Episode/s: Season 2 Episode 1 - Season 3 Episode 6
First appearance: Four months later
Role Name: Takezo Kensei / Adam Monroe
Aired: 25th September 2006 (USA)
Description: Heroes circles around people all over the US discovering that they have special powers; such as healing, telekinesis, time-traveling, flying and many more.
Some of them use their abilities to become heroes and make the world a better place, while others abuse them for their own empowerment.
While the "heroes" do not only rescue people and save the day, they also have to fight the villains and rescue the world - and learn to be true heroes.
Character:
Takezo Kensei first appears physically in the series in episode 1 of season 2 "Four months later" when Hiro from Tokyo, Japan, who is able to travel through time, actually lands in 1671 Japan and meets Kensei.
During the encounter Hiro, who had been told bedtime stories about the legendary Takezo Kensei by his father when he was still a child, discovers that Kensei is actually only a lier and a thief who spends most of his day drunk in a corner instead of being a hero.
Hiro, who doesn't accept this shocking reality, decides to make Kensei become the hero he has heard of and helps him to gain the heart of the daughter of the sword maker as the legends tell; as well as rescuing the sword maker and doing other heroically things.
In the beginning of the adventure Kensei gets attacked by some bandits and deadly wounded by arrows - it is only then that Hiro and Takezo himself learn that the foretold hero is kind of immortal, because his cells regenerate insanely fast. As Takezo, Hiro and Yaeko travel Japan and end wars, free people and make the country a safer place, Yaeko at first falls in love with Takezo and he falls deeply in love with her. Shortly before the three can rescue Yaeko's father, however, Yaeko learns that many of Takezo's heroic deeds were indeed done by Hiro, not Takezo, and so she falls in love with Hiro. When Kensei discovers he had been betrayed by his best friend Hiro and his former lover Yaeko, he hands them over to the evil general Whitebeard.
A fight between Hiro and Kensei starts and ends with a huge gunpowder explosion which Hiro is able to escape from with his time-travel ability, while Kensei swears to take revenge and blows up with the entire camp.
As the series continues, we learn that the person who killed Hiro's father is no other than Takezo Kensei - now with the name Adam Monroe. Due to his ability of fast cell regeneration he is able to basically live forever.
Despite being one of the founders of the Company, Adam ended up so bitter and heartbroken, he wanted to see the world destroyed. When the Company discovered the deadly Shanti virus, he did everything to set it free and kill almost the entire humanity.
Luckily he got caught and jailed for 30 years. In the end with the help of Peter Petrelli he manages to break free and starts killing the founding members of the Company to obtain the virus and fulfill his plan from 30 years ago.
It is due to the ability of Hiro that Adam's plan fails.
After many more events, the immortal man finally gets killed by the father of Peter Petrelli, Arthur, who simply uses his ability to take away Adam's.
Now without the ability regenerate his cells, Monroe's 400-year old body turns to dust within seconds.