Theories:Events

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

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Dark Future

Theory	Citations	Notes
Sylar was originally the cause of The Explosion in the Dark Future, but Future Hiro's interference with the timeline manipulated events to cause Peter to become the source of the explosion.	In String Theory, Future Hiro is shown after having stabbed an exploding Sylar, who regenerated the damage Hiro did with his sword. Had events happened exactly as they did in How To Stop An Exploding Man in the original Dark Future, Future Hiro would have known that Peter was the bomb, not Sylar.	+ Given that Peter was still doubting his senses regarding his powers when Future Hiro came to him, it seems likely that Peter would never have persued the exact path he did without Future Hiro's intervention. If Peter never went back to meet Isaac, he never would have gotten Ando's call, never would have gone to Odessa and never saved Claire. + Claire's continued existence wound up changing events even further, and it is likely that Peter never would have met Ted had it not been for Claire - because if Claire hadn't lived, Matt would never have gotten suspicious of Noah Bennet, probably wouldn't have teamed up with Ted and certainly wouldn't have wound up teaming with both of them to take down The Company, thus putting Ted in New York for Peter to meet.

Explosion

Theory	Citations	Notes
Peter survived the explosion.	Angela seemed to think that Peter's regenerative abilities would allow him to survive the explosion. (How to Stop an Exploding Man)	- Claire's regerative powers will not work if her brain is removed or destroyed, as it would be inside a nuclear fireball. + Ted has never been harmed by his radioactive emissions, even when they were powerful enough to ignite household materials a few feet away. + Future Peter had survived the explosion and was wracked with the guilt of the event, so it would not be a stretch to believe that the current Peter would survive as well.
Nathan survived the explosion.	None.	+ It would be entirely possible for Nathan to have taken Peter to a high enough altitude and then released Peter, giving Nathan enough time to escape the radius of the blast. + It took 1 minute for the explosion to set off, however he doesn't look quite high enough for him to have been flying at such speeds for a minute. + Nathan, when he flies away to safety creates a ring and vapor trail when he makes his turn from vertical to horizonal flight suggesting he can fly supersonic and could have gotten away from Peter. (Hiros) + As Peter can also fly, Nathan could have released him at any point without him falling to Earth. In fact, it may be that Nathan need not have flown up with him at all, although with Peter losing control of his abilities it may be that he could not be relied upon to make it far enough up for the city to be safe.
Peter doesn't actually explode, but rather causes an explosion	None	+ The nuclear energy seems to be coming out of him, rather than him actually exploding. + This is implied by the way Ted survives after using his powers, most notably in the comics. Ted exploding
Sylar is still alive.	None.	+ Sylar's body disappears and a trail of blod leads to a manhole, possibly where he escapes. + Sylar has been damaged before, and he shows no sign of being hurt. He may well have used this power to survive the blade. + Many Humans have been able to survive the type of blow Sylar received, it is very possible for an evolved human like himself to survive it. • Sylar's eyes looked how they looked when he, Peter, or Isaac were painting the future. This could mean that he had an urge to paint the future. It does not necessarily mean that he survived the stab wound.
Matt Parkman is still alive.	When Parkman is carried away, he is seen still alive.	+ Greg Grunberg was seen at the 2007 Comicon Festival , and left shortly after with the cast to resume filming for the second season.

The Message

Theory	Citations	Notes
If Sylar is able to gain Claire's power, he will become indestructible and a bigger threat than he would be otherwise.	In String Theory it is revealed that Future Hiro enlisted Peter's help in order to stop Sylar from getting Claire's power.	- Claire could be killed by Sylar in the Dark Future. (Five Years Gone). So, if Sylar gained Claire's power it wouldn't necessarily mean that he'd become indestructible, since Claire could be killed while possessing her power.
Claire's survival was necessary to save the world. Because she is the one who changes Nathan's mind to save Peter from exploding if Claire wasn't alive Nathan would have just let Peter eplode instead of flying him up into the sky to explode.	None	Sylar does still have to die so if he gets Claire's power it is not a good thing. Because if he got Claire's power Nathan would have never changed his mind about the bomb and Peter exploding. And even if he did change his mind Sylar would have regenerated so before Nathan could fly Peter out of there Sylar would have stopped them. So it is a good thing that Claire is still alive. - It is clear in String Theory that Hiro thought that saving Claire would prevent Sylar from being able to regenerate after he was stabbed. Hiro thought that if Sylar didn't have that power then he would have been killed and there would have been no explosion. Claire probably did affect Nathan's judgement but it's not why Hiro told Peter to "save the cheerleader". • If Nathan hadn't have flown Peter away, he could still have been shot, but Claire may have been the only person able to get close enough to do it, so she would have been required either way. On the other hand, there appeared to be ample time to shoot Peter before his emissions became dangerous, as evidenced by he, Nathan and Claire being able to have a fairly long conversation before either Nathan or Claire suffered any immediate damage.

Peter's dreams

Theory	Citations	Notes
Peter envisions himself as other people in his dreams rather than himself.	Peter dreamt of flying but the dreams seem to have had Peter seeing things through Nathan's eyes. (Genesis)	+ Peter has a dream of Nathan's accident and he reaches upward as he wakes up while Nathan was reaching downward at his car. (Six Months Ago) + 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 regarding the explosion, 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. • It could be that Nathan is supposed to eventually turn evil, since in Peter's jail cell dream he turned into a face which Peter associates with evil: Sylar. On the other hand, it may be that Peter's vision of Nathan turning into Sylar was a partial prophecy: as of Five Years Gone it is seen that in the Dark Future Sylar has killed Nathan, taken his power, and used the power of illusion to impersonate him.
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 long before he met Isaac, although we have no way of knowing whether or not they passed near to each other before then, especially considering that both of them knew Simone. (Genesis, Six Months Ago) • In Distractions, Peter experienced Isaac's precognitive powers without needing to paint/draw an image. However, this could simply be a refinement of the same power - the painting may just have been the only way for Isaac to consciously interpret what he saw.
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 that 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)
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. - However, this cannot be proven. Peter has never met Sanjog. They are on opposite sides of the globe.
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.	+ It is implied that Angela Petrelli has an undisclosed power (.07%). + Angela Petrelli would be the only person with powers that Peter has come in contact with for which we can not attribute any of his powers to. - There is no direct evidence that Angela Petrelli has such a power. + Angela said she knew Peter and Nathan had powers long before even they knew, which could imply that she saw it in a vision.

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.