Poison emission
| Poison emission | |
|---|---|
 Maya and her victims cry black tears. | |
| Originally held by: | Maya Herrera (lost) |
| Absorbed by: | Arthur Petrelli (deceased) |
| Ability to: | Emit and expel a poison |
| Examples of poison emission | |
Poison emission is the ability to emit a deadly poison, which can kill people in one's vicinity.
Characters
- Maya Herrera possessed this ability naturally (Four Months Later...), but lost it after Arthur absorbed it (Eris Quod Sum).
- Arthur Petrelli had taken this ability from Maya. (Eris Quod Sum)
Limits
When distressed, Maya emits a black liquid from her eyes. People near her when she manifests these symptoms rapidly become ill and die, also leaking black liquid from their eyes. The blood of Maya's victims also turns black (Maya y Alejandro). The maximum range of this effect is not yet known, but seems to be substantial, as she is able to kill all of the guests at a wedding reception (Four Months Ago...).
Maya's ability incapacitates people who are affected almost immediately, leaving little opportunity for them to try to attack her. What would happen to victims if she were killed or rendered unconscious while manifesting her ability is not known. Alejandro's ability can negate this ability and even reverse the effects on victims if applied quickly enough.
Maya used to have little, if any, control over her ability. Thanks to Sylar, she can now stop the manifestation of her power without the help of Alejandro. Her ability spontaneously manifests when she feels emotional distress: fear, grief, anger, etc. She has yet to activate her ability under other circumstances, and she does not appear to be able to "target" the ability against particular people.
After Arthur took this ability from Maya, he turned to Mohinder and showed him that he had taken her ability. (Eris Quod Sum)
Selected Examples
-
-
After being separated Maya's deadly ability activates.
(Four Months Later...) -
Maya entices the police to anger her, affecting everyone in the building.
(Kindred) -
-
After learning the truth about Gloria, Maya's ability erupts killing everyone at Alejandro's wedding reception.
(Four Months Ago...) -
Sylar helps Maya control her ability.
(Truth & Consequences) -
In fear Maya's ability activates to protect herself.
(Angels and Monsters) -
Memorable Quotes
"It is a new illness. You fear it will spread. You fear... yourself. What you carry inside you is black. Enough to kill the devil. No one can heal you. You are cursed."
Notes
- Maya's ability is referred to in several updates on Hana's website.
- In the episode commentary for The Kindness of Strangers, Tim Kring says that Maya emits "a plague ... that makes people sick".
- In Powerless, Maya refers to this ability both as a "sickness" and as a "poison". Dania Ramirez also has referred to this ability as a "venom" in some interviews.
- Arthur was able to use this ability briefly without anyone in his vicinity being affected. It is unclear as to why nobody else was affected.
See Also
- For other uses of emission, see emission (disambig).
- For other uses of virus, see virus (disambig).
- For a similar ability to heal and kill others through physical contact, see healing touch.
Please refer to Theory:Poison emission for fan-created theories and other speculation.