After watching last night's episode of Heroes I can say, without hesitation, that my favorite Hero is Hiro. It's probably a little too early to make judgements about all the character's on the show, but I have made a decision and I'm going to stick with it. If you wonder why, as I'm sure some people will, he's my favorite you'll be pleasantly surprised because I'm going to list a few of the reasons.
First, because he appears to be the only Hero who has a higher purpose and has dedicated himself to that purpose.
Contrast that with some of the other Heroes. Isaac Mendez ( the precog painter ) seems to have no knowledge of the reason for his special ability. Although he has acknowledged his ability, he doesn't really let on that he realizes he needs to do something with it.
The Incredible Healing Cheerleader, ( Hayden Panettiere as Claire Bennet ) while realizing that she has something very special, has intentionally used her abilities twice ( other than simply experimenting with it ). She saved a man dying in a fire and crashed a car to get even with her rapist boyfriend passenger. But, in her defense, she is a teenager. She doesn't want to stick out like a sore thumb. She wants to be like everyone else. So, I won't hold her self-absorbed tendencies against her.
The mind-reading cop ( Greg Grunberg as Matt Parkman ) knows there's something going on. He's going to get to the bottom of it. So far he's used his ability to save a little girl from a suspected serial killer. But he has yet to uncover the true reason for his ability.
Niki Sanders ( Ali Larter ), the internet stripper/stay-at-home-mom, seems to really only be aware of her alter ego and her ultimate goal is safety for her and her son. The same can be said for Nathan and Peter Petrelli ( Adrian Pasdar and Milo Ventimiglia ). They both know of their abilities but they are just a little different. Nathan has political ambitions - so he doesn't really have time to save the world. Peter, however, knows he has a higher purpose and wants to find the truth.
Additionally, it is kind of misleading as to what his real ability is. Travis at Televalues, has suggested that Peter's ability is to borrow the powers of other's around him. I find that very interesting and can't argue with it because in looking back at all the episodes I can't really find an instance when Peter has independently done anything.
Hiro acts like a Hero.
Last night he said something like, "A Hero wouldn't be afraid to use his power." In last night's episode he developed a bit of a crush on a waitress who was discovering her newly acquired talents. Evidently, she is able to memorize just about everything and impressed Hiro with her ability to recite and use the Japanese language ( which she had only been studying for about a week ). She said that Hiro was sweet. Moments later, she was murdered by the "Mysterious Stranger with the Broken Watch." He is the same man who killed Mohinder Suresh's ( Sendhil Ramamurthy ) father. Hiro had gone to the restroom while this all happened, however he is driven to roll back time and prevent her from going to work that day. His Japanese friend, Ando Masahashi ( James Kyson Lee ), tells him that it may not work - he has made mistakes before when teleporting. Yet, in the face of adversity, he is determined to try.
He's having fun.
This may be a bit subjective, but still . . . the fact that Hiro has fun with his abilities and the fact that he has been chosen to use them, is quite endearing. Just like the unlikely hero, he finds that he has a quest. He didn't choose it; it was thrust upon him. Yet, he accepts it and makes it his own - despite the overwhelming consequences and danger he may face, and has a good time doing it.
Do you have a favorite? Of course, I haven't listed all of the characters. Certainly there's something I've left out. Tell me who you think your favorite is.
Contrast that with some of the other Heroes. Isaac Mendez ( the precog painter ) seems to have no knowledge of the reason for his special ability. Although he has acknowledged his ability, he doesn't really let on that he realizes he needs to do something with it.
The Incredible Healing Cheerleader, ( Hayden Panettiere as Claire Bennet ) while realizing that she has something very special, has intentionally used her abilities twice ( other than simply experimenting with it ). She saved a man dying in a fire and crashed a car to get even with her rapist boyfriend passenger. But, in her defense, she is a teenager. She doesn't want to stick out like a sore thumb. She wants to be like everyone else. So, I won't hold her self-absorbed tendencies against her.
The mind-reading cop ( Greg Grunberg as Matt Parkman ) knows there's something going on. He's going to get to the bottom of it. So far he's used his ability to save a little girl from a suspected serial killer. But he has yet to uncover the true reason for his ability.
Niki Sanders ( Ali Larter ), the internet stripper/stay-at-home-mom, seems to really only be aware of her alter ego and her ultimate goal is safety for her and her son. The same can be said for Nathan and Peter Petrelli ( Adrian Pasdar and Milo Ventimiglia ). They both know of their abilities but they are just a little different. Nathan has political ambitions - so he doesn't really have time to save the world. Peter, however, knows he has a higher purpose and wants to find the truth.
Additionally, it is kind of misleading as to what his real ability is. Travis at Televalues, has suggested that Peter's ability is to borrow the powers of other's around him. I find that very interesting and can't argue with it because in looking back at all the episodes I can't really find an instance when Peter has independently done anything.
Hiro acts like a Hero.
Last night he said something like, "A Hero wouldn't be afraid to use his power." In last night's episode he developed a bit of a crush on a waitress who was discovering her newly acquired talents. Evidently, she is able to memorize just about everything and impressed Hiro with her ability to recite and use the Japanese language ( which she had only been studying for about a week ). She said that Hiro was sweet. Moments later, she was murdered by the "Mysterious Stranger with the Broken Watch." He is the same man who killed Mohinder Suresh's ( Sendhil Ramamurthy ) father. Hiro had gone to the restroom while this all happened, however he is driven to roll back time and prevent her from going to work that day. His Japanese friend, Ando Masahashi ( James Kyson Lee ), tells him that it may not work - he has made mistakes before when teleporting. Yet, in the face of adversity, he is determined to try.
He's having fun.
This may be a bit subjective, but still . . . the fact that Hiro has fun with his abilities and the fact that he has been chosen to use them, is quite endearing. Just like the unlikely hero, he finds that he has a quest. He didn't choose it; it was thrust upon him. Yet, he accepts it and makes it his own - despite the overwhelming consequences and danger he may face, and has a good time doing it.
Do you have a favorite? Of course, I haven't listed all of the characters. Certainly there's something I've left out. Tell me who you think your favorite is.
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