Posted: Tue May 22, 2007 10:18 pm Post subject: Sylar's power and him being an empath.
Ok so some things were brought up recently concerning sylar and his powers. I have tirelessly argued against sylar being an empath and the fact that he can just watch someone and learn how to use their powers. But now I want to know what everyone thinks. So......How does sylar's power work!?
Again, you are hung up on the word "empath." I think Hercules67's quotes pretty conclusively show that he is not an empath, per se. The third option above should say something like "He can use intuition to absorb someone's powers without hurting them, but is prevented by a crutch"
I think the second option, which you believe, doesn't really work. Otherwise he would have many more powers right now. He watched Peter use invisibility, so under your theory he has that power. He watched Nikki use superstrength, so under your theory (if he's alive), he has that power. He watched Hiro teleport and stop time, so under your theory he now has those powers too.
EDIT: perhaps I am wrong about you believing the second theory, but that is what it seems like you are saying in this post on the other thread:
ALUCARD wrote:
They both are able to take on other powers, but the means by which it is done is different. Seeing how something works, is different than actually feeling the way something works. Sylar could technically watch someone run really fast and see how it works and find a way to get there
Last edited by MTF on Tue May 22, 2007 10:31 pm; edited 1 time in total
i have a feeling this thread is gonna get old...and quick
but eh...here's my 2 cents..i think he "examines" the brain, i really hope he doesnt eat them..i just think he'd gain more from examining then digesting
oh yea.. SYLAR IS NOT AN EMPATHHHHHH
if he was dont u think he'd "figure out how it works" or something? dont u think he'd just start killing people and taking abilities rather than reading books about the anatomy and brain? (the books in earlier eps)
ok ur gonna say "well he might not know he is!"
bullcrap...i dont wanna see other examples of OTHER hiros (heroes) that do that aka peter how he thought he had to be around them to use his powers...
THIS IS SYLAR! THATS HOW HIS POWER WORKS! he's NOT like peter, who is NOT powerful/in control of newly aquired powers... infact..
aside from the first few powers he gets, he's now like..able to gain powers and "see how they work" much faster... thus its like he "sees how, seeing how things work..works" make sense? didnt think so.. think about it, first powers he got= throws glass across table, accidently freezes someone (maybe), ears hurt from super hearing...
now he can get powers and use them correctly RIGHT away.
thats why im glad they made sylar and peter different...peter= can gain powers quickly, and fast (like a sponge) but...like a sponge, a sponge "leaks" meaning drips water..not very "accurate" at first etc
i see sylar as a gradulated cylinder... sylar= powers are much more powerful/he can use them much better... peter= just a crap load of powers
Heh, I don't think sylar is an empath. I also don't think he can watch someone and gain their powers. Sorry MTF but which theory are you talking about? Are you refering to when i was talking about sylar watching someone run? i didn't mean that literally....
ALUCARD, thanks for making this a separate topic. And MTF, we are not trying to beat on you man! A little healthy debate goes a long way! All of us learn something. Ok, here goes:
Gabriel Gray had one inherent ability: He could understand how things work. This is what led to him becoming a "watch maker" working in a "Watch repair shop". When he stole the address and telephone number of Brian Davies who came to the watch shop, he saw an opportunity. Basically, Gabriel Gray (as we saw from when he was talking to his mother), wanted to be more than he was. He essentially SAID SO to Chandra Suresh in the clip where he states: "the son of the watchmaker, becomes a watchmaker".
On the other hand, Brian Davies (BD) who was misled into believing that Gabriel Gray (GG) was someone who can help him DID NOT want his TK (telekinesis) power. GG saw an opportunity and took it. He told BD that he could tell what was wrong and he could fix it. He then struck BD on the head and killed him, and from there somehow went to absorbing his TK and leading him down the path of becoming Sylar (the brain eating sociopath) who takes other peoples powers.
Again, his native ability is understanding how things work -- whether it's a watch, a grandfather clock OR a brain (an infinitely more complex mechanism).
Now, contrast that ability with an empath. I quote here the definition of empath from Wikipedia:
Quote:
Empath is a term coming into common usage to refer to a person with a feeling expanded sensitivity or clairsentience.Empath is a term coming into common usage to refer to a person with a feeling expanded sensitivity or clairsentience.
And another quote:
Quote:
In some works of science fiction and fantasy, empathy is understood to be a paranormal or psychic ability to sense the emotions of others, as opposed to telepathy, which allows one to perceive thoughts as well. A person who has that ability is also called an "empath" or "telempath" in this context. Occasionally these empaths are also able to project their own emotions, or to affect the emotions of others.
Finally, referring to Peter Petrelli:
Quote:
In the NBC television series Heroes, the character of Peter Petrelli is revealed to be an "empath", possessing the ability to absorb and use the power's of other heroes, even when they are not present, simply by recalling the way he felt when he was near them.
To me, the two modes are completely and fundamentally different. Peter has sort of a "gut level", "instictual" type way of feeling powers. When he's around people with powers, he absorbs them. There is no thinking about it -- it's all emotional based.
On the other hand, GG, or Sylar as he has come to call himself now, CAN and DOES understand exactly how a particular power works. He does not necessarily have to see it at work (although, from what they've shown, I believe there is some truth to this), but he has to see the person use it, in order to understand it. OTOH, he did try to kill the cheerleader and get her power without having seen her regenerate -- so that's debatable.... But the point is, he does have to examine the brain. This is where these powers reside.
Whether he consumes the brains... that's for Season 2.
Sylar's original power was a supernatural ability to understand how things work, how the pieces fit together. This ties into to how he steals the powers by taking the best pieces from the brains of his victims, hence why he named himself after the special watch he basically built from scratch with special parts from all over the place.
His original power also explains why he is able to better use the powers he takes than the people who originally had them. And also why he is much more adept at using them than Peter at this point. Understanding how they work, their limits and potential, is a part of how he takes the power.
His original power is also one of the things that makes him so dangerous. If you notice, the same trick to capture or hold Sylar doesn't work twice. His original power allows him to study how everything works, and find its weaknesses; whether it is learning how to overcome the influence of anothers power (Eden), or finding a way to escape a trap. Given enough time, Sylar can solve pretty much any puzzle.
I'm predicting now that his main weakness, in future episodes, will be the number of powers he takes; the number of other "parts" he puts in himself. I'm guessing like with Rogue in the old X-men comics, that taking pieces of others will create baggage, and start fracturing his mind more and more.
I Generally agree with many points everyone has made in this topic...but something still troubles me....Every one of Sylar's victims have not only had thier scalp opened, but the brain's have always been removed. One could make the argument that he simply takes the brains to study further in a private environment, but what about Issac's loft. There was no reason to take the brain's anywhere at all, he could've studied Issac's ability right next to the body but again, the brains were completely removed. Also, when HRG (lol Noah) is speaking with Sylar in his cell at Primatech, he refers to Sylar mind as being corrupted by newly aqcuired DNA. This leads me to believe that...
He is not an empath, and as mentioned by several others he merely understands how things work...
Watching the ability in action aids in his use of the power, but is not enough on its own...
(I believe) While he probably studies the brain (especially due to the appearance of medical books on braind dissection) and picks out the parts most responsible for abilities, I think he ultimately ingests them in some fashion...
BTW, this may just be the oversimplification of a young girl, but Molly states that "[Sylar] sees into your soul(Understanding everything), and he eats your brain(literally?)"
Also, nice catch Waylan, I never really thought about it but your right, part of Sylar's ability is not getting caught the same way twice...he understands the dynamics of whatever he's is analyzing (including a trap he is in) and devises a solution...which makes me think of a reason for his desire to have New York blow up....could he have understood the consequences of this act and, in conjunction with his newfound ability to see scenes in the future, seen how the explosion would ultimately let him ascend power into the white house? Who knows...just some food for thought...
Haha... "Davies" just makes him sound sillier than he should be. Actually... he was a pretty silly guy, now that I mention it. Lol.
BACK TO TOPIC.
While I like the idea of Sylar being an empath with a crutch (just because it's a neat theory), I'm going to have to stick to my guns on this one and say that he can only acquire an ability by examining/consuming a brain and MAYBE a DNA transfusion.
Haha... "Davies" just makes him sound sillier than he should be. Actually... he was a pretty silly guy, now that I mention it. Lol.
You know, if it's that important to you all, why don't you use your MOD abilities and go fix DAVIES to DAVIS in my post to suit your needs. (It's been over an hour -- duh -- and I can no longer edit my post).
Hahaha Herc learn how to spell!!! JK!!! Anyways, here's basically what i was trying to say: Peter can be by someone, absorb a power, and call upon it later. During peter's absorbtion he gains some sort of DNA that allows him to produce that power. Sylar on the other hand can see how something works....but that doesn't mean he can produce the power. You can know how to fix a tire on your car, but if you don't have the tools to do it, then well, you can't. Just like sylar. I'm sure he could understand how that freezing ability he had works.....but he doesn't have the dna that allows him to turn water into ice. You know what I mean? And that's where his brain eating/examining/dna transfusion comes in. Does that make sense?
Sylar can tell how the ability works by observing the brain, but he cannot gain the ability until he consumes it. Thus, he's got to both see it, and then ingest it.
But he didn't see ted use his power....but peter's hands were glowing when he was listening. So yeah, I'm guessing he does have to see it too, and that's EXACTLY what I was saying. He can figure out how something works, but then has to ingest or take in whatever it is that allows that person to do that power. But, what's weird about that is that he took Charlie's power and YES she did use it in the diner with hiro and the japanese when sylar was there. But in the graphic novel, sylar didn't know that was the power he stole from her. Because he was like "Lately, I don't know, I've just been remembering things." So, he didn't know that was the power he took from her, and he just did something in the brain to take it. So....I dunno...
But, what's weird about that is that he took Charlie's power and YES she did use it in the diner with hiro and the japanese when sylar was there. But in the graphic novel, sylar didn't know that was the power he stole from her. Because he was like "Lately, I don't know, I've just been remembering things."
I could easily be wrong, but it was my take that Sylar knew her power, and heard her utter those words...than later in the graphic novel when he repeated them it was kind of a sarcastic-joking to himself sort of statement....Afterall, what would've been the point of watching her all day then attacking later if he never even found out what he was after?
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