Mental manipulation
| Mental manipulation | |
|---|---|
 The Haitian erases Sandra's memories | |
| Held by: | The Haitian |
| Ability to: | Manipulate others' minds |
| Examples of mental manipulation | |
Mental manipulation is the ability to manipulate others' minds, causing them to lose memories or preventing them from using special powers.
Characters
The Haitian is the only character known to have this ability.
Limits
The Haitian can interfere with at least some of the powers of other evolved humans. This power seems most effective against abilities that require active concentration (such as telepathy, persuasion, telekinesis, and space-time manipulation) and less effective against powers that are passive or activate involuntarily (like regeneration, invisibility, and induced radioactivity). This power does not require a line of sight and may not require awareness of the target; he inhibits Matt Parkman's telepathy in the parking lot of Primatech Paper Co. when he may not be aware of Matt's presence. Interference may even be a passive power: one that is constantly active without concentration or effort, although he can apparently choose not to interfere with particular powers.
The Haitian's interference is not insurmountable; while Matt gets nothing but "static" when he tries to read the Haitian's mind, he can sometimes pick up a word or two from Mr. Bennet in spite of the Haitian's interference. Nevertheless, any power that requires concentration is drastically limited within an unspecified radius of the Haitian.
Another aspect of the Haitian's power is the ability to selectively remove memories of specific events or periods of time. He apparently needs to touch the subject to remove memories.
Erasing memories has been associated with headaches and blackouts (as in the cases of Matt Parkman and Theodore Sprague).
Multiple memory erasures appear to be harmful to the subject. The Haitian has erased portions of Sandra Bennet's memory "many times" (Fallout), and Sandra has since developed a subdural hematoma in the part of her brain that controls memory (Unexpected). Symptoms include headaches, facial tics, fainting spells, and intermittent amnesia so severe that she sometimes does not even recognize her dog or her daughter (Run!).
The Haitian has said that he cannot restore a memory he has deleted. (Godsend)
Selected Examples
- In 1992, a young Haitian boy is called upon to erase Sandra Bennet's mind after finding her husband's gun and sedation kit. (Company Man)
- The Haitian is able to entirely block the effect of Eden's power of suggestion (Six Months Ago)
- In an L.A. bar, a medical facility, and the Odessa Police Department, The Haitian blocks most of Matt's telepathy when he tries to read his or Mr. Bennet's thoughts. Each time, Matt hears static (listen) and only catches a single word. (One Giant Leap, Collision, Fallout)
- The Haitian erases Brody Mitchum's memory. (Hiros)
- The Haitian erases parts of Zach's and Lyle's memories. He mentions that he has erased Sandra Bennet's memories "so many times". (Fallout)
- The Haitian completely prevents Matt from being able to listen in on Mr. Bennet's thoughts. (Godsend)
- The Haitian places his fingertips on Sandra Bennet's forehead and removes memories. (Distractions)
- So Claire won't be found, Mr. Bennet asks The Haitian to erase his memories. (Company Man, Family Man)
Memorable Quotes
"Relax. Nothing's gonna happen to your wife because she's not gonna remember finding anything. There's a boy we discovered in Haiti."
"He can make her forget?"
"He's really something. He's mute. When we asked him to describe his ability, he drew a picture of himself pulling memories like little grub worms out of someone's head. I want to put it on the front of my fridge. When he's done, make sure you thank him for saving Sandra's life."
"Sometimes, it's like picking flowers just after a spring rain... Sometimes, like reaching into the moist soil of freshly dug graves. Grubs biting at your fingers... Sometimes, it's like dancing... But always, it reminds me of home. And my father."
"My shame. My fear. My love for my father... Leapt from me... Like fingers... No... Like machetes... Slashing carelessly through the soft everything around them. Leaving nothing. Nothing but empty shells."
"I knew it was a desperate, stupid question even as it passed my lips. I happened to them. Something inside me, lashed out into their minds... scraping. Like fingernails through the flesh of an overripe melon."
Notes
- Though he is with a detained Nathan Petrelli, the Haitian is unable or unwilling to prevent Nathan from flying away. (Hiros)
- Though he is only feet from Peter Petrelli and Claude Rains, the Haitian does not prevent them from being invisible. (Unexpected)
- He never tries to stop Ted's radiation in Company Man. In the commentary for that episode, Bryan Fuller admits that they have "played fast and loose" with the Haitian's ability and says that they had considered including a line explaining that he cannot suppress Ted's ability.
- Sylar became unconscious when the Haitian grabbed him in Homecoming. It's not clear whether this event was related to his mental manipulation powers or was simply in response to Eden's suggestion to sleep.
- In an interview, writer and co-producer Aron Coleite said in regards to the Haitian's powers, "I think that it’s more of an on-and-off thing. He has very good control of his ability. I think that he’s able to turn it on and off. You’ll find out that the Haitian has been using his ability for a while. He’s adept at using his ability."
- The Haitian's power may have the ability to knock out individuals. After an encounter with the Haitian, Matt, Ted, Sylar, and Nathan were all subdued in some way or another. However, in each case, an alternate explanation was given (for instance, Mr. Bennet told Matt that he was drugged). Ultimately, not enough evidence is available to draw a conclusion as to the full extent of the Haitian's powers.
- The fan term for wiping someone's memory is "mindrape".
- Sylar has a flashback of Charlie and the Burnt Toast Diner (Road Kill). Artist Jason Badower theorized, "[The graphic novel] confirms Sylar has Charlie's memory... He was immune to the Haitian's 'Jedi Mind Tricks'."
Gallery
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The Haitian goes upstairs to meet Sandra Bennet for the first time. -
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In a secret medical facility, the Haitian goes deep and cleans out Matt's memory. -
The Haitian works on Brody's memory. -
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Matt Parkman's memories fade.
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| Evolutions Abilities |
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| Graphic Novel Abilities |
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| 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 mental manipulation | |||||