Sylar's gone wonky
9:45 AM 4/22/09 · While I'm still having a few issues wrapping my mind around it, due that bit where Peter went into the future last chapter and the abilities displayed there would indicate otherwise, it seems to be a consensus feeling that Sylar lost a large chink of the powers he had while infected with the Shanti Virus. That other than his original ability and the telekinesis, he only has the powers and abilities he's gained since he was cured with Mohinder's blood.
I don't have it handy now but there was a link to a section of Wikipedia about this.
Suppose it could be true but it doesn't much matter at the moment. Let's just address one if his newest powers; shapeshifting. I was a little fuzzy on how this worked out, and there's still a few kinks to work out about it, but basically Sylar can now make himself look like anyone he's seen. Male or female apparently, taller or shorter than himself; what fun. With stuff I saw in the previous episode I was working under the impression he had to make physical contact with someone to take their shape, accounting for how he knew that hunter guy had a mole somewhere that wasn't visibly available and also how he was able to imitate the voices of others...but I've kinda shaken that. Seeing as how he took Nathan's form and voice and they've never touched since he had the power. Same could be said for Sylar's mother...
...I somehow doubt the ability would allow him to take the form of anyone he touched in his entire life.
However, the nature of this ability goes a long way to explaining how he survived getting stabbed in the back of his head. A number of the quirks he took on with this ability, along with the identity crisis his own unstable psyche had a means to express itself with, was that he kept retaining aspects of the other shapes he'd taken on. An eye color, waking up in a different form when he slept, the extra tooth...which can be put just to this one thing about how he's never much liked himself and his subconcious is accessing the power.
Also that whole arguing with himself thing that Micah witnessed.
Whether he did it conciously or subconciously, I believe Sylar moved that fatal spot in his head to a safer location. I'd like to think he moved it on purpose but there's another possiblity. Among a number of fandoms there are what I'd term adapative shapeshifters. Even when not awake and suddenly shoved into a large body of water they automaitcally shift to grow gills to prevent themselves from drowning. A more extreme version of this would be one of the newer mutants in the X·Men series named Darwin.
I'd suggest that Sylar might've gone down from being stabbed in the head but the power shifted the location of that sweet spot elsewhere while the regenerating ability fixed the damage. I find it highly unlikely that so effective a killer as that guy, can never remember his name, would've missed.
On a random note, there's 2 last little things I'd like to share.
1) The fact Sylar can shift himself isn't so much a thing as the fact he can apparently also shift the clothes he's wearing. I can't figure that one for the life of me, it makes no sense.
2) Also, I tend to interact with the stuff I watch quite a bit, basically inserting a customized character of my own into things as I watch them. At the very start of the whole series I made a character with the mislballed 'empath' ability and kept him active all this time. So, with the shapeshifting ability, hanging with the Petrelli's, this kinda popped into my head this past Monday:
Claire: How does Sylar do that?
Me: You really wanna know?
Claire: Yeah.
Me: Kinda like this *changes form to match Claire's*
Claire: *blinks* Wow...I'm impressed!
Me: *peeking down my shirt at my new rack* Me too!
Claire: Hey!
I don't have it handy now but there was a link to a section of Wikipedia about this.
Suppose it could be true but it doesn't much matter at the moment. Let's just address one if his newest powers; shapeshifting. I was a little fuzzy on how this worked out, and there's still a few kinks to work out about it, but basically Sylar can now make himself look like anyone he's seen. Male or female apparently, taller or shorter than himself; what fun. With stuff I saw in the previous episode I was working under the impression he had to make physical contact with someone to take their shape, accounting for how he knew that hunter guy had a mole somewhere that wasn't visibly available and also how he was able to imitate the voices of others...but I've kinda shaken that. Seeing as how he took Nathan's form and voice and they've never touched since he had the power. Same could be said for Sylar's mother...
...I somehow doubt the ability would allow him to take the form of anyone he touched in his entire life.
However, the nature of this ability goes a long way to explaining how he survived getting stabbed in the back of his head. A number of the quirks he took on with this ability, along with the identity crisis his own unstable psyche had a means to express itself with, was that he kept retaining aspects of the other shapes he'd taken on. An eye color, waking up in a different form when he slept, the extra tooth...which can be put just to this one thing about how he's never much liked himself and his subconcious is accessing the power.
Also that whole arguing with himself thing that Micah witnessed.
Whether he did it conciously or subconciously, I believe Sylar moved that fatal spot in his head to a safer location. I'd like to think he moved it on purpose but there's another possiblity. Among a number of fandoms there are what I'd term adapative shapeshifters. Even when not awake and suddenly shoved into a large body of water they automaitcally shift to grow gills to prevent themselves from drowning. A more extreme version of this would be one of the newer mutants in the X·Men series named Darwin.
I'd suggest that Sylar might've gone down from being stabbed in the head but the power shifted the location of that sweet spot elsewhere while the regenerating ability fixed the damage. I find it highly unlikely that so effective a killer as that guy, can never remember his name, would've missed.
On a random note, there's 2 last little things I'd like to share.
1) The fact Sylar can shift himself isn't so much a thing as the fact he can apparently also shift the clothes he's wearing. I can't figure that one for the life of me, it makes no sense.
2) Also, I tend to interact with the stuff I watch quite a bit, basically inserting a customized character of my own into things as I watch them. At the very start of the whole series I made a character with the mislballed 'empath' ability and kept him active all this time. So, with the shapeshifting ability, hanging with the Petrelli's, this kinda popped into my head this past Monday:
Claire: How does Sylar do that?
Me: You really wanna know?
Claire: Yeah.
Me: Kinda like this *changes form to match Claire's*
Claire: *blinks* Wow...I'm impressed!
Me: *peeking down my shirt at my new rack* Me too!
Claire: Hey!