have studied up on refractive surgery and then used telekinesis to change the shape of his own cornea in order to give himself 20/20 vision.
Sylar developed powers at a young age, as Micah and Sanjog did.	None.	+ Sylar has stated matter-of-factly on more than one occasion that he can understand how things work. The connotation of this may imply that he has had this particular power for a long time, that he, too, developed powers at a young age. + His initial power suggests an inherent intellectual prowess; both Micah and Sanjog are smarter than usual for their age. - His apparent cleverness may simply be a byproduct of intuitive aptitude. - Intuitive aptitude may not actually be a power.
One of Sylar's abilities is enhanced reflexes or "danger sense".	None	+ Sylar would need enhanced senses to stop speeding bullets. - Sylar doesn't make an attempt to dodge Hiro when he rushes at him from about ten feet away yelling loudly with his sword pointed towards Sylar's chest. (How to Stop an Exploding Man) + He may only be able to sense things he can't see.
Sylar has the Shanti virus.	Sylar is currently unable to use his powers, or Candice Willmer's illusion powers. (Kindred) Both Molly (The Hard Part) and The Haitian (Lizards) were unable to use their powers when infected with the virus.	+ The Company may have intentionally infected Sylar with the virus after the fight at Kirby Plaza to prevent him from using his abilities while in captivity, planning to employ Mohinder and use his blood to reverse the virus later. + In The Line, the Company is experimenting with the Shanti virus as a means to neutralize the abilities of super-powered individuals. - Sylar's core power, intuitive aptitude, appears to be unaffected. He did whatever he does to a brain and seemed to understand how Michelle's power worked. If he could not access his core power, he probably would have noticed at some point during the brain removal. - Candice tells Sylar that he will be able to use his abilities again after his chest heals. (Kindred)
Sylar never acquired and never will acquire Candice's power of illusion.	None.	+ Since none of Sylar's powers worked in Kindred, his intuitive aptitude would not have worked either, and thus he would never have learned how Candice's brain worked. - Sylar seems to understand how Candice's power works, but is unable to duplicate it.
Sylar's father, if he appears, will be played by Leonard Nimoy.	None.	+ Two principal cast members from Star Trek (George Takei and Nichelle Nichols) have played the parent (or grandparent) of a main character, and Zachary Quinto is going to portray a young Spock in the next Star Trek movie.
Sylar has some sort of immunity (to an extent) to the effects of Maya's ability.	None	+ Sylar's eyes are visibly black when he says "What are you doing to me?", before he collapses. (The Kindness of Strangers) When Nidia (Lizards), Derek (Kindred), and the Border Patrol were affected by Maya's ability, they collapsed before their eyes became black. + When Maya uses her power to kill the Minutemen in The Line, Sylar is still conscious and able to command Maya to drive off, even after their ambushers have all collapsed into unconsciousness. • Sylar may simply have been able to exert willpower to resist collapsing, knowing beforehand what was about to happen (whereas the Minutemen were caught completely off guard).
Sylar will be incapacitated for a few months by Maury Parkman, Maya's power, the Shanti virus, or some other cause.	Zachary Quinto has revealed that he will be temporarily leaving the cast in November to film the 11th Star Trek film.	None.
Sylar understands Spanish.	None	+ Sylar often seems to understand what Alejandro says to Maya, such as the fact Alejandro needs Maya to translate English to Spanish, or his desire to abandon Sylar and cross with a coyote. - Sylar may simply be getting the gist of Alejandro's intent from tone and body language. + Sylar's intuitive aptitude, if it still works, may have helped him to learn the language by now. + Sylar could have used Charlie's power to learn Spanish earlier, or could simply have learned in school.
Sylar will slowly regain his abilities as he is exposed to Maya's power	None	+ The text Maya reads from Activating Evolution in the graphic novel Maya y Alejandro suggests that her ability may contribute to the cure for the Shanti virus.