Shape shifting
| Shape shifting | |
|---|---|
 Sylar shifts to his original appearance. | |
| Originally held by: | James Martin (deceased) |
| Absorbed by: | Sylar |
| Ability to: | Shift one's physical characteristics to match another's. |
| Examples of shape shifting | |
Shape shifting is the ability to alter one's own appearance to match another's.
Characters
Confirmed
- James Martin is the first character to possess this ability.
- Sylar has acquired this ability from Martin.
Unconfirmed
- According to the assignment tracker map, a Peruvian terrorist in Lima, Peru has this ability. (Heroes Evolutions)
Limits
This ability allows the shape shifter to alter his or her body to match that of another person, even changing gender if desired. It is not yet clear how much of a size change (or apparent size change) is possible using this ability. The act of shape shifting is painful and requires at least a few seconds to complete. A form taken using this ability is not an illusion, and the user does not revert to his or her original shape if killed or knocked unconscious. This power also does not seem to alter the user's base DNA; blood and brain matter taken from James Martin continued to show Martin's DNA patterns when tested, despite Martin having taken on Sylar's form.
It appears that the shape shifter needs to touch the person he wants to impersonate, although Martin was able to impersonate Sylar without being seen onscreen to have touched him first.
Martin was the first character to demonstrate this ability (Into Asylum). He used it to impersonate one of Danko's agents after he ambushed the team sent to capture him. While impersonating the agent, he was able to infiltrate the Homeland Security headquarters to get more information about the people hunting him. When his cover was blown, he changed his form to that of a man he encountered in the parking garage while fleeing; completing this transformation took nearly a minute. The change apparently altered his height and weight as well as his facial appearance, including removing much of his hair and adding a beard. Martin later impersonated Danko and then Sylar at a nightclub. While impersonating Sylar, he was killed; his body continued to look like Sylar.
Sylar acquired this ability from Martin, first using it to impersonate a female agent collecting evidence at the scene of Martin's death (Into Asylum). Sylar is able to transform more quickly than Martin, completing the change from the female agent's form to his natural form in just a few seconds (although the transformation is still noticeably painful). Within days of acquiring this power (Turn and Face the Strange), Sylar demonstrates the ability to rapidly change form in only a second, with no visible discomfort. Over the course of the episode he assumes the forms of Emile Danko, Sandra Bennet, and a Black Ops agent. It is not yet known to what extent Sylar can use his other abilities while using a different form, although he has demonstrated rapid cellular regeneration while shapeshifted. Sylar describes shape shifting as cathartic.
Examples
-
-
As Jenkins, James shakes hands with Danko... -
...and later pretends to be him.
(Into Asylum) -
James touches a janitor's arm and shifts into a painful transformation... -
...and successfully copies the host's physical appearance.
(Into Asylum) -
-
Sylar, after acquiring the ability, enjoys using it... -
...and messing with his own eye color.
(Into Asylum)
.JPG)
Please refer to Theory:Shape shifting for fan-created theories and other speculation.
See also
- For a similar ability that can alter one's appearance, see illusion.
- For the ability to change others' appearances, see appearance alteration.
- For other uses of shifting, see shifting (disambig).