'Heroes' - Main Cast

Mohinder is a scientist drawn toward discovering the nature and origin of the special powers arising amongst ordinary humans. At first he seeks to assemble a list of those with abilities, toward the end of discovering what they have in common; later he begins research into a formula that will induce powers in those who do not have them. His early efforts are failures, and experimenting on himself leads to a progressive mutation; but later the necessary catalyst is found, and the corrected formula reverses Mohinder's degeneration.

Hiro has the ability to freeze time and to travel through time and space. An avid fan of comic books, Hiro sees himself as called to the responsibilities of a hero and is bitterly disappointed with himself when he fails. His friend Ando provides loyal support. A Hiro from an alternate future convinces Peter Petrelli to save Claire during season 1, setting up the crucial confrontation with Sylar. Hiro is the son of Kaito Nakamura, guardian of the formula for the inducement of abilities; convinced his father found him unworthy, Hiro gained Kaito's respect before the latter was killed.

Claire has the ability to regenerate, making her invulnerable even to fire. Her ability was sought by Sylar, but Peter absorbed it and prevented Sylar from killing her in season 1. During the original timeline she was made the vessel for the formula catalyst, but Hiro prevented this by going back in time and taking it for himself. Claire's real father is Nathan Petrelli, but she was placed with Noah Bennet by the Company as a potential future asset to be protected. Bennet, however, found himself unexpectedly caring for Claire as if she were his own daughter.

Ando is Hiro's best friend, originally a coworker with him in Hiro's father's corporation. Traveling with Hiro to the United States, Ando is always there for Hiro but occasionally expresses frustratuion that he, too, does not have powers. Finally in season 3 Ando, injected with Mohinder's perfected formula, gains the ability to supercharge the abilities of others.

Noah Bennet, also known as Horn-Rimmed Glasses or H.R.G. (his first name was left unrevealed until the end of season 1), was an agent for the Company, seeking out those with abilities and making sure they are under control. However, he broke from the Company over his being allowed to remain Claire's father, and all of his subsequent actions have been directed (however obliquely) toward protecting her. Noah's past partners have included The Haitian (who blocks others' powers), Claude (invisibility), and Elle, with whom he helped to seduce Sylar into exploring his powers. Later, at the direction of Angela Petrelli, Noah was partnered with Sylar himself.

Peter's ability is the absorption or copying of others' abilities. His first manifestation of powers seemed to be an ability to fly which he could not control; this turns out to have been the absorption of his bother Nathan's ability. During season 1 he gains many abilities, including Claire's and Hiro's. A trip to a future in which everyone can purchase formula-induced powers leads him to travel back to stop it, first by shooting Nathan as he was about to announce the existence of his own abilities, and later by working against his father and destroying Mohinder's work. For much of season 3 he was without his powers, which were taken away by his father; he regains the absorption ability by injecting himself with the formula.

Nathan's ability is supersonic flight. He long denied and suppressed his abilities, partly because they manifested while he was driving on a highway with his wife; he flew out of the car just as if was about to crash, and blamed himself for his wife's paralysis. Nathan pursued his father's ambitious, high-profile agenda, running for district attorney and congressman without realizing he was a pawn in his parents' larger scheme that included the destruction of New York City, leading in turn to Nathan becoming president. Nathan recovered from his near-death experience (when he was shot by Peter from the future) by embracing himself as an instrument of God; he later saw distributing the formula as being for the good, and fought Peter.

Matt's ability is mind reading and mind control. Originally an L.A. cop who solved a case because he could hear the thoughts of a kidnap victim, Matt ended up leaving the force to explore what his abilities meant. His father had had similar abilities and used them for dark purposes; this made Matt uneasy and hesitant to explore the full extent of his powers. During season 3 Matt experiences a vision quest that causes him to form an emotional connection with Daphne before he even meets her.

Niki, Jessica, and Tracy were triplets injected as children with some form of the abilities serum. For season 1 the personalities of Niki and Jessica struggled for control of Niki's body, the real Jessica having apparently died as a child. Niki/Jessica occasionally manifested super strength. Her husband, D.L., who could move through solid matter, was killed; their son, Micah, can communicate with and control technology. After Niki died in a fire in New Orleans, Nathan, who had had a liaison with Niki, was surprised to meet the physically identical Tracy, whose ability is to freeze objects (when this happens to a person they instantly collapse to the ground in chunks). Tracy helps Nathan become a U.S. senator, but pursues her own agenda.

Sylar's ability is to understand exactly how things work; practically this manifests as an ability to steal the abilities of others through direct observation of their brains, leading to a string of gruesome murders during season 1 in which victims were found with their skulls sheared off, exposing their brains. (Killed in this way was Isaac Mendez, a painter who could envision the future; he created the 9th Wonders! comic book that guided Hiro and Ando on several adventures.) Sylar gained powerful abilities, but was turned away from what he described as his all-consuming hunger when Angela Petrelli convinced Sylar that he was her son.