The Mythology of Heroes

Dec 6, 2006

The Mythology of Heroes

Heroes [stillframe] If you haven’t seen NBC’s Heroes, I’d suggest either Tivo’ing it or watching it every Monday (9PM/EST). Next to Lost, it’s been one of the only shows in recent years that I’ve been so involved with — including having side conversations with friends and family — and that’s due to a few factors that make the show so engrossing.

Apart from the great acting, the writing continues to amaze me because the story is chock full of interesting twists, turns and free falls.

There are so many layers and angles the writers have chosen to explore and the story itself is rich in character exploration and interaction. At it’s surface it seems like just a show about people with various talents and powers, but if you look further you begin to unravel the puzzle and mythology that is Heroes, which transcends the small screen in the form of an online comic and web blog.

Over the course of the first season I’ve made some mental notes (mostly spoiler-free) and I’d like to share some of those with you. In turn, I invite you to share your own, as I know we all have our own thoughts and theories on where the story arch might lead and where it’ll continue to go.

Theories on Heroes

Biblical names used for some of the main characters; Gabriel (arch angel), Mica, Eden and Peter.
Overall story arch (so far) has a deliberate sense of urgency and foreshadowing: some plot points uncovered, questions both answered and unanswered
Reminds me a bit of Steven King’s The Stand in that a group of people, who previously had no contact with each other, have come together for a greater purpose
The writing is multi-faceted and intriguing, much like Lost, and while it’s intentionally serialized it does seem more self-contained than Lost.
The characters themselves and their stories are intriguing because of the emotional state they share; urgency and for the most part a deep rooted nonacceptance of their talents, almost a resilient self-doubt.
Hiro (named appropriately) comes across as the glue holding everything together. He seems to be the favorite for most viewers and that’s because of his personality and willingness to work within the limitations of his power.
Mr. Bennett (Claire’s father and codenamed: HRG for Horned Rim Glasses) seems almost as if his alignment is neutral. He’ll protect those he cares for, but also obeys his superiors’ wishes. The writers have mentioned that he is a but a cog in the bigger wheel that is his employer and at the moment their true intentions and/or motives are still unclear
The Haitian, while mysterious and obeying of HRG’s commands, seems like he has his own motives beyond the scope of his employer

Now, what about your theories? If you have some, please share by commenting or sending me an email at erik(at)kartooner.com.

7 Comments, Comment or Ping

Joshua Lane

You can also check out all the episodes at NBC.com :)

Personally, I’m REALLY enjoying the show… so much so that it’s the only one I’ll consistently watch week to week. I don’t really have any spoiler-free theories to post, so I’ll save those for another time. However, I will just say that I think Linderman will play a larger role in this series and the Heroes’ lives. He comes up way too often for him not to be involved somehow. Who knows… maybe he’s Bennett’s boss!?

Dec 6th, 2006
kartooner

Hey Josh, thanks for your excellent input. Forgot about NBC putting the episodes online! Good tip.

You know, I hadn’t thought about the Linderman/Mr. Bennett connection but in the context of the story I wouldn’t be surprised!

As you mentioned, he does come up an awful lot as far as the yin/yang relationship he has with the Petrelli brothers; Nathan’s political funding provided by Linderman and Peter’s disgust with the guy.

It’s such an involving, and at the same time almost dizzying show, that it’s often difficult to connect the dots.

(oh, and as a side note, hoping to see you at SXSW ‘07)

Dec 7th, 2006
Paul O'Shannessy

I’ll start by saying that this is one of the most thrilling shows I’ve seen in a while. 24 is a thrilling show, but like you said about Lost, Heroes is a lot more self contained.

One interesting point that I’d like to bring up: Hiro learned that he can’t go back and change the past, so I’m curious about how him going back to the past (present?) and stopping the explosion.

Dec 7th, 2006
kartooner

Paul: Yeah it is thrilling, that’s for sure.

As for Hiro, I think he hasn’t tapped into the true potential of his powers and hopefully they reveal more of that next season (starting January 22nd).

Oh, and as Joshua pointed out and I’ll just mention here as well, NBC has put up every episode of Heroes online. This is great for people who missed it the first time around and for those who want to see some of the earlier episodes to piece together things.

Dec 7th, 2006
Joshua Lane

I think between Peter and Hiro, they both have some untapped potential. They seem more likely to explore and practice (aka, improve) their abilities while others might be shying away from them.

For example, I suspect Hiro will eventually be able to bring others with him when he controls time/space. And I have a feeling Peter will eventually be able to hold on to the powers he gets from others… beyond when he’s just with them.

Dec 7th, 2006
Chris McDougall

Hi Erik,

It’s been awhile since I’ve gone to the site and written in the comments, but I had to with this post. I also really enjoy Heroes, though I think it’s not nearly as good as Lost, it’s still well done. Anyway, here’s a some of my notes that I debated with the roommates:

- Syler is NOT going to end up being the main villian. This may be hard to believe, but I’m going off of comic book theory here. While he’s capable of causing a lot of damage, I doubt he has the means to destroy the world. His motives don’t match. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up helping the Heroes temporarily a la Hannibal Lecter. Every time I think of him I think Magneto because of this anti-hero/villian straddling, but they’re really different types of villians.
- The “ending” shown in the last episode is most likely not going to be the destruction of the world that is being predicted, but part of a much larger scheme of things. It’s certainly a plausible event though.
- I really like the idea of Syler being a foil for Peter due to similarities in their powers. It makes me think of Sherlock Holmes and Moriarty or several comic book nemeses (Spiderman/Venom, Wolverine/Sabertooth). I hope that they establish it more, but since Heroes focuses on several people I doubt they would. It’d take too much time away from other characters.

Dec 15th, 2006
kartooner

@Josh: That would be really, really cool if Hiro could bring someone with him when he travels “through-a time and ah, space”. I also believe that Ted might harness the power of the explosion and potentially save the lives of the other heroes, but we’ll see. At this point anything goes.

@Chris: Likewise, I too believe that Sylar is not the main villian, but just one of many that the Heroes will encounter. Although, they’ve fleshed him out enough where I could see him staying through the course of next season and I hope he does.

Eventually Peter might be able to absorb a specific power and harness it for much longer than he can now. If that’s the case, he too could play a part in saving the Heroes, rather than aiding in the destruction, as he has convinced himself so far.

Dec 16th, 2006

kartooner.com