8 Harsh Realities Of Rewatching Heroes, 20 Years Later

Published Oct 1, 2026, 2:00 PM EDT Mary Kassel is a Senior Writer & Critic who joined the Screen Rant team in 2023. After graduating from Emerson College with a degree in Media Arts Production, Kassel started at Screen Rant with a focus on the critical analysis side of movies and television while continuing to work on set in film production. At Screen Rant, Kassel primarily writes for the Classic TV section, mining their encyclopedic knowledge of television history for content. However, they also contribute to the Books team and review both film and television as a critic. Despite a mixed legacy, the iconic TV show Heroes still gives audiences and critics a lot to discuss, twenty years after the series premiered. Created by Tim Kring, Heroes ran from 2006–2010 and was popular enough to warrant the 2015 reboot, Heroes Reborn. However, looking back on genre-bending series today, it's clear that Heroes deserves its critiques and praise in equal measure. There's no question that Heroes changed the superhero genre, flipping familiar tropes on their heads by focusing on regular people who were suddenly gifted, or cursed, with otherworldly abilities. When Heroes first premiered, it drew comparisons to shows like Lost, which used a large ensemble cast of characters and utilized the sci-fi and mystery box premises. However, Heroes worked hard to stand out, even if its risks didn't always pay off. Heroes is a TV show with a perfect pilot episode, hooking a large audience base and earning plenty of goodwill from viewers as the later seasons declined in quality. However, there's plenty to love about Heroes, making it as fun to return to the series today as it was twenty years ago, even if it's hard not to notice some of the flaws that pop up along the way. Heroes Recycled Plots Too Many Times MovieStillsDB It can be interesting when a TV show returns to a storyline to rehash what went wrong the first time and learn from its mistakes, but this wasn't how Heroes approached its recycled plots. The original stakes of Heroes season 1 see each character work together to prevent the destruction of New York City. Unfortunately, each season introduced yet another apocalypse the ensemble had to stop, through time travel, tangled mysteries, and the overarching villainy of Sylas. The threat might have changed as the seasons progressed, with viruses and fascist governments appearing, but there are only so many times the potential end of the world can feel scary and imminent. Additionally, it wasn't just the plot structure that got repetitive on Heroes, but the character arcs too. Though the characters were brought to new locations and faced new challenges, their emotional journeys grew stale. The Cast Of Heroes Got Too Big To Handle MovieStillsDB An ensemble cast can be a blessing and a curse for a show as popular as Heroes. Having a wide array of characters to cut back to and learn more about kept the pace fast and ensured the audience always wanted to tune in to find out what happened to their favorite person on the show. However, even at the start, Heroes was contending with a lot of people at once, and as new faces were introduced, even the most dedicated viewer would have trouble keeping everyone straight. It didn't help that the main characters' powers in Heroes were sometimes difficult to remember, as Heroes had to continue thinking up original abilities to keep up with the growing cast. Keeping so many of the characters from season 1 meant that the audience didn't get a chance to connect as deeply with new additions to the cast, even if they were compelling. This also meant that there were characters with poorly planned arcs. A few, like Peter's girlfriend in season 2, Caitlin (Katie Carr), ended up disappearing without a trace. Heroes Started To Rely On Tropes MovieStillsDB While tropes are a part of any genre and can be found across superhero and sci-fi shows, Heroes initially pushed back against relying on these story devices. Leaning away from what was expected was part of the reason that Heroes broke out so quickly in season 1, garnering respect from fans and critics. However, even Heroes eventually fell victim to using some tired tropes to keep the series running for as long as possible. Part of the reason Heroes introduced plot lines like Hiro's accidental time travel, Peter's amnesia, and Sylar's many returns from the grave is that it kept writing itself into a corner. While using devices like this doesn't have to worsen a story, for Heroes these tropes were used as a band-aid. When the series wasn't sure how to get a character out of a situation, it would fall back on a dramatic plot point out of a comic book. This strayed away from the original premise of the show, which was about everyday people. Sylar Didn't Work As A Recurring Villain Everett Zachary Quinto's turn as Gabriel "Sylar" Gray on Heroes is one of his best performances. In Heroes season 1, Sylar is a terrifying villain, and the series builds up to the reveal of his backstory and gruesome acts as the antagonist with perfect pacing. However, even though Sylar is compelling, there's a case to be made that his death in the season 1 finale should've been permanent. Heroes would've benefited from a new villain in season 2 instead of centering on Sylar again. Quinto does his best to make Sylar's motivations feel resonant every time Sylar rears his head again. His role as a foil to Peter also maintains the viewer's interest in his actions. However, seeing Sylar evade death so many times and eventually attempt to redeem himself felt more like desperate ways to keep his character in play, not logical expansions of his arc. Heroes Should've Been An Anthology Series It would have been tough to let go of beloved characters like Peter, Claire, Mohinder, and Hiro if Heroes had followed its original plan and become an anthology series. However, for the long-term success of the series, it would have been worth it. Kring has stated the show was originally intended to be an anthology series, following new characters discovering their powers every season. It's interesting to imagine what this would've done for the story. Every season of Heroes attempts to keep the story fresh and brings in new players to increase the intrigue of the storyline. However, this wasn't enough. Heroes season 1 did a great job of bringing the characters' emotional journey to a close. Each main character reached the end of their arc, leaving them nowhere to go when the viewer picks back up with them in season 2. If the show had been able to focus on different people, this would've kept things interesting. The Characters In Heroes Were Inconsistent MovieStillsDB Heroes was a fast-paced show, with motivations and loyalties frequently changing, but there were some characters who switched sides too quickly to be believed. This becomes particularly egregious in the later seasons, especially with Nathan and Sylar, whose motivations and heroic intentions are hard to keep track of. Nathan always had the tendencies of an anti-hero because of his desire for power, but seeing him turn to the dark side and help hunt others with abilities was too far out of character. Additionally, one of the biggest mistakes Heroes made was giving powers to characters who initially didn't have any. Giving Ando and Mohinder abilities was a misstep. This choice ultimately changed their personalities and roles in the story, not just their fighting skills. It's not uncommon in a genre series like Heroes for almost every character to end up with special or secret powers by the end of the show. However, Heroes owed more to its characters than simply sticking them with powers when their future was uncertain. Peter And Sylar Were Overpowered From The Beginning MovieStillsDB The most powerful characters in Heroes are Peter and Sylar. They aren't the only characters with this issue, as Claire is basically immortal and Hiro can control time and space. However, Peter and Sylar's ability to absorb and use multiple powers at once makes them nearly impossible to defeat. The writers on Heroes became aware of this fact, consistently finding ways to keep both characters from reaching their full potential through devices like amnesia or forcing them to only use one power at a time. Having one or multiple overpowered characters is a problem that many superhero and comic book stories face, and Heroes is no exception. While it's exciting and flashy to watch a character who can't be stopped, it quickly backs the writers into a corner, as this ultimately lowers the stakes, since the audience is aware these powerful beings can win any fight. Without the emotional ties Heroes created for these two, it would've been much harder to watch them onscreen. Heroes Season 1 Was The Best Season By Far MovieStillsDB While the later seasons of Heroes don't deserve all the backlash they received, it's impossible to ignore that the series never quite recaptured the magic of season 1. Gripping from the first moments of the pilot, when Peter nearly takes flight, Heroes is the most grounded in its first outing, relying more on the character relationships it introduces than on plot devices. After season 1, Heroes loses its focus and doesn't have the same propulsive energy in the story. Unfortunately, even Heroes season 1 isn't perfect, as the season-long arc loses steam the closer the characters get to the day of the explosion in New York. The Heroes season 1 finale is a bit anticlimactic compared to the stakes set in earlier episodes. However, when returning to Heroes, it's almost impossible to stop watching, even if the later seasons don't quite live up to the standard set by season 1. This is what keeps viewers talking about the show decades later. Release Date 2006 - 2010-00-00 Network NBC Showrunner Tim Kring Directors Allan Arkush, Jeannot Szwarc, Adam Kane, Greg Yaitanes, Sergio Mimica-Gezzan, Roxann Dawson, Paul A. Edwards, John Badham, Donna Deitch, Kevin Dowling, Seith Mann, Ron Underwood, Paul Shapiro, Lesli Linka Glatter, S.J. Clarkson, Daniel Attias, David Straiton, Kevin Bray, David Semel, Holly Dale, Ed Bianchi, Nathaniel Goodman, Christopher Misiano, Ernest R. Dickerson Writers Tim Kring Cast Hayden Panettiere Ezekiel