Story: R. D. Hall
Art: Jason Badower
Colors: Annette Kwok
Lettering: Comicraft
An ASPEN MLT INC. Production

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Hidden item (easter egg):
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great issue! - i was wondering if they were going to introduce the paranormal into the show. so what exactly does she take - besides their power and their life?
i am beginning to like this character - hopefully they will include her in vol.3 as a flashback villain or something.

it looks like when she takes their aura, she also takes their power....
she said the old lady shined really bright, which is what attracted Linda.
After, she realized she could see dead people, or "angels", which is what they lead us to believe was the old lady's power...

A third type of power replication.
A second type of power theft that requires the death of the person from whom the power is acquired.
Both Sylar and Peter become less unique.

I had been thinking that Sylar and Linda have similiar abilities.
I had hoped that this issue would possibly explain the nature of Sylar's power. I am not sure whether it has or not.

I am beginning to suspect that the creators of this show do not understand the concept of moderation.
"They loved it, Let's pile more on."

Perhaps there is a clue here. Perhaps this story should be taken as further proof of the importance of Souls/Spirituality.

In WizardofWor's "Spiritual Energy Theory" he at one point speculates that Sylar may be acquiring his powers by stealing the "Souls" of his victims. I personally liked that one.

One way to interpret this story is that Linda steals or consumes the Soul/Spirit.
She apparently has now acquired the ability to see discarnate entities.

Another implication is that there is a spiritual dimension or aspect to the powers.

Perhaps this story is a clue to the nature of the power's in general, As well a clue to Sylar's ability specifically.

Sylar and Linda seem to each use a different method, But the end result appears to be identical.

this gn was interesting

It's a shame she's already dead... >_>

LINDA
Is she really dead? I mean.. we don't know exactly what was in her power arsenal. Anything is possible with this power.

PARANORMAL
I really appreciate something different being introduced. I would like to see something like this on the show. So many people are blinded to the science fact, DNA, genetic mutation, etc... Lets bring some of that wonder back. I'm glad they haven't explained the "moon's" affect (ASIDE from the symbology) yet.

IDA WALKER
Molly's Grandma?

SYLAR
Simplicity is best. He understands how things work. Mechanisms, most likely computers, including brains. He just has to open and see it working. This is why he has to get through the flesh, teeth work well. He developed a "Hannibal Lechter" taste for it.

Best Post Ever. (Although I disagree on Sylar's method of Power Transference.)

They've definitely left an opening for Linda's return. This could be interesting.

Linda is definately good villain material. No remorse at all. I would like to see her as one of the 12 villains in S3, if they can resolve the dying, dismembering and incinerating she went through at the hands of Linderman.
That would also make her pretty damn old at this time if she somehow did return unless she has the healing/ imortality ability.

While some are saying that Linda cheapens, Sylar and Peter...

I don't feel that way. Linda is a BIT different. Enough for me to appreciate her. That being said....Linda requires physical contact. And IF, she is "not really dead" she could be really old. I would like to see someone older on the show... wielding a power such as hers. It could be visually stunning to see it from her point of view.

I get the sense that THIS is who Claude was referring to... "Oh, One of those."

We knew there was someone else with this ability, and this may be her.

While the last Linda Tavara novel... made me feel like I lost a few seconds of my life... I enjoyed this one. Her power leech ability, allows her to sense auras to gain these. She can sense people's state of being, joy, destitude, even "high." Some were weakened auras... or "super" ones. As a result of "seeing them," she can steal their "auras." She is an empath.

Applying this to the others...
Similarly, Peter can copy them, but not detect them. Also, through a different method of transmission, Sylar understands them, but has to also steal them. What do you think?

Once again, the aura thing, just added a sense of wonder that this show needs regular injections of as things start to get explained.

I am super happy with this GN. FINALLY I understand what is Linda's power. And I think you're right, Maniacal. This could be who Claude is referring to - that's pretty cool (:
It would be awesome if they could feature her on the show in season 3. I would love to see her power at work.

Oh and um, is it me or does Linda seem to look older and older when they are featuring her in her younger days...?

If, as I suspect, there's a vampiric nature to her ability that would make complete sense. As she "feeds" more and more, she gets healthier. Thus, looks, not necessarily younger, but definitely healthier.

I think mediumship would be a cool power to display on the show.

I'm pretty sure Ida is a relative of Mollys.

In one of 'Hana's' (don't know who's sending them), he mentions the GN and mentions 'a relative of Molly Walker'.

OMG

Yeah maybe it was her grandmother.

Their abilities are similiar too. Molly can find people, Ida can find their ghosts.

Interesting thought. Given her new ability to "see dead people" combined with her ability to detect and "eat" auras, gaining abilities that way...

Can she steal abilities from the dead?

No, I think she can't. Look at the last panel, those dead people have no aura brightness, while the nurse in the background is glowing. If she can't see dead people's aure, she can't drain them too.

Good point.

Of course, the argument could be made that the dead are "pure" aura...

But, then, that raises the argument of why she couldn't see them before...

I am quite sure that Linda Tavara is dead. I am quite convinced that D.Linderman the soldier, The medic, is able to determine if an enemy combatant is dead.

If Linda Tavara; by some strange fate did live long enough to encounter Claude, She would most likely have absorbed a number of different abilities.
1) I consider it unlikely that she would have required Claude's protection.
2) Tavara is a predator, that is how her ability works. Claude's Life force combined with an incredibly useful ability would have presented a meal that would have been almost impossible to resist.

Peter's and Tavara's abilities are similar, Both can perceive the aura, and replicate powers. Linda must consume it, and Peter does not.

Sylar's power and method of acquisition are of a different nature than either of the other two.

Sylar apparently performs a physical process. At this point I am convinced that Sylar consumes the special part of the brain that enables an SG. I also believe that Sylar's primary talent allowed him to figure out how to take powers; But is not required for him to take new powers. It is like learning how to ride a bike, Once you know how, You never forget.

I am also of the opinion that since Sylar performs a physical process to absorb these abilities; It is quite likely that any SG could use Sylar's process and achieve the same results.

I agree that Linda's probably, even most likely, dead.

I'm just saying it's also possible she survived. We simply don't know all the abilities she'd taken by the time she encountered Linderman.

That being said, if she's alive, the fact that we've heard nothing about her indicates she's locked up with the rest of the "extremely dangerous" specials.

Nobody's disputing that. We're simply saying that when you kill someone, and then burn them, you would naturally assume they're not gonna wake up and go walking off on their own. If Linda took an ability similar to Adam/Claire's, she could have "gotten better."

I wonder if she could take any of Linderman's power when she touched him.

I can agree with the possibility that she might be alive, However unlikely. I am not sure the flames in GN#73 prove that Linderman burned the body, They may have been symbolic of the Fires of War in which Linderman's Soul was Forged.

I do not think that she possessed a power like Adams; She thought that acquiring Lindermans gift would make her unstoppable. Why would she think that if she already possessed Regeneration?



If she is alive, I think that is the answer. Her talent is definitely of a "Vampiric" nature. Maybe Linderman walked off and she used already acquired energy from prior victims to heal from wounds which would have killed anybody else.

It takes a while for a body to die completely. Perhaps her healing process is not as fast as that of a Regenerator. It might have taken minutes or even hours for her to regain full health.


If she is alive, and a prisoner, I suspect that we will be introduced to a older woman; possibly frail of health, who upon "feeding" will "miraculously" regain her strength and youth.

I could live with it. It never hurts to add yet another beautiful woman to the cast.

The problem with that is there was no indication it was anything but literal.


Human remains definitely in that fire.



Since they seem determined to try and kill all the ones they have?

OOPS,

I was editing while you were posting.

If he did literally burn the body, Than I would have a much greater problem with the concept of her survival.

We have not yet seen any thing which suggests that that she had acquired a regenerative power from an outside source. She would have had to be regenerating even as she burned, and Linderman surely would have noticed such a thing.



They are Evil,Evil, Men!!!

True. I'm mostly playing Devil's Advocate here.

However, if her ability is Vampiric in nature (and she acts almost as a succubus, without the R and X ratings of course ), it leaves the door open for a couple ideas.
The first is that a Vampire cannot truly die. Most of the older Vampire lore indicates that a stake merely paraliyzes, and that they can reform when burned to death. (Not saying it happened here, just saying what I "know".)

There's also the fact that she took the ability to "see dead people" from the Walker woman. That leads us along the path of possibly allowing her to Spirit Walk when her physical body dies. That, in turn, leads us to the possibility that she can Possess others. Which, of course, raises the question of whether or not she can bring her abilities (natural and stolen) along for the ride.

when i first read that GN with Linda and Linderman, i got the impression that the fire with the bones was like a reflection of his war-torn past and not actually Linda's burning remains. also, i didnt think slamming a stick upside someone's head would kill them, but i guess if you hit them the right way....?
i dont know, it just seemed a little too easy for Linderman. her character really started blossoming after that issue, it just seems a waste to introduce her and then kill her....she is a good character.

if it was indeed her remains in that fire and she is dead, then the only way i can see her being in the new volume is if her story arc takes place in the 70's before Linderman killed her (kinda of like the 70's version of Sylar) - or - she absorbed cellular regeneration from someone...remember when Hiro blew up Adam in the tent back in the 1600's, he was just a smoking skeleton and he regenerated...i guess if the brain is mostly intact, they can regenerate..... - or - some sort of self-resurrection power (not sure how that would work though..)
also - she can see that the auras of SGs are different, so in that way, she can tell who has an ability and who doesnt, but i dont think she can tell what that ability is...so it is kind of like a wild card every time.

"Its mine now."

Was that brief moment enough to gain that power? We do not know if Linderman's power worked on himself.

There could be an open door for Linda Tavara's return.

I think so too. Maybe because her touch was so brief, her healing took a very long time and Danny didn't notice. If Adam did it when he newly discovered his power, Linda can do it too. (But we really didn't ever see Danny heal himself, probably he didn't have a chance because DL duded his brain so flocking bad)