(Ready for some Heroes Redemption?)

Volume Five of Heroes could be a major improvement on the previous episodes seen last season during "Fugitives". This upcoming volume which kicks off Monday, September 21st, 2009 is entitled "Redemption". It follows the various characters as they look to re-adjust back to normal living, now that they are no longer being hunted. There will be a storyline involving a new band of characters who are part of a carnival, looking for redemption and vengeance, as well as others like them to join their cause.

Volume 5 Heroes Redemption also sees the return of Tracy Strauss (Ali Larter), the "Ice Queen" as she seeks vengeance against the people who tried to kill her. Additionally, there will be the story of Claire (Hayden Pannettiere) wanting a "normal life" (ok not so new), and Nathan/Sylar trying to figure out who he is exactly. Angela Petrelli, HRG, Matt Parkman, Hiro, Ando and from the looks of the preview, Danko, all make returns for the new season. The first Volume 5 Heroes episode on NBC 9/21/09 will be a special 2-hour season premiere.

There's a great four minute sneak preview of Heroes Volume Five here at NBC.com.

There's also another promo clip here for Redemption which claims Heroes will be "back at its best". Let's hope so as the previews definitely looked intriguing and like this season may have strong potential for a return to form...

(Save the cheerleader, she'll save you)

One of the most mysterious characters in Heroes Season 3 Fugitives is a text messager known simply as "Rebel". The rebellious figure has been sending instructional messages to everyone amongst the heroes to aid them in escaping. Rebel's warned Matt Parkman, Suresh, Peter, Claire, Hiro and Ando all of the impending dangers. In Episode 18 "Exposed", the puppetmaster villain (who Sylar must not have killed?) showed up at the Bennet home informing Claire that Rebel told him "Claire will save you".

In the last episode, Angela Petrelli crushed the idea that she was the Rebel when Nathan confronted her. That doesn't leave her out, because the Petrelli's aren't always upfront about everything. She did mention that she doesn't know how to use computers very well though. It could be an insider, but most likely it's someone we've seen before. One individual we haven't seen or heard from since earlier in "Villains", is Micah Sanders, Nikki/Jessica's technogeek-son, who definitely knows how to manipulate technology. Micah was able to get Nathan elected, eject wads of cash from ATM's and order free Pay-Per-Views on TV, so there's no reason he wouldn't be able to use his abilities to hack into the mainframes over at Building 26. He may be hiding out somewhere and viewing the same video feeds that the people going after the heroes are. Micah never really met all of the heroes he's contacted such as Claire Bennet, but he could very well have retrieved some sort of files or list via his hacking.

There's some other possibilities. There was the female known as Wireless who appeared in only a few episodes, but had the ability to control communications devices. My memory might be skewed on this, but I don't recall the soldier (Scott) who was tested with the formula and became super strong getting killed, although he may have burned in the nasty fire at Pinehearst. Claire's real mother who had pyrokinesis supposedly perished in an explosion/fire as did Nikki/Jessica during Season 2. Monica Dawson has also been M.I.A. Another character who basically just vanished is West, Claire's former classmate love interest. He's got that power of flight which has kept Peter from being captured and he could possibly be able to run some surveillance from the sky. The smart money's on Micah Sanders for now, until we get some more revealing clues about this mysterious yet helpful character.

Heroes seems to be on a roller-coaster type good and evil ride this season. We have a menacing villain, cryptic clues, new characters and questionable loyalties. And once again, Peter lacks the full use of all his wonderful abilities. Sylar seems to have re-aligned himself with the dark side, and Hiro is the key to saving everyone. With the way things are progressing, we have elements of Spiderman, The Fly, Back to the Future, X-Men and Star Wars mixed together. And we just might see this season's ending mirror one of those flicks.

It's starting to seem as if we might be headed towards a predictable end for this season. My speculation is we'll be treated to a scene straight out of Return of the Jedi, the final Star Wars installment. In that movie, the evil Emperor is trying to get his apprentice, Darth Vader, to bring his son Luke over to the dark side. Luke refuses to do so, as he's the good guy and last Jedi knight. So since Vader isn't getting his son to budge, Evil Emperor begins to electrocute the life out of Luke. His loving father Darth Vader realizes he'd rather save his son than watch him die, so he ends up tossing the evil Emperor down into a cosmic abyss.

Well it turns out that Sylar, although pretending to be bad, doesn't really seem to be on Arthur Petrelli's side. He did in fact save Peter from falling all those stories and dying. So we just might be headed towards a big finish with Arthur instructing Sylar to kill off Peter since he won't join their cause. Sylar will end up picking up Arthur over head and tossing him down into the sewer, rather than destroying his own brother. So it just might be a bit of been there, done that, and that could spell trouble for writers who need to give us new ideas in this exciting series.

So we have Arthur the Ultra-Villain, Sylar playing his shifty apprentice, and Peter rendered powerless...Once again questions linger...Will Peter be able to regain his abilities? Will he simply start re-learning his powers? Is Hiro going to time travel and restore Peter's powers somehow? Is Hiro the only one who can stop Arthur, or can Sylar? Can the Haitian block Arthur Petrelli's abilities? How many heroes will lose their powers this season and become average joes? Will Suresh be able to cure himself and stop the Company? Are Elle and Clai possibly related somhow? Will we ever see Monica or Maya in the show again? Stay tuned faithful Heroes fans!

(He's alive! Dallas Petrelli assembles an army from his hospital bed!)

Heroes Season 3 Villains is starting to seem more appropriately titled as "Heroes Season 3: Mindfreak", with the way that Tim Kring and the writers are twisting and turning our realities and those of the various characters. With the introduction of Dallas Petrelli, the considered-dead dad of Peter & Nathan, and the various manipulations, who knows what to believe?

First off, we have time travel galore going on this season. We're thrust 4 Years into the future, then 4 tears back to the present. It's enough to make Marty and Doc's time-traveling car overheat. Hiro, Peter and Matt Parkman all have either been in the future or seen it and have ideas about what will happen. We've seen alternate (present day and future day) versions of several characters, Peter's learning how to change the future, as well as Sylar going nuclear and blowing up Costa Verde (in the future). Sylar's mushroom-cloud explosion just might be symbolic, like the combustion of Heroes' fans brains as they try to digest all the concepts going on this season.

As for Peter, not sure if this bothers other fans, but it seems he never quite gets to fully use and develop his powers. We saw him training with Claude the invisible man during Season 1, but he's been in and out of comas, had amnesia, joined a group of thugs, been stuck into the body of a villian and now put back into a coma-induced state by his mother. Some of the coolest and best-delivered moments of the show have been Peter using those powers to rescue someone or fight Sylar. Kring and the writers have to know that fans would like another Sylar-Peter showdown, so what gives there?

We also have Mr. Linderman, who is really just some sort of figment of the imagination that Dallas Petrelli has Matt Parkman's dad playing in Nathan and Daphne's minds. With the introduction of that concept, who knows what's really real now. Everyone's reality we are seeing just might be altered, including ours as we watch the show.

There's also the concept of Good & Bad, which the show warned us about for this season. Anyone can turn evil as we've been seeing, and anyone can become a good guy. Also, this season more than ever, the writers seem to be introducing the concepts of religion and evolution. Linderman and Nathan have discussed doing God's work and the concept that they could be angels, with Nathan becoming ultra-religious after his "rebirth". Of course then he found out he wasn't exactly born to fly.

Tracy Strauss, the triplet sibling of Niki and Barbara Sanders, learned about the genetic creation of various heroes in a lab, including Nathan. So we also get to toy with the concepts of creation vs. evolution. How many heroes were born with abilities and how many were manufactured? As for Tracy, is Niki still alive or did she perish in that explosive fire, rescuing Monica? Where's Barbara, the other triplet? And wasn't there a Jessica in the mix? Is Tracy just another manipulation of the mind?

The writers have definitely set this up good so we can't second guess a thing, even if they hand it to us. While the storyline has been pretty straightforward with no real holdouts in terms of surprises, it's still left open a world of possibilities. In Season 3, it looks like our brainwaves will truly be put to the test. With the changing of alliances, the deceptions, the secrets uncovered, the manipulations of space, time and mind and Suresh' transform into a Spiderman/Fly type monster, we have a season full of the good, the bad and the ugly!

The writers have definitely given us a great start on Season 3. Add to that Sylar's new role, and seeming comedic one-liners, and they definitely want the fans invested back in NBC Heroes. We now have Sylar in a suit, teaming up with Noah Bennet to track down the villains who escaped Level 5. Claire has undergone a brief training season with her mother in an isolated cargo box. So we get the flipping of good vs. bad, as they mentioned we would for this season.

We can already see this plot development coming a mile away. Sylar goes good, to "help" HRG track down the bad guys. Sylar is in sort of a personal growth stage/battle with himself to stop cutting off the tops of heads and stealing powers. His mentors are Angela Petrelli and Noah Benett. Meanwhile indestructible cheerleader, Claire Bennet, is oblivious to the pairing of Sylar with her father, and is going out on a personal mission to take Sylar out. The good news is that HRG is sorta on the same page, wanting to help his daughter destroy Sylar, but doesn't realize her plans. He's always been one to keep her out of harm's way. So I fully expect we'll see a Claire vs. Sylar showdown..Possibly Peter gets involved, unless..

We get a Peter vs. Peter showdown. The futuristic Peter wearing all black, versus modern Peter, learning to cope and control his powers. It's like a Matrix style battle in the making, of clones. But seriously, do Heroes fans not want the fourth installment of Sylar vs. Peter? That seems to be the true backbone of the show. Each guy has vast powers and can do some major damage. Having these two face off in the city streets or some abandoned warehouse full of machinery makes a lot of sense, and for Must See Heroes TV!

Another interesting aspect is that Hiro Nakamura and Ando are in a cell on Level 5 right nearby to resident Sylar. Sylar would love that whole teleportation, stop time power, because it makes his power-stealing that much easier to do. But as long as Haitian's in the building, all powers are off at the door...

Meanwhile the Parkman "Lost in Africa" story seems to be a replay of last season's Hiro "Lost in Ancient Time" story. The difference is Parkman really isn't using his powers, he's just zoning out to his new friend's iPod and checking out mysterious paintings. Apparently, Matt meets a new woman, but she dies in his arms. Is the blonde we saw someone we know (Tracy, Elle, Daphne)? Or is a brand new character waiting in the wings?

It seems this season still has mysteries involved, but the writers/creator have deliberately informed us what may be coming. Now let's hope for some great twists and turns in a climactic payoff for Season 3!

(What's the meaning of the new paintings?)

Season 3 kicked off with a bang and definitely did not disappoint. We had back-to-back episodes: "The Second Coming" and "The Butterfly Effect". Last season now looks like a mere blur on the roadmap to great stories, special effects, drama and action. They've done a good job at throwing all kinds of twists and turns into just 2 episodes, giving us plenty of room to speculate. Here's some thoughts on the first two episodes and what we might expect this season.

The future "Peter" definitely gives us the display of powers (and special efx) we've been waiting for. I had been contemplating the idea that maybe this badass future Peter we were seeing was really Sylar coming back in time (after killing Hiro). It may make sense after seeing what Mrs. Petrelli said to Sylar, making him into her son.

So what's up with Mrs. Petrelli? She told Sylar he's her son, but I'm not sure she meant it literally. She's got some sort of mind manipulation powers and may be convincing Sylar to do her bidding. The bidding would be having Sylar go out to stop the future Peter, or even worse to destroy the world.

The fact that Sylar can morph into different people makes him deadlier than ever, but we didn't really see it displayed yet. It would make sense if "future Peter" is Sylar and he made "present day Peter" look like the inmate Jesse. You'll remember Candice had that ability to change the way things looked, but I'm not sure she could change something and leave it looking like that for an extended time period.

And how about the joke from Sylar when Claire asked if he was going to eat her brain now - "No Claire that's gross" - great stuff from the writers. It seems all Sylar needs to do is touch a certain part of a Heroe's brain to gain their powers, sorta like how Micah touched electronics and got a feel to make it work. I can't recall exactly, but weren't some of the brains removed from various dead people with powers? Where did those go? Also let's add to the list of new powers for Sylar: ability to heal, ability to create his own gold items- so he has a solid source of income in these rough economic times.

It's great to see Linderman back. Well he's not really back, just an apparition that Nathan sees. Or is it a mind trick? If Linderman were truly back, the creators could then bring back just about anyone they chose to. Or maybe it's possible now. Also, did Linderman have a hand in bringing someone else back to life..say Jessica/Nikki as Tracy Strauss? Interesting that she has a different power now to freeze people, and Suresh had the super strength.

We saw Electrocution-expert Elle as a guest star in Episode 2, and she almost was destroyed by Sylar. Her electric outburst saved her, but I'm not expecting her to last through the entire season. Most likely one of the new bad guys destroys her, possibly the one with the powerful force he emits that looks like some sort of radiation blast.

As for the new villains, they really haven't given us much insight beyond: a guy who absorbs fear to turn it into super-strength, a guy who controls magnetic forces (like X-Men's Magneto), and Jesse, who HRG has no clue about. Let's hope Jesse has a power, and it's not just to be the "cool guy who rolls with the villains". Also, it seems like Peter in a roundabout way is back where he was last season, rolling with a crew of bad guys while trying to save the world.

Are Micah and Monica no longer part of the Heroes crew? It's strange how they would not survive an exploding building which they weren't even in, but Nikki is back. Wouldn't that make Monica's role in last season basically useless in terms of overall story development? Well, at least she has her own comic book now.

Hiro vs. Ando was also an interesting story turn. Ando may have hit the nail on the head when he speculated "maybe it was someone who looked like me" that killed Hiro in the future. That could mean Sylar or Peter had changed their appearance in an attempt to steal that 1/2 formula from Hiro. But we also have that "power syringe" Suresh made and who knows, maybe Ando got power-hungry. Daphne's power is interesting so far, and she's stated she has a "boss". Is it Mrs. Petrelli or someone new?

The Suresh-Maya pairing makes for a steamy romantic couple for this season. Maya is looking better than ever, most likely due to the fact that she's not on the run, sweating and crying. Suresh made a cool power-giving syringe, until he discovered it gave him skin lesions and seemed to take his power away. Is Suresh dying now, or will he find a cure? Will a villain steal the power syringe? How bout giving HRG some kind of cool power? We still need someone who can stretch themselves out like Mr. Fantastic.

Is Claire the one who has the "purity of blood" needed for the second half of "The Formula"? HRG is setting out alone to track down the missing villains now. Will we see a return of his sidekick, The Haitian? Is Mrs. Petrelli now running The Company? Who's working for her? (possibilities: Daphne, Sylar, Haitian)

Speaking of powers, it seems that Matt Parkman and Nathan should be on the "Most Expendible List". Smart money is on Parkman to bite the bullet out of any of the main heroes, and possibly Nathan, although he's got a Senate role now which plays an important part in the story. Peter has Parkman's power now, but realistically Parkman is just a detective in the show who can give HRG backup.

Parkman's interaction with the turtle was funny, and it would have been interesting if there was a hero who could turn into animals. Possibly a joke from the creators there. Matt met up with a man who seems to have the power that Isaac had in Season 1. He can foretell future events by paintings. He's painted what looks like an exploding earth, see picture above. This must be some sort of warning sign for others, and we've seen it twice now. So possibly Peter or Sylar painted the other, but what does it mean?

It's gonna be a great season from the looks of these first two episodes. We have all sorts of bad guys out and about and the Heroes will need to find ways to stop them. Peter has the trump card, as does Sylar. Is it possible we see Sylar play the role of "good guy" trying to stop the villains?

(image source: pjlighthouse.com)

With Heroes Season 3 approaching us full speed next Monday, it's a great idea to reflect back on the Season that was. We can have a moment of silence similar to the one Hiro had for his father, or similar to the one Adam Monroe had after being buried six feet deep. It all depends on your perspective. Some consider the past Season to have been a huge flop, while others still saw the glimmer of hope for more great Heroes action and stories to come. Let's hope for a bright season 3 full of drama, action and surprises..

Now here's a look back at things to remember from last Season as we head into Season 3: Villains!

- Nathan Petrelli was about to reveal his hero status at a press conference until a mystery man in a hat fired a shot or two into his chest. He was laying motionless in Peter's arms and appeared dead as the season came to a close. Officer Matt Parkman was also on the scene but didn't hear anybody thinking about it.

- Prior to Nathan being shot, his mother Angela was on the phone with an unidentified person. It's unclear if she ordered a hit on her own son, but it was hinted at.

- Nikki/Jessica went into a burning building and rescued Monica who had been kidnapped. The building was shown engulfed in flames as Micah and Monica dove for cover. Nikki wasn't shown afterwards and it was possible she died.

- Claire fell in love with West, a young male with the power of flight just like Nathan's. Their relationship was rocky towards the end, with West flying away. It's unclear if they will be back together or broken apart in Season 3.

- We met Elle (Kristen Bell) last season, a trouble female who could electrocute people. She ended up helping the heroes towards the end, aiding Suresh and Maya, and went looking for Sylar.

- Peter Petrelli had the most "action" during Season 2, as he came back from amnesia, fell in love in Ireland, helped thugs in Ireland, was captured by The Company, escaped the Company, went back to the future, met Adam Monroe (Takezo Kenzei), had a brief battle with Hiro, and in effect, "Saved the World" from a deadly virus being unleashed. Whew!

- Hiro went back in time during Season 2 to meet Takezo Kenzei, whom he thought was his hero. Hiro ended up taking on the role of Kenzei, learning swordplay, saving a princess and fighting Kenzei in a burning fire. They seemed buddy-buddy, up until a feud over the princess. Takezo went on to become a villain and had the power to live through terrible injuries, similar to Claire Bennet. He took revenge on Hiro, murdering his father, and enlisted the help of others to track down and kill founding members of the company. At the end of Season 2, Hiro confronted Adam and eventually teleported him down into a deep grave, where he rests, still alive.

- Dr. Suresh joined "The Company" where he tried to help cure the heroes of genetic diseases. Suresh ultimately had to shoot HRG who had betrayed the Company in order to save his daughter Claire. Later, it was shown that Suresh rescued and possibly revived HRG from the seemingly fatal gunshot to his eye.

- Let's not forgot Maya, Alejandro, Monica and Micah, although they may be forgotten as Season 3 rolls through. Maya is the girl who unleashes her own deadly plague that kills people when she gets upset. Her brother was her calming force, with the ability to bring back those victims to life. However, they met up with and "befriended" Sylar, who ended up killing Alejandro and seducing Maya to bring him to see Suresh.

- Micah went to stay with his grandmother and cousin, Monica. We didn't see any power used by the grandmother, but it's possible she has one. Monica was learning her power to mimic actions she saw, mostly on TV's or iPods. She met with Dr. Suresh and Bob of The Company who tried to work with her to cure her. She ended up trying to use her heroic abilities to save a comic book that some thugs stole from Micah. Monica was rescued from her kidnappers and a burning building by super-strong Jessica.

- Most importantly, the ultimate in anti-heros, the main villain Gabriel Gray aka "Sylar" seems to have regained his powers after an injection from Dr. Suresh. Recall that Sylar ate a brain last season, the brain of Candice who was able to morph herself into various people, and change scenery. This could be really bad for the heroes, but it's unclear if Sylar truly acquired the power...yet.

That's a lot to digest, but hopefully brings people up to speed. I may have forgotten a few important tidibits, so feel free to leave those in the comments for other fans.. Also, feel free to browse past the Season 2 episode recaps here at the Heroes Among Us blog! And now the countdown continues, we have just 5 days Heroes fans!

Heroes Season 3 debuts on NBC Monday 9.22.08, check local listings for times...There will be a special recap episode prior to the new debut episode.

Another new Heroes Villains preview aired on NBC Saturday August 3rd during WWE's "Saturday Night's Main Event" tv show. This commercial revealed even more glimpses into what looks to be an exciting new season full of twists and turns all over.

The ad for Villains gives us a small bit of what to expect this season from the storyline. As you know the 3rd chapter or season is called "Villains" and will focus on the baddest of the bunch with powers. According to the ad, HRG (Mr. Bennett) is informing daughter Claire that there's a floor/level at the Primatech Paper company where the bad people with powers are locked away. It's referred to as "Level 5" and we see several "inmates" either encased in cells or strapped down to tables. One of them seems to be casting lightning or another force towards the wall.

The preview goes on to show all sorts of scenes, revealing that Nathan and Jessica/Niki will be back again. We also see Sylar in a brief scene of action, Matt Parkman in the desert, and Claire appearing to turn for the worst. The ad ends with a black-haired Claire holding a gun to Peter saying "I always loved you Peter". The ad ends with a gunshot.

Expect this to be a great season for Heroes!

All that's really been revealed to us about NBC Heroes Season 3 are speculations, rumors, a glimpse at some camcorder previews from a film festival and the NBC site's online content. Fans can easily put all these pieces together and see that a season called "Villains" might offer us a really dark, gloomy verison of our favorite show.

The brightest spot for Season 3, is the return of the darkest character, Sylar. He regained his powers in our preview of Season 3, which was at the end of Season 2. This means Sylar will be on one hell of a spree. Don't forget he now will have the abilities of Candice, who once told Micah if he ran she would make him see things that he'd never recover from. With Sylar having that sort of power, you'd have to feel bad for the "good guys".

So now we will have Sylar able to turn himself into just about anyone. He can fool other characters if he chooses to, making them much easier prey. I won't spoil Season 3 by throwing out names of characters who looked dead in the preview, but it looks dangerous already. This also continues to add to the notion of the "Five Years Later" episode we saw in which Sylar was able to disguise himself as Nathan the president. It's still possible, although Sylar would need DL's power to phase which was shown there. In the episode he reached through a door, dragged Peter out, demonstrating the ability.

The emphasis for season 3 of Heroes is on the plural, Villains. So that means there are more to come. Takezo Kensei aka Adam Monroe has been alive for over 400 years, and is still going, even though he's buried in casket. Not dead is not dead, so don't expect him to stay underground.

That also leaves the door open for more villains, more powers and hopefully more climactic and dramatic showdowns and twists in what could be an exhiliarting Season 3. Heroes Season 3 is set to start again in the fall, so the wait will continue and the speculation grows..

Wow, the season finale should offer up quite a bit. According to the preview for next week, "2 will fall", which may mean 2 heroes are gonna bite the bullet. It would seem like someone in the whole Niki/Monica situation is one of them. You'd have to guess Micah is going to ask his mom to go save the day and rescue Monica. You have a gang heavily armed with guns and neither Monica nor Niki can regenerate, so possibly someone there is being slain.

The other death is tough to figure out. Didn't see Hiro in the preview really or Maya. Does Sylar get cured and kill Maya? Does he kill Suresh? The preview showed Sylar against a wall with blood on him. That usually indicates a murder but you never know. The preview indicated a "villain will rise". For villains we have Adam Monroe, Sylar, Elle, and Matt Parkman's dad. Smart money is on Sylar, because I'm going to guess Hiro avenges his dad's death.

It'd be tough to see Claire, Hiro or Peter being one of the deaths. HRG too for that matter, as those are probably some of the more popular characters. In the preview, HRG is shown with his family and says he made a deal to protect them. Does he return to The Company? West could be killed by Elle setting up some sort of major feud for the next go round between Claire and herself.

It seems this season blew right by and lacked that same dramatic intensity of Season 1 (due to its shorter run time). A good example is HRG being shot and supposedly killed, then waking up alive and healed all within 10 minutes. In a longer season we may have been lead to believe he was dead for at least an episode. Also, Sylar was way underused on the show, making it as if there was no real villain this season.

In terms of Maya it would seem she was just a vehicle for Sylar to get his powers back, but maybe she is part of the whole Shanti virus situation. Don't know why, but this seems like it's connected since she unleashes some sort of plague that kills people. Maybe she has the Shanti virus in her, in a different strain. This is just a thought and cold be way off base, but it's a way to connect her to the whole plot.

Hopefully the battle between Peter and Hiro will not let us down and displays some cool swordplay and powers being used. The Heroes finale arrives next Monday at 9PM EST on NBC.

Here's the titles of the last 3 episodes for Season 2 of Heroes:

Episode 2.9 “Cautionary Tales,” November 19

Episode 2.10 “Truth and Consequences,” November 26

Episode 2.11 “Powerless,” December 3

These are the 3 final episodes for Season 2 of Heroes. BuddyTV.com offers a more descriptive look at each, which do include spoilers. It appears there will be a death coming up, a kidnapping or two, an attempt to save the world and a big showdown among heroes.

My best guesses based on the previews are that Peter is the one who killed off Hiro's dad, Kaito. This will set up a major Hero vs Hero showdown at the end of the season. For the hero who dies, smart money is on HRG, Claire or West. I doubt they'd get rid of Claire who's easily one of the most popular characters so far.

It's gonna get good for the last three episodes!

Check out more about the final 3 episodes of Heroes at BuddyTV.com.

Heroes Season 2, Episode 8 had some great scenes with superpowers and special effects and gave us insight into how we got to Season 2's events. Kirsten Bell's character became extremely villainous yet sexy, and we got a cool trip down memory lane to show what happened when Peter went nuclear. As usual it's time to poke a few holes in the show. Again, I'm a fan of this show, but even creator Tim Kring has admitted it has flaws. Here's some things to mull over:

- How did Takezo get to the present day? Teleportation or immortal life? No aging is really shown on him, especially if he was alive back in the time of Samurai Warriors. It is possible that Claire, Peter and Adam don't show signs of aging due to their regenerative powers.

- How does Adam/Takezo know of Peter's powers? They were in captivity together but did he really get the full list? Or did he overhear someone say "Peter is an empath and can take on powers"?

- Does the Haitian's memory block work to block out powers of people nearby that he focuses on? That's my guess because Elle was able to shoot lightning at Peter while Peter was "powerless" it seemed. Recall last season when he was in the same police precinct or station as Matt Parkman and Parkman couldn't listen to mind thoughts from Claire or HRG in the interrogation room.

- Sylar's disappearance from the "fight scene" at the end of Season 1 was not shown, although it was a "teaser" in the preview last week. Best guess is Candice was able to work some magic and pull him down into the sewers, but it would have been nice to see the background of who saved Sylar. Candice seemed to be working for someone due to the cell phone call she made.

- The second shooting of DL was a bit "thrown into the mix" just to kill him off. A little more creativity might have been used here. For example, why not one of Linderman's ex-workers extracting some revenge for the murder of his boss? The firefighting use of his powers was a good inclusion.

- Despite the continued talk of the Petrelli father committing suicide because he was delusional, it's hard to buy on a show like this. Biggest question would be what are/were his powers?

- Also, it's understandable about the need to show how clever and covert "Company" agents are, but having them instantly appear in the very hospital that Peter rushed Nathan to, was just a bit much. The locating device to find heroes is Molly Walker, who they most likely didn't have access to at that time. The question would be how did they locate Peter and Nathan so fast, as they indicated they were tracking both. And how did they manage to be in the very hall that Peter was sneaking down?

- Finally, while I'm far from a science major, it seems tough to explain how Elle's lightning blasts are enough to knock Peter Petrelli out, but his own self-charged radioactive blast wasn't. Very intriguing, maybe Elle is one of the most powerful superheroes in all of the land.

There's probably going to be a few showdowns. Possibly Peter vs Sylar part 4, Hiro vs Adam and maybe Elle vs one of the female heroes. Peter is by far the coolest of the heroes, but how cool would it be if there was a female version? Looking forward to next week, as we have just 3 or 4 episodes left in this season.

This Monday night's episode of Heroes is one which should start answering a lot of questions fans may have had. For example, what happened after the Bomb? How did Peter get chained up in that container? How did DL die? What happened to Sylar after he was stabbed by Hiro's Samurai Sword? And of course the big question, what will Adam (Takezo Kensei's) involvement be in all of this?

It looks like a great episode this Monday night, and full of all sorts of great revelations. From the looks of the preview, Elle may have had a bit of an affair with Peter. It also appears like the Haitian became involved in the situation and maybe he's the reason Peter has lost his memory. Stay tuned...You can check out a preview video here at YouTube.

On the latest episode, "Out of Time", Peter was in 2008 New York City with his new girl, Caitlin. They discovered the Shanti virus had started to wipe out people, including Peter's brother, Nathan. The good that came of this was Peter got a glimpse of the future and what it holds and what he must stop. He also had his amnesia lifted thanks to his mother, Angela, who provided him with childhood memories.

The bad part? Peter teleported back to current day Ireland, without his girl. And then, who shows up? Takezo Kensei, the guy that Hiro Nakamura pissed off way back in time and thought he killed. Except Takezo lives on somehow and says his name is Adam now, and he and Peter are going to make history.

So what's this mean? It's just like Bob said, Adam (Takezo) has been recruiting disciples with powers to do his dirty work. One was Mr. Linderman and another was Matt's dad, Maurey. Those 2 are sorta out of the picture, but Peter isn't. Peter will think this guy knows what he's doing and most likely, Adam will ask Peter to start picking off members of the Company. He'll tell him it's how they can prevent the Shanti virus from contaminating the population. So Peter most likely is a Heroes killer, thanks to some manipulation by Adam/Takezo. The good parts are that Hiro is back to present time and Peter will not want to kill his own mother off.

The other problem is that Suresh has gone spastic. He's basically turned on HRG and their plan to bring the Company down because he doesn't know who to trust. He wants to save Niki for some reason because he thinks it's the right thing to do. Meanwhile, the answer to saving Niki is kidnapping HRG's daughter, Claire and getting her regenerative cells. So Suresh has a gun now and he's shown holding a smoking gun in painting #7. Still, the guy he shoots could very well be Sylar posing as HRG. All this could be avoided if DL hadn't shot Linderman or Peter had met him. Linderman can bring things back to life.

Should get fun from here. We have Sylar still on the hunt for Suresh, and to steal powers. West on the run from Claire and her dad. The Company looking to hunt down Claire, and Takezo looking to get Peter to start killing elders.

It's starting to seem possible that Peter Petrelli is the hooded Heroes killer now. On this past week's show Peter received that note from "Adam". It just might be the same guy (Adam Monroe) that Bob told Suresh was dangerous to the Company...hmmm...Maybe Adam meets Peter in the future we saw and convinces Peter he needs to kill the Company and all its associates back in "present day"? Not too far fetched...Then again, maybe this Adam guy is the killer because as we saw in Painting 7 of 8, it didn't quite look like anyone we've seen yet, and this guy doesn't like The Company, hence he is HRG's killer..

When coming up with suspects, it seems to be best to consider the following:

1) The build of the hooded figure we were shown is sort of slender, which is like Peter, Nathan, West, maybe Takezo or even West. If the Petrelli dad is still alive he may be a possibility too.

2) Motives - Who wants these people dead? Someone committing crimes of passion or revenge? Is it someone they tracked, or someone whose life they have really messed up? Or someone trying to save the future from the Company? Or someone who used to work with or for them who now wants to destroy them?

3) Powers they might need - Judging from how Kaito was killed, the killer either can fly and/or regenerate/heal. They may be able to turn invisible (based on the Angela Petrelli attack). I'd go one step further and add teleportation to that list, because we saw Hiro teleport himself out of harm's way before hitting a building (when Sylar threw him towards it). Thinking of it like this, Peter has every one of these mentioned abilities.

Peter makes a prime suspect under all 3 of these above criteria. He has a similar figure to the hooded individual. He also has more than one motive with the whole "blow up NY plot" using him as the bomb, or possibly learning something in 2008 that leads him to want to kill off the elders. Suffering a serious case of amnesia, he could easily be teleporting away to perform killings or attacks. And he definitely has enough powers to achieve these murders and the Angela Petrelli attack. While he's a big fan favorite on this show, it seems premature to rule out any one of the characters as suspects right now, especially on a show about superheroes.

As Season 2 of Heroes continues to progress, here's some of the questions I'm working with. Also includes my speculation for what could easily happen this season. These aren't spoilers, just my ideas of what may happen.

1) Who is the Hero killer? My best guess is the "hooded hero killer" is either Nathan, Claude (the invisible man who trained Peter, season 1), or the Petrelli father. Nathan, Claude and Mr. Petrelli seem to have motives as they may not like "The Company" agenda or what was being planned for the city of New York. It would not be surprising if Parkman's dad is using mind tricks to involve Nathan or make it look like Nathan is involved. Takezo Kensei would make for a great twist in the plot, as we are watching him as a hero in the past and he's a killer in the present (it may even relate to #5 below).

2) Is West someone HRG sent to watch Claire? This is one that came up recently, in that maybe West is a trusted friend HRG met and helped via the Company. HRG asked West to watch over Claire. That might seem way off base though as the whole Claire-West relationship seems very well hidden from HRG. If not that, then possibly West is really a part of the current Company sent to gain Claire's trust so they can bring her in.

3) Who will Sylar's shiny new toy be? In the very first episode this season we were shown a bunch of intro scenes, including one which had Sylar saying "she's like a shiny toy for me to play with". This would seem to indicate Molly Walker. My guess is Sylar kidnaps her as bait to get Suresh to cure him. However Sylar could have been speaking about a few other characters such as Monica, Niki or even Maya.

4) Will Sylar kill Maya? If that happens, people are really in trouble, especially if Sylar gets upset. It would also mean that either Peter or Hiro need to be with Alejandro so they can freeze Sylar to "reverse the curse". Then Alejandro can work his magic to bring Sylar's victims back to life.

5) How is Hiro going to screw up the past/present/future? I just see it coming that Hiro will do something back in time with Kensei that isn't for the best or wasn't supposed to be done. It may possibly be a theory/motive as to why Kensei is in the present killing elder heroes. The question is what will Hiro mess up and what will it set off for the present day/future?

6) What is Monica Dawson's involvement? I can see it coming now, something involving Niki vs Elle or Monica vs Elle in some interesting female fight scenes. Maybe even a handicap match with Monica and Niki having a showdown with Elle. It's hard to figure out Monica's involvement in the story/plot so far and this makes some sense. It could also be she's just someone to give a new power to Peter and Sylar.

7) Does HRG get shot according to painting #8? - A friend of mine suggested that it is Sylar who is shot, not HRG, and it seems to make sense. Last season we all struggled with the "who's the bomb" question and who the "exploding man painting" depicted (Peter, Sylar, Ted Sprague). I believe we are being lead to think HRG is going to get shot, when in fact it is Sylar posing as him. West is with Claire and sees the guy who tried to abduct him and "bang". Best guess is the rest of those paintings HRG is looking for will show the other "elder hero murders" 1 by 1. Then HRG and whoever will be in a race to stop the next murders from going down.

8) How does Peter recall certain powers? This isn't a huge deal, the guy has amnesia. He knew to phase through ropes that were binding his hands, and was able to hear a suspicious thug's thoughts. So wouldn't he recall teleportation and just teleport himself back home to New York? I guess that's just a bit too easy and might ruin the story though...

On Episode 205 of Heroes, "Fight or Flight", Peter remembered his power to paint. His glossed over white eyes scared Kaitlyn as he franticly began to stroke the paintbrush on a blank canvas. The end result was the picture seen above, which Peter and Kaitlyn determined was possibly Montreal. The street signs in the painting were written in French and earlier, Peter discovered in his box of personal belongings a plane ticket for Montreal.

It raises questions though: How did Peter get the ticket? What is the purpose of the ticket? Who might be in Montreal? Well we can think back to when Peter's mother, Angela wanted Claire to go there to hide away. Of course, Claire escaped the clutches of Angela and her dad, Nathan, and didn't end up there.

Most likely it will now involve Peter going there to protect his mother, who will be hiding out from the evil hero killer. If not that, it will be a dead end he searches for answers. It's also reasonable to believe that Elle, the new blond girl we met who works for "The Company", shocked Peter and then cuffed him into the container on the docks. This might be stating the obvious, but she went to retrieve him on the docks and was checking out the empty container. It definitely makes for a cool new power that Peter can use, and you have to wonder if Sylar will get it as well..

Upon seeing the latest episode of Heroes, I was slightly let down at the fact they just tried to cram a lot of random things into this one. For example, having Niki just break down a door, toss Suresh aside, throw "Bob" up against a wall then get tasered down by Suresh. Apparently, Suresh is great at subduing those with superhuman powers, because he was able to knock out Sylar before, something Peter Petrelli and others have had difficulty with! But that's besides the point, we also saw Peter just happen to have a blank canvas to paint on in a room. How coincidental! Then there was Monica Dawson. One minute she's telling Micah, "I just want answers". The very next minute, she's met the guy with answers, as Dr. Suresh just happens to arrive at the home right then. What gives?

I hate being skeptical or pessimistic about a show I love, but we can definitely expect so much more from this show. A recent critical article I read discussed how the show was dumbing down a bit, and tonight seemed to involve that just a bit. Kristen Bell's character is somewhat interesting with her lightning power, and you wonder if she was in contact with Peter before since he had some sort of lightning bolt shoot from his hand on Episode 1 this season. Elle seems crafted in the same way as Drew Barrymore's "Firestarter", a young girl studied and exploited for her dangerous powers. Quite possibly her father is "Bob" at the company.

If Matt Parkman's dad is the "Serial Hero Killer", it makes this season less fun for guessing about. I was beginning to zero in on 2 suspects as the "Hooded Heroes Killer". Dallas Petrelli (father of Peter and Nathan) makes some sense. Nobody can confirm his suicide/death, so it is very possible he isn't dead. He's back extracting revenge on all those who were trying to make his sons responsible for such a terrible explosion scene in New York. Remember, he wanted to save the world according to Mr. Linderman. Also, we were lead to believe Angela Petrelli and Kaito Nakamura had a bit of an affair. There's some motive for Kaito's murder and Angela Petrelli getting attacked.

The second suspect who could be interesting is Takezo Kensei. A lot of people seem to believe he's the culprit, and one theory I've developed is that maybe he is at the end of every hero we met's "family tree". Perhaps they are all in Kensei's lineage, as he was present with that original eclipse. He may possess or acquire powers as time goes on, similar to Peter and Sylar. Or he may just have the one power we've seen, healing himself. Either way, if he couldn't be killed back in time, what's to say he didn't age much and that he's not still alive in present time? Makes you wonder. The question would be what is his motive though? Seeing what Matt Parkman's deadbeat dad was capable of on this past episode and the photo Parkman and Nathan found of "Bob" with a red helix on it, seems to lend credibility to Matt's dad as the killer.

On a few final notes, Heroes won the "Best TV Show" award at Spike's "Scream 2007 Awards" show. Hayden Panettiere won "Breakout Performance". The show featured the best in Horror, Sci Fi and Comic Books. Maya, Sylar, Peter, Niki and Claire went up to accept the award with Peter giving a brief speech. Hayden Panettiere, Milo Ventimiglia and Zachary Quinto were also presenters. See more about the Scream 2007 awards show here.

Also, TV Guide has opened up voting for the 2007 Online Video Awards.

Heroes is nominated for the following:

Best TV Show Site for Heroes Evolutions at NBC.com
Best Extras for Heroes Character Profiles at NBC.com
Best TV Drama Webisodes for Yamagato Fellowship's "Takezo Kensei: Sword Saint" at NBC.com

Vote for Heroes here at TVGuide.com!

The fourth episode of Heroes brought us a few new characters including Monica Dawson, the young woman who is Micah's cousin and has a cool power. She sees something on TV, absorbs it into her mind, and then can mimic or recreate the actions she saw. Comes in handy for food preparation and wrestling moves as seen at her work at the restaurant. Question becomes how will she come into play for the new season? Possibly a new power Peter absorbs from her, or Sylar steals.

Another question is how will Peter be found? Best guess is that he will realize he has Molly Walker's power and start locating various heroes in his mind. Or somehow down the road Molly finds him. He seems too needed by the other heroes not to come back into the picture in New York and have another showdown with Sylar.

We also find out that Matt Parkman's father was one of the "original 12" Heroes, amongst the elders being picked off 1 by 1. Molly Walker indicates he's the "nightmare man" who is able to find her. Then again, she may have seen someone else in the picture who is haunting her (maybe Bob or Mr. Petrelli). Nonetheless, at the end of this episode we are left with Molly in a coma but her thoughts screaming out for help to Matt Parkman.

It's hard to rule out Nathan as the killer of the elder heroes. It seems to be a male who can fly. After seeing Nathan see the ugly, burnt up reflection in the mirror (probably himself of Peter), it raises an interesting theory. When a hero loses a sibling they feel a sense of loss and guilt and take on the sibling as an alter-ego with an evil twist to it. Niki Sanders has/had the same deal with the whole Jessica thing. So possibly Nathan is flying into Jessica type rages where he goes on killing sprees. A very plausible theory, but Mr. Arthur Petrelli (Peter and Nathan's dad and Angela's "late" husband makes sense too).

Some far fetched theories about the killer are that it's a future version of Hiro or Peter. Both would be able to do the flight, the teleporting, etc. Another possible suspect is Takezo Kensei, but I won't get too carried away here. It seems to be a male and someone that both Kaito and Angela Petrelli know of. Peter and Nathan's father still makes sense too, because nobody has really seen him dead and no mention was made of his powers.

That brings us to Sylar. My speculation is Sylar will accompany Maya and Alejandro to Suresh's to get help, but then he will do something such as take Maya hostage or kidnap Molly Walker. He'll discover or already knows that Suresh' blood is the cure for heroes' becoming sick and having problem with their powers. Basically he needs Suresh' blood so he will find a way to get it, one way or the other, then the question becomes who does Sylar kill next?

On a final note, my friend gave an interesting theory that possibly the painting we see of the "dead HRG" is actually Sylar posing as HRG and shot by West or HRG himself. After all, Sylar killed Candice and stole her ability to look like other people. Great theory, thanks to Birdeena for suggesting this..

The Heroes Elders

In Heroes Episode 204: "Kindness of Strangers", we are shown the picture of a "meeting" of some sort that Nathan finds amongst his belongings in an apartment. The picture contains 12 individuals, some of who have been murdered.





Here's who is known to be in the picture:
1st row (Bottom) Left to Right: Unknown (Mrs. Deveaux?), Charles Deveaux, Unknown person, Unknown male

2nd row (Top) Left to Right: Unknown (Mrs. Linderman?), Mr. Linderman, Mr. Arthur "Dallas" Petrelli, Angela Petrelli, Kaito Nakamura, Matt Parkman's father, Bob (from "The Company")

So far the following individuals in the picture are dead or believed to be deceased:

Charles Deveaux - died of natural causes, Cancer (In season 2, Kaito implies that Charles' death may have been due to foul play, rather than by succumbing to his illness)
Arthur "Dallas" Petrelli - said to have commit suicide
Kaito Nakamura - murdered by mysterious hooded figure, who is stalking them.
Mr. Daniel Linderman - murdered by DL Hawkins (phased his fist into the back of his head)

According to that, just 8 individuals in the picture are considered to still be alive. "Bob" is Suresh' boss at The Company and has the power to turn objects to gold. Matt Parkman's father may be the "nightmare man" who has been haunting Molly Walker and can see her, and also may be the one killing the other elder heroes.