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. Drastic size changes are possible using this ability; it is not yet clear whether this involves a mass change or just density. 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.

A shape shifter needs a tissue sample from the person he wants to impersonate. This is usually accomplished by touch, although other methods are possible. Shape shifting changes the user's voice to match the person he or she impersonates. The shapeshifter can only recreate his subject's body--he has never been able to recreate the subject's clothing using the ability [1]. However, in I Am Sylar, Sylar obviously showed that he can change clothes as he shape shifts.

James Martin

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

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. Sylar was able to both regenerate and use telekinesis while in another form. Sylar can impersonate someone from "remote" contact; he impersonated Nathan Petrelli after touching trace DNA found on Nathan's toothbrush (I Am Sylar). Sylar also show that he can change his clothes as he shape-shifts.

Selected Examples

• 
  James takes on the appearance of Agent Jenkins.
  (Cog)
• 
  James pretends to be Danko.
  (Into Asylum)
• 
  James pretends to be Sylar.
  (Into Asylum)
• 
  Sylar, after acquiring the ability, enjoys using it to mess with his own eye color.
  (Into Asylum)
• 
  Sylar morphs back to normal after impersonating Danko.
  (Turn and Face the Strange)
• 
  After impersonating Sandra Bennet, Sylar morphs back to his normal face.
  (Turn and Face the Strange)
• 
  Sylar impersonates Senator Petrelli and gives a press conference as him.
  (1961)
• 
  To help Micah evade capture, Sylar impersonates him while the real Micah escapes.
  (I Am Sylar)

Fan Theories

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).