Theories:Events

This article will archive all of the published and fan theories that exist for events from Heroes.

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Explosion

Theory	Citations	Notes
Ted Sprague is the direct cause of the explosion.	He intimates that if he were to be shot, he could explode like an atomic bomb. (Nothing to Hide) Ted lost control of his powers and nearly caused a nuclear explosion after being shot by Thompson. (Company Man)	- In Peter's vision, Peter himself is the cause of the explosion, but the veracity of his vision has not been confirmed.
Sylar kills Ted Sprague and absorbs his power. Peter Petrelli then confronts and/or defeats Sylar and, for a short time, takes on Sylar's powers. But Peter doesn't know how to control Ted's powers and blows up.	In his vision, Peter tells Nathan that he absorbed "his" power and that he can't control it. (Godsend)	• It's also possible that Peter mimics Ted's power directly, rather than through Sylar.
The explosion could be a "rift" of the kind about which Future Hiro warned Peter. This could have been caused by Hiro taking the comic book back into the past with him, and that is what it looks like when things are taken out of their proper place in space/time.	None.	• Peter believes he is the cause of the explosion, but could be incorrect. The explosion began before Hiro jumped back to the present. - Isaac said he saw Peter explode, as did Peter in a precognitive state in Distractions.
Peter absorbs all of the other main characters' powers, which cause him to overload and blow up the city.	According to Claude, Peter's illness was caused by exposure to too many powers. (Distractions)	+ It's possible increased exposure could cause a larger meltdown of the sort Peter began to experience in Distractions.
It's the simultaneous combination of Ted's abilities and Claire's that allow Peter to reach some sort of 'critical mass' without dying so as to be able to explode.	None.	+ This theory would explain why Claire's survival is so important, as a large enough nuclear explosion would cause problems, not just for the immediate area destroyed by the explosion, but potentially the entire world depending upon where the fallout spreads.
Peter becomes Sylar, through some mechanism.	The watch on Peter's wrist during his vision looks similar to the one Gabriel Gray was fixing when he took the name Sylar. (Six Months Ago) Peter's trench coat is also similar to Sylar's.	- Peter has been shown to wear a trench coat (Genesis), and a lot of the characters wear watches. - Peter's watch in the vision is not broken, and is a different shape than Sylar's.
Peter will duplicate Nathan's ability to fly to minimize the damage from the explosion	None.	- It should be noted that an air burst explosion (from 100-200 Feet) is much more damaging to surface buildings then one right at ground level.
If Peter turns out to be the cause of the nuclear blast, one possible escape would be for him to mimic Hiro's powers and jump back in time to the Mesozoic Era (a time in which a nuclear blast may be considered to have much less impact on the state of the world today -- humans have not yet evolved and many forms of life will eventually become extinct). He will become the cause of the extinction of dinosaurs.	None.	+ Isaac painted Hiro fighting a dinosaur. Maybe he will go after Peter and save him from the dinosaur.
Hiro jumps back to prehistoric times in order to find Peter and lend him the ability to return to the present day.	None.	• If the above turns out to be the case -- Peter saving NYC from the nuclear blast by taking it with him into the prehistoric past -- the others may realize or fear that Peter would be unable to return without being able to tap Hiro's powers, although in Distractions Peter learned he could use any ability he'd come into contact with, without the benefactor of the specific power being present. This could be a possible motivation for Hiro traveling back to a time and having to face a T-rex.
Peter and the others will work together to stop Ted Sprague from causing the explosion, but Peter will absorb Ted's power, lose control of it, and become a threat himself in the process.	During Peter's visions, all of the other characters are present. (Fallout, Godsend)
Nathan winds up in league with whoever plans to blow up New York, using the disaster to distract away from the shady circumstances of his election victory and make himself look like a great leader in the process as he leads the campaign to rebuild New York.	In Peter's vision, Nathan is very calm as Peter is about to explode. (Godsend)	+ It's possible Nathan expects he can fly to escape the explosion.
Peter does explode, but does so while using D.L. Hawkins's power of phasing. Isaac's paintings would still depict future events accurately, but nothing would be harmed.	None.	- There's no reason to necessarily believe that the explosion would also be phased merely because Peter is.
An explosion is caused by Peter, Ted, or another evolved human, but it's only an illusion staged for Hiro's benefit.	None.	+ Candace has the ability to create an illusion, only having the city appear to be destroyed. When Hiro arrives in NYC on November 8th, he needs to have a reason to go back and begin his mission to stop the explosion, or else a temporal rift could undo everything that happened since Hiro left Japan.
Future Hiro told Peter to "Save the Cheerleader, Save the World" so Peter could mimic Claire's powers. Then he wouldn't die when he exploded and he could somehow fix everything.	None.	• Future Hiro tells him the message but he didn't tell him how he was saving the world by saving Claire. Maybe it was because Peter had to live in order to save the world. Ted's body doesn't explode when he blows up, he just creates an explosive force moving outwards from him. If Peter got Ted's powers, exploding wouldn't hurt him, so he wouldn't die if it happens.
Mr. Bennet is the cause of the explosion.	None.	+ In Fallout, Mr. Bennet thanks Peter for helping Claire. Peter says that he was in the right place and at the right time. Mr. Bennet then says something interesting--that maybe I can be in the right place and repay the favor. This may be foreshadowing that he is the cause of the explosion. Ironically, he would be "repaying the favor." • It would be an interesting twist if the Mr. Bennet developed a power.

The Message

Theory	Citations	Notes
Claire's survival is critical, so that Peter will be able to utilize her regenerative ability in a showdown with Sylar.	Peter is able to duplicate Claire's ability even when she is not present. (Distractions)
If Sylar is able to gain Claire's power, he will become indestructible and a bigger threat than he would be otherwise.	In the comic String Theory, it is revealed that Future Hiro enlisted Peter's help in order to stop Sylar from getting Claire's power.
The message is two different commands, meaning the characters have to save the cheerleader, and save the world.	Ando seems to think so. (Fallout)	- Hiro thinks the latter part depends on the former part, and it's his "future self" who gave the message. (Fallout) - In the comic String Theory, Future Hiro thinks that saving Claire's life will save the world. This seems to suggest that the latter part depends on the former part.
Claire's regenerative ability will be used to enter the radioactive area caused by the explosion to stop Peter Petrelli (or possibly Theodore Sprague) from dying/overreacting.	Claire goes into the house to tranquilize Sprague and survives the radiation burns. (Company Man)
The message is vague for a reason. Had Future Hiro been too specific with the message (relaying Claire's full name, her address, or even the town where she lived), he might have created a paradox, possibly causing a rift. Had this occurred, he would instantly have been pulled back into his "present"	None.	+ This is similar to what happened after his attempt to persuade Charlie to come to Japan with him. (Six Months Ago)
When Hiro says "be the one we need" he is telling Peter that he has to use Claire's ability somehow in the future.	None.	- In the comic String Theory, Future Hiro seems to be exclusively focused on saving Claire's life and he doesn't believe Peter has a larger part to play in some future battle.

Peter's dreams

Theory	Citations	Notes
Peter's dreams are not entirely predictive and can be changed.	When Peter explodes in his dream he does not yet have a visible scar which future Hiro said he will have. (Hiros) His dream about Charles Deveaux didn't come true. (Nothing to Hide)	- It's unclear at this point how Peter will develop a scar, if at all, now that he can regenerate whether Claire is present or not. (Distractions) + Simone has died, but appears in the dream.
Peter can envision himself as other people rather than himself.	None.	+ This could also be the case with the bomb. He can be seeing himself as Ted or Sylar. - In his second version of the dream, Nathan addresses him as Peter.
Peter's power revolves around empathy, and therefore allows him to put himself in the shoes of others during these prophetic visions.	Peter dreams he was flying when, in reality, Nathan flies. (Genesis)	- However, Peter has flown, including shortly after Nathan dropped him, so the dream did come true in a fashion. + His main power also seems to be empathetic, since no actual physical contact is required to absorb powers. With the bomb, he could easily be putting himself in the shoes of Ted or Sylar. • In the jail cell dream, it could be that Nathan is supposed to eventually turn evil, since he turned into a face which Peter associates with evil: Sylar.
Peter's dreams are a lingering effect of duplicating Isaac's power of precognition, making them truly prophetic.	Peter duplicated Isaac's precognition. (Don't Look Back, Hiros, Distractions) He can recall abilities he has duplicated in the past (Distractions)	- Peter's interpretation of his dreams is compatible with Isaac's prophecies and Hiro's experience in the future. - Peter began experiencing his dreams before he met Isaac. (Genesis, Six Months Ago) • In Distractions, Peter experienced Isaac's precognitive powers without needing to paint/draw an image.
Peter's dreams are not a separate power nor the result of his copying another person's power. They are a manifestation of his empathy powers allowing him to tap into the collective unconscious of humanity.	None.	+ This would explain how Peter is seeing people who he has never met before but who are still connected to him in ways he can't yet perceive.
Peter's dreams are merely symbolic of future events, and not literal representations of the future.	None.	+ In his explosion dream, Isaac is pulling Simone away from him. This could symbolize Isaac's reunion with Simone which Peter witnesses. (Distractions), or perhaps Isaac taking Simone away from him, by causing her death. (Unexpected) + Also, Peter's blowing up could be a symbol for the stress his powers are causing him. + In an interview, Tim Kring states Peter's exploding dream "obviously had all kinds of strange, surreal dream imagery in it."
Peter's dreams are not truly precognition, but a form of Astral projection, caused by his empathic abilities.	None.	+ Most of Peter's dreams only occur while he is unconscious, meaning it is possible that his spirit/soul is leaving the body and going somewhere else. • It is also possible that he absorbed this ability from Simone's father. (See Charles Deveaux theories)
Ando, Simone, Charles Deveaux and Mohinder all have undiscovered powers.	None.	+ Everyone in Peter's dreams are already pre-existing known empowered individuals, with the particular exception -- thus far -- of these three. - Simone has died, but it is possible she had an undiscovered power.
Peter's dreams are the result of his copying Sanjog's power.	None.	- The dreams are too unlike Empathic mimicry to be the same power. • It may be that the range with which Peter can copy a power depends on the power; he has copied different powers at different ranges, and Sanjog's power seems to have a larger range than any other thus far.
Sanjog is giving Peter the dreams in an attempt to help him	None.	+ There is no apparent range to Sanjog's power and he can accurately depict images of place people and events he has never seen. Peter mostly has these vision when he's unconscious, just as when Sanjog entered Mohinder's dreams before he'd ever met Mohinder. - However, Peter has also had visions while awake, and stylistically the dreams are very different. Mohinder's were of past events and exact, whereas Peter's are of future events and vague.
Peter's prophetic dreams are a power he absorbed from his mother.	None.	+ Having powers runs in families. - There is no direct evidence that Angela Petrelli has such a power, or any power for that matter. + There is foreshadowing to the effect that Angela Petrelli has an ability.

The train wreck

Theory	Citations	Notes
The train may have been derailed in order to steal nuclear material.	According to the newscast Isaac sees, it was registered to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. (Genesis)	+ See In His Own Image. The train wreck was initially part of a nuclear terrorist plot in the unaired pilot episode. The engineer, a character who eventually evolved into Ted Sprague, was originally a terrorist. This basic plot was abandoned, but some aspects of it remain.