Abilities on Heroes *spoilers?*

Discussion in 'Science Fiction & Fantasy' started by All Seeing Eye, Dec 18, 2008.

  1. All Seeing Eye

    All Seeing Eye Admiral

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    I was just wondering what abilities we've seen so far on Heroes?

    It just seems to me that maybe the writers have reached a limit on just how many different abilities there can possibly be.

    I can remember off the top of my head:

    The Ability To Control People
    (The puppet master)
    Turning Skin Into Metal (one of the guys from level 5)
    Super strength (Nicki Sanders/Knox)
    Freezing (Tracy Strauss)
    Fire (Meredith)
    Time and Space manipulation (Hiro)
    Reading Minds (Parkman)
    Superspeed (Daphne)
    Stealing Abilities (Arthur Petrelli)
    Copying Abilities (Peter Petrelli)
    Flying (Nathan Petrelli)
    Supercharging Abilities (Ando)
    Walk through walls (Mika Sanders Dad)
    Talk To Computers (Mika Sanders)
    Healing Self (Claire)
    Healing Others (Linderman)
    That black eye plague shit (Maya)
    See or dream the future (Angela Petrelli / Isaac Mendez)
    Telekinesis (Sylar)
    Slicing Skin (Sylar)
    Lie Detector (Sylar)
    Turning Metal to Liquid (Sylar)
    Changeing Any Metal Into Gold
    (Elle's Father)
    Lightning (Elle)
    Super Memory
    Sound Manipulation
    Ability to copy anything seen. (Micas Cousin)
    Nuclear Explosion / Radiation
    Create Blackholes

    Analysing probabilities of a situation and determining outcome (Hiros Father)
    Invisibility.
    Invulnerability (Haitians Brother)
    Render Other Powers Useless (The Haitian)
    Wipe Memories (The Haitian)
    Super Hearing (Dake Smither)
    Locating People With Abilities (Molly)
    Creating Illusions (Candice)
    Body Insertian (Future Peter)
    Magnetism

    Have I missed any?

    Now the ultimate question is what possible abilities could there be left? have all possible abilities already been used?

    I can think of one ability, the ability to create forcefields but other than that I can't think of anything else that would be different from what we've already seen or at least useful in some way.

    Anybody else got an idea for a new type of power? :confused:

    If you were in charge of giving Ando his power when he injected himself, other than the one he got what power would you have given Ando?
     
  2. Hermiod

    Hermiod Admiral Admiral

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    Just some corrections to your list first. There are proper names for some of them. I have not listed those who can duplicate the powers of others here - namely Peter, Arthur and Sylar.

    Primary Characters (and others with the same abilities):
    Empathic Ability Mimicry - Peter
    Intuitive Aptitude - Sylar
    Permanent Ability Absorption - Arthur
    Regenerative Healing - Claire, Adam Monroe
    Time and Space Manipulation - Hiro
    Flight - Nathan, West
    Telepathy - Matt, Maury
    Superhuman Strength - Nikki, Scott
    Molecular Phasing - D.L.
    Technopathy - Micah
    Poison Emission - Maya
    Precognition Expressed Through Painting - Isaac Mendez, Usutu
    Precognition Expressed Through Dreams - Angela
    Dream Manipulation - Angela, Sanjog Iyer
    Photographic Reflexes - Monica
    Insect Mimicry - Mohinder
    Cryokinesis - Tracy
    Ability Boosting - Ando

    Secondary Characters:
    Electricity Manipulation - Elle
    Alchemy - Bob
    Superhuman Speed - Daphne
    Superhuman Strength Through Fear Absorption - Knox
    Pyrokinesis - Meredith, Flint
    Metal Mimicry - Danny Pine (the veteran)
    Clairsentience - Bridget Bailey
    Clairvoyance/Remote Location - Molly
    Sound Manipulation - Jesse Murphy, Echo DeMille
    Puppet Mastery - Eric Doyle
    Lie Detection - Sue Landers
    Magnetism Manipulation - The German
    Body Insertion - Unknown, demonstrated only by Future Peter
    Healing - Linderman, Ishi Nakamura
    Telekinesis - Brian Davis
    Suppression of Poison Emission - Alejandro
    Radiation Manipulation - Ted Sprague (also demonstrated by Sylar in the future even after he lost the ability)
    Ability Suppression - The Haitian
    Memory Removal - The Haitian
    Gravitational Manipulation (resulting in the creation of vortexes) - Stephen Canfield
    Impenetrable Skin - Baron Samedi
    Invisibility - "Claude Rains"
    Electronic Communication - Hana Gitelman
    Metal Melting - Zane Taylor
    Superhuman Hearing - Dale Smither
    Kinetic Projection - Trevor Zeitlan
    Vocal Persuasion - Eden McCain
    Photographic Memory - Charlie
    Water Mimicry - Elisa

    Some of these characters have only been seen in the various spin-offs and not in the main series.

    As yet, Kaito Nakamura has not demonstrated or been confirmed to have the ability to immediately predict outcomes based on a specific set of variables. This was only seen in a deleted scene.
     
  3. All Seeing Eye

    All Seeing Eye Admiral

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    Yes, the scene where he's sat on the bench looking in the newspaper. As far as i'm concerned that's his power regardless of whether the scene was deleted (not used) or not. :p

    As for 'spinoffs' I don't class them as canon. I only class those on the main TV series as canon. :p
     
  4. captcalhoun

    captcalhoun Admiral Admiral

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    no one's had x-ray vision, heat vision, optic blasts, plasma blasts (Havok or Boomer), probability manipulation (Domino/Longshot), bone claws, enhanced sense of smell, projective empathy, shape-shifting, earthquake creation, weather manipulation or super-human leaping yet.

    they did want to do an 'earthquake guy', but they realised it was too expensive.
     
  5. Gryffindorian

    Gryffindorian Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I like your list better. ;)

    Instead of saying "Inability to Read or Write English," it's better to say "Illiteracy."
     
  6. All Seeing Eye

    All Seeing Eye Admiral

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    Whatever.
     
  7. TheArsenal

    TheArsenal Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    They've rolled out a staggering number of abilities for a show that's been on less than three seasons.
     
  8. melancholymecha

    melancholymecha Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Turning Skin Into Metal (one of the guys from level 5)

    I thought this was wasted on a redshirt
    Id like to see someone who can turn themselves completely into metal ala Colossus or someone who can touch any organic material or metal & they get its properties.

    Id also like to see Mystique style shapeshifting.

    or someone who can turn into a liquid ameoba-like state like Sloth from Fullmetal Alchemist(that's an anime example but I cant really think of an example from comics that uses that power)

    and then there's someone who can make copies of themselves like Multiple Man.

    How about someone that can control just animals(imagine what they could do with a swarm of bees)
     
  9. Yassim

    Yassim Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Everyone missed Ability to Shatter Drinking Glasses from the guy Sylar ate in S3.
     
  10. Temis the Vorta

    Temis the Vorta Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Have we had any on-screen confirmation that Sylar lost his S1 powers?

    Of course he could have picked up radiation from another metahuman later on.
     
  11. Hermiod

    Hermiod Admiral Admiral

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    No I didn't - see Kinetic Projection - Trevor Zeitlan.

    Kind of. He couldn't hear Noah and Stephen Canfield's conversation about killing him despite supposedly having superhuman hearing.

    The official word is that Sylar lost everything except his own power and his telekinesis. He kept the telekinesis due to the empathic side of his powers and the guilt he feels at killing Brian Davis.

    Of course.
     
  12. Captain Intrepid

    Captain Intrepid Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I'm waiting for the orgasm projecting power.
     
  13. All Seeing Eye

    All Seeing Eye Admiral

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    I don't think he lost his powers, I think they were blocked by some form of injury to his adrenal gland. We know adrenaline plays a significant part in abilities. When he used claires blood to heal himself the gland healed and he regained all of his abilities from before. Not being able to use his super hearing is nothing more than sloppy writing.
     
  14. Tom

    Tom Vice Admiral Admiral

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    You forgot some:

    Molinder - Idiocracy
    Peter - Pussification Under Pressure

    LOL
     
  15. Temis the Vorta

    Temis the Vorta Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Or he could have been waiting to see what they would do, whether he could trust Noah. He didn't end up being threatened by the vortex and he might have had a defense planned.

    "Official word" means nothing to me. I'm not accepting writers so damn lazy that they can't bother to put things relevant to the plotline in the freakin' TV show. Just because I might have the ability to find out about extraneous theories doesn't mean I accept them as "official." And if the writers really are leaving out essential stuff, no wonder the ratings are dropping. The vast majority of viewers don't read any of these interviews. They're cutting their own throats (and possibly it's getting them fired too, which is a good thing.)
    All the characters desperately need a superpower they lack: immunity to shitty writing. :D
     
  16. Gryffindorian

    Gryffindorian Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Good one. :D The ability to control another person's bodily functions (physiological manipulation?) would be a very cool thing to have. In that regard, I've always thought mind control, mind possession, or illusion projection is some form of telepathy, as the person imposes his/her will over another's mind using some kind of mental link.

    Other powers I'd like to see (based on City of Heroes MMO):

    * Healing Aura (Some kind of energy emission that heals the injuries of other people; I guess this falls under the category of healing)
    * Gravity Control
    * Forcefield/Bubble Shields Projection
    * Plant Control

    Others:

    * Body Size Manipulation (Gigantism or Size Reduction, just like Hank Pym or the Atom)
    * Elasticity (e.g., Mr. Fantastic, Elongated Man)
    * Pheromone Control
    * Animal Telepathy
    * Disease Projection (Viral or Bacterial Manipulation)
    * Light Projection/Manipulation (e.g. Dr. Light)
    * Lycanthrophic Shapeshifting with superior strength, speed, and endurance
    * Acid Emission
    * Hormone/Pheromone-induced Paralysis
     
  17. All Seeing Eye

    All Seeing Eye Admiral

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    Ooh ooh i've thought of the greatest power EVAR!

    Being able to turn someone to ash/dust just from the wave of your hand. Even Sylar would be beat! there's no way you heal from that!
     
  18. Temis the Vorta

    Temis the Vorta Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Greatest power ever, one step beyond the 'ash' power - total control over matter and energy, like a human Star Trek replicator, only applying it to existing things. You could not only change a person to ash, but transform anything into any other thing, at the molecular or even atomic level. If there was no limitation on range, you could make the sun explode or why not blow up the universe? (Or were they saving that plotline for season five?)

    But Matt's will-control power would trump even that, assuming that Replicator Guy didn't sneak up on him. Matt could take control of the guy and use his power to make him commit suicide or do anything else. And of course a power sponge who could absorb his power would also hold a trump card.

    So it still comes down to offense vs. defense. The character with the ability not to be snuck up on would win. Which means invisibility or Molly's metahuman-detecting ability would come in really handy.

    Or remote-viewing power. We haven't seen that one yet (for a while, I was thinking they'd assign it to Angela).
     
  19. Hermiod

    Hermiod Admiral Admiral

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    Sounds familiar.

    Of course, they crippled him by mentally unstable and unable to fully realise his true power.
     
  20. zog

    zog Captain Captain

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    I forget in what direction the wind's currently blowing, but if it's from the north, and if it's, say, a Tuesday, the Heroes may also limited by their skill level with the power. Practice makes perfect, so in theory, a 'weaker' power, used adroitly, could beat someone with a stronger ability.

    Also, the multi-powered Peter and especially Sylar seemed capable of using two or more at the same time, although IIRC Arthur was only shown to use one at a time. Unless they introduce a firm constraint that each power requires full concentration (one-power-at-a-time), training might even help hone effective use of two or more powers in conjunction (Peter came close to telekenisis while invisible during a season 1 rescue).

    Though honestly, I'm not confident they can depict varying skill levels consistently (notable exceptions aside when it's important to the script, like Elle training Sylar to throw targetted lighting bolts). It might prove too complicated to portray in future showdowns, given the level of writing we've seen (high or low octane, basically).

    Anyway, just another variable I'd throw in the mix - proficiency level.