Nathan Petrelli

Nathan Petrelli
Portrayed by	Adrian Pasdar
First appearance	Genesis
In-story stats
Known ability	Flight
Gender
Residence	Nathan Petrelli's home
Occupation	U.S. Congressional candidate
Significant other	Heidi Petrelli
Parents	Angela Petrelli, Father (unnamed, deceased)
Children	Simon Petrelli, Monty Petrelli (sons)
Sibling	Peter Petrelli (younger brother)

Nathan Petrelli is a poltician currently running for election to the U.S. House of Representatives. He lives in New York with his wife and two sons. He discovers he has the ability to fly.

About

Nathan places a high value on his election campaign, often above that of his family. He masks his brother's dreams and attempts to fly by telling the media that Peter has tried to commit suicide. Nathan also tells his mother to "get over" her husband's recent death. Nathan is also willing to abide by his election committee's decision to keep his wife, recently crippled, away from the media spotlight to avoid appearing "weak."

Nathan downplays the existence of his flying power, despite having flown several times, both intentionally and unintentionally.

Character history

Genesis

Nathan is approached by his brother Peter, who tells him that he has been having strange dreams and believes he can fly. Nathan is unconvinced. Eventually, their conversation is interrupted by the news that their recently widowed mother has been arrested for shoplifting. Nathan, still primarily concerned with his candidacy, cuts his mother no slack and soon leaves her at the police station with Peter. Afterwards, Nathan watches from an alley as Peter jumps off a building in an attempt to fly. As Peter falls, Nathan flies into the air and grabs his hand, surprising them both. A cliffhanger ensues as the brothers lose their grip on one another.

Don't Look Back

Peter wakes up to find Nathan at his bedside in a hospital. Oddly, Nathan denies that he flew and tries to explain away what happened as if it were simply a failed suicide attempt by Peter. Much later that night, Nathan is on a rooftop watching as Peter threatens to jump off the edge of the roof unless Nathan says that he flew. Nathan eventually admits that he did fly. Peter fears that Nathan is lying, but both brothers soon learn that Peter can fly as well when he begins to walk on thin air.

Hiro Nakamura, a character able to manipulate time, travels to a possible future five weeks ahead where Nathan wins his race by a landslide.

One Giant Leap

When approached by Peter with information from Chandra Suresh's book, Nathan is still more focused on his campaign and says he has a family to take care of. That evening, Nathan holds a press conference where he broaches the subject of depression. He reveals that his father suffered from it, and that it was the cause of his death, and also claims that Peter attempted suicide, causing his brother to leave. Later in a parking lot, Nathan is getting into his car when a furious Peter assaults him with a punch to the jaw before being overpowered by a number of bodyguards. Although he is called an SOB by his own brother, Nathan calmly retorts, "careful, Pete, that's our mother you're talking about". Nathan tells Peter that he had to say those things before the press made up their own notions about him. Nathan exclaims that Peter should understand why he made the choice to tell everyone, but Peter merely shrugs and leaves.

Collision

Nathan is being "harassed" by Mohinder and refuses to listen to him. He prepares to leave for Las Vegas to meet Mr. Linderman. There, Nathan encounters Niki Sanders who is supposed to sleep with him by the order of Mr. Linderman. She refuses at first for respect for Nathan's wife but once her alter-ego kicks in, she returns to his hotel room and sleeps with him. They are shown later sleeping and being watched by Mr. Bennet and The Haitian. He orders the mysterious man to "take just the one."

Hiros

Nathan has been captured by Mr. Bennet and The Haitian. When Bennet's phone rings, Nathan attempts to escape, but is cornered at a fence. As the men close in on him, he shoots up into the sky and flies away at extreme speed.

Landing in the desert near a diner (and scorching his feet with the speed of his landing), Nathan walks in wearing only his pajama bottoms. He asks to borrow a cell phone and for a t-shirt. While he waits for his aides to pick him up, Hiro comes over and begins telling Nathan that he saw him fly and that he, too, is special. Nathan dismisses him, especially when Hiro tells him about an explosion in New York he witnessed in the future. Before he leaves, he asks Hiro if he remembers the outcome of the election, and Hiro tells him he won in a "mudslide".

Arriving back at the casino, Nathan bumps into Niki, who tells him she doesn't remember the night before and that the whole thing was a set-up so Mr. Linderman could blackmail Nathan the way she had been blackmailed.

As Nathan checks out of the hotel, Miss Sakamoto, the hotel manager, checks on him. He tells her he knows he's being blackmailed and she assures him it's a debt he can repay later. Nathan suggests she give him the four million dollars he's come to get, even though Linderman had only promised him two million. Nathan reasons that if it's so important that Linderman have him in his pocket, then it's just as important that Nathan actually win, and he figures four million will do it.

Nothing to Hide

Nathan shows his mother Angela and wife Heidi some promotional postcards to get their opinion. They have other plans, however: they convince him to stage a family brunch and have invited Oliver Dennison, a reporter from the New York Journal, over. They're hoping that Heidi's disability can be used to garner sympathy and soften Nathan's harsh image.

Everything seems to be going fine at the brunch until Peter shows up unexpectedly and uninvited. Nathan pulls him aside and he asks Nathan for help locating the missing painting, which Simone told him was purchased by Mr. Linderman. When Nathan turns him down, he threatens to fly off the terrace, but instead joins the brunch and begins charming Mr. Dennison.

Dennison attempts to turn the conversation to Nathan's ties to Linderman, and mentions that a former member of Nathan's security detail told him Nathan disappeared in Las Vegas and was seen with a blonde. Thinking quickly, Peter tells him that Nathan was meeting with a depression expert on Peter's behalf.

Nathan receives a call from Niki, who tells him her husband has taken her son, but he refuses to help. Heidi confronts Nathan and asks him to assure her that Peter's story about the blonde was true, telling him she needs hope if she is to walk again. He reassures her.

Nathan calls Mr. Linderman and attempts to obtain the painting. He's told it will be sent directly to the gallery.

Nathan visits Peter, who attempts to convince him to tell Heidi the truth about Niki, but Nathan claims Heidi needs hope more than she needs the truth. He also tells Peter that he was unable to get the painting from Linderman. Nathan explains several of his questionable actions to Peter. He says he slept with Niki because he wanted to be with a woman who didn't make him feel guilty just by looking at her (he was driving during the accident that paralyzed his wife). Nathan also explains his decision to hide his flying powers: he believes that there's nothing worthwhile to be accomplished with it and he fears that once it's discovered, the world will want to put him in a cage for it. He leaves Peter with that caution.

Homecoming

In New York, Nathan opens up the painting that he asked Mr. Linderman to ship to the gallery. Simone tells Nathan that Peter believes Isaac can paint the future. Examining the painting, he asks if the figure in it is supposed to be Peter, but Simone doesn't know. Simone tells him that Peter believes that he needs to be there to save the cheerleader and that if he does he'll save the world. Nathan's clearly not convinced and asks Simone if it's the only copy, and Simone tells him it is. Nathan tells Simone that Peter has deluded himself into believing that he's supposed to make a difference. Nathan pours a bucket of paint over the painting. Simone protests, but is unable to stop him. Nathan tells her he's saving Peter's life.

Six Months Ago

Nathan First Flight

At Peter's graduation, Nathan and Peter discuss Nathan's plans to prosecute Mr. Linderman. This will affect their father since Mr. Linderman is his biggest client. Nathan thinks that by prosecuting Linderman they can "take the stink off the family," but Peter thinks Nathan would never forgive himself. Heidi interrupts to dance with Nathan. At the same time, Chandra Suresh posts a picture of Nathan on the map.

Nathan and Heidi are driving down a deserted highway in their convertible. They are discussing how Nathan was his father's favorite child, when a large S.U.V. tries to run them off the road. Nathan finds himself hovering above the car, while Heidi and the unmanned car crash into water barrels. As Nathan screams for her, he falls to the ground. At the hospital, Nathan tells Peter he was thrown 300 feet away from the wreck and doesn't know how he got there. Heidi is in surgery for over ten hours. Peter knows there was another car involved, and Nathan admits that it was Linderman's guys. Nathan gets Peter to agree to give a deposition. Later at Peter's apartment, Nathan tells Peter that there will be no deposition since their father has died.

Fallout

When Nathan visits Peter in jail, Peter reveals the details of what happened with Claire during Homecoming. Nathan continues to disbelieve Peter's "wild theories". Peter then sees Sylar talking to him, instead of Nathan, and wakes up. Later on, Nathan bails Peter out of jail. On their way out, Peter is unable to walk straight. He collapses and sees himself exploding in the city, as depicted in once of Isaac's paintings. When Peter regains consciousness, he tells Nathan, "The bomb, in the city...it's me." Peter then passes out.

Powers

Nathan has the ability to fly. It is currently unknown how he propels himself or what speeds or altitudes he is capable of achieving, but judging by the sound of his flight when escaping from Mr. Bennet, he is quite fast, possibly supersonic.

Notes

• About six months before the start of the series (as shown in Six Months Ago), Nathan was involved in a car accident in which his wife Heidi was severely injured. When his car (a convertible) is assaulted by another vehicle, Nathan finds himself flying overhead in what is apparently the first manifestation of his power. Without a driver at the wheel, the convertible crashes into a concrete barrier with Heidi still in the passenger seat. Peter claims to have sensed the accident three hundred miles away.
• In "Genesis", an ad for his campaign airs on the television in Isaac's appartment. It states he "fought for his country", indicating he was in the armed service.
• In "Nothing to Hide", Nathan tells Peter that his power will only be useful for rescuing cats from trees. Of course, he's already put it to better use by rescuing a woman from a burning building ("Trial by Fire").