History Awesome / Heroes

* Linderman gets one of these along with a CMoH when he heals Angela's mind, showing her Arthur's true colours.

*** To say nothing of Matt and how he used his powers to give Daphne a fairy-tale ending just before she died. [=CMoA=] for him. [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments]] for the whole scene.

*** To say nothing of Matt and how he used his powers to give Daphne a fairy-tale ending just before she died. [=CMoA=] for him. [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments CMoH]] for the whole scene.

** How about Volume 3: "Aren't you going to eat my brain or something?" "Eat you're brain? Claire, that's disgusting."

-->'''Thompson''': "What am I thinking now, Parkman?"
-->'''HRG''': "Your last thought..."

*** First, she threatens to kill Sylar for putting them in a ''Film/{{Saw}}''-like death trap, to which he taunts from the phone--
---->'''Sylar''':From cheerleader to stone cold killer. Who's the monster now?\\
'''Claire''': (fires the phone with a shotgun) You are.

---->'''Sylar''': Shh, it's not going to hurt a bit.
---->'''SFX''': [[LivingLieDetector Human Lie Detector]] tone.
---->'''Sylar''': ''[amused]'' Got me. That's a lie.

----> '''Sylar''': Is something wrong?
----> '''Horrified Bystander''': ...no.
----> '''Sylar''' (to himself): heheh, it does kind of tingle.

--->'''Hiro''': What are you doing?!
--->'''Ando''': I'm being awesome!

** None of these Claire [=CMOAs=] holds a candle to the way she stepped up in "Company Man" and singlehandedly stopped a nuclear situation. She went from TheChick and TheWoobie, to total badass.

*** In the graphic novel "Fathers and Daughters", he visits Eden [=McCain=]'s father to inform him of her death. When the neglectful drunken asshole reacts with apathy, Noah slams him into a wall and verbally crucifies him:
-->She may not have been ''worth'' much when I found her. But she overcame her past...Her terrible childhood...Her drunk parents...The father who abandoned her. She gave her life to stop a depraved and dangerous man from gaining her ''gift''. Her sacrifice will prevent countless deaths. Your daughter was a goddamn hero. No thanks to you.
*** And when the man breaks down crying, Noah instructs the Haitian:
-->Don't erase everything. ''Leave the guilt''.

** And her ''stabbing Sylar in the eye with a pen''. Of course it doesn't actually kill him, but from the sound of it had to hurt like hell, and it gave her time to escape.
* Adam and Hiro's duel at the end of the "Feudal Japan" storyline. Just a pity the writers made their rematch such a dud.

** Perhaps the greatest of all, stopping Peter's bullet from killing Arthur, and then sending it in himself. "You're not a killer, Peter, but I am."

** Tricking Claire into discussing a possible solution to Sylar's emotional issues with Gretchen. "Now, was that so hard?"

** Hiro gets one more in "''The Eclipse''" while Sylar and Elle has the Bennett family cornered. Just when Sylar is about to kill Noah, Hiro suddenly appears and teleports both villains elsewhere, ''all the while believing he's only 10 years old because of a mindwipe.''

** First season finale. Five words: "[[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome I'm]] [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments not]] [[TearJerker leaving]] [[PetTheDog you]], [[HeroicSacrifice Peter]]."
** In the comic "Trial by Fire", Nathan uses his power to rescue a woman from a burning building. This from the man who scoffed at using his powers for such a thing.
-->To think I was gonna vote for the other guy.
* Monica taking down the burglar at her restaurant. She saw a Wrestlemania match on TV (particularly Wrestlemania 22's Wrestling/ReyMysterio vs Wrestling/RandyOrton vs Wrestling/KurtAngle for the World Heavyweight Championship) and she immediately replicates Rey Mysterio's 619 to knock a burglar out.

* Pretty much the entirety of the "Let's Beat Up Sylar" sequence from the Season One finale.

* Peter had three of these in "Homecoming".

* Peter has a great CMOA in "Dying of the Light" when he tackles Sylar, flies him down a hallway into a wall, and beats the ever living crap out of him, knocking him out and attaching him to the machine that had just earlier kept Peter in an induced coma.
* Usutu also had an epic one in "Dying of the Light". Hiro walks into his hut and sees a painting of Usutu hitting him over the head with a shovel. A few seconds later the Usutu does just that. When Hiro wakes up, he goes back in time to try to sneak up on Usutu when Usutu hits past-Hiro. While waiting behind a rock, he sees another painting of Hiro getting hit over the head with a shovel by the Usutu. Sure enough, Usutu appears behind him moments later and knocks Hiro out cold. This could also be a great example of SugarWiki/{{Funny Moment|s}}.

* Episode 3x09, "It's Coming". Arthur Petrelli, possibly ''the'' most powerful man on the planet, has his hands on Hiro's head, making him ''scream''. Non-badass normal Ando shouts "Leave my friend alone!" and ''jumps'' at him.
** Not to mention pulling an escape by using Hiro's teleportation power ''for'' him, by manually changing his catatonic friend's facial expression.
* Also in It's Coming: Peter, who's been stripped of his powers, rescues Claire through sheer cleverness and guts.
--->'''Peter''':"I ''don't'' need an army to kick ''your'' ass!"
* Noah, during The Eclipse: While everybody's powers are gone, he takes on Sylar and Elle, knocks them both out, and ''dislocates Sylar's arm by ripping it out of its socket!''

* Well if we didn't already know Sylar was a badass...in "Building 26", he tells Luke a sob story about his Daddy Issues, and Luke gives up the address of Sylar's father's place, believing that he and Sylar have connected, and that now Sylar won't kill him per his usual style. Then the diner they are in is swarmed with the guys who are hunting Sylar, and Luke does some brilliant improv to get himself and Sylar out...and Sylar leaves him behind! Cold, heartless badass, you might think, but ''it gets better''. Sylar then comes back and kills a van full of guys, escaping with a briefcase in hand and Luke over his shoulder. DidntSeeThatComing.
* Doubles as a crowning moment of heartwarming.
** Thankfully, Sylar fights back the hunger and, while angry at Luke for lying to him, spares his life.

* Matt and Peter using tag-team [[JediMindTrick Jedi-Mind-Trickery]] to force their way into the government headquarters during ''"Exposed"''. Made even more awesome with Matt's smug nod to the security camera; the people on the other end can't do much about it because he's brainwashed two armed agents to hold ''the entire MissionControl at gunpoint'' inside their command center.
** Matt and Peter as the Venture Brothers mental image FTW!

* In the Graphic Novels, Candice destroying an asshole jock's mind with illusions. And her holographic high school holocaust at the end of her origin story.

*** And of course, the TearJerker episode is Bryan Fuller's triumphant return to the show's writing staff after Series/{{Pushing Daisies}} was cancelled.

* I'm sorry, can we have a round of applause for Rebel/Micah? He has single-handedly organized a resistance against the government roundup efforts, made brilliant use of his technopathy, and he's only 12 years old!
** In addition in the Graphic Novels Micah forms his very own Super Hero team! He, Sparrow Redhouse, West and Abigail easily take down the government goons after them and from there continue protecting specials from Nathan's Nazis.
*** And on a similar note: In the latest GN Micah is kidnapped and tied to a chair by Thompson Jr, son of Noah's old boss, whose gone utterly crazy since his partner in the company died. He has Micah at gunpoint and wants to know where the woman who helped bring about his partners death is. Does Micah crack? NO: he commandeers a remote control crane and proceeds to smash it into the building, summons his team mates who kick Thompson's ass and then, just for an encore he puts Thompson's name on the worlds top ten most wanted lists. And he does it all without even flinching. It's not surprising that he's formed the Heroes universe first official super team...

* Speaking of telepathy, in "Turn and Face the Strange" Matt uses his powers to find the one person Danko actually cares about and force him to admit everything he's done to her. Then, he proves who the better man is by refusing to shoot Danko's girlfriend.

* From "Pass/Fail": Claire stabbing Sylar in the eye with a pencil.
** The same episode, after Hiro decides to change his plea in the trial to "Guilty", Kaito hands him his sword, everyone steps aside to reveal Adam standing between Hiro and the way back to life holding the same sword. Awesome sword fight ensues.

*** For, I believe, the second time Ando showing that his supercharging power has not been forgotten as he and Hiro perform a mass teleportation.

* Claire jabbing a pencil into Sylar's eye. So awesome this is the ''third time'' it's mentioned on this page!

'''Claire''': [[spoiler:(fires the phone with a shotgun)]] You are.
*** Towards the end, she [[spoiler: jams a gigantic shard to glass into his brainstem while he was ranting to Angela. This is the only way to arrest a regenerator's power. Sadly, it doesn't stick.]][[note]]Funny how the only one of the main characters to not play an active part in the Kirby Plaza fight against Sylar is one of the few to do serious harm to him on several occasions (including ''almost killing him for good'' in "The Butterfly Effect"![[/note]]

** How about Volume 3: [[spoiler:"Aren't you going to eat my brain or something?" "Eat you're brain? Claire, that's disgusting."]]
** Hell, [[spoiler:The entire first half of the episode where Sylar just stalked Claire from the shadows in her own house. I'm back Mother&%$/?!s]]

* Season 3.4 [[spoiler:[[strike:Future-Sylar]] Gabriel literally beating Knox to a pulp and becoming so enraged that he goes nuclear after Knox [[MoralEventHorizon kills lil' Noah]]. This after it is implied that he has achieved a level of self control that would put most zen masters to shame.]] Beware the quiet ones indeed.

** Not to mention [[spoiler:slitting Sylar's throat.]]
* Mohinder [[spoiler: beating the tar out of Flint during the Eclipse]], with only a microscope and his rapier wit.

* Hiro, after being dismissively insulted one too many times, [[spoiler:apologizes--but in advance, for punching ice queen Tracy in the face and stealing the formula.]]

* In "A Clear And Present Danger", the hunter gets in Mohinder's cab, pulls a gun and says "Just drive." Mohinder coolly responds "It's your dime." Then, when they get to where the hunter's team was waiting for them on the top of a car park's roof, well... when Mohinder put his hand on the cab door, [[spoiler:he rips it off and smacks the crap out of the guy with it, followed by using it as a shield against gunfire]] before hauling ass. Whoa!
* Agent Simmons--a random RedShirt--gets one in "Trust and Blood": Sylar's been horrifically torturing him for a day, including sticking his hands to a chair by impaling them with screwdrivers, and he still refuses to talk--even after Sylar starts going after innocents. And then, when Sylar's distracted, comes the real awesome: [[spoiler:he frees himself by pulling the screwdrivers up, probably ruining his hands in the process, and ''still'' manages to grab his gun and, had Luke not intervened, would have killed Sylar]].
* Well if we didn't already know Sylar was a badass...in "Building 26", he tells Luke a sob story about his Daddy Issues, and Luke gives up the address of Sylar's father's place, believing that he and Sylar have connected, and that now Sylar won't kill him per his usual style. Then the diner they are in is swarmed with the guys who are hunting Sylar, and Luke does some brilliant improv to get himself and Sylar out...[[spoiler:and Sylar leaves him behind!]] Cold, hearltess badass, you might think, but ''it gets better''. Sylar then [[spoiler:comes back and kills a van full of guys, escaping with a briefcase in hand and Luke over his shoulder.]] DidntSeeThatComing.

*** To say nothing of Matt and how he [[spoiler: used his powers to give Daphne a fairy-tale ending just before she died.]] [=CMoA=] for him. [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments CMoH]] for the whole scene.

* I'm sorry, can we have a round of applause for Rebel/[[spoiler:Micah]]? He has single-handedly organized a resistance against the government roundup efforts, made brilliant use of his technopathy, [[spoiler:and he's only 12 years old!]]

* Speaking of telepathy, in "Turn and Face the Strange" Matt uses his powers to find the one person Danko actually cares about and [[spoiler: force him to admit everything he's done to her]]. Then, he proves who the better man is by [[spoiler: refusing to shoot Danko's girlfriend]].
* Danko's supreme OhCrap face right after [[spoiler: he stabs Sylar in the back of the head (the one place that could previously [[DeaderThanDead kill him permanently]] ) and he '''REGENERATES ANYWAYS.''']]
* In the season finale, Peter [[spoiler:completely owning Sylar in the very moment of his victory, and then striking a smug pose that was utterly perfect after three seasons of fighting Sylar without a clear winner.]]
** [[spoiler:"You didn't think I took that one from you, did you?"]]

* Samuel gets a big one in "Let It Bleed". [[spoiler: Sylar comes to the circus to feast on its inhabitants. He first goes after Samuel. After pinning Samuel to the trailer and about to cut his head open, Samuel single-handedly stops the attack and defeats Sylar in a cyclone of sand, ripping his flesh apart.]]
* Samuel gets another one in "Strange Attractors" where he gets revenge to the two cops for killing Jeremy Greer, [[spoiler: ''by leveling an entire police station!'']]
* HRG resolidifies his badassness by [[spoiler:executing a textbook JackBauerInterrogationTechnique on Edgar: "If it were up to me, you'd be down six fingers by now."]]
* From "Pass/Fail": [[spoiler: Claire stabbing Sylar in the eye with a pencil]].
** The same episode, [[spoiler:after Hiro decides to change his plea in the trial to "Guilty", Kaito hands him his sword, everyone steps aside to reveal Adam standing between Hiro and the way back to life holding the same sword. Awesome sword fight ensues.]]

* From "The Art of Deception", [[spoiler:Parkman reading Sylar's mind to find out what his worst nightmare is, trapping him in it, and if not for Peter showing up, he would have sealed the comatose Sylar behind a brick wall in his basement.]]

** [[spoiler:Tracy's BigDamnHeroes comeback as she saves Noah and Claire from the buried trailer.]]
** [[spoiler:Both Sylar and Eli making a legitimate HeelFaceTurn.]]
*** [[spoiler: It should be noted that Eli's HeelFaceTurn was mostly due to Parkman, after hearing what Samuel planned to do from Peter reading Eli's mind.]]
** [[spoiler: Emma gets one in conjunction with Sylar's HeelFaceTurn as he distracts Doyle enough for her to realize that her hands are free; she then knocks Doyle out with a blast of sound and light. Sylar proceeds to tie him up like a Christmas tree.]]
*** For, I believe, the second time [[spoiler:Ando showing that his supercharging power has not been forgotten as he and Hiro perform a mass teleportation.]]
** [[spoiler:Peter and Samuel engaging in a terrakinetic battle.]]
** [[spoiler:When Samuel loses his power due to the carnies leaving, he pathetically tries to punch Peter, who casually blocks it and punches back.]]
** [[spoiler:Samuel finally [[VillainousBreakdown losing his cool]] after eighteen straight episodes of [[MagnificentBastard Magnificent Bastardry.]]]]
** [[spoiler:And best of all: Claire reveals the existence of specials by demonstrating her power on national TV,]] making what would have been the perfect cliffhanger for Volume 6 if the series had continued.

* Sandra finally standing up to Noah about all that he'd put the family through. [[spoiler:Even though it turned out to be Sylar in disguise.]]

** Then there's the way she takes out Doyle. Amazingly enough, unlike most of the characters Claire actually became BETTER over the course of Season 3, finally becoming less WANGST-y and more badass and cool.

** Sylar, as of Volume 3, would appear to be a walking SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome.
*** "You drink decaf, right?"
** And perhaps the greatest of all, stopping Peter's bullet from killing Arthur, and then sending it in himself. "You're not a killer, Peter, but I am."
*** And of course, killing him a way that prevents him from cracking his head open. Methinks maybe Sylar just prefers his own method of power-stealing

*** Don't forget the elevator scene shortly later. Sylar is calmly wiping his completely bloody arms together as another man stares at him in horror. Sylar turns to the man and nonchalantly says, "What?" or something similar. Awesome.
*** That moment was far more awesome but a little backtracking is needed. Earlier Sylar had asked said [[LivingLieDetector Human Lie Detector]] whether detecting lies feels like a tingle. Then in the elevator:

*** In volume 4, his confrontation with his dying father gives him a CMOA toward the end. He elects not to kill his father, even though he's done so many evil things in his life, deciding that a slow death from cancer is a more fitting punishment.

*** The way he casually knocks Nathan's Nazi goons around like ragdolls throughout Volume 4, showing that while Danko may be a badass compared to some, against the real deal like Sylar, he's still a nobody. Or to quote Xykon...One gets to be the butch, and one gets to be the bitch, Bitch."
** How can we forget faking his death to become ''President of the United States'' with the goal of systematically slaughtering every other evolved human in the country so that he can become the undisputed (and once he takes Claire's power, ''unkillable'') single most powerful person on the planet? And he would have gotten away with it too if it weren't for those meddling kids.

* Arthur had his own CMOA when he took Hiro's power (though he already had it anyway) AND the precious catalyst -- just in time. Too bad he didn't get to enjoy that satisfaction long, as per above.

* Isaac's death scene. He turned getting your head sliced open by a {{serial killer}} into an art form. Then again, he ''is'' an artist.

** Hiro stabbing Sylar through the chest later in the episode.

** Toying with Sylar even while dying of a tumor whose pain gets worse every time he uses his power, including a spaghetti western standoff. He eventually even gets Sylar to save Charlie's life

* Peter himself is largely a bit of a whiny brat, but he does get one glorious turn in the spotlight: after struggling for some time to utlize the full extent of his powers under Claude's tutelage, the two of them are on a rooftop when Claude is shot with a taser by HRG from the next building over. HRG shoots at Peter, only for him to stop the prongs an inch from his body. After they fall harmlessly to the ground, he picks up the barely conscious Claude, who asks what he's doing. Peter replies "Something unexpected," and throws Claude off the roof, jumps off himself, catches Claude, and flies off with him.
* When Nathan is kidnapped and cornered by HRG and the Haitian. HRG: "You've got nowhere to run." Nathan's response? He takes off into the sky (doubly awesome because Nathan has been trying to pretend that he doesn't have powers).

* Monica taking down the burglar at her restaurant. She saw a Wrestlemania match on TV (particularly she saw Wrestlemania 22's Wrestling/ReyMysterio vs Wrestling/RandyOrton vs Wrestling/KurtAngle for the World Heavyweight Championship) and she immediately replicates Rey Mysterio's 619 to knock a burglar out.

** [[spoiler:Nucleaaaaaar Pawwwwwwwwnch!!]]

** Lacking any power other than being able to do what other powered people can do (only not as well and only when they are close), he travels half-way across the country in order to risk his life to save a complete stranger, knowing full well that he'll die in the attempt.
** The entire talk he has with Claire, before he realizes she's the girl he came to save and basically tells her - as she is angsting over High School life - that things get better once you grow up and that the best is yet to come. It's a small thing but it neatly sums up Peter's character - that even in the midst of a big epic quest he'll do little things to try and make other people feel better.

** Another was when Claire was escaping, Peter turned and found Sylar right there next to him. Instead of running or being paralyzed with fear, Peter ends up fighting him in a contest of pure strength on top of the bleachers. Without the aid of any powers, Peter manages to take Sylar down with him and crash into the ground, thus saving Claire. His healing as she went to see if he was okay just added to the moment.

** That's right, folks, it was so awesome that it gets mentioned twice!
* Peter had a great CMOA in "Dying of the Light" when Peter tackles Sylar, flies him down a hallway into a wall, and then beats the ever living crap out of Sylar, knocking him out and attaching him to the machine that had just earlier kept Peter in an induced coma.

** Note that Hiro, blacking out, watched African Eeye Sock walk into the hut and knock him out the ''first'' time.
* Sylar had a brief one when he saves Peter from an injection by flinging Mohinder and a scientist into the wall (killing the scientist) with his telekinesis and freeing Peter.

** Yes, even this very line turns into a CMOA for Sylar when he turns the tables later, as elaborated further up the page, but still.
* Episode 3x09, "It's Coming". Arthur Petrelli, possibly ''the'' most powerful man on the planet, has his hands on Hiro's head and is making him ''scream''. Non-badass normal Ando responds... by shouting "Leave my friend alone!" and ''jumping'' at him.

* Also in It's Coming: Peter, who's been stripped of all his powers, rescues Claire through sheer cleverness and guts.

** Not to mention him [[spoiler:slitting Sylar's throat.]]
* Mohinder [[spoiler: beating the tar out of Flint during the Eclipse.]] And with only a microscope and his rapier wit.

* Peter single-handedly storming a Haitian warlord's camp with an AK-47. Seriously, can he please stay a BadassNormal? He's so much more awesome this way.

* In "A Clear And Present Danger", the hunter gets in Mohinder's cab, pulls a gun and says "Just drive." Mohinder coolly responds "It's your dime." Then, when they get to where the hunter's team was waiting for them on the top of a car park's roof, well..when Mohinder [[spoiler:put his hand on the cab door]], I was ''hoping'' [[spoiler:he'd rip it off and smack the crap out of the guy with it]]--''and he did'', and it ''was'' awesome, but I ''didn't'' expect [[spoiler:Mohinder using it as a shield against gunfire]] before hauling ass. Whoa!
* Agent Simmons--a random RedShirt--gets one in "Trust and Blood": Sylar's been horrifically torturing him for a day or so, including sticking his hands to a chair by impaling them with screwdrivers, and he still refuses to talk--even after Sylar starts going after innocents. And then, when Sylar's distracted, comes the real awesome: [[spoiler:he frees himself by pulling the screwdrivers up, probably ruining his hands in the process, and ''still'' manages to grab his gun and, had Luke not intervened, would have killed Sylar]]. Damn kid.
* Awesome-ness for Luke though. He boils the guys BLOOD. That's hardcore.
* Well if we didn't already know Sylar was a badass...in "Building 26", he tells Luke a sob story about his Daddy Issues, and Luke gives up the address of Sylar's father's place, believing that he and Sylar have connected, and that now Sylar won't you know, kill him, as per his usual style. Then the diner they are in is swarmed with the guys who are hunting Sylar, and Luke does some brilliant improv to get himself and Sylar out...[[spoiler:and Sylar leaves him behind!]] Cold, hearltess badass, you might think, but ''it gets better''. Sylar then [[spoiler:comes back and kills a van full of guys, escaping with a briefcase in hand and Luke over his shoulder.]] DidntSeeThatComing.
* Doubles as a crowning moment of heartwarming. Unless the writers screw up AGAIN and have Sylar kill Luke, ruining the entire dynamic.
** Thankfully Sylar did not, as Sylar fights back the hunger and, while angry at Luke for lying to him, spares his life. That's THREE times Sylar has chosen not to kill Luke/leave him to die. I'm sorry to come off as a slash fangirl but it has GOTTA be true love. (Hey, don't look at me that way! Luke's already clearly checked Sylar out in one scene, so at least HALF of the pairing is supported by canon!)
* When Noah is in the bar at the end of "Cold Wars", passes out because of some drug put into his drink, and then Peter, Mohinder, and Parkman casually walk up and take him away. That was slick.
** That was a drug? I thought Parkman just put him to sleep, hidden in the shadows across the bar.
*** Peter supplied the drug. It was also a CallBack to Volume 1 when Bennet drugged Matt's drink and kidnapped him. Turnabout is fair play.
* Matt and Peter using tag-team [[JediMindTrick Jedi-Mind-Trickery]] to force their way into the government headquarters during ''"Exposed"''. Made even more awesome with Matt's smug nod to the security camera; the people on the other end can't do much about it because he's brainwashed two armed agents to hold ''the entire MissionControl at gunpoint'' inside their command center. Go Team Psychic!

* Linderman gets one of these along with a Crowning Moment of Heartwarming when he heals Angela's mind, showing her Arthur's true colours.
* In the Graphic Novels, Candice destroying an asshole jock's mind with illusions was pure win. And her holographic high school holocaust at the end of her origin story was also pure awesome.
* After straddling the morality line for her entire time on the show, Tracy finally makes her choice by buying time for Micah to escape and help everyone else...by freezing a whole parking lot full of soldiers and turning herself to solid ice in the process.
** Ah, to Hell with it, the entire episode of "Cold Snap" was a [=CMoA=]. Angela eluding TheMenInBlack with only her wits and help from a son that she thought had estranged her long ago? Awesome. Ando finally getting an offensive power and [[KamehameHadoken Hadoken'ing]] a group of soldiers trying to capture them? ''Awesome''. Hiro getting (at least part) of his powers back and carting his best friend and their new ward ''twelve miles'' to escape? '''Awesome''', and [[IncrediblyLamePun "Awe-inducing"]] in [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments another sense as well.]]

** [[spoiler:That kid could rule the world if he wanted to. He's come a long way since Season one.]]
*** In addition in the Graphic Novels Micah forms his very own Super Hero team! He, Sparrow Redhouse, West and Abigail easily take down the government goons after them and from there are going to continue protecting specials from Nathan's Nazis.
*** And on a similar note: In the latest GN Micah is kidnapped and tied to a chair by Thompson Jr, son of Noah's old boss, whose gone utterly crazy since his partner in the company died. He has Micah at gunpoint and wants to know where the woman who helped bring about his partners death is. Does Micah crack? NO: he commandeers a remote control crane and proceeds to smash it into the building, summons his team mates who kick Thompson's ass and then, just for an encore he puts Thompson's name on the worlds top ten most wanted lists. ALL to teach Thompson a lesson. And he does it all without even flinching. It's not surprising that he's formed the Heroes universe first official super team...Badass doesn't even begin to cover it

* Speaking of telepathy, I love how, in "Turn and Face the Strange" Matt uses his powers to find the one person Danko actually cares about and [[spoiler: force him to admit everything he's done to her]]. Then, he proves who the better man is by [[spoiler: refusing to shoot Danko's girlfriend]]. This is why [[strike: the good guys on Heroes]] Matt Parkman ''specifically'' is awesome.
* It may have been a bit of an AssPull, but it was worth it to see Danko's supreme OhCrap face right after [[spoiler: he stabs Sylar in the back of the head (the one place that could previously [[DeaderThanDead kill him permanently]] ) and he '''REGENERATES ANYWAYS.''']]
** The [[spoiler:head-stab itself]] was the awesome part, [[spoiler:taking down Sylar during his monologuing]]; the [[spoiler:regeneration was just more of the same JokerImmunity]].
** It didn't seem like that much of an AssPull. It was already established that Sylar's new shapeshifting powers messed with his anatomy. I knew from the moment he got the power that the head stab wasn't going to cut it anymore. I think it will have to be decapitation and burn the body now.

* Peter tags along with Noah to take on Edgar, a new speedster possibly-villain. After Peter initially gets the drop on Edgar, he just gets right back up and throws a knife at Noah's face, only for Peter to grab it right before it hits, revealing he now has the same power. He proceeds to take on Edgar in a super speed fight, and forces him to retreat.

** And then he does it again to a {{Smug Snake}} populated police station.
* Matt forcing Sylar, who's controlling his body at the time, to get shot by a bunch of cops, fully aware that it will cause his own death too. Sure, no one in the audience bought that it would actually work, but the effort deserves recognition.

* Peter blocks all of Sylar's powers, and crucifies him with a nail gun before putting another nail into what's implied to be his groin, all to make him let Nathan's personality emerge again. This lets Sylar get his own when he's able to resist the pain, forcing Peter to bring Nathan out the hard way.

** [[spoiler: Granted apparently something was wrong with Sylar, but still...]]

* Hiro teleporting for the first time in the first season. His victorious Ya-tah! Just is what CMOA is all about.

*** For, I believe, the second time
** [[spoiler:Ando showing that his supercharging power has not been forgotten as he and Hiro perform a mass teleportation.]]

* Samuel murdering all the bigoted small town cops who had killed a young boy with powers.
* [[spoiler:When it looked like this side of the HeelFaceRevolvingDoor might stick and Sylar took down Doyle declaring "I'm a Hero!"]]

* Monica taking down the burglar at her restaurant. She saw a Wrestlemania match on TV (particularly she saw Wrestlemania 22's Rey Mysterio vs Randy Orton vs Kurt Angle for the World Heavyweight Championship) and she immediately replicates Rey Mysterio's 619 to knock a burglar out.
** Subverted when she's kidnapped by a street gang - you ''expect'' the awesomeness, but it doesn't happen.

* Sylar, a ''wanted serial killer'' pulls a BavarianFireDrill against ''the police'' in season three. Zachary Quinto is one of the only actors that can avoid being typecast without changing roles. It also doubles as a SugarWiki/{{Funny Moment|s}}.

* Peter had three of these in ''Homecoming''.

* Peter had a great CMOA in ''Dying of the Light'' when Peter tackles Sylar, flies him down a hallway into a wall, and then beats the ever living crap out of Sylar, knocking him out and attaching him to the machine that had just earlier kept Peter in an induced coma.
* Usutu also had an epic one in ''Dying of the Light''. Hiro walks into his hut and sees a painting of Usutu hitting him over the head with a shovel. A few seconds later the Usutu does just that. When Hiro wakes up, he goes back in time to try to sneak up on Usutu when Usutu hits past-Hiro. While waiting behind a rock, he sees another painting of Hiro getting hit over the head with a shovel by the Usutu. Sure enough, Usutu appears behind him moments later and knocks Hiro out cold. This could also be a great example of SugarWiki/{{Funny Moment|s}}.

*** In addition in the Graphic Novels Micah forms his very own Super Hero team! He, Sparrow Redhouse, West and Abigail easily take down the government goons after them and from there are going to continue protecting specials from Nathans Nazis.
*** And on a simmilar note: In the latest GN Micah is kidnapped and tied to a chair by Thompson Jr, son of Noah's old boss, whose gone utterly crazy since his partner in the company died. He has Micah at gunpoint and wants to know where the woman who helped bring about his partners death is. Does Micah crack? NO: he commandeers a remote control crane and proceeds to smash it into the building, summons his team mates who kick Thompson's ass and then, just for an encore he puts Thompson's name on the worlds top ten most wanted lists. ALL to teach Thompson a lesson. And he does it all without even flinching. It's not surprising that he's formed the Heroes universe first official super team...Badass doesn't even begin to cover it

** What makes it even more awesome is that he basically challenged Darth Maul and Snake Eyes to a sword fight and ''won.''

* Claire, in ''Thanksgiving'': Do you think that THIS is going to blow over?

* Samuel gets a big one in ''Let It Bleed.'' [[spoiler: Sylar comes to the circus to feast on its inhabitants. He first goes after Samuel. After pinning Samuel to the trailer and about to cut his head open, Samuel single-handedly stops the attack and defeats Sylar in a cyclone of sand, ripping his flesh apart.]]

* The Volume Five season finale, ''Brave New World,'' is positively ''rife'' with CMOA's.

* In the Season One finale, Claire gets her own Crowning Moment of Awesome when she jumps out a 10th-story window to get away from her grandmother. Five words: "''I already have a family.''"

--->'''Bennet''': You tried to rape my daughter. I should ''[[PapaWolf kill]]'' you. But instead, I'm gonna do you a favor. You already threw away this life. I'm gonna give you a second chance. And I'm gonna let you forget all the terrible things you've done. And maybe this time, when you wake up in your new life... you'll make something [[AmnesiacDissonance decent]] of it. *''{{Beat}}''* [[EmptyShell Hollow him out]]. Take ''[[FateWorseThanDeath everything]]''...

*** First, she threatens to kill Sylar for putting them in a Saw-like death trap, to which he taunts from the phone--

** How about Volume 3: [[spoiler:"Aren't you going to eat my brain or something?" "Claire, that`s disgusting."]]
** Hell, [[spoiler:The entire first half of the episode where Sylar just stalked Claire from the shadows in her own house. I`m back Mother&%$/?!s]]

* Isaac's death scene. He turned getting your head sliced open by a serial killer into an art form. Then again, he ''is'' an artist.

** Not to mention him[[spoiler:slitting Sylar's throat.]]

* In the Graphic Novel's, Candice destroying an asshole jock's mind with illusions was pure win. And her holographic high school holocaust at the end of her origin story was also pure awesome.

* Eric Doyle's Crowning Moment: "[[JerkAss Dilman]]... [[HeelFaceTurn we need to]] ''[[PeoplePuppets talk]]''."

* Being played by [[PrisonBreak T-Bag]] already had people anticipating awesomeness, and Samuel delivers when he's snubbed at the estate where his parents were servants. His response: create a sinkhole to destroy the house, dinner party and all.

* Samuel gets another one in ''Strange Attractors'' where he gets revenge to the two cops for killing Jeremy Greer, [[spoiler: ''by leveling an entire police station!'']]

** “I’m done trying to change myself for you. Trying to fit into your world. Play by your rules. From now on, you’re all gonna play by mine.”

--> '''Bennet''': You tried to rape my daughter. I should ''[[PapaWolf kill]]'' you. But instead, I'm gonna do you a favor. You already threw away this life. I'm gonna give you a second chance. And I'm gonna let you forget all the terrible things you've done. And maybe this time, when you wake up in your new life... you'll make something [[AmnesiacDissonance decent]] of it. *''{{Beat}}''* [[EmptyShell Hollow him out]]. Take ''[[FateWorseThanDeath everything]]''...

** None of these Claire [=CMOAs=] holds a candle to the way she stepped up in "Company Man" and singlehandedely stopped a nuclear situation. She went from TheChick and TheWoobie, to total badass.

---->'''Sylar''':From cheerleader to stone cold killer. Who's the monster now?
---->'''Claire''': [[spoiler:(fires the phone with a shotgun)]] You are.

** Then there's the way she takes out Doyle. Amazingly enough, unlike most of the characters Claire actually became BETTER over the course of Season 3, finally becoming less WANGST-y and more bad ass and cool.

* Sylar gets ''plenty'' of these moments, but the absolute best comes from the episode "Parasite", where he's tied to a chair, his powers neutralised, Mohinder has a gun pointed at him, fires at point blank and he stops the bullet ''right in front of his face''. "I wasn't begging for my life. I was offering you yours". Mohinder's OhCrap expression that followed merely solidified how utterly screwed he was.

** How about Volume 3: [[spoiler:"Aren`t you going to eat my brain or something?" "Claire, that`s disgusting."]]

----> '''Sylar''': Shh, it's not going to hurt a bit.
----> '''SFX''': [[LivingLieDetector Human Lie Detector]] tone.
----> '''Sylar''': (amusedly) Got me. That's a lie.
*** Right after that, the one word CMOA: 'Cake?'

-----> '''Sylar''': Is something wrong?
-----> '''Horrified Bystander''': ...no.
-----> '''Sylar''' (to himself): heheh, it does kind of tingle.
*** In volume 4 his confrontation with his dying father gives him a CMOA toward the end. He elects not to kill his father, even though he's done so many evil things in his life, deciding that a slow death from cancer is a more fitting punishment.
*** Even better, Sylar feigns weakness in front of his father dangling the carrot of immortality all to get his father to be honest about what HE would do in Sylar's position. Sylar knew there was only one way to get a straight answer from his psycho dad. Note, because of his regenerative abilities, Sylar could have easily given his father immortality without having to die.
*** The way he casually knocks Nathan's Nazi goons around like ragdolls throughout Volume 4, showing that while Danko may be a bad ass compared to some, against the real deal like Sylar he's still a nobody. Or to quote Xykon...One gets to be the butch, and one gets to be the bitch, Bitch."

--->'''Claire:''' I can do this! [[GoodThingYouCanHeal (smashes car full speed into solid wall)]]
** The bastard's suffering wasn't over, however. Noah Bennet had some unfinished business with him, and the punishment is deliciously ironic. Brody had been raping the girls at his school and then spreading lies about them to discredit them, letting him get away with his crimes and leaving them as nothing more than memories in his victims minds. In return, he has every memory he ever had, his entire life, even up to his own name, wiped clean from his own mind. He got away with it, all right.

** Sylar, as of Volume 3, would appear to be a walking CrowningMomentOfAwesome.

* Claude, much like HRG, is a walking CrowningMomentOfAwesome. One example:

** First season finale. Five words: "[[CrowningMomentOfAwesome I'm]] [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming not]] [[TearJerker leaving]] [[PetTheDog you]], [[HeroicSacrifice Peter]]."

* Sylar, a ''wanted serial killer'' pulls a BavarianFireDrill against ''the police'' in season three. Zachary Quinto is one of the only actors that can avoid being typecast without changing roles. It also doubles as a CrowningMomentofFunny.

* Hiro Nakamura set a new standard in [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome pure awesomeness]] when he ''"allegedly"'' committed murder.

* Usutu also had an epic one in ''Dying of the Light''. Hiro walks into his hut and sees a painting of Usutu hitting him over the head with a shovel. A few seconds later the Usutu does just that. When Hiro wakes up, he goes back in time to try to sneak up on Usutu when Usutu hits past-Hiro. While waiting behind a rock, he sees another painting of Hiro getting hit over the head with a shovel by the Usutu. Sure enough, Usutu appears behind him moments later and knocks Hiro out cold. This could also be a great example of CrowningMomentOfFunny.

--->'''Sylar''':"[[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming That's what brothers do. They look out for each other.]]"

** Ah, to Hell with it, the entire episode of "Cold Snap" was a [=CMoA=]. Angela eluding TheMenInBlack with only her wits and help from a son that she thought had estranged her long ago? Awesome. Ando finally getting an offensive power and [[KamehameHadoken Hadoken'ing]] a group of soldiers trying to capture them? ''Awesome''. Hiro getting (at least part) of his powers back and carting his best friend and their new ward ''twelve miles'' to escape? '''Awesome''', and [[IncrediblyLamePun "Awe-inducing"]] in [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming another sense as well.]]
*** To say nothing of Matt and how he [[spoiler: used his powers to give Daphne a fairy-tale ending just before she died.]] [=CMoA=] for him. [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming CMoH]] for the whole scene.

----
<<|CrowningMoment/LiveActionTV|>>

*** Towards the end, she [[spoiler: jams a gigantic shard to glass into his brainstem while he was ranting to Angela. This is the only way to arrest a regenerator's power. Sadly, it doesn't stick.]][[note]]Funny how the only one of the main characters to not play an active part in the Kirby Plaza fight against Sylar turned out to be the only one to do serious harm to him on several occasions (including ''almost killing him for good'' in "The Butterfly Effect"![[/note]]

* Peter single-handedly storming a Haitian warlord's camp with an AK-47. Seriously, can he please stay a {{Badass Normal}}? He's so much more awesome this way.

* [[spoiler:When it looked like this side of the HeelFaceRevolvingDoor might stick and Sylar took down Doyle declaring [[BadAss "I'm a Hero!"]]]]

** Noah Bennet having the Haitian MindRape him is far cooler and a fittingly ironic punishment. He violated people physically and was violated mentally in return.
--> '''Bennet''': I should ''[[PapaWolf kill]]'' you. But instead, I'm gonna do you a favour. You already threw away this life. I'm gonna give you a second chance. And I'm gonna let you forget all the terrible things you've done. And maybe this time, when you wake up in your new life... you'll make something [[AmnesiacDissonance decent]] of it. *''{{Beat}}''* [[EmptyShell Hollow him out]]. Take ''[[FateWorseThanDeath everything]]''...
** Not to mention decking Jackie after she calls Zach gay.

** None of these Claire [=CMOAs=] holds a candle to the way she stepped up in "Company Man" and singlehandedely stopped a nuclear situation. She went from TheChick and TheWoobie, to total BadAss.

** Stowing away on a plane and freeing all the other heroes in "A Clear & Present Danger." Claire's BadAss status is no longer in doubt.

*** And of course, he just adds that extra dash of BadAss by smirking at Sylar and quipping, "Bad man." right before taking him away.

* The Usutu also had an epic one in ''Dying of the Light''. Hiro walks into his hut and sees a painting of Usutu hitting him over the head with a shovel. A few seconds later the Usutu does just that. When Hiro wakes up, he goes back in time to try to sneak up on Usutu when Usutu hits past-Hiro. While waiting behind a rock, he sees another painting of Hiro getting hit over the head with a shovel by the Usutu. Sure enough, Usutu appears behind him moments later and knocks Hiro out cold. This could also be a great example of CrowningMomentOfFunny.

*** And of course, the TearJerker episode is Bryan Fuller's triumphant return to the show's writing staff after {{Pushing Daisies}} was cancelled.

** What makes it even more awesome is that he basically challenged [[HeyItsThatGuy Darth Maul and Snake Eyes]] to a sword fight and ''won.''

<<|CrowningMoment/LiveActionTV|>>

*** This troper was cheering internally when he HRG was locked up, as Elle was fishing for information about her childhood, she threatens him to hurt him, and he doesn't even flinch.
-->'''Elle''': "I can ''make'' you talk."
-->'''HRG''': "You can ''try''."

** This editor found Peter's crowning moment to be when he electrocuted Hiro via sword in the end of the second season. Not because Hiro was particularly annoying, but because Peter finally did something awesome and brutal instead of "sensitive."
*** Peter going to town on Sylar in the finale.
* This troper considers the fight between Peter and Sylar in Mohinder's place to start with a big CMOA for Peter. Sylar has him on the wall, slicing open his head. Peter regenerates, and just as Sylar gets the 'oh, son-of-a-' look, Peter lets rip with his own telekinesis and smashes Sylar through desks and into the wall - and finishes it with a sweet landing. Bad Ass.
** For this troper, it's Mohinder coming out of nowhere to completely own Sylar at the end of that fight with a freaking CHALKBOARD. Mohinder doesn't get that many chances to demonstrate his BadassNormal credentials, but when he does, he ''does.''

* This troper personally thought that Linderman's calmness when Nathan held a gun to him in ''Parasite'' was a CMOA, particularly "Now you can't have any of my pot pie."
** Dude, it's Malcolm freakin' [=McDowell=]. Everything he does is awesome.
*** But with that said, Linderman revealing his power. "What could you possibly know about healing?" "A few things." A flower is then resurrected.
*** Plus the callback when Hiro asks his father what he knows about sword fighting. Kaito shows off some killer moves and then deadpans "A few things."
* Niki Sanders reintegrating herself in the season one finale and using her now-under-control super strength to lay out the illusion-wielding Candice Wilmer with one punch. This troper cheered.
** Also, beating up a gun-waving street thug--without her superpowers.

** Let's not forget, too...it didn't fire the first time...so she clicks three more times, before finally shooting her. To this troper, at least, it added a level of badassery to that scene altogether.

** This troper actually paid tribute to the above ass-kicking by [[http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l64/Jakob-Ben/BadassNormal.jpg making a poster about it]].

* Well if we didn't already know Sylar was a badass...in "Building 26", he tells Luke a sob story about his Daddy Issues, and Luke gives up the address of Sylar's father's place, believing that he and Sylar have connected, and that now Sylar won't you know, kill him, as per his usual style. Then the diner they are in is swarmed with the guys who are hunting Sylar, and Luke does some brilliant improv to get himself and Sylar out...[[spoiler:and Sylar leaves him behind!]] Cold, hearltess badass, you might think, but ''it gets better''. Sylar then [[spoiler:comes back and kills a van full of guys, escaping with a briefcase in hand and Luke over his shoulder.]] DidntSeeThatComing. At all. This troper nearly peed her pants, she was geeking out so thoroughly.

* Linderman gets one of these along with a Crowning Moment of Heartwarming when he heals Angela's mind, showing her Arthur's true colours. Forever cemented Linderman, in this troper's mind, as the Magneto of Heroes villains. Evil...but strangely loveable and very sympathetic.

* Elle's personal moment: electrocuting Sylar in "The Butterfly Effect" when he tries to cut her head open. Never mind that she also busted Level Five wide open and let all the other bad guys escape to wreak havoc and pain, this troper just couldn't get past the fact that she had singlehandedly ''beaten Sylar''. It's hardly her fault they couldn't keep him there.

*** I don't normally advocate psychopaths killing cops, but Samuel is currently my favorite character just for that. [[spoiler: the cops deserved that. ''Oh so much''.]]
*** This troper doesn't know which is more awesome, Samuel collapsing the police station, or the great UnflinchingWalk that follows.
**** The {{BadassLongcoat}} only added to the already epic scene.
***** This troper was fully routing for Samuel by series end. He had the right idea of how to deal with humanity and keep his people safe.

* Samuel murdering all the bigoted small town cops who had killed a young boy with powers. This troper was punching the air with joy when he killed them all.