Theory:Matt Parkman

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The following fan theories are about Matt Parkman.

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Theories

Theory	Citations	Notes
Matt's marriage has ended due to Matt realizing the child is not his.	None.	+ Matt seemed to imply he knew the child was not his. (The Kindness of Strangers). - While the question of the baby's paternity was the stated reason for their break-up, the nightmare sequence with the accusing Janice seemed to show that the baby may be Matt's and Matt may know it. (Fight or Flight)
Matt and Janice may be actively denying Matt's paternity to protect their child.	Matthew was in hiding with his mother in an alternate future that splintered after his conception.	+ Janice accused Matt of abandoning them in Matt's nightmare scenario. + Matt knows the child will be in danger from the Company from his own experiences of being abducted and held prisoner by them. + It is likely that HRG told Matt why he was hiding Claire during their road trip to New York, prompting Matt to hide his own child using Janice's affair with Tom McHenry as a cover. + Matt and Janice knew their marriage was over, and decided to divorce to keep her and the baby safe from this dangerous new aspect of his life.
Matt is a clone of Maury Parkman.	They both have the same ability.	+ Very few other characters have the same- or even similar- abilities as their parents. - Matt still has his hair, while Maury is balding. + Matt and Maury are not the same age.
Matt is able to read the minds of animals.	A turtle seemed to speak to Matt to tell him where he could find water.	- The voice Matt heard ended up being Usutu. • The sound of the voice was that of Usutu, but it could have been the turtle actually speaking. Why would Usutu tell him where to find water when he had a canteen of water already?
Matt can kill with his ability.	He implied this to Knox.	+ Bob said that whatever the brain controls, Matt can control. + If this is true, he could possibly make the brain stop the heart beating or stop someone breathing. + The good side needs some more offensive abilities, if they are supposed to defeat the villains. - Having wit/smarts can be just as effective or more effective than an offensive ability. + Betty was able to kill someone with her ability. Since Matt's ability allows him to do the same thing as Betty/Candice, it can be reasonably assumed that he can kill someone as well. + If Matt can control the functions of the brain, by all means he can stop the brain from functioning all together.
Matt Parkman is a stronger telepath than Arthur Petrelli was.	None.	+ Matt was able to free Angela Petrelli from the "coma" Arthur put her in. - Matt was only able to get her out because Arthur "unbound" her after she told him to. + Because Matt was able to overcome Arthur's influence, twice (the locked doors, Daphne). • Arthur may have stolen telepathy from a person whose ability was not as highly developed as Matt's. - It's not about how the developed the power is when it was absorbed, but how good a person is with it, Arthur had telepathy for a much longer while than Matt. + It doesn't mean Arthur was a more powerful telepath. + In "Behind the Eclipse: Week Eight", Joe Pokaski and Aron Coliete commented that "Matt’s power is evolving in ways that his father's never did."
Matt will lose his powers to Sylar, after learning to paint the future.	None.	+ In the exposed future in 2011, Sylar could paint the future, and somehow negated Peter's telepathy. Following Usutu's death, Matt would be the only precog, provided he does learn this ability. Sylar could steal his ability, and reproduce precognition thus. - In the exposed future there must have been hundreds of thousands people with the precognition ability since almost everybody had an ability. + Future Sylar (or as he insists, Gabriel) has a distinct lack of bloodthirst; one only needs to see his offering of delicious waffles to see that. As such, he would need to acquire this precog ability before he becomes so tamed, possibly before the formula is leaked.
Matt will become the next major villain.	None.	+ The power of precognition is one that requires great strength of character and responsibility. Matt's shirking of his ex-wife and son, his job, his family ties, and his immature relationship with Daphne all have roots in negativity and irresponsibility. - Isaac had some major flaws but was still considered a 'good' prophet. - Even though he was a serial killer, Sylar seemed to look for retribution from his mother after gaining the power of precognition. + Angela Petrelli is a good example of a villainous prophet. + Arthur, to an extent, was a villainous prophet. • He was a villain long before he gained precognition. - Not only precognition requires strength and responsibility. For example, space-time manipulation does. Hiro was childish and irresponsible, but he successfully became a hero. • He has also done very irresponsible things because he wanted a quest, such as allowing his half of the formula to be stolen.
Matt will be the "main character" of Volume Four, in the same way that Peter was the central character of Volume One (by being the exploding man) and Hiro was the central character of Volume Two (by creating Adam Monroe).	None.	+ Matt painted a new cataclysm; another explosion. He also painted paintings of himself with bombs strapped to his chest. This seems to imply that Matt is the exploding man of this volume. - Although Matt painted himself with the explosives, they don't look like an atomic bomb. The source of the explosion should be something else.
Matt actually has the power of psionic mimicry.	None.	+ Matt never developed powers until he was near those with mental abilities, and seems to be able to master those abilities with relative ease shortly after being exposed to them. - Matt was shown to struggle with his ability at first, picking up thoughts when he didn't want to. + Matt first developed mind reading while directing traffic outside the Walker home, and 'heard' Molly Walker calling out while hiding in a closet. - Matt didn't manifest clairvoyance. + He encountered Sylar shortly after, perhaps gaining intuitive aptitude, and explaining the relative ease with which he has adjusted to his newer powers. • Matt does not have "The hunger", as he does not crave being special, preferring instead to be an average man. Gabriel Gray possibly overcame The Hunger in the exposed future by giving up his need to be "special". - Actually, Gabriel still felt the hunger. He said he was suppressing it for his son. + Matt's power expanded to full blown telepathy and casting illusions after reuniting with his father, Maury Parkman, and being trapped by him in a nightmare. - They had the same ability. Matt simply picked up some new tricks. • Ted Sprague tried something new with his power. This new trick wasn't radioactive. + Matt developed precognition shortly after meeting Usutu, a precog and eating his paste. + This would also explain the 'feedback' Matt and Peter Petrelli experienced when they first met, as both their powers were trying to mimic each other. + Bob Bishop said that whatever the brain controls, Matt can control. • Telepathy can be used in different manners, it's not a specialized ability such as illusion or persuasion. - Matt encountered Angela several times, but he never saw prophetic dreams, although her ability is mental. - Matt encountered the Haitian several times. Although telepathy can be used to erase memories (as shown by Arthur in Villains), nobody has used it yet to negate abilities of others. + The Haitian suppressed Matt's ability each time they met, perhaps Matt never had an opportunity to absorb his power. - Sometimes Matt could overcome the Haitian's ability and read thoughts, although in single words. - Telekinesis is a mental ability too. But neither Matt or Maury moved things with their mind. - The same with enhanced memory.