Okay, the new revelation in the first few episodes was that Sylar was really a Petrelli, a full-blooded brother of both Nathan and Peter. But then HRG basically said that it was just Angela and Arthur Petrelli taking advantage of his issues and that he's basically Gabriel Gray. But this could actually be HRG screwing with his head to try to get an advantage too just like it's plausible that the Petrellis are trying to manipulate Sylar. So which is it?

I personally was really getting to believe in the Petrelli theory myself with the corroborating evidence for it but now there's a possibility it's all back to the original origin story? What do people think? Is it better that Sylar be Gabriel Gray or Gabriel Petrelli? Which makes more sense? Or is better storytelling-wise?

Pro Petrelli:
- Angela first tells Sylar that he's her son and Arthur then confirms her words by telling Mohinder to quit beating on the unconscious Sylar because Sylar's his son. Other than their meeting in Angela's dream, how would they coordinate on deceiving Sylar? Would they even cooperate on this despite their current enmity?
- In the future, the Gabriel living in Costa Verde with his son, Noah, and Mr Muggles is wearing a Presidential Chef apron (in reference to Nathan being President) and tells present Peter that they're brothers even though they had 4 years to actually verify this fact with a simple DNA test and/or further research. Plus, even if that future will never come to pass, it's not like it can modify the past or certain biological relations.
- Arthur specifically instructs Daphne to recruit Sylar and knows all about him as he says "I've been waiting for him for a long time" as if he's been behind the scenes manipulating Gabriel/Sylar all along (which would explain Elle's weird mission, how Sylar was saved by Candice or why Sylar wasn't exterminated immediately the first time HRG captured him).
- The ability to take/absorb powers is rather rare in the Heroes-verse and it seems strange that Arthur automatically knows that Sylar's power has a facet unknown to Sylar before Arthur told him about it. If the GNs are canon, the aura absorption ability DEFINITELY does not work the same way even though it basically has the same effect as stealing powers as Arthur's with the additional side effect of killing the victim. Arthur's assumption that Sylar's power works the same as Peter's seems to be way too confident when chances are he could be so wrong. This also feeds into the whole behind-the-scenes vibe of grooming Gabriel into becoming Sylar.

Pro Gray:
- Not enough is known about the Gray family to determine whether they are Sylar's adoptive or biological family with any certainty.
- It's possible that Gabriel is a special born to 2 normals or he inherited his gene from the unknown Gray father as it's still possible that unrelated people share similar abilities since West (S2) and Nathan have flight while Claire and Adam have regeneration (at least I don't think they're related).
- There's enough information in a psychological profile on Sylar that the two Petrelli elders know that his weakness is his issues with his family.
- If Angela always knew that Gabriel was her son then why tell him now when allies are few and far in between? Why not tell Sylar earlier to prevent a scene where it's Brother against Brother, if she loves her kids so much (I mean she freaking tried to kill Arthur for trying to kill Nathan!)?
- Nathan would definitely be old enough to remember if there were another younger brother that he had (he's like 12 years older than Peter) so unless the Haitian was used or Sylar was Peter's twin and thus easily given away at the same time that Peter was brought home from the hospital, the sudden disappearance of a third Petrelli son should have left some marks on the family, right?

What do you guys think?

PS I posted this under a general Sylar Appreciation thread but was told that this probably merited its own thread and I kinda realized that it did.

I like Sylar more as just Sylar. No ties to anyone. I started seeing him as sort of the "Anti-Petrelli" and I loved it. I just coming to terms with his Petrelli-ness before last night and I actually cheered when HRG said that. I guess I'd be ok with Sylar as a Petrelli, it makes sense and all, I just prefer that he's not.

For me it would be cool if he was what I thought he was, an illegitimate child of Arthur's with Mrs. Gray. It would explain Angela actually considering murdering him. Why would he bring Sylar home so she could do that? He didn't. Angela goes and finds out about Arthur's little picadillo with Mrs Gray and attempts to kill him.

Anyway here's what Aron and Joe hint at in this week's CBR--Behind the Eclipse

Apollo wants to know about the inner workings of another power:

“With the episode ‘It's Coming,’ we learn that Sylar has empathic mimicry like Peter. Seeing as it was made clear in the first season that characters only start off with one power, does that mean that his intuitive aptitude is actually an absorbed power (perhaps from his watch-making adoptive father)? And going off of that, was it his intuitive aptitude that allowed him to steal/copy powers, or was it his was of accessing his mimicry powers without emotional connections?”

Aron and Joe:

You’re making our intuitive aptitude to answer these questions go crazy. Suffice it to say this – you’re gonna learn a lot more about Sylar tonight and in the upcoming episode 319, “Shades of Gray.” Written by our very own Oliver Grigsby. Get it? “Shades of Gray.” Because his name is Gabriel Gray.

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=18984

There have been a couple of things this season I haven't liked all that much and Sylar being a full blood Petrelli is one of them. One of the things that I always liked about Sylar is the inner struggle he had going on, wanting to be special but knowing he was normal.

I love the idea of Sylar being an illegitimate child of Arthur's with Mrs. Gray though and it would explain why she was always pushing his to be "special" when both she and her husband were normal everyday people.

And of course after, I wrote the above the reverse could also be true. Angela and...Mr. Gray? Angela and Lindermann? Its possible.

Another thing that might be possible is that he was a test tube baby implanted into Virginia Gray with genetic donations from Arthur and Angela embryo and sperm but born by Virginia.

Does that make him have three parents?

Or a test-tube baby who genes culled from all four possible parents. I'm not sure if its possible but it might be with gene splicing and all.

It just shows you as we get more scientifically able to manipulate genetics, parentage can become a real issue.

To answer one of your original questions kainee Angela might not have known that Sylar and her child were the same person.

Its possible neither Bob, Arthur or Angela were aware of his parentage until recently. Its possible HRG was lying in last night's episode or telling a partial truth. Certainly Elle looked guilty, which caused her problems later.

If the Primatech tracker gives us any insight they haven't updated Gabriel Gray's files to say he is in anyway connected to the Petrelli family.

Science making parentage more complicated then it has to be, lol.

Id say hes more of Arthurs illeginimate son then Angelas. I just dont get how that power from briget couldnt tell him if he was or not. Why else would Angela give him that ability if she didnt want to prove to him that he was her child? If HRG was lying to him, then he did it to stir up his mommy issues. Effectivly aiming Sylar at the Petrellis and Elle. Elle was, after all, the one that shot Claire. Why not use a killer to kill for you? Even if Sylar isnt a Petrelli, I just want him to go back to being a powerful character and not this emo reck we have before us.

I think he is Arthur's son with Virgina Gray. Don't ask how they met. It's just what I think.

Maybe she was his secretary and they got a little too frisky one day. =)

Maybe he was created in a lab! So he has no biological parents, he is just an experiment! But the Petrelli's see him as a son because they made him! Then hey realized they made a monster (ala Frankenstein)!

OK that is probably my worst ever crackpot theory

I just wish that they would just decide one way or another. Ugh.

Arther iz not Sylar's dad, eet waz confrimd in Out Fether because Sylar taken Shoe Landerz's godsend.

Okay with that revelation the "son of Angela Petrelli and Kaito Nakamura" has become my favorite crackpot theory.

Sylar maybe neither a Gray or a Petrelli. His birth parents maybe totally different and one we now know is.

Will the haters have on less thing to bash about?