Abilities
Ordinary People Discovering Extraordinary Abilities was the promotional campaign for the series, before and after its debut. In an interview conducted by Lost producer Damon Lindelof, Kring states "...it's a show about characters dealing with extraordinary things happening to them. That is the central premise. So my sense is that if one can assume that dealing with their extraordinary abilities is something that these characters will always face, then their stories can bend and morph and evolve forever."
Within the first two volumes, it was implied that these superpowers were genetic; however, in several interviews, Tim Kring has shied away from discussing the origins of the characters' abilities. Kring has given his own personal theory on powers, stating, "...my original theory was that we’re living in such a fucked-up world and things are so awful that Earth needed to populate itself with people who were going to do something about it." When asked in the same interview to give a direct answer, Kring responded, "I’m not going to give an answer to that because that becomes a really fun part of the show." In the third volume, "Villains", it is revealed that some characters' powers, such as Nathan, Tracy, and Niki, are synthetic, having been artificially created by a special formula.
Different characters have different levels of control over their abilities; for example cellular regeneration is always active, Maya's power can be brought on by stress, and telekinesis can be controlled accurately. Furthermore, some abilities have been shown to be able to extend beyond the possessor to their clothing, personal items, or even other individuals who do not share the power. Such examples include phasing, teleportation, shape-shifting, time travel, invisibility, and cellular regeneration (through a transfusion of blood).
Read more about this topic: Mythology Of Heroes
Famous quotes containing the word abilities:
“It contributes greatly towards a man’s moral and intellectual health, to be brought into habits of companionship with individuals unlike himself, who care little for his pursuits, and whose sphere and abilities he must go out of himself to appreciate.”
—Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804–1864)
“We should spend less time ranking children and more time helping them to identify their natural competencies and gifts and cultivate these. There are hundreds and hundreds of ways to succeed and many, many different abilities that will help you get there.”
—Howard Gardner (20th century)
“We may not pay Satan reverence, for that would be indiscreet, but we can at least respect his talents. A person who has for untold centuries maintained the imposing position of spiritual head of four-fifths of the human race, and political head of the whole of it, must be granted the possession of executive abilities of the loftiest order.”
—Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1835–1910)