Nathan Petrelli / Sylar (Heroes) – We’ve seen Nathan as President in two different alternate futures, each 4-5 years away. So you have to like his hustle. In one future, the destruction of New York turned people against those born with super-powers, and President Petrelli devoted considerable time and energy to rounding them up. In another future, well, we haven’t seen much of him yet. But he looks concerned about the destruction of Costa Verde and he’s married to Tracy, who he just met in the present. Again, good hustle.
Of course, in the first of those futures, Nathan is actually the power-mad brain thief Sylar. So he was instrumental in blowing up New York, then he killed and replaced the real Nathan. Again, that leaves us with an evil maniac as President. He managed to bring the country together, but he also was the reason they needed to be brought together. That seems like cheating.
Pros: Nathan’s pretty cool, and he can fly. We don’t know much about his politics, but I think we can all get behind a President who can hold his own in a fight with a guy who’s turning into a giant spider.
Cons: There’s a lot of evil in his family. And the whole “impersonated by Sylar” thing is just going to leave a bad taste in the mouth of the electorate. When you vote for somebody, you’re voting for that guy, not for somebody who may have the ability to imitate his appearance exactly.
Overall: Even aside from the impersonation, Nathan’s administration is pretty much limited to looking concerned after crises. And he’s got at least one illegitimate kid out there. He’s just too risky as a leader.
