Theory:Arthur Petrelli

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The following fan theories are about Arthur Petrelli.

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Theories

Theory	Citations	Notes
Kaito Nakamura didn't have an ability at the end of his life because Arthur stole it.	We have never conclusively seen Kaito demonstrate an ability. Arthur has the ability to absorb powers from others.	+ Having a character who most likely has an ability die without demonstrating it is unusual for Heroes. + This could possibly explain where Arthur got telepathy. - It has been revealed that in a unaired portion of an episode that Kaito reveals his evolved ability to Ando and the ability has to do with predicting probabilities. Therefore, Arthur had to have gotten his telepathy from another source. - This scene was revealed to be considered non-canon, therefore Kaito's ability could indeed end up being something different. + This could be the event that divided the Company and led to Arthur's "death".
Arthur's ability is a more advanced form of intuitive aptitude.	None.	+ Arthur is the father of Sylar, who has intuitive aptitude. + He requires some form of physical contact, which maybe the same as Sylar needing to look at a person's brain. - Arthur completely takes away the ability, while Sylar just sees how it works, and copies it, as he did with Claire.
People who lose their abilities to Arthur can regain them through use of the Formula.	None.	• A person's DNA determines what their innate ability is.
Arthur's ability is a more advanced form of empathic mimicry.	"You will be what I am" is the English meaning of Episode Seven.	+ "You will be what I am" may refer to Peter, that he will have such power when he learns to use it so. - Peter doesn't steal abilities; he basically copies them and pastes them into his DNA. Peter's subjects still have their abilities and the process is painless. Arthur has to put his subjects through a painful process of stealing their ability to the point where they don't have it anymore. In this case, Peter's empathic mimicry is more advanced than Arthur's power absorption. • Arthur may be able to choose whether he lets them live/die or keep/remove their ability. Peter may only be able to copy as of yet. + Looking at it from a strictly evolutionary standpoint, Arthur's might be more advanced. Evolution is "survival of the fittest" not "survival of the nicest". Although Peter's ability does not cause pain, make the subjects unaware of the "copying and pasting" or stealing their powers, it doesn't give a distinct advantage to the the empath besides leveling the playing field so both subjects have equal footing. With Arthur's ability, you would gain the advantage of stealing a new power to use in addition to depriving your opponent of their power to fight back with, providing Arthur with a double advantage. - However, Arthur can't get abilities without taking them from others, thereby depriving himself of possible allies. Peter's ability let him get abilities from others without disabling them, making him more powerful without harming those who had the abilities. He could have similar powers as his allies without having to disable the persons. He could also absorb the powers of his enemies without having to get close enough to touch them, which could be an issue. Arthur would have a hard time taking powers unless he could either gain the person's trust, disable him, or hold on to him long enough some other way.
Arthur Petrelli's ability is a synthetic one, not a natural one.	None.	+ In War Buddies, had no obvious powers, but it is clear as of Dying of the Light that he does. This means that either A) his power didn't manifest until he got to be pretty old, which seems fairly rare among people with natural abilities, or else B) his ability is synthetic. - Arthur could have already had his ability and not known it, or had manifested his ability after returning from the war. + As Angela revealed in Angels and Monsters, "[Arthur Petrelli] was disappointed that [Nathan wasn't born with the genetic code" and that this was Arthur's justification for granting Nathan a synthetic ability. This implies a belief that a lack of abilities is a thing to be assiduously avoided, and it also implies that he does not discriminate between natural and synthetic abilities with regards to authenticity. + From what we've seen so far regarding abilities and their inheritance, it seems likely that the natural possession of an ability is a recessive trait. There is only one recorded case of a normal child born to two evolved parents (Penny Logan) and it is possible that Penny Logan simply never manifested, as she died at a fairly young age. Conversely, there is an overwhelmingly large number of cases of evolved children born to two normal parents. If the natural possession of an ability is recessive and Arthur Petrelli's ability was natural, Nathan could not have been born without a natural power. Children of two parents with the same recessive phenotype will ALWAYS have the same trait as their parents--Arthur and Angela could not have produced a normal child. • If he injected himself, that could have changed his DNA structure enough that by the time Gabriel and Peter were conceived, the gene got passed down to them. Niki's abilities were synthetic, and that at least didn't adversely affect Micah, though we don't know if DL's were natural or not. Claire had one parent with synthetic abilities too. • DL's mother had a natural ability. DL's was probably natural too--since Niki and DL's relationship was a Company experiment, that makes sense, because they'd probably learn more from a union of a synthetic and a natural than from two synthetics. - Angela specifically says that Arthur was disappointed that Nathan didn't have an ability, DESPITE HIS LINEAGE, implying that both Angela and Arthur were born as evolved humans. The fact that Arthur had no ability in Vietnam can be explained simply by the fact that he had yet to steal any abilities from another evolved human; much like Peter, he had to realize that he wasn't special alone but need someone else with him to be special. + But he WASN'T alone. He came into physical contact with Linderman several times, including once when he forcibly restrained Linderman during the attack on Au Co. The sheer level of emotional stress during the war should have been enough to cause his power to manifest, but nothing happened. + Also, at the end of War Buddies: Part 6, Arthur had been in intimate physical contact with Angela Petrelli since they were shown with children when Linderman showed up at his door. He didn't absorb her dreaming ability either. - The formula that gives people powers was created by the Company, after its formation. Arthur Petrelli was one of the twelve founders of the Company and it has been stated SEVERAL times that the founders were all individuals with special abilities. They found each other because of their abilities, meaning that for Arthur to have been found and become a founder, he would have had to have an ability before the formula was ever created. + Victoria Pratt didn't seem to have an ability. And if none of the Company founders were normal humans then where the heck did the "one of us, one of them" policy come from? - The policy possibly came from the fact that when twelve people with special abilities got together, they started to think they were gods. + Well yeah, exactly. And gods generally don't like to impose restrictions on themselves. Thus, some of the Founders were probably normal humans. - It is assumed all the Founders found each other and joined together through their powers. This means we assume Arthur had a power before the Company's founding - thus before synthetic powers were created. + That seems like a big thing to assume, especially since Linderman and Arthur found each other long before they knew Arthur had an ability. He also found Angela long before he exhibited any signs of an ability.
The playing cards in the vault are from a game of poker played between Kaito Nakamura and Arthur Petrelli that caused them to join forces.	None.	+ Arthur was in SE Asia during the Vietnam war and could have traveled through Japan. - That is pure speculation based on nothing. South-East Asia and Japan are two very geographically different places and there is also no reason for a man in the US military to have met a Japanese businessman. + Kaito's power of probability would be extremely helpful when playing cards. + Arthur seems to have an ability that helped him win at cards, as it would be unlikely that his unusual adeptness at cards would be included as extraneous material in War Buddies, Part 2 + All of the items in the vault are said to be big clues to plot points.
Angela didn't love Arthur.	None.	+ She cheated on him with everybody under the sun. - The only confirmed affair was with Kaito Nakamura. + When Angela discovers that he is in fact alive, her demeanor is one of surprise and fear, rather than any sort of relief or joy.
Mr. Petrelli was in hiding from Mr. Linderman, possibly as a part of the Witness Protection Program. He faked a suicide, possibly with the help of Nathan to protect his wife and family and so not to be put into a position either against his son or against Mr. Linderman.	Peter did not sense his own father's passing, like Charles Deveaux's or Nathan's accident. Their mother stated that Nathan was the one who found his father dead.(Genesis, Six Months Ago).	• Since Peter's father supposedly committed suicide after Nathan's accident, he had already experienced his first vision. - This theory requires that nobody other than those in on the fake suicide had seen Mr. Petrelli's body or that they were somehow able to produce what appeared to be his body. - While Nathan tells Peter that their dad is dead from a heart attack, Angela Petrelli told Peter in the hospital not only that his father suffered delusions of grandeur and had committed suicide, but that he had attempted it several times before. If his death was faked, those previous attempts are no longer explained. • Mrs. Petrelli has lied about her family's "delusions of grandeur" on more than one occasion.
Mr. Petrelli is Mr. Bennet's biological father.	Noah Bennet's father needed glasses. (Company Man) Mr. Petrelli needed glasses and apparently wore a horn-rimmed version. (The Kindness of Strangers)	+ All of Mr. Petrelli's sons (if you include Noah) are named after prominent Biblical characters. - A lot of Anglo Saxon Names appear in the bible, including Matthew, Thomas, Gabriel, and Daniel aka D.L.
Arthur Petrelli is the true villain of Heroes.	According to War Buddies, "Dallas" has an extremely utilitarian philosophy, torturing a native for several hours to find the lost Skyhawk, and then destroying an entire village along with killing a young girl to win the war. Many of the antagonists related to the Company appear to use the same modus operandi: Linderman wanted to unite the world by killing .07% of its population.	+ In Truth & Consequences, Victoria tells Peter, "Adam's a murderer, and since you're helping him, you're one too... Just like your parents." + Arthur was a close friend of Linderman, and one of the founders of the Company. Linderman was a main villain of season one, and certainly the most manipulative. He is also married to Angela, who also supported Linderman. + Bob claims that Linderman was Adam's disciple; however, Arthur appears to have taught Linderman more about "the ends justifying the means" than Adam did. (War Buddies, Part 5) + Bob says that with her power (the same as Adam's), Claire could "become a major player. The next Linderman. The next Arthur Petrelli." The emphasis on Arthur could be indicative of something. (Elle's First Assignment, Part 1) + Linderman told Nathan that Mr. Petrelli had "great power." (Landslide) + Previews for Angels and Monsters claimed that Arthur's been "pulling the strings" through the whole history of Heroes.
Arthur has the ability to control evolved humans but not humans.	None.	+ A young and innocent Linderman assists in the secret beating interrogation in Vietnam; the human had to be beaten to give up the info. + Controlling the powers of the original company (Bob's alchemy, Linderman's healing, Angela Petrelli's precognitive dreaming, and so on) makes him the most powerful man on the planet, with unlimited resources. Controlling from behind the scenes is his preference, like calling himself Dallas. He likes to be hidden. + He pushed for research into synthetic evolved humans, because he can't control humans. He was also disappointed with Nathan for not being born with abilities; he gave him artificial abilities so that he could someday control President of the United States. + With the help of Maury Parkman, he could have faked his own death. If human influence in the company led to a assassination attempt coup d'état style, what better way to lay low than with the help of someone who can manipulate humans and evolved humans, and make everyone think he is dead? + Possibly because of Linderman's demise, Arthur has now been confined to a life support system, without the initial direct contact with certain evolved humans to gain control of them. He hunts these terrorists down using the likes of Claire and the team we saw, and that he is now attempting to assemble. + The future that Angela dream with a dead Peter could have been because Peter could have taken Arthur's power, and he would have snapped everybody out of it. - If Peter absorbed precognitive dreaming from Angela, it is likely that he absorbed Arthur's ability too. + If Arthur can control evolved humans, he could have kept Peter from picking up new abilities. The first ability he manifests is Angela's dreaming the night that Arthur 'dies'. + In both possible futures Hiro is a sought after "terrorist" but is to be captured, not killed like Peter. With a time controller, Arthur could correct his past mistake and take over much sooner and easier, as well as avoid being put on life support. • Arthur's natural ability is not the ability to control evolved humans. However, it is possible that he has absorbed this ability from another source. - Adam had to be forced into touching Arthur so that he could take Adam's power. If he had control of evolved humans he could have just told him to give him his power.
Arthur arranged for the unwitting reporter to discover a link between Niki Sanders and Tracy Strauss and use that to blackmail Tracy in order to stress her out and trigger her powers.	None.	+ Arthur Petrelli is a master manipulator much like Daniel Linderman. Under Arthur's orders Maury (as Linderman) has been manipulating events to push Tracy and Nathan together in much the same way that Linderman manipulated Niki and DL's lives in order to produce Micah.
Arthur has the ability of aura absorption, the same as Linda Tavara.	None.	+ His power is similar to how her ability worked, touching people and taking their abilities. • He might've learned how to only take a person's ability, seeing as how aura absorption usually kills the victim. + When he took Peter's power, something looked like it was being pulled out of him, like what it looked like when Linda used it.
The reason Angela wanted to destroy New York in Season 1 was to kill Arthur.	None.	+ Pinehearst's address is listed as Fort Lee, NJ. This is just northwest of Long Island. - Angela was shocked to see him in her dream, she likely believed him to be truly dead.
Arthur can only be stopped by The Haitian	None.	+ The Haitian can use his ability to nullify Arthur's power.
Arthur Petrelli now has "the hunger"	"You don't have your abilities anymore, Peter...because I have them now." - Arthur (Dying of the Light) "You have the hunger. You're like me, brother..." - Sylar (to Peter) (I Am Become Death)	- Chris Zatta says that he doesn't. - Peter did not have the hunger until Gabriel showed him how to use intuitive aptitude.
The only way for Peter to regain his powers is if Sylar removes Arthur's brain and shows Peter how to take the ability.	None.	+ Sylar's ability allows him to see how things work, but has never been specifically stated to let him take abilities. Therefore, it is possible that with knowledge attainable only by a person with intuitive aptitude, an ordinary human being can take an evolved human's abilities. + From a story standpoint, it would be fitting for Sylar to give in to the hunger he has been fighting for most of the third season, but then use it to help others. • Doing so may also cause Sylar to be consumed by his hunger again and return to his former status as a villain, effectively sacrificing himself (his new self) for his brother's sake. - Peter is powerless at the moment, so even if Sylar "showed him" Arthur's brain, Peter would have no idea what to do with it, as he no longer possesses intuitive aptitude. Sylar would actually have to open up Peter's skull as well, to modify it "manually," but since Peter no longer possesses rapid cell regeneration, this process would likely kill him.
Nathan was born with an ability, but Arthur stole it, either knowingly or by accident.	None.	+ Angela said Nathan was born without an ability despite his lineage, yet Angela has been known to misrepresent the truth to control Nathan. + If Arthur unwillingly stole Nathan's powers, that would explain why he spearheaded Pinehearst to create synthetic abilities out of guilt and desire to fix what he did.
Charles Deveaux was responsible for Arthur's injured state.	None.	+ Both Charles and Arthur seemed to be in a state of paralysis/coma unless Peter or Angela were using Pre-Cognitive Dreaming + Arthur's "suicide" occurred around the same time Peter was hired to take care of Charles in his last days.
Arthur seeks to absorb/drain the abilities of every evolved human.	None.	+ He has absorbed Adam's ability when he could have just used his blood and used him as an asset. - He could have taken his ability as revenge as Adam seemed reluctant to run away. • Adam ran away after Arthur told him he was going to take his ability. + I'm sure Arthur would have preferred having the power himself instead of just a temporary cure. + He knew Peter had a lot of powers and wanted it for his own, although he wouldn't need empathic mimicry if he could keep them permanently. - He hasn't absorbed Maury's power, Daphne's power or even Knox's or Flint's. + He already has telepathy. He does not need to absorb Maury's power. + Arthur obviously plans to use Daphne, Flint, and Knox for his own plans. Why bother assembling them if he was going to take their powers? + He may need them in the future + If he got all of Peter's powers, he did.
Arthur can return powers to those whom he took them from.	None.	+ He's keeping Peter alive. Without any powers, Peter would be useless to him. • Well he is his son. I'm not sure he would have any reason if Peter has no powers to kill his son? + Arthur has not made physical contact with Peter since stealing his abilities. Also, he has security guards physically restrain Peter when Peter tries to escape the facility. Perhaps a second touch from one of Arthur's victims reverses the power transfer? + This would allow Peter to regain all of his abilities without Arthur dying.
Arthur can only return powers once he dies.	None.	+ To defeat Arthur, the heroes will most likely have to kill him, and my bet is it will be Angela. Moving on, I think that all the powers he ever absorbed will be put back out into the world and given back to the heroes they belonged to. Though Adam will still be dead because his brain is gone. + It'd be dumb to take away the most powerful hero's abilities, then just let him fall off the face of the show. - You know what else would be dumb? Turning the main antagonist of Season 2 into a comic relief character, and then a captive, and finally a victim of the NEW main antagonist. It would also be dumb to stop having meaningful and personal character subplots (like Matt's troubles with his superior officers, Nathan's alcoholism, Peter's memory loss in Ireland, Niki's money problems) so that all the characters can be fully involved in the main story arc right from the beginning of the new season. C'mon, just because it's dumb doesn't mean they won't do it. + They can't necessarily keep Arthur alive without him being a threat.
Arthur will be killed by Angela and Company with the aid of the Haitian.	None.	+ The Haitian is really the only one that can stop Arthur as he seems he'd be the most experienced with abilities and cannot be touched, literally and in context.
Arthur Petrelli's power theft is a synthetic ability and he originally had a much simpler power.	None	+ Angela implies that Arthur had some sort of power prior to Nathan's birth. + Nathan did not inherit the ability to copy powers, but Peter did. Perhaps Arthur did not give himself the ability until after he was satisfied with the results on Nathan. - Without other supers nearby, its likely Arthur had no reason to believe he was different. - A person with one power cannot use the formula to gain another power. The formula takes the current genetic structure of the person and unlocks and manifests the powers hidden in that genetic code. A person can only have one power, unless their power is to gain other powers (such as Arthur, Sylar, and Peter). He could not have had one ability and then gained a synthetic ability.
Arthur Petrellis' power is the enhanced version of Peters' power.	None.	+ Like Matt Parkman has the same power as his father, Peter may have inherited his power from Arthur + Matt Parkmans' power changed and became more like his fathers' as he got better control over it. This same thing might happen to Peter, where not only can he just absorb abilities from others, but he can take them as well. - Peters power is already better then Arthur's power. For starters Peter doesn't have to kill to gain abilities. He can take peoples powers without the evolved human even knowing peter is taking their power.
Arthur used a mix of dream manipulation and persuasion to go into Angela's dream and paralyze her.	None	+ It does appear like he used these two abilities - dream manipulation would allow him to go into Angela's dream and persuasion would make Angela do whatever he said and/or implied, thus "You won't even be able to move" would paralyze her. - Maury can easily do this with his power, too.
Over time, Arthur will lose his stolen abilities and they will be returned to their owners.	None.	• It is unknown if Arthur's stolen abilities will last forever, maybe if he touches the people he stole the powers from again they will reacquire them. • In Eris Quod Sum, it could appear as though Arthur was attempting to avoid touching Peter. This might explain why. + Arthur seemed to hesitate when responding to Peter's query about whether or not his powers were gone forever. He could have lied when he said they were. (Eris Quod Sum)
Arthur faked his own death using telepathy.	None.	+ Nathan says that he was there when he saw his father dead. (Eris Quod Sum) This probably could not have been accomplished without using an ability. + Arthur has had telepathy before we see him use it in Dying of the Light; it is possible he had it before he was put on a respirator. - Arthur likely has many other abilities, possibly illusion. - Why would Arthur be on a respirator if he faked his own death?
Arthur was lying to Sylar about Angela's attempt to drown him.	None.	+ Faking one's own death speaks poorly for one's trustworthiness. + Future Peter said that the creation of the formula led to the exposed future. Arthur told (present) Peter that he wants to prevent the exposed future. So why is Arthur doing the very thing (creating the formula) that helped bring said future about?
Arthur plans on giving everyone abilities (as seen in the future) so he can absorb them all.	None.	+ It would be the perfect plan for a villain to gain more power: give everyone abilities so he can take them all using his and Peter's powers combined to steal them from a distance. • In Eris Quod Sum, Arthur appeared to have knowledge of what Peter was talking about when Peter claimed that Arthur's plan was to give everyone abilities. • This could be because he absorbed Sylar's ability.
Arthur isn't an evil villain.	He has only killed Adam and Maury, both villains. Eris Quod Sum	+ He removed Maya's power for her. - He was most likely doing this to gain allies and power. - He killed Maury only because he went against him. Maury was doing a heroic thing: defending his son. - He only killed Adam because he needed his regeneration ability. - He made no effort to stop Sylar from attempting to kill Peter. - Arthur thinks he is better than everyone else. - Arthur holds the threat of death over Daphne's head. - Arthur ordered Matt to be killed. - Arthur seems to hold a strict "if you're not with me, you're against me" policy. - He put Angela in a coma. - He stole Peter's powers. - He calls his own team "the bad guys" and "villains." - Promos for Dying of the Light and Angels and Monsters stated that Arthur is the leader of the villains. - Arthur has recruited Knox, who is evil. - Arthur has recruited Flint, who is evil. - Arthur likes Sylar the way he is; that is to say, a killer. - Arthur killed Peter, Nathan, and Tracy in Angela's dream.
Arthur has adopted an "ubermensch" philosophy.	He is seen reading Nietzsche while waiting for Peter to wake up in Eris Quod Sum.	+ When Peter tells accuses Arthur of feeling superior to other people (even evolved humans), Arthur simply states that it is a "fact". + He demonstrated an early form of this philosophy in War Buddies.
The four villains in Angela's dream were meant to represent Arthur.	None.	+ Arthur has already killed two of the villains, Adam and Maury, and has both of their powers. If he kills Knox and either Tracy or Barbara at some point, he will, in a sense, represent all four villains. - The dream was only a possible future and will likely no longer come to pass, due to Peter (exposed future) changing the past.