Claude Rains
Claude Rains | |
---|---|
Portrayed by | Christopher Eccleston |
First appearance | Godsend |
In-story stats | |
Known ability | Invisibility |
Alias | Claude Rains |
Nicknames | The Invisible Man, Houdini, Romeo |
Gender | |
Age | 45 |
Date of birth | February 2, 1964 |
Place of birth | Blackpool, England |
Home | formerly New York, NY London |
Occupation | Former agent of the Company |
Significant other | formerly Sylvia |
"Claude Rains" is the identity used by a former agent of the Company who has the power of invisibility. After seeing error in the way that the Company used evolved humans, Claude rebelled and his partner Noah Bennet was ordered to murder him. Claude survived the attempted murder and went into hiding, resurfacing years later in New York, where he helped Peter Petrelli gain control over his powers. Claude then went to London and began living with his friends Abigail and Lee. When Building 26 was formed, Claude was captured and held prisoner until Abby saved him.
Character History
Godsend
Peter sees a bearded man in his recurring visions. Later, while walking down a New York City street, he sees the same man nonchalantly picking through the property of others. Peter follows the man and yells to him. The thief is shocked to be seen; he grabs Peter and the two tussle.
The Fix
Peter quickly informs Claude that he can "do what you can do", and Claude promptly wants nothing to do with Peter. He disappears around the corner, and Peter fades back into sight. He then follows Claude to the rooftop of Charles Deveaux's building, where the two fight a bit more and Claude threatens Peter for following him again.
Later, when Peter is running away from his brother and Mohinder, Claude shows up outside of Peter's apartment and helps him escape. The two then talk about Peter's power as an empath, and they go off to steal a cab.
Distractions
Claude continues to work with Peter, trying to teach him to use his power consciously and not just as a reflex. Claude takes a purse from a woman standing nearby and hands it to Peter. He leaves Peter to see if he can maintain his invisibility without Claude's help, but Peter fails his test. Claude, realizing that Peter is too attached to people, tells him that people are selfish, deceitful and gassy. Peter insists that at least Simone is different. To find out whether or not this is true, Claude and Peter follow Simone to the roof of her father's building. Claude uses Simone's intimacy with Isaac to taunt Peter, and they argue. Claude insists Peter flies, and he pushes Peter off the roof, causing him to crash into a taxi and impaling his chest on a piece of metal. However, he is saved by his absorbed power of regeneration. Claude tells Peter that he freed his mind and called out his power, but Peter believes that it was his recollection of Claire that brought out his powers. Unfortunately, he begins to overload, so Claude promptly punches Peter, knocking him out.
Unexpected
On Charles Deveaux's rooftop, Claude attacks Peter with a pole; Peter eventually stops the blows, using telekinesis. Claude asks Peter which of his friends is telekinetic, and Peter realizes it's Sylar. Claude tells Peter that they may have a chance at stopping him from exploding, then strikes him in the face with another pole and knocks him down.
As Peter and Claude discuss evolution, Noah and the Haitian detect their invisibility with infrared goggles. Claude is struck by taser darts and collapses. Peter throws Claude off of the building before jumping after him and flying them both to safety. Claude awakens in Peter's apartment. He shows Peter the mark on his neck, explaining that he's been hiding from Mr. Bennet's organization for years, and vanishes.
Company Man
In 1991, Claude sits in on Mr. Bennet's interview in Thompson's office. A clean-shaven Claude appears and is partnered with Bennet to work for the Company.
In 1992, on the rooftop of the Deveaux building, Claude and Mr. Bennet discuss what will happen to baby Claire. Claude waits with Thompson while Mr. Bennet and Mr. Nakamura have a conversation. After Mr. Nakamura and his son leave Claude wishes Mr. Bennet a Happy Father's day in Japanese.
In 1999, Mr. Bennet and Claude drive together, and Claude asks about their next assignment. Mr. Bennet tells him they are "looking into a security breach"--Claude himself is the security breach. Claude laughs this off, and Mr. Bennet asks him if he's hiding one of them. Claude claims he is, and the vivisections are starting to keep him up at night, and that Claire is "one of us". Claude confesses he was in Mr. Bennet's office when he was being told to kill him, but thinks Mr. Bennet is a better man than that. Claude gets out of the car, and stands on the side of the bridge. He tells Mr. Bennet that he knows its not the first time he's been told to kill a man, but wants to know if its the first time he might have to kill a friend. Mr. Bennet levels a gun at him, claiming if Claude tells him who he is hiding, "we can forget about the rest". Claude says he will not hunt his own people, and asks Mr. Bennet what he would do if it was Claire he was hiding. Claude tells Mr. Bennet that he has a choice. Mr. Bennet shoots Claude twice, and as Claude turns invisible and falls off the bridge, Bennet shoots him again.
Graphic Novel:Hell's Angel
Claude takes Mr. Bennet on a "bag and tag" mission. He leaves Mr. Bennet to guard the hallway and enters the apartment, he turns invisible to avoid detection. Shortly after he enters there is an explosion inside the apartment. When Mr. Bennet enters he finds Claude on the ground and his clothes are on fire. Claude tells Mr. Bennet that their target has blown up and to get the baby from the next room. Claude and Mr. Bennet escape the fire with the baby. Mr. Bennet asks if Claude can change a diaper. Claude says he can't, but that he could use a change of underpants for himself.
Graphic Novel:Golden Handshake, Part 1
In 1990, Claude and his first partner, Haram, are in Côte d'Azur harbor to capture Rollo Fusor. On a bridge crossing the harbor, Claude tries to calm Haram down and reminds him to follow their plan. Claude sneaks on board Rollo Fusor's yacht while Haram negotiates with Rollo Fusor for the release of two people he believes are held hostage.
Graphic Novel:Golden Handshake, Part 2
Claude helps Haram out of a Côte d'Azur harbor, then detaches Pizet's dehydrated arm from Haram's handcuffs. The Company tracks Rollo Fusor to Paris, France, and Claude and Haram go there to capture Fusor and his accomplice. Using binoculars, they spot Rollo Fusor, his accomplice, and what they think may be their next victim. Claude becomes invisible, and the two agents storm the hotel room where their targets are located, only to learn that Rollo Fusor and the Frenchman are both dead and dehydrated, and the lady accomplice is missing. Claude and Haram determine that the lady accomplice must have had the power all along, and that Fusor really worked for her.
Graphic Novel:Golden Handshake, Part 3
Claude follows Haram to the roof to pursue the lady accomplice. She spots them and they track her from roof to roof, down a ladder and into a Paris park. In the park, Claude tries to get Haram to work with him as a team, but they appear to lose her and can only find a couple kissing under the moonlight. Then, just when they think they've lost her for good, Haram finds her fresh tracks in the grass. However, she responds by tipping over a tree that knocks Haram over and pins Claude to the ground. The lady quickly grabs Haram by the throat before he can free his partner.
Graphic Novel:Golden Handshake, Part 4
Still at the Paris park and trapped under a fallen tree, Claude turns invisible and hits Rollo Fusor's accomplice with a stick, forcing her to release Haram. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Haram grabs her by the arms and forces her to self-dehydrate into a pile of dust. Having finished their mission, Claude convinces Haram to agree to continue as his partner for another six months when police arrive to the park.
Later, Claude arrives at the entrance lobby of Primatech to turn in his report on Fusor's case, when he is surprised to learn from the secretary that Mr. Bennet, Claude's trainee, has already been made his new partner. Claude rejects the idea, stating Haram gave his word to stay on for six months; Claude asks to speak to Haram, but the secretary insists it's impossible to speak with Haram because he's "retired". The secretary then holds the door open to Thompson's office, saying that Thompson is waiting to speak with Mr. Bennet and Claude.
The Line
Ivan mentions that he trained Claude to be an agent of the Company.
Graphic Novel:Sum Quod Sum, Part 1
Elle tracks Claude through London, seeking to obtain control of her ability. As she's waiting for the right time to approach him, he aggressively asks her why she's following him. When Elle asks for help, Claude, still believing Elle to have ties with the Company, runs off before she can explain that she's no longer with them. The rain allows Elle to chase him, but she loses control of her power. The water on the ground conducts and intensifies the electricity, and both Claude and Elle are rendered unconscious.
Graphic Novel:Sum Quod Sum, Part 2
Claude awakens in Trafalgar Square and Lee and Abigail help him up, Claude tells them to bring Elle along to Abigail and Lee's flat as well. Claude talks to Elle about her ability and agrees to help her control it. The two go to a showing of Hamlet at the Globe Theatre. There, Claude tells Elle to forgive her father.
After Elle accidentally uses her power and electrifies Abigail and Lee, she decides to leave. Claude tries to get her to stay, but to no avail.
Graphic Novel:Comrades, Part 1
In December 1998, Noah Bennet and Claude go to Moscow on a bag and tag mission, hunting an evolved human known as the Russian, who seems to be the patriarch of a criminal family. They meet up with Ivan Spektor and chase the Russian through a subway station and onto a train, but when Claude suddenly rematerializes in front of him, the Russian uses his age shifting ability to alter his appearance. When they finally catch up with the Russian, he age-shifts into a child. Claude says that Noah cannot shoot a young boy, and Noah hesitates.
Graphic Novel:Comrades, Part 2
Noah's hesitation gives the Russian time to escape, and Claude, Ivan and Noah leave the Moscow subway. As they head for a large marketplace on a hunch of Noah's, Claude expresses his belief that the Russian is not really a killer, but Noah is doubtful. Claude spots the Russian, still in his child form, and lies to Noah to try to help him get away, but Ivan spots him and calls out, in an attempt to make the Russian age-shift again into an adult body. The Russian pulls a knife on Ivan but Noah shoots him dead. Noah later realizes that Claude's willingness to help a fellow evolved human escape made the Company distrust him and eventually led to Noah being ordered to shoot Claude.
Graphic Novel:Rebellion, Part 3
West Rosen, Sparrow Redhouse and Abigail rush upstairs in a building in London. After defeating an attacking government agent, Claude becomes visible and tells Abigail to get out of the building. He promises to rescue her fiance and rushes off to fight more of Danko's team, becoming invisible again while doing so.
Graphic Novel:Rebellion, Part 6
When Abigail and Micah get on the train, she sees Claude passed out with drugs. Micah tells the computer to stop the drugs, but the pair is shot with tranquilizer darts shortly after. When the train is stopped by Sparrow, Claude wakes up. Abigail says that they will get out of there and Claude reminds them that the agents have guns.
Graphic Novel:Rebellion, Part 7
Claude stands with the Rebel team as Micah tries to extract Monica's location from Molly. When Micah tries to leave with his team, Claude, along with Lee and Molly, tell him to stop. Before Micah can leave, a squad of government agents arrives and Sparrow uses her power to get rid of them. Seeing this as a good chance to leave, Claude informs everyone that he is going. He decides to take Molly with him and asks if Abigail and Lee will be joining him. Abigail decides to stay and Claude becomes invisible with Molly, escaping unseen.
Shadowboxing
When threatening Becky Taylor with a taser, Noah comments on how Claude's power was the same as hers, noting that ten thousand volts should be enough to disrupt it.
Upon This Rock
According to Noah's files, Claude was the agent assigned (in case #45923) to bag and tag Ian Michaels.
The Wall
Through Noah's memories, Claire is able to see a meeting between Thompson and Noah in which they discuss Claude and how the new partnership is working out.
Graphic Novel:From the Files of Primatech, Part 5
In 1988, Claude accompanies Thompson on a mission in Berlin. While invisible, Claude watches Thompson's conversation with Noah Bennet and wonders why the man has his "knickers in a knot". Thompson tells Claude not to worry about him and informs him about their latest target. Claude asks for more information but Thompson says they need to get through the guards first. Claude extends his invisibility to Thompson and the two sneak by the guards relatively unnoticed. The two of them then meet with J. Kuznetsov, who notices that Claude is not taking the job seriously. Kuznetsov gives them the information they need and Claude asks for information about the target. Thompson explains that they have been ordered to turn her but adds that he has permission to terminate her as well. Claude wonders if she is really that dangerous and Thompson gives him a report. He asks what her name is and Thompson tells him that she goes by Sylvia. Claude then absentmindedly remembers that he once "shagged" a girl named Sylvia.
The two of them arrive at Sylvia's hideout and Claude asks if Thompson would like to become invisible. Thompson declines the offer and tells Claude to search the downstairs area. While invisible, Claude enters a room and is attacked by Sylvia, who advises him not to use a flashlight next time. Claude yells that he has found her and Sylvia warns him that Thompson will turn on him after he gets what he wants. Claude reminds her that she is the target and asks Thompson to confirm it. Thompson then demands to know where "it" is, making Claude realize that Sylvia was telling the truth. Thompson shoots Sylvia, who disappears. Confused and horrified by Thompson's actions, Claude demands to know what is going on.
Graphic Novel:From the Files of Primatech, Part 6
Claude and Thompson search for Sylvia, when she runs at the both of them sending them flying. When Thompson threatens her, she grows taller than the pair of them and sends Thompson flying out of a window, while Claude runs off. Claude finds Sylvia outside, who has grown vastly. She picks up a car and throws it at him. While Claude is lying on the ground, defenceless, she treads on him and runs away.
Later, in a hospital, Angela, Charles, Bob and Thompson visit Claude and talk about the mission. Angela then brings out a new tracker and injects it into Claude, stating that it is perfect to test on an invisible man.
Heroes Evolutions
Assignment Tracker 2.0
Claude's case file (file: C024; password: CRnop07in) at primatechpaper.com contains Claude's personal history:
[Paragraph Omitted: Classified]
Using the identity "Claude Rains," the agent began working with the Company in the mid-1980s. Trained by Ivan Spektor, Rains was initially paired with Agent Haran, but Haran retired due to mental instability after a psychologically traumatic case involving Rollo Fusor. Shortly after, Rains was paired with rookie Company agent Noah Bennet in 1991. The two remained partners for eight years.
Rains' growing disdain for Company protocols and systemic unwillingness to follow orders -- ultimately including a refusal to conduct operations against people with abilities -- resulted in a termination order, assigned to Agent Bennet after the Company confirmed evidence that Rains was harboring a special (subject's identity remains unknown). Rains was severely wounded during the termination attempt but escaped.
[Paragraph Omitted: Classified]
Most recently, unconfirmed reports from civilian interviews place Claude in London, England. The subject is generally aversive to violence and human contact, but agents are advised to report all unscheduled contacts.
The case file also contains a psychological history:
Rains' defining psychological characteristic is a chronic avoidant personality disorder, exhibited by a pervasive distaste for human contact and antisocial behaviors when contact is initiated without his consent.
The apparent absence of typical accompanying anxiety disorders, as well as documentation of subject's comparative openness toward a number of people with abilities, suggests that Rains' disorder stems from or has been exacerbated by long-term, systemic repression of negative feelings toward his primary social group: namely, the Company.
[Paragraph: Classified]
While these circumstances made the subject receptive to the Company's recruitment process, they also left him highly susceptible to excessive empathy with Company targets, resulting in cognitive dissonance, repression, and eventually, reconciliation through rejection of his Company identity. The long-term psychological effects on the subject are not known and should be considered an analysis priority if he is placed in custody.
A Hero's Quest
In a roster posted on A Hero's Quest, Eric Thompson, Sr., is listed as going to Astana and Berlin in 1988, for business related to Claude.
Save the Cheerleader, Destroy the World
This section is a stub. You can help by expanding it. |
Evolved Human Abilities
Claude has the ability to become invisible, and has been living with the power for at least 15 years. He uses the power to his advantage, stealing from others. Upon contact, Claude's ability allows him to extend his invisibility to other objects. For instance, the pole he uses to hit Peter turns invisible upon contact. It also seems that he can see other invisible people, and vice-versa. (Unexpected)
According to his assignment tracker file at primatechpaper.com, Claude's control index is 90%. His data analysis shows his biological level at 40, cerebral at 30, elemental at 25, and temporal/spatial at 75.
Heroes Reborn App
Prior to Heroes Reborn starting, an app was released with a video summary of Claude's history. The summary included:
- Ability: invisibility
- Claude is a renegade who tries to help others with abilities, like Peter Petrelli. (Distractions)
- Claude once was an operative for the Company, tracking evolved humans with his partner. (Company Man)
- Claude's disillusion with the Company's motives leads him astray. (Company Man)
Memorable Quotes
"Me? I'm no one. I'm the Invisible Man. I'm Claude Rains. Now get away from me. Forget you ever saw me."
"There's no such thing. No teaching. No Sunday school for the special. What I can do, you can't learn. You wake up in the morning, it's there. If you've got thin soup, then that's your supper. Sorry, mate, that's the way it is."
"I spend a lot of time moving around people's homes, their bedrooms. You get to know people if you see them when they think they're alone. You see them for what they truly are: selfish, deceitful, and gassy."
"So what is that, your big truth about the world?"
"Sooner you learn it, sooner we get that collar off your neck. People suck, friend. Every last one of them. Never forget that."
- - Claude, Peter (Distractions)
"So what do we do now?"
"Hey! We? You watch your own back. I do what I always do -- disappear."
- - Peter, Claude (Unexpected)
"You've got the power to stop me, what are you waitin' for?"
"I'm trying!"
"And when you've left New York a smoking wasteland, we'll put that on your tombstone: 'Here lies Peter Petrelli. He tried.' Dig into that file cabinet of yours and pull something out. Fly. Stop time. Paint me a pretty picture. Do--something--unexpected!"
- - Claude, Peter (Unexpected)
"I will not hunt my own people. This isn't who you are. You have a choi --"
- - Claude (to Noah Bennet) (Company Man)
"I am disappointed in you both."
"Cry me a river."
Notes
- In an interview, writers Joe Pokaski and Aron Coleite said that "Claude" is not exactly the character's name. In response to Peter Petrelli's question, "Who are you?", Claude evasively replies, "I'm no one. I'm the invisible man. I'm Claude Rains" (The Fix). The British actor Claude Rains played the title character in the 1933 film The Invisible Man. On the other hand, Thompson addressed him as "Claude" fourteen years ago (Company Man), and Ivan Spektor referred to him as "Claude" when confronted by Noah Bennet (The Line). His assignment tracker profile also lists him as Claude Rains, however in the biography section it notes that he uses the identity Claude Rains, implying further that Claude is not his real name. His Primatech personnel file lists "Claude Rains" as an alias; no real name is given.
- Flint states that he was tackled by an "invisible man" sometime in 2006 (Villains). At that time Claude was not with the Company participating in bag and tag missions. However, Flint may not have been directly captured as part of a Company mission, or by a Company operative. The identity of the invisible man is unknown. Writers Joe Pokaski and Aron Coleite explained that this line was a mistake made by a new writer.
Trivia
- When Claude first meets Peter, he grabs Peter's shirt and slams him up against a lamp post. A nearby streetside vendor can be seen selling The Invisible Man DVDs. (Godsend)
- Upon meeting Peter and learning that he can see and mimic him, Claude mutters, "Fantastic." (The Fix) This is the catchphrase of the Ninth Doctor from Doctor Who, who was also portrayed by Christopher Eccleston.
- Claude speaks Japanese. (Company Man)
- Before Mr. Bennet shoots Claude, Claude starts off saying, "You have a choice, you don't have to do this". The line "You have a choice", as well theme of choices, is also present in Doctor Who. (Company Man)
- According to his assignment tracker profile, Claude is 6'1" and weighs 175 pounds.
- Despite the fact he is known to possess the mark, his assignment tracker profile states that he has no scars or marks. The injection he tells Peter about in Unexpected is finally shown over three years later in From the Files of Primatech, Part 6.
- Claude tells Noah in Company Man that it is a "brave new world". This line was also said by Harriet Jones in the "Doctor Who" episode "Aliens of London" in which Christopher Eccleston played the Ninth Doctor. This also later became the title of the fifth volume finale, the cancelled sixth volume of Heroes, and the first episode of Heroes Reborn.
- The Company is referred to by name for the first time by Noah when he and Claude are on the Texas bridge.
- Noah gets shot by the Haitian in the same way he shot Claude in the same place while doing the same thing he condemned Claude for: protecting an evo.
- In Distractions, after Claude throwing him off a roof results in Peter regenerating, he tells Claude that "if I didn't regenerate I'd be dead." In Doctor Who, Christopher Eccleston's Ninth Doctor also has to regenerate to survive, ending the actor's tenure on the show.
See Also
- For other uses of Claude, see Claude (disambig).
- For images of Claude, see Images of Claude Rains.
- For articles related to Claude, see Related Articles:Claude.
Fan Theories
Please refer to Theory:Claude Rains for fan-created theories and other speculation.