Claire Had Two Children In Heroes, And Their Father Was The Show's Final Villain

Hayden Panettiere’s Claire Bennet was one of Heroes’ lead characters for the entirety of its run. Her rapid cellular regeneration was one of the show’s most visually distinctive powers, and her complicated relationships with both her paternal and biological families made for some of the NBC show’s most compelling narrative material. Furthermore, not only did saving Claire, the cheerleader, in Heroes season 1 save the world, she herself changed the world in the series’ final moments.

In the Heroes series finale, Claire jumped off a Ferris wheel as news cameras were rolling, and the public watched as she healed from her injuries in seconds. With this action, superpowered people, i.e. Evos, were no longer a secret. Given that Adam Monroe, who also possessed rapid cellular regeneration, lived for over 400 years before Arthur Petrelli stole his ability and killed him, it’s conceivable Claire could have lived just as long, if not longer.

Instead, the 2015 miniseries Heroes Reborn revealed that Claire died after giving birth to her twin children, Nathan, a.k.a. Tommy Clark, and Malina, as the newborn Nathan inadvertently stole her healing ability with his own natural power absorption. Though the twins’ biological father was never directly shown, details have been revealed about him in the wider Heroes franchise. He ultimately ended up being the franchise’s final villain, with Reborn setting him up as a terrifying threat.

The Father Of Claire's Children In Heroes Explained

It was established in the online interactive experience Heroes Evolutions that Claire met Tommy and Malina’s father in 2012 aboard a ship called the Highland Dream. He was one of eight Evos who were rescued by Peter Petrelli and former Company agent Claude Rains from being killed by a lynch mob. This man’s real name was never revealed, as Claire nicknamed him Hammer because he was reading a Mike Hammer novel when they first started interacting.

There were romantic sparks between Claire and Hammer as he recovered aboard the Highland Dream, but one day, he disappeared. A year later, Hammer found Claire at her sanctuary in Italy, and they conceived Tommy and Malina that night. The day after, he disappeared once again, and it’s unclear if Claire ever saw Hammer again.

From there, Hammer indirectly appeared in the Heroes Reborn series finale. Following the main story’s conclusion, Tommy and Malina found tarot cards left behind for them. Tommy’s was deposited by a trench coat-wearing customer at the ice cream parlor where he worked, while Malina found hers in her school locker. When Malina informed Angela Petrelli about it, her maternal great-grandmother said that was a sign that her and Tommy’s biological father was coming, and that no one would be able to protect them.

Heroes Reborn's Abandoned Cliffhanger Set Up A Better Season 2

With a tease like that, it’s abundantly clear that Hammer, who went unnamed in the final Heroes Reborn episode, was set up to be season 2’s main antagonist. However, just like the later seasons of Heroes, its follow-up earned mixed critical reception and underwhelming viewership. As a result, NBC announced on January 13, 2016, one week before the final season 1 episode, that Reborn would not return for another season, keeping it a miniseries like originally advertised.

Despite Heroes Reborn’s story failing to resonate with audiences, it’s unfortunate that the show wasn’t renewed for season 2, as the Hammer cliffhanger indicated a sophomore outing would have been much better. Angela’s warning about Tommy and Malina’s father raised a number of questions about him. What was his real identity? What were his powers? Why did Angela consider him to be so dangerous? What was the deal with his tarot cards? How did he learn that Tommy and Malina had been taken back to 1999 by Hiro Nakamura? The list goes on.

Given how convoluted Heroes Reborn season 1’s story became, focusing on Hammer in this hypothetical season 2 would have been a good opportunity to deliver a more simplistic, yet still intriguing plot. It also would have allowed more light to be shed on what happened in the Heroes universe from when Claire fell off that Ferris wheel, to the Odessa, Texas Evo peace summit bombing that happened one year before Reborn’s main events. At the very least, Hammer’s whereabouts during that time could have been disclosed.

Alas, it was not to be, leaving Heroes fans to simply imagine the kind of man Hammer would have been. Furthermore, since development on Heroes: Eclipsed is “not active now” after the project was announced in 2024, it’s looking like this franchise will remain shelved for the time being, if not permanently.