Supercharging
Supercharging | |
---|---|
Ando supercharges Daphne's ability, allowing her to run faster than light. | |
Held by: | Ando Masahashi (synthetic) |
Ability to: | Amplify abilities and generate energy blasts by projecting a red bolt of electricity |
Examples of supercharging |
Supercharging (also referred to as "red lightning") is Ando's ability to amplify the abilities of other evolved humans. His ability can also generate a concussive energy blast and be used similar to an electric shock.
Characters
- Ando Masahashi was granted this ability synthetically. (Dual)
Limits
Ando injected himself with the formula and appeared to shoot red sparks from his hand. He soon determined that these sparks could greatly amplify the abilities of other evolved humans, such as telepathy and super speed. When Ando touched Matt, Matt's power was increased to the point where he could hear every thought in the city. When Ando used his ability on Daphne, she moved so fast she went a few seconds back in time, long enough to witness the effects of Ando's power on Matt and herself. Daphne and Ando then combined their powers in order to save Hiro, by having Ando super-charge Daphne's powers so as to allow the two to shift themselves sixteen years into the past. (Dual)
Ando's ability has differing effects based on which ability is supercharged. Displayed effects so far include:
- Telepathy--Matt Parkman's power increases "a thousand times" to the point of involuntarily hearing the thoughts of "every person" in New York City. (Dual)
- Super speed--Daphne Millbrook becomes able to travel through time, theoretically by exceeding the speed of light. (Dual)
- Teleportation--Ando increases the range of Rachel Mills's ability, allowing her to teleport herself, Ando and Hiro from Costa Verde to Florida. (Faction Zero)
- Space-time manipulation--Hiro Nakamura becomes able to teleport dozens of evolved humans an unknown distance. Without Ando, he would not have been able to accomplish this as there was too many for his power alone. (Brave New World)
It remains unknown whether or not the user of this ability may amplify his or her own ability, and what the effects would be. It is also unclear whether passive, "automatic" abilities such as rapid cell regeneration can be amplified.
Ando can manifest the red sparks at will (A Clear and Present Danger), but has mostly used them for show. His ability to manifest the red energy is improving with time; when he showed it to Janice Parkman, he was able to form a ball of red energy between his hands instead of just sparks (Cold Snap).
Ando recently found that he could use his ability offensively, generating a lightning-like burst of energy capable of knocking out a man in body armor (Cold Snap). His power has a range of at least a few meters when used in this fashion. The full extent of the damage caused by this effect is not yet known. It is also hazardous to other organic matter (Baby Power). In a possible future, Ando supposedly kills Future Hiro with this ability (The Second Coming). Ando was also able to knock out a whole van full of security agents (I Am Sylar).
Ando is also able to use his ability to overload electronic locks on doors, forcing them to open. When accidentally drugged to save Mohinder Suresh, Ando's hands were sparking like they do when he activates his power, although he didn't use them on anything or anybody and seemed to get it under control. He was able to blast open a door with his lightning-burst when performing an escape from a mental hospital. In an attempt to cure Hiro of his scrambled brains, Ando attempts to use this like electro-shock therapy to restore Hiro to normal and although he's afraid of trying due to his future self killing Hiro with this power, Ando attempts it and successfully shocks Hiro back to reality. (Close to You)
When Hiro needs to teleport dozens of people, Ando offers to supercharge him to give him the boost he needs. With Ando's boost, Hiro is easily able to teleport everyone an unknown distance. (Brave New World)
Selected Examples
-
... resulting in his apparent death.
(The Second Coming) -
Ando causes Daphne's ability of super speed to time travel backwards a few seconds.
(Dual) -
Ando passes his ability off as the "sign" Annapurna has been waiting for.
(Building 26) -
Ando unleashes hell inside a Building 26 van.
(I Am Sylar) -
Ando uses his ability to bypass a security mechanism...
-
...and later uses it on Hiro as electro-shock therapy.
(Close to You)
Memorable Quotes
"He zapped me and I was able to hear thoughts a thousand times louder, right? And then you zapped Daphne and she could travel a thousand times faster. Your power is like a super charger!"
"But my power... is worthless."
"You're a super charger!"
"For other people's power!"
Notes
- In an interview, writers Joe Pokaski and Aron Coleite explained how Ando's "sidekick juice" ability was chosen because of his role as a "perennial sidekick". They also clarified that in the future, the "red lightning" would have the capability to hurt others, just as Future Ando used it in The Second Coming.
- The pose Ando strikes when using his ability offensively is highly evocative of the extremely popular animé series "Dragonball", and its various spin-offs, specifically the "Kamehameha" attack, the signature move of the main character, Son Goku.
- When Rachel Mills, Ando and Hiro teleported from Costa Verde to Florida, Rachel warned Ando not to supercharge her too much so they wouldn't end up in the moon. (Wild Things)
- In a deleted scene on the Season 3 DVD, Ando considers using his ability to make a plane fly faster, implying that he believed he could supercharge a machine.
See also
- For the similar ability to augment an evolved human's ability, see ability augmentation.
- For the similar ability to produce blue-colored lightning, see electric manipulation.
- For the similar abilities to force electronics to activate, see technopathy and activation and deactivation.
Fan Theories
Please refer to Theory:Supercharging for fan-created theories and other speculation.