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Nathan Petrelli is a fictional character played by Adrian Pasdar on the TV Series Heroes. Nathan Petrelli is a U.S. congressional candidate in the state of New York working out of New York City.
Spoiler Warning: Plot details and/or information about the ending follow. If you wish to enjoy the work first, stop reading here and return at another time.
Season 1
Nathan was very focused on his campaign and controlling his public image which explains why he disregarded his younger brother's claims that he may be able to fly.
Determined to get his brother's attention, Peter invited Nathan to watch his premier flying attempt and daringly jumped off a building. He fell and Nathan flew up to catch him. Unable to manage his brother's weight, they both fell and Peter was injured and knocked unconscious. When he awakened in the hospital, Nathan denied what happened, claiming it was a suicide attempt.
Peter threatened to jump again if Nathan didn't tell him the truth, Nathan admitted that they both flew but Peter suspected his brother of trying to mollify him but when he found himself levitating, he quickly realized it to be true. Later, at a campaign event, Nathan admitted that his father struggled with depression and ultimately committed suicide. He told everyone his brother also recently attempted suicide. Peter was extremely upset by the lie.
In the episode "Collision", Nathan visited Las Vegas for a meeting with businessman, Mr. Linderman. In Las Vegas he bumped into Niki Sanders and was immediately attracted to her. They spent some time together but Niki decided to leave before things go too far as Nathan has a family. She returned later however, much more aggressive than before, and they spent the night together. Niki later informed him that images of their night together would be used to blackmail him into working for Linderman. When approached by an associate of Linderman who wanted to ensure he participate in Linderman's plan to have Nathan elected to office, he used the opportunity to get more money for his campaign to ensure that he would make it to congress in the first place.
Mr. Bennet had been monitoring Nathan and Niki and when they both fell asleep, Bennet advised his associate to take one of them. Nathan was taken down to the parking garage but managed to escape by flying away. Hiro Nakamura witnessed his landing at a diner in the desert outside Vegas and was awed. Hiro approached him, claiming he is special too and can manipulate space time and teleport. Nathan was skeptical, but when Hiro requests a ride back to Vegas, he agreed.
In the episode "Six Months Ago" it was revealed that several months before the start of the series events, Nathan was contemplating prosecuting Mr. Linderman although his father's connections to the mob boss would also be exposed. Linderman sent his henchmen to run Nathan and his wife, Heidi, off the road. Nathan struggled to control the car and unexpectedly finds himself flying. The car then crashed into the highway barrier, injuring Heidi severely resulting in her paralysis. After his father's death from a heart attack he chose not to go after Linderman.
In "Distractions" Nathan was revealed to be the father of Claire Bennet, a daughter he had with Meredith Gordon and believed to have died as a baby in an apartment fire. Against his mother's wishes he went to Texas to deliver money to Meredith to ensure she stayed quiet. He decided at that time not to meet with Claire, unaware that she was the cheerleader his brother had saved.
In "Parasite", Nathan worked with the FBI to bring down Linderman. He visited Linderman's hotel in Vegas wearing a wire but the FBI agents were quickly killed and Linderman also ordered Jessica to kill Nathan. Niki managed to save his life and he went after Linderman threatening to kill him. He learned that Linderman's ultimate goal was to allow New York City to be partially destroyed so that Nathan would rise to a position of leadership, bringing hope to the world after the devastation, in the role of president. Though initially unsure of participating in the plot, he agreed to play his part.
Nathan returned to New York where he met his daughter, Claire, for the first time. Though somewhat pleased to see her he did not want her existence to disrupt his election plans and agreed with his mother's decision to send her to Paris. He learned that his mother was a participant in Linderman's plan for New York and was eventually convinced he could do nothing to stop it even knowing Peter might be the one responsible. Nathan hoped Peter's ability to heal would save his life even if it meant thousands of other deaths.
Claire became severely disappointed in Nathan's unwillingness to try to stop the coming devastation and left him and Angela to play her own part in hopefully stopping the inevitable, as she'd been encouraged to do by Peter. Nathan eventually had his own change of heart and returned to the city to help stop Peter from exploding. He flew away from the city with his brother and Peter exploded high above. It seemed unlikely that Nathan survived.
Season 2
Nathan survived Peter's explosion but distraught at the loss of his brother, he retreated into drink and isolation. His wife and sons left him, moving to Washington D.C. and his mother was disappointed. When his mother was attacked by an invisible assailant in police custody, questioned in the death of Kaito Nakamura, he was drawn back to reality. He agreed to help NYPD detective Matt Parkman discover those behind his mother's attack, whom she refused to discuss.
His determination to find out more about the company, of which both his parents and Matt's father were members, led him to the Company facility in Hartsdale, New York. After Matt successfully thwarted an attempt by Maury Parkman on Bob Bishop the two later traveled to the Odessa Texas facility where Nathan was instrumental in preventing his brother, Peter, from making a mistake that would allow Adam Monroe to release a deadly virus, the same virus that killed Nathan in the future.
Nathan and Matt then vowed to expose the actions of the company and the existence of people like himself in a press conference. Before he could do so, however, he was shot.
Powers
Nathan is able to fly at extremely high speeds. He does not display the full extent of his power until "Better Halves" when he escapes Mr. Bennet and flies off at high speed into the desert. His skill implies that he may have tested his ability previously.
2008, SCI FI. All rights reserved.
