Pyrokinesis

Pyrokinesis
Originally held by:	Meredith Gordon, Maarten, Flint Gordon
Absorbed by:	Peter Petrelli (lost), Future Peter
Ability to:	Create and manipulate fire
Examples of pyrokinesis

Pyrokinesis is the ability to create and manipulate fire using the power of the mind.

Characters

Confirmed

• Meredith Gordon is the first character to demonstrate this ability.
• Maarten, an agent of the Company, also has this ability.
• Flint Gordon, Meredith's brother and one of the Level 5 escapees, also demonstrated this ability.
• Peter has mimicked this ability from Flint (I Am Become Death). He lost it when his father stole it from him (Dying of the Light).

Future

• In a possible future, a Peter Petrelli has absorbed this ability from Meredith Gordon (Five Years Gone).

Limits

Meredith Gordon

Meredith normally demonstrates her ability by creating a small fire from her fingertips or in the palm of her hand, however she can also create fireballs and directed streams of flame. Heat from her hand can quickly spread along the walls of a shipping container, making them hot enough to burn Claire. Meredith is not hurt by the fire she creates, and she seems to be resistant to other consequences of its use; her flames generated enough heat and consumed enough oxygen from a shipping container to nearly suffocate Claire, but Meredith seemed completely unaffected, not even breaking a sweat (One of Us, One of Them). It is not yet clear whether she would be resistant to flames or heat that she did not create herself.

Claude claimed that Meredith "exploded" when he and Mr. Bennet tried to "bag and tag" her for the Company (Hell's Angel), indicating that she can produce large amounts of flame from all over her body. The maximum amount of heat and/or flame she can produce is not yet known.

After capturing Meredith, Thompson was able to prevent her from attacking him by making her wear flame retardant gloves, suggesting Meredith is dependent of her hands to use her ability. Thompson also threatened to place her in an asbestos-lined cell. (Villains)

Future Peter Petrelli

A Future Peter is able to recall bright red flames at will, using them against Sylar and his icy ability (Five Years Gone).

Maarten

Maarten shows advanced control over his ability, as he is able to conjure large flames and launch them in precise streams over long distances or unleash and manipulate the flames from all across his body. Even though he was momentarily stunned by the liquid man's explosion of water, he was able to quickly recover and resume conjuring flames. (Team Building Exercise)

Flint Gordon

Flint demonstrates advanced control over his ability of pyrokinesis, and will often keep the fires he creates burning just for amusement. Flames that he creates are always blue to blue-ish white, indicating that they are burning at a high temperature that he describes as "extra hot". Whether he is controlling the temperature of the fire or it is naturally that hot is unknown.

Flint was subdued by Thompson with the use of flame retardant foam. Flint couldn't use his ability, suggesting he's dependent of his hands to use his ability, much like his sister. Flint is also seen producing jets of flame and throwing fireballs like his sisters as well, but Flint is much more reckless with his ability, often creating far bigger flames than his sister does.(Villains)

Peter Petrelli

Peter was able to create flames that are blue, similar to Flint. He was able to create the flames engulfing his hand, but never further demonstrated this ability.

Selected Examples

• 
  In present-day, Meredith creates fire from her fingers to light a cigarette.
  (The Fix)
• 
  Meredith holds her hand over a stove to ignite a burner.
  (Run!)
• 
  In 2011, Peter uses fire to battle Sylar's ice.
  (Five Years Gone)
• 
  Flint tries to escape from Level 5 by burning the glass. (The Second Coming)
• 
  Meridith heats up the container, causing Claire to suffocate.
  (One of Us, One of Them)
• 
  Peter cautiously enters Sylar's home in Costa Verde. (I Am Become Death)
• 
  Meredith saves Flint from Thompson, throwing a fireball at him.
  (Villains)
• 
  Meredith produces a jet of flame against Danny Pine.

Notes

• In a question and answer session, writers Joe Pokaski and Aron Coleite said that Future Peter absolutely absorbed Meredith Gordon's ability, but this event was never seen.
• Writers Joe Pokaski and Aron Coleite explained the "rule of Ted" in a question and answer session: "The oven can't be hurt by the heat. So Meredith is relatively immune to all effects of fire."
• Assuming the color of the flame is based on temperature, Flint's flames burn at approximately 1670 K (1400 °C) and Meredith's burn at approximately 1070 K (800 °C).

Fan Theories

Please refer to Theory:Pyrokinesis for fan-created theories and other speculation.