Rapid cell regeneration
Rapid cell regeneration | |
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Claire watches her hand regenerate | |
Originally held by: | Claire Bennet |
Absorbed by: | Peter Petrelli |
Ability to: | Regenerate cells |
Examples of rapid cell regeneration |
Rapid cell regeneration is the ability to regenerate cells at an increased rate, resulting in physical injuries healing in a matter of seconds or minutes.
Characters
- Claire Bennet is the first character to demonstrate this ability.
- Peter Petrelli copied this power (Homecoming); it is the first he was able to access outside the original "owner's" presence. (Distractions)
Limits
This ability does not move displaced parts of the body back into the correct location. After filming the videotape, Claire had to manually re-insert her displaced ribs before the flesh on her ribcage would heal (Genesis), and Peter Petrelli had to manually rotate his broken foot to the correct orientation before it would heal while he was mimicking Claire's power. (Homecoming)
Claire's regeneration will not work correctly if a foreign object obstructs the wound. Claire's power can expel small objects (such as a bullet) lodged in her body (Company Man). This is especially true of foreign objects lodged in the brain. After Brody "killed" Claire, she did not begin to regenerate until the coroner removed the tree branch lodged in her brain. Peter experienced a similar situation with a piece of glass in the back of his head (.07%). This limitation is presumably related to the importance of the brain in the nature of evolved humans, as theorized by Chandra Suresh (One Giant Leap). A more graphic example of this is future Claire's presumed death at the hands of Sylar ( Five Years Gone); when Sylar removes her brain after slicing her head open, she presumably dies afterwards.
Typically, Claire's blood does not return to its place in her body when an associated wound heals, although it can if the wound is small and her blood has not spread far from it (the only example being when her brother stapled her hand). She is consistently covered with blood following a serious injury; Mr. Muggles even ingested some.
Claire certainly feels her injuries -- she cried out from having a staple put into her hand -- but the pain does not incapacitate her in the way it would an ordinary person. Instead, Claire seems to feel relatively little pain from even severe injuries, such as third-degree burns and compound fractures. Because Claire hardly even winces when she undergoes such trauma as having her neck completely broken, the pain she appears to feel could in fact be only the pressure exerted on her body (or the shock, like when she is stapled by her brother).
Selected Examples
- Claire's hand accidentally crashes through a plate of glass and heals completely shortly thereafter. (Six Months Ago)
- Claire and Zach record a videotape of herself being seriously injured, and recovering from the injuries every time. (Genesis)
- Claire casually replaces her exposed ribs, and the wound heals instantly. (Genesis)
- Claire is accidentally tackled by a football player, snapping her neck. (Don't Look Back)
- Claire awakens on the autopsy table after a tree branch was removed from her brain, effectively having regenerated back to life. (One Giant Leap)
- Both Claire and Peter completely regenerate from injuries inflicted by Sylar. (Homecoming)
- Claire jumps off the platform at the abandoned refinery again; she heals on camera, and pushes her collarbone back in place. (Godsend)
- Claire demonstrates her abilities to her birth mother by slicing her arm with a butcher knife. (Distractions)
- Claire heals a gunshot wound, a small radiation burn on her neck, and massive radiation burns. She is able to approach and sedate Ted Sprague while exposed to radiation intense enough to set the walls and furniture on fire. (Company Man, Family Man)
Memorable Quotes
"I have busted, like, every bone in my body, stabbed myself in the chest, I've shoved a two-foot steel rod through my neck, and I don't have a scratch on me!"
"I think I died."
"I've died before. It's no big deal."
"You threw me. Off of a 30-story building! If I didn't regenerate, I'd be dead!"
- - Peter (to Claude (Distractions)
Notes
- In Claire & the Cat, a promotional Flash animation, a much younger Claire is hit by a truck, and then able to walk away.
- After healing, Claire coughs up the bullet that Matt shoots at her. This is unusual, in that she usually has to remove the foreign body before healing. (Company Man)
- According to Chandra's journal, a young Swedish man "potentially" had this this power. (Seven Minutes to Midnight)
Gallery
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After a severe accident with a glass door, Claire's lacerated hand healed itself.
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Claire leaps from an 80-foot structure.
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Claire had to replace her broken and displaced ribs before she could heal.
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Accident-prone Claire is tackled on the football field, snapping her neck.
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Even a full autopsy could not stop Claire from regenerating.
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Sylar forcefully tosses the cheerleader against the locker room wall, but with no lasting effect.
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Claire demonstrates her regeneration for Meredith by cutting herself.
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Claire begins to regenerate after suffering massive radiation burns.