Superhero fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction examining the adventures , personalities and ethics of costumed crime fighters known as superheroes , who often possess superhuman powers and battle similarly powered criminals known as supervillains . The genre primarily falls between hard fantasy and soft science fiction in the spectrum of scientific realism. It is most commonly associated with American comic books , though it has expanded into other media through adaptations and original works.
230-402: Heroes is an American superhero drama television series created by Tim Kring that aired on NBC for four seasons from September 25, 2006, to February 8, 2010. The series tells the stories of ordinary people who discover that they have superhuman abilities and how these abilities take effect in the characters' lives as they work together to prevent catastrophic futures. The series emulates
460-516: A brain tumor that is slowly killing him and preventing him from controlling his powers. A carnival group is introduced whose leader, Samuel, tries to recruit more people with abilities into his carnival family. Samuel claims he is creating a community for special people where they are welcome to be open with their abilities and respected by outsiders. In truth, he is bringing together as many people with abilities as possible to build up his own power, moving earth. The more special people he has around him,
690-401: A ferris wheel and stating, "My name is Claire Bennet, and that was attempt number—I guess I've kind of lost count." Heroes began development early in 2006, when Tim Kring , creator of NBC's Crossing Jordan , came up with the show's concept. Kring wanted to create a "large ensemble saga" that would connect with the audience. He began thinking about how big, scary and complicated he felt
920-520: A space opera story where the team goes to another planet to oppose the imperial forces of Blackfire and then return to Earth only to get involved in a relatively realistic urban crime story about runaways . The mythologies of many ancient civilizations feature pantheons of gods and goddesses with superhuman powers, as well as heroes such as Hanuman , Gilgamesh , Perseus , Odysseus and David and demigods like Heracles . Real life inspirations behind costumed superheroes can be traced back to
1150-494: A " rogues gallery " of such enemies. One of these supervillains might be the superhero's archenemy. Superheroes will sometimes combat other threats such as aliens, magical/fantasy entities, natural disasters, political ideologies such as Nazism or communism (and their proponents), and godlike or demonic creatures. Some superhero fiction portrays discrimination against superheroes, such as by the way of "Registration Acts" that mandate registration of superpowered individuals with
1380-472: A "Superhero Registration Act" is passed, that requires superpowered individuals to not only register with the government, but to make themselves available to be drafted to respond to emergencies. The backlash against superheroes and metahumans in JLA: The Nail series has been compared to the real-life moral campaign against comic book superheroes in the mid-1950s. In an essay Ethan Faust argued that
1610-541: A "key role in the writing and direction" of the series. On June 22 it was revealed that Fuller left Heroes to work on other projects. On April 28, 2009, director/producer Greg Beeman was fired by NBC. The series score is composed by Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman , with music engineer Michael Perfitt and vocals provided by Shankar . Each episode averages 30–35 minutes of music. Melvoin and Coleman became involved with Heroes from their previous work with executive producer Allan Arkush . Kring gave general instructions to
1840-496: A TV Series. On January 9, 2007, Heroes won the award for Favorite New TV Drama at the 33rd People's Choice Awards . The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People nominated Heroes on January 9, 2007, for an Image Award in the "Outstanding Drama Series" category. On February 21, 2007, Heroes was nominated for five Saturn Awards . The nominations included "Best Network Television Series", "Best Supporting Actor in
2070-507: A Television Series" for Hayden Panettiere , and "Best Television Series on DVD." The 2008 nominations are similar to the 2007 nominations, except Ali Larter was not nominated this year; instead the Heroes Season one DVD was nominated, in a different category. On July 19, 2007, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announced their nominations for the 2007 Primetime Emmy Awards. Heroes
2300-432: A Television Series" for both Greg Grunberg and Masi Oka , and "Best Supporting Actress in a Television Series" for Hayden Panettiere and Ali Larter . On February 22, 2008, it was announced that Heroes was again nominated for five Saturn Awards. The nominations for 2008 include "Best Network Television Series," "Best Supporting Actor in a Television Series" for both Greg Grunberg and Masi Oka, "Best Supporting Actress in
2530-551: A building to try to help him fly, but he discovered he healed instead. Simone Deveaux was the first major character to be written out, dying near the end of season one. Hawkins became a guest star after the events of the first season's finale, making two appearances throughout season two. Isaac Mendez was also written out, dying at the hands of Sylar , which was shown during Hiro Nakamura's time traveling expedition to New York earlier in season one. New characters added during season two include: Maya Herrera , played by Dania Ramirez ,
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#17330851187382760-553: A call from Arthur about his absence. Sylar curtly tells Arthur he is not returning and reveals he has a new list in the form of Elle's cell phone contact list. To ascertain the truth for himself, he kills Sue Landers, a human lie detector. He then heads to Pinehearst to confront Arthur, stopping Peter and the Haitian from killing Arthur by freezing the bullet fired at Arthur's head. With both the Haitian and Arthur apparently weakened in attempting to overwhelm one another, Sylar asks Arthur if he
2990-564: A cassette tape labeled "SYLAR" on both sides in his dead father's New York apartment. His character is next mentioned in the series as a mysterious serial killer sought out by the FBI , whose existence is completely speculative. Appearing as a shadowy figure, he attempts to obtain Molly Walker 's power after failing the first time. In " Once Upon a Time in Texas ", Sylar bumps into a future Hiro in front of
3220-618: A cast of new faces such as Milo Ventimiglia , who described the TV pilot as a "character drama about everyday people with a heightened reality." Said heightened reality was brought to light through the work of production designer Ruth Ammon. Kring wanted the series to have touchstones that involved the characters and the world they lived in. Before he began putting his ideas together, he spoke with Lost executive producer Damon Lindelof , with whom he had worked for three years on Crossing Jordan . Kring credits Lindelof for giving him ideas on how to pitch
3450-451: A dark room with Elle, who is restrained to the floor and still suffers from her uncontrolled ability. She is furious at Sylar for her father's murder and repeatedly electrocutes him to no avail. Sylar confronts Elle with his sorrow for what he's done as well as her sorrow for what she's done. She rages at him and continues to attack, finally collapsing and begging him to kill her so that her pain will go away. He forgives her for turning him into
3680-576: A deal: to tell Sylar about his future if he saves Charlie. Sylar proceeds to do so, and is miffed that he is told that - although he will become the most powerful person - he will die alone and unloved. Sylar proceeds to attempt to obtain Claire Bennet 's regenerative abilities, but is stopped by Peter Petrelli . He is greatly injured and is captured by Eden McCain and the Haitian to be experimented on. After various experiments, Sylar manages to escape, but he
3910-471: A defeated Parkman an ultimatum: either continue to live with Sylar in his mind or return Sylar's mind to his body. Matt decides to keep Sylar in his mind, which begins to have consequences when Sylar's control over Matt advances, where Sylar has sex with Matt's wife Janice while Matt was asleep. Scared of what Sylar could do to his family (which Sylar himself alludes to), Matt tells Janice the truth, and Janice agrees to let Matt try to exorcise Sylar by leaving
4140-434: A difference. He wants to matter. Through the process of realizing how to do that, he gets blinded and loses himself in the pursuit of it and goes a little crazy—'a little' being an understatement. Quinto also observed, He's definitely somebody that has been overcome by a hunger and overcome by a pursuit for power and for importance that did start a little more innocuously than it evolved into. When asked if he thought Sylar
4370-501: A diner, Luke reveals that he and Samson went birding, awakening a memory from Sylar's childhood. As they eat, Sylar teaches Luke some lessons about using his power and having objectives, as well as revealing the change in his 'hunger' (emphasizing finding Samson over acquiring powers). This results in Luke giving Sylar Samson's location, even under the threat of being killed for his power. They are soon interrupted by Nathan's agents. Luke distracts
4600-400: A fan of Heroes , was set to write and direct an episode for the spin-off, as were Eli Roth and Michael Dougherty . On April 3, 2008, a day after NBC announced its 2008–2009 primetime schedule, Ben Silverman confirmed Origins ' s cancellation. Heroes includes some mysterious fictional recurring elements that have been ascribed to science fiction or supernatural phenomena. Kring and
4830-538: A feeling that she was possessed. Mohinder Suresh 's theme is the piano composition that plays at the end of some episodes. In 2007, the ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards gave Melvoin and Coleman the Top Television Series award for their work on Heroes . In France, the theme music of Heroes is composed by Victoria Petrosillo. Her song, "Le Héros d'un autre", is used by television network TF1 to replace
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#17330851187385060-698: A fugitive with the ability to emit a deadly poison; Adam Monroe , a 400-year-old Englishman also known as Takezo Kensei with the ability to regenerate, portrayed by David Anders ; Monica Dawson , portrayed by Dana Davis , a restaurant worker with the ability to mimic physical movements she sees; and Elle Bishop , a sadistic sociopath with the ability to generate electricity, portrayed by Kristen Bell . Two recurring characters from season one, Sylar , portrayed by Zachary Quinto , and Ando Masahashi , portrayed by James Kyson Lee , were upgraded to main characters in season two. Starting in season three, recurring character Angela Petrelli , portrayed by Cristine Rose ,
5290-555: A global audience. The first original major shared superhero universe to develop on the Internet was Superguy , which first appeared on a UMNEWS mailing list in 1989. In 1992, a cascade on the USENET newsgroup rec.arts.comics would give birth to the Legion of Net. Heroes shared universe. In 1994, LNH writers contributed to the creation of the newsgroup rec.arts.comics.creative , which spawned
5520-435: A gun. This causes Maya to finally see Sylar's true intentions, so Sylar takes Maya, Mohinder and Molly hostage. Sylar agrees to go to Isaac's loft after Mohinder tells him tests need to be run. At the loft, Molly reveals to Maya that Alejandro is dead, who then goes to confront Sylar. He rolls his eyes as Maya screams at him, casually turns around and shoots her in the chest, and then tells Mohinder to cure Maya first. Elle enters
5750-460: A letter column of the pulp magazine Thrilling Wonder Stories , the word superhero was used to define the title character of the comic strip Zarnak by Max Plaisted. Historians point to the first appearance of Superman , created by Jerome "Jerry" Siegel and designed by Joseph "Joe" Shuster , in Action Comics #1 (June 1938) as the debut of the comic-book archetype of the superhero. Outside
5980-574: A literal "identity crisis". When Danko tells him that he needs to leave his "Sylar" identity behind to retain his free pass, Sylar kills the next target on Danko's list, Tom Miller , and takes his power. Further examining the shapeshifting ability, Sylar realizes he is actually absorbing different DNA sequences into his body, causing him to permanently change a little each time he shifts. When Sylar starts to shapeshift in his sleep, Danko tells him he has to find an anchor that will remind him of who he is. To that effect, Sylar, as one of Danko's agents, retrieves
6210-465: A longer-term goal, Sylar is also unable to completely control his "hunger," or obsessive tendencies, to the extent that he still intimidates people when he is trying to gain their trust or co-operation. This was seen with Mohinder Suresh , when Sylar tried to impersonate Zane Taylor , and also with Claire Bennet 's mother when Sylar was looking for Claire, as well. Sylar's dominant trait was his innate desire to be recognized as special and admired. This
6440-624: A massive explosion. Primatech goes up in flames with Sylar still inside. Following the destruction of Primatech, Sylar is shown to be alive and well (it's later revealed that the fire melted the glass, allowing him to regenerate), and begins to search for his true biological parents. He starts by tracking down his adoptive father, Martin Gray, in Baltimore, making a stop in Pittsburgh to kill an insurance broker who could replicate his signature, and possibly learn
6670-464: A monster and convinces her to forgive herself for her crimes, wanting to take away her pain without killing her. At that moment, Elle's pain disappears, and she regains control of her ability. Likewise, Sylar is able to absorb her power. Sylar is overwhelmed by this development, as he no longer has to kill to satisfy his hunger. The two appear to rekindle their old feelings for each other as Elle teaches Sylar how to use her ability. In " The Eclipse ", Sylar
6900-616: A moral crusade in which comics were blamed for juvenile delinquency and the United States Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency began. The movement was spearheaded by psychiatrist Fredric Wertham , who argued in Seduction of the Innocent , that "deviant" sexual undertones ran rampant in superhero comics . In 2012, his methodology was reviewed and his results were found to be misleading if not falsified. In response,
7130-529: A more somber tone. Superboy ran from 1988 to 1992 in syndication. In the 1990s, the Power Rangers , adapted from the Japanese Super Sentai , became popular. Other shows targeting teenage and young adult audiences that decade included Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman . In 2001, Smallville retooled Superman 's origin as a teen drama. The 2006 NBC series Heroes tells
Heroes (American TV series) - Misplaced Pages Continue
7360-596: A nomination for Outstanding Visual Effects for a Series. Masi Oka was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. On September 16, 2007, the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards were held and Heroes failed to win a single Emmy award despite the eight nominations. On July 21, 2007, the Television Critics Association awarded Heroes with the prestigious Outstanding Program of the Year title during their 23rd Annual TCA Awards ceremony. The cast of Heroes
7590-409: A nostalgic treatment in the 2004 Disney / Pixar release The Incredibles , which utilized computer animation . Original superheroes with basis in older trends have also been made for television, such as Disney's Gargoyles by Greg Weisman and Cartoon Network 's Ben 10 franchise and Nickelodeon 's Danny Phantom . Beginning 1940s, the radio serial Superman starred Bud Collyer as
7820-428: A number of original superhero shared universes. Magazine-style websites that publish superhero fiction include Metahuman Press , active since 2005, and Freedom Fiction Journal . Superhuman fiction has also appeared in general science fiction / speculative fiction web publications, such as the weekly Strange Horizons , a publication that pays its contributors. Two examples there are Paul Melko's "Doctor Mighty and
8050-433: A perfect cast. It views like the first hour of a fun, thoughtful movie." Barry Garron at The Hollywood Reporter also stated, " Heroes is one of TV's most imaginative creations and might, with luck, become this year's Lost ." Less favorable reviews included The Philadelphia Inquirer , who commented that although the show had lots of "cool effects," it "lands, splat, in a pile of nonsense and dim dialogue." In response to
8280-488: A person. The episode " Six Months Ago " reveals that Sylar's real name is Gabriel Gray, a highly talented watchmaker who follows his adoptive father's footsteps. He encounters Chandra Suresh , who tells Gabriel that he may be an evolved human with superhuman powers. Gabriel eagerly submits to testing. After being rejected by Suresh because the test results are indeterminate, Gabriel contacts another person on Suresh's list, Brian Davis . Gabriel discovers that he himself has
8510-412: A picture of himself facing off against Peter Petrelli at Kirby Plaza. Realizing Peter is part of his final destiny, Sylar prepares to hunt him down. Before he can leave, Ando Masahashi arrives to kill him, though Ando is easily thwarted. After Sylar discovers the comic depicting his death at the hands of Hiro Nakamura , Hiro appears and rescues Ando. Sylar sets off for Kirby Plaza to wait for Peter. After
8740-671: A political figure who can fly, and explores its consequences. Meanwhile, several villains escape from the confines of Level 5, a maximum security area owned and operated by the Company within Primatech, and Noah Bennet attempts to recapture them. Arthur Petrelli ( Robert Forster ), Nathan Petrelli's father, heals from systemic nerve damage and aims to create a formula to give ordinary people superhuman abilities, simultaneously stealing Peter's powers. The second part of season three, "Volume Four: Fugitives", reveals what happens after Nathan fails to produce
8970-489: A rage exacerbated by Luke's revelation that Sylar's father was indeed a bad individual, Sylar pins him to the diner wall, but drops him and tells Luke to go home. Sylar leaves, intent on not only finding, but killing his father. Arriving at a run-down trailer in the woods, Sylar finds his father old and dying of cancer. Samson is not frightened by Sylar's threat to kill and instead prepares a rabbit for taxidermy. Demonstrating several abilities, he and Sylar realize that they have
9200-553: A relatively minor Marvel Comics character that premiered at over $ 100 million in February, a time of year generally considered poor for movie audience interest . It was an observation further confirmed in 2018 when Black Panther was an even grander success with a $ 235 million debut in the same time of year, and later became the first superhero film to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture . Avengers: Endgame became
9430-598: A secret identity; such characters as the Green Hornet and the Scarecrow of Romney Marsh , would follow. Likewise, the science-fiction heroes John Carter of Mars , Buck Rogers , and Flash Gordon , with their futuristic weapons and gadgets; Tarzan , with his high degree of athleticism and strength, and his ability to communicate with animals; Robert E. Howard 's Conan the Barbarian and the biologically modified Hugo Danner of
Heroes (American TV series) - Misplaced Pages Continue
9660-440: A seemingly ordinary group of people who gradually become aware that they have special abilities. The story develops showing their reactions to those powers, and how that discovery affects their personal and professional lives. At the same time, several ordinary individuals are investigating the origins and extent of those abilities. Mohinder Suresh ( Sendhil Ramamurthy ), a research geneticist, continues his late father's research into
9890-457: A shapeshifter, James Martin , who managed to kill 4 of Danko's agents (3 via gunshot, and one murdered for his form). At Martin's apartment, Danko surprises Sylar, and the two exchange taunts and information, resulting in Sylar and Danko teaming up for the time being. Through their cooperation, the two find out that Martin takes forms of power and authority, in order to woo women at a local nightclub. At
10120-466: A six-episode Heroes spin-off , Heroes: Origins , during the 2007–08 season. The show was to introduce a new character each week, and viewers were to select which one would stay for the following season of the regular series. The show was supposed to air after the completion of the second season of Heroes in April 2008; however, on October 31, 2007, it was reported that Origins had been postponed because of
10350-424: A struggle involving Sylar, Peter, Matt Parkman , and Niki Sanders , Peter begins the process of exploding, showing Sylar that he is not the exploding man. Soon after, Hiro arrives and impales Sylar through the stomach as the comic predicts, terribly wounding him. His last act is to telekinetically throw Hiro towards a building, forcing him to teleport and rendering him incapable of stopping Peter, as he collapses with
10580-406: A supernatural weapon, Penny dreadfuls , shilling shockers , dime novels , radio programs , and other popular fiction of the late 19th and early 20th centuries featured mysterious, swashbuckling heroes with distinct costumes, unusual abilities and altruistic missions. The 1903 play The Scarlet Pimpernel and its spinoffs further popularized the idea of a masked avenger and the superhero trope of
10810-584: A supervillain to advance the plot. Comic book writer Gail Simone has coined the term " Women in Refrigerators " (named after an incident in Green Lantern #54 where Kyle Rayner 's girlfriend Alex DeWitt is murdered by the supervillain Major Force and stuffed into Rayner's refrigerator ) to refer to this practice. Many works of superhero fiction occur in a shared fictional universe , sometimes (as in
11040-430: A third volume, that would at least have 81–103, and more, and it was scheduled for fall 2009. For unknown reasons, the third volume has not been released. Superhero fiction A superhero is most often the protagonist of superhero fiction. However, some titles, such as Marvels by Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross , use superheroes as secondary characters . A superhero (sometimes rendered super-hero or super hero)
11270-718: A triumphant grin on his face while events that transpired throughout the season that end with his injury by Hiro play in his eyes. However, near the end of the episode, a trail of blood leading from where Sylar collapsed and ending at an open manhole is seen, indicating that Sylar is still alive. Sylar is rescued by Candice Wilmer , who uses her powers of illusion to make Sylar disappear. After undergoing eight surgeries, he eventually awakes and realizes that he cannot use his powers. Though Candice promises that they will come back eventually, he kills her and attempts to acquire her power in order to start over. After realizing that it also doesn't work, he attempts to leave, though he realizes that he
11500-514: A wide variety of story genres such as Fantasy , Science fiction , Mystery , Horror , Crime fiction etc. that put superhero characters in a vast variety and combinations of story settings and fiction tropes with their presence the major common element. As such, it has become an expected element to superhero fiction for the heroic characters to be placed in nearly any story situation, including relatively down-to-Earth drama with their personal lives out of costume. For instance, The New Teen Titans
11730-423: A woman named Dale, Mohinder discovers Sylar's identity and manages to incapacitate him with drugs. After experimenting on Sylar to create a new list of people with special powers and attempting to kill him, Mohinder is captured. After Peter shows up and is temporarily killed by Sylar, Mohinder knocks him out, but ends up leaving Isaac Mendez 's address on the ground. After meeting Isaac, and being told that his fate
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#173308511873811960-502: Is Sarutobi Sasuke , a superhero ninja from children's novels in the 1910s. By 1914, his abilities included superhuman strength, chanting incantations, appearing and disappearing, jumping to the top of the highest trees, riding on clouds, conjuring the elements (water, fire and wind), and transforming into other people or animals. In 1938, writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster , who had previously worked in pulp science fiction magazines, introduced Superman . (Siegel, as
12190-414: Is a super-powered serial killer who targets other superhumans in order to steal their powers. He served as the primary villain of the first season and then as a recurring antagonist. Over the course of seasons 2 , 3 and 4 , the writers depicted Sylar attempting at various times and under different circumstances to become a hero or curb his desire to kill, undergoing relapses at various stages. In
12420-405: Is a natural fit for us." For season 3, Los Angeles Times said "Even just a half-hour in, it's difficult not to wish everyone would just lighten the heck up. The graphic novel noir feel is becoming increasingly oppressive, and everyone is just so grim." New York Post wrote "This show, which was once so thrilling and fun, has become full of itself, its characters spouting crazy nonsense." By
12650-598: Is a prominent political player, Matt Parkman (Greg Grunberg), who has power over people's minds, is instructed to alter Sylar's mind so that he will believe that he is Nathan and take his place, utilising Sylar's new powers of shapeshifting and psychometry to take on Nathan's appearance while his psychometry would 'fill in the blanks' on other details. This has a negative side effect causing Sylar's consciousness to become trapped in Matt Parkman's mind. Season four contains "Volume Five: Redemption", and takes place six weeks after
12880-405: Is a type of stock character possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers" and dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes—ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas—have dominated American comic books and crossed over into other media. The word itself dates to at least 1917. A female superhero
13110-567: Is able to use her powers to wake him so he can rescue Peter, who has been stripped of his powers by Arthur Petrelli. Sylar does as asked, but is convinced by Arthur to turn on Angela. Arthur has Sylar throw a powerless Peter out a seventh-story window, but Peter miraculously survives. In " It's Coming ", Arthur reveals that he knows Sylar slowed Peter's fall. Arthur is not angry; instead, he uses this event as evidence that Sylar can use his emotions like Peter could, to obtain someone's power without killing them. To test this theory, Arthur places Sylar in
13340-661: Is actually working with Noah Bennet to get Sylar to reveal the method behind transferring powers from one person to another. Elle befriends Gabriel and the two begin to share feelings for each other. Against her wishes, Elle helps Noah manipulate him to kill again by introducing Gabriel to Trevor Zeitlan, a young man who can kinetically shatter objects by "shooting" at them with his thumb and forefinger. She purposefully enrages Gabriel by having Trevor repeatedly demonstrate his ability by shattering glasses while calling him "special." Gabriel turns on Elle, who tries to stop him from killing Trevor. When Gabriel realizes Elle also has an ability, he
13570-488: Is again repelled from an attempt to obtain Claire's power. Remembering Suresh's list, Sylar makes his way to Zane Taylor , and by posing as the person Zane was expecting, Mohinder Suresh , he kills him and obtains his power. After Mohinder arrives, Sylar poses as Zane, and convinces Mohinder to take him to help convince other people with special abilities that Mohinder's research is real. After Sylar acquires enhanced hearing from
13800-613: Is clearly aware of what Noah is trying to do, he doesn't do anything to stop him. Rather than become a killer, Stephen kills himself with his power instead. Sylar later calmly remarks to Claire that her father doesn't see people with abilities as human, and never will. Sylar is returned to his cell once more, where he is approached by Daphne Millbrook with an offer to join Pinehearst Industries, who will accept him for what he is. Sylar refuses, wanting to change. After they leave, Sylar revives Peter so he can help Angela Petrelli. Peter
14030-501: Is constantly walking a line of ambiguity within himself and uncertainty within himself that defines the way he acts. Sylar, however, is also shown as very caring and thoughtful, like when he takes care of Angela Petrelli , when Arthur and Angela Petrelli claimed that they are Sylar's parents, which Peter wants to go to Pinehearst, Sylar didn't allow him to go alone because it is dangerous, and right after he murdered Brian Davis , he tries to commit suicide , feeling his guilt for murdering
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#173308511873814260-527: Is eventually confronted by Alejandro. He kills him, but states that he would have let Alejandro go had he not come back. Soon after, Maya confesses her love for Gabriel, and they reach Mohinder's apartment. Sylar attempts to obtain a cure for his condition, later revealed to be the same strain of the Shanti Virus which Niki was infected with. Upon finding that Sylar cannot use any of his obtained abilities, Mohinder attempts to kill Sylar, who then threatens him with
14490-490: Is furious and pushes her against the wall with his mind, commanding her to leave before turning on Trevor and taking his power. Bennet and Elle watch from the car as Gabriel attacks Trevor. In the third season, Sylar injects himself with the cure, healing his wounds and regaining use of his intuitive aptitude and telekinesis (though none of his other acquired powers). Sylar makes his way to California and finally takes Claire's power, though he does not kill her, claiming that she
14720-456: Is heard again in "Six Months Ago", this time spoken by Quinto. Sylar was raised as the son of a watchmaker , but was indoctrinated by his mother's repeated assertions to believe that he was special and deserved more in life. This and the " evolutionary imperative" to acquire new abilities are what drive him to kill the victims with powers. Taking the name "Sylar" from a watch brand, he has shed all connections to his former life as Gabriel Gray to
14950-506: Is hidden from Sylar's pursuers, and Samuel assures him he is safe in his new "home". Once Sylar has rested, Samuel proceeds to show him around the circus, showing that everyone at the carnival has an ability. Sylar also meets Lydia , who he immediately hits it off with. Edgar , however, jealously attempts to out-show Sylar with his power, but is easily beaten. Samuel also notices that Sylar's memories are not his (in fact, Nathan Petrelli's). In an effort to awaken Sylar's true personality, Sylar
15180-739: Is in the middle of a dense jungle in Mexico . After wandering for three days, he is rescued from the brink of death by the passing-by Maya and Alejandro Herrera . He introduces himself using his real name, and eventually finds out that they are in search of Chandra Suresh to help control Maya's power. He tells them that he knows Suresh, and that he will take them to him. He continues to travel with them, and while Alejandro becomes more distrustful of Sylar, Maya becomes more trusting of him. After teaching Maya to control her powers, he convinces her that her brother hates her and that in her heart she wanted to see his wife dead. Convincing her to send Alejandro away, Sylar
15410-523: Is initially skeptical, but Sylar's willingness to change combined with experience with the future Sylar convinces him; Peter's description of the future Gabriel Gray also gives Sylar hope that he can be redeemed. When Peter discovers the Pinehearst logo in her mind and attempts to go there, Sylar tries to stop him from doing so, but Peter easily defeats him due to his wider variety of powers and places him in an artificially-induced coma just as he had been. Angela
15640-503: Is placed in his cell once more, where he is visited by Peter, who angrily snaps his neck after Sylar reveals that they are brothers. Peter, having absorbed Sylar's power and thereby his hunger, nearly kills Angela before Sylar knocks him unconscious. As Angela deals with her youngest son, Bennet arrives to take Sylar along to capture another Level 5 inmate. Sylar is surprised that Bennet would want to take him, but Bennet rebuffs him and tells him not to "make it harder than it already is." During
15870-430: Is rarely permanent, as characters who die are often brought back to life through supernatural means or via retcons (retroactive changes to the continuity), the alteration of previously established facts in the continuity of a fictional work. Fans have termed the practice of bringing back dead characters " comic book death ". Another common trait of superhero fiction is the killing off of a superhero's significant other by
16100-477: Is relieved when he loses his abilities, and wishes to start a new life with Elle. However, after Noah Bennet claims that Angela and Arthur Petrelli are not his real parents and are just manipulating him, Sylar feels betrayed and reverts to his murderous tendencies. Having regained his abilities after the eclipse ended, Sylar expresses seeming remorse and then attacks Elle, using his telekinesis to scalp her. The next morning Sylar proceeds to cremate her body, receiving
16330-616: Is screening on the Sci-Fi Channel in Australia. Season four aired, approximately one month behind the US, on Seven's new digital channel 7Two , on November 4, 2009, at the new time of Wednesdays 8:30 p.m. It started with the double premiere and had double episode runs instead of one episode a week, until it caught up to the US, after that it began to air episodes once a week at 8:30 p.m. It currently airs on Thursdays 9:30 p.m. on 7Two. In
16560-630: Is sometimes called a superheroine (also rendered super-heroine or super heroine). In the United States, the term "SUPER HEROES" is a registered trademark co-owned by DC Comics and Marvel Comics . By most definitions, characters do not strictly require actual superhuman powers to be deemed superheroes, although terms such as costumed crime fighters or masked vigilantes are sometimes used to refer to those such as Batman and Green Arrow without such powers who share other common superhero traits. Such characters were generally referred to as "mystery men" in
16790-443: Is special and that he couldn't do so even if he wanted to because he felt something special about her. He also takes several of the Company files on superhumans she had collected. Sylar breaks into Company headquarters, killing Bob Bishop and acquiring his power. He is captured after attempting to take Elle's power, which results in her involuntarily releasing an electric burst which knocks him unconscious. The discharge also disables
17020-409: Is starting to lose himself. He, as his mother, tries to convince himself that he did not mean to kill her and that he is still special. Danko interrupts when his agents track down Rebel. Sylar gets to Rebel ( Micah Sanders ) before Danko's agents do and prepares to kill him and take his power. Micah, however, reveals that he understands what Sylar is going through because his mother, Niki Sanders, endured
17250-547: Is stunned when Sylar first resists and then retaliates, strangling Samson with his own oxygen tube. Samson does not understand, since both he and Sylar know that Sylar would not die from Samson's "examination". Sylar states that he is finishing what he came to do, taking the stuffed rabbit. Samson begs Sylar to kill him quickly, but Sylar refuses, relishing the fact that his father, who is ultimately just like him, will "die alone with his disease". Later, when Danko returns home to his apartment after discovering Nathan's ability, he finds
17480-423: Is taken by Damien to the hall of mirrors, where he is forced to look at his past murders, starting with his mother. Repulsed, Sylar is unable to believe himself a monster. Samuel uses this to try and convince Sylar that he is a protector of the circus, and must remove threats such as the officer who attempted to capture him the night before. Sylar is told the officer is at the house of mirrors, and goes there to tell
17710-468: Is that he can react with extreme violence when his emotional needs are exploited by others. Sylar is also known for his voracious appetite, and he can constantly be seen snacking or looking for food. He has even taken time during his murders to eat, such as when he reacted with joy at a birthday cake of the woman he just killed. Quinto has said of his character, The sad part is, he's initially well-intentioned. He wants to improve his life. He wants to make
17940-531: Is to die at the hands of the other heroes, he takes Isaac's power to paint the future. He soon finishes a painting depicting himself about to kill and acquire the power of the radioactive Ted Sprague , and believes himself to be the "exploding man". Believing that only those who "don't deserve" their powers are the ones that need to die, he doesn't want to kill innocent people. After attempting to confide in Mohinder, he returns home to his alleged mother, Virginia Gray, in
18170-418: Is to kill Sylar, doubts Danko could do it single-handedly. When Sandra arrives to question Noah about Claire, Sylar shakes her hand in introduction, gaining access to her form. Wanting to destroy Noah, he later visits Noah at Noah's apartment, in disguise as Sandra. He delivers divorce papers, stating that he (Sandra) cannot trust Noah anymore and that their marriage is over. Noah is distraught but, upon examining
18400-417: Is truly his father. Arthur says yes; Sylar detects the lie with Sue Landers' power and proceeds to drive the bullet into Arthur's head, killing him. He then leaves Peter and the Haitian, claiming they do not have anything he desires. Sylar travels to Primatech, and sets up a mind game for Angela, Claire, Meredith, and Noah Bennet. After locking everyone inside and killing the Primatech staff, he tells them over
18630-526: The Silver Age of comic books . The Flash , Green Lantern , Hawkman and several others were recreated with new origin stories. While past superheroes resembled mythological heroes in their origins and abilities, these heroes were inspired by contemporary science fiction . In 1960, DC banded its most popular heroes together in the Justice League of America , which became a sales phenomenon. Empowered by
18860-553: The WGA writers' strike , meaning only 11 out of the planned 24 episodes were produced. That forced the producers to redesign the season to encompass only the Generations volume out of the three planned. The planned third volume, Exodus , which was designed to be a story arc reflecting the effects of the release of strain 138 of the Shanti virus, was cancelled. The planned fourth volume, Villains ,
19090-626: The Writers Guild of America strike . Kring stated in an interview that the first episode of Origins was to reveal the secrets and meanings behind the Helix symbol. Because of the WGA Strike, Kring commented that the secret will have to be revealed down the line. Kring revealed that he was to write the first episode of Origins , and that John August had been hired to write another episode. Director Kevin Smith ,
19320-631: The X-Men , and the Justice League , have been published, often marketed in association with TV series , as have Big Little Books starring the Fantastic Four and others. In the 1990s and 2000s, Marvel and DC released novels adapting such story arcs as " The Death of Superman ", " Planet Hulk ", " Wonder Woman: Earth One ", " Spider-Man: Birth of Venom " and Batman 's " No Man's Land ". Original superhero or superhuman fiction has appeared in both novel and short story print forms unrelated to adaptations from
19550-511: The comic-strip hero The Phantom , starting with 1943's Son of the Phantom . The character likewise returned in 1970s books, with a 15-installment series from Avon Books beginning in 1972, written by Phantom creator Lee Falk , Ron Goulart , and others. Also during the 1970s, Pocket Books published 11 novels based on Marvel Comics characters. Juvenile novels featuring Marvel Comics and DC Comics characters including Batman , Spider-Man ,
19780-500: The font used in captions and credits for the show is reminiscent of traditional hand-rendered comic book lettering. It was created by Sale and is based on his handwriting style. Heroes was designed by production designer Ruth Ammon. Ammon was nominated for her work on Heroes twice by the Art Directors Guild and nominated for two Emmy Awards for excellence in art direction. On May 14, 2007, NBC announced that it would air
20010-518: The government , or laws that regulate extra-legal vigilante activity. For example, in the alternate universe of the Watchmen , first published in 1986, a backlash against superheroes leads to the passage of the "Keene Act", a federal law that prohibits "costumed adventuring" except by superheroes working for the government. A similar device was used in the Marvel Comics universe in the mid-2000s, where
20240-419: The highest-grossing film of all time . In 2017, the film Sign Gene featured about deaf superheroes who use sign language . Several live-action superhero programs aired from the early 1950s until the late 1970s. These included Adventures of Superman starring George Reeves , the action-comedy Batman series of the 1960s (often interpreted as being campy ) starring Adam West and Burt Ward . In
20470-588: The " masked vigilantes " of the American Old West such as the San Diego Vigilantes and the Bald Knobbers who fought and killed outlaws while wearing masks. The character of Spring Heeled Jack , who first emerged as an urban legend of the early 19th century, was re-conceived as a masked and costumed adventurer during the 1890s. The hero's journey is a well-known archetypal story type in which
20700-581: The 1940s with the first film adaptation of a comic book superhero being The Adventures of Captain Marvel in 1941. The decline of these serials meant the death of superhero films until the release of 1978's Superman , a critical and commercial success. Several sequels followed in the 1980s. 1989's Batman was also highly successful and followed by several sequels in the 1990s. Yet while both franchises were initially successful, later sequels in both series fared poorly both artistically and financially, stunting
20930-424: The 1940s. When Fawcett Comics went out of business as such, DC Comics, which had been embroiled in a bitter copyright dispute with Fawcett Comics over Captain Marvel, bought out the copyright to not only the character but also his ancillary "Marvel Family" of heroes and villains. During World War II , superheroes grew in popularity, surviving paper rationing and the loss of many writers and illustrators to service in
21160-433: The 1960s, superhero cartoons have been a staple of children's television, particularly in the U.S.. However, by the early 1970s, US broadcasting restrictions on violence in children's entertainment led to series that were extremely tame, a trend exemplified by the series Super Friends . Meanwhile, Japan's anime industry successfully contributed its own style of superhero series, such as Science Ninja Team Gatchaman . In
21390-420: The 1970s however, the genre would find a newfound credibility in the medium with the original series, The Six Million Dollar Man and its spinoff, The Bionic Woman , being sustained successes. This led to direct adaptations of comic-book superheroes such as ABC / CBS drama series Wonder Woman of the 1970s starring Lynda Carter . The Incredible Hulk of the late 1970s and early 1980s, however, had
21620-575: The 1980s, the Saturday morning cartoon Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends brought together Spider-Man , Iceman , and Firestar . The following decade, Batman: The Animated Series , which was aimed at somewhat older audiences, found critical success in mainstream publications. This series led to the successful DC Animated Universe franchise and other adaptations such as Teen Titans , which Marvel emulated with X-Men and Spider-Man: The Animated Series . Comics' superhero mythos itself received
21850-610: The American comics industry, superpowered, costumed superheroes, such as Ōgon Bat (1931) and the Prince of Gamma ( ガンマ王子 ) (early 1930s), were visualized in painted panels used by kamishibai oral storytellers in Japan. They both anticipated elements of Superman and Batman. Prince of Gamma, for example, had an extraterrestrial origin story and a secret identity (his alter ego was a street urchin ), much like Superman. An earlier example from Japan
22080-503: The Burnt Toast Diner, and sidesteps him before entering. Here, he converses with Charlie, and discovers her power of enhanced memory. Sylar prepares to kill Charlie, but Hiro stops time and locks Sylar in a bus storage container. Later, when seeking Sylar to fix Charlie's aneurysm, Sylar angrily attacks Hiro, demanding to know what Hiro did to him. He attempts to kill Hiro, but Hiro prevents this with his time control. Finally, Hiro makes
22310-699: The Case of Ennui" and Saladin Ahmed's "Doctor Diablo Goes Through the Motions". The web serial Worm began publication in 2011 and completed in 2013 while its sequel, Ward , began in November 2017 and completed in May 2020. Sylar Sylar ( Gabriel Gray ) is a fictional character and a primary antagonist of the NBC superhero drama series Heroes . Portrayed by Zachary Quinto , he
22540-804: The Coast Discoveries imprint, 2008); Austin Grossman's Soon I Will Be Invincible ( Pantheon Books , 2007); Lavie Tidhar 's The Violent Century (Hodder & Stoughton, 2013), David J. Schwartz's Superpowers: A Novel ( Three Rivers Press , 2008); Matthew Cody's Powerless ( Knopf , 2009); Van Allen Plexico 's Sentinels series of superhero novels (Swarm/Permuted Press, beginning in 2008); and Marissa Meyer 's Renegades trilogy. Collections of superhuman short stories include Who Can Save Us Now?: Brand-New Superheroes and Their Amazing (Short) Stories , edited by Owen King and John McNally (Free Press, 2008), and Masked , edited by Lou Anders (Gallery, 2010). With
22770-414: The Company to hunt down the escaped villains, Angela assigns Sylar as his partner, sending the two out to confront the villains and save the trapped Peter Petrelli. Wanting to prove he is not just a killer, to both himself and Bennet, Sylar saves Bennet from Jesse and Knox, two of the escaped villains. However, his "hunger" reasserts itself and he kills Jesse, allowing Knox to escape in the confusion. Sylar
23000-590: The Golden Age and the Sub-Mariner , from Marvel Comics (then called Timely Comics and later re-branded Atlas Comics ), and Plastic Man and Phantom Lady from Quality Comics were also hits. Will Eisner 's The Spirit , featured in a comic strip , would become a considerable artistic inspiration to later comic book creators. The era's most popular superhero, however, was Fawcett Comics 's Captain Marvel , whose exploits regularly outsold those of Superman during
23230-803: The Haitian appears, and tells Peter to go see a storage facility for the truth of the situation. Here, Nathan and Peter discover the real Nathan's preserved body, which 'Nathan' touches and sees Sylar and Matt Parkman. They head to Texas to see Matt, who is at the hospital, in a coma. Meanwhile, Matt Parkman , regretting his actions, is haunted by Sylar, who claims to have lingered in Parkman's mind after Parkman "sucked" all his memories and replaced them with Nathan's. Though Parkman had resolved not to use his powers anymore, Sylar eventually tempts him into using them again. Following this, Sylar escalates his tormenting of Parkman, using his own telepathy against him to force Parkman to use his powers to save himself. Sylar then gives
23460-466: The Level 5 security system, allowing a dozen dangerous inmates to escape the complex. Before Sylar can regain consciousness, he is locked up. During his imprisonment, Angela Petrelli claims that she is his mother and attempts to rehabilitate him. She allows him to kill Bridget Bailey , a woman who can see the history of an object by touching it, in order to feed his hunger for power. When Noah Bennet returns to
23690-686: The PA system that he will turn them all into monsters as they try to hunt him. Noah releases several Level 5 inmates as bait, including Echo Demille , Eric Doyle , and Daniel Pine , but Sylar easily disposes of them. He then injects Meredith with adrenaline, causing her to lose control of her fire ability. She and Noah are then locked in a cell with a single bullet, so Noah will either burn to death or kill Meredith to survive. Claire wants to help, as Sylar expects, forcing her to choose between her grandmother and her father; Claire chooses her father, leaving Angela at Sylar's mercy. He confronts Angela, and finds out that she
23920-497: The President and convinces him to shut down Building 26 and divert the funds to the new Company that will now be built. Later, Sylar, as Nathan, watches "Sylar's" (in reality James Martin's) body burn at Coyote Sands alongside Noah, Claire, Matt, Angela, Peter, Mohinder, Hiro and Ando. Six weeks later, this Nathan starts to rediscover the other powers he had gained in his old life. Later, following Nathan's confession of being involved in
24150-792: The President. Realizing his opportunity, Sylar breaks into Nathan Petrelli's office and finds a brush containing some of Nathan's DNA. He later appears, as Nathan, at a press conference concerning new plans for change he has for the country and how he soon plans to meet with the President and "shake his hand". Realizing what Sylar is trying to do, Nathan returns to DC from Coyote Sands and confronts Sylar, who reveals he has examined Nathan's life in depth using clairsentience. Expressing pity and determined to become better than Nathan, Sylar prepares to take Nathan's ability when Danko appears and stuns Nathan. Attempting to salvage his operation, Danko orders Sylar to shift back into one of his agents so they can continue hunting specials. When Sylar refuses, Danko stabs him in
24380-1019: The United Kingdom, the series first aired on February 19, 2007, on digital channel Sci Fi UK . The series averaged 450,000 viewers, which is almost four times more viewers than those of other programs on Sci Fi UK. The series was then picked up by the BBC, which gave season one its terrestrial premiere from July 25 to December 5, 2007, on BBC Two. Season two of Heroes first aired from April 24 to July 3, 2008, on BBC Two, attracting around 3.7 million viewers. Season three began on October 1, 2008, and gained 3.81 million viewers. Season four began on January 9, 2010, but viewership as of February 8 had declined to just 0.74 million. In Indonesia, Season 1 aired on Trans TV on weeknights starting from January 31, 2007, at 6:00 p.m. WIB . All subsequent seasons aired on Trans7 on Wednesdays starting from August 6, 2007, at 8:00 p.m. WIB. Ubisoft announced that they had licensed
24610-479: The United States, receiving the highest rating for an NBC drama premiere in five years. The second season of Heroes attracted an average of 13.1 million viewers in the U.S. and marked NBC's sole series among the top 20 ranked programs in total viewership for the 2007–2008 season. Heroes earned a number of awards and nominations, including Primetime Emmy Awards , Golden Globes , People's Choice Awards , and British Academy Television Awards . An online extension of
24840-514: The Vampire Slayer , Angel , The Phantom Captain Nice , Mr. Terrific , The Green Hornet , Electra Woman and Dyna Girl , The Greatest American Hero , Dark Angel , No Ordinary Family and Alias . In the 1940s, Fleischer / Famous Studios produced a number of groundbreaking Superman cartoons, which became the first examples of superheroes in animation . Since
25070-523: The ability to live forever, proposing that, given enough time, Claire might come to forgive him and even love him. However, Peter and Nathan then confront him, and in the battle Sylar and Nathan fly out of a window and into another room. Sylar subsequently kills Nathan (after empathically absorbing his power during the fight) and takes on the form of the President's Chief of Staff. However, the President injects him with an elephant tranquilizer, and reveals himself to be Peter, having absorbed Sylar's ability during
25300-410: The accidental death of his girlfriend Kelly Houston, her mother, Millie Houston, has him shot and buried in a shallow grave. When healed, Sylar emerges from the ground in his own body, suffering from amnesia . Picked up by the police, he is recognized and accidentally uses his powers to escape. He then encounters the "Sullivan Bros. Carnival" and Samuel , who take him in as one of their own. The carnival
25530-439: The act of acquiring Claire Bennet 's regenerative powers through examination of her brain with his hands. When Claire asks him the same question, he sounds surprised and replies "Eat your brain? Claire, that's disgusting." The writers never bridged the gap between the early insinuations regarding what Sylar does with the brains and the final incarnation they reveal in his encounter with Claire. Prior to Quinto's first appearance in
25760-518: The aesthetic style and storytelling of American comic books , using multi-episode story arcs that build upon a larger, more encompassing narrative. It was produced by Tailwind Productions in association with Universal Media Studios . It was filmed primarily in Los Angeles , California . Four complete seasons aired, ending on February 8, 2010. The critically acclaimed first season had a run of 23 episodes and garnered an average of 14.3 million viewers in
25990-404: The agents enough for Sylar to telekinetic-ally toss a few around and punch a hole through a window. However, as he gets into the car, Sylar locks Luke out and drives off, leaving Luke to the agents. However, a short time later, Sylar disguises as an agent and gets into their van, killing the agents and saving Luke, as well as taking a laptop. When confronted about this by Luke, Sylar states that Luke
26220-772: The agents, save one Agent Simmons, whom he tortures for information on Samson's disappearance. In order to extract more information from Simmons, Sylar invades the house of Luke and Mary Campbell. Waiting for the two to return, Sylar telekinetic-ally pins them, and states he intends to torture them to get Simmons to talk. He then proceeds to torture Mary. In a rage, Luke manages to free himself and boils Sylar's coffee with his own ability: microwave emission. Intrigued, Sylar begins to talk to Luke, telling him exactly why Luke has been in so much trouble, and that he understands Luke's frustration. During this, Simmons frees himself from his bindings and tries to grab his gun to shoot Sylar, but Luke notices this and kills Simmons. Sylar proceeds to leave
26450-627: The area in which the two are in, and they reach an abandoned diner. Sylar makes an entrance by pulling off some of the board (throwing them in Luke's direction) and they enter. Here, Sylar recounts being brought to the diner as a child, and dropping a toy car in a wooden post. To prove this memory true, he rips open the post telekinetic-ally and finds the car. He then remembers exactly what happened at that place: His father took money from Virginia and Martin, then left to his car. Sylar followed, only to see his biological parents arguing, and Samson telekinetic-ally splitting his mother's skull open, killing her. In
26680-549: The armed forces. The need for simple tales of good triumphing over evil may explain the wartime popularity of superheroes. Publishers responded with stories in which superheroes battled the Axis Powers and the patriotically themed superheroes, most notably Marvel's Captain America as well as DC's Wonder Woman . Like other pop-culture figures of the time, Superheroes were used to promote domestic propaganda during wartime, ranging from
26910-437: The back of the head with a knife. However, Sylar recovers, having used his shapeshifting ability to relocate his weak spot. After framing Danko for the murder of an agent, he takes on Nathan's form and goes to meet the President with Claire in tow. When she discovers the truth, he controls her using the power which he had empathically absorbed from Eric Doyle and talks about how similar they are, both being adopted and both having
27140-412: The biological source of the powers, while Noah Bennet (Jack Coleman) represents, and is a lead agent for, a secret organization known only as "the Company" that wants to control, and if necessary, terminate those who are gifted. After only having a short time to come to terms with their new abilities, each of the heroes is drawn into the final showdown. They must each do their part to stop the destruction of
27370-412: The building and starts shooting at Sylar, but by then he has seen that the cure works, and he steals it and escapes. In " Villains ", Hiro sees Sylar's life shortly after the murder of Brian Davis . Intensely remorseful over the act, Gabriel attempts to hang himself . Elle Bishop walks in and saves him by using her electric abilities to cut the rope, convincing him that he's a good person. However, she
27600-691: The bulk of their properties to the copyright owner's, Disney , to its own streaming service, Disney+ . DC series include Shazam! , The Secrets of Isis , The Flash (1990 TV series) , Birds of Prey and Gotham . Arrowverse series include The Flash (2014 TV series) , Supergirl , Legends of Tomorrow and Constantine . Marvel series include The Amazing Spider-Man , Spidey Super Stories and Mutant X . Netflix series include Daredevil , Jessica Jones , Luke Cage , Iron Fist and The Defenders . Japanese tokusatsu series include Ultraman , Spectreman and Kamen Rider . Other series include- Buffy
27830-603: The capital cities. To keep viewer numbers high the Seven Network began showing the second season on Thursday nights at 9:30 p.m. across all areas, a week after the US screening. The third season began airing on October 9, 2008, and Volume 4 began airing on April 23, 2009. Because of low ratings, it was pushed back half-an-hour to 11:00 p.m. after Scrubs and the season concluded July 9, 2009. The Sci-Fi (available through Foxtel , Optus TV and Austar ) screened season two re-runs in late 2009. From June 2010, season three
28060-473: The cases of the DC and Marvel Universes ) establishing a fictional continuity of thousands of works spread over many decades. Changes to continuity are also common, ranging from small changes to established continuity, commonly called retcons , to full reboots , erasing all previous continuity. It is also common for works of superhero fiction to contain established characters and setting while occurring outside of
28290-693: The club, Sylar and Danko are spotted by Martin (in the form of Danko), and they lose track of him. A short time later, Danko and Sylar decide to leave the club; however, the 'Sylar' is actually Martin in disguise with the intention of killing Danko. However, Danko shoots Martin, but doesn't kill him. Instead, he allows the real Sylar to take Martin's ability (without removing the skullcap) in order to not only make hunting superpowered humans easier for them, but to fake Sylar's death and keep people such as Noah Bennett from trying to track Sylar down. Sylar, disguised as Danko, later meets Noah at Building 26 as Noah, unknowingly, examines Martin's body. Noah, knowing how hard it
28520-553: The comic book industry adopted the stringent Comics Code . By the mid-1950s, only Superman , Batman and Wonder Woman retained a sliver of their prior popularity, although effort towards complete inoffensiveness led to stories that many consider silly, especially by modern standards. This ended what historians have called the Golden Age of comic books . In the 1950s, DC Comics , under the editorship of Julius Schwartz , recreated many popular 1940s heroes, launching an era later deemed
28750-484: The creators of the series referred to these fictional elements as part of the mythology of the series. Kring confirmed that although the show has a unique mythology, he did not want to sink too deeply into it. Rather, Kring used volumes to wrap up ongoing plot lines instead of carrying storylines over long periods of time as in Lost . Among the show's mythological elements are the Company, the legend of Takezo Kensei, paintings of
28980-410: The depiction of superheroes in the 2004 film The Incredibles is used to examine societal attitudes towards those with disabilities, first by showing them through the prism of ableism in providing unwanted help to people they view as unable to help themselves and later as those forced to hide their differences that are now an object of discrimination. A supervillain or supervillainess is a variant of
29210-501: The effects of various strains of the virus will do to the human and superhuman population. The virus is weaponized and locked away at Primatech Paper, the Company's facility used as a front. Returning to the present, the heroes must come together in an attempt to stop the release of a deadly strain of the virus and avert a global pandemic . The first part of season three is called "Volume Three: Villains". Volume three begins with an assassination attempt on Nathan Petrelli (Adrian Pasdar),
29440-494: The episode " Seven Minutes to Midnight ", the role of Sylar was played by stunt doubles, and usually, as in " One Giant Leap ", the character's face being obscured by shadows. Quinto himself played the role with his face hidden in the same way until " Six Months Ago ". In the second episode of the first season, " Don't Look Back ", his voice is heard in a recorded phone conversation on Chandra Suresh's answering machine, spoken by voice actor Maurice LaMarche . Part of this conversation
29670-403: The events of season three. The heroes try to return to their normal lives; Peter returns to his job as a paramedic, while Claire attends college. Sylar's body is causing his previously acquired abilities to manifest as he struggles with his forced identity as Nathan. Sylar's actual consciousness, trapped in Matt Parkman's mind, taunts Matt and seeks out his own body. Meanwhile, Hiro has to deal with
29900-424: The evidence from the homicide of his mother, Virginia Gray. While examining her collection of snow globes, Sylar unknowingly shapeshifts into his mother and begins to have a conversation with himself, showing acute symptoms of dissociative identity disorder . He at first does not realize what is happening and talks to his mother about his encounter with Samson, why his mother lied to Sylar about his lineage, and how he
30130-473: The feeling of a ghost-like presence. Sylar 's involves marimbas and bassoons with staccato to re-create the sound of clocks ticking in reference to the character's power. Matt Parkman 's theme involves voices being played backwards when he uses his power of telepathy . Peter Petrelli 's theme involves marcato strings. Niki Sanders 's theme was based on her character's alter-ego Jessica and involved winds and Indian voices chanting in an underscore to give
30360-467: The few to also publish superhero poetry, ceasing to do so as of 2011. Superhero poems there included Philip L. Tite's "Brittle Lives", Mark Floyd's "Nemeses", and Jay Macleod's "All Our Children". Novels with original superhuman stories include Robert Mayer's Superfolks ( St. Martin's Griffin , March 9, 2005); James Maxey's Nobody Gets the Girl ( Phobos Books , 2003); Rob Rogers's Devil's Cape ( Wizards of
30590-425: The fight. In an effort to shut down the program, Angela convinces Matt Parkman to use his telepathy to convince Sylar that he is Nathan, Matt using Angela's memories of Nathan's life to essentially 'plant' Nathan in Sylar's head, his shape-shifting power allowing him to assume Nathan's form while his clairsentience will allow him to subconsciously use objects around him to 'fill in the blanks'. Sylar, as Nathan, talks to
30820-646: The first and second seasons would be released on Blu-ray on August 26, 2008, the same date as the DVD release of the second season. Specifications and bonus features include: Generations Alternate Ending; Inside the Alternate Ending: What if Peter didn't catch the virus?; untold stories that didn't make it on air; Season three sneak peek; deleted scenes; a documentary on Takezo Kensei; behind the scenes featurettes; NBC.com featurettes; and audio commentaries with cast, crew and show creator Tim Kring. The complete second season
31050-543: The first pod of season one episodes, The Chicago Tribune went as far as saying, "you could watch the first few episodes of Heroes , or you could repeatedly hit yourself on the head with a brick. The effect is surprisingly similar." At Metacritic , the Heroes pilot received a 67/100, with generally favorable reviews from critics. The show was declared the fourth highest rated show for the first ten years of IMDbPro (2002–2012). Season two received generally positive reviews, but
31280-424: The first season, from March 4, 2007, to April 23, 2007 (7 weeks), ratings hit a new low; the lowest being 11.14 million viewers during part one of the three part finale, " The Hard Part ." In season two, the opener gained the highest rating of the entire series, however, week-by-week, the ratings declined, reaching another new low for the series on episode seven, " Out of Time ", with only 9.87 million viewers. Although
31510-477: The formula. After the destruction of Primatech and Pinehearst, the rival company of Primatech, the heroes attempt to lead normal lives until Nathan initiates his plan to round up all people with abilities. He is opposed in that plan by the other heroes, led by Peter, who used the synthetic formula to acquire a new ability where he can only copy one power at a time as opposed to his previous array of abilities. Sylar kills Nathan in an intense duel. However, because Nathan
31740-559: The future, superpowers and their origins, the Shanti virus, 9th Wonders! comic book, and numerous other elements and mythological themes. Season one received highly positive reviews. During the season, the American Film Institute named Heroes one of the ten "best television programs of the year." Doug Elfman of the Chicago Sun-Times stated, "the show's super strengths are its well-developed filmmaking, smooth pacing and
31970-518: The game. This has changed due to popular franchises: The Silver Age -inspired Freedom Force (2002), City of Heroes (2004), Infamous series and Champions Online (2009), a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (or MMORPG), all of which allow players to create their own superheroes and/or villains. In the 1980s and 1990s, the Internet allowed a worldwide community of fans and amateur writers to bring their own superhero creations to
32200-480: The growth of superhero films for a time. Hit films such as 1998's Blade , 2000's X-Men and Unbreakable , and 2002's Spider-Man have led to sequel installments as well as encouraging the development of numerous superhero film franchises in the 21st century, both successful (such as 2005's Batman Begins , a reboot of the Batman film series ) and unsuccessful (such as 2004's Catwoman ). With that resurgence,
32430-399: The hope that she will tell him that it is fine not to be special and live as a normal watchmaker. She tells him that he can be anything, including the president, causing him to demonstrate his powers and accidentally injure her. This causes her to panic, which eventually leads to her death, and Sylar deciding that his path is correct. After acquiring the radioactive powers of Ted, Sylar paints
32660-413: The house, taking Luke with him only after Luke states he knows where Samson is. As Sylar and Luke proceed to find Samson, Luke wishes to stop at some local diner to eat, as well as lying to Sylar about Samson's location when prodded. This irritates Sylar to the point where he threatens to simply take Luke's emission ability. Luke simply states that Sylar would never find his father then. Choosing to stop at
32890-484: The house. During another conversation, Sylar appears pained whenever Parkman drinks alcohol, giving Parkman the idea to drink into a stupor. Sylar appears successfully removed as he fades from Matt's mind, and Matt remains conscious long enough to see his partner and Janice return. In actuality, Sylar simply tricked Parkman into knocking himself out. Now much more powerful, Sylar takes full control of Parkman's body, leaving Matt trapped in his own head. Despite his control over
33120-415: The knowledge that Sylar is still alive. Danko confesses and tells Noah that Sylar is in disguise and out on a mission with other soldiers. Noah forces Danko to take him to Sylar and, when they arrive, shoots the soldier Danko identifies as Sylar in the back of the head. When the corpse continues to bleed out and does not heal, Danko orders his men to capture Noah, who Danko claims has gone insane. However, when
33350-400: The last minute. The power gained from Bridget enables him to experience the horror she went through, so he attempts to sincerely apologize to her, but she regards him with anger and disgust, and Bennet emphatically tells him to never to speak to his daughter again. The three find Stephen at an amusement park, where Bennet tries to force him into killing Sylar in exchange for freedom; though Sylar
33580-687: The main canon for those characters. Crossovers often occur between characters of different works of superhero fiction. In comic books, highly publicized "events" are published featuring crossovers between many characters. In previous eras, especially in the Bronze Age of Comic Books , Marvel and DC had dedicated series in which their marquee characters such as Spider-Man and Superman would meet various characters in single stories such as Marvel Team-Up and DC Comics Presents . However, that publishing fashion has fallen away in favor of occasional limited series and guest appearances in regular series when
33810-473: The main plots develop, smaller, more intimate stories are told within them. Each main character's story is developed separately and as time passes their paths cross and it is explained how their stories are intertwined and connected. This is the story of ordinary people who discover extraordinary super powers after a solar eclipse reveals them, and how these abilities affect the characters' daily lives. The first season , known as "Volume One: Genesis", begins with
34040-400: The major comic-book companies. It has also appeared in poetry. Print magazines devoted to such stories include A Thousand Faces: A Quarterly Journal of Superhuman Fiction , published since 2007 in print and electronic form, and online only as of 2011 and This Mutant Life: Superhero Fiction , a bimonthly print publication from Australia , published since 2010. The latter magazine was one of
34270-434: The man to leave. However, the officer shoots at Sylar, forcing an uncontrolled electric blast. Here, Sylar's killer instinct begins to take hold, but Sylar stops himself just in time for Edgar to cut the man into pieces. Later, Samuel formally makes Sylar a part of the circus family, baptizing him and letting him mingle with the others. Sylar and Lydia leave arm in arm for the night, much to Edgar's dismay. In " Shadowboxing ",
34500-503: The names National and All-American at the time, received an overwhelming response to Superman and, in the years that followed, introduced Batman , Wonder Woman , The Green Lantern , The Flash , The Hawkman , Aquaman , and The Green Arrow . The first team of superheroes was DC's Justice Society of America , featuring most of the aforementioned characters. Although DC dominated the superhero market at this time, companies large and small created hundreds of superheroes. The Human Torch of
34730-416: The novel Gladiator , were heroes with unusual abilities who fought sometimes larger-than-life foes. The word " superhero " itself dates to at least 1917. The most direct antecedents are pulp magazine crime fighters such as the masked and caped Zorro (introduced by Johnston M. McCulley in 1919 with The Curse of Capistrano ) with his trademark "Z", the technologically advanced "Black Sapper" (1929),
34960-413: The only difference between the two is that the hero uses his extraordinary powers to help others, while the villain uses his powers for selfish, destructive or ruthless purposes. Both superheroes and supervillains often use alter egos while in action. While sometimes the character's real name is publicly known, alter egos are most often used to hide the character's secret identity from their enemies and
35190-470: The original cast was with audiences; therefore, he brought back most of the first-season cast for the second season, with a few additions who received star billing . In its first season, the show features an ensemble cast of twelve main characters making it the third largest cast in American primetime television behind Desperate Housewives and Lost . Although NBC's first-season cast page listed only ten characters, Leonard Roberts , who first appeared in
35420-486: The pair, including the emotion and direction for each character. Kring wanted incredibly unusual music and gave Melvoin and Coleman a lot of freedom and permission to experiment. In the pilot episode, Kring suggested that a "dreamy" cue be used in the scene involving Claire Bennet running into a burning train. The "dreamy" cue became a signature piece of the show. Melvoin and Coleman developed musical cues for each character. Claude 's theme involved wind and voices to create
35650-420: The persona of Nathan returns, causing him to shapeshift back into Nathan's form while sleeping. Panicking upon finding himself at the carnival, he flies away, and is later shown arriving at Peter's door, asking for help. Arriving for work at his office, Peter and Nathan discover that no one has been looking for Nathan, as he had been on 'vacation' according to Angela Petrelli. The brothers are further surprised when
35880-427: The pilot, he described every detail, including the cliffhanger ending . When NBC executives asked him what was going to happen next, Kring responded, "Well, you'll just have to wait and find out." After the project was greenlit , a special 73-minute version of the pilot was first screened to a large audience at the 2006 San Diego Comic-Con . It was initially reported that this unaired pilot would not be released, but it
36110-440: The point where he angrily lashes out at anyone who calls him Gabriel. In addition to the above, Sylar shows a marked lack of empathy. As seen in the episode " .07% ", when shortly before killing Isaac Mendez , he casually comments on Mendez's lack of fear, with the sort of mild surprise that someone might express if he noticed that a train was running late. Although he at times tries to impersonate other people in order to obtain
36340-413: The potential silliness and zombie associations, the producers deliberately made this fact vague in the series. In an interview with series creator Tim Kring , it is asked if Sylar eats brains, and he merely states "That's the popular speculation. There's a connection between the powers and the brain, and Sylar has found it." The question is addressed in the season three premiere , when he is depicted in
36570-434: The power of intuitive aptitude, and murders Davis for his telekinetic powers. After returning to Suresh, he becomes " Patient Zero ", and continues to work with Suresh until Suresh realizes that Sylar is murdering the people that they meet and ultimately, Suresh is killed by Gabriel in his own cab precisely at 11:53 p.m. Sylar is first referenced in the first episode when Mohinder Suresh (Chandra Suresh's son) finds
36800-630: The press and from fans. On July 21, 2007, Kring announced that cast and crew members of Heroes would travel the world for the Heroes World Tour to promote the season one DVD release and the forthcoming season two. The tour took place in North America (New York and Toronto), Asia ( Singapore , Tokyo, and Hong Kong) and Europe ( Munich , Paris and London). The tour began on August 26, and ended on September 1, 2007. The post-hardcore bands Alesana and I See Stars have both respectively named songs after
37030-620: The preternaturally mesmeric The Shadow (1930), the "peak human" Doc Savage (1933), and The Spider (1933), and comic strip characters such as Hugo Hercules (1902), Popeye (1929), the Phantom (1936) and Olga Mesmer (1937). The first masked crime-fighter created for comic books was writer-artist George Brenner 's non-superpowered detective the Clock , who debuted in Centaur Publications ' Funny Pages #6 (Nov. 1936). In August 1937, in
37260-549: The price of keeping such a secret. In addition, this narrative trope can allow fantasy characters to be in occasional realistic stories without the fantasy element of the sub-genre appearing. With supervillains, by contrast, the duality of their identities is kept a secret and closely guarded to conceal their crimes from the general public, so that they may inflict greater harm on the general public, and to enable them to act freely, and hence illegally, without risk of arrest by law-enforcement authorities. Death in superhero fiction
37490-441: The project was kept secret from Kring. NBC hosted panels at the 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009 San Diego Comic-Con to promote the series. Major announcements have been made during the panel, along with sneak peeks of forthcoming seasons. In 2006, the Heroes panel presented the entire season one 72-minute pilot. In 2008 the first half of the season three premiere was shown. Comic-Con also allows the cast and crew to answer questions from
37720-489: The protagonist undertakes a quest to achieve both material advantage and psychological and ethical maturity, and is generally considered to function as a metaphor and guide for children transitioning to adulthood or from egoism to altruism as the core concept of the self . Antecedents of the superhero archetype include such folkloric heroes as Robin Hood , who adventured in distinctive clothing, and King Arthur , who possessed
37950-426: The public. With superheroes, the duality of their identities is kept a secret and closely guarded to protect those close to them from being harmed and to prevent them from being called upon constantly, even for problems not serious enough to require their attention. This can be a source of drama with the superhero being forced to devise means of getting out of sight to change without revealing their identity, or bearing
38180-413: The purchasing of war bonds . Following superheroes's popularity during this time, those characters' appeal began to dwindle in the post-war era. Comic-book publishers, casting about for new subjects and genres, found success in, particularly, crime fiction , the most prominent comic of which was Lev Gleason Publications 's Crime Does Not Pay , and horror . The lurid nature of these genres sparked
38410-482: The ratings were lower than average, this episode was considered to be a turning point for the declining season, as a major plot twist was introduced and the volume's "big picture storyline" was presented. The season two/volume 2 finale generated 11.06 million viewers in the ratings, down more than 3 million viewers from the season opener and series pilot. While the show premiered with high ratings, ratings slowly diminished throughout its run. The first episode of season two
38640-476: The return of the superhero at DC, Marvel Comics editor/writer Stan Lee and the artists/co-writers Jack Kirby , Steve Ditko and Bill Everett launched a new line of superhero comic books, beginning with the Fantastic Four in 1961 and continuing with the Incredible Hulk , Spider-Man , Iron Man , Thor , the X-Men , and Daredevil . These comics continued DC's use of science fiction concepts ( radiation
38870-432: The rights to produce a Heroes video game; however, the company later chose to give the rights back to NBCUniversal . Gameloft released the first Heroes mobile game on October 5, 2007. It consists of 8 levels and playable characters include Hiro Nakamura , Niki Sanders and Peter Petrelli . Each week, NBC released a Heroes webcomic . The comics gave additional character background and plot information not shown in
39100-400: The rise of e-book readers like Kindle and Nook, a host of superhero stories have been self-published, including R. R. Haywood's Extracted (2017), R. T. Leone's Invinciman (2017), and Mike Vago's Selfdestructible (2018). While many popular superheroes have been featured in licensed video games, up until recently there have been few that have revolved around heroes created specifically for
39330-411: The road trip, Noah chastises him about the murder of Jesse at the bank and his terrorizing Claire, and Sylar states that " rehabilitation doesn't happen overnight. I am trying." They track the escapee, Stephen Canfield, to an empty house, unaware that Claire is already there dealing with Canfield herself. The man creates a powerful vortex in the room which nearly sucks in Claire, but Sylar saves her at
39560-475: The same ability - the ability to steal powers. Samson reveals that it did not matter how many people he killed or how many powers he stole; in the end, he did not lead a fulfilling life and is now miserable. He claims to not even remember selling Sylar and killing his mother, as these things did not matter to him. He goes on to say how he would have lived life differently, if given a second chance - how he would risk everything to attain true power and ultimately change
39790-465: The same thing when her power manifested. Convinced that Sylar is special and the only one capable of saving those with powers, Micah convinces Sylar to join his cause. Sylar, disguised as Micah, tricks Danko and his agents into chasing the wrong person, allowing Micah to escape. Sylar, again talking with "his mother", reveals that her murder was no accident, but "Virginia" forgives Sylar anyway, convinced that he can still be whomever he wants to be, including
40020-556: The score; and audio commentaries with cast, crew and Kring. On February 22, 2008, the Heroes Season One DVD was nominated for a 2008 Saturn Award , in the category of "Best Television Series on DVD." The complete first season was released in USA and Canada on August 28, 2007. It was released in Australia and New Zealand on September 17, 2007. Universal Studios Home Entertainment and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has announced that
40250-512: The series are created after the scene is shot in post-production, unlike special effects, which are incorporated into the scenes during filming. Notable visual effects include radioactive Ted in " Company Man ", Nathan flying from Mr. Bennet and The Haitian in " Hiros ", and Hiro's time freezing encounter with the schoolgirl in the red bow in " One Giant Leap ". The special effects were coordinated by Gary D'Amico. Stunts were coordinated by Ian Ouinn, who also used blue screens to accomplish some of
40480-484: The series to the network and advice on the lessons he (Lindelof) learned about working on a serialized drama. The two still speak and support each other's projects. When Kring pitched the idea for Heroes to the NBC network, he described the network's reaction as "excited...very supportive." He comments that he has been partners with NBC for some time based on his six-year run as showrunner for Crossing Jordan . When he pitched
40710-404: The series' fifth episode as D L Hawkins, was an additional member of the original full-time cast. In the first-season episode " Fallout ", Jack Coleman , who portrays Noah Bennet , was upgraded from a recurring role to become the twelfth full-time cast member. The following remained major characters during all four seasons: Although Niki Sanders , played by Ali Larter , was written out in
40940-410: The series' penultimate episode he experienced over three years of penitence in a mental prison, and later identifies himself as a hero in what became the show's series finale due to cancellation. TV Guide included him in their 2013 list of "The 60 Nastiest Villains of All Time". Sylar was created as a cannibal who ate his victims' brains and "digested their power"; however, in order to avoid
41170-456: The series' 15% decline in ratings. Kring said that he felt he had made mistakes with the direction of season two. He had thought that the audience was looking for a "build-up of characters and the discovery of their powers", when viewers were instead looking for "adrenaline." Kring also outlined what he felt were problems with plot development, stating that season two "took too long to get to the big-picture story", explaining that Peter 's vision of
41400-413: The series, Heroes 360 Experience (later rebranded as Heroes Evolutions ), was created to explore the Heroes universe and provides insight into the show's mythology. Other official Heroes media include magazines, action figures, tie-in and interactive websites, a mobile game, a novel, clothing and other merchandise. In the fall of 2008, NBC Digital Entertainment released a series of online content for
41630-414: The series. The series was recorded using a single-camera setup . In keeping with the comic book thematic elements used on Heroes , professional comic book artists Tim Sale and Alex Maleev were brought in to provide the artwork used within the series under the direction of Ruth Ammon, including the artwork of Isaac Mendez , and Mendez's metafictional comic book series, 9th Wonders! . Additionally,
41860-483: The short-lived action comedy, Misfits of Science . In the 2010s, Warner Brothers created a successful adaptation of the Green Arrow , Arrow , that began the successful Arrowverse television franchise. Marvel meanwhile had a successful television spin-off of their Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. , while creating a number of series on the streaming service Netflix , before moving
42090-437: The show because of too many characters and plotlines. In November 2008, NBC fired Jesse Alexander and Jeph Loeb from the production staff of Heroes over creative differences and budget problems. As a result, Kring would refocus the series on character development and simple storytelling. However, a high-ranking insider told TV Guide that rather than pressure from NBC or Universal Media responding to recent plummeting ratings, it
42320-470: The show's original incidental music. The network created a new opening credit sequence so they could play Petrosillo's theme. The official Heroes soundtrack was released on March 18, 2008, by The NBCUniversal Television, DVD, Music & Consumer Products Group. On February 29, 2008, the Group released five music videos created by Heroes producer/director Allan Arkush , each combining show footage with songs from
42550-620: The show, "This Is Usually the Part Where People Scream" and "Save the Cheerleader". The first DVD release of Heroes was a sampler disc, containing only the first episode, and was released in Ireland and the UK on September 3, 2007. UK Region 2 split Heroes into two-halves on its initial release; part one being released on October 1, 2007, and part two on December 10, 2007. When the second part
42780-424: The signature on the forms, discovers that it is not Sandra's. Rushing to the crematorium, Noah stops the cremation of Martin's body. He removes the metal shard in the back of the corpse's head, telling the surrounding soldiers that when Sylar was stabbed with a glass shard before, it melted in the Primatech fire allowing him to regenerate. When the corpse does not regenerate, Noah returns to Danko and confronts him with
43010-403: The so-called Golden Age of Comic Books to distinguish them from characters with super-powers. Normally, superheroes use their powers to counter day-to-day crime while also combating threats against humanity by their criminal counterparts, supervillains. Long-running superheroes such as DC's Batman , Superman and Wonder Woman and Marvel's Spider-Man , Captain America and Iron Man have
43240-446: The soldiers leave in pursuit, the corpse gets up and shifts back into Sylar. When Danko asks him how he survived while bleeding so much, Sylar says it was all to make his death look realistic. As Sylar continues to shapeshift, he finds it is harder and harder to regain his form without side effects, including left over body parts like teeth. He also retains personality traits and memories of those he changes into, causing him to go through
43470-591: The soundtrack. In September 2008, Melvoin and Coleman announced that they would be releasing Heroes: Original Score , an album consisting entirely of the score from Heroes . It was released on April 14, 2009, by La-La Land Records. Eric Grenaudier and John Han of Stargate Digital are the visual effects supervisors and Mark Spatny is the visual effects producer for Heroes . They work with visual effects animators Anthony Ocampo and Ryan Wieber , who are also from Stargate. The series visual effects consist of blue screens and 2D and 3D animation. The visual effects for
43700-410: The story of several ordinary people who each suddenly find themselves with a superpower. The British series Misfits incorporates super-human abilities to undesirables in society. In this case, young offenders put on community service all have super powers and each use them to battle villains of sorts. In the 1980s, an unsuccessful attempt was made to realize this last concept in the United States with
43930-437: The stronger his power. The heroes have to come together to battle Samuel and his plan to expose "specials" to the world by killing thousands of people. The series finale ends by opening the nonexistent "Volume Six: Brave New World" in which Claire reveals the existence of people with special abilities to a group of reporters and photographers. The series mimics how it started, with the last scene involving Claire Bennet jumping from
44160-592: The stuffed rabbit on his desk, unaware that Sylar is lurking in the shadows nearby. Instead of a confrontation, however, Sylar chooses to leave, but not before stringing up an unconscious Eric Doyle in Danko 's apartment as a 'gift'. This 'gift' is explained further when Sylar surprises Danko in his car: He wishes to work with Danko in rounding up all super-powered humans, and quickly leaves before Danko can pull out his gun. To further win Danko's trust, Sylar decides to help Danko track
44390-472: The stunts in the series, such as Nathan Petrelli flying away from Heidi during the car accident scene in " Six Months Ago ". Principal filming for Heroes occurred in Los Angeles and Santa Clarita, California . The Stargate Digital team were responsible for making Los Angeles look like international locations, such as India and Ukraine , using blue screens and set designs by Ruth Ammon, production designer for
44620-418: The subgenre has become a major element of mainstream film production with outstanding successes like 2008's The Dark Knight , 2012's The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises , 2013's Iron Man 3 , and 2015's Avengers: Age of Ultron attracting major revenue and critical plaudits. This trend was reinforced in 2016 with the outstanding success of the critically lauded Deadpool , a film adaptation of
44850-464: The summer, including more original web content, wireless iTV interactivity, graphic novels available for mobile viewing and webisodes . A 13-episode follow-up miniseries, Heroes Reborn , premiered on NBC on September 24, 2015. Deadline reported in April 2024 that a new series is in development, reportedly titled Heroes: Eclipsed . Kring designed the series to have an ever-shifting cast. However, his motivation changed when he realized how popular
45080-458: The superhero archetype. Superheroes occasionally have been adapted into prose fiction , starting with Random House 's 1942 novel The Adventures of Superman by George Lowther . In the 1970s, Elliot S! Maggin wrote the Superman novels, Last Son of Krypton (1978) and Miracle Monday , coinciding with but not adapting the movie Superman . Other early adaptations include novels starring
45310-495: The supervillain often possesses a genius intellect that allows him to draft complex schemes or create fantastic devices. Another common trait is possession of considerable resources to help further his aims. Many supervillains share some typical characteristics of real-world dictators, mobsters, and terrorists and often have aspirations of world domination or universal leadership. Superheroes and supervillains often mirror each other in their powers, abilities, or origins. In some cases,
45540-446: The television episodes. The graphic novels continued on a weekly basis during the show's 2007 summer hiatus. Wildstorm , a subsidiary of DC Comics , released them in published form on November 7, 2007. The first collected volume included novels 1–34, and featured two different covers by Alex Ross and Jim Lee as well as an introduction by Masi Oka and artwork by Tim Sale . The second volume included 35–80. It has an advertisement for
45770-424: The third season, Larter remained on the show throughout all four seasons, playing Sanders' sister, Tracy Strauss for the final season. During the first two seasons, some characters were written out to make room for new characters with new stories. In season one, Claude , portrayed by Christopher Eccleston , who had the power of invisibility, was instrumental in helping Peter understand his powers, throwing him off
46000-522: The time Heroes completed the first half of the first season, the show had already collected an assortment of honors and accolades. On December 13, 2006, the Writers Guild of America nominated the program for "best new series" of 2007. On December 14, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association nominated the program for a Golden Globe Award for Best Television Drama, and nominated Masi Oka ( Hiro Nakamura ) for Best Supporting Actor on
46230-527: The titular hero. Fellow DC Comics stars Batman and Robin made occasional guest appearances. Other superhero radio programs starred characters including the costumed but not superpowered Blue Beetle , and the non-costumed, superpowered Popeye . Also appearing on radio were such characters as the Green Hornet , the Green Lama , Doc Savage , and the Lone Ranger , a Western hero who relied on many conventions of
46460-418: The villain character type, commonly found in comic books, action movies, and science fiction in various media. They are sometimes used as foils to superheroes and other heroes. Whereas superheroes often wield fantastic powers, the supervillain possesses commensurate powers and abilities so that he can present a daunting challenge to the hero. Even without actual physical, mystical, superhuman or superalien powers,
46690-577: The viral armageddon should have occurred in the first episode instead of the seventh. He feels that it would have been better to introduce new characters within the context of the main storyline, as with Elle , rather than in unattached arcs such as that of Maya and Alejandro. Kring also admitted that he should have resolved the "Hiro in Japan" storyline much more quickly, and that the romantic stories were not working well. With regard to Claire and West, and Hiro and Yaeko, he said, "I've seen more convincing romances on TV. In retrospect, I don't think romance
46920-523: The whereabouts of Martin. Sylar learns that Martin had paid to take him off the hands of his supposed father, Samson Gray , in order to escape his marriage with Virginia, Sylar's adoptive mother. After interrogating Martin, Sylar raises his hand, and is about to kill Martin, but holds back and walks away. After taking the address from Martin, Sylar finds Samson's home, only for it to be empty and Nathan Petrelli's agents waiting to ambush him. Although shot at, stunned and restrained, Sylar easily recovers and kills
47150-490: The world is, and wanted to create a character-driven series about people who could do something about it. Kring felt that a cop or medical drama did not have characters that were big enough to save the world. He came up with the thought of superheroes ; ordinary people who would discover extraordinary abilities, while still rooted in the real world and in reality. Each episode of the series cost $ 4 million to produce. Casting directors Jason La Padura and Natalie Hart brought forth
47380-520: The world that starts with an impending explosion at Kirby Plaza in New York City. Season two , known as "Volume Two: Generations", begins four months after the events at Kirby Plaza. The main plot of Generations deals with the Company and its research on the Shanti virus . In a flashback to 1977, the research is performed by the Company's founders, whose identities are eventually revealed, to discover what
47610-424: The world. He touches on Sylar's original guilt for murdering to steal abilities by mocking Sylar, telling him how both their victims were weak and helpless and that they had no chance against seasoned killers. However, when Sylar cuts himself and heals while stuffing the rabbit, Samson transforms, reviving his hunger for abilities, desperate to gain immortality and escape from death. Temporarily incapacitating Sylar, he
47840-544: The writer, actually created the central and supporting characters; Shuster, as the artist, designed these characters, and gave Superman the first version of his now-iconic uniform.) The character possessed many of the traits that have come to define the superhero: a secret identity , superhuman powers and a colorful costume including a symbol and cape. His name is also the source of the term "superhero", although early comic book heroes were sometimes also called mystery men or masked heroes . DC Comics , which published under
48070-410: The writers felt the character's presence was justified. Intercompany crossovers , between characters of different continuity, are also common. Over the history of the comic book genre, writers for major characters' series were required to produce material to strict regular publishing schedules that often ran for years. As such to fulfill this strenuous creative requirement, superhero stories have used
48300-421: The writing process as a collaborative one and stated that the collaboration process was important because production needed to shoot several scenes at a single location. To do this, several scripts had to be ready. Jesse Alexander , co-producer and writer, explained that this process was important in a serialized drama because one has to know where each character's development is heading. Season two coincided with
48530-478: Was "fully expecting" a fifth season. However, while creator Kring was hopeful over the show's future, many media insiders were not so confident. There was growing speculation on some news sites that NBC would cancel the series at the conclusion of its fourth season or that it might renew the show for a fifth and final season by ordering either 6 or 13 episodes and possibly airing them as a backup or mid-season replacement. On May 14, 2010, NBC made it official that Heroes
48760-407: Was Kring himself who fired Alexander and Loeb, because the duo refused to continue character-driven stories that made the first season popular from the start. In December 2008, Bryan Fuller signed a two-year deal with Universal Media Studios after the cancellation of his ABC series Pushing Daisies . He rejoined the writing staff of Heroes starting with the 20th episode of season three and had
48990-601: Was a common source of superpowers) but placed greater emphasis on personal conflict and character development. This led to many superheroes that differed from predecessors with more dramatic potential. For example, the Fantastic Four were a superhero family of sorts, who squabbled and even held some unresolved acrimony towards one another, and Spider-Man was a teenager who struggled to earn money and maintain his social life in addition to his costumed exploits. Superhero films began as Saturday movie serials aimed at children during
49220-419: Was a mainstream superhero series which had characters that were a mix of fantasy ( Raven , Wonder Girl ), science fiction ( Cyborg , Starfire , Changeling , Kid Flash ) and crime fiction ( Robin ). Furthermore, their series had such a variety of stories, such as in a year-long period of 1982-3 where in rapid succession, the team would face Brother Blood , a costumed supervillain cult leader, then promptly have
49450-451: Was added. Cast as a recurring part, the part was changed to a starring role. Deanne Bray was also added as Emma Coolidge , the deaf woman who had enhanced synesthesia (seeing colors for music) including the ability to create a siren song . The plot of Heroes is designed to be told in a way similar to the way comic books are told. Each season of Heroes contains one or two "volumes". There are several main story lines in each volume. As
49680-509: Was changed to the third volume and moved into season three. Scenes from the volume two finale, " Powerless ", were reshot to reflect the cancelation of the Exodus volume, and to tie up all the loose plot storylines of Generations . Following criticisms of the second and third volumes, Tim Molloy from TV Guide reported that Heroes would return to its roots with the fourth volume, Fugitives , to attract new viewers and regain those who gave up on
49910-503: Was criticized by commentators and fans for a much slower pace, less engaging storyline and lack of focus compared to the first season. Milo Ventimiglia stated that "when there's a little bit of a delay, there's not that instant, rewarding scene or moment or episode... people get impatient, so it has been extremely important for them to strike a balance between giving and getting." In an interview with Entertainment Weekly , Heroes creator Tim Kring commented on criticisms of season two, and
50140-440: Was fueled by his mother's vocal disappointment in him for perceived failure and his own feelings that he did not get a chance to choose his destiny, being forced into the role of a watchmaker. He spent his life hoping to learn something extraordinary about himself. Sylar is repeatedly shown as desperately looking for a family and parental figures due to his own unhappy home life, desperately wanting to be loved. The flip side of this
50370-425: Was included on the season one DVD set. When the writing team worked on an episode, each writer took a character and wrote the individual scenes surrounding them. These stories were then combined and given to the episode writer. This system allowed every writer to contribute to every episode, and enabled the writing team to finish scripts sooner, so the filming crew could shoot more scenes at a location. Kring described
50600-476: Was indeed cancelled. Following the debut of Heroes in 2006, the tagline Save the Cheerleader, Save the World was recognized within the television industry as an effective marketing device. In 2006, NBC also created a Heroes parody titled Zeroes . Zeroes , which was released as a viral video on sites including YouTube, features parodies including four chapters and an open audition. Development and production of
50830-429: Was irredeemable or not, Quinto responded, I think there's a certain point at which you cross a line and it's sort of irrevocable.... I don't know what the writers have in mind, but it would probably be kind of a challenge at this point, you know? Quinto has also responded to the question of whether Sylar could ever be good, commenting that I don't really look at him as, you know, absolutely good or bad. I think that he
51060-401: Was named in the 2006 Time magazine's Person of the Year issue under "People Who Mattered". The pilot episode generated 14.3 million viewers, with the season high topping out at 16.03 million viewers for episode 9 . When the series returned from hiatus on January 22, 2007, the ratings averaged about the same as the pilot with 14.9 million viewers. When the show went on a second hiatus during
51290-418: Was nominated in eight categories, including Outstanding Drama Series. The first episode, " Genesis ", earned six nominations: Outstanding Directing ( David Semel ), Outstanding Art Direction for a Single-Camera Series, Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series, Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series, and Outstanding Stunt Coordination. The episode " Five Years Gone " also received
51520-449: Was only using him for his monstrous qualities. However, she also reveals that she knows who his real parents are, and that they are not the Grays. As Sylar demands to be told the truth, Claire stabs him in the back of the head with a piece of glass, which will prevent him from reviving as long as it remains in place. In the prison cell, Meredith finally loses full control of her power and releases
51750-422: Was promoted to a main character. Elle, Adam, and Micah were removed from the main cast. Monica Dawson did not appear after scenes including her were cut. Niki was also written out but actress Ali Larter remained on the show portraying a new character Tracy Strauss , Niki's triplet sister with the power to freeze objects with a touch. For season four, a new character Samuel Sullivan , portrayed by Robert Knepper ,
51980-485: Was released on July 28, 2008, in the UK. Season 2 was released on October 1, 2008, in New Zealand and Australia. The Season 3 DVD Box set was released in North America on September 1, 2009, and in Australia on September 2, 2009, with an alternative cover, and in the UK on October 12, 2009. The Season 4 DVD Box set was released on August 3, 2010, in the US and on October 4, 2010, in the UK. The Complete Series DVD Box set
52210-658: Was released on November 16, 2010, in the US. In Canada, Heroes episodes run concurrently with the NBC first-run on the Global Television Network , Mondays at 10 p.m. ET. A Canadian French -dubbed version of season one also airs on TVA , Thursdays at 9:00 p.m. and two episodes of season two on Mystère (addikTV), Mondays at 8:00 p.m. The first season aired in Australia on the Seven Network Wednesday nights at 8:30 p.m. The series debuted strongly, attracting more than 2 million viewers in five of
52440-403: Was released, a complete first season boxset was also released on the same day on both DVD and HD DVD formats The complete first season DVD includes nearly 3 hours of bonus features including: an extended 73-minute version of the pilot episode with audio commentary; 50 deleted and extended scenes; behind the scenes featurettes, including the making of Heroes, stunts, a profile of artist Tim Sale, and
52670-440: Was simply conveniently nearby and that his goal was to get the laptop to understand how Nathan's agents worked, though Luke seems skeptical about that reasoning. Continuing to elude Nathan's agents, Sylar and Luke finally lose them. Irritated with Luke's wish to fry some agents and subtle attempts to stop the search for Samson, Sylar pins Luke to the side of the truck, essentially telling Luke to shut up. Sylar then seems to remember
52900-439: Was the highest viewed, whereas each successive season had fewer viewers than the one preceding it. Season three of Heroes started with strong ratings that dropped steadily throughout the season. The season's finale placed last in its timeslot. The season four premiere of Heroes was the lowest rated episode of the series to that point, averaging 5.9 million viewers. Despite the season's low ratings, executive producer Tim Kring
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