Adam Monroe
| Adam Monroe | |
|---|---|
| |
| Portrayed by | David Anders |
| First appearance | Four Months Later... |
| In-story stats | |
| Known ability | Rapid cell regeneration (lost) |
| Aliases | Takezo Kensei, Richard Sanders, Adam Monroe |
| Gender | |
| Dates of marriage | 1672 (Helene) (deceased), 1747 (Maria) (deceased), 1782 (Frederica) (deceased), 1784 (Yumi) (deceased), 1787 (Angelica) (deceased), 1864 (Maria) (deceased), 1901 (Diane) (deceased), 1926 (Louisa) (deceased), 1958 (Theresa) (deceased), 1977 (Trina) (deceased) |
| Date of death | Post-March 2007 |
| Home | U.S., formerly Diedenshausen, Germany, formerly Milan, Italy, formerly Paris, France, formerly Atlanta, GA, formerly Montreal, Canada, formerly Japan, formerly England |
| Occupations | former soldier of U.S. Army, former plantation owner, former soldier in the Confederate Army, former British mercenary commander, former member of the "Queen's forces," former Ronin samurai swordsman |
| Significant others | Yaeko, Helene, Maria, Frederica, Yumi, Angelica, Maria, Diane, Louisa, Theresa, Trina |
| Children | Two sons, unnamed |
Adam Monroe was an evolved human with the ability of rapid cell regeneration. His powers were so advanced that he was unable to age or die, making him near-immortal. He originally discovered this while living over 400 years ago in feudal Japan (as Takezo Kensei). Adam, with time, saw the world to be corrupt and in need of a massive cleansing of humanity. To aid him in his plans, Adam brought the Company's founders together, but in the end was betrayed, forcing Adam to rely upon himself to save the world. After the failure of his plans to "cleanse" the world, Adam was killed by Arthur Petrelli, who stole Adam's ability, rendering him mortal as he aged 400 years in a few seconds.
Character History
Four Months Later...
After Hiro stops time to save a fake Kensei, the real Kensei emerges and argues with Hiro, revealing that he is from England and speaks English. Hiro tells Kensei that he is supposed to save the village of Otsu, as it is revealed that Otsu is on fire. The legendary swordsmith's daughter from Otsu takes Kensei's sword, stating that her father made the sword and blaming Kensei for allowing the village to burn.
In the present, Kaito Nakamura stays on the rooftop of the Deveaux Building expecting that one of the remaining members of the group of twelve individuals of which he was a part will try to kill him. A mysterious hooded figure appears. Kaito appears to recognize the individual as a member of that team, saying "Of all of them, I never expected that it would be you". Just as Ando, whom Kaito had sent to get him a sword, returns, the figure tackles Kaito and pushes him off the building. When Ando looks down, the figure has disappeared.
Lizards
After resuming his position as town drunk, Kensei's armor, sword, and horse are "borrowed" by Hiro, who, after much pleading with Kensei to save Yaeko, decides to take up the task for himself. Hiro does indeed save Yaeko using his powers in the Battle of Twelve Swords, and credits the rescue to Kensei, who agrees to team up with Hiro to fulfill his future image as a hero. However, Kensei takes two arrows in the shoulder and one in the chest from the band of thugs who threatened Yaeko earlier. Chest covered in blood, he dies. However, after Hiro removes one of the arrows from his chest, Hiro is shocked to see Kensei's wound heal right before his eyes.
Kindred
After Kensei regenerates from his arrow wounds, he is shocked. He believes that Hiro has cursed him and exclaims, "Lazarus Risen!" Later, Hiro finds Kensei again, testing his powers by slicing his arm with a sword. Hiro then demonstrates his own powers by teleporting around a log. Kensei then ponders upon the possibilities of his new found powers and that it will make him "richer than the Pope". Hiro, still wanting Kensei to follow the stories that were read to him as a child, teleports them both to Whitebeard's Hidden Fortress, insisting he fights past the ninety angry ronin and claim the fire scroll. Kensei then manages to complete this task and rejoins Hiro and Yaeko with the scroll. When Hiro tells Kensei he must leave, Kensei is somewhat saddened and wishes him well. Kensei then playfully showers Yaeko with cherry blossom petals.
Graphic Novel:The Trial of the Black Bear
Kensei and Hiro (who looks like a cat) discover the map scroll with information on the secret lair of White Beard being guarded by a small bear on a large rock. Believing the bear to be the Black Bear of Sakashita, Kensei draws his sword and lunges at the animal, only to find a much larger bear behind the rock. The larger bear chases Kensei while Hiro plucks the scroll out of the paws of the smaller bear.
Fight or Flight
Ando brings the scrolls from Hiro to Tatsuya Atsumi, and after some work, Tatsuya puts it under a microscope to show the hidden characters. On the scroll, it tells Hiro's tale of helping Kensei. Kensei and Hiro run up to Yaeko with another fragment of the tapestry to find Whitebeard's camp and help find Yaeko's father. Ando reads more on the scrolls about Kensei's journey. Yaeko insists that she follows Kensei and Hiro into battle, and the three see how massive Whitebeard's army is. The story cuts off, and Ando cannot read the rest.
The Line
At nightfall, Kensei, Hiro, and Yaeko sneak into Whitebeard's camp and Kensei takes care of one of the guards. They enter the smoldering tent and find Yaeko's father, distraught that he showed Whitebeard how to make guns. Kensei then hacks off Yaeko's father's ankle chains in return that he promises that he will destroy all of the guns. The four of them leave the tent and proceed away from Whitebeard's camp. On their leave, Yaeko gets shot at but Hiro teleports them away so she avoids getting hurt. Kensei goes to look for them, and finds them alone, kissing.
Later on, Hiro finds Kensei and is glad to see him. Kensei replies that he saw Hiro and Yaeko kissing and that he has been cut deeper than any wound could be. Hiro tells him that he will not interrupt their friendship and promises it was the first and last time that they will ever kiss. As Kensei appears to believe Hiro and continue his adventure, he knocks Hiro unconscious as Yaeko and her father are brought before him by Whitebeard's men. Whitebeard promises Kensei anything he wants for his help, and Kensei glances at Yaeko while he walks away.
In the present, Mohinder observes Adam's name written on a folder Bob was carrying. Later, when Bob says that he has big problems and an individual to worry about who could be a real danger, Mohinder brings up Adam's name. Later, Peter and Caitlin find a note (signed "Adam") in Montreal addressed to Peter, warning him about the Company.
Out of Time
Kensei reveals to an imprisoned Hiro and Yaeko that Whitebeard has promised him half of Japan in exchange for Hiro's capture. Kensei informs Hiro that he plans to lead Whitebeard's army in conquest of Japan, thus becoming the great warrior Hiro insists that he is.
Later, when Hiro attempts to blow up Whitebeard's arsenal, Takezo Kensei appears and the two of them do battle. Kensei is disarmed and knocked to the ground, but refuses Hiro's final offer of help, vowing that as long as he lives he will lay waste to everything Hiro cares about. Hiro teleports away just as the tent explodes, and later returns to find Kensei's helmet and face mask laying beside a charred corpse.
In the present, Bob tells Nathan that Adam was the one who suggested the group of twelve come together, and suggested holocausts and plagues to help save the world, claiming that Adam felt he was a god. Nathan notes that Adam's plans sound like Linderman, and Bob tells Nathan that Linderman was his disciple. Later, Peter returns to Montreal and hears a noise. He sends a bolt towards the intruder, but the bolt is blocked by a hand, and it regenerates. Adam walks towards Peter and asks why he fired at him, but Peter tells him he doesn't know who he is. At this, Adam reintroduces himself to Peter.
Four Months Ago...
Peter concentrates and remembers everything about his past and discovers that Adam was held by the Company in their "prison facility" for at least 30 years, under the promise that they would fix him, but rather they only held him there to prevent him from saving the world or becoming a danger to others. When Peter arrives at Primatech Research after the explosion, they talk for four months.
After Peter refuses to take his power negation pills for five days, he phases through the wall and into Adam's cell. Adam grabs on to Peter and they both escape from the facility. They go to Nathan's hospital room where Adam takes some of his blood and introduces it into Nathan's IV, instantly reversing his burns from the explosion. Peter and Adam escape the hospital but are accosted by the Haitian and Elle at the docks. Adam tells Peter to meet him in Montreal and they separate.
Cautionary Tales
Hiro Nakamura returns to the time of his father's death, stopping time momentarily to reveal his murderer as Adam.
Angela Petrelli tells Matt Parkman that, due to Adam's ability, his cells have regenerated so often that they have stopped him aging — essentially, he has become immortal, living for 400 years. His motives for killing each member of the group of twelve in turn is also explained — he wants revenge for the Company imprisoning him for thirty years.
Graphic Novel:Revolutionary War, Part 1
In 1777, Adam Monroe and a ship of mercenaries are commissioned by the British to guard Port Arlesburgh during the Revolutionary War. Upon arriving in the harbor, they witness the town razed in flames. They pull a survivor from the water, and ask who is responsible, and he states that it is one man who did this, a man who cannot be killed. When they come ashore, they find the townspeople butchered in the streets.
Soon thereafter, they see the silhouette of a man standing tall and confident, brandishing a sword. Adam instinctively thinks this is the man. Adam runs him through the stomach with his sword. As Evan falls, they turn to witness their ship being shelled by cannon fire, and an unidentified army descending towards them. They engage in melee combat and the mercenaries are quickly overwhelmed. Adam finds himself abandoned and fighting alone, killing as many as possible without mercy. Suddenly, Adam engages another combatant and realizes it is Evan, seemingly regenerated from his previous mortal wound. They attack one another simultaneously, with Evan stabbing Adam in the heart with a bayonet, and Adam running Evan through a second time with his sword, this time through the spine. Adam thinks to himself that this is the fight he has been looking for.
Truth & Consequences
Peter and Adam go to see a woman named Victoria Pratt who was one of the twelve about the virus. Victoria is reluctant but then tells Peter that Adam was the one who tried to release the virus. Victoria shoots at Peter when she finds out he is working with Adam, but both regenerate. Peter uses his telepathy to find out information. Adam then unties Victoria and kills her arguing she was going to shoot Peter in the head. Peter and Adam travel to Primatech Paper in Texas where the virus is kept. Hiro then arrives to kill Adam and freezes time, but an unfrozen Peter vows not to let Hiro harm Adam at the very end of the episode.
Graphic Novel:Revolutionary War, Part 2
Adam discovered his foe's incredible ability--he was fighting a man who could create duplicates of himself. This ability intrigues Adam into hunting for the "original" Evan, but he ends up being unsuccessful with his search. After being mocked by the Evan "copies" and being pushed off a cliff into a river below, Adam realizes he can't do it alone and must find disciples to help him.
Powerless
Adam and Peter break into Primatech, searching for the deadly Strain 138 of the Shanti virus. On the way, they are intercepted by Hiro. After Peter shocks Hiro, Adam claims back his sword. They break into the lower levels, where Peter opens a vault door. Adam enters the vault while Peter is left outside, confronted by Hiro, Matt, and Nathan. Hiro enters the vault and tries to stop Adam, who has the vial containing the virus hidden behind his back. Adam tells him that God had the right idea in flooding the world, wiping out humanity and letting the few remaining people have a new start. Hiro grabs Adam's shoulder and the two teleport away, with Adam letting go of the vial with the virus.
Later, Adam is seen screaming hysterically for "Carp" to let him out of his prison, in an unmarked grave, in the Aoyama Cemetery, where he has been buried alive.
Graphic Novel:The Ten Brides of Takezo Kensei
Trapped in a coffin, Adam remembers how he outlived and survived the world's greatest men and women. All except one--Hiro Nakamura. He ponders the point of immortality if he is buried alive and when all those he has loved are dead and gone. He then recalls his ten wives, realizing he is alone. He mentions he has already died countless times in the coffin, but that the deaths do not matter because he believes his newest bride will find him.
The Butterfly Effect
Adam appears in Angela Petrelli's precognitive dream.
I Am Become Death
Hiro and Ando dig up a coffin and open it to find Adam Monroe sleeping inside. Hiro leans in as Adam suddenly awakens, calls Hiro's name and grabs him by the neck.
Angels and Monsters
Hiro asks for Adam's help, but he refuses. Hiro teleports Adam back into the closed coffin, out, and in again. Hiro tells Adam that if he agrees to help them, he will give Adam a more spacious cell. Adam eventually agrees. Hiro explains the theft of the formula to Adam, who suggests Angela Petrelli as the culprit. When Hiro tells him that she was the one who sent them to find the formula, he claims to have a plan, and takes Hiro and Ando to "specials for hire" bar. The bartender, recognizing Adam as the man who previously had an affair with his wife, attacks him. Adam flees the bar, and evades Hiro and Ando only to be captured by Knox.
Dying of the Light
Knox brings Adam to meet his boss at Pinehearst while explaining to Adam about his own ability. When Adam discovers that Knox's boss is in fact the bed-ridden Arthur Petrelli, he becomes visibly frightened and tries to escape. Knox forces him back, and Adam begins screaming that he could be of use to Arthur before his hand is forced atop Arthur's. Arthur then uses his ability to steal Adam's. With his ability gone, Adam ages rapidly and withers to dust.
The Eclipse, Part 2
Adam is depicted in a painting by Isaac Mendez in a 9th Wonders! comic book having a sword fight with Hiro in Feudal Japan, reminiscent of their fight that led to his original apparent death.
Graphic Novel:Bloodlines, Part 1
Arnold time travels to Coyote Sands in 1961, before its construction was finished. Adam whacks him on the head with a shotgun, knocking him out. He says that he hasn't seen that "trick" in a long time.
Evolved Human Abilities
Adam possessed the ability of rapid cell regeneration. Like Claire, Adam was sometimes unable to regenerate if an object was inside of his body until that object is removed (Lizards). Adam initially appeared in 1671 as a man in his late twenties to early thirties, and was able to survive for hundreds of years without apparent aging, as he had a similar appearance while active in 2007.
According to Angela Petrelli, after a certain amount of regeneration, a person with this ability stops physically aging (Cautionary Tales).
The burns Adam received from a lightning bolt at the end of Out of Time healed much faster than any other example of rapid cell regeneration in the series, indicating that Adam's regenerative ability may have improved over time. Adam's incredible resilience was also demonstrated in Revolutionary War, Part 2, where he appeared unfazed despite being stabbed repeatedly in the chest and heart by multiple opponents. He also manages to survive without oxygen in a coffin he is buried in by Hiro as seen in I Am Become Death.
In Four Months Ago..., Adam revealed that introducing his blood into a wounded person's body will cause rapid healing of the injuries.
Without his powers, his body ages to dust as his powers apparently keep his advanced age back.
Memorable Quotes
"First you show me that I can be harmed by no weapon, and then you cut me deeper than any blade possibly could."
"As long as I have breath, anything you love I will lay to waste. I swear... You will suffer."
- - Adam (as Kensei) (to Hiro) (Out of Time)
"Only gods have lived as I do!"
- - Adam (to Evan) (Graphic Novel: Revolutionary War, Part 2)
"In defeat the truth raged at me. I was alone... while gods should have disciples."
"I believe this is mine, Carp."
"I've lived for 400 years, who's to say I won't live 400 more?"
"Hiro, you son of a bi---"
- - Adam (to Hiro) (I Am Become Death)
"You little Japanese Nazi!"
- - Adam (to Hiro) (Angels and Monsters)
Notes
- Adam's birth name is unknown. He has taken on "a few dozen names" (The Ten Brides of Takezo Kensei), most notably Takezo Kensei and Adam Monroe. The name given to him at birth--whether one of these or something else entirely--remains unknown.
- In Heroes: The Mobile Game, Niki notes that Adam Monroe is one of the founders of the Company. She mentions his name alongside Daniel Linderman, Angela Petrelli, Arthur Petrelli, Kaito Nakamura, and Maury Parkman.
- Adam has demonstrated great skill with a sword as early as 1671.
- According to early spoilers, Adam was originally going to be known as "Kane", and he was going to have the ability to control hordes of insects.
Gallery
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Adam hid under a hood when he killed Kaito. -
Bob carries a file titled "Adam Monroe". -
Adam during his time as "Takezo Kensei". -
Bob keeps files on Adam Monroe. -
In 1777, Adam was a ruthless mercenary. -
As soon as Arthur sucks his powers out... -
...Adam is aging quickly... -
...showing his age of 400 years.
See Also
- For other uses of Adam, see Adam (disambig).
- For articles related to Adam, see Related Articles:Adam.
- For images of Adam, see Images of Adam Monroe.
- For a list of his victims, see Adam's victims.
Fan Theories
Please refer to Theory:Adam Monroe for fan-created theories and other speculation.