"Heroes" airs in the U.S. Mondays on NBC

Welcome back, "Heroes" fans, to another installment of BEHIND THE ECLIPSE. This is Comic Book Resources' exclusive weekly feature wherein "Heroes" writers/producers Joe Pokaski and Aron Coliete answer your burning questions about all things "Heroes."

In last week's "Angels and Monsters," fans were introduced to Arthur Petrelli, a character long believed dead. Claire survived a run in with an escapee from Level 5, but was he able to survive a vortex of his own creation? A deal was struck between Hiro and Adam, and fans were left wondering if Ando survived an encounter with the wrong end of Hiro's blade. Maya found a survivor in one of Mohinder's cocoons, only to get wrapped up in one of herself. Linderman's recent reappearance was revealed to have been thanks to the nightmare man himself, Maury Parkman. And fans won't soon forget a rather creepy scene with another former resident of Level 5, whose abilities will remind X-Men readers of Alicia Master's own evil father, the Puppet Master.

CBR's own Remy Minnick and Jonah Weiland sifted through the avalanche of questions sent in by you to bring the best of the best to the Heroes gurus themselves.

This week's edition comes with a special bonus, as Joe and Aron have brought along fellow writers/producers Adam Armus and Kay Foster to help answer your questions! Welcome to the BTE fold, Adam and Kay!

CBR: This week we begin with TJ, a BBC viewer, who asked:

"Are any plans for Richard Drucker to reappear in any form (TV episodes, comics, bizarre text messages or whatever) as he seemed like a great character with a big story to tell and it seems a shame we haven't seen any more of him. And if he is gone for good, how would he have originally fitted into Season 2?"

Joe Pokaski & Aron Coleite: Our buddy Richard Drucker was intended only to be used on the web. There are no plans for him to re-emerge anytime soon. But keep your IMS peeled?

Scene from "Dying of the Light"

Ben wanted to know:

"Why was Peter required to be physically taught Sylar's power rather than just absorb it as he has done all other powers previously?"

Very good question Ben. In actuality, Peter probably had already absorbed Sylar's power -- but he had no idea how to access the ability or how to use that -- much like when he went through the training with Claude. However, when we put that in the script some people, people who have a big say in the show, said that was confusing and the audience wouldn't understand. I think they underestimate just how brilliant our audience is. But -- they write the checks, so....

Volts is trying to connect the webcomics to the show and needs your help:

"My question is one of identification. Is the person who visited Daphne in Samir Mellouk's office in Paris at the end of the graphic novel 'Our Lady of Blessed Acceleration, Part 1,' the same person who appears to be Arthur Petrelli's doctor in the Pineheasrt building at the end of 'Angels and Monsters?'"

Intriguing isn't it? You'll find more about this mysterious gentleman in Episode 308 -- the simply titled -- "VILLAINS!"

Scene from "Dying of the Light"

Jake Chandler has two questions for you this week:

"I've been waiting for someone with super speed ever since this show began, so thank you for Daphne. Now, does she have the same powers as The Flash? Like being able to vibrate through walls or handcuffs, strength (not like Nikki's but still stronger than the average human), healing (not like Claire's but better than the average human)?"

You will get to know a lot more about Daphne's powers as the season progresses, including strength and healing. We had a big argument about strength in the Writers Room. I brought up the mass = force times acceleration argument, but some people just don't believe in physics. More on Daphne will be revealed in Episodes 310 and 311, simply titled "The Eclipse!"

And now... we hand the rest of the questions over to the writers of Episode 305 -- "Angels & Monsters." The amazing Adam Armus and the fantastic Kay Foster.

Welcome, Adam and Kay! Get ready for the BTE grilling!

Lauren wants to know:

Scene from "Dying of the Light"

"Do Peter and Sylar have the same father? I get the feeling that not all three of Angela's sons belong to Arthur Petrelli. It seems to me that, since their powers are sort of two sides of the same coin, they might share a (possibly very gifted) father, while Nathan, who has a more 'basic' power, might be the product of a less gifted, or not gifted at all, father."

Adam Armus and Kay Foster: Well, Lauren, according to Angela Petrelli, Peter and Sylar absolutely have the same father -- and she should know, right? Right?! Yes, we agree that their powers are very similar, and it's very possible their father might also share a similar power. Then again, who knows?

As for Nathan, we all know now that he's a "synth." But does that make him any less a hero? Who knows?

Our friend Karen Miller asks:

"We saw Peter slice Nathan open in the future, as soon as he took Sylar's power. This week, he tried to do the same to Angela. Does this mean that the only difference between Peter and Sylar that made one a killer and the other not is the 'hunger?'"

The hunger be very powerful mojo. But doesn't Peter's personality make him stronger? Is Sylar just more susceptible to the urges that the hunger brings? Stay tuned.

Popkorn615 is wondering about Maury:

Scene from "Eris Quod Sum"

"So, wasn't Maury locked up at The Company? I was under the impression that he was even in Level 5. After all, he WAS in the files that were shown in 'Angels and Monsters,' and all of those guys were Level 5'ers. If this is the case, then how could Maury have been manipulating Nathan from the beginning of Season 3?"

Maury was indeed on Level 5. But was he incarcerated during the time of the great escape, or did he get out before that? We'll have to go back and check the logs.

Lonshot3 asked:

"My question this week concerns Stephen, the Black Hole guy. He had an awesome power and could've ranked as one of the most powerful characters on the show. Without going into any advanced physics of black holes, I'm pretty sure that if a person was to enter a black hole, then they would be dead. So, is Stephen definitely dead or what?"

Glad you liked Stephen, Longshot3, he was a favorite of ours as well. We have no future plans for him -- but we never say never on "Heroes."

Rachel G is doing some sleuthing:

Scene from "Eris Quod Sum"

"We learned that some of the heroes we grew to love are in fact guinea pigs. This was first mentioned in the 1st season when Niki/Jessica and D.L. came across records of their entire lives in Linderman's pad. This would indicate that D.L. was also injected since his records were there. too. So, two questions:

"1) The two of them had a child together. Does the injection mutate their core DNA so their children are also infected or are people like Micah and Claire also human guinea pigs?"

Well, Rachel, I guess that depends on what you consider a "human guinea pig." As far as we've thought about it, Micah was born with his abilities, so he indeed is a by-product of human experimentation. Was DL synthetic? That remains a question yet to be answered.

"2) There was mention of multiple infants in those experiments, is this how the company can come across/track so many specials without alerting the 'powers to be' about the powers that are?"

Sure. Let's go with that.

Dan Kemper wants to know about the mechanics of writing an episode:

Scene from "Eris Quod Sum"

"As writers, how do you plan an episode? Do you think of an overall theme, then start planning a story? And also, when you write a story arc, how much do you know about the character? For example, did you know that Sylar was Peter's twin brother from the very beginning?"

Dan, we mostly just sit around a conference room and talk about what we'd like to see in an episode. By "we," I mean the entire writing staff. Sometimes we're not all present, but we all usually get a say in what goes into a script. We usually find the themes as we create the stories. It all falls magically into place somehow. We don't like to ask why in fear of jinxing the process.

As far as Sylar being Peter's twin -- where'd you get that from? They don't look alike at all to us. Oh, do you mean fraternal twins? Um, yeah, they're not that either.

Justin Barlow wants to know about the Petrelli patriarch:

"Just out of curiosity, have there been hints dropped as to Arthur's ability? In episode 3x05 'Angels and Monsters,' he seemingly paralyzes Angela through a dream in which she looked scared of him. Also, at his bedside, despite Arthur being hooked up to those machines, Maury seemed pretty terrified, too. Have we gotten hints, or are we in for power-guessing fun?"

Scene from "Eris Quod Sum"

When we see him at first he's got powerful mind mojo going. Stay tuned for more exciting powers fun for Arthur.

Shauna Field writes:

"I was wondering where all the female Level 5 baddies are? Are there none so far because there is already a strong female presence on the show? Or are the female baddies on another level, part of some sick genetic Easy Bake oven experiment where the Company is artificially inseminating them trying to create babies with specific powers?"

Fantastic question.

Shauna, looks like you're on to something -- but you'll just have to wait to find out the answer!

Adam asked:

"Now that Peter has Sylar's ability, and the Hunger that comes with it, we've seen that he's been driven to kill just like Sylar did to learn more. Why is this? Sylar 'needed' to kill (or at least see a person's brain, we assume) to understand and acquire an ability, but with Peter's empathic ability, he can just absorb other people's abilities, with no need to kill to acquire them. Is this Hunger just a hunger to learn, or is it actually a hunger to kill? Or is this a case of Peter taking on some of the personality of the person he mimics?"

Scene from "Eris Quod Sum"

Did Sylar really need to kill to acquire an ability? Or was it the hunger or thirst to "know more" that made him kill? Stay tuned.

Dan asked:

"In the original storyline for Season 2, the virus would have been released. Would Maya's abilities have played any role in stopping the virus?"

"Of all the words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these, it might have been."- John Greenleaf Whittier

Allison wants to go back in history:

"So Angela and Arthur obviously hate each other (bring on the drama!) but is there anyway one day we will see them young and in love. There is one thing kids never get, that their embittered parents were once young too."

Young and in love? Well, maybe. Check out episode 8.

Daniel Bowen wants to know:

"Is Daphne only immune to Hiro's ability while she's moving at high speeds, or is she somehow immune to his power all together?"

Ask again after you watch episode 6.

Scene from "Eris Quod Sum"

Mj1cu asked three questions:

"1) We have seen eight of the twelve escaped villains (Stephen, Doyle, Echo, Knox, Maury, the German, Flint, Jesse), will the other four villains still appear this season?

Could be. Only one way to find out.

"2) In Kaito's video to Hiro, he mentions that not only has Kaito protected his half of the formula, but so did his father before him. Does the formula pre-date the company? Does Hiro's grandfather have a power?

Not sure. Shall we go back to Feudal Japan to find out?

"3) I realize the plans changed with the Writers Strike, but there were many items revealed in the vault in season 2. Are there any plans, immediate or long-term, to go back and explain/explore these items?"

Could be. Long term. Maybe even longer than that.

Thepoohguy asked:

"Did I miss something with the Knox story line? One minute he's running away from Sylar and HRG, and now he's signed up with Pinehearst. How did they even know to go out and recruit him when he just escaped from Level 5."

Scene from "Eris Quod Sum"

Knox was a level 5 escapee. Arthur (and Maury) knew about all of them. It was up to Daphne to recruit him... and she did... off camera.

"Also, Stephen Canfield's power was really cool. Will we ever find out where the vortex goes in hopes he might still be alive? Is it the same vortex my dryer creates when I suddenly find a sock missing?"

Yes, Stephen Canfield has plenty of socks.

"On the writing side, what's the craziest storyline you guys have come up for the show, but had to throw out because it was too crazy or just wouldn't work for some reason?"

Two words: Old Hiro.

Steve McSheffrey asked:

"I'm just curious about how Angela's powers work exactly. Can she dream normally at all or does every time she goes to sleep do the future visions start? If she has no off switch it would explain a lot about her. Is it scientific fact or just commonly held old wife's tale that losing the ability to dream leads to various psychotic behavior? If it were true and she can't dream like the human brain requires, then there's an extra level to her going on."

Scene from "Eris Quod Sum"

There's definitely an extra level to Angela. That said, I hope she can have dreams like the rest of us. Like taking a test naked. What? You never have those?

JC wants to know:

"Is Peter completely in the grip of The Hunger now? I'm finding it hard to reconcile his sudden lust for killing with the sweet, kind-natured guy we've known until now. Is he ever going to learn to control it?"

Stay tuned, JC. Well, you can switch the channel after the show is over, but stay tuned every Monday at 9 eastern on NBC. Unless you live out of the country, then check your local listings and stay tuned. Never mind, just keep your TV on the station where you get Heroes and stay tuned, just in case.

Jasmine asked:

"I was wondering will 'Heroes' ever do a musical episode? I think it would be awesome to see a Heroes musical episode especially since a lot of the cast has awesome singing abilities."

Scene from "Eris Quod Sum"

We love musicals. We wrote one for "Xena." That said, absolutely not.

Sorry, Jasmine!

And we finish this week with a Mr. Muggles question -- because we all know BTE wouldn't be the same without a Mr. Muggles question. Nicholas Yanis inspired this question:

Between Mr. Muggles and Sylar's son Noah, who was the greater power?

Muggles, hands down. Noah got killed, yo.

Thanks for watching. Peace out.

Thanks as always to Aron Coleite and Joe Pokaski -- and Adam Armus and Kay Foster! For those of you who want to participate in our next Q&A with questions following last Monday's episode "Dying of the Light," e-mail us your questions for the chance at seeing your query answered right here in BEHIND THE ECLIPSE. Please make sure to get in all your questions in by 6:00 PM Pacific time on Thursday October 23rd, 2008 to be taken under consideration for next week's edition.

As an added bonus, "Heroes" star Milo Ventimiglia will be signing this coming Saturday, October 25th, at Golden Apple Comics in Los Angeles copies of the debut issue of his new Devil's Due Comics series "Rest," including a limited edition version of the first issue. Visit their Web site for full details.