Sylar/Season One
This article archives the history of Sylar during Season One.
For more about Sylar, see the main article.
For Sylar's Season Two history, see here.
For Sylar's Season Three history, see here.
For Sylar's Season Four history, see here.
Character History
Genesis
Mohinder Suresh finds a cassette tape in his late father's apartment, labeled "Sylar".
Don't Look Back
Sylar is stated to be a suspected serial killer. His suspected victims are sometimes seen with their heads sliced open horizontally at the center of their skull and their brain removed. Other victims are pinned to the wall with various household objects and no apparent signs of physical contact. Audrey Hanson, an FBI agent, investigates a murder scene she believes to have been the work of Sylar, and Matt Parkman uses his new powers to locate the victim's missing daughter, Molly Walker.
Sylar knew the late Chandra Suresh, before he died. Chandra told his son, Mohinder that he thought that Sylar was "Patient Zero". In a taped phone call between Chandra and Sylar, the latter alludes that the former "made him this way" and refers to a mysterious "uncontrollable hunger" he now has. Chandra wanted nothing to do with Sylar at this point.
When Hiro travels to the future to November 8 he visits Isaac Mendez in his home. Hiro finds Isaac dead with his head sawed off and his brain removed, in the same style as Molly Walker's father.
One Giant Leap
Mohinder and Eden visit an apartment believed to be Sylar's. When no one answers, Mohinder breaks in. Inside, Eden notes that Sylar has no photographs in the apartment but plenty of books on philosophy, as well as a copy of Chandra Suresh's book. Mohinder takes pictures of the apartment, including a picture of his father's book on a bureau, books on the shelves, and a book in a glass case. He stumbles upon a secret room behind the glass case. Inside is a map similar to one used by the Suresh's, but with many more connections and papers linked to several of them. Eden identifies Nathan Petrelli on one of the links. Mohinder finds another room in the secret area covered by vinyl tarps. Inside, the walls are covered in scrawls, possibly indicating that Sylar's mental state is unbalanced. Writings such as, "Forgive me. I have sinned," are written all over, some apparently in blood.
Meanwhile, a man believed to be Sylar attempts to abduct Molly, who is being held in a safe room in the Los Angeles FBI Headquarters. Matt and Audrey stop him, with Matt protecting Molly and Audrey giving chase. When Audrey pulls her gun, the man somehow forces her backwards against a wall and makes her point her own weapon to her head. When Matt arrives, he shoots at the unknown man. However, when Matt turns to check on Audrey, the man stands back up and the bullets Matt had fired at him seem to fall to the ground. As Matt and Audrey look back, the man disappears.
Hiros
Sylar appears in a painting by Isaac Mendez which Peter Petrelli finishes. It reveals that Sylar will murder and remove a cheerleader's brain if nothing is done to stop it.
Nothing to Hide
Audrey believes she's found another of Sylar's victims, Robert Fresco, but it turns out the victim was instead accidentally killed by Theodore Sprague.
Seven Minutes to Midnight
In Midland, TX, Hiro and Ando talk to a waitress, Charlie, in the Burnt Toast Diner. Meanwhile, sitting at a table is a man wearing a ballcap. He pulls a glass to his hand using his powers, revealing a broken analog watch reading 11:53.
When Charlie is discovered murdered, the top of her head sliced off, Sylar is nowhere to be found. When Hiro sees Charlie's body, he immediately recognizes the wound as identical to that suffered by Isaac in the future timeline.
At the Primatech Paper Co. warehouse that serves as his headquarters, Mr. Bennet reveals to Isaac Mendez that Sylar is a superpowered serial killer who is hunting and killing other individuals with powers, and confirms that the painting Peter Petrelli helped Isaac finish shows Claire, Bennet's own daughter, murdered by Sylar. He tells Isaac he needs him to paint where Sylar is so they can stop him before he kills Claire at her Homecoming the next night.
In India, Mohinder Suresh has a strange dream. In it, he watches in horror as his father, Chandra Suresh, is murdered by a passenger in his cab. The man smashes through the partition and slams Chandra's head against the window. As he does so, he cracks the face of his watch, stopping it at 11:53.
Homecoming
A shadowy figure stands in front of the trophy case at Union Wells High School, reading the newspaper clipping about Jackie Wilcox's award for supposedly rescuing the man from the train wreck. On his hand is a broken watch — it's Sylar.
Later, the lights in the locker room suddenly go out and a shadowy figure passes by. Jackie protests as Claire attempts to lead her to safety, and suddenly Sylar grabs Jackie by the neck, pins her against a locker, and lifts her up in the air. Claire jumps on Sylar, but he throws her off and sends her flying into a wall. Jackie screams. Sylar covers Jackie's mouth and puts his finger in the air near her forehead. Suddenly there's a slicing noise and Jackie's skull is sliced open spraying blood everywhere.
When Claire regenerates, Sylar realizes she's the one he's after, and chases her out into the hallway, where she runs into Peter. Peter tells Claire to keep running and stops to face Sylar. Using telekinesis, Sylar rips the doors off of the hallway lockers and sends them flying towards Peter. Peter dodges a few of them and runs away with Sylar pursuing. With Sylar at the bottom of the stands, Peter tells Claire to run and find a lot of people as he believes Sylar doesn't want to be seen. Claire runs off and suddenly Peter looks up to find Sylar standing right in front of him. Sylar grabs Peter and they both fall off the bleachers and onto the pavement below.
Sylar climbs a hill to escape. At the top of the hill, Eden is leaning against a tree. Upon seeing her he pauses momentarily before raising his hand. Surprised, he seems unable to use his powers. Using her ability, Eden tells Sylar that he doesn't want to hurt her and that they need to talk. She tells him to tell her all about himself, but first he needs to sleep. The Haitian catches Sylar off guard, and covers his eyes. Sylar then falls to the ground, unconscious.
Six Months Ago
Chandra Suresh approaches Gabriel Gray at his watch shop, Gray & Sons. Gabriel offers to fix Chandra's watch, even though Chandra hasn't realized it's broken. Gabriel explains he has a talent for knowing how things work. Chandra tells Gabriel he's special and gives him a copy of Activating Evolution.
Gabriel visits Chandra at Chandra's apartment. Chandra tells Gabriel he wants to run some noninvasive tests. Gabriel tells Chandra he always wanted to be special and always resented his family for being normal.
When Chandra's tests are unable to identify anything unusual about Gabriel, he's ready to give up. Gabriel becomes angry. Grabbing one of Chandra's files, he asks if Chandra plans to give up on that man, Brian Davis, too. Chandra asks him to leave.
Later, Brian Davis visits Gray & Sons. He tells Gabriel that someone called him. Gabriel glances at the watch he's been repairing and introduces himself as "Gabriel Sylar". After Brian demonstrates his telekinetic ability, he asks Gabriel if he can make it go away. Gabriel is surprised at first, but then tells Brian that he's broken and that he can fix him. Grabbing a large crystal, he bludgeons Brian to death.
Gabriel meets with Chandra again and demonstrates his newfound telekinetic power by moving a glass across the table. Gabriel apologizes for his behavior the other day and Chandra understands that he was angry. Gabriel tells him that he feels different now and that he feels he's been given a chance to start over with a new life and new purpose. Gabriel tells Chandra that all the others are waiting to be told of their importance and their true potential. He tells Chandra that they'll find them together.
Graphic Novel:Turning Point
Three months ago in Chicago, Sylar has killed a man. He sees Audrey Hanson, and their chase eventually brings him to a train station. He ends the chase by giving his jacket to an old man, whom Audrey mistakes for Sylar and kills.
Fallout
At the Primatech Paper Co., Sylar is being held in a metal room within the secure medical facility; he is separated from an outer room by a glass security window. Mr. Bennet enters the outer secure room, and converses with Sylar. He tells Sylar that they fixed him up the best they could, and that his abilities will not work within the facility. He calls him Gabriel, and Sylar forcefully corrects him. Mr. Bennet notes that not long ago he was Gabriel Gray, an "insignificant watchmaker". Sylar tells him that he was so good at restoring "timepieces" because he could see how they work and what makes them tick. Mr. Bennet tells him that they're interested in how things work as well and that they're interested in him because he has multiple powers now instead of just one like all the others they've met. Sylar tells him that it's what makes him special and that being special is important to everyone. Mr. Bennet tells him that he thinks infusing so many changes to his DNA to absorb these powers has driven him insane. Sylar tells him that as soon as he gets out he's going to collect one more ability from his daughter. As Sylar goes on talking about Claire, Mr. Bennet tells him to stop and calls him Gabriel. Sylar screams that his name is Sylar, not Gabriel. Amused, Mr. Bennet shuts off the light and leaves.
Later, Mr. Bennet again enters the room just outside Sylar's cell. Sylar claims that they are actually alike, that Mr. Bennet abducts people with powers because it makes him feel powerful, that they both collect special people. Mr. Bennet tells him that they're going to take him apart like a watch and find out what makes him tick. He turns off the light and leaves.
Much later, Eden enters the room outside Sylar's cell. Sylar tells her that he knows her; she responds she lived next door to Chandra Suresh. Sylar marvels over her power of persuasion. Eden uses her power and states that she's going to give him a gun and that he's going to blow his brains out, and she moves to place the gun into the transfer bin. Before she can do so, Sylar telekinetically pulls her through the security glass, shattering it. He grabs her by the throat and tells her that he's going to consume her power. She points the gun at him and he tells her that she knows it won't hurt him. Instead, she points the gun at her head and pulls the trigger.
Graphic Novel:Fathers & Daughters
After Sylar's encounter with Eden, Mr. Bennet and the Haitian enter Sylar's cell. They tranquilize and recapture Sylar.
Godsend
At Primatech Paper Co., Mr. Bennet and Hank discuss Sylar, who lies catatonic in his cell watching a cockroach. They have determined that Sylar has multiple powers, but they haven't been able to identify any other than telekinesis. Sylar's health has deteriorated during the experiments, and further invasive tests may kill him. Unfortunately (to Mr. Bennet), their superiors in the Company will not allow them to kill Sylar.
The Fix
Sylar lies motionless on a table in his cell. Hank tells Mr. Bennet that he is nearly dead; Mr. Bennet says that his superiors need him alive. Later, Hank informs Mr. Bennet that Sylar has died. Suddenly, Sylar opens his eyes. When Mr. Bennet enters the cell, he finds Hank's dead body on the table, as Sylar stands nearby.
Distractions
Sylar escapes from Primatech, killing Hank, attacking Mr. Bennet, and leaving him trapped in the cell. Using information from Bennet's driver license, he locates the Bennets' home and goes there to find Claire. Posing as a worker from Primatech, he ingratiates himself with Sandra for a while, fishing for more information about Claire. When Sandra becomes suspicious, he attacks her, but flees when Mr. Bennet and the Haitian arrive to recapture him.
Run!
Sylar arrives at Zane Taylor's home while Zane is waiting for Mohinder Suresh. He claims to be Suresh and asks Zane to demonstrate his ability. Later, when Suresh arrives, Sylar claims to be Zane and demonstrates the power himself. He suggests that he and Mohinder should work together to contact other special people.
Graphic Novel:Road Kill
Sylar escapes the Bennets' home, but is badly hurt. He meets a brewery trucker and hitches a ride with him. When Sylar learns that the trucker's destination is four days off, Sylar telekinetically causes beer bottles to ram into the trucker, killing him. Sylar quickly learns to ride a truck, and has police hot on his trail. He thwarts their chase by freezing I-95, and then crashing the truck. Sylar arrives in Virginia Beach, remembering the last name he saw from Chandra's research. Unaware of how he will find more evolved humans to steal from, he rings the bell of a house, and meets Zane Taylor. Sylar finds his next step when Zane answers, "Professor Suresh?"
Unexpected
Sylar and Mohinder travel to Bozeman, MT, to meet Dale Smither. He demonstrates his newest power to help convince Dale that undergoing testing would be a good idea. As she talks about her power, she hears Sylar's hearbeat quicken. That night, Sylar and Mohinder go to a motel, and they discuss the possibility of inhibiting the powers of evolved humans. Sylar asks Mohinder about the man who killed Chandra.
Later, Sylar silently enters Dale's shop and tells her he has murder in his heart. When Sylar and Mohinder arrive the next morning, they find Dale's brainless corpse. However, Sylar has difficulty concentrating because of his newly acquired headaches.
Company Man
Matt tells Claire that Peter told him to protect Claire from someone who is killing people with abilities, meaning Sylar.
Parasite
In Mohinder's apartment, Sylar offers to help Mohinder with the list. Sylar has no luck contacting any evolved humans (when attempting to contact Isaac Mendez he says that he'll "get" him later). Mohinder drugs Sylar's chai, and when Sylar awakens he finds himself strapped to a chair and hooked to an IV that supposedly takes away his ability to control his powers. Mohinder explains to him that he has known Sylar's true identity, and pulls up Zane Taylor's obituary. Mohinder takes advantage of Sylar's newfound hearing power by torturing him with a tuning fork.
Mohinder and Sylar talk, and when Mohinder points a gun at Sylar's head, Sylar fends him off by explaining that he was more of a son of Chandra's than Mohinder. Mohinder finally tries to shoot him, but Sylar telekinetically stops the bullet and breaks out of his bonds. Later, when Peter visits Mohinder, Sylar pins Peter to the wall. Sylar says he wants to see how Peter's power works--he begins slicing his head open in order to steal Peter's power.
.07%
As Sylar attempts to slice Peter's skull, he notices it quickly regenerating. Peter then uses telekinesis himself to throw Sylar into a glass fronted bookcase, breaking his concentration. When Sylar gets back up, Peter turns invisible, and Sylar expresses his interest gaining that ability. Unable to see Peter, Sylar uses telekinesis to throw shards of glass in all directions. One shard penetrates the back of Peter's head, killing him. As Sylar prepares to take Peter's brain, Mohinder hits him with the board containing the map. Sylar is knocked unconscious.
When Sylar wakes, Mohinder and Peter are gone and the computer containing the list is destroyed. Frustrated, he finds a page from 9th Wonders! that was pinned on the map. The piece of paper has the address of Isaac Mendez.
When Sylar arrives at Isaac's apartment, he compliments the painter on his talent. After a small conversation, he pushes Isaac to the ground and pins the painter's arms and legs down with his paintbrushes before slicing his skull. He now uses his new ability to paint his own version of Nathan Petrelli in the Oval Office.
Graphic Novel:String Theory
According to Future Hiro, Sylar was stabbed by Hiro Nakamura. However, Sylar was still able to regenerate (a power he stole from Claire) and explode.
The Hard Part
In Isaac's apartment, Sylar paints a prophetic picture of himself preparing to ambush Ted Sprague. Sylar suddenly realizes that if he steals Ted's power, he might become the cause of the explosion. Shocked, he calls Mohinder Suresh. He tells Mohinder that while his individual murders of other evolved humans to take their powers seemed like the natural course of evolution, the pointless murder of millions in the explosion is not something he wants to cause. Hearing Mohinder dialing 911 on his cell phone, Sylar realizes that calling Mohinder was a mistake and hangs up. He makes another call to a person he wants to visit, and begins to prepare.
Sylar cleans himself up in Isaac's bathroom and dresses in clothes he used to wear as a watch-maker. As he gathers his things to leave the apartment, he hears two heartbeats coming from behind one of his paintings. He tells whoever is hiding that he knows they are there, but he finds no one when he telekinetically moves the painting away.
Sylar goes to visit his mother at her apartment. He gives her a snow globe, and starts fixing a broken clock. She offers to make him a sandwich, but he declines, and he becomes angry when she starts making it anyway. He asks her to tell him that it would be okay for him to be just a watch-maker, but she asks why she would ever tell him that when she knows he can be so much more. He decides to show her what he can do, and freezes water from a spray nozzle into a snow fall and makes some of her snow globes fly around the room. When one of the globes accidentally hits her, she runs into her bedroom and locks the door.
Through the door, Sylar asks if being special is worth the deaths of many people. His mother comes out of the room and tells him to leave, saying he is not her son. He tries to say he is, but she picks up a pair of scissors to hold him at bay. Still trying to reason with her, he tries grabbing the scissors, and in the ensuing struggle, she is stabbed through the heart.
Time abruptly stops, and Hiro enters the apartment to kill Sylar. Before he strikes, however, his control slips, and time starts flowing again. Sylar grabs the sword and says that if Hiro has come to kill him, he must act. When Hiro hesitates, he says Hiro is a coward and freezes the sword, breaking it. Ando bursts into the apartment, and Hiro teleports both himself and Ando away while Sylar is startled.
Painting a picture of the explosion on the floor of the apartment in his mother's blood, Sylar chooses to pursue the path to the Presidency that he has seen.
Landslide
Unbeknownst to Peter, Mr. Bennet, Ted and Claire, who are devising a plan to stop the bomb, Sylar is lurking around a corner eavesdropping on their conversation. Peter hears Sylar's thoughts, and tries to get Claire and Ted away immediately. The FBI bursts into the street, capturing Ted with a tip from Sylar, posing as Isaac Mendez. When Audrey mentions to Sylar that most wouldn't call in a tip, Sylar responds that he's not like other people.
Later in the night, Sylar intercepts the truck transporting Ted and attacks, flipping the truck. Ted, hanging from the floor, begs Sylar for help. Sylar says he'll help him, and proceeds to "help".
On a rooftop overseeing New York, Sylar creates small explosions using his newly acquired ability.
How to Stop an Exploding Man
Sylar, still in Isaac's loft, paints yet again, this time depicting the showdown between Peter and himself. He realizes that it's Peter, and uses his telekinesis to cut the painting of Peter flying. When Ando arrives, Sylar sneaks up behind him and knocks Ando's sword from his hands. Sylar then telekinetically throws Ando and pins him to a wall. He picks up the copy of the comic book that Ando was carrying, and laughs at the thought of being killed by Hiro. He begins to cut Ando's neck, asking where Peter Petrelli is. Hiro then arrives, and picks up Ando's sword. Sylar challenges Hiro to stop time before Sylar kills Ando. Hiro however quickly teleports to Ando and grabs him, then teleports away with him.
At Kirby Plaza, Sylar appears and telekinetically throws Mr. Bennet into a building. Matt Parkman fires a few rounds at Sylar, who sends the bullets right back into Matt's body. Niki arrives and uses her enhanced strength to grab a parking meter and knock Sylar down; Peter also punches Sylar. When Peter begins to glow, Sylar laughs, stating that Peter is the villain, and that Sylar is the hero. He's proven wrong, though, when Hiro appears and quickly stabs Sylar with Ando's sword. When Sylar falls to the ground, images of all of his previous victims flash through his eyes, the last being of himself in current time, laying on the ground. Then, his eyes turn gray. Shortly thereafter, Sylar's body is gone and replaced by a blood trail leading to a manhole, with a cockroach crawling over its cover.
Heroes Evolutions
Claire's MySpace
In Claire's fourth MySpace post, "Homecoming", Claire asks if anyone else has heard about the murder that happened at the Burnt Toast Diner. She says that one of the waitresses was murdered and the murderer (Sylar) got away even with the cops present.
Zach’s MySpace
In Zach’s ninth MySpace post, “Rumors”, Zach posts that his mood is shocked. He claims that rumors must be true that Jackie Wilcox was murdered at the homecoming game. Zach says that people believe it was the same murderer who killed the Burnt Toast waitress the week before.