One of the best aspects of Heroes was the series' creators willingness to "play for keeps". More specifically this meant that the stakes in the story were high. Characters would be sacrificed to propel the story along. Some would die tragically others might be "collateral damage". Either way, the writers' aimed to keep us on our toes and realize that the threat of death or permanent injury wasn't just idle chatter.
In the Heroes universe, you can reasonably say that no one is safe. Everyone from the nameless extra to the marquee hero is fair game when it comes to taking an unexpected detour to the underworld. In looking ahead to season 2, I started wondering if season 1 might provide any clues as to what kind of heroic carnage might be in store for us. Like a good mutual fund prospectus, I realize that past performance isn't always an indicator of the future, but given the dearth of information at our disposal, could some of the trends from season 1 at least give us the ability to make some educated guesses?
Maybe.
What follows are some highly unscientific insights about season 1's death toll (a complete list of season 1's deceased appears at the very end of this article).
And, as always, with this in mind just remember - much like the nameless extra in Galaxy Quest - "no one is safe!".
Here is what we know from season 1:
* 25 characters (major, minor and incidental) were killed or died during the course of Season 1. This does not include characters who died in the past (like Mohinder's sister or Dallas Petrelli), characters who die in the future (as in "Five Years Gone By"), characters who come back to life (Claire, Peter) or characters whose status is unknown at the time of the season 1 finale (DL, Parkman, Nathan, Sylar). By the way, I'm only doing this for the TV episodes (I'm excluding the graphic novels).
* Male characters killed or died 2x as often as the females (17 male deaths vs. 8 female deaths)
* We learned that the "bad guy" can exact a high toll. Sylar is responsible for almost half of the Season 1 deaths with 12 kills (13 if you include the fact that he effectively causes Eden's valiant last-ditch suicide). Given what Sylar was capable and the fact that season 2's boogyman is wayyyy scarier (at least in the way Molly tells it), we could be in for some crazy times this year.
* Nikki/Jessica may have annoyed us, but DO NOT mess with her. In addition to getting a nice shot on Sylar in the season 1 finale, she was also the #2 most lethal super-person with 5 kills.
* It pays to be bad. Bad guys only accounted for roughly 1/5 of all the deaths (I'm counting goons Weasel & Big Guy, diamond thief Aron Malsky, Thompson and Linderman). The rest of the death count were folks I consider "good".
* Violent and gruesome death is the customary way to go in the Heroes universe. Of all the deaths, only Charles Deveaux appears to have died of natural causes (though we really don't know what induced his coma). Poor Karen Sprague's cancer was most likely caused by her husbands radioactivity.
* The episodes premiered in the month of November exacted the highest toll with 6 characters killed off.
* If you need help from the show's writers, pray that Bryan Fuller or Michael Green are on tap for the episode your character is featured in. Each writer is credited with two episodes respectively and nobody was killed in any of their episodes. By the same token, beware of series creator Tim Kring and writer Jesse Alexander as they've both authored the episodes with the highest death tolls in their four combined episodes.
So what are the lessons here?
- Moms aren't safe. Sylar's mom and Molly's mom get offed. Dads don't fare much better with Chandra Suresh and Charles Devreaux (along with Dallas Petrelli) giving up the ghost.
- Primatech isn't the safest company to work for. Thompson, Hank and Eden won't be taking advantage of the early retirement plan :-(
- Ando and Mr. Muggles made it through unscathed (I predict they'll both slide through season 2 as well).
- If I'm an incidental character, I'd be looking over my shoulder (they comprised 60% of the season 1 death count). Actually, the supporting characters best be talking to their agent about their next gig too...characters like Simone, Charlie and Ted comprised another 1/3 of the death count.
Where this leaves us for season 2 is anybody's guess. Based on past history though, I'm expecting a high body count. More family members will roast by season's end and minor characters with marginal superpowers better be on their toes.
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And, as promised, a full list of Heroes, Season 1 deaths...
Who: Mohinder Suresh's father
When: Chapter 1 "Genesis"
How: "Sylar'd" in his taxicab
Who: One of Linderman's goons
When: Chapter 1 "Genesis"
How: Beat to a pulp by Jessica/Nikki
Who: One of Linderman's goons
When: Chapter 1 "Genesis"
How: Beat to a pulp by Jessica/Nikki
Who: Mother of the Primatech "tracking device"
When: Chapter 2 "Don't Look Back"
How: Killed by Sylar
Who: Father of the Primatech "tracking device"
When: Chapter 2 "Don't Look Back"
How: Killed by Sylar
Who: Guarding Molly While She's Detained for Questioning
When: Chapter 3 "One Giant Leap"
How: Killed by Sylar
Who: Former hero, Simone's dad and Peter's patient
When: Chapter 7 "Nothing to Hide"
How: Presumed terminal illness (was in a coma)
Who: Oncologist treating the wife of Ted Sprague (radioactive-dude)
When: Chapter 7 "Nothing to Hide"
How: Fried by Ted who wasn't pleased with the medical care his wife was receiving
Who: Ted Sprague's wife
When: Chapter 7 "Nothing to Hide"
How: Cancer that seems to have been induced by Ted's radioactive juic
Who: Waitress at the Burnt Toast Diner with a superpower - perfect recall
When: Chapter 8 "Seven Minutes to Midnight"
How: Head eaten by Sylar
Who: Claire's former best friend turned rival cheerleader
When: Chapter 9 "Homecoming"
How: Head sliced by Sylar (who thought she was Claire)
Who: Man with telekinetic abilities
When: Chapter 10 "Six Months Ago"
How: Head eaten by Sylar (this appears to be Sylar's first kill)
Who: Primatech agent with the power of persuasion
When: Chapter 11 "Fallout"
How: Kills herself with gunshot to the head before Sylar can go Hannibal Lector on her
Who: Primatech doctor
When: Chapter 13 "The Fix"
How: Punk'd by Sylar and then used as a sleeping-Sylar decoy
Who: Diamond thief on the run from Linderman hires Parkman for security (doh!)
When: Chapter 15 "Run"
How: Parkman's mind reading proves no match for Jessica, Malsky gets diced
Who: Man who discovers he can liquify solid objects
When: Chapter 15 "Run"
How: Lunchtime snack for Sylar
Who: Female auto-mechanic with super-hearing
When: Chapter 16 "Unexpected"
How: The Sylar head munch
Who: Woman caught in a love triangle with Isaac and Peter
When: Chapter 16 "Unexpected"
How: Accidentally shot by Isaac during a fight between Isaac and Peter
Who: FBI agent
When: Chapter 18 "Parasite"
How: Gunned down by Jessica/Nikki
Who: FBI agent
When: Chapter 18 "Parasite"
How: Gunned down by by Jessica/Nikki
Who: Artist who can paint scenes from the future
When: Chapter 19 ".07%"
How: Brain eaten by Sylar
Who: Sylar's mother
When: Chapter 21 "The Hard Part"
How: Accidentally stabbed with a pair of scissors by her son
Who: Noah Bennett's Primatech boss
When: Chapter 22 "Landslide"
How: Popped in the head by Bennett
Who: Radioactive-man
When: Chapter 22 "Landslide"
How: Head sliced and munched after Sylar obliterates his security detail
Who: Former hero with a diabolical plan
When: Chapter 22 "Landslide"
How: Brain mashed by DL's phasing fist
For other Heroes features online, check out:
Fanbolt - link
Monsters and Critics - link
Crave Online - link
UGO - link
CHUD.com - link
HEROES: SEASON 1, is coming to link and link on August 28th!
