Heroes

Gabriel Gray a.k.a. Sylar (which he adopted from the name on his watch) is a former timepiece restorer who always desired to be special instead of "ordinary". Chandra Suresh came to him, identified him as "Patient Zero" in his research and revealed the existence of evolved humans to him. Discovering his ability of intuitive aptitude, he realized he could figure out how abilities worked and how to gain more. Sylar became a serial killer, targeting other evolved humans to steal their brains and gain their abilities. Sylar was driven by an uncontrollable "hunger" which for years he was unable to overcome. Once finally neutralized, his memories as Sylar were erased by Matt Parkman, who used his shape shifting against him and forced him to believe he was Nathan Petrelli. For months, Sylar's body was inhabited by Nathan's mind, unaware of his true identity. But after Sylar's mind was reunited with his own body, his conscience began to battle with Nathan's conscience for control of Sylar's body. However, Nathan did not have the stamina to battle with Sylar forever, and he eventually surrendered full control to Sylar. After trying to force Matt to remove his powers for fear of living alone forever, Sylar was double-crossed, and Matt trapped him in his own head, leaving Sylar in a world where he is completely alone. After spending several years in the illusory world (in actuality only several hours), a repentant Sylar was freed with the help of Peter and eventually fulfilled his role as a hero by stopping Eric Doyle from controlling Emma. He then witnessed Claire reveal her secret on camera, calling it a "brave new world".

Gabriel was born to Samson Gray and an as yet unnamed mother. When Gabriel was very young, Samson sold him to his brother, Martin (who abandoned his family not long after), and Martin's unstable wife, Virginia. He also witnessed Samson murder the boy's mother after a heated argument. He always dreamed of bigger things, of being "special", hopes amplified by Virginia's overzealous mothering. Adopting the name "Sylar," he becomes a serial murderer, targeting evolved humans with abilities, but doesn't discriminate against killing anybody who stands in his way. Having the power of intuitive aptitude, Sylar is able to see how things work and use that to take the special powers of others after killing them. The FBI has categorized Sylar as a suspected serial killer. His suspected victims are sometimes seen with their heads sliced open horizontally at the center of their skull and their brain removed. Other victims are pinned to walls, frozen, or beaten. Sylar is hunted by the FBI, but has successfully eluded and taunted them, growing stronger and more powerful with each victim.

Sylar's activities have since been noticed by the Company, who have made him their most wanted until twelve villains were released from level 5 accidentally by Elle. Since, he's supposedly been trying to change from being a serial killer to doing good, his motives remain unknown. He was Noah's partner in the Company for a short while, and was on Arthur Petrelli's side for a while as well, until he learned that he was not his father. After learning that Samson was his true father, Sylar began seeking him, gaining a companion, Luke Campbell, in the process. Eventually he sent Luke home and finally confronted his father, a former serial killer with intuitive aptitude who was dying of cancer. After this meeting, Sylar returned to killing, teaming up with Emile Danko to hunt other evolved humans and gaining the power of shape shifting.

Sylar's memory was erased by Matt Parkman and replaced with the memory of Nathan Petrelli. The change was unstable, however, as "Nathan" began to manifest some of Sylar's abilities, and a vision of his true self began hounding Matt, demanding his body back. Now Sylar is looking for revenge, starting with acquiring more abilities at the carnival. However, Samuel has convinced him otherwise, and after absorbing a empathetic new ability, is once again stalking Claire Bennet. However after meeting with her, it seems may seem that Sylar wants to lose his abilities to become human and make a connection with someone.

To accomplish this goal, Sylar threatened Parkman to remove his powers, but was double-crossed, with Matt trapping him in a nightmare where he is completely alone and without his powers. In order to save his friend Emma, Peter entered an increasingly repentant Sylar's nightmare in an attempt to free him. Trapped together for what seemed like years, Peter and Sylar overcame their animosity towards each other and escaped. Traveling to the Carnival, Sylar saved Emma from Eric Doyle, declaring himself a "hero" in the process. Accepting that he could truly become a hero, Sylar was optimistic when he witnessed Claire reveal her ability on live television, dubbing the result a "brave new world".