Shanti Suresh
| Shanti Suresh | |
|---|---|
| |
| Portrayed by | Unknown |
| First mentioned | Seven Minutes to Midnight |
| In-story stats | |
| Known ability | None |
| Gender | |
| Age | 5 (at death) |
| Home | Madras, India |
| Parents | Chandra Suresh (deceased), Mohinder's mother |
| Grandparent | Unnamed grandmother |
| Sibling | Mohinder Suresh |
Shanti Suresh is the deceased older sister of Mohinder Suresh.
Character History
Seven Minutes to Midnight
In Madras, India after scattering his father's ashes, Mohinder has an unusual dream in which his mother and father discuss his father's plan to move to New York City to pursue his research. Chandra thinks he should stay in India for Mohinder's sake, but his wife persuades him to go, telling him Mohinder will never take "her" place in his eyes.
When Mohinder confronts his mother about the dream, she admits the conversation did take place. He presses her about what she meant about him not taking "her" place in his father's eyes, and she admits that she was referring to Mohinder's older sister, Shanti, who died when she was five years old and Mohinder was two.
His mother tells him that they concealed his sister from him because his father loved her so much, claiming she was "special", that they were afraid Mohinder would compare himself unfavorably to her.
Homecoming
Mohinder has a dream aided by Sanjog about him and his father having an argument. Mohinder tells Chandra he just finished reading a manuscript for Activating Evolution that he found on Chandra's desk. Chandra chastises him for taking it off his desk. Mohinder tells Chandra that he wants to help him and Chandra replies that he doesn't want Mohinder to be involved in this. Chandra quotes Darwin and claims that a scientist should have a heart of stone and that Mohinder does not. He tells Mohinder to go home. Sanjog appears before Mohinder and tells him that he has his answer. Mohinder wakes up in the office. He looks at the computer program still running with the prompt asking if he would like to quit. He presses a key and selects No. A password prompt pops up and he tries to guess the password. After a few attempts he inputs "Shanti" and it lets him in. He's presented with a list of the evolved humans that Chandra discovered along with their locations.
Six Months Ago
In his apartment, Chandra and Mr. Bennet talk about their respective daughters. Chandra confirms that Shanti's genetic mutation was the portal to his study of human evolution. He hopes that "no one would suffer as she did."
Parasite
While restrained, Sylar mentions that Chandra confided in him things he did not tell Mohinder, such as things about Shanti, noting that Mohinder was too "fragile" to know the truth.
The Hard Part
Thompson tells Mohinder that Molly Walker is the only person who can stop Sylar. She has an ability, but she cannot access it because of a disease that Shanti also had. Later, Mohinder scatters paperwork across a lab, and Molly helps clean it up. She finds a picture of Shanti and shows it to Mohinder. He remarks that this is the first time he ever saw his sister.
Graphic Novel:Blackout, Part 2
Mohinder states that Shanti had remarkable abilities.
Four Months Later...
Bob mentions Shanti to Mohinder in an attempt to lure Mohinder into joining the Company. Mohinder then throws Bob into the wall.
Truth and Consequences
After Peter tells him that the virus that devastated the outbreak future was called the Shanti virus, Adam shows him a picture of the Company founders and explains that one of them, Victoria Pratt, extracted a deadly virus from a young Indian girl named Shanti on February 14, 1977. On Company orders, Victoria then began manipulating the virus into a weapon, resulting in at least 138 strains being created.
Heroes Evolutions
Gemini: Heroes Reborn
A Pinehearst file (number 79770688) for Shanti is found at the Quarry. The file notes, "Sister of Mohinder Suresh and daughter of Chandra Suresh. Died at the age of five. Chandra stated that Shanti was key to unlocking his studies into human evolution. The abilities she possessed are unknown in nature but our data suggests that they were unique and remarkable."
Notes
- There are a number of irregularities in Shanti's story:
- In Seven Minutes to Midnight, Mrs. Suresh tells Mohinder that Shanti died when he was two. In The Hard Part, Mohinder says she died before he was born. Writers Aron Coleite and Joe Pokaski explained that this was a continuity gaffe, but failed to explicitly clarify which statement was correct.
- Additionally, in The Hard Part, Thompson says, in reference to the virus, that "there's been one other case: an Indian girl, 1974", to which Mohinder replies that his sister died. In Truth & Consequences, it's revealed that Victoria Pratt obtained samples of the virus from Shanti on February 14, 1977. The exact date of her death is currently unknown.
- Shanti is believed to be a major influence in Chandra's research and his love for her is the driving force behind his discoveries.
- Shanti is also the password which unlocks the database of evolved humans.
- Whether or not Shanti was an evolved human is not established, but it's likely that she was:
- Mohinder's mother calls Shanti "special", implying that she could have possibly become an evolved human. Her mother did not specify whether she actually had a power, but the same antibodies from Mohinder that could have cured her successfully cured Molly Walker and the Haitian.
- In an interview in the May 2007 edition of the magazine Starlog Sendhil Ramamurthy comments, "I suppose the door has been left open since my sister [the deceased Shanti] had an ability," hinting that Shanti did indeed have a power.
- Mohinder's narration in Blackout, Part 2 further implies that Shanti had a power.
- Since the original strain of the Shanti virus apparently affects only evolved humans (Four Months Later...), it is extremely likely that Shanti was an evolved human, even if she never actually manifested a power.
Trivia
- Shanti in Sanskrit translates to "a sense of inner peace".
Gallery
-
-
Mohinder posts this picture on activatingevolution.org.
See Also
- For other uses of Shanti, see Shanti (disambig).
Fan Theories
Please refer to Theory:Shanti Suresh for fan-created theories and other speculation.