Precognition
| Precognition | |
|---|---|
 Isaac paints in a prophetic trance. | |
| Originally held by: | Isaac Mendez |
| Absorbed by: | Peter Petrelli, Sylar |
| Ability to: | Accurately foresee future events |
| Examples of precognition | |
Precognition is the ability to accurately foresee future events.
Characters
- Isaac Mendez is the first character known to have this ability.
- Peter Petrelli has copied this ability (Don't Look Back), and was later able to access it outside Isaac's presence. (Don't Look Back, Distractions, The Hard Part, Fight or Flight)
- Sylar kills Isaac and begins work on a crude painting, showcasing the newly acquired power. (.07%)
Limits
Isaac always makes prophecies in the form of paintings or drawings.
When painting a prophetic image, Isaac enters a trance-like state and his eyes become completely white. He is largely unaware of his surroundings in this state. (He did not enter such a trance when making prophetic sketches.)
Isaac has been able to depict the past, the present, and the future. The 9th Wonders! graphic novel that Isaac created (namely, Issue #14) contains events from both the present and future timelines. (See here for more information.)
Isaac was initially able to make prophetic images only under the influence of heroin. In Fallout, he overcame this limitation.
As of Distractions, Isaac can focus his precognitive powers. He made numerous paintings in an effort to locate Peter Petrelli, but he did not realize that all of them were accurate until he realized that Peter was invisible in them.
It is not known if all the works Isaac creates are prophetic or not.
It seems that Isaac can only know what the future is by painting it because he has to look at what he has drawn. Peter seems not to make any mention of what he saw in the future, so painting the future is the only way to "record" what one sees. (Distractions)
Also, Isaac has, at least once, painted a situation that occurred in the past when one of his series of eight paintings is shown to be Hiro fighting Adam Monroe (as Kensei) in Feudal Japan.
The events depicted in prophetic images are not completely inevitable. Isaac painted a mural depicting the the explosion happening at ground level, and he and Peter later created several images depicting the destruction it caused. Thanks to the actions of several characters, the explosion occurred at a very high altitude, where it apparently did no damage to the city.
Peter looks at a blank canvas and is able to see flashes of a painting from a distance. Once in front of the canvas, he appears to be locked into the precognitive trance until he finished. (Fight or Flight)
It is unknown if painting is the only way to manifest this power, as Sylar was seen receiving quick flashes of the future after being stabbed at Kirby Plaza.
Selected Examples
-
Isaac painted and sketched numerous prophetic images. -
Peter has also created a few paintings and sketches. -
Notes
- According to NBC.com's interactive map, Byron Bevington also possesses precognition.
- In Distractions, Peter's eyes glazed over like Isaac's do when he enters a prophetic trance, and Peter again had visions of himself exploding. Peter's visions of the explosion may be linked to the precognitive powers he absorbed from Isaac.
- According to Chandra's journal, a Brazilian teenager had this ability. (Seven Minutes to Midnight)
- At times, Isaac has painted images of events that seem to be occurring in the present, not the future. However, he could easily be painting events in the near future that actually take place before he has time to finish the painting.
Memorable Quotes
"Look around you at all these paintings! Every one of them has come true."
- - Isaac Mendez (to Simone Deveaux) (One Giant Leap)
"You think you can paint the future? Paint one without me in it."
- - Simone Deveaux (to Isaac Mendez) (One Giant Leap)
"You really can paint the future, just like the professor said. Fantastic."
- - Sylar (to Isaac Mendez) (.07%)
| |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abilities |
Extension:DynamicPageList3 (DPL3), version 3.6.1: Error: MediaWiki\Extension\DynamicPageList3\Query::buildAndSelect: The DynamicPageList3 extension (version 3.6.1) produced a SQL statement which led to a Database error.<br/>The reason may be an internal error of DynamicPageList3 or an error that you made; especially when using parameters like 'categoryregexp' or 'titleregexp'. Usage of non-greedy <code>*?</code> matching patterns are not supported.<br/>The error message was:<br/><code></code> | ||||
| Evolutions Abilities |
Extension:DynamicPageList3 (DPL3), version 3.6.1: Error: MediaWiki\Extension\DynamicPageList3\Query::buildAndSelect: The DynamicPageList3 extension (version 3.6.1) produced a SQL statement which led to a Database error.<br/>The reason may be an internal error of DynamicPageList3 or an error that you made; especially when using parameters like 'categoryregexp' or 'titleregexp'. Usage of non-greedy <code>*?</code> matching patterns are not supported.<br/>The error message was:<br/><code></code> | ||||
| Graphic Novel Abilities |
Extension:DynamicPageList3 (DPL3), version 3.6.1: Error: MediaWiki\Extension\DynamicPageList3\Query::buildAndSelect: The DynamicPageList3 extension (version 3.6.1) produced a SQL statement which led to a Database error.<br/>The reason may be an internal error of DynamicPageList3 or an error that you made; especially when using parameters like 'categoryregexp' or 'titleregexp'. Usage of non-greedy <code>*?</code> matching patterns are not supported.<br/>The error message was:<br/><code></code> | ||||
| See Also: Extension:DynamicPageList3 (DPL3), version 3.6.1: Error: MediaWiki\Extension\DynamicPageList3\Query::buildAndSelect: The DynamicPageList3 extension (version 3.6.1) produced a SQL statement which led to a Database error.<br/>The reason may be an internal error of DynamicPageList3 or an error that you made; especially when using parameters like 'categoryregexp' or 'titleregexp'. Usage of non-greedy <code>*?</code> matching patterns are not supported.<br/>The error message was:<br/><code></code> • Examples of precognition | |||||