Theory:Hiro Nakamura

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The following fan theories are about Hiro Nakamura.

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Theories

Theory	Citations	Notes
Hiro's powers resulted from mutations in his grandfather's DNA. These mutations were caused by the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.	Hiro's grandfather was a survivor of Hiroshima and died of cancer. (The Crane)	- In an interview, George Takei strongly implied that Takezo Kensei is Hiro's ancestor. He says that through that legendary samurai, he is bringing a lot of good DNA to this role. This means that Hiro's DNA mutations were obtained from Kensei, not the atomic bomb. + Takezo Kensei didn't turn out to be much of a hero after all. - This could be because of Hiro's manipulation of the past (kissing Yaeko)
Hiro's grandfather is Patient Zero, the first of the evolved humans according to Chandra's research.	Hiro's grandfather was a survivor of Hiroshima. (The Crane)	+ His exposure to radiation could have caused him to develop special powers. Hiro's grandfather knew that Hiro would one day develop powers and introduced his grandson to comics fostering dreams of special abilities. - Radiation gives you cancer, not powers; otherwise Mrs. Sprague would have powers. • On the other hand, Hiro's father likely received a much smaller dose than Mrs. Sprague presumably got. Cancer is a type of genetic mutation, and Chandra Suresh believed that most powers first presented themselves as genetic mutations. + Radiation is a common cause of super powers in comics and movies. - In Parasite, Mohinder reveals that his father called Sylar Patient Zero.
Hiro did not kill Sylar because he used Ando's sword	None.	+ Isaac's comic showed Hiro stabbing Sylar with the Kensei sword. + Isaac's paintings did not always come true because of changes made by the characters. - Isaac's paintings give little context to what they show. The comic shows Sylar getting stabbed but not necessarily killed. It may be that the comic never meant to foretell Sylar's death.
Hiro's powers have not fully developed. When they do he will be able to summon anything from anywhere to any point in time.	None.	+ Many of the powers take practice and time to develop. • Future Hiro did not display such an ability. Had he possessed it, he could have brought Future Peter to him and Ando, rather than traveling to Las Vegas, or simply summoned present-day Hiro from the Homeland Security building. He may have not fully developed his powers in the period of five years, however. • Matt Parkman also didn't appear to have fully developed his powers in the dark future, possible due to never meeting his father.
In time, Hiro will be able to travel to a time and place by focusing on a picture of it.	None.	None.
Hiro did not actually change history when he time-traveled to ancient Japan; events as they are unfolding now are exactly the events that occurred in the first place.	None.	+ It seems unlikely that Kensei would have become the hero of history without Hiro's guidance, as Kensei said himself that Hiro is like his conscience. + The "Battle of Twelve Swords" fits more into the context of Hiro's time-stop ability than Kensei's regeneration; if Kensei had gone into the battle, it is unlikely he would have simply disarmed the opponents. + This could explain why the depictions of Kensei in the Sword Saint documentaries looks less like Kensei, and more like Hiro.
Every time Hiro time travels he causes a catastrophe such as the bomb that explodes in New York and the plague that Peter and Caitlin saw.	None	+ In the graphic novel String Theory it said he went back in time to stop Sylar from getting Claire's power and so he could be killed. By doing so it only made Peter the exploding man instead of Sylar and the explosion still happened in Five Years Gone because Hiro teleported forward in time and it prevented him from stabbing him. + Hiro made it worse when he accidentally teleported to feudal Japan. There he met his childhood hero Kensei/Adam. He couldn't believe Adam was a drunk, pillager, and only thought of himself. So what did he do he turned him into the hero he read about but he betrayed him by kissing his princess. During the fight and before the explosion Adam told Hiro he would pay for what he did. + Bob said Adam was the first and he said Adam wanted to help the human population by ruling them through enslavement and punishment (or something to that degree). Maybe if Hiro hadn't gone back to Japan and met Adam and then accidentally betrayed him none of the future Peter and Caitlin saw would exist because Adam wouldn't want to seek revenge for hundreds of years. Adam may the one responsible for the release of the Shanti Virus on the world. If he can heal from the Shanti Virus, then he would have nothing to fear from an outbreak. - One of the side effects of the Shanti virus is the inability of evolved humans using their abilities. Thus, Adam would not be able to use his power if he came in contact with the virus. • But in the episode Truth & Consequences, Mohinder finds out that Claire's regenerative blood is a cure for the virus. So that means Claire, Adam, and maybe Peter are immune to the effects of the virus. • Claire's blood is only a cure for the virus when combined with Mohinder's antibodies. It is possible that someone with the ability of regeneration could resist the effects of the virus much longer than someone without (as it is not explained exactly how the virus negates abilities; if it is damaging whatever cells are responsible for powers, constant regeneration may be able to hold it off, possibly indefinitely, in a "dormant" state), but unless we learn more about how both the virus and powers work, it is impossible to say whether Claire, Adam, or Peter could survive.
When Hiro bumped into himself as a child he created a rift which will present itself later in Volume 3	None	+ Touching a previous version of yourself is a paradox which may well cause a rift. - Mere contact (physical or otherwise) with a previous version of oneself wouldn't necessarily cause a paradox. Only contact which would alter events in a manner which would prevent the contact would do so. This contact could have altered some events, but likely not enough to prevent the present Hiro from going back in time and making the contact in the first place. - Explosion Future Hiro didn't seem to consider that when he was about to send his past self and Ando back to their present. + He might not need to touch an object to teleport them.
Hiro can travel between universes.	None.	+ Hiro has gone to futures that did not happen. They could be futures of alternate universes.
Hiro was the reason why Adam personally killed his father rather than send Maury Parkman to do it.	None.	+ Adam personally vowed to personally destroy all Hiro holds dear ("Out of Time"). This could include family.