Trivia: Hiro's dad's license plate says NCC1701 (the actor playing Dad is "Star Trek's" Lieutenant Sulu), which is the registration number of the USS Enterprise on "Star Trek."
Trivia: When Hiro buys the comic book, he pays with a 1000 yen note, which is a typical price for manga in Japan. This translates into approximately $8.48 American. As a typical 2006 newsstand price for comics is about $2.99, the vendor actually got more than his money's worth.
Trivia: After Hiro and Ando are in Vegas using Hiro's abilities to "cheat" at gambling, they are riding an escalator dressed in identical suits. This is an homage to Rain Man, when Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman are in Vegas, also using a special ability to gain the upper hand in gambling, and are also in identical suits on the escalator.
Unexpected - S1-E16
Trivia: Stan Lee appears as a bus driver towards the end of the episode.
Trivia: The date on Hiro's watch, October 2, is the same date this episode first aired in most North American areas.
Seven Minutes to Midnight - S1-E8
Trivia: The title "Seven Minutes to Midnight" refers to the Doomsday Clock that the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists prints to represent the global nuclear threat. The clock was originally started at Seven Minutes to Midnight when it was introduced during the Cold War and it was also Seven Minutes to Midnight when this episode of Heroes aired.
Trivia: In episode 18, "Parasite", Hiro finds the sword listed on the computer with the ID "CRM-114". This tag crops up in many Stanley Kubrick films, including A Clockwork Orange (as "serum 114") starring Malcolm McDowell, who also features in this episode.
Trivia: On the floor of Isaac's loft, the painting of the New York explosion was originally done in black and white. The pilot episode and a couple others were shot with the black and white floor. The color was added in post-production. After a couple of episodes of them having to digitally add color, and realizing they would be shooting in Isaac's loft a lot, the producers finally decided to have the floor painted to save time and production costs.
Chosen answer: It's not been made 100% clear. It was originally assumed that he actually consumed part of the brain, but this has turned out not to be the case. Sylar has been shown all along to have an instinctive knowledge of how things work and how to fix them - this is his actual original power and the ability that made him an exceptional watchmaker and repairer. It appears that he uses a similar process when acquiring new powers - he exposes the brain of the target, allowing him to examine it and determine how their power functions. He can then apply that knowledge to his own brain, allowing him to replicate the ability in question.
Tailkinker ★