Chris Hardwick's Blog, page 2305

Superhero Ski Jackets Have Us Wishing for Snow

Here in LA we’re in the middle of a blazing 100 degree heat wave, so it’s hard for me to even think about winter but one look at these superhero ski jackets make me wish for a heavy snowfall.

Fun.com captures the excitement of a kid’s snow day all while keeping warm as their favorite superhero. Puffy winter jackets featuring Captain America, Hulk, Thor and Iron Man let your kids dress up and keep warm as an Avenger while they frolic in the snow.

These officially licensed ski coats are fitted with fleece-insulated lining and are also water repellent—perfect for fighting off the harshest villains or winter weather imaginable. They even have custom zipper pulls and buttons (the Thor jacket even has an adorable winged detail on the hood).

Would your little one rather be a member of the Justice League? Not to worry, DC Comics fans have their choice of Batman and Superman muscular winter coats, too. Even the pockets are waterproofed, should you have any special tools that don’t fit into your utility belt.

Even better? Adults needn’t worry about being left out in the literal cold, as there are some gorgeous peacoats and casual jackets awaiting your chilly arms, too. The beautiful black wool exterior is just a disguise, inside there’s a hidden satin interior lining featuring members of the Justice League in the DC peacoat and Marvel comics inside the Marvel overcoat.

Check out more of the looks in the gallery below and online at Fun.com. These heroic winter coats are currently available online for pre-order and will be ready to ship in November.

Will you be showing off your inner superhero this winter with one of these coats? Let us know in the comments!

Images: Fun.com

Babymetal is Getting Their Own Animated Web Series!

The Babymetal invasion continues to rock the world! Band members Moametal, Su-metal, and Yuimetal have already had their second smash hit record this year, followed by an amazing rise in popularity during their latest international tour. They’re even playing with the Red Hot Chili Peppers in England! But now the Japanese metal band is set for their own animated adventure.

Warner Bros.’ digital studio Blue Ribbon Content and Amuse USA have announced a new Babymetal web series that will feature a blend of animation and live-action. Essentially, the girls will be playing themselves as they travel (via a portal, of course) back and forth from the animated realm that embodies the magic of heavy metal itself. In this incarnation, Moametal, Su-metal, and Yuimetal are a “warrior band” who have been called together by the god, Kitsune, to defend heavy metal from dark forces.

“Babymetal have to be seen to be believed,” said Warner Bros. Animation President Sam Register in a statement. “We are huge fans here at Blue Ribbon Content and are extremely excited to help bring the Babymetal phenomenon to U.S. audiences through this upcoming digital series.”

Key Kobayashi, the creator and manager of Babymetal, is also on board this project as an executive producer. The web series appears to be in a very early stage of development, and there is currently no firm release date for the show. But as Register noted above, it could potentially help Babymetal reach an even larger audience in the U.S. than ever before.

Are you excited to see the Babymetal animated web series? Let’s discuss in the comment section below!

Image: Babymetal/BMD Fox Records

Movie Posters Without Text Are Beautiful Art, So Here Are 1000 of Them

As we alluded to in our post about TV title sequences yesterday, sometimes it’s not the show itself that, visually, is the most memorable. While it’s usually the opening credits that tend to stick with TV shows, for movies, it has to be the poster. Movie posters have long been iconic pieces of imagery, and some might consider them art. For the doubters, it’s likely all the text covering the illustration or photography that strips some merit away, but when you get to see just the art of a poster in its rawest form, it really can be a visual marvel.

Last year, a gallery of textless posters from the Harry Potter movies made the internet rounds, but now, again via Reddit, we came across a gallery of 80 high-resolution, text-free movie posters. Through some investigative comment clicking, we found out that this sampling is actually just a small portion of a collection that includes OVER A THOUSAND OF THEM.

Go ahead, name a popular movie. Star Wars?

You got it. How about something more obscure? Here’s one we picked at random, Three Coins In The Fountain:

Really, the collection includes virtually any movie you can think of. If you don’t have a specific film poster in mind, peruse the gallery of 80 we came across originally. If that’s not quite enough, here’s a selection of 60 more. We’ve put a few of our favorites in the gallery below, but if you want to see the textless poster for essentially every movie ever made, head here for the complete index.

Featured image: New Line Cinema

DC Celebrates 75 Years of GREEN ARROW

Welcome to you mid-week/new comics day edition of Comics Relief! To start things off today, we have a bit of news about the Emerald Archer and his big 75th anniversary over at DC Comics. Read on for all the details.

DC Releases New Promo Image for Green Arrow’s 75th Anniversary

Along with Wonder Woman and Aquaman, this year marks 75 years of publication for Oliver Queen, the Green Arrow. To celebrate, DC Comics has revealed a new piece of promotional art featuring characters from Benjamin Percy and Juan Ferreyra’s current Rebirth run on the series. You can see the new 75th anniversary promo image above.

Created by Mort Weisinger and George Papp, Green Arrow debuted in More Fun Comics #73 in 1941. When almost every other superhero went away (with the exception of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman) Green Arrow, along with Aquaman, survived the ’50s superhero purge by having adventures in the back of comics like Adventure and the like. Now, he’s become one of DC’s premier heroes and the star of a successful TV series. Not bad for a guy who originally was just “Robin Hood meets Batman” [CBR]

Wonder Woman Writer Greg Rucka Puts The Question of Diana’s Sexual Orientation To Rest

In an interview, current Wonder Woman writer Greg Rucka finally laid to rest something that fans have debated about for years: Wonder Woman’s sexual orientation. After all, she’s dated many male characters, Superman and Steve Trevor among them, but also grew up in an island of only women and never saw a man until adulthood. How can she be totally straight? Well, according to Rucka…she’s not.

In a recent interview with the writer, Rucka says, “An Amazon doesn’t look at another Amazon and say, ‘You’re gay.’ They don’t. The concept doesn’t exist. Now, are we saying Diana has been in love and had relationships with other women? As (artist) Nicola Scott and I approach it, the answer is obviously yes. And it needs to be yes for a number of reasons. But perhaps foremost among them is, if no, then she leaves paradise only because of a potential romantic relationship with Steve [Trevor]. And that diminishes her character. It would hurt the character and take away her heroism.”

Rucka adds “When we talk about agency of characters in 2016, Diana deciding to leave her home forever — which is what she believes she’s doing — if she does that because she’s fallen for a guy, I believe that diminishes her heroism. She doesn’t leave because of Steve. She leaves because she wants to see the world and somebody must go and do this thing. And she has resolved it must be her to make this sacrifice.” For more from Rucka on Wonder Woman, click on the following link for the full interview: [Comicosity]

Dark Horse Announces New Angel Series

With Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 11 announced by Dark Horse Comics, fans have been wondering where that leaves her vampire ex, Angel. Well, wonder no more. Dark Horse Comics has officially announced Angel Season 11 will be coming soon. Corinna Bechko (Lara Croft) will be writing, with Geraldo Borges (Deadpool) and Michelle Madsen on art. Scott Fischer and Jeff Dekal will provide covers.

The description for the series reads, “Angel Season 11 finds Angel being tormented by memories of his past. His visions link his dark past to a Big Bad coming in the future. The goddess Illyria intervenes and assists Angel as he discovers that it might be possible to change the future by traveling back in time to change the past.” Unlike the previous Angel series from Dark Horse, this one won’t co-star the slayer Faith. You can take a look at one of the covers for issue #1 above. [CBR]

Todd McFarlane Does New Venom #1 Cover (Sort Of)

In the last edition of Comics Relief, we mentioned that Marvel’s “1 in 1000 copies” variant cover for the new Venom #1 would have to be a big deal for all the secrecy surrounding it, maybe like having Venom creator Todd McFarlane do it. And we were right! Well, kind of. Turns out, Marvel is using old pencils from McFarlane, pulled from the original debut of Eddie Brock’s Venom back in Amazing Spider-Man #299, then recolored by Richard Isanove.

In an interview about the cover, McFarlane said he doesn’t understand why they are using an old image of his for the cover instead of a new one, but in the same interview says he wouldn’t be able to do it because working for Marvel is competing with his own Image label. Looks like you just gave yourself the answer, Todd. The new Venom #1 hits stores in November. [Comic Book]

Dark Knight III Gets An Extra Issue

Originally solicited at 8 issues, it seems Brian Azzarello and Frank Miller’s epic sequel Dark Knight III: The Master Race has gotten a one issue extension. According to Miller, “Once you dive into the Dark Knight mythology, it’s hard to pull yourself out. Those characters cannot be contained and neither can we.” Azzarello added that “this story turned out to be bigger than the both of us.” The new ninth issue is now scheduled to arrive in Spring 2017. The next issue, Dark Knight III: The Master Race #6, will arrive in stores on October 19. You can check out Jim Lee’s variant cover for the issue above. [IGN]

BOOM! Announces WWE Comic Details

Announced earlier this year, BOOM! Studios has now revealed the release date and further details of their new WWE ongoing title. In November, BOOM! will publish a one-shot titled WWE: Then. Now. Forever, with the ongoing itself debuting in January. Apparently, the title seems to be adapting the fictional storylines from WWE television programming, starting with the dissolution of the group, the Shield, in June 2014. The writer on the book is Dennis Hopeless and Ross Thibodeaux, with art from Eduard Petrovich and Rob Guillory. [Newsarama]

KISS Comes to Dynamite Entertainment with Tons of Variants

They were one of the biggest bands of the ’70s, and still pack stadiums filled with nostalgic baby boomers to this day. They are KISS, and they are coming back to the world of comics via Dynamite Entertainment. The new series is coming from the creative team of Amy Chu and Kewber Baal, and is set to hit in October. You can see the multitude of variant covers for the first issue in our gallery below. [Comics Beat]

Image: DC Comics / Marvel Comics / Dynamite Entertainment / BOOM! Studios / Dark Horse Comics  

 

DOCTOR WHO’s Next Christmas Special Will Feature a Superhero

Dear Rassilon, it’s been such a long time since Doctor Who has been on our screens, and it’s going to be quite a bit longer still. By time series 10 officially begins (some time in March, we’re guessing) we will have only had two episodes since the end of series nine on December 5, 2015. (Can it hurry up and get here, already!?) And true to form, we don’t know too much about what Peter Capaldi‘s third Christmas special will be, but the Radio Times has discovered a couple of interesting bits, notably there will be no companion…and there’ll be a superhero.

A superhero, eh? In Doctor Who?! Yes: evidently, Canadian actor Justin Chatwin has been tapped to play some kind of lantern-jawed comic book hero with “in all likelihood a few dark interstellar secrets of one sort or another.” Chatwin played Tom Cruise’s son in Steven Spielberg’s War of the Worlds, as well as a turn as a drug dealer who has the hots for Allison in season three of Orphan Black. It seems very unlikely this will be any kind of established superhero, but head writer Steven Moffat is a big comic book fan so he’s probably got a character or two he’ll reference.

As for the “no-companion” business, a source told Radio Times that there would be no temporary companion in the episode — the way that guest stars like Kylie Minogue, David Morrissey, and even Catherine Tate have been in the past — but that the now-recurring character of Nardole, played by Matt Lucas, will occupy that real estate. The source also curiously said of Lucas in the special, “he’s not a companion as such but it’s not as if he doesn’t play a similar role.” Umm, that’s what a temporary companion is, though. I think this source is playing a heavy semantics game here.

Again, nothing is really known about the episode itself, but Moffat has been quoted as saying the episode has “a lot of heart…[and] a lot of brain too,” and it apparently also made Doctor Who and Sherlock writer Mark Gatiss cry. So that’s something.

So even though we have just three months until the next episode, we’re still gonna have about six months until the next full series, which might only be a drop in the bucket to the Doctor himself, but it’s an eternity for fans. Dammit, am I going to have to watch all the old stuff AGAIN?! (Note: I’m not complaining.)

Let us know what you think of this superhero in Who news, and anything else about the show, in the comments below!

We did a Doctor Who after show last season…did you watch it?!

Image: BBC

Kyle Anderson is the Associate Editor and the resident Whovian for Nerdist. Follow him on Twitter!

The Way EA Sports Determines Its FIFA Player Ratings is Insane

Depending on where you live, FIFA 17 either came out yesterday (for Americans), is coming out tomorrow (just about everywhere else), or will be available on October 4 (sorry, Brazil). The player ratings are a point of pride for both professional soccer players and fans alike, and the top of the pack shaped up about how most fans expected: Portugese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has the highest rating, dethroning Argentina’s Lionel Messi, who is ranked second. Other familiar faces like Neymar, Luis Suarez, Gareth Bale, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic populate the rest of the top ten.

Fans will argue about Ronaldo’s 94 rating vs. Messi’s 93, but what you can’t really doubt is how EA Sports came to these figures, because it is a rigorous process. ESPN recently ran a fascinating feature story that shows how EA is able to keep track of the 700 clubs, 18,000 players, and 5.4 MILLION data points that go into the game.

It essentially starts with guesswork, until EA’s 9000-member team of scouts, or “data reviewers,” who consist primarily of season ticket holders for various teams around the world, coaches, and scouts are able to provide feedback on a secure EA Sports website. The game does use advanced metrics do determine what skills each player will be assigned, but in a game that’s as large and ambitious as FIFA 17—remember, 18,000 players—these real-life scouts are essential.

There are so many factors to deal with—the strength of a player’s team and league, intangible skills or instincts that might not be reflected by his player rating, fresh-placed players nobody has really watched before—that it’s amazing they pull it off. Michael Mueller-Moehring, the person in charge of overseeing this part of the operation, spoke to ESPN about his complicated job, explaining how statistical analysis can still leave plenty of blindspots.

“The stats are, in most cases, not taking into account very specific circumstances,” said Mueller-Moehring in the interview. “When you look at passing completion, if you play for Bayern Munich or if you play for Manchester City or if you play for Pep Guardiola, if your system is based on possession, you will have more successful passes than other players, but this doesn’t necessarily make you a better passer.”

“And when you look at attributes like trapping and ball control, there is data, but the data never gives you the specific situations. Same for tackling,” he continued.

Eventually, though, the in-depth statistical data collated by EA’s 300 data editors and the feedback from the 9,000 data reviewers is combined to create 300 different data fields and 35 distinct attributes. These are then synthesized to create an individual player’s overall rating. Simple, huh?

So you can argue about the fairness of FIFA’s rankings until the cows come home, but in the meantime, you can check out this worthwhile read about how Mueller-Moehring and his team attempt to accomplish the impossible here.

Image: Electronic Arts

Music Dispatch: Listen to Andrew W.K.’s First EDM Song, “Party Til We Die”

Who knew Andrew W.K. had an EDM song up his sleeves? The party icon shared “Party Til We Die” this week and it’s a hearty listen. If you want something a little less wacky, read on for a David Bowie compilation, Radiohead’s bizarre box set unpacking video, Solange’s upcoming third album, and a stream of Danny Brown’s brand new record.

Forget about all that screaming and rock. Andrew W.K. is back with the most intense thing you’ll ever hear: an EDM track. The musician shared his first ever single of that genre this week. Will you like it? Well, that’s up to you. Spinnin’ Records shared the massive house track and cite MAKJ and Timmy Turner and producers. He and MAKJ met at Ultra Music Festival in Miami, so naturally, that bred this beast. Check it out above and share your thoughts (because you’ll definitely have some) in the comment section below. [Pitchfork]

Image: Parlophone

If the loss of David Bowie punched you in the gut but you weren’t familiar with his entire catalog, you have a new record to pick up. On January 7th, a collection of Bowie’s biggest singles will be released on a record called Legacy. The album will fill two CDs and sees 40 of his greatest hits organized together, as well as collaborations like “Under Pressure” with Queen and “Dancing in the Streets” with Mick Jagger. It’s an introduction for a generation that may know the name but not the songs, because we all need a little Bowie in our lives. [Rolling Stone]

The Special Edition of https://t.co/DGGTPLPAh0 has started shipping. Please keep an eye on your email for information and tracking codes. pic.twitter.com/jU1F6uQata

— Radiohead (@radiohead) September 28, 2016

Back in the spring, Radiohead released a brand new album called A Moon Shape Pool. You probably heard about that, huh? Well, the alt-rock giants finally released a deluxe version of the record. The special edition of the LP can be seen in a new, weird unboxing video. “Chieftan Mews,” a Twitter personality, narrates the clip and shows off each part of the box’s contents. It’s odd, but then again, Radiohead can be, too. Watch it above. [Pitchfork]

My Album, A Seat At The Table, will be released digitally this Friday • September 30th. Visit www.solangemusic.com to experience the #ASeatAtTheTable digital book now. I am overwhelmed with gratitude and excitement to share this body of work I have written, with you. Album Cover Photography : @carlota_guerrero A photo posted by Solange (@saintrecords) on Sep 27, 2016 at 2:57pm PDT

Just like that, Solange Knowles announced her third album out of nowhere. The singer said the record, called A Seat at the Table, comes out September 30th. Guests like Lil Wayne and Dev Hynes are set to appear. Best of all, it’s 21 songs long. There’s no information about sellers or pre-sales yet, but when that is known, we will let you know! [Rolling Stone]

If you were biting your nails waiting to hear Danny Brown‘s new album, you can finally give your fingers a rest. The Detroit rapper is streaming Atrocity Exhibition early. Head over to Apple Music to hear it in full. If you don’t know much about it, here’s a fun fact: there’s a crazy list of featured guests. We’re talking Kendrick Lamar, Earl Sweatshirt, Ab-Soul, Kelela, B-Real of Cypress Hill, and more. It’s both gritty and fun, so it’s pretty much what you need right now. Thank goodness it came out early. [Consequence of Sound]

See you back here on Friday for another Music Dispatch!

Image: Jonathan Thorpe/Windish Agency

SCREAM QUEENS Recap: Warts and All

Editor’s Note: This post contains spoilers for Fox’s Scream Queens. Proceed with caution if you have not watched the latest episode yet. 

Scream Queens is back and in full, violent swing, everybody. Last week, we caught up with the Chanels, jumped into the new hospital setting, and witnessed the birth of a serial killer. Dean Munsch is back and the new owner of the facilit, and Zayday is suspicious of her intentions. During last night’s episode, “Warts and All,” Zayday and Chamberlain (the Candy Striper) set out to get to the bottom of the Dean’s plan and discover the history of the hospital. Several familiar faces also made a hilarious return. We learned a lot, so let’s get right to it.

At the end of the premiere, Chanel No. 5, along with the werewolf girl at the center of last week’s episode, were at the mercy of the Green Meanie. Of course, No. 5 survived the cliffhanger and was left to deal with the slimy aftermath. As per usual, nobody believed No. 5’s story, with Chanel and No. 3 saying she probably planned the murder to get attention and sabotage their dates with Doctor Holt (John Stamos) and Doctor Cascade (Taylor Lautner).

Down and out, No. 5 reached out to the patient of the week, Tyler (guest star, Colton Haynes) for some comfort. If you couldn’t tell by the image at the top of the page, Tyler’s in for treatment for his seriously gnarly warts. Luckily, No. 5 is willing to look past his skin issue and raise money for treatment. Sure, she’s mostly doing it because he was pretty attractive before the disease hit. Whatever the case, I’m okay with it because it resulted in a hilarious spoof of those sad Sarah McLachlan ASPCA commercials. Plus, both No. 5 and her new beau were able to set aside his looks and focus on their blossoming love. Too bad he died at the end of the episode. Poor No. 5 just can’t win.

But Tyler isn’t the only new patient; Chad Radwell (Glen Powell) also returned and brought along his friend Randall. To be perfectly honest, Randall doesn’t really matter. It was fun to watch him worry about death by constant screaming, and freak out after every tiny sound, but the real draw here was obviously the return of Chad. So good job, Randall. You played your part and brought Chanel’s ditzy ex-boyfriend into the picture.

The only person not glad about Chad’s return is Doctor Holt. After Stamos’ steamy shower scene in the season premiere, it was only a matter of time before Chanel sunk her teeth into him and claimed him for her own. They went on a date at the beginning of the episode and things seemed to be going well, until Chad showed up in a red devil costume to freak Chanel out. Now, think back to the very end of the first season. Remember the red devil standing over Chanel’s bed in the psychiatric hospital? That was apparently Chad screwing with her. But now he’s back and ready to fight for her heart, even if it means going head-to-head with Holt in a heated squash tourney to win her heart.

While sniffing out his competition, Chad discovered that Holt’s transplanted hand actually belonged to a notorious serial killer (who was also pretty adept at playing squash). Seeing the duo fight for Chanel’s heart has already been pretty entertaining, so I hope it continues. It’s unclear whether Holt is involved in the murders, but something about his threats and obvious ties to a serial killer make him suspicious. Considering how great the show is at faking fans out, however, I doubt that is what’s going to end up happening.

For now, Zayday and the girls are focused at the task at hand: finding out why their former Dean invited them to the hospital. After a bit of digging, Zayday and Chamberlain learned that the hospital’s entire staff was murdered at a Halloween party in the ’80s. When the duo confronted Dean Munsch with their findings, the former Dean broke down and told them the real reason she started the hospital. In short: she is suffering from a disease called Kuru (from accidental cannibalism), and hopes the staff will be able to find a cure.

But it’s going to be difficult with another masked murderer on the loose. Munsch tangoed with the Green Meanie this week and almost unmasked him/her before being disturbed by Chanel No. 3 and Doctor Cassidy. Afraid, the girls reached out to the only person they knew: special FBI agent, Denise Hemphill (Niecy Nash). It’s sure good to see Nash in all her hilarious glory. As part of the investigation, she took the group to see another familiar face. Yep, Lea Michele’s Hester made a big return last night, and if she gets her way, she’ll be swimming in fancy beauty products and living as a resident of the hospital soon. All she needs to do is tell the group what she knows about the Green Meanie.

Who do you think The Green Meanie is? Are you glad to see Chad, Denise, and Hester? Let us know in the comments below!

Images: Fox

MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. Recap: In Which We “Meet the New Boss”

Warning: This post contains spoilers for Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.! Proceed with caution, agents. If you haven’t yet watched this week’s episode, “Meet the New Boss”, we highly suggest you do so before proceeding. Okay? We good? Then let’s go.

After the buildup given to S.H.I.E.L.D.‘s new Director Jeffrey Mace in last week’s season 4 premiere, I, like many viewers, was expecting an obviously “heavy” performance from Jason O’Mara in the role. One reminiscent of Edward James Olmos as Phil Coulson’s rival Director in season 2, or perhaps even something akin to Adrian Pasdar’s Glenn Talbot. So it’s an unexpected breath of fresh air that the guy operates in the time-honored tradition of past Mutant Enemy antagonists by keeping his gravitas a safe distance below the surface.

Mace is best known to longtime comic book fans as The Patriot, a 1940s Golden Age Marvel superhero who was later retconned into an incarnation of Captain America, following his disappearance after World War II. Here, we’re told that he’s an Inhuman with super-strength and, like Cap (whom we’re told is still AWOL after Civil War), “a powered person the public can trust;” as recommended by Coulson when he stepped down from his former post. Of course there’s a dark side to all that shininess, and the first hint of it comes when we learn that his reputation is largely a result of the care and attention he pays to PR and “optics” — things that Phil Coulson never had much time for, and that May openly despises. Nevertheless, to humor his new boss, and maybe stroke his own ego, Coulson agrees to give a group of visiting politicians a tour of S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ. Which momentarily diverts his attention away from May’s ongoing problem: The Cavalry is still seeing demonic ghosts in the faces of her friends and colleagues. But before Coulson can get to the bottom of things, she’s subdued by Mace, fitted for a straitjacket, and carted off by those sinister bureaucrat guests.

Meanwhile, Daisy’s investigation of the Ghost Rider’s activities leads to a cat and mouse game that winds up with her targeting his most vulnerable spot — his handicapped younger brother — and getting a fractured arm for her troubles. Fortunately, he’s after the same “ghosts” who corner Mack and Fitz while they’re investigating a reactor breach. The sight of one of these folks typing on a computer pretty much obliterates any sense of fear we might have from their Haunted Mansion-level spectral appearance. But at least they give Daisy an excuse to rescue Mack while the Rider saves Fitz, which leads to a reunion between Daisy and her big brother. Fitz confirms what we suspected last week — that she’s turned her back on them as part of her penance for Lincoln’s death. But its Robbie Reyes’ pronouncement that gives us real cause to worry, when he tells Daisy she has a death wish. For the moment, however, it’s a wish he has no intention of granting. Since he sees her value in carrying out his own mission. And hey, that season 4 makeover of her sure matches his look!

As for what the ghosts are after, we learn it’s the “Darkhold.” Also known in Marvel comics as “The Book of Sins,” it’s a demonic tome, a textbook of black magic that’s wreaked death and destruction for centuries, inspiring everything from cultists to werewolves to zombies. What do the ghosts want with it? And how is Mace connected to all this? How well S.H.I.E.L.D. answers these questions will determine whether or not Ghost Rider’s hellfire-and-brimstone can complement this show’s superspy hijinks for the remainder of this season.

Declassified Deliberations

— Is it just me or does Mace remind anyone else of a more sinister version of Disney and Pixar’s chief John Lasseter? He’s got that same twinkle in his eye that you just know masks something…else.

— “Maybe she’s just a ghost.” “That’s also a theory.” I’m not sure the folks who shot this scene considered how smug Simmons comes off even as she’s patronizing an African-American man twice her size.

— That shot where Quake propels herself atop Ghost Rider’s car is pretty cool. But oh how I wish this show had the Civil War-level budget to expand it into a full-fledged superhero chase scene.

— “Most people know the legend of Peggy Carter. But there are many stories that are unreported.” So tell us those stories already, ABC!

— “You’re an engineer, Mack. And a small tank.”

What did you think of this week’s episode? Let me know in the comments below or on Twitter (@JMaCabre).

Featured Image: Marvel/Disney/ABC

Images: Marvel, Disney, ABC

Hermione Granger’s Childhood Home from HARRY POTTER is For Sale

It looks like another house from the Harry Potter films is up for sale! While this particular home doesn’t have a cupboard under the stairs like the Dursley house that went on the market week, it’s still pretty iconic. However, you might want to get this latest piece of Potter real estate checked out for any remnants of a pretty powerful obliviate spell before you move in. That’s right, the home used in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I as the childhood abode of the Brightest Witch of Her Age, a one Hermione Granger, is up for sale.

Entertainment Weekly broke the news and—according to the property listing—Hermione grew up in some pretty sweet digs in a London suburb. The detached home is 2,490 square feet, three stories tall, has six bedrooms, is snuggled in a cozy cul-de-sac, and bears a price tag that you can probably only swing if you’re a part of a dentist power couple like the Grangers (or a Muggle-born prodigy destined to become the Minister of Magic). While we’ll have to work out the Muggle-to-magical currency rate, we can say with certainty that buying this house will set Muggles back 2.4 million pounds–that’s over three million American dollars for you No-Majes out there.

Hermione Granger's house for sale in Hampstead Garden Suburb for £2.4m https://t.co/AY4H8H954d pic.twitter.com/NxREGzUwLU

— Hampstead Mums (@Hampstead_Mums) September 26, 2016

While this home is the location of a significant moment in the Potter fandom—namely when Hermione performs the obliviate spell on her parents, erasing their memories of her to ensure their safety from Voldemort and the Death Eaters—it’s also a pretty sweet piece of English real estate. Apparently, this home hasn’t been for sale in almost sixty years. So if you’re looking to drop a giant chunk of change in exchange for a London home with lots of unique and magical history, it looks like now’s the time to buy!

Would you ever buy a house from one of your favorite films? Tell us what famous movie home you’d love to buy in the comments!

Feature Image: Warner Bros.