Claire Bennet (Hayden Panettiere)

Hayden Panettiere as Claire Bennet

Background

Six months prior to the start of the series, Claire had just become cheerleader at her high school. Jackie Wilcox, another cheerleader, befriends Claire and helps her join the cheerleading squad. Though "popular" like Jackie and other squad members, she tries not to be arrogant unlike Jackie.

Jackie brings Claire her cheerleading uniform and pressures her to put it on. Claire declines, saying she will try it on later. Somewhat put out by this, Jackie says that there are other people who would like to be cheerleaders. At this remark Claire tugs the uniform from Jackie's hands but in doing so smashes into a glass case cutting her hand. When they show Claire's parents, Mrs. Bennet says that Claire might need stitches. After Claire, Jackie, and Mrs. Bennet leave for the hospital the phone rings and Mr. Bennet answers. It is Chandra Suresh informing him of Claire's power.

Several days later, Claire is in her room trying on her cheerleading uniform. Mr. Bennet comes in and asks if he can see her hand with the stitches. When they unravel the cloth around her hand they are both surprised to see not even a small scratch. Mr. Bennet remarks, "Well that healed nicely."

In the pilot episode "Genesis", set several months later, Claire has discovered her power. Frightened as to what it means, she confides in Zach, a high-school classmate who videotapes Claire testing her regenerative power by attempting to injure herself. Zach thinks Claire's power is the "coolest thing to ever happen in their town"; Claire believes it makes her a freak and is afraid of it being discovered. Her younger brother, Lyle, also discovers Claire's powers after finding the tape Zach filmed. Claire swears him to secrecy.

Despite wanting nothing more than a normal life, Claire has been through her share of harrowing experiences. In the pilot episode, she saves a man from a burning train wreck. The credit for the rescue is later claimed by her friend Jackie. Wishing to avoid publicity, Claire grudgingly stays silent while Jackie takes the credit. Also, what appears to Claire to be burgeoning romance with Brody Mitchum, a quarterback from the school's football team, turns nightmarish when a drunken Brody tries to rape Claire. The encounter ends after she is accidentally "killed" when he knocks her down on a pile of wood and a branch impales the back of her neck and embeds itself into her skull. Claire later revives on the autopsy table when the branch is removed. She manages to escape when the coroner steps out of the room. Brody is stunned to see Claire alive at school the next day, but is led to believe he misremembered the incident due to his drunken state.

Discovering she is not the first girl Brody assaulted, Claire decides to take revenge. She asks Brody for a ride home and volunteers to drive his car. During the drive, she confronts him about his behavior, but Brody is unrepentant and indicates he will continue assaulting girls. Claire then purposefully crashes the car into the wall of a building at high speed. They're both taken to the hospital, even though Claire's body quickly repairs itself due to her powers. When her father comes to visit her, Claire breaks down and tells him of Brody's assault. Her father says he will take care of it. When Claire approaches Brody in his hospital room later to tell Brody she realizes what she did was wrong, he has amnesia to the point of not knowing his own name.

Having sustained no injuries, Claire is quickly released from the hospital. After several requests from Claire, Mr. Bennet arranges for Claire to meet Hank and Lisa, a couple that is presented as her biological parents. She tries to subtly pump them for information about her superhuman power, but they seem unaware of anything abnormal about Claire.

"Save the cheerleader"

After the first four episodes of the series, a story arc called "Save the cheerleader, save the world" begins. Claire's ultimate fate is implied to be tied to the fate of the entire world. A future version of Hiro Nakamura told Peter Petrelli: "Save the cheerleader, save the world." In a painting Peter finishes for Isaac Mendez, a cheerleader is seen dead, with her brain removed from her skull. Isaac also experiences a vision of Claire being chased at her school. The episode "Seven Minutes to Midnight", shows Mr. Bennet telling Isaac that Sylar will kill Claire at her school's homecoming game, and he needs Isaac to help him prevent the crime by completing a painting of Claire being murdered.

In the episode "Homecoming", Claire is elected homecoming queen after her friend Zach campaigns for her, persuading all of the school's "unpopular" students (who outnumber the "popular" ones) to vote for her. Claire punches fellow cheerleader Jackie after Jackie taunts Zach about his sexuality. Claire's father grounds her, ostensibly for punching Jackie, but really intending to keep her out of harm's way by preventing her from fulfilling Isaac's "prophecies." Zach persuades Claire to sneak out her bedroom window and go to the game anyway.

At the game, Claire meets Peter, but since he saw the newspaper article where Jackie took credit for the fire rescue, Peter believes Jackie is the cheerleader he is there to save. An argument between Claire and Jackie in the school locker room is interrupted when the lights suddenly go out and Claire hears someone approach. Claire tells Jackie to run, but Sylar catches them and cuts Jackie's scalp telekinetically. Claire is thrown against a wall without a second thought when she attempts to intervene. Claire, splattered with blood, quickly recovers from her broken bones, gets up, and runs away from Sylar, who realizes he has made a mistake as Jackie dies from massive blood loss. In the hallway, she finds Peter and the two of them flee the building. Claire takes Peter's advice to run toward the stadium full of people, but then turns back to find him lying in a pool of blood. She is then astonished to see him heal himself just like her. As Claire goes to get help, she runs into the arms of her relieved father, who says the police will handle things at the school. He also says she is lucky to be alive, leading Claire to admit that her survival is not due to luck.

When the story continues in "Fallout", Claire's father informs her that he has always known about her powers and has done things he is not proud of to protect her. He tells her Sylar has been taken care of, but warns Claire not to tell anyone about her powers, claiming there are others who would want to harm her. Claire recovers the remaining video tapes depicting her powers from Zach and destroys them. She warns Zach not to tell anyone about her healing abilities. Claire and her father are interviewed by law enforcement officials, but Claire tells them both she and Peter must have been "just lucky" to have survived Sylar's attack. Claire later meets with Peter alone and is fascinated when he tells her he risked his life to save her (as he was not sure in advance if he had adopted Claire's healing factor). She remarks that he is "totally [her] hero." Claire later discovers that both her brother and Zach no longer remember what they've seen regarding her unusual healing abilities. Claire panics and calls her father, extremely frightened. Mr. Bennet reassures her that he remembers and everything will be all right. The Haitian then appears out of the shadows and covers Claire's mouth with his hand. He tells Claire that Mr. Bennet sent him to wipe her memory of the preceding events, just as he has wiped the memories of Brody, Lyle, and Zach. The Haitian even states that he had to mind wipe Claire's mother "so many times" in the past. However, the Haitian then said that there is a reason Claire must remember and asks her if she can keep a secret.

Alone

Two weeks later in "Godsend", Claire is struggling with being alone again since the Haitian did not wipe her memory. In front of her father, she pretends that she does not remember anything the Haitian was supposed to erase. She tries to reconnect with Zach, but between his lack of memory and resentment over the way their friendship ended in grade school, he's not interested. Desperate, Claire meets with the Haitian to discuss her options and the state of things. She mentions "save the cheerleader, save the world," wondering what it means and if she's even "saved." The Haitian states that she has been saved for the time being. He also rebuffs her request to see Peter, stating he is being watched by her father. She asks the Haitian to give Zach his memories back, as she does not want to be alone, but he tells her he cannot. Before leaving, the Haitian also recommends she respect her abilities more, rather than see them as an affliction. Eventually, Claire takes Zach back to the spot where they filmed "attempt number six." After redoing the same stunt from "Genesis", she now says into Zach's camera, "This is Claire Bennet, and as far as you know, that was attempt number one."

In "The Fix", Claire and Zach search for information on her biological mother, telling Mr. Bennet that they have been grudgingly partnered together on a biology project for school. Their search leads them to Meredith Gordon, a woman reported to have died in a fire along with her eighteen-month-old daughter. They believe Claire to be Meredith Gordon's reportedly-dead daughter. When Claire contacts several people with the surname "Gordon," she finds a woman who identifies herself as Meredith.

The woman is shocked to hear that Claire survived and is revealed to possess the ability of pyrokinesis. In "Distractions", Claire and Meredith meet, sharing their powers with each other. Later, Meredith telephones Claire's biological father, who is revealed to be Nathan Petrelli, informing him that their daughter is still alive. At the same time, Peter manages to use Claire's healing power without her present, recalling how she made him feel to use his body to access her ability whenever he needs it.

In the episode "Unexpected", Claire finds that her adopted mother is showing signs of temporary memory loss, at one point even forgetting the family dog, Mr. Muggles, only to revert to her normal self a few minutes later. Later on, Mrs. Bennet collapses while in the kitchen and is rushed to the hospital. When Mr. Bennet arrives, Claire is unable to suppress her anger against him any longer and admits to knowing about the repeated memory wipes that Mr. Bennet has had done on her adopted mother. After this, the family returns home, where they are confronted by Ted Sprague and Matt Parkman.

In "Company Man", Claire and her family are held captive by Sprague and Parkman. After a botched attempt to free the family by Mr. Bennet, Claire and her father convince Matt to shoot her to get Sprague's trust. She attempts to free her family after she regenerates, but is captured by Sprague in the attempt. After Sprague is shot and his radiation powers go violently out of control, Claire uses her regenerative powers to get close enough to tranquilize him. However, Claire is seen healing from severe radiation burns by one of Mr. Bennet's superiors, who insists that Claire be turned over to their employers. In the end, Claire is given to the Haitian, who is to keep her safe from Bennet's company.

In "Parasite", she is supposed to go with the Haitian to flee the country but manages to slip away from him by stealing his passport at the airport. She then goes to Peter Petrelli's apartment, finding his mother, Angela Petrelli, instead. Angela reveals that not only is she Claire's grandmother, but that she and the Haitian have been corresponding for some time in order to protect Claire.

"Save the world"

In ".07%", Claire learns that her grandmother, Angela Petrelli, knew of her existence all along, even though Nathan thought she had died in a fire as a baby. Mrs. Petrelli tells her that she still needs protecting and the two of them will be going to Paris until after the election. When the seemingly dead body of Peter Petrelli is brought to his mother's house, Claire comes downstairs to see Peter for herself. Claire finds a huge jagged shard of glass penetrating his skull. When she pulls it out, Peter comes back to life. Later, Nathan, realizing he cannot afford to have her in the city in the days leading up to the election—to avoid any scandalous issues and possibly to get her out of the way of Peter's nuclear explosion—asks Claire to go to Paris. Claire reluctantly agrees to go with Angela, and the two of them embrace warmly.

Two days before New York is to be blown up, Claire is still staying in the Petrelli Mansion. She watches as her father Nathan greets his wife, Heidi Petrelli, and their two boys, Monty and Simon, upon their return to the mansion, although Claire is not introduced to them. Later, Claire and her grandmother, Angela Petrelli, begin packing her bags for Paris. Peter walks into the room and talks to Claire about destiny, although she is convinced the best way for Nathan to protect her is to fly to Paris. Claire tells Peter about Ted Sprague, a man who can manipulate radiation after Peter reveals he will likely "go nuclear" and destroy half of New York.

Peter and Claire confront Nathan about Ted; with someone else capable of manipulating radiation, Peter is hopeful the explosion can be prevented. Nathan remains doubtful, pointing out that Peter's vision was of his own explosion. Peter reminds Nathan that he had a vision of flying as well, despite the fact that it was Nathan who could fly - a fact that impresses Claire. Later, Peter and Claire go to the Petrelli campaign headquarters to meet with Nathan. Upon arriving, they see Nathan talking with Thompson, whom Claire recognizes as her adoptive father's boss and the man she is running from.

Peter gives Claire a handgun, telling her she is the only person who can get close to him if he begins to explode. He instructs her to shoot him in the back of the head, a spot she knows will prevent him from healing. She reluctantly agrees to carry the weapon. The pair recognize a location from one of Peter's drawings of Ted, and decide to look for him. While waiting for Ted to appear, Claire and Peter discuss how their powers have changed their lives. Claire then sees Mr. Bennet walking with Ted and Matt Parkman. She runs to her adoptive father as Peter and Matt acknowledge each other. Meanwhile, Peter notices his hands begin to glow as he absorbs Ted's power.

New York

In "Landslide", Mr. Bennet orders Claire to leave the city with Peter and Ted. They are making plans to make their way out of New York to Nebraska when Peter hears Sylar's thoughts and they hide in a building upon realizing he is nearby. When they re-emerge, Ted is arrested by the FBI. Whilst on his way to a holding facility, the FBI truck transporting him is made to crash by Sylar and Ted is subsequently murdered; his abilities having been absorbed by the villain.

Upon receiving this news in "How to Stop an Exploding Man", Mr. Bennet requests that Peter stay with his daughter at all times and he agrees. Claire, however, feels betrayed when, instead of finding Sylar on their own, Peter drives them to a parking garage where Nathan is awaiting their arrival. Firm in her belief that they cannot trust him, Claire sneaks out when Peter leaves her in the car to speak with his brother, only for her to run into her grandmother, Angela Petrelli. Angela and Nathan have plans to leave the city with Claire to Nantucket but when she finds out that they knew about the impending explosion all along and is willing to let it transpire, she jumps out of Nathan's office window after bluffing them that she has accepted the situation. Rapidly healing after her fall, she runs off to Kirby Plaza where she catches up to the scene just when Peter is about to explode.

Mr. Bennet hands her a gun to shoot her uncle just as she had promised before but Claire hesitates, pleading with Peter that there must be another way. Nathan flies down in between them at that moment and agrees with his daughter. Claire and the others can only watch as Nathan flies away with his brother into the stratosphere where Peter then explodes, saving New York City but possibly sacrificing her birth father's life in the process.

As the first season ends, Claire reconciles with her adoptive father and they make plans to reunite with the rest of their family.

Four Months Later

In "Four Months Later...", Claire and her family have moved to California, where Claire starts her first day of 11th grade in Costa Verde High School under the last name of "Butler". She quickly meets West, who nearly runs her over when she accidentally runs in front of his car. Following her father's advice - "Be extraordinarily unextraordinary" - she does nothing that makes her stand out, including answering simple science questions. At P.E. she stands up to the head cheerleader, who dares her to perform a back tuck; however, Claire does not perform the tuck in order to avoid standing out. Later, in a deserted gymnasium, she breaks her leg performing the trick that she was dared to do and heals just before West arrives. It is soon revealed that West has the power to fly, just like Claire's biological father Nathan Petrelli.

In "Lizards", Claire is curious about the extent of her abilities and whether they could be used to help others. In order to test herself, Claire uses a pair of scissors to cut off one of her toes in order to see if it would grow back. It does, but unfortunately this is witnessed by West through her living room window.

In "Kindred", West tells Claire that he has special powers as well and also that a few years ago in St. Louis a man with "Horn Rimmed Glasses" tried to track him down. Claire realizes that this is her adoptive father Noah Bennett.

In "The Kindness of Strangers", Claire makes the cheerleading squad and dates West. She promises to her dad though that she won't date.

Alternate future

In the alternate future of "Five Years Gone", Claire has been hidden from the world by Mr. Bennet due to the world's newfound awareness and fear of those with special powers, having been shipped from place to place in an effort to keep her identity and whereabouts secret from her biological father (President Nathan Petrelli) and his "hero"-hunting Homeland Security Department. She works as a brunette waitress in Midland, Texas, in the Burnt Toast Diner, under the alias of "Sandra". She discusses an upcoming wedding with her blond-haired fiancé, Andy. However, upon learning that others are aware of Claire's existence, Mr. Bennet travels to Midland in order to once again erase Claire from the map. Although he succeeds in persuading her to pack up and leave, he is later betrayed (and presumably killed) by the merciless Matt Parkman, who telepathically discovers Claire's location and apprehends her at the diner.

Claire is taken to the Petrelli Mansion in New York, where she is visited by Nathan Petrelli. Nathan explains the necessity of the sweeping presidential measures he's taken against the genetically-advanced of the world. Though simply disgusted with her father at first, the situation takes a turn for the worse when "Nathan" reveals himself to be Sylar in disguise. He has killed both Nathan and Candice Wilmer, using her power of illusion to masquerade as Nathan. Sylar telekinetically scalps Claire, killing her.

Isaac's art

Claire appears in Isaac Mendez's paintings many times. The first painting seen with Claire is the episode "One Giant Leap". It is a painting of Claire walking away from Zach. This painting mirrors a scene that occurred immediately before the painting was shown.

Claire appears in three more paintings that come to pass in the episode "Homecoming". One is of Claire running up the steps of the school auditorium, with a shadow cast over her. Another is of Claire's face with an afraid and shocked expression. The last is of a shadowed man standing over a cheerleader that is implied to be Claire with her brain missing (however, the victim turns out to be Jackie Wilcox). This painting was started by Isaac Mendez and finished by Peter Petrelli.

The last painting of Claire seen is in the episode "Parasite" when Hiro tries to steal Takezo Kensei's sword from Linderman's archives. In the background of the office, there is an image of Claire on an autopsy table with her chest cut open. This scene occurred in "One Giant Leap".

Powers and abilities

Claire can spontaneously regenerate any tissue in her body, allowing her to recover from any injury within seconds to minutes. Claire's ability has not been shown to have any definite limit thus far (although it is strongly implied that having her brain removed would permanently kill her), though she does need to have foreign objects, such as a branch or a shard of glass, manually removed from her body and bones pushed back into position for the wounds to heal properly. Claire has been shown to regenerate extremities; in one second season episode, she experiments with the limits of her powers, cutting off a toe. A new toe rapidly grows into place. Describes her response to pain to West, Claire says "I feel pain; I just get over it quickly."

Series writers Joe Pokaski and Aron Coleite would only comment that she "feels pain, but not the way most of us do." Between her tolerance for pain and seemingly unlimited healing potential, Claire's portrayer, Hayden Panettiere has compared Claire to the X-Men character Wolverine, although she is "less hairy and without claws."

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