Electricity Manipulation

Electricity Manipulation (also referred to as lightning) is the ability to generate and propel charges of electricity ranging from minor to fatal voltage.

Characters[]

Confirmed

Elle Bishop had this ability. (Fight or Flight)
Peter Petrelli has absorbed this ability from Elle (Four Months Later...), but lost it after having it stolen by Arthur (Dying of the Light).
Arthur Petrelli had stolen this ability from Peter. (Dying of the Light)
Sylar has empathically absorbed this ability from Elle. (It's Coming)
Cooper has this ability. (The Civilian)
"Biker Woman" had this ability. (Brave New World)

Unconfirmed

According to Gregory Quaye, the victim of a drive-by robbery in Miami killed the robber by electrocuting him with his fingers. (Save the Cheerleader, Destroy the World, Chapter 6)

Future

An agent in a possible future has this ability. (Walls, Part 1)
In a possible future, Future Peter absorbs this ability from the agent. (Walls, Part 2)

Limits[]

Users of this ability can generate electricity between themselves and other people or objects. The potential difference of the electrical arcs is not known, though Caitlin has referred to it as "shooting a thousand volts." Users of the power are not usually harmed by electrical currents that they create themselves, although they can shock themselves if they attempt to generate arcs under unfavorable circumstances. For instance, Elle shocked herself when she was wet and her feet were immersed in impure water in Mr. Muggles's metal doggy bath (Cautionary Tales). When in pain, Elle could knock out the whole electrical system in Level 5.

Future Agent[]

The agent can throw electric arcs that incapacitate people they strike. He can also levitate himself at least a few inches above the ground, though how high he can levitate and how fast he can propel himself are not known. Whether his ability to levitate is a function of his electric manipulation or stems from another source has yet to be determined.

Future Peter Petrelli[]

Future Peter mimicked the agent's ability and used it to throw electrical arcs. He did not employ the levitation aspect from the agent.

Elle Bishop[]

Elle had extensive control over her ability. She was able to adjust the strength and power of the electricity she generates, such as creating a small spark which causes a minor electric shock, a medium-level bolt which stuns or produces concussive force and a powerful surge which can kill. She did not need to use her hands to use her ability, as seen when she zapped Peter with her mouth (Four Months Ago...) or when she used her whole body to generate electricity (Cautionary Tales). It has been implied that Elle could manipulate existing sources of electricity, causing a major blackout (Four Months Ago...) and causing the lights inside the Bennet home to fade in out and out and Noah's computer to turn on (Eris Quod Sum). Elle was not immune to the electricity she created, and being wet could turn her ability against her. Additionally, Elle did not seem to be able to absorb large amounts of electricity, if any at all (Cautionary Tales).

In addition to the aforementioned phenomena, Elle could also create ball lightning. After creating it, she could immediately release it, charge it for more powerful bursts, or simply use it to intimidate. Elle was also able to levitate her ball lightning. She could also fire blasts of sheet lightning and ribbon lightning in battle. She was able to hone her finesse for sharpshooting, firing small pinpoint but powerful lightning bolts that could shatter glass and cause objects to catch fire. (Cautionary Tales)

While being attacked by Sylar, Elle released a massive shock wave of electricity from her entire body, which shorted out the power grid on Level 5 of Primatech Research, effectively freeing all the prisoners. It also knocked Sylar unconscious (The Butterfly Effect). After this incident, Elle's control of her ability dropped dramatically. She was still able to use her ability, but lost her fine control over it, causing herself severe pain from electric shock when she bathed or stood in the rain. (Sum Quod Sum, Part 1) Additionally, she almost caused a plane to crash after accidentally overcharging the plane. (Eris Quod Sum)

During a tense encounter with Sylar at Pinehearst, Elle was able to produce enough electricity to disintegrate part of Sylar's clothes and severely injure him. After their talk, Elle regained control of her ability. (It's Coming)

Noah states that the brain is not meant to handle the amount of electricity to which Elle was subjected during testing when she was first brought into the Company (Cautionary Tales). He implied that this is at least in part why Elle had some psychological issues.

Peter Petrelli[]

Peter can fire lightning bolts, but has not demonstrated the same degree of control as Elle. The only levels that he has demonstrated is a powerful concussive blast (Four Months Later...), a stun effect (Lizards) and a bolt of electricity strong enough to char flesh (Out of Time). Peter can also control the lightning by making a sphere (Truth & Consequences), or conduct it through a metal object (Powerless).

As time progressed, Peter learned to wield this ability more effectively. In Dying of the Light, Peter fires a constant stream of lightning to electrify Sylar. As he enters Pinehearst, Peter summons a sphere of lightning in each hand and is able to sustain both for a few minutes.

Aside from telekinesis, electric manipulation is Peter's most commonly observed offensive ability.

Arthur Petrelli[]

After stealing Peter's abilities, Arthur demonstrated his newfound ability by creating and levitating ball lightning on his first try.

In Eris Quod Sum, Arthur was seen to be directing short bursts of lightning from his hands at Peter. He appeared confident in his mastery of the ability as he was able to control the blasts to a level that he believed would not kill Peter, though it should be noted that his confidence could have been misplaced: none of the blasts even hit Peter.

Sylar[]

After his talk with Elle, Sylar manifests her ability. Unlike with his other abilities, Sylar doesn't have an immediate mastery over this ability, prompting Elle to coach him, after which he is able to aim and shoot properly (It's Coming). Sylar has demonstrated he can fire a continuous stream of lightning, or unleash short bursts (It's Coming). He can also fire a small spark from his finger to shatter objects (The Eclipse, Part 1) He also has enough reflexive control of the ability to take on several soldiers at once and strike them all down in a matter of seconds (A Clear and Present Danger). He was able to power up one in each hand while battling Nathan and Peter and used this ability a lot in the battle given the amount of electricity seen flying around (An Invisible Thread). After being made to believe he's Nathan, Sylar accesses this ability (Orientation).

Cooper[]

Cooper was able to use this ability to electrocute several city gang members to such an extent that they were severely burned. Also, when threatened by Rachel, Claire and Store, he generated some electricity that flowed all over his hands and arms.

"Biker Woman"[]

The older lady nicknamed "Biker Woman" had this ability before she died. She was able to produce electric sparks from her hands. (Brave New World)

Gallery[]

Notes[]

Peter describes the ability as "sparks" from his hand. However, the Assignment Tracker's map describes it, under Elle's entry, as generating electricity.
In a Super Bowl XLIII commercial where several Heroes characters suit up in football uniforms to battle against NFL stars, Sylar, as the ball boy, uses this ability to destroy the football.
The Assignment Tracker 2.0 profiles for both Chris Coolidge and Mindy Sprague list their abilities as electric manipulation. However, these listings (which were released on the same day) appear to be mistakes:
- The Primatech file about Chris never mentioned electric manipulation as one of his potential abilities. Mindy's Primatech file specifically lists her ability as energy absorption, transference, and redirection.
- Neither Chris's ability nor Mindy's ability have the same characteristics as electric manipulation.
- Chris's Assignment Tracker profile and Mindy's Assignment Tracker profile lists them as having abilities other than electric manipulation.
- Bob and some of the other Company founders described Mindy's ability as "energy absorption" (From the Files of Primatech, Part 4). Nothing close to the term "electric manipulation" has ever been associated with Mindy's ability.