Niki Sanders
| Niki Sanders | |
|---|---|
| |
| Portrayed by | Ali Larter |
| First appearance | Genesis |
| In-story stats | |
| Known ability | Enhanced strength |
| Formal name | Nicole Sanders |
| Alias | Jessica |
| Gender | |
| Age | 33 |
| Home | Las Vegas, NV |
| Residence | Niki Sanders's home |
| Occupations | Former, and possibly current, casino worker and online webcam operator |
| Significant other | D.L. Hawkins (deceased) |
| Parent | Hal Sanders |
| Child | Micah Sanders (son) |
| Sibling | Jessica (deceased sister) |
Niki Sanders is a former casino worker in Las Vegas. She was raising her son, Micah, alone because her husband D.L. is a fugitive. In the absence of D.L. and his regular paycheck from construction work, she earned extra money as a webcam stripper running lasvegasniki.com. She has an aggressive alter-ego named Jessica, under whose identity violent acts and murders are committed. Niki turned herself in to Las Vegas police, fearing that she might hurt her son. She confessed to multiple murders but was released on the orders of Mr. Linderman.
Character History
Season One
For an episode-by-episode summary, see Niki Sanders: Season One History.
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Kindred
Niki and Micah are discussing leaving Las Vegas. Micah doesn't want to leave, but Niki tells him they need to start over. They both visit D.L.'s grave before leaving.
Later, Niki and Micah leave a cab, and they talk about their future. Niki tells Micah he'll be fine with "normal" people, and that he shouldn't use his abilities. Niki knocks on a door, and Nana welcomes them to New Orleans.
Niki calls Bob and tells him that she's waiting for him. She asks if he is sure he can cure her, and Bob assures her that Niki can be cured, so long as she repays the favor.
Fight or Flight
As Mohinder and Bob discuss over Molly Walker in a Company facility, Niki escapes from her confinements, making her way past guards and wreaking havoc. She happens upon Mohinder and Bob, with Mohinder immediately recognizing her. However, Niki does not return the favor, and knocks him into a door. She then moves onto Bob and grabs him by the neck in an attempt to strangle him. Before she can succeed, Mohinder tazers her, rendering her unconscious.
Later, Niki returns to her old self, and is confined to her bed. Bob and Mohinder give her company, with Bob assuring her that Niki will be helped with her Multiple Personality Disorder. As Bob leaves, Mohinder attempts to free her, but Niki tells him to stop, explaining that she came of her own free will, even leaving her son behind, so that she can seek aid from the Company.
Powers
Niki possesses enhanced strength. For months, she could only utilize her power through her alternate personality, Jessica, who is much more violent than her normal self. Jessica used the power in a variety of crimes ranging from robberies to brutal murders.
Niki may have initially demonstrated enhanced strength without becoming Jessica when she snapped a prison guard's baton in two. (Godsend) In How to Stop an Exploding Man, Niki finally learns how to use her enhanced strength at will.
Equipment
- Cadillac--a 1959 Cadillac Eldorado convertible, taken from D.L.'s crew by Jessica and registered in Niki's name
- Digital video camera--used to broadcast video chats for lasvegasniki.com; used by Linderman's thugs to record Niki
- Jessica's map--a map left for Niki by Jessica indicating where to bury the bodies of Linderman's thugs
- Laptop computer--used to run and maintain lasvegasniki.com
- Niki's tape--a videocassette of Niki made by Linderman's thugs; it turns to static as Jessica takes control and murders them
Notes
- While Jessica has a tattoo of The Symbol on her upper right back, Niki does not.
- Niki and Hal use more formal names for each other: Niki calls her father "Hal", and Hal calls his daughter "Nicole".
- Niki is on the list.
- Niki and Jessica can communicate with each other through reflective surfaces: whichever personality is dominant sees the alternate in the reflection. However, Matt Parkman heard thoughts of both personalities via his telepathy during one of their conversations (Run!). Niki and Jessica also communicated in jail sans reflective surface (Godsend). The significance of these unusual occurrences is unknown.
- According to the cast commentary about Godsend featured on the Heroes NBC.com website, the cast members themselves believe that it was Niki -- not Jessica -- who broke the guard's baton. However, during the Wizard World Los Angeles panel, the writers entertained the possibility that Niki might "eventually" be able to access Jessica's power, indicating they believed she hadn't done so yet.
Trivia
- The laptop Niki uses for lasvegasniki.com runs Debian Linux and uses Gaim for instant messaging.
- Niki never keeps peanut butter in the refrigerator. (Godsend)
- The ABC Soap Opera One Life to Live is famous for being one of the first serialized dramas to tackle the topic of dissociative identity disorder (DID) in a real and serious way with a beloved lead character. That character was Victoria Lord (Viki), whose most active and dominate alter ego was named Niki. She also had a daughter who, through Niki's carelessness, was traumatized as a child and likewise developed DID. Her name was Jessica, and her main alter ego was named Tess.
- According to a form found in Linderman's archives, Niki was born in a city that ends with "eles", probably Los Angeles. Her social security number is 2574-87-5698. (The Hard Part)
- A 2001 medical form for Niki has an address listed at the top: 348 South 4th Street, Portland, Oregon, 97209. It is unclear whether this was once Niki's address or whether this is the address of the form's originator. The medical form also lists Niki's age as 33. According to NBC's press packet, Niki would have been 28 in 2001.
See Also
- For other uses of Niki, see Niki (disambig).
- For Niki as she appeared in the dark future, see Niki Sanders (future)
- For articles related to Niki, see Related Articles:Niki.
- For images of Niki, see Images of Niki/Jessica Sanders.
- For other members of the Hawkins family, see Hawkins (disambig).
- For other members of the Sanders family, see Sanders (disambig).
Fan Theories
Please refer to Theory:Niki Sanders for fan-created theories and other speculation.
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