Theory:Barbara

Main Article Theories about Barbara Main Discussion

The following fan theories are about Barbara.

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Theories

Theory	Citations	Notes
Barbara is the one in Angela's dream	None.	+ Tracy seems too good to turn to a villain, Barbara on the other hand is still unaccounted for. - If the dream is just symbolic, the woman might not be a villain, but just the person who turns her son Nathan against her. + The woman in Angela's dream is not wearing a pearl necklace, which Tracy has not been seen without. (she didn't even take it off when she slept with Nathan) • This may just be a consistency error. + Seems unlikely considering their consistency with her pearls so far.
Barbara has a mental ability, like telepathy or mental manipulation.	None	• Her two birth sisters, Niki Sanders and Tracy Strauss, have very dissimilar abilities, with one being physical (enhanced strength) and the other being elemental/energy-based (freezing). There may have been an effort to keep the sisters' abilities different from each other, which would make sense if they were being used in an experiment, as it would allow Dr. Zimmerman and his colleagues to test more variations of "induced" abilities. In that case, a mind-based power would make sense for Barbara, as it would be quite different from both Niki's and Tracy's abilities. - There's already a villain who is a telepath. If Barbara is meant to be a villain, then it's unlikely that a new character would possess the ability of someone who is still alive and on the same side (Knox has a variant of Niki's ability because she's no longer around). • Echo DeMille and Jesse Murphy both were villains and both were trapped in Level 5. Both possessed the same ability. • Jesse was initially supposed to have earthquake generation as an ability, but the producers thought this would be too expensive to shoot, and so gave him an ability similar to Echo's at the last minute.
Barbara is a level 5 escapee	None.	+ More villains than just Knox, Flint, The German, and 'Jesse' had to escape + If her and the Greman know each other then it's possible that they committed a crime together that landed them in Level 5. - Bianca and Gael captured only The German • Barbara may have escaped capture from Bianca and Gael, but gotten caught at a later date. + She may have been the triplet in the group of villains Angela Petrelli forsaw. + You gotta admit, if Tracy plays for the side of good, having Barbara on the dark side would make a good plotline. • Hypotetically, if Tracy were to play the role of light, while Niki's remorse over her alter's actions leaving her morally gray, then Barbara by default would represent darkness.
Barbara has an ability that Future peter has, but present Peter has not come into contact with yet. Such as Illusion or body insertion.	None.	+ It is almost certain Barbara has an ability. + Candice died before Peter came in contact with her. + As above theory, Illusion would fit in with a mental ability. - Peter could've absorbed Candace's ability at Kirby Plaza, as he did with DL's Phasing. He might not know he has it though explaining why he hasn't used it yet. + Candice could of dragged Sylar away from Kirby Plaza after Peter and Nathan flew into the sky.
Barbara's power is Super speed.	Dr. Zimmerman, when talking about his power formula utters "Super strength, super speed, something like that?"	- Most evolved humans don't gain their powers untill they are teenage, chances are Dr. Zimmerman did not keep track on Barbara,Tracy or Niki that long. He was most likely guessing.
Barbara will be recruited into, or already is working for the Pinehearst Company.	None.	+ Every villain that appeared in Angela's dream was shown to be connected to the Pinehearst Company (Knox and Maury are working for them, and Adam was abducted by them). Assuming that the woman who looks like Tracy Strauss is Barbara, she is due to be recruited. + Ali Larter narrated the video on the Pinehearst website.
Barbara's last name is Zimmerman. She was raised by Dr. Zimmerman and his wife. The German was also raised as her brother.	What appears to be a family photo on Dr. Zimmerman's desk.	+ Dr. Zimmerman's reaction to Tracy and the use of only Barbara's first name implies that unlike Tracy he personally knows Barbara.
Barbara is dead.	We have not seen her as an alive character in the show.	+ Dr. Zimmerman seemed surprised to see her when he thought she was Barbara. This could possibly be because he knows her to be dead. - Just because we haven't seen her before doesn't mean she's dead. We didn't see Tracy Strauss until Season 3 but she's alive.
Tracy will try to meet with Barbara.	None.	+ Tracy is trying to cope with her ability, she may look for Barbara for help.
She was never dead to began with	Season 3	+ We find out about Tracy. Now that leave us with Lies and Conspiracies about Zimmerman, The Company, and Tracy's parents. When you think about it. Niki has a Power, Tracey has power. So in that way The Biological Parents. Had something to do with it. Cause they wuold realize their babies are missing for certain about of days and ends up home. The parents had to be part of it. So Niki probably witnessed a fake death of Barbara or Niki doesn't remember correctly or Her Memory was Manipulated.