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Then again, maybe it will: Instead of just a cheerleader or a city, ''Volume 2: Generations'' will concern a plot to save the entire planet. ''All I know is that I'm going to be all over the world next year,'' says Sendhil Ramamurthy, whose nonpowered (or is he?) scientist Suresh will learn crucial info about his Indian past and his dead (or is she?) sister in the finale that helps set up next season. Kring says the onscreen global expansion of Heroes is being undertaken in part to coincide with the show's aggressive rollout into foreign TV markets. Indeed, from comic books to websites to possible videogames and movies, Heroes is emerging as a lucrative worldwide brand for NBC. Some TV producers might find all this rather oppressive, not to mention a tail-wagging-the-dog corruption of their creative process, but Kring is both very practical and very ambitious; he's jazzed by the prospect that Heroes can be not just a TV show, but a boundless, viral form of entertainment. ''TV is changing. And it's exciting to be at the forefront of that change,'' says Kring, tipping his hat to Lost, Alias, and Smallville for blazing the geek-obsessed trail. ''I have people here who worked on those shows. They came here with a lot of knowledge of how it has worked and how it should work. This is their chance to swing for the bleachers.''

Of course, the cash-cow potential of Heroes only makes the creative question more urgent: Can it last? The cast believe the key is to stick with the strategy that got them here: sheer audacity. ''We can't just make cookie-cutter replicas of this season,'' says Milo Ventimiglia, who, as Peter Petrelli, may or may not be the human nuke set to obliterate New York City. ''We have to grow. We have to change.'' Kring agrees — and then some. He doesn't believe in deferring wild, paradigm-shifting moves for the sake of a long-range master plan. He thinks great ideas beget great ideas, so why hold back? ''My guess is that we'll find the edge of the cliff at some point — and fall off of it,'' Kring says with a laugh. ''But right now, it's the wild, wild West. It feels like anything is possible.''

See all five of this week's EW Special Collector's Covers featuring the cast of Heroes, each with a hidden clue to decipher about the three-part season finale.