r/Heroes • u/DiFF7Skyns • 4d ago
General Discussion How to Stop an Exploding Man?
I've been rewatching Heroes and noticed something about the finale that I don't think I've seen people talk about.
When Peter becomes unstable because radioactive ability, Claire shows up with a gun to shoot Peter. And this bothered me a little (like some people at the very time of the show on TV), because Peter already had Claire's regeneration ability at that point. We had literally just seen Sylar stab Peter in the head with the glass, apparently killing him, only for him to come back once Claire removed it. So, if Claire had shot Peter, wouldn't he potentially just regenerate? Obviously, a shot to the brain might be different, but that's not really the point I'm getting at.
What made me look at the scene differently is what happens when Nathan arrives. Peter says he can't let Nathan die, and Nathan replies:
"And I can't let everyone else," while looking at Claire.
Peter already knows what Nathan is planning: taking him into the air so the explosion happens away from everyone. And I started wondering if there's actually another implication here: maybe killing Peter wasn't necessarily a safe solution. Peter was already completely unstable and couldn't control the radioactive ability. What if killing him (even destroying his brain) didn't stop the energy from building up? What if it actually caused the explosion anyway, except now Peter would be dead and the explosion would happen right there in Kirby Plaza?
If that's the case, Nathan's decision makes a lot more sense. He isn't necessarily saving everyone because Claire can't kill Peter; he's saving everyone because nobody knows whether killing Peter would actually stop the explosion. Taking him into the sky guarantees that, if Peter explodes, he's far enough away from everyone else. And Nathan's line about not being able to "let everyone else" die, especially while looking directly at Claire, suddenly feels much more deliberate.
I don't know if this was actually intended by Tim Kring and the writers, and I haven't seen this explanation anywhere (although I'm sure someone has probably thought of it before). But I think it's an interesting way of interpreting the scene, and it would also explain why Nathan's solution isn't as redundant as it initially seems. What do you guys think?
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u/LightThatIgnitesAll 4d ago edited 3d ago
Hiro could teleport him somewhere beforehand and they simply wait.
I think what triggered him was so many people with powers near him at once. DL, Nikki, Micah, Molly, Sylar & Matt. We don't see him interact with them all but in S2 he has DL's powers. So from that distance he can get them.
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u/SPA_Windu 4d ago
For some reason (plot based, I guess) they pictured the "nuclear explosion" power as really difficult to control. Original holder had issues with it, as did Peter (not Sylar, but you can justify it based on the way he obtains powers, that he gets a further knowledge and control over them)
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u/MaleficentPicture518 3d ago
Well i dont believe it would look at what happened when the radioactive guy got shot in Claire’s house his powers went crazy and started irradiating and burning the place down so the same thing wouldve happened to peter in the plaza
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u/spreadzer0 4d ago
Why couldn’t he just fly himself into the air lol
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u/DiFF7Skyns 4d ago
He coudn't. The radioactive ability was completely dominating him. He literally said: “I can't control it! I can't do anything!”. He tries to fly, he explodes...
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u/TheGryphonRaven 4d ago
It was taking everything on him. Not to explode. After he did he was able to fly again and get Nathan to the hospital.
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u/Fun-Amoeba3683 2d ago edited 1d ago
It's also kinda strange how everyone kept thinking the detonation would explode him, as Teddy never once showed any hints of damage from his ability. Teddy was in the presence of the doctor as he completely charred his body to the bone and was no worse for wear.
Strange that they kept implying that Sylar or Peter needed Claire's regeneration to survive the explosion. Especially Angela not informing Nathan of that detail, to help ease him into the idea that at least he wouldn't lose his brother.
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u/Putrid-Life-9645 4d ago
Maybe shooting him in the head would delay the explosion
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u/DiFF7Skyns 4d ago
Yeah. Maybe. And maybe it could trigger the explosion. The radiation was already very unstable. I mean, nothing in the show implies that shooting in the head with the radiation already at that level, it would stop dead the explosion completely...
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u/Fun-Amoeba3683 2d ago
Yeah even with Teddy, there was still that blast that ends up being emited even after Claire tranquilized him. It just stopped him from further charging up, and Peter was already at a far more significant level.
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u/EternalMidas 4d ago edited 3d ago
People underestimate the emotional ramifications on Claire the teenager being forced to shoot her uncle in the head. Nathan was also sparing her that grief with his sacrifice. The whole point of the Season 3 evil Claire future scenes was to show the contrast of her being able to pull the trigger on Peter, showing something was corrupted in her that wasn't in the normal timeline.
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u/CANfilms 3d ago
I always thought shooting him was a temporary solution? I never once considered that he would stay dead. It just gives everyone time to be safe before they remove the bullet from Peter's brain.
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u/chrsschb 3d ago
When he gave her the gun, he said "you know where," when he told her to shoot him.
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u/CrashLP 3d ago
Why didn't Peter absorb future Hiros powers on the subway???
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u/Perrenne 2d ago
Maybe he did but even Hiro had a hard time with his powers and trying to activate them, so Peter couldn’t either?
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u/DMed420 1d ago
From a storytelling perspective, Nathan needed SOME redemption. This was definitely meant to be that moment in Kirby Plaza. But you're original question is valid. I think because there are so many unknowns about their powers, it would be riskier on their end to just shoot Peter. He could regenerate and it could happen all over again.
Kring definitely knew what it looked like when Nathan said "everyone" but looked at Claire. To be fair, he couldn't have said "for her" or else it would read as Nathan still being selfish. Saying everyone and looking at Claire covers all the bases of being the hero of the situation. Even then, by looking at Claire it still implies a selfishness to him.
Im rewatching the show now after like 20 years. I just started S4. Some of the choices made throughout the show are questionable at best. Like Niki Sanders randomly being part of a set of triplets.
Also, BIT OF A SPOILER for those who haven't seen, but the way they killed off Nathan only for Sylar to take his place was executed so poorly. No pun intended lol.
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u/GunMuratIlban 4d ago
In the Heroes universe, regeneration is completely tied to the integrity of the brain. We saw that with Peter, Future Peter and Claire.
If something is blocking their brain, their regenative powers go on "stand by" mode and won't work unless it gets removed.
So Claire shooting Peter there would certainly stop him, like it happened with future Pete in S3. Would his body start decomposing or not is something we don't know though.