Lie detection
| Lie detection | |
|---|---|
 Sue can tell that Sylar is lying by feeling a tingle. | |
| Originally held by: | Sue Landers (deceased) |
| Absorbed by: | Sylar |
| Ability to: | Detect when people are lying |
Lie detection is the ability to detect if other people are telling lies.
Characters
- Sue Landers had this ability.
- Sylar has stolen this ability from Sue.
Limits
This ability allows the user to sense when someone speaks a lie. Limits are unknown at this time. This seems to be a passive ability.
It is not clear whether this ability depends on sensing physiological variations in the body of the potential liar or if it works on a mental level. In other words, it is unclear whether the ability detects whether the statement is true, or whether the person speaking believes it to be true.
The range of this ability is unclear; Sylar has been seen to detect lies from a distance of approximately 2 meters. It is currently unknown if the ability can be used to detect lies from multiple individuals.
Sue is able to detect Sylar's lie immediately after she is told he's there to make a delivery. Sylar also remarks that her ability must be a burden to her, which suggests that Sue had no control over her ability.
Sylar states the user feels a tingling sensation when told a lie; he found this out shortly after killing Sue, when he asked a man on the elevator if there was any problem, to which the man said no (Sylar was covered in blood at the time). He is also able to detect a lie from Arthur Petrelli, realizing that Arthur was not his father.
Examples
-
Sue Landers used this ability to sense that he's lying when he says he won't hurt her, then later tries it out on an office worker in the elevator as he's leaving.
(Our Father) -
-
Martin Gray says something about Sylar being his son, and Sylar detects a lie. He immediately knows that he is not Martin's son.
(A Clear and Present Danger)
Memorable Quotes
"Sue Landers? Special delivery."
"You're lying... You're not here to make a delivery."
- - Sylar, Sue Landers (Our Father)
"How does it work? Does it tingle?"
- - Sylar (to Sue Landers) (Our Father)
"It's not going to hurt a bit... Got me... That's a lie."
- - Sylar (to Sue Landers) (Our Father)
"Huh, it does kind of tingle."
- - Sylar (Our Father)