Chapter 48 - "A Clear and Present Danger" - Discussion Thread 2/2/09

[chaseter]

Peter definitely knew that he would be able to fly and he dove towards Nathan and flew out. He didn't touch skin like when he touched Mohinder and Traci

 

[Gilpesh]

Peter definitely knew that he would be able to fly and he dove towards Nathan and flew out. He didn't touch skin like when he touched Mohinder and Traci

Yeah, that's what it looked like. He also walked through fire as if he was immune to it.

 

[Asteroid-Man]

Yes Sylar!!!!! YES!

Well done Lando!!!!

Finally she does something!

 

[The Apocalypse]

I liked this ep. I still expect them to **** this season up but if they don't at least I'll be surprised.

 

[mediaman]

Peter definitely knew that he would be able to fly and he dove towards Nathan and flew out. He didn't touch skin like when he touched Mohinder and Traci

I was puzzled by that too, I have all of "Villains" on my HD, and I looked back at the ep at that moment and realized your right, he didn't touch Nathan's skin. I looked at other earlier eps and a theory occured to me.

If you notice on earlier eps, when Parkman and Daphine touched Ando getting a supercharge, they did not touch his skin. The same thing goes for Hiro, he doesn't have to touch skin to teleport someone with him. So it seems Peter will still absorb from someone wiether the touch is bare skined or clothed.

 

[Docker2.0]

AWESOME EPISODE, GREAT START!!!up:

Agreed! But I am expecting them to mess this up.

Is it me or is this show looking a lot like X-men?

 

[Savage]

Is it me or is this show looking a lot like X-men?

It's really hard for it not to, apparently.

 

[The Lizard]

I realize that I'm watching a show about superpowered people that regularly breaks the laws of physics and probability, but I have to say that I had a hard time suspending my disbelief when Claire not only managed to get inside the military cargo plane by climbing up into the landing gear bay, but also succeeded in climbing up through the body of the very large plane and came out right in the correct area where everyone was being held prisoner.

 

[The Apocalypse]

Agreed! But I am expecting them to mess this up.

Is it me or is this show looking a lot like X-men?

Would that really be a bad thing? Whatever they were doing before that sucked anyway.

 

[Docker2.0]

I realize that I'm watching a show about superpowered people that regularly breaks the laws of physics and probability, but I have to say that I had a hard time suspending my disbelief when Claire not only managed to get inside the military cargo plane by climbing up into the landing gear bay, but also succeeded in climbing up through the body of the very large plane and came out right in the correct area where everyone was being held prisoner.

What I had a hard time believing was Claire knocking that guy out out as he was driving that car, yet she was able to get out while she was in handcuffs without a scratch on her.

 

[chaseter]

The car also magically stopped somehow???

 

[GL1]

I haven't read it all yet, but here's my real problem.

Why is Peter worried about falling out of a plane? He can fly. There is no drama here. There is NO cliffhanger. NONE. I had trouble dealing with Precog, Lifelong Power Player Angela getting surprised by an uppity, declaredly suspicious claire... but flying... that's what Peter does, just like Sylar does TK.

I have other gripes, but I'll save them for the gripes thread. This show is extremely frustrating, they do something awesome, (the Superbowl spot was boss!), set up a great premise, and then shootgun the thing so they can lay it at the feet of the same old tired characters to ENSURE that the show doesn't evolve and bring us to the land of the Lost Prison Break. They actually used them crashing on the island in the taglines... like this is something new and fascinating.

Pick one Heroes. Be Awesome, or be atrocious. This back and forth is killing me.

 

[Star]

GL1, about Peter flying-- Some people, myself including, think that Peter might only be able to have one ability at a time now. It's not confirmed, but thats just what it seemed like. When he touched Tracy and received her power it seemed like he lost his super strength.

 

[louiebling$]

I loved this Episode... I'm so happy ****ing Heroes is Back

 

[The Showstopper]

I'm thinking Peter is stockpiling abilities again, not just having one at a time. We saw him absorb Mohinder, then he bumped Tracy and absorbed freezing, then Mohinder grabed his hand, bare contact, if Peter only had cryokinesis at the moment we would have seen him reabsorb from Mohinder right? thats my two cents

 

[The Sarge]

I actually like the idea that Peter can only have one power at a time. They were always doing stuff before like amnesia to stop him from saving the world all at once. it's like Prof X in the movies. He always needs to be incapacitated in some way so the villains can be threatening. It lets him stil have multiple powers, but with a sweet weakness that lends itself to moments like the ending of the current episode.
*plus no one could keep track of everything he could do anymore.

Parkman having Precog is lame. Can't we NOT rely on that for once?

Solid Episode though.

 

[Gilpesh]

I actually like the idea that Peter can only have one power at a time.

Why? Because it is hilariously lame and yet again the writers pandering to Sylar in the most fan fiction ways?

 

[stillanerd]

Well, that was a pretty decent start to this volume. And clearly there's a sense of them trying to go back to basics here with the idea that they are ordinary people with superpowers, what with Peter back as an Paramedic, Mohindir as a cab driver, and Matt a security guard, etc. (not to mention the cab scene that echoes the very first episode). You also have characters essentially back to their original roles. Nathan and Angela are the bad guys again, only this time their roles as manipulator and collaborator are reversed. HRG is again rounding up folks with abilities but this time working for the government instead of the Company. Not to mention Hiro and Ando once again poking fun at superhero templates since they now have their own HQ, a mode of transport for Ando, and a costume Ando refuses to wear. (Plus the scene where Ando acts like a pimp daddy with the call girls got a chuckle)

With regards to Peter's new abilities, I think it's pretty obvious how they work. Before where all he had to do was be in proximity to a person with abilities and permanently absorb them (thus racking up abilities) it now appears--since he lost his original powers with the formula--that he has to not only physically touch a person with abilities but also that he can only hold one ability at a time. This is why he tells Nathan "What was the last thing you saw me do?" indicating all he could do was fly. When he touched Mohindir, he lost the ability to fly and replaced that power with super strength; and when he touched Tracy, he lost his super strength (hence why the guard started beating him up so easy) and gained freezing powers. This, I think, is a pretty good move on the shows part because not only is Peter no longer so ridiculously powerful, but he also forces him to think when it comes to deciding which person's ability he has to copy and/or swap.

It also suggests that if Peter's original mimicing abilities have changed, then if Hiro ever gets his teleportation powers back (which given that he no longer has means he can't easily escape after that plane crash) it's very likely that it would limit how far he teleports and the degree in which he slows down time, so no leaping around the world or time travel for him.

The best scene was definitely Sylar against the hunters, showing once again that Sylar is not someone you should underestimate. Although it looks like, once again, the show is going to make him an anti-hero, and I'm not too keen on making guys who are supposed to be bad guys into "good guys" simply because of their popularity. But oh well.

 

[DarkSuperman]

#1 Where's the love for Ando's black leather jacket with the red lightning on it?! That jacket was awesome and very "Superhero"

#2 Who says peter can only use one power at a time? We don't know that yet. He didn't even know what was going on most of the time.

#3 I too am tired of this "Paint the Future" gimmick. Time to find a new trick. Hundreds of super heroes have saved the world without looking into the future every other episode.

#4 Why didn't Spider-Suresh jump over the edge of the parking lot? He could have crawled to safety or landed on his feet or something.

Overall, I enjoyed this episode. I wonder where the show is going from here?

 

[mediaman]

Even if Peter's empathic mimicry was back the way it always was, it would have been drastic for him being on the plane with all those other people with abilities. Remember what Mohinder said? If Peter absorbs too much he can be very dangerous, either he'd blow up, or he could become so overwhelmed from it all he could die. So suppose that could be one reason why the writers have changed things, IF in fact Peter's ability has altered to work only by having one power at a time.

Claire was talking about an article about a man in Memphis that went missing, and his upstairs floor was filled with salt water. If nobody knows what that's about, look into the Heroes Online Novels at the nbc website. CHAP 120 - WATER UNDER THE BRIDGE PART 2

I hope Parkman isn't taking the role of Issac. If they're gonna have a Precog to warn everyone, I'd rather it be like some teen emo girl or something. Like you have an ep of Angela looking at drawings in a file folder, drawings pertaining the future. Then the girl is one of the prisoners being escorted. I don't care if anyone finds that lame. We've seen the Precognition painting power through 5 guys already, I'd like to see it done through a girl this time.

 

[Savage]

#1 Where's the love for Ando's black leather jacket with the red lightning on it?! That jacket was awesome and very "Superhero"

*raises hand* t:

 

[Spider-Fan83]

random question
but, just thought of something... about Peter's power
(since it seems to be one power at a time, through touch, assuming thats how it works, now, idk) but, if Peter touched Ando, would he just take his power, or would it amp his powers back to normal ?

 

[RaZaTrOn]

Did Usutu's stick annoy anyone else when he was talking to Matt?
It kept switching positions and i didn't think it was very subtle. Other than that i enjoyed the episode, it did get a lot better towards the end.

 

[SuperT]

Why is Peter worried about falling out of a plane? He can fly. There is no drama here. There is NO cliffhanger. NONE. I had trouble dealing with Precog, Lifelong Power Player Angela getting surprised by an uppity, declaredly suspicious claire... but flying... that's what Peter does, just like Sylar does TK.

He couldn't fly because he didn't have the ability anymore. Seems like he can't stockpile powers anymore, and has to get them through touching people.

 

[Asgard]

Random thoughts and question:

How did Peter know Mohinder has super strength?

Sylar kicking ass was a cool sequence.

Sylar's dad being a taxidermist makes sense to me.

The Iranian paramedic played a Pakistani spy in Burn Notice. Michael still owes the dude a favor.

Peter absorbing Tracy's ability reminded me of the Sylar/Peter fight we never saw.

The direction of the series looks to be heading toward the first possible future we were shown.