UK Edition
Feeds
The Context
In the pilot episode of Heroes, 'Genesis', a range of characters were gradually introduced to the audience. However, none was quite able to make the immediate impact of Claire Bennet, who quickly demonstrated her jaw-dropping ability to overcome extreme injury. Cleverly, the scene was all filmed through the video camera of her schoolfriend Zach at a remote location in Odessa, Texas.
The Moment
Through the video camera, we see a teenage blonde girl run up a flight of stairs and onto a bridge. "Camera ready?" she enthusiastically asks. "Yeah, almost, " comes the reply from the young male cameraman. "This looks like seventy, eight feet. This is so unreal," he says, as he surveys the drop through the lens.
The girl is then seen jumping off the bridge, emitting a piercing scream while in mid air. "Oh my God," yelps Zach as he rushes over to her body, discovering her face down in the dust. She calmly gets to her feet, nonchalantly pops her right shoulder back into place with a big crunch, and says to the camera: "This is Claire Bennet. That was attempt number six."
The Aftermath
Instead of boasting about her recuperative powers to the world, Claire thinks of herself as a freak of nature and wishes Zach to keep quiet. Soon after, she saves a man from a fire and makes a quick exit, with a cheerleading rival of hers later trying to claim the feat as her own. Matters are made worse when Claire is the subject of an attempted rape by a drunken member of her high school's football team. As she tries to fend him off, she becomes impaled on a tree branch and seemingly dies. During the process of an autopsy on her body, Claire awakens and makes a discreet exit while her flesh and skin are restored to their former glory. Then comes the whole "save the cheerleader, save the world" scenario...
