Cast and Characters
Hayden Panettiere
as Claire Bennet , A high school cheerleader formerly of Odessa, Texas, now living in Costa Verde, California, who has a regenerative ability. She is Noah Bennet's adopted daughter, as well as Nathan Petrelli's biological daughter.
Claire possesses a powerful healing factor which allows her to quickly recover from any injury. While she is able to take physical damage and recover swiftly, she also shows no visible sign of pain from burns or even compound fractures. She did, however, grimace when her hand was damaged during her retrieval of a class ring from an active garbage disposal. She has not yet reached a limitation in her powers. Along with the injuries stated above, she suffered an injury in the second episode where her neck was turned around 180 degrees. This would be fatal for most humans, even other instant self-healers or otherwise durable characters. Indeed, between her tolerance for pain and seemingly unlimited healing potential, Claire is somewhat similar to the X-Men character Wolverine. Panettiere herself even loosely compared Claire to that same character when explaining her powers during an interview. Apparently, Claire cannot heal herself if a foreign object is left in the injured area. The Oct. 9th episode was billed by a TV Guide article as a extreme test of her powers. True to this claim, she was apparently killed, only to revive when the object which had killed her was removed. This is true of other characters with healing factors who can still heal incorrectly, incompletely or not at all if certain conditions are not met, just like normal humans. For example, in the first episode, the bones of Claire's ribs were sticking out at one point. After a comment from Zach brought this to her attention, Claire had to move them around a bit before they would heal properly.
The third episode also proved that her healing powers seem to restore her to health even from the destructive biological processes that happen to bodies immediately upon severe trauma or death (brain death, lividity of blood in the tissues and coagulation of same, et al). Despite suffering a fatal puncture wound in the base of her brain, and having been clinically dead for what was most likely hours, Claire returned to life fairly quickly. She also showed no apparent sign of the normally irreversible destructive processes that would undoubtedly have occurred in her body. Still, as stated before, there were limitations to this healing effect: because her upper torso had been spread open from the classic "V-Cut" made in the chest of autopsy subjects, she had to close the flaps of skin back into place manually before they could heal.
Milo Ventimiglia
as Peter Petrelli, A former hospice nurse with the ability to absorb the powers of others he has been near and recall them.
Much mystery surrounded Peter's status and powers, or lack thereof before and after the series debuted. While every main character was said outright to have a power in press releases, Peter was simply billed as "trying to convince his brother he can fly". Later, after his brother flew, Peter himself displayed the ability to levitate not long afterward. The exact power he had and its nature were officially explained in an article from the October 9-14 TV Guide. Peter is actually a power mimic who absorbs the powers of others.
It's unclear if he can mimic the precognition of Isaac Mendez, though he was also believed by fans to have had this power before he met the man. His crude levitation sketch shows that he may have gained Issac's ability to draw the future, possibly induced by hospital medication. In the most recent preview for Heroes, Peter is shown with his eyes a glazed white tone like Isaac's while painting the future, revealing that Peter may delve further into this ability. It is also unclear what affect, if any, his power has on those whose powers he absorbs. It is possible that he might weaken those he comes in contact with, as in the case of Nathan's attempt to save him. Peter's powers appear to be only temporary, as he is shown unable to fly when not in the presence of Nathan.
Masi Oka
as
Hiro Nakamura, A programmer from Osaka with the ability to manipulate the space-time continuum. He is convinced that he is a hero, and with other "special persons", he can change the future.
Hiro discovers in the first episode he can actually affect the space/time continuum, stopping or slowing time with sheer power of will. The first noted occurrence is when Hiro apparently made a subway train late using this power. This is especially notable because a Japanese train being late at all is an extremely unlikely event. Later, he theorizes that he may soon be able to teleport by bending the space part of the continuum. Although this isn't seen, he does seem to teleport from the seating area of a Karaoke bar to a ladies' washroom on a dare (said in jest) by Ando. When he believes he needs to go to New York, he concentrates intensely, teleporting to Times Square, New York, five weeks into the future. Ultimately, he is also able to revert the process to exact place and moment he left when an explosion in the alternate future threatens his life. Although being able to teleport and time travel great lengths at once, Hiro had no apparent control over how much time elapsed when he teleported. It is unknown at this point if Hiro is completely unable to control his time traveling (although he easily returned to the "present" with a thought), or if he simply did not know "when" he was going at the time he chose "where" he wished to go. In the third episode, he also froze time relative to himself. He could not hold time in this state for very long, but he since duplicated the feat repeatedly in a Las Vegas casino. Of all the characters introduced so far, Hiro seems to have the best grasp of his abilities and how to use them at will, and the active use of his powers seems to help him better control them.
Although no source has been cited for Hiro's powers beyond Heroes' general theme of evolution, in a free web comic released by NBC, Hiro's grandfather was hinted to have been directly affected by the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Believing that he has done "a great disservice" to him, Hiro makes an origami crane out of the cover leaf for Action Comics #1, the comic book which introduced Superman.
Ali Larter
as
Niki Sanders, A former internet stripper from Las Vegas who exhibits superhuman strength and has multiple personalities. She has shown two alternate personalities: Jessica, the name of Niki's dead sister and Gina, who appeared in Four Months Ago....
Niki Sanders has a split personality-type power almost akin to Dr Jekyll/Mr Hyde, as it activates during times of great stress or anything life threatening. However her transformation is instantaneous and almost unnoticeable. She undergoes the drastic personality change in the blink of an eye, and gains a peculiar tattoo resembling an RNA helix, a symbol which has appeared often throughout the series. She also seems to gain increased strength, or at least an adrenaline-rush. For example, she apparently killed two thugs sent to her home by Mister Linderman in Genesis (one of which was ripped in half) and easily beat up a much larger man in Collision. This other personality seems well aware that she is sharing Niki's body, telling the thug not to "threaten our son". When Niki comes back to her senses, she cannot remember anything that has happened, as if she has blacked out. Thus, she is not completely aware of this other personality. Niki can see her alternate personality with the aid of a reflective surface, as her reflection never matches her position.
Gabriel Gray
as
Sylar (Zachary Quinto), a former watchmaker with an intuitive understanding of how things work. He is a serial killer who seeks out superhuman individuals, killing them in order to take their powers. Sylar has multiple acquired abilities. Sylar takes his alias from the brand name of a watch company.
Sendhil Ramamurthy
as
Mohinder Suresh, A professor of genetics from India who travels to New York to investigate the death of his father, Chandra. Through his investigations, he comes into contact with people his father listed as possessing superhuman abilities. Mohinder's blood contains antibodies against a virus which only infects people with special abilities.
David Anders
as
Adam Monroe/Takezo Kensei , An Englishman who originates the role of legendary warrior Kensei in feudal Japan. Monroe has a spontaneous regenerative ability which has made him effectively immortal.
Jack Coleman
as Noah Bennet, More commonly referred to as "Mr. Bennet" or "the Man in Horn-Rimmed Glasses (H.R.G.)", initially worked for the Primatech Paper Company, which is actually a cover operation for an organization that investigates people with superhuman abilities.
Kristen Bell
as Elle Bishop, A 24 year old woman who works for The Company. Her father, Bob Bishop, is head of The Company. She has the power of electric manipulation.
Dana Davis
as Monica Dawson, A restaurant worker at the Burger Bonanza in New Orleans. She is D.L. Hawkins' niece and Micah's first cousin. Monica has the ability of adaptive muscle memory: she can replicate any physical motion she witnesses.
Tawny Cypress
as Simone Deveaux, An art dealer and gallery owner whose skepticism and complicated romantic life are tested.
Leonard Roberts
as D.L. Hawkins, A former construction worker and gang leader with the power to alter his physical tangibility and phase through solid objects. He is Niki's husband and Micah's father.
D.L Hawkins has the ability to phase through solid objects. He first displays these powers in episode five's on-line graphic novel, which details his escape. While being questioned by police, D.L. snaps when an arrogant officer makes a crude remark about Niki. D.L. unwittingly phases out of his handcuffs and nearly chokes the man. Later, after at least one failed attempt, D.L. manages to phase out of his jail cell.
By the sixth episode, he seems to have become much more adept with his powers. He easily uses them to spy on others and enter Niki's home while under heavy guard. He can even use them combatively, though not without certain dangers to his opponent. When Hawkins passes through something, its surface will warp slightly, like a liquid in slow-motion.
Dania Ramirez
as Maya Herrera, From Central America, is wanted for murder and is on the run to the United States. Under stress, Maya can create a deadly illness when she cries which is fatal to those around her, except her twin brother Alejandro, who can heal it.
James Kyson Lee
as Ando Masahashi, Hiro Nakamura's friend, coworker, and traveling companion. He has no known superhuman abilities.
Santiago Cabrera
as Isaac Mendez, An artist living in New York who can paint future events during precognitive trances. He also writes and draws a comic book called 9th Wonders! which has also been shown to depict the future.
Nate Cooper has been smitten with Cristabel Abbott since he first laid eyes on her at the impressionable age of six. But before he could try and snuggle up to her at nap time, or maybe send her a valentine, his family moved away. In the intervening years there have been other women in Nate's life, but none who could measure up to Cristabel. Convinced she's the only girl for him, Nate decides to move back to L.A. and track her down. The good news: she's still single and stunning. The bad news: there's a reason she's still single. Cristabel's still best friends with the same less fortunate little girl Nate remembers from first grade, June Phigg. The two are inseparable. They live together. They go to yoga together. They would even go on double dates together--if only June could get a date. Cristabel simply refuses to leave dear June home alone. Determined to spend as much time as possible with Cristabel, Nate sets out to find a boyfriend for June. Even when he pays them, however, guys all flee at the sight of her. Then it hits him: June needs a makeover. As Nate and June become friends she emerges from her cocoon, and Nate slowly realizes that the girl of his dreams isn't the hottie at all. It's the nottie who turns out to be something of a hottie herself.
