Theory:Ability theft
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The following fan theories are about Ability theft.
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Theories
Theory | Citations | Notes |
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Sylar could have stolen the ability of shadow travel. | None. | + In How to Stop an Exploding Man, Sylar was able to sneak up on Noah and Peter, even though they were in an open area. + In One Giant Leap, Matt corners Sylar, who disappears without the camera watching while it didn't sound like he jumped. It was dark on the floor and on the side of the building.
+ In Homecoming when Peter tells Claire to go find people, when he turns back, Sylar is right in front of him. When Peter was talking to Claire, they didn't behave as if Sylar were approaching, or else they would have indicated as such. Sylar could have crept through the shadows that were surrounding the bleachers.
+ Also in Unexpected, Dale asks Sylar why she didn't hear his footsteps. Sylar replies, "Because there weren't any."
+ In Isaac's painting of Claire being chased up the stairs of the stadium, Sylar's shadow appears much larger than any normal projected shadow would be.
+ In all the dark areas he seems to move faster than normal.
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Sylar has the ability of hibernation. | Sylar is able to fool Hank into thinking that he is dead. (The Fix) | + He is able to trick Hank, who is (apparently) a trained doctor; a comatose or catatonic state could easily be mistaken for death, even by a doctor. + Hibernation could also help to explain how Sylar recovers from his injuries, such as when he falls in Odessa or when Modinder runs a board into him in New York.
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Sylar's powers become weaker when he absorbs more powers. | None. | + Sylar doesn't seem to notice his watch is stuck at 11:53. Later he may have fixed it but this could show that his powers are becoming weaker.
- However, 11:53, the time that he killed Chandra Suresh, was after he had adopted the identity of Sylar. He had shed his role as a simple watchmaker to become something more. This is reinforced by the fact that the only time he fixes a clock after that point is at his mother's house, when pretending to be his old self and looking for her permission to just be normal.
+ Claire's regeneration ability protected her from disease (when she lost it during the second eclipse she basically caught everything around her because she didn't have natural antibodies), but the virus released by Maya affected Sylar.
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Sylar absorbs personalities as well as powers when he steals someone's powers. | None. | + Sylar's internal monologue mirrors Charlie Andrews's way of talking as he is using her eidetic memory. (Road Kill)
+ After killing Zane Taylor, when pretending to be Zane and using Zane's power, Sylar seems to be much more nervous and excitable than usual. (Run!, Unexpected)
• In the commentary for Unexpected, Zachary Quinto and Greg Beeman both comment upon the subtle clues in the lighting and acting that show Sylar "changing".
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Sylar won't be able to absorb Peter's powers. | None. | + Sylar's method of power theft seems to depend entirely upon his ability to logically understand how that person's brain works through intuitive aptitude. Since Peter's power is based off of emotion, it is possible Sylar will not be able to figure out what makes Peter "tick". Peter's power-duplication ability relies on empathy. Because Sylar isn't at all empathic, he won't be able to use Peter's ability. Sylar doesn't have any feeling for others, so he won't be able to duplicate anything he might get through Peter's power anyway.
- We have been given no evidence that Peter's ability is any less grounded in the brain than anybody else's.
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Sylar obtains powers through the manipulation of transposons. | None. | + Transposons have the ability to literally cut and paste genetic material, and are responsible for 40% of human evolution. If Sylar had worked out how to manipulate them it would allow him to cut the desired genetic material and paste it into his own genome. |
Sylar has the power of metabolic control. | None. | + Sylar has shown resistance to high doses of sedatives on at least two occasions. + Sylar has been able to mimic a death-like state at least once (The Fix) and possibly twice (How to Stop an Exploding Man) |
Sylar may have a secondary ability to control his body or genetic structure in a similar way to Peter Petrelli. | None. | + Sylar holds Peter up telekinetically and states "You're like me aren't you?" and says he'd love to see that work.
+ Sylar pretends to be dead after watching a cockroach crawl on the floor. Cockroaches slow their heart rate, just as Sylar seemingly did to fool Hank into thinking he was dead.
- Sylar's assignment tracker states that he absorbs powers by reconfiguring his DNA, but implies it is part of his Intuitive Aptitude. |
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See Also: 9 • Red • Time travel • Ability theft |