Eden McCain

Template:Heroes character box Eden McCain, born Sarah Ellis, is a fictional character featured in the television show Heroes. She is portrayed by Nora Zehetner.

Character history

Sarah Ellis was born and raised in a small town. Her father frequently argued with her stepmother and left them when she was young. She was forced to do housework immediately after school for most of her childhood by her stepmother, a stereotypically cruel woman. Over time, her stepmother began to blame the girl for her father abandoning them and even called her worthless. After years of this treatment, in response to a particularly violent tantrum, Sarah shouted "I wish you'd just die!" and caused her stepmother's heart to instantly stop beating. The house then caught on fire as a result of her stepmother's cigarette falling to the ground. After escaping, Sarah asked a passerby to take her west, and later adopted the name "Eden McCain".

Afterward, about six months before most of the series' events, Eden was a criminal doing any selfish thing she wanted. This changed when she was taken in by Noah Bennet. Bennet and his partner the Haitian pacified Eden's powers so that Bennet could persuade her into working with them. Her first assignment was to move in near Chandra Suresh and befriend him, so that she could remove the name of Bennet's daughter from a list of superhumans Chandra had made.

After Chandra's death, Eden remained in the apartment building. Mohinder Suresh temporarily moves in to his father's apartment, and Eden befriends him and assists in his research. Mohinder decides to return to India, but rather than use her power to prevent him from leaving, Eden makes romantic gestures to encourage him to stay, or at least to quickly return.

After Mohinder leaves, Eden relays to Mr. Bennet the information she learned from him about Peter Petrelli, Isaac Mendez, and Hiro Nakamura. Mr. Bennet then orders Eden to bring Isaac in. After going to his apartment and introducing herself as a fan of his artwork, she brings Isaac to a secret area in Bennet's workplace in Odessa, Texas. Mr. Bennet orders Eden to persuade Isaac to use heroin, which he had just given up, so that he can paint a prophetic image with his precognitive powers. Though she disagrees with Bennet, she eventually follows his command.

At the end of "Homecoming", Eden uses her power to put Sylar to sleep with the Haitian present. Later, in "Fallout", she suggests killing Sylar by using her power to make him kill himself. When Mr. Bennet disagrees, Eden takes matters into her own hands. She approaches Sylar outside his holding cell with a gun, then explains that she's going to give him the gun and he's going to commit suicide. During their conversation, Eden reveals that she was the next door neighbor of Chandra Suresh. Before she has a chance to invoke her power of persuasion, Sylar telekinetically jerks Eden through the glass wall of his cell, breaking her concentration. He then grabs hold of her throat and begins to choke her while she struggles to try and shoot him. Sylar claims that a gun won't work on him and that he will kill her and take her power. Eden quickly decides to put the gun to her own head and fire, taking her own life before Sylar can steal her power. Her body is later found in Sudbury, Ontario, having been dumped into Lake Ramsey.

In the Heroes graphic novel "Fathers and Daughters", Mr. Bennet tracks down Eden's father to tell him about her death. When Mr. Ellis responds with cruel indifference, Mr. Bennet angrily smashes him against the wall of his house. Bennet shouts that Eden had died a hero who'd sacrificed herself to save countless lives, though it was "no thanks to you". When Ellis tries to apologize, Mr. Bennet ignores him, telling the Haitian to erase his memories but "leave the guilt".

Powers and abilities

Eden possesses the power of persuasion, which audibly manifests when her voice becomes hoarse, loud and reverberates somewhat. When she speaks she can compel a person to obey her command, from simple actions ("You don't want to give me a ticket.") to largely involuntary bodily functions like sleep and the beating of the heart. In one instance she yelled "I wish you'd just die!" to her step-mother, not intending to use her power, and the woman's heart stopped, killing her. Because her powers depend greatly on her ability to speak, she can be rendered powerless if she is gagged or in any way made incapable of speaking. Those affected by her power generally undergo an absent-minded state where they are compelled to do as they were instructed and will stay in this state until someone forces them back into consciousness.