The Mysteries of Heroes - The Symbol

There is a symbol that appears throughout the show. The symbol represents a helix and is linked to the evolved humans. The symbol first appeared in the second episode, Don't Look Back. The symbol has appeared in season one and two, and the graphic novels.

In season one the symbol has appeared as a tattoo on Jessica's shoulder, the Haitian wears it as a necklace, and is found on the front cover of Chandra Suresh's book, Activating Evolution. There have also been less obvious sightings of symbol as well. Drawn in Claire Bennet's textbook, in the yellow pages for a Jittetsu Arms advertisement, and on various photographs attached to the different maps.

The symbol also has appeared in season two. It has appeared on Hiro's childhood toy sword, in Molly's eyes when she reveals the man who can see her, and on Peter's hand after he destroyed the virus.

The graphics novels also hold appearances of the symbol. The symbol appeared as Hana's earrings,and on Hana's ring, on a necklace worn by Guillame, and in the sand drawn by Guillame.

There are several theories around what the symbol represents. One idea is that the symbol represents RNA. RNA is where the abnormality lies. There is some evidence that backs up this idea. The symbol looks like RNA with a rung missing, which shows the abnormality. The cast and production team refer to the symbol as a single helix.

Another theory is that the symbol was left by Hiro in his travels. However there are two questions which argue against this, why would Hiro spend time making the symbol by arranging shards of glass, or stones? The other question is, how could he have added symbols to Jessica's shoulder or the comics?

Some fans also believe that the symbol protects people from the Shanti virus; this is due to none of characters with the symbol has become infected with the virus. When the Haitian gave his necklace, with the symbol, to Peter he became infected. However Niki was infected and Jessica had the tattoo.

However, no matter which theories are true or which ones are false. It seems that the symbol is has multiple meanings. Tim Kring and the rest of the production team have said that the symbol represents a helix. However Ando Masahashi has said that the symbol is a combination of two Japanese characters.