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Sylar's Powers
Sep. 6th, 2037 01:11 pmTL;DR - I know this is a lot, so if you don't want to read through all of it, feel free to ask me about something directly and I can explain exactly what you want/need to know. Basically, Sylar has a lot of powers, and I will be doing my best to keep them under control so I'm not a godmodding menace in all his threads. That's not fun for anyone. He can heal himself and detect lies automatically (more about that below), but everything else he has to actively engage.
Sylar's original ability, the one he was born with, is called Intuitive Aptitude. This means he is able to see how things work. With this ability he becomes a watchmaker, because he can literally figure out how all the pieces fit together just at a glance. There is a "hunger" that comes with this ability, an addiction to learning more and acquiring more power. It is something that one can push back on, but like any addiction, it requires a lot of work ethic and discipline, qualities Sylar doesn't necessarily possess.
He realizes this aptitude also applies to the human brain, and he figures out that he can look at the brains of other evolved humans to take their powers for himself. As a result, he becomes a serial killer, targeting evolved humans for their abilities. There is some meddling from Noah Bennet, Elle Bishop, and the rest of The Company to get him to this point but it's entirely likely that he would've gone down this path on his own. Company influence doesn't absolve him of what he did, it only gives some explanation for his origin.
After being infected with and cured of the Shanti Virus, Sylar's has to essentially start over with his acquisition of abilities. Freshly cured, he has only retained his original Intuitive Aptitude as well as Telekinesis - it's not really explained why he keeps the TK, because it had been acquired after murdering Brian Davis. The best explanation is perhaps that it was the first ability Sylar had taken, and thus had developed enough mastery over it to keep it as though it was his own power. It is said that Sylar's understanding and proficiency in the abilities he steals is greater than his victims, because of his Intuitive Aptitude.
Telekinesis is arguably the ability he's strongest with, the one he shows the most skill and versatility with. It's certainly the ability he actively uses the most. Sylar is also able to empathically absorb powers, similar to Peter Petrelli. Though with Peter, Empathic Mimicry is his base ability - empathy is part of his personality. With a villainous character like Sylar, he has to actively try and engage his empathy, to truly connect to a person on a level that would allow him to absorb and gain mastery over their power.
As of right now, here is a list (via the Heroes Wiki) of the powers Sylar currently possesses, and a brief description of what they do:
Intuitive Aptitude - the ability to understand how things work by simply looking at them. (From Brian Davis.)
Regenerative Healing Factor - the regeneration of cells at an increased rate. (From Claire Bennet.)
Alchemy - the ability to turn anything into gold. (From Bob Bishop.)
Clairsentience - the ability to perceive the history of an object or person through touch. (From Bridget Bailey.)
Sound Manipulation - the use of sound via mimicry, distortion, or replication, as well as creating powerful soundwaves. (From Jesse Murphy.)
Electricity Manipulation - the ability to generate and discharge electricity. (Empathically absorbed from Elle Bishop.)
Lie Detection - the ability to pinpoint when someone is telling a lie. (From Sue Landers.)
Imprinting - the ability to mentally "write" marks onto surfaces like paper. (From Joe Macon.)
Shape-Shifting - the ability to transform oneself however they want, including to impersonate others. (Empathically absorbed rom James Martin.)
Disintegration - the ability to focus on an object and cause it to break down/disintegrate/decay. (From Tom Miller.)
Flight - the ability to fly, ranging from floating or hovering to flying through high altitudes at supersonic speed. (From Nathan Petrelli1.)
Empathy - the ability to feel the emotions/thoughts/hopes/desires/dreams of others, often through touch. (Empathically absorbed from Lydia.)
1 This is both confirmed and unconfirmed by the Heroes Wiki. I'm including it, because it makes sense to me that he would have taken Nathan's ability when he murdered the guy. He doesn't really have any powers that would be conducive to fast transportation. Personally, I think he would have gone back for Meredith's pyrokinesis too, but given that she died in a fire, it may have been that her body was too damaged for him to examine her brain.
IMPORTANT: Regeneration and Lie Detection are passive abilities. This means that Sylar does not have to actively control them in order for them to work. If he is injured, he will heal. If someone lies to him, it will register as something like a shiver in his mind, and he will immediately know. Please be aware of this if your character is going to lie to him. I promise I am not godmodding, it is canon for him. All of his other powers, he must actively engage in order to use them.
I'm going to call it here that the only people Sylar can steal abilities from are Evolved Humans. It might be fun to explore in crosscanon settings, where he might be able to replicate powers from Mutants or Meta-humans, or insert your preferred superpowered folks here, but by default he will not be able to. Just to put a limit on him, you know? He will probably be disappointed and might try to find a way to make it work, but ya can't always get what ya want, Sylar.
That said, he will be acquiring some more powers depending on the setting and where he is in my headcanon arc for him post-finale. He is, after all, on a redemption arc, so he'd want to try and obtain as many powers via empathy as possible, because his hunger for knowledge and power would compel him to do so. I think that obsessive part of him could latch onto the idea of empathic power acquisition, and he'd want to master it purely so he could have that skill at his disposal. Someone as conniving as Sylar would see the value in leaving victims alive. He also would have helped Peter to regain his original power of Empathic Mimicry, so that Peter would be able to retain multiple powers from those he comes into contact with.
Peter Petrelli, who is more or less the living embodiment of empathy, would likely have a strong influence over Sylar which would help in keeping him on a path that avoids killing as much as possible. Peter would help Sylar harness and master those empathic talents. They have a sometimes tenuous relationship, given that Sylar killed Peter's brother Nathan, with whom Peter had been very close. Sylar also spent years terrorizing Peter's niece Claire - the two of them working together and forming a friendship drives a wedge between Claire and her uncle. Sylar still harbors some fascination over (and attraction to) Claire Bennet, who still very much hates him, so it's in his best interest to handle the situation delicately so as not to push her away completely.
Here is a list of powers that Sylar may or may not possess, via my headcanons:
Space-Time Manipulation - the ability to stop, slow down, or reverse time, as well as to move through time, and teleport to move instantaneously through space. (Empathically acquired from Hiro Nakamura.)
Invisibility - the ability to render oneself unable to be seen. (Empathically acquired from Claude Rains.)
Technopathy - the ability to communicate telepathically with electronic devices and control them. (Empathically acquired from Micah Sanders.)
Clairvoyance - the ability to concentrate on and locate anyone in the world. (Empathically acquired from Molly Walker.)
Enhanced Strength - physical strength above and beyond that of a standard human. (Empathically acquired from Mohinder Suresh2.)
2 These powers in particular, Sylar would be acquiring as a test, because both Mohinder and Tracy received their powers synthetically via a formula that was created to alter people's DNA and give them the abilities of evolved humans. (Nathan's ability was given synthetically, but it doesn't appear that Sylar knows this when he kills Nathan.)
Sylar's original ability, the one he was born with, is called Intuitive Aptitude. This means he is able to see how things work. With this ability he becomes a watchmaker, because he can literally figure out how all the pieces fit together just at a glance. There is a "hunger" that comes with this ability, an addiction to learning more and acquiring more power. It is something that one can push back on, but like any addiction, it requires a lot of work ethic and discipline, qualities Sylar doesn't necessarily possess.
He realizes this aptitude also applies to the human brain, and he figures out that he can look at the brains of other evolved humans to take their powers for himself. As a result, he becomes a serial killer, targeting evolved humans for their abilities. There is some meddling from Noah Bennet, Elle Bishop, and the rest of The Company to get him to this point but it's entirely likely that he would've gone down this path on his own. Company influence doesn't absolve him of what he did, it only gives some explanation for his origin.
After being infected with and cured of the Shanti Virus, Sylar's has to essentially start over with his acquisition of abilities. Freshly cured, he has only retained his original Intuitive Aptitude as well as Telekinesis - it's not really explained why he keeps the TK, because it had been acquired after murdering Brian Davis. The best explanation is perhaps that it was the first ability Sylar had taken, and thus had developed enough mastery over it to keep it as though it was his own power. It is said that Sylar's understanding and proficiency in the abilities he steals is greater than his victims, because of his Intuitive Aptitude.
Telekinesis is arguably the ability he's strongest with, the one he shows the most skill and versatility with. It's certainly the ability he actively uses the most. Sylar is also able to empathically absorb powers, similar to Peter Petrelli. Though with Peter, Empathic Mimicry is his base ability - empathy is part of his personality. With a villainous character like Sylar, he has to actively try and engage his empathy, to truly connect to a person on a level that would allow him to absorb and gain mastery over their power.
As of right now, here is a list (via the Heroes Wiki) of the powers Sylar currently possesses, and a brief description of what they do:
Intuitive Aptitude - the ability to understand how things work by simply looking at them. (From Brian Davis.)
Regenerative Healing Factor - the regeneration of cells at an increased rate. (From Claire Bennet.)
Alchemy - the ability to turn anything into gold. (From Bob Bishop.)
Clairsentience - the ability to perceive the history of an object or person through touch. (From Bridget Bailey.)
Sound Manipulation - the use of sound via mimicry, distortion, or replication, as well as creating powerful soundwaves. (From Jesse Murphy.)
Electricity Manipulation - the ability to generate and discharge electricity. (Empathically absorbed from Elle Bishop.)
Lie Detection - the ability to pinpoint when someone is telling a lie. (From Sue Landers.)
Imprinting - the ability to mentally "write" marks onto surfaces like paper. (From Joe Macon.)
Shape-Shifting - the ability to transform oneself however they want, including to impersonate others. (Empathically absorbed rom James Martin.)
Disintegration - the ability to focus on an object and cause it to break down/disintegrate/decay. (From Tom Miller.)
Flight - the ability to fly, ranging from floating or hovering to flying through high altitudes at supersonic speed. (From Nathan Petrelli1.)
Empathy - the ability to feel the emotions/thoughts/hopes/desires/dreams of others, often through touch. (Empathically absorbed from Lydia.)
1 This is both confirmed and unconfirmed by the Heroes Wiki. I'm including it, because it makes sense to me that he would have taken Nathan's ability when he murdered the guy. He doesn't really have any powers that would be conducive to fast transportation. Personally, I think he would have gone back for Meredith's pyrokinesis too, but given that she died in a fire, it may have been that her body was too damaged for him to examine her brain.
IMPORTANT: Regeneration and Lie Detection are passive abilities. This means that Sylar does not have to actively control them in order for them to work. If he is injured, he will heal. If someone lies to him, it will register as something like a shiver in his mind, and he will immediately know. Please be aware of this if your character is going to lie to him. I promise I am not godmodding, it is canon for him. All of his other powers, he must actively engage in order to use them.
I'm going to call it here that the only people Sylar can steal abilities from are Evolved Humans. It might be fun to explore in crosscanon settings, where he might be able to replicate powers from Mutants or Meta-humans, or insert your preferred superpowered folks here, but by default he will not be able to. Just to put a limit on him, you know? He will probably be disappointed and might try to find a way to make it work, but ya can't always get what ya want, Sylar.
That said, he will be acquiring some more powers depending on the setting and where he is in my headcanon arc for him post-finale. He is, after all, on a redemption arc, so he'd want to try and obtain as many powers via empathy as possible, because his hunger for knowledge and power would compel him to do so. I think that obsessive part of him could latch onto the idea of empathic power acquisition, and he'd want to master it purely so he could have that skill at his disposal. Someone as conniving as Sylar would see the value in leaving victims alive. He also would have helped Peter to regain his original power of Empathic Mimicry, so that Peter would be able to retain multiple powers from those he comes into contact with.
Peter Petrelli, who is more or less the living embodiment of empathy, would likely have a strong influence over Sylar which would help in keeping him on a path that avoids killing as much as possible. Peter would help Sylar harness and master those empathic talents. They have a sometimes tenuous relationship, given that Sylar killed Peter's brother Nathan, with whom Peter had been very close. Sylar also spent years terrorizing Peter's niece Claire - the two of them working together and forming a friendship drives a wedge between Claire and her uncle. Sylar still harbors some fascination over (and attraction to) Claire Bennet, who still very much hates him, so it's in his best interest to handle the situation delicately so as not to push her away completely.
Here is a list of powers that Sylar may or may not possess, via my headcanons:
Space-Time Manipulation - the ability to stop, slow down, or reverse time, as well as to move through time, and teleport to move instantaneously through space. (Empathically acquired from Hiro Nakamura.)
Invisibility - the ability to render oneself unable to be seen. (Empathically acquired from Claude Rains.)
Technopathy - the ability to communicate telepathically with electronic devices and control them. (Empathically acquired from Micah Sanders.)
Clairvoyance - the ability to concentrate on and locate anyone in the world. (Empathically acquired from Molly Walker.)
Enhanced Strength - physical strength above and beyond that of a standard human. (Empathically acquired from Mohinder Suresh2.)
Cryokinesis - the ability to create and control ice. (Empathically acquired from Tracy Strauss2.)
Water Mimicry - the ability to transform oneself into water and aquatic properties. (Empathically acquired from Tracy Strauss.)
Water Mimicry - the ability to transform oneself into water and aquatic properties. (Empathically acquired from Tracy Strauss.)
2 These powers in particular, Sylar would be acquiring as a test, because both Mohinder and Tracy received their powers synthetically via a formula that was created to alter people's DNA and give them the abilities of evolved humans. (Nathan's ability was given synthetically, but it doesn't appear that Sylar knows this when he kills Nathan.)
