Theory:Nathan Petrelli

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The following fan theories are about Nathan Petrelli.

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Theories

Theory	Citations	Notes
Nathan might have impregnated Niki when they met in Collision.	None.	+ Nathan and Niki were intimate, and Jessica seems reckless. + Nathan is Claire's father, so he has impregnated an evolved human before. • The child of Nathan and Niki might have powers. - No child was evident in Five Years Gone + But, an abortion could have occurred in the five years, or the child could have been killed or put up for adoption. - In promotional material for Season Two, Niki shows no signs of being pregnant, something which would be physically apparent after four months. + Maybe Niki had an abortion or miscarriage between those four months.
Nathan's Power is aerokinesis, or the ability to control air.	None	+ This would explain how he flies (propelling himself by riding on air currents), how he protects himself during flight (surrounding himself with a condensed air force field), and how he heard Peter tell Claire, "There is no other way" (How to Stop an Exploding Man). Nathan amplifies the sound waves and carries them to his ears. • If Nathan's power is aerokinesis, then he might be able to do more than fly, but also control air to create focused blasts of wind, keep the air around him warm or cool and direct air currents that carry sounds to his ears. + With this, he could have protected himself from the radioactive blast when he sent Peter into the sky.
Nathan is the one who killed Kaito and is leaving the threats again the previous generation of heroes.	Nathan said that his mother was evil. (Four Months Later)	+ Nathan bumped into Ando right before he gave the newspaper to Kaito, slipping the picture inside. + Angela would have seen the threatening picture on her way into Peters's apartment, so Nathan must have pinned it to the wall before he walked in. + Nathan blames the previous generation of heroes for Peter's death because of their plot to blow up New York. + Nathan could have survived going over the side of the building with Kaito by flying away. - Nathan was with Matt Parkman when Angela was attacked in the interrogation room, presumably by the one who left the threats against her and Kaito. + As stated above, if Nathan has aerokinesis, then he could force air to blows his mothers hands at her face, regardless of wether or not he is in the room with her. - Nathan would have no reason to help Matt find the person his mother was framing her herself for murder over if he was the real killer. (The Kindness of Strangers) + His true purpose for helping Matt could be to gain access to Molly, with whom he could locate more of the older generation of Heroes. + Two of the threats were found in Maury Parkman's apartment ("Fight or Flight"): one against Maury, and one against Bob. There is no reason for Maury to have both threats (if he is the killer, why make one for himself? If not, why would he have Bob's?). Nathan could have planted Bob's threat in the apartment while there with Matt. + Nathan could have left the threat for Matt to find, so that Matt would lead him to Bob's location. - When Kaito is confronted by the hooded killer, Kaito seems to think that he/she is one of the eight other surviving members of the group of twelve. Nathan was never part of this group. + Kaito may have known it wasn't an original company member, and said he didnt know because he didn't expect a company member's child.
Nathan's reflection (Four Months Later) shows the dark and cruel personality of Nathan.	None	+ Nathan was really selfish and inconsiderate to others around him, especially to his own brother Peter and his daughter, Claire. + Nathan blames the Company's elders for Peter's death, but also blames himself, because he collaborated with Linderman and his mother on the planned explosion. - It is more likely that Nathan suffered some sort of radiation burns from being too close to Peter when he exploded--burns which have healed, yet he still remembers them as a form of self-induced torment. • Such burns as the ones displayed in Nathan's reflection are unlikely to heal perfectly in the span of four months. • The reflection appears again in The Kindness of Strangers. • Nathan may think that it's unfair that Peter dies because he had no control, and Nathan survives with no injuries
It is possible that Nathan was supposed to die during the explosion, but Angela saved him. Now he keeps on being haunted by his dead self, reminding him that he was supposed to die.	None	• When Kaito asked Angela what she has done for her son, she didn't answer but she may have done at least something. • The reflection on the mirror looked like Nathan except that he has radiation burnt skin.
The reflection of his burnt self may have been his appearance after the explosion and that he encountered someone with the same ability as Linderman and was healed by him/her.	None	+ The latest video in Hana's blog shows the explosion from another angle, and how a flying man (Possibly west) catches something in flames that falls from the exploison. (Most likely nathan) The disfigurement would have been caused by the burns.
Nathan's personality has split, much like Niki/Jessica, due to extreme trauma. His evil side will surface and become a main villain.	None.	• This personality fragmentation could have resulted from Nathan contracting the "virus" from Niki during coitus. - The "virus" is neither confirmed as contagious, nor as having infected Niki
Nathan is the hooded killer but he was somehow being controlled against his will.	None	+ The killer probably flew away, and Nathan has the ability to fly. + Nathan redeemed himself at the end of How To Stop An Exploding Man, sacrificing himself to save others. It would be against his new character (and bad writing) if he felt compelled to do a bad act to make up for another one. + Nathan has the same build as the hooded killer - When Kaito is confronted by the hooded killer, Kaito seems to think that he/she is one of the eight other surviving members of the group of twelve. Nathan was never part of this group.
Nathan no longer can fly	When Matt sugests to use his power to get faster in Philadelphia he denies it.	+ This could have been caused by the Shanti Virus - He has no other symptons. + He yet have to see him flying this season - We barely saw him flying in the first season. + This could have been a side effect of radiation burn that he suffered • His inability of flying can be psychological + He feels guilty over the "death" of Peter.