Ability heredity
| Ability heredity | |
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 The Hawkins-Sanders family are all evolved humans. |
Several evolved humans descend from parents who are also evolved humans, indicating that special abilities may be hereditary.
About
The basic premise behind Chandra Suresh's research is that humans are on the brink of an advance of evolution, and that there are genetic markers in DNA/RNA that can be used to predict the emergence of special abilities.
Genetic Markers
Using data from the Human Genome Project, Dr. Suresh was able to create a list of humans that could possibly exhibit the abilities predicted by his theories. While Chandra was able to find one example, he was unfortunately murdered before he could go public with his discoveries.
Minors with Abilities
While most of the known evolved humans did not discover their special abilities until their 20's or 30's, there are a few examples of children who have demonstrated powers at much younger ages. Most of these children have parents who are also confirmed evolved humans. Observing certain trends in the "passing down" of genes, two minors with powers (Claire Bennet and Micah Sanders) share the common thread of both parents being special. Molly Walker's father James Walker is an evolved human, however nothing much is known about her mother except that Sylar did not remove her brain.
Sanjog Iyer has demonstrated special abilities as a child; information about his parents is unknown. Janice and Matt Parkman are expecting a child, though there is some question as to whether Matt is truly the father. In an alternate future, their son Matthew was noted as a "child of interest" to Homeland Security (Five Years Gone).
Siblings and Cousins
Another indication that special powers run in families is the tendency of siblings to have powers, although it does not guarantee powers. Micah's cousin Monica has revealed special traits. However, for her they did not manifest until her early 20s. Her brother Damon has not exhibited abilities yet.
Nathan Petrelli and Peter Petrelli are brothers who have powers, but little is known about their parents' genetic status (except that they both are Company founders, people who are hinted multiple times to have abilities). Maya and Alejandro Herrera are siblings with complementary powers, but information about their relatives is unknown.
Thus far there are notable inconsistencies. For example, Nathan Petrelli has two sons, but neither of them has yet demonstrated special abilities, nor has Hiro's sister, Kimiko. Mohinder's sister Shanti Suresh may have had powers: she had some kind of genetic abnormality, her parents described her as "special", and she inspired her father's research. Mohinder, however, has not shown any evidence of powers.
Examples of Inheritance
- Claire Bennet is the daughter of Nathan Petrelli and Meredith Gordon. This coincidently makes her Peter Petrelli's niece.
- The Haitian is the son of Guillame.
- Matt Parkman is the son of Maury Parkman.
- Micah Sanders is the son of D.L. Hawkins, whose mother is Paulette Hawkins, and Niki Sanders, as well as Monica Dawson's cousin.
- Molly Walker is the daughter of James Walker, who is Ida May Walkers son.
- Elle Bishop is the daughter of Bob Bishop.
- Abu Aswan is a descendant of Khufu.
Notes
- In a Q&A session, writers Joe Pokaski and Aron Coleite were asked whether or not it's a guarantee that powers are passed on, given that both parents are evolved humans. They answered, "In genetics, nothing is guaranteed. A random mix of traits." In another session they said, "We've seen that the existence of powers may be something passed on, but the powers themselves are a crapshoot of sorts. For example, phase-man + strength-girl = talks to machines."
- To date, Matt Parkman and Abu Aswan are the only evolved humans who have demonstrated what appears to be the same ability as one of their ancestors. Whether there are any differences between their powers is unknown.
- Maury initially appeared to be the more powerful of the two (Fight or Flight), but this is could have been due to Matt's lack of knowledge about the extent of his abilities. Matt's power has increased since his first encounters with his father, and he was eventually able to trap Maury inside his own dream (Out of Time).
- Abu Aswan's ancestor, Khufu, has not displayed his ability but it is claimed that he shared the same power as Abu Aswan. A member of Khufu's kin was able to levitate an object without touching it but so far Abu has only performed levitation while touching the object. (History of a Secret)
- It is still unclear whether children with the same abilities as their parents have greater ability, or if the power level has anything to do with age.
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| Evolutions Abilities |
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| Graphic Novel Abilities |
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