Isaac Méndez
| Isaac Méndez | |
|---|---|
| Heroes character | |
| First appearance | "Genesis" (1.01) September 25, 2006 |
| Last appearance | ".07%" (1.19) April 23, 2007 (alive) "Once Upon a Time in Texas" (4.07) November 2, 2009 (flashback) |
| Portrayed by | Santiago Cabrera Shunsuke Sakuya (Japanese Dub) |
| Information | |
| Occupation | Painter Comic book artist and writer |
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Isaac Méndez is a fictional character in the NBC drama Heroes. Portrayed by Santiago Cabrera, he has the ability to paint the future.
Character overview
Genesis
Isaac Méndez's story begins in the first episode, where he is a struggling, tormented artist living in New York City. His girlfriend and art dealer is Simone Deveaux. Mendez is addicted to heroin, and has had little success in quitting permanently, straining his relationship with Simone. This strain is worsened when Isaac realizes he can see ambiguous future events and paint them—but only when high on heroin. Isaac initially assumes the paintings to be "evil" and tries to destroy them, but Simone sees them as artistically impressive. Near the end of the pilot, Isaac overdoses. Simone seeks help from nurse Peter Petrelli, who recognizes Isaac has painted a picture of him without prior acquaintance. With Peter's help, Isaac survives the overdose.
After he recovers, Isaac seems to have accepted his "destiny" to save New York from a large, nuclear-level, mushroom cloud explosion he saw in one of his precognitive trances and painted on his loft floor during his overdose. Isaac has also come to believe he needs the heroin to "paint the future". Simone doubts Isaac's powers and refuses to tolerate his self-destructive behavior, so she leaves him. During their conversation, Simone also mentions that Isaac's comic book, 9th Wonders!, may be late due to his continued precognitive painting.
In the fourth episode, Simone approaches Isaac requesting new paintings for a showing at her art gallery. Isaac offers earlier works instead, claiming he needs the newer ones to depict the future. Simone doubts she can sell the older pieces and remains unconvinced of Isaac's powers. Isaac proclaims he knew about her kiss with Peter the previous evening. Simone assumes Isaac followed her, but he shows her his drawing, explaining he created it seven weeks prior. Isaac then states he needs money for "painting supplies," meaning heroin, hoping it will help him prevent the nuclear explosion. After injecting himself, he experiences a vision of Claire Bennet at school around Homecoming time, being pursued and cornered by a shadowy figure.
In the fifth episode, Peter visits Isaac to find images of "the cheerleader" that a future version of Hiro Nakamura told him to save. Peter finds the unfinished painting he is looking for, though Isaac explains he cannot finish it, as he is out of both heroin and money to buy more. Peter still believes they should keep trying and, through his ability to mimic other people's powers, manages to complete the painting himself. The phone rings after he finishes. Isaac explains it's a Japanese man he can't understand, and Peter realizes it's Hiro.
In "Better Halves", Isaac and Peter realize they don't know who the cheerleader was or where she lives. They notice one of Isaac's canvases of the future is missing. Isaac realizes Simone has taken it to sell with his other paintings. He doesn't remember what he painted since he was high at the time. After Peter leaves to track down the painting, Eden McCain visits Isaac's apartment, claiming to be a fan.
In the following episode, Isaac and Eden are in a paper plant in Odessa, Texas where Mr. Bennet works. Bennet tells Isaac he helps people with special powers use them effectively, and suggests he learn to use his abilities without heroin. Bennet explains he desperately needs Isaac to create another painting of the cheerleader's attack, as he believes it will allow him to protect his daughter Claire. Isaac tries to paint without drugs, but when unsuccessful, Mr. Bennet has Eden convince Isaac to use heroin to paint an image.
In "Homecoming", Isaac paints a picture of a man glowing brightly, which Isaac later describes as "a man exploding", rather than anything related to Claire. Then, in "Fallout", he starts painting again, though he doesn't consider the paintings to be anything more than art since he hasn't used drugs since painting the previous image. After Eden informs him that Claire has been saved, he realizes the future can be changed. He calls Hiro and arranges a meeting. After meeting Hiro, seeing the future issue of 9th Wonders!, and realizing his recent drawings were actually of future events, he decides to paint without heroin again. Relaxed and advised by Hiro to concentrate, he successfully activates his powers, painting a picture of Hiro wielding a katana, encountering a dinosaur. Hiro mentions he found Isaac killed by Sylar in the future.
Two weeks later in "Godsend", Isaac is doing well and has returned to New York. At his loft, Isaac is visited by Simone and Nathan Petrelli, as Nathan wants to view the "future paintings". Simone hadn't realized Isaac was home. Now clean and able to paint without heroin, Isaac professes his continued love for Simone. She is speechless. Suddenly, Hiro returns, disappointed that he was unable to find the real Kensei sword. Hiro then excitedly greets Nathan ("flying man"), whom he had met previously. After introductions and catching up, Hiro states that Linderman has the sword he desires. Simone remembers that Linderman is a keen art collector, as she has sold him several of Isaac's paintings. Thus, Simone recommends Hiro travel to Las Vegas with one of Isaac's paintings and meet Linderman.
During the events of "Distractions", Isaac actively seeks Peter Petrelli using his power because he has seen Peter explode. Isaac is later revealed to be working with Mr. Bennet when he calls to notify him of Peter's whereabouts.
Later, during the episode "Unexpected", Mr. Bennet visits Isaac at his apartment, where Isaac tells him about the search for Peter and how he has discovered Peter is invisible. Mr. Bennet informs him that this means Peter has encountered an old friend of his, referring to Claude. He then gives Isaac a gun and tells him he expects him to be a hero. Afterward, Peter escapes Bennet and the Haitian, and Claude abandons him, he appears in Isaac's apartment, blaming Isaac for "turning him in." He attacks Isaac with his telekinesis, then turns invisible when Isaac pulls out the gun. As he dodges around Isaac's apartment, taunting him, Isaac tries to pinpoint his location and shoot him. He finally hears a distinctive sound, but when he fires, it is revealed he has shot Simone, who collapses into Peter's arms.
Isaac blames Peter for Simone's death and tries to shoot him, but Peter escapes. Isaac places Simone's body on his bed. Later, the police, having been sent by Nathan Petrelli, arrive at his home, claiming Simone was reported missing and neighbors heard a disturbance and gunshots. Then Mr. Bennet and Candice, disguised as Simone and concealing Simone's body, enter, and the police excuse themselves. Bennet states they have created an alibi in which Simone will be in Europe for months. Isaac is clearly distraught and pleads with Bennet to take him with them. After they refuse and leave, Isaac decides to return to heroin use. He paints a series of pictures, including one of himself with his head sliced open, as seen in the future by Hiro in the episode "Don't Look Back."
In the episode ".07%", Isaac gives a messenger working for the publishing company the next issue of 9th Wonders. As a gift, he also hands over his sketch book. As the man leaves, Isaac looks at the pictures of himself with his head sliced open. Later, Sylar locates and confronts Isaac, who has just finished painting another picture of his death. When Sylar comments that most people would scream at that point, Isaac calmly states he has accepted his fate. He also reveals he has painted a vision of Sylar's death. When Isaac refuses to give Sylar the drawings, Sylar throws him to the ground and impales Isaac's wrists and ankles with paintbrushes. Isaac states he sent the painting away and that throughout his life he has destroyed everything he has loved. He goes on to say he can now die content and, through this final act, can "finally be a hero." Sylar stands over Isaac, the camera pans away, and Isaac screams as Sylar slices into his skull.[1]
Later, Isaac's body is found dead on the floor, his skull missing, as Sylar uses his ability to paint the future, although in a more twisted, nightmarish style.
Generations
In "Lizards", Noah Bennet reveals that Isaac Mendez has painted eight unfulfilled prophetic paintings and sent them to unknown locations before his death. Noah Bennet is the first to receive one of the eight paintings depicting Kaito Nakamura lying dead after falling from a building. In "Kindred", Mohinder Suresh discovers another painting in Isaac Mendez's loft that has yet to be sent. This painting depicts Noah Bennet lying dead from a gunshot wound to the head, with Claire nearby with an unknown shadowy figure.
In "The Line", the other six paintings in the series of eight are discovered by Noah Bennet and The Haitian. The remaining six depict a bleeding Claire Bennet on a staircase; a man holding a vial of clear liquid; Niki Sanders pounding on a door; Peter Petrelli and an unknown man looking out a window, with a biohazard symbol visible; Hiro Nakamura and Kensei sword fighting; and Mohinder Suresh with a broken nose after firing a pistol, possibly one issued by The Company.
Villains
When Hiro Nakamura loses his memory due to Arthur Petrelli's interventions in season 3, he and Ando travel to Kansas to find the latest issue of 9th Wonders. The store owners discover a hidden image of Hiro with Claire sixteen years prior in the first issue. At the comic store, Ando laments the lack of further issues to guide them, but the comic book owner tells them of a legend about the final 9th Wonders story. He tells Ando, Matt, and Daphne that he heard Isaac bequeathed his sketchbook to a publisher's messenger—and that sketchbook contains the final 9th Wonders story. This is the same sketchbook and messenger he left his book to in the episode ".07%" from season 1.[2] Before losing his memory, Hiro compares Usutu to Isaac, calling him "Mr. African Isaac" before their meeting.
Redemption
In "Once Upon a Time in Texas", Noah receives a call informing him that Isaac has made new paintings. During the conversation, Noah learns that the little girl Isaac has painted is Noah's daughter. Noah then explains that he is not the only person with special abilities, and someone is assassinating them. Isaac asks why Noah doesn't stop the assassin if he knows who they are. Noah responds that the assassin's identity is unknown, and that Isaac can help with the identification.
Webisode: Dark Matters, Part 5
One of the Primatech files that Quentin Frady sees on the Renautas root directory is titled "Mendez Paintings".
Heroes Reborn
In "Game Over", Emily and Tommy find a 9th Wonders! comic book, and Tommy claims there is a legend that the author of these comic books was an evo, and that the events within actually came to pass.
Powers and abilities
Isaac possesses the power of precognition, enabling him to depict images of the future, typically while in a trance-like state. During these states, his pupils and irises fade to a light white color, and he becomes intensely focused on painting the images in his mind. He receives very limited contextual information when visualizing the future. He can't discern details about the people, places, or events beyond what he directly observes at that moment. Consequently, he is frequently surprised weeks later to discover the actual meaning of his work. Also, due to his previous heroin use, Isaac was unable to clearly recall certain images after painting them, as he stated in "Better Halves." It seems his precognitive abilities also enhance his natural artistic abilities, as Simone once praised the quality of his work when he was high, and Peter's ability to complete Isaac's unfinished portrait in "Hiros," even without Isaac's innate painting skills, indicates that Peter was painting an image he could partially see, implying that Isaac's power allows one to trace an image from the future, rather than creating it from scratch.
Initially, Isaac's powers were triggered by heroin use, and he was unable to use them without it. During the episode "Hiros", Peter Petrelli mimics Isaac's precognitive ability without heroin to finish a painting when Isaac ran out of drugs. A TV Guide article from early October 2006 revealed that he would eventually attempt to use his power without heroin. [3] In "Seven Minutes to Midnight", Isaac attempted this, but without success. He achieves this in "Fallout", after relaxing and following advice from Hiro Nakamura to concentrate. Neither Peter nor Sylar, after gaining Isaac's abilities, needed heroin to paint the future.
In "Distractions", it's revealed that Isaac can paint specific people and places with refined power. This skill is used to locate Peter, but Isaac thought it didn't work when he drew seemingly random scenery, while Peter was actually invisible in that location. As evidenced in the episode, Isaac reveals that he can interpret his drawings more effectively than while using heroin.
Artwork
Each piece is created for the show by comic book artist Tim Sale, using an ink wash painting style on paper. Isaac is only shown outlining or adding final colors to the paintings.[4] The events depicted in each painting are often straightforward and easily recognized, but others can be more subjective and open to interpretation. A painting might seem insignificant to the current plot, only to later become relevant. For example, a painting of a hand holding a glass of boiling water appeared in the pilot episode, "Genesis." This event materializes seven episodes later during Ted Sprague's interrogation. It was originally intended to occur in the two-hour pilot episode, involving a terrorist with similar powers, when Ted Sprague was conceived.[citation needed]
Legal issues
On March 19, 2007, Clifton Mallery and Amnau Karam Eele filed suit against NBC and Tim Kring, alleging the idea for Isaac Mendez, who can paint the future, was stolen from a short story, painting, and short film they produced. The suit was dismissed. On December 11, 2007, the New York Law Journal reported on Mallery v. NBC Universal, quoting from Southern District Judge Denise Cote's opinion that "the line between mere 'ideas' and protected 'expression' is 'famously difficult to fix precisely'", and stating that Heroes did not infringe. [5][6]
References
- ↑ ".07 Percent". 2007-03-13. Archived from the original on 2007-03-16. Retrieved 2007-03-14. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ The Eclipse Pt 2
- ↑ Zepeda, Dana Meltzer (October 2006). "Everybody's Heroes". TV Guide (October 9–14): 30–31.
- ↑ Topel, Fred (2007-02-13). "Tawny Cypress & Santiago Cabrera". Crave Online. Archived from the original on 2007-02-19. Retrieved 2007-02-21. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Bar, Beth (December 11, 2007). "Judge Dismisses "Absurd" Copyright Suit Over Heroes". New York Law Journal. Archived from the original on 2009-02-26. Retrieved 2008-01-21.
- ↑ Smack Talk: Heroes Accused of Thievery
pl:Postacie z serialu Herosi#Isaac Mendez fi:Luettelo televisiosarjan Heroes hahmoista#Isaac Mendez
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