Rapid cell regeneration – Heroes Wiki

Rapid cell regeneration (also referred to as "rapid cellular regeneration", "spontaneous regeneration", "tissue regeneration", "epithelial cell regeneration", or simply "regeneration" or "healing") is the ability to regenerate cells at an increased rate, resulting in physical injuries healing in a matter of seconds or minutes.

Confirmed

Future

Unconfirmed

This ability does not move displaced parts of the body back into the correct location. After filming the videotape, Claire had to manually re-insert her displaced ribs before the flesh on her ribcage would heal (Genesis), and Peter Petrelli had to manually rotate his broken limbs to the correct orientation before it would heal when he used his empathic mimicry to mimic Claire's ability (Homecoming). However, Adam Monroe was able to completely heal from a massive explosion at Whitebeard's camp. Though not able to heal immediately after experiencing the explosion, as evidenced by his charred body in the ruins of the tents (Out of Time). In a similar circumstance Claire survived radioactive explosion twice healing immediately from severe burns after in both instances in the actual timeline as well as in the exposed future. Claire has also shown to be unaffected by Electrocution healing damage with ease.

Typically, Claire's blood does not return to its place in her body when an associated wound heals, although it can if the wound is small and her blood has not spread far from it (the only example being when her brother stapled her hand). She is consistently covered with blood following a serious injury.

As demonstrated for the first time in Lizards, Claire is able to regrow body parts that have been removed. She experimented with this for the first time by cutting off her little toe with a pair of scissors, then watching it grow back with much surprise. In Resistance, Future Claire's arm is blown off by a grenade and she re-grows it.

Claire certainly feels her injuries--she cried out from having a staple put into her hand and winced in pain at other times--but the pain does not incapacitate her in the way it would an ordinary person. She has stated that the pain she feels from injuries diminishes very rapidly (Kindred). However, since having her brain examined by Sylar (The Second Coming), Claire has stated that she no longer feels pain of any kind, although when demonstrating the power to Gretchen, she pretended she did for a second.

Peter has shown that this power has the capability to reverse memory damage caused by the Haitian. However, unlike most instances of the ability's usage, memory damage reversal requires active concentration (Four Months Ago...).

It's revealed that it can also heal nervous system damage. Arthur Petrelli was completely paralyzed and breathing through a tube having suffered permanent damage to his nervous system due to Angela poisoning him. He absorbed Adam Monroe's power, killing Adam, but healing all of the damage done to his body by the poison, reversing his paralysis.

This power also speeds the recovery from inebriation or cancels out its effects all together, as Claire briefly mentioned that her liver tissue is rapidly regenerating (Into Asylum).

While the ability protects an individual from infections and other pathogens, it works independently from one's immune system: when Claire was shot while her ability wasn't working, her immune system was too weak to fight off infections, leading to a system wide critical condition that lead to her death. When her ability started working again, she came back to life. (The Eclipse, Part 2)

Regeneration does not work correctly if a foreign object obstructs the wound. This is especially true of foreign objects lodged in a particular spot in the brain. This limitation is presumably related to the importance of the brain in the nature of evolved humans, as theorized by Chandra Suresh (One Giant Leap). There are many examples of this limitation and knowledge thereof;

Despite this limitation, regenerators can expel small objects (such as a bullet) lodged in her body as long as they are not disrupting their brain functions (Company Man, Kindred).

In several episodes it has been stated or shown that an individual with the ability can be permanently killed. It is stated by Adam Monroe that if a person with the power is decapitated or the brain is severally damaged the ability to heal is canceled out and leaving the individual permanently dead (Out of Time)(Truth & Consequences).

In one instance Adam died due to aging rapidly, when his power was taken from him by Arthur. In another instance the power was canceled out by the Haitians ability to negate powers, which resulted in the death of Arthur when Peter went to shoot him in the head, but the bullet was subsequently stopped in mid-air by Sylar, who then allows the bullet to continue on its course, killing Arthur while he is in his momentarily depowered state (Our Father). A similar circumstance is seen when the Future Claire shoots Future Peter in the exposed future in partnership with the Future Haitian, using his ability negation to make sure Peter's abilities won't allow him to escape as well as allowing him to be seriously wounded from the bullet, as he is unable to regenerate (I Am Become Death). After giving birth to Tommy Clark and Malina, Claire died of cardiac arrest from a traumatic seizure. To the shock of her father, she did not regenerate despite not having weak spot blocked. (June 13th, Part One) Its later revealed that her son inherited Arthur Petrelli's powers resulting in him draining her ability as she gave birth to him. Without her powers, Claire was able to die a normal death. (June 13th, Part Two)

Regenerators are not immune to being frozen (Brother's Keeper). However, should any of their limbs shatter, they will regenerate them as normal.

Adam Monroe lived for centuries without aging significantly. Angela Petrelli confirms that this is an effect of his ability (Cautionary Tales). She tells Matt Parkman that after a certain amount of regeneration, the body simply stops aging. After Arthur Petrelli removed this ability from him, Adam aged rapidly, crumbling to dust within a few seconds, demonstrating that without his power continually repairing age-related damage, he would quickly die.

Adam Monroe was the first to demonstrate that individuals with this ability can heal others by injecting them with their own blood. So far, five characters have been healed this way: Adam's seventh wife Diane (circa 1901), Nathan Petrelli, Noah Bennet, Maya Herrera, and Sylar.

Adam injected a small amount of his blood into Nathan's intravenous drip, causing Nathan to immediately start to heal from his radiation burns (Four Months Ago...). Adam did not show any worry about the possible adverse effects of mixing blood types.

In Out of Time, Bob suggests that Claire's blood could be used to make a new cure for the Shanti virus. Bob informs Claire that her blood could help a lot of people, and proceeds to take some of her blood. Later, Noah Bennet is resurrected using her blood after being shot by Mohinder (Cautionary Tales).

Mohinder Suresh is able to combine Claire's blood with the antibodies from his own to make a cure for the fortified Shanti Virus that Niki contracted (Truth & Consequences). The blood combination not only healed Maya of her gunshot wound, but also cured Sylar of the virus (Powerless).

Unlike Adam, a recipient of Adam's blood cannot halt the aging process indefinitely. Adam's blood cured his wife Diane of tuberculosis, but she still died "peacefully" twenty years later. (The Ten Brides of Takezo Kensei)

According to Noah, the regenerative properties of a blood transfusion would not heal tumors. Because they are living tissue, regeneration would cause them to grow larger. (Tabula Rasa)

Claire awakens on the autopsy table after a tree branch was removed from her brain, effectively having regenerated back to life. (One Giant Leap)

Claire cuts off her toe, which then grows back, much to Claire's surprise. (Lizards)

Peter's body regurgitates a bullet, then heals itself. (Kindred)

Much to her disturbance, Claire remains quite alive while Sylar prods around her brain, but she is unable to feel the pain.(The Second Coming)

"I have busted, like, every bone in my body, stabbed myself in the chest, I've shoved a two-foot steel rod through my neck, and I don't have a scratch on me!"

"I think I died."

"I've died before. It's no big deal."

"Haven't I killed you before?"

"Didn't take."

"Lazarus risen!"

"We thought he was just able to heal. Cellular regeneration."

"Like Claire, your granddaughter."

"What we didn't know is that if your cells continually regenerate, after a while, you stop growing old."

"What's old?"

"Four hundred years."

"Ah, it feels good to breathe again."

"That hurt."

"You can't die. I can't die"

Rejuvelage

Please refer to Theory:Rapid cell regeneration for fan-created theories and other speculation.

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Rapid cell regeneration - Heroes Wiki