Shape shifting
| Shape shifting | |
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.JPG) Sylar shifts back from Danko's appearance. | |
| Originally held by: | James Martin (deceased), Josh Davis |
| Absorbed by: | Sylar Peter Petrelli (lost) |
| Ability to: | Shift one's physical characteristics |
| Examples of shape shifting | |
Shape shifting is the ability to alter one's own appearance.
Characters
Confirmed
- James Martin is the first character to possess this ability. (Into Asylum)
- Josh Davis also has this ability.
- Sylar has acquired this ability from Martin. (Into Asylum)
- Peter Petrelli has replicated this ability from Sylar (An Invisible Thread), but later discarded it.
Unconfirmed
- According to the assignment tracker map, a Peruvian terrorist in Lima, Peru has this ability. (Heroes Evolutions)
Limits
This ability allows the shape shifter to alter his or her body to match that of another person, even changing gender if desired. Drastic size changes are possible using this ability; it is not yet clear whether this involves a mass change or just density. The act of shape shifting is painful and requires at least a few seconds to complete. A form taken using this ability is not an illusion, and the user does not revert to his or her original shape if killed or knocked unconscious. This power also does not seem to alter the user's base DNA; blood and brain matter taken from James Martin continued to show Martin's DNA patterns when tested, despite Martin having taken on Sylar's form.
A shape shifter needs a tissue sample from the person he wants to impersonate. This is usually accomplished by touch, although other methods are possible. Shape shifting changes the user's voice to match the person he or she impersonates. A shape shifter can alter his clothing to suit his new form (I Am Sylar); this is presumably a type of ability extension.
A shape shifter is unable to acquire a tissue sample from another person who is shape-shifted (An Invisible Thread).
James Martin
Martin was the first character to demonstrate this ability (Into Asylum). He used it to impersonate one of Danko's agents after he ambushed the team sent to capture him. While impersonating the agent, he was able to infiltrate the Homeland Security headquarters to get more information about the people hunting him. When his cover was blown, he changed his form to that of a man he encountered in the parking garage while fleeing; completing this transformation took nearly a minute. The change apparently altered his height and weight as well as his facial appearance, including removing much of his hair and adding a beard. Martin later impersonated Danko and then Sylar at a nightclub. While impersonating Sylar, he was killed; his body continued to look like Sylar.
Sylar
Sylar acquired this ability from Martin, first using it to impersonate a female agent collecting evidence at the scene of Martin's death (Into Asylum). Sylar is able to transform more quickly than Martin, completing the change from the female agent's form to his natural form in just a few seconds (although the transformation is still noticeably painful). Within days of acquiring this power (Turn and Face the Strange), Sylar demonstrates the ability to rapidly change form in only a second, with no visible discomfort. Over the course of the episode he assumes the forms of Emile Danko, Sandra Bennet, and a Black Ops agent. Sylar was able to both regenerate and use telekinesis while in another form. Sylar can impersonate someone from "remote" contact; he impersonated Nathan Petrelli after touching trace DNA found on Nathan's toothbrush (I Am Sylar). Sylar also shows that he can change his clothes as he shape-shifts.
If attempting to mimic another person who is shape-shifted, Sylar experiences feedback of an unknown nature on contact and is unable to acquire a DNA sample (An Invisible Thread).
Sylar can use this ability to alter his internal anatomy; he used it to move the "sweet spot" in his brain, reducing his chances of dying from brain penetration. (An Invisible Thread). He also accidentally gave himself an extra tooth.
Peter Petrelli
After Peter acquired this ability, he used it to change into the President in order to capture Sylar. When Sylar grabbed his hand, he wasn't able to get a DNA sample. This caused Sylar to constantly change appearances until Peter injected him with a tranquilizer. Like Sylar, Peter has also shown that he can transform in a few seconds and his clothes change as well. (An Invisible Thread)
Josh Davis
Selected Examples
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Sylar morphs back from a female coroner... -
...and corrects his own eye color.
(Into Asylum) -
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See Also
- For a similar ability that can alter one's appearance, see illusion.
- For the ability to change others' appearances, see appearance alteration.
- For other uses of shifting, see shifting (disambig).
Fan Theories
Please refer to Theory:Shape shifting for fan-created theories and other speculation.
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| Evolutions Abilities |
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| Graphic Novel Abilities |
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| See Also: Extension:DynamicPageList3 (DPL3), version 3.6.1: Error: MediaWiki\Extension\DynamicPageList3\Query::buildAndSelect: The DynamicPageList3 extension (version 3.6.1) produced a SQL statement which led to a Database error.<br/>The reason may be an internal error of DynamicPageList3 or an error that you made; especially when using parameters like 'categoryregexp' or 'titleregexp'. Usage of non-greedy <code>*?</code> matching patterns are not supported.<br/>The error message was:<br/><code></code> • Examples of shape shifting | |||||