The Company (Heroes)

The Company refers to a fictional covert international organization in the NBC drama Heroes. Its primary purpose is to identify, monitor and study those individuals with special genetically derived special abilities. The Company played a central role in the plot of volume two, during the second season of the series. It is a very notable organization in the series and is connected to several of the characters.

Founders

In season two, Kaito Nakamura revealed that there were twelve founders of the Company, and a photo of the twelve is later seen (listed below under "Group photo"); it did not include Adam Monroe, an immortal human with the ability of spontaneous regeneration, who is described as the one who "brought them all together." The Company began sometime between January 1977 and February 14th, 1977. Monroe was locked away for thirty years on November 2, 1977, concluding that he only spent AbOUT 10 to 11 months with the Company. Bob is currently heading operations for the Company and is its financial source, with the implication that if "Bob dies, the Company dies." Several of the founders have children who are evolved humans and who are main characters within the series.

Group photo

In an interview with BuddyTV, Tim Kring was asked about the photograph of the group of twelve seen in The Kindness of Strangers, and he confirmed that "we will be seeing more of the five as yet unknown characters, and that they will be played by the same actors featured in the photo." He briefly talked about how difficult it was to arrange that picture, as it includes actors and refers to plots that are still many episodes away, so they needed to plan ahead. In "Cautionary Tales", a complete version of the photo is shown in a scene with character Matt Parkman. In this scene, all the names of the founders are shown and revealed. As of the conclusion of Volume two, five of the founders have yet to be seen on screen. The five include Carlos Mendez, Suzanne Ammaw, Arthur Petrelli, Paula Gramble and Harry Fletcher.

The photo was taken sometime after the start of the Company, as Kaito Nakamura and Victoria PRATT were much older than they were during the 1977 flashback in "Truth & Consequences"; concluding that Monroe was still locked up when the photo was taken.

Death threat photos

Many of the other founders are dead. Some have been murdered by Adam Monroe, while the circumstances surrounding the others deaths have yet to be revealed. It is known, however, that Monroe is murdering the remaining founders in an act of revenge for his thirty-year imprisonment.

When a Company founder receives a death threat photo, they take it very seriously. The death threat photo consist of a picture of a founder, ripped from the large group photo of all the founders. The Helix is then written in blood across the founders face in the photo. Angela Petrelli and Kaito Nakamura both knew that the photo was from another founder and that their lives were on the line. Known death threats have been issued to Angela, Kaito, and Bob. He has already issued and acted upon death threats to Kaito, Angela, and Bob; his attempt on Kaito's life was successful, while Maury Parkman, used as Monroe's "tool", failed to kill the other two. It has not yet been revealed if any of the other deceased founders have received death threats. Victoria did not receive a death threat while she was alive. Rather, it was left on her body after she was murdered by Monroe.

Maury Parkman also received a death threat, however, the circumstances surrounding its appearance have yet to be revealed. Before Maury was incapacitated by his son, Matt Parkman, he was used by Monroe as a "tool" in the murders. One such example of Maury's connection was when he used his mental abilities to cause Angela to self-inflict wounds upon her face. Upon Victoria Pratt's [...] in "Truth & Consequences", Monroe left a death threat photo, revealing that the helix drawn in the middle of the threat is created by blood.

In an interview, Joe Pokaski and Aron Coleite confirmed that there were discrepancies among the photo as a result of production errors. There are different versions of the full-group photo, as well as multiple versions of the sub-set photos of Kaito and Angela's death threats. One full-size version of this photo shows Bob wearing a black suit, while another version shows a man in his position wearing a tan suit. Kaito's individual picture has two variations: one which has a person in a black suit standing to his left, and one with someone standing to his left wearing a tan suit. Angela's individual picture has two variations: one which shows her husband standing behind her right shoulder, and one with no one standing behind her. In the large photo of the twelve, there is no "cherub" behind Bob's left shoulder, yet in the ripped photo with Bob, the cherub is shown. There are two versions of Angela's ripped photo, with noticeably different marker thicknesses for the Symbol and ripped edges.

Fictional history

1970s

It was revealed in season two that Adam Monroe and a group of twelve founders started the Company thirty years ago, (sometime before February 14, 1977), before the start of the series. Monroe was the one who "brought them all together." Their initial goal was to help other evolved humans: to find and protect them, even if it meant eliminating the "dangerous ones." The original founders were "like minded individuals" who wanted to save the world. "Save the World" has been a central plot point since the beginning of the series.

During one of Hiro Nakamura's journeys into the past, he discovered that one of the Company’s earliest known projects was its research on the Shanti virus. It began on Valentines Day in 1977 when Victoria Pratt, a biological engineer, began doing research on the blood of Shanti Suresh, which contained the virus. On Company orders, she manipulated the virus into a weapon, creating mutation strain 138, which was dangerous enough to kill over 93% of the world’s population. After Monroe attempted to steal the virus for his own gain, the Company, on orders from Kaito Nakamura, decided to lock Monroe up and "throw away the key." Pratt insisted that the virus be destroyed and suggested that someone within the Company was helping Monroe. Kaito disagreed, believing the other founders would "never allow it." Kaito had the virus sent to Primatech Paper in Odessa, Texas.

1990s

During a flashback sequence involving Noah Bennet, it is revealed that in 1992, fifteen years after the start of the Company, Kaito Nakamura issued an infant Claire Bennet to Noah Bennet, the then regional manager of Primatech Paper. Claire was to be adopted as his daughter. She was to be returned to the Company after the manifestation of her powers. This was not the case, as Noah Bennet hid her from the Company, fearing that she would be like Elle Bishop, who was turned into the Company by her father Bob Bishop, at a very young age, which caused Elle to become disillusioned and a sociopathic [...]. Arthur and Angela Petrelli had a hand in "protecting" Claire, however, the circumstances surrounding Claire's "protection" has not been completely revealed. Bob revealed that the Company gave Claire to Noah because the Company felt that he would be "loyal until the end."

2000s

In 2006, Daniel Linderman, Monroe's former disciple, began to put into operation the plans to explode New York, with (most notably) the help of Angela Petrelli. The plans also involved both Nathan Petrelli and Peter Petrelli, whom Linderman justified by stating, "we all have our roles to play..." Nathan's role was to win the senatorial election and eventually become President of the United States and Peter's role was to detonate and explode, destroying all of New York. Linderman's hope was that the explosion would unite the nation behind Nathan, at the cost of .07% of the world's population. These events began to unfold at the beginning of the series, thirty-years after the start of the Company, when Isaac Mendez began painting artwork of the "events to come." The explosion becomes a significant plot point as early as the pilot episode. Throughout season one of the series, it is revealed that the explosion is connected to several characters, many of whom were not clearly associated with the explosion in the beginning. This was the central plot of the entire first season.

Angela and Linderman were the most notable of the founders to be involved in the orchestration of the events of New York explosion and The New York election, however, decades of planning and many people were involved in the initial plans. It has not been revealed as to which founders were involved in the planning, however it is known that Charles Deveaux and Kaito Nakamura did not support the plans. One Major part of the planning involved the "puppeteering" done by Linderman in the lives of Niki Sanders and D. L. Hawkins and the birth of their son, Micah. Linderman used Micah to insure Nathan’s victory, which was the key in his quest to "heal the world". The plans were eventually ruined, as Nathan Petrelli flew Peter into the sky to explode in mid-air rather than in the middle of New York, and D. L. Hawkins killed Linderman. Nathan Petrelli also resigned from public office.

In February 2007, three months after the events of Kirby Plaza, Monroe with the assistance of Peter Petrelli escaped the Company prison, which he had been locked up in for thirty years. Monroe and Peter lost contact, and Monroe began using Maury Parkman as his "tool" to [...] the other founders. It is not clear which of the founders Monroe has murdered, but he was directly involved in the deaths of Kaito Nakamura and Victoria Pratt. Monroe implied that the Company locked him up thirty years ago because he wanted to take his abilities public and the other founders disagreed. However, Bob set the record straight when he confirmed that Monroe was murdering the founders in an act of revenge. With Monroe locked up for thirty years, it suggested that he did not spend much time with the other Company founders. Monroe was locked up because the founders felt he was too dangerous.

Around March 2007, Mohinder Suresh joined the Company as a mole, and with the help of rogue agent Noah Bennet, Mohinder attempted to destroy the Company from the inside. Mohinder, being overwhelmed by the "morally grey" line he was crossing, decided to betray Noah and side with the Company. This inevitably led to the Company's capture of Claire, which Noah had tried to avoid for nearly fifteen years. However, through a series of circumstances, Noah was murdered, and the Company released Claire in light of this "tragedy." In reality, the Company had revived a murdered Noah, using Claire's regenerative blood. This was not told to Claire and the Bennet family, who continued to believe that the Company had murdered him.

In the Volume 2 finale, the Company is threatened by exposure on several fronts. Claire Bennet attempts to put the Company on the run by taking her abilities public. Although West and Sandra Bennet disagree, Claire pushes ahead with the plan, until the Company makes a deal with Noah Bennet, with the agreement that his family would remain safe if Claire remains silent and Noah reinstates himself as an employee of the Company. Meanwhile, after Peter Petrelli is able to destroy the Shanti virus strain 138, Nathan decides to out the Company and arranges a press conference to do so. Before he can reveal his secret, he is shot by an unknown assassin. It has not yet been revealed if this assailant has any relationship to the Company; however, it is implied that Angela Petrelli was complicit in the decision.

Fictional legacy

Volume two of the second season featured the Company and revealed many of its secrets. The plot as of the end of the second season didn't reveal what caused the group of founders to break apart. Kaito Nakamura and Linderman both suggested that many members of the group initially "lost their way" causing the group to split apart. Many factors were involved, including the Shanti virus and the New York explosion, however the exact circumstances involved and the length each founder was apart of the Company has yet to be revealed. Angela stated that the founders "mortgaged their souls" to save the next generation, although Nathan believes that the current generation is "suffering for the sins" of Angela's generation.

Infrastructure

Organization and operation

While the infrastructure of the Company is still mostly a mystery, some of their operations are not. The most evident operation is that of actual field work, sending teams of two (comprised of a normal person and one with enhanced abilities) into public to investigate those individuals who have been deemed "special" by the Company. Company agents are sometimes issued a Company gun or a taser. The gun is a Strayer Voigt Infinity M1911.

Upon identification, subjects are tranquilized and taken to a laboratory hidden within the walls of a front organization of some sort where they are further examined. Upon completion of examination, there are one of five possible outcomes:

1. Some subjects are tagged at the base of the neck using a pneumatic device which injects a radioisotope for tracking. The subjects are then released, after having the abduction erased from their memory.
2. Some subjects are recruited into the Company, after being tagged with the radioisotope so the Company can monitor their activities.
3. References are made to other subjects being executed or vivisected. The decision of whether to release a subject or terminate them is apparently at the discretion of higher ups like Thompson or Bob. These subjects are usually terminated because their abilities are deemed too dangerous or out of control.
4. Some subjects are brought into the Company for research and training and are given support and advice for the use and growth of their abilities.
5. Some subjects are brought in for research and experimentation, based on their abilities. The Company is especially interested in those with the ability of spontaneous regeneration, and Sylar, whose ability the Company has never encountered.

Developments

Shanti virus

The Shanti virus is a life-threatening disease that attacks the blood cells. One of its side effects is that it prevents evolved humans who have the disease from using their abilities and ultimately ends in their death. There are several variants and mutated versions of the virus; most created to the credit of the Company. Strain 138 tends to be the most dangerous, as it also affects unevolved humans, and the Company has been researching and experimenting on the virus for thirty years with Bennet believing that the Company "created the virus".

On February 14, 1977, Victoria Pratt came into contact with Shanti Suresh. Through an extraction of her blood, she discovered the Shanti virus. Pratt, a biological engineer, began to experiment on the virus by Company orders. The Company hoped to use the virus to eliminate those who have abilities that are too dangerous. Pratt manages to manipulate the virus and create strain 138, capable of [...] 93% of the world's population, if not more. Pratt recognizes this danger. On November 02, 1977 Monroe attempted to steal the virus for the purpose of creating holocausts and plagues to help save the world, believing that he was a god. Pratt identified that the virus was too dangerous, and suggested that it be destroyed. Kaito believed that the virus would be safe once Monroe was locked up and once the virus had been moved safely to Primatech Paper in Odessa. Pratt did not agree. In a CBR interview, Joe Pokaski and Aron Coleite revealed that she "will have a significant effect on the rest of the season." It was revealed in the episode Truth and Consequences the effect is the weaponized strain of the Shanti virus that she created.

Chandra Suresh also began research on the virus and evolved humans, as his daughter Shanti Suresh died of the virus in 1979, at the age of five. Chandra was unsuccessful but, in 2006, when Molly Walker contracted the virus, the Company recruited Mohinder Suresh, Shanti's younger brother and Chandra's son, with the sole purpose of finding a cure. Mohinder concluded that his own blood had developed the antibodies strong enough to defeat the virus. Subsequently, he was able to cure both Molly and the Haitian. During this time, the Company was attempting to develop a variant of the virus where it would strip the evolved human of their powers, without [...] them. This variant was designed for Adam Monroe and Peter Petrelli, as a way to surpass their regenerative abilities and kill them.

In March, 2007, through a series of circumstances, Niki Sanders injected herself with a mutated variant of the virus created by the Company as a way to safely remove abilities from dangerous individuals. After the events of Kirby Plaza, Sylar also was injected by the Company with this same variant of the virus. Mohinder's recognized that the virus had mutated and his blood was no longer a cure. After the Company forcibly pulled blood from Claire Bennet, Mohinder discovered that a combination of his antibodies supplemented by Claire's blood was strong enough to create the antibodies to cure the mutated strain inside of Niki. It is not yet known if these antibodies will cure strain 138.

When Peter Petrelli travels from March, 2007 to June, 2008, he discovers that strain 138 of the Shanti virus has killed 93% of the world's population, [...] both evolved humans and humans. In this alternate time line, the virus begins its outbreaks on March 20, 2007. Peter eventually destroys the strain with the help of Matt Parkman, Nathan Petrelli and Hiro, saving the world, once again. Monroe is buried alive.

Shanti Suresh, Molly Walker, Niki Sanders, The Haitian and Sylar have all had the virus or a strain of the virus.

Power negation pills

Another development of the Company are power negation pills which suppress abilities for a short time. Elle describe the pills in "Four Months Ago..." as "Haitian Pills", as they have a similar effect to the Haitian's ability to negate powers. As long as the pills are taken regularly, the abilities of an evolved human will be suppressed. However, the pills are only temporary, as abilities return once the recipient of the pills refrains from taking them. Peter Petrelli is the only character known to have taken the pills at some point during the four months after the events of Kirby Plaza.

Tracking systems

The Company has used two primary tracking systems to track evolved humans and other individuals of importance: the Walker Tracking System, named after Molly Walker and her abilities, and the pneumatic injection, involving a "bag and tag" procedure and a radioisotope injection. Viewers can also track evolved humans within the series through Heroes Evolutions and the Primatech Paper website.

Walker Tracking System

The Walker tracking system refers to the use of Molly Walker's power to locate and find people. Molly was out of the Company's hands between the episodes "How to Stop an Exploding Man" and "Fight or Flight" as she was placed in the custody of Matt Parkman and Mohinder Suresh. Bob has implied that the Company was "allowing" Molly to stay with Suresh and Parkman, although the circumstances involving this living arrangement has not been completely revealed. The Walker Tracking System was used by the Company to locate evolved humans and other individuals of importance. It was disabled when Molly contracted the Shanti virus and was unable to access her abilities. The length of time that the Company had Molly has not been revealed, nor has the extent of her involvement as a tracking system.

Pneumatic injection

The Company uses a pneumatic injection "bag and tag" system to bring new evolved humans into the Company's fold and monitor them. Sometimes tasers and drugs are used to "bag" up these heroes. The mark or "tag" consists of two black parallel lines which has been shown close to the neck of multiple enhanced characters. The mark is the scar left by the two-pronged needle of a pneumatic injection device, which, as revealed in a biography of Hana Gitelman in Heroes Evolutions, injects a radioisotope to allow tracking. All of the marked characters have had encounters with Bennet and/or the Haitian. The satellite, which was used to track those who were "tagged," was destroyed by Hana Gitelman in the graphic novel adjunct Heroes Evolutions, resulting in the death of her physical body. She survived as a computer program, however, and continues to interact with the Heroes universe in ongoing online content. 1

The following have displayed the scar:

Assignment Tracker files

In the Heroes Evolutions experience, assignment tracking files can be accessed for several characters through the Primatech Paper website. Files can be found on Sylar, Hana Gitelman, Ted Sprague, Richard Drucker and Matt Parkman. Files contain medical history, observations, profiles, etc. They can be accessed with a username and a password. Each separate folder is accessed through a separate password for each enhanced human. Richard Drucker's file is accessed through the Corinthian Casino website. The known usernames and passwords are bennet/claire and linderman/potpie.

Facilities and associated fronts

Deveaux Building

The Deveaux Building, owned by Charles Deveaux, is featured in several of the Company's interactions such as: the transfer of an infant Claire to Noah Bennet by Kaito Nakamura; a unspecified sequence or vision by Peter Petrelli of a meeting between Charles Deveaux and Angela Petrelli; a meeting between Kaito Nakamura and Angela Petrelli to discuss the death threats placed on their lives; the scene of Kaito Nakamura's death; and the scene of a photo taken of the Company founders. It is located in New York City.

Alaska

An unnamed facility in Alaska is where Hana Gitelman was taken by Noah Bennet. Here, she was trained in the use of her powers and given extensive medical examinations.

Hartsdale, New York

Another unnamed facility, in Hartsdale, New York is the base of operations for Bob. His office and several other offices and employees work from this base. It has medical facilities and other laboratories. Peter Petrelli was locked next to Monroe, though they escaped. Maury Parkman is kept under sedation here.

Kirby Plaza

Kirby Plaza is where Linderman and Thompson had offices and labs, as did Nakamura. It is situated in New York City.

Linderman Group

The Linderman Group, or Linderman Corporation, situated in Las Vegas, was the business empire owned by Daniel Linderman; it is the umbrella over Linderman's casinos. The Linderman Group played a major part in the funding of Nathan Petrelli's congressional bid, which resulted in his win. It may also be connected to the mafia. The Corinthian Hotel & Casino was where Linderman kept numerous objects, including several paintings by Isaac Mendez, Takezo Kensei's sword, and several historical documents, paintings, and art work. Linderman also kept a collection of information on the lives of several evolved humans. The casino has been demolished; Micah speculates the implosion was used to cover-up illegal activities. It is revealed in Heroes Evolutions that the password to access Linderman's archives online was "Vietnam", though this was later changed to "twelfth". The Montecito Resort & Casino was another casino owned by the Linderman Group.

Members of the Linderman Group were not necessarily members of the Company, but were connected to the Company and its operations, in one way or another. They were:

Primatech Paper Company

Primatech Paper Company (formerly known as the Primatech Facility), based in Odessa, Texas, is the most notable front in the series and serves as the base of operations for the majority of introduced characters.

Like many other organizations of its kind, its façade involves warehouses and factories, with a labyrinth of laboratories and holding cells three floors below the first floor. It was first presented as the base of operations for Bennet, it has since been seen as being used to house people (who are often captured) with enhanced abilities, where they run tests and place tracking devices on and in them, and (on some occasions) erase their memory using the Haitian's abilities before releasing them. If their memories are not erased, they have usually been recruited into the Company under the Primatech front.

A connection between the Company, Linderman, and Primatech Paper became clear when Matt Parkman used his telepathy to confirm that Thompson was taking orders from Linderman. Noah Bennet, then regional manager of Primatech, was not aware of Linderman's involvement at the time. His involvement became clearer when Thompson informed Nathan that the Company was indeed trying to destroy New York and that Linderman had "everything under control." Sandra Bennet confirmed this connection when she recognized Bob as the Regional Sales Manager for Primatech. Upon Kaito's death, Hiro and Ando discovered several Primatech boxes filled with Company history in Kaito's office.

After Monroe attempted to steal Strain 138 of the Shanti virus from Victoria Pratt and Kaito Nakamura at Primatech Research, the strain was moved to Primatech Paper with their mutual consent. The strain was locked in a vault deep below the facility. The vault also consisted of several other items, most notably a golden key, which Monroe is seen reaching for. Jeph Loeb stated in an interview with the World Balloon podcast, that nothing is placed on the show on accident and that the hand of cards, and the brain in the bottle, and the other things found in the vault have purpose. He also noted, that the brain was discussed in a line in the script involving Matt Parkman, but it was deleted in post production.

As seen on their logo, Primatech was created forty-five years ago, fifteen years before the start of the Company.

Primatech Research

Primatech Research is where Victoria Pratt stored Strain 138 of the Shanti virus with Kaito Nakamura as her superior. Adam Monroe attempted to steal it on November 02, 1977, but Victoria stopped him, getting injured in the process. Kaito ordered Adam to be locked up from that day on.

Reed Street Laboratories

Reed Street Laboratories was originally Isaac Mendez's loft. The Company acquired it after Mendez's death and seized all of Isaac's paintings. The loft was then transformed into a laboratory which was used by Mohinder Suresh for his research on the Shanti virus. It is situated in New York City.

Personnel

Hierarchy

As of the end of Volume 2, Bob Bishop is the head of the Company with Angela Petrelli also playing a major role. In season one, Linderman was the main figurehead for the Company and flashbacks were shown in both season 1 & 2, showing that Kaito Nakamura also played a major role in the Company.

Known agents

Associates

Notes

1. Although it goes against the Company's protocol, the Haitian and Elle were assigned to go and collect Peter Petrelli and Adam Monroe, after their escape from the facility in Hartsdale. Protocol usually only sends out teams of two, one agent being a normal human and the other agent being an evolved human.
2. Molly Walker never officially worked for the Company. She was used by the Company as the Walker Tracking System. According to Bob, the Company knows of her whereabouts, so she is not considered rogue. However, the circumstances surrounding her adoption by Mohinder Suresh and Matt Parkman have not been made clear.
3. Mohinder was hired to work at the Company for the first time by Thompson. His first assignment involved him working with Molly Walker finding a cure for the Shanti virus. Molly Walker never officially worked for the Company. More officially, she was used by the Company.
4. Although Micah Sanders never officially worked for the Company, he was kidnapped by Candice Wilmer, on Company orders, and used in an assignment to rig the New York election, helping Nathan Petrelli to win.
5. Isaac Mendez never officially worked for the Company. He was more so associated with the Company and Noah Bennet. Bennet brought Mendez into the Company's fold so that Isaac could paint more prophetic pictures in order for Bennet to save Claire from Sylar. Mendez was also associated with Linderman, as Linderman purchased most of Mendez paintings and used them as a "road map" to unlock the future and unify the world.

External links

• CorinthianLasVegas.com, a NBC-maintained website for the Corinthian Casinos by extension of Heroes Evolutions.
• PrimatechPaper.com, a NBC-maintained website for Primatech Paper Company by extension of Heroes Evolutions.
• Samantha48616e61.com, a NBC-maintained website for Hana Gitelman by extension of Heroes Evolutions.
• VotePetrelli.com, a NBC-maintained website for the Nathan Petrelli's congressional bid by extension of Heroes Evolutions.
• YamagatoFellowship.org, a NBC-maintained website for the Yamagato Fellowship by extension of Heroes Evolutions.

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