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MR. ROBOT Recap: Successor

Editor’s Note: This post contains spoilers for USA’s Mr. Robot. Proceed with caution. 

A lot of things happened on this week’s episode of Mr. Robot, and surprisingly, none of them featured Elliot. In fact, the protagonist wasn’t in the episode at all—and only mentioned once. While strange, leaving out the main character actually worked in the show’s favor this week as it gave us a clear, delusion-free picture of what’s going on in the real world. Unfortunately, that also means we didn’t learn anything new about last week’s big reveal (you know, the whole “Elliot is in prison” thing), and are still unsure of the timeline, but we’ll put that on the back burner for now.

The show, as well as fsociety, finally put a spotlight on the FBI’s mysterious “Operation Berenstain” this week, and as we expected, it isn’t good news for the underground hackers. After listening in on an FBI conference call, Darlene donned the mask and addressed the public regarding the Snowden-like situation. In short: the FBI has been monitoring 3 million people without a warrant, to get to the bottom of the 5/9 hack.

Of the sixteen suspects under investigation, one of them is dead, and the group immediately assumes it’s in reference to Romero. With emotions already high after his death (as well as the death of Gideon, who is also connected to the hack), Mobley was spooked and told the group that he wanted out. As the group was trying to get him to stay, the lawyer whose home they commandeered to use as headquarters walked in on the scene.

Obviously this isn’t good for the group, and the only solution they can come up with is tying up her up and looking for dirt for blackmailing purposes. Despite finding something they could use, their search was in vain because Darlene killed her. (Yup.) Her reason? She recognized the woman from the E Corp case and wanted revenge. Her vengeance came in the form of sending her into cardiac arrest after using a stun gun on her (woops).

With the situation complicated, the group fled and left Darlene and her ex boyfriend/Dark Army minion Cisco to wipe the apartment and get rid of the body—which they ended up incinerating at the pound, using money from the victim’s e-coin account. Despite the body being gone, I have a feeling this is going to be traced back to the group because once the cops realize the woman is missing, they’ll investigate the money donated from the account, and find the employee willing to talk.

For now, however, the duo is safe, but the same can’t be said for Mobley. After leaving the apartment, Mobley was brought in for questioning. When they offered him immunity in exchange for information that would lead them to their real target, Tyrell, he refused to talk and asked for a lawyer. Since the feds technically don’t have anything on him, and can’t afford to look suspicious by holding an innocent person, they ended up releasing him.

The last we saw of him, he set up a plan to meet with Trenton and wiped his phone. It’s unclear whether he made it, but towards the end of the episode someone entered the cafe Trenton had been waiting in. It could be a number of people. Is it a stranger, Mobley, Darlene, or someone else?

That someone else could very well be a member of the Dark Army, as Cisco is still involved with them—which we already knew after seeing him get beat up by one of their goons in a previous episode. When Darlene realized (after hacking his computer) that he was in contact with the Chinese hackers—and that part of the plan was to have her in his possession—she knocked him out with a baseball bat. (Damn, girl.)

Things were clearer this week, but now we have more questions. Will fsociety get out of this mess? Did this all  happen before Elliot went to prison? Will we see the rest of the group in prison? I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

Images: USA

Watch the JUSTICE LEAGUE’S Top Ten Greatest Moments

It’s Wednesday, which means new comics at your local comic shop, and your mid-week edition of Comics Relief! Lets start of today’s column with a handy little video showing fans just what the Justice League’s greatest moments are in the team’s long history. Read on for all the details.

DC counts down the Justice League’s greatest moments

The Justice League is getting set for a big 2017, with not only a new animated series coming from Cartoon Network called Justice League Action, but their first live-action incarnation on the big screen as well. Now DC All Access is counting down the League’s top ten most incredible moments in the comics. Three of them are from Grant Morrison’s seminal run on JLA from 1996-2000, but there are several more memorable moments from other notable runs as well. You can watch the entire video above.

DC All-Access Announces 8-hour live-streaming event

Speaking of DC All Access, the web series is planning on celebrating their one millionth subscriber by having an 8-hour live streaming event on September 2. Expect lots of news about upcoming DC Rebirth titles that have yet to be announced, plus interviews with creators from the various new titles. The marathon programming block will be led by DC All Access hosts Tiffany Smith and Jason Inman.

“Now, more than ever, we’re committed to bringing unique, entertaining stories about all things DC to our fans. The first-ever DC All Access all-day live stream event is a thank you to our fans for their support,” said Paul Malmont, DC’s director of digital marketing content. While some are expecting movie/TV news galore, I think the focus will be on the comic books side of things, so all you comics fans, you might consider taking that day off and parking your butt in front of your computer all day. [Hollywood Reporter]

Marvel Celebrates Jack Kirby’s 99th Birthday with first ever Kirby Week

Jack Kirby co-created (or just created, depending on who you ask) a large majority of the big names of the Marvel Universe pantheon. Yet for years, his estate and Marvel were on the outs, until a few years back when Marvel paid the Kirby estate an undisclosed sum of money, and now everyone is cozy again. To celebrate this new coziness (not to mention all the great work for “the King,” as he was known) Marvel has announced a Jack Kirby week-long event, which will run on Marvel’s website from August 22 to August 28, the day which would have been Kirby’s 99th birthday.

In a statement from Marvel, the publisher said “During Kirby Week, fans will get to explore how Jack Kirby brought his creative genius to the Marvel Universe through several articles devoted to ‘The King’ himself.” More articles and podcasts are said to be coming from people like Kirby’s son, Neal, as well as comic book historian Peter Sanderson. Hopefully they will have even bigger plans when Jack Kirby’s 100th b-day rolls around next year. [Newsarama]

Catwoman returns in Election Night special

Although she wasn’t one of the characters to get another solo title after the New 52 ended and DC Rebirth began, Catwoman will return in November for an Election Day special. The comic by Meredith Finch and Shane Davis will see Catwoman getting involved with Gotham’s mayoral election.

Most importantly, the special will contain the 12-page finale to the Mark Russell and Ben Caldwell‘s comic book about a teenage POTUS named Prez, rather than the promised second series of six issues. You can see the cover for the Catwoman: Election Night one-shot above, which will hit stores on November 2. [Bleeding Cool]

Colleen Doran teams up with Neil Gaiman for Troll Bridge

A Distant Soil creator Colleen Doran has worked with Neil Gaiman in the past, most notably on Sandman. Now Doran is teaming up with Gaiman once again in October with an adaptation of the dark fable Troll Bridge from Dark Horse Comics. The short story first appeared in the anthology Snow White, Blood Red back in 1993, and has also appeared in two collections of Gaiman’s short prose fiction. The folks at Comic Book Resources have a ton of preview art for the new graphic novel, which you can view by clicking on this link: [CBR]

New Iron Man changes her name to Ironheart, because someone realized the character is a woman

It wasn’t that long ago that Marvel announced a new person would be wearing the world famous Iron Man armor instead of Tony Stark, and that person would be a genius African-American teenager named Riri Williams. Well, turns out, even though Riri Williams will take over the Invincible Iron Man title, she’ll actually be going by the name Ironheart instead for her superheroic persona.

Considering we all know that eventually Tony Stark will return to the role at some point in the future, maybe it’s smart to just admit it from the get go and have Riri Williams go by a different name. You can read our full story on the new Ironheart by clicking on the following link: [Nerdist]

See All 4 Covers for issue #1 of the Batman: Animated Series/TMNT Crossover

The Bruce Timm animated version of the Dark Knight from Batman: The Animated Series and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ruleed ’90s kids afternoon television, so it makes sense that these versions of the characters should crossover in comic book form. Announced a few months back as coming from IDW Comics from the TMNT: Amazing Adventures creative team of writer Matthew K. Manning and artist by Jon Sommariva, Batman/TMNT Adventures sees members of Batman’s Rogues Gallery come to New York City, the Ninja Turtles’ home base. The first issue hits in November, and you can see the first four variant covers in our gallery down below. [CBR]

What’s this? The Justice League Dark movie is back in the cards

Images: DC Comics / Marvel Comics / IDW Comics / Dark Horse Comics

Kylo Ren, Jon Snow, and More Geeky Tattoos for the 100th Inked Wednesday

Welcome to the hundredth edition of Inked Wednesday! Can you believe it? One hundred posts filled with tattoos inspired by pop culture nerdery. I’ve seen more stunning tattoos than I can remember since beginning this column—I’m amazed I’m not covered head to toe in tattoos yet thanks to all the inspiration. This week’s gallery is certainly feeding my desire for more ink: Tattooist Josh Bodwell (who we featured back in Inked Wednesday #30) helped me out for this special occasion and curated a gallery of ink he admires. Said Josh, “I’m constantly inspired by other tattooists work I see on my social media feeds and I wanted to share a few of them that jumped out at me over the last few weeks and made me stop scrolling!”

Before we get to those works, please take a second to drool over a couple of pieces by Josh: Kylo Ren and the melted Darth Vader helmet from The Force Awakens and Quint from Jaws.

Follow Josh’s work on Instagram.

A variety of qualities in tattoos make Josh stop for a closer look. “Uniqueness is the first thing my eye catches, subject matter or a layout that I haven’t seen before. While I have a particular style I like to tattoo myself, I enjoy looking at a variety of styles of tattoos, but I look for the technical quality of work, saturation and color blends, line work and details,” he said.

The plethora of tattooists on social media provide constant inspiration for people who want tattoos and also for people who apply tattoos. Josh likes to have his Instagram and Facebook feed filled with artists and tattoos he likes, and he keeps a digital collection of works that make him want to push forward with his craft. He also collects hardcover art books with fantasy and sci-fi art and “Art of” books for films to use as reference.

If and when you’re ready to get a tattoo, I asked Josh for advice on finding the right artist. He explained, “There is such a wealth of knowledge online, I think Instagram is a great place to browse thousands of artists digital portfolios. That’s the key right there, do your homework, research your artist. Follow artist’s pages. Find someone that not only does the style and quality of work you want, but even the types of pop culture subject matter as well. When the artist enjoys pop culture tattoos as much as you do, it always makes for a better session! Even if it requires some travel, and even if they aren’t the “cheapest” (price shopping is a never a good place to start!), it’s worth it in the long run to collect the best possible tattoos you can!”

You can see Josh’s picks in the gallery below. You’ll find Matt the Radar Tech, Green Arrow, Jon Snow, the Terminator, and so much more. Links to each tattoo artist’s Instagram feed are in the captions, and if you like looking at beautiful tattoos (and I’m guessing you do), go check out their portfolios. Many of the tattooists travel to conventions, so keep an eye out in case you want to book an appointment and aren’t local to their shops.

Images: Josh Bodwell

Christoph Waltz May Not Play a Bad Guy in ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL

That long-simmering adaptation of the Battle Angel Alita manga is looking like much more of a reality as Christoph Waltz—one of Hollywood’s go-to-bad guys—is allegedly in talks to play a possible mentor for the titular character.

The Hollywood Reporter broke the story, and notes that Waltz is still in very early talks to join Alita: Battle Angel, which has already lined up The Maze Runner series’ Rosa Salazar as the titular Alita. As envisioned by Yukito Kishiro’s manga series in 1990, Alita is a cyborg, discovered in a scrapyard without any memories of her true identity. Though without memories, she is not without impressive fighting abilities that she retained from her past, going on to become a feared bounty hunter who tracked and killed the deadliest criminals in the future.

Nerdist has reached out for comment but has yet to hear at the time of publication. We will update this story as more information becomes available.

If Waltz signs on, he would portray Doctor Dyson Ido, the cybernetic doctor who rebuilds Alita’s broken body while acting as a friendly guide to her. (In the manga series, Ido was also a bounty hunter.) Waltz is best known for his villainous turns in Spectre, Inglourious Basterds, Green Hornet, and The Legend of Tarzan, so it’ll be nice to see him do something slightly different (roles like those in Django Unchained and The Zero Theorem not withstanding).

James Cameron initially attempted to bring Battle Angel to the big screen, but after a decade of gestation he stepped aside from the director’s chair to focus on the Avatar sequels. Last year, Robert Rodriguez joined the project as the new director, and it may finally begin filming this fall for a potential 2018 release.

Are you excited to see Waltz show off more of his dramatic range in Alita: Battle Angel? Let us know in the comment section below!

Image: Sony Pictures Classic

Watch 17-Year-Old Bjork Sing and Dance Her Heart Out

If you were wondering, yes, Björk has always been the coolest kid in the room. Someone recently uncovered a video of Björk performing with her old band (pre-Sugarcubes!). She’s a mere 17 years old in the video, and even then, her stage presence and voice demand recognition. In more recent news, Johann Johannsson will score the new Blade Runner film, Frank Ocean may have changed stream-only album releases, Questlove’s got a cool podcast, Angel Olsen’s new music video is remarkably powerful, and Sleigh Bells announced a new album is on the way.

We all know Björk is as individualistic as it gets. The Icelandic singer, songwriter, producer, artist, and all-around icon has too much genius in her brain to keep put. Over the years, she’s worked on dozens of music-related projects, both on her own and with others. Before she starter her solo career, Björk was in a popular Icelandic band called the Sugarcubes. They’re one of those bands music junkies love to love, especially because it’s the opportunity to hear Björk making music a little less abstract than her own. But now, thanks to Hint Fashion Magazine‘s Facebook page, hundreds of people get to hear even earlier Björk music: a live performance by her old band Tappi Tíkarrass. Filmed in 1982, the clip shows Björk fronting the band on vocals. She sings with punk energy and dances with the enthusiasm of a child (which is made all the easier to see with a haircut exactly like Marcus’ from About A Boy). It’s hard to imagine this took place five years before the Sugarcubes even existed, which means Björk is a 17-year-old in the video. Some prodigies were born that way from the start. Björk is one of them. [Hint Fashion Magazine]

Icelandic composer Johann Johannsson has already worked on some impressive film scores in his career: Theory of Everything, Sicario, and Arrival. Now, he’s got an even bigger film on his plate: the Blade Runner sequel. Director Denis Villeneuve is working on the new film and plans to release it on October 6 of 2017. That leaves him plenty of time to come up with music for it, but based off his past work (like “The Beast” clip above from Sicario), I don’t think it will be too hard to do. [Pitchfork]

Image Credit: “Nikes” video/Apple Music

A source told the Fader that Frank Ocean released his visual album, Endless, through Apple Music first on purpose. The album contains full songs and shorter numbers, most of which is very pretty, but it feels like a slew of leftover cuts. His second album, Blonde, is the more commercially viable project as well as the more cohesive. It also, apparently, was released independently. It looks like Frank Ocean put the visual album out first to end a contract with Def Jam. Then, mere days later, released the real full-length on his terms, at his time, in his way. So what’s that mean for the big guys up top? Well, for starters, Universal plans on banning streaming exclusives after being spurned by Ocean. That’s one way to solve things. [Consequence of Sound]

Ever feel like NPR gets a little too, well, white sometimes? So does Questlove. The music afficianado and dummer extraordinaire recently unveiled that he will have a three-hour radio program on Pandora soon. The show, called “Questlove Supreme,” focuses on global music and will premiere on September 7. The Roots’ drummer said the show will be a bit like his popular NYU music courses. If you need more reason to tune in, Maya Rudolph will be his first guest, talking about children in 1970s soul songs, because nothing gets a conversation started like a super specific niche genre. [Rolling Stone]

In a matter of days, Angel Olsen will return with a new full-length in tow. The album, My Woman, is a jam-fueled record, full of guitar solos and catchy hooks. If you’re looking for a sad album, this may not be for you. Take a look at her new video for “Sister,” for instance. Olsen co-directs the clip with Conor Hagen. In it, slow frames expand the natural cinematography of each shot as Olsen swims in pools and treks across Joshua Tree National Park. It’s a beauty of a video to match a beauty of a song. If you needed motivation to get out and play in nature this summer, this clip should do the trick. Make sure to grab My Woman when it comes out September 2nd via Jagjaguwar. [Consequence of Sound]

It feels longer than three years since Sleigh Bells last album, but indeed, Bitter Rivals dropped in 2013. The duo shared a single called “Hyper Dark” back in July (which you can re-listen to above), but didn’t share much else at the time. Now, Sleigh Bells announced a proper studio album is en route. Jessica Rabbit, their upcoming full-length, will be released November 11. Mark your calendars, folks. It’ll be a fun one.  [Pitchfork]

The National Lampoon is putting out its first album in 35 years. Satirically titled, Are There Any Triggers Here Tonight, the album will feature Tony Hendra and the comedic minds behind The Final Edition Radio Hour. You can grab a copy of the release on September 9 and laugh until it hurts.

See you back here on Friday for another Music Dispatch!

Image: Hint Fashion Magazine/Facebook/Bjork

Is Dave Grohl Helping Korn with Their Next Album?

Everyone knows the old adage: Korn doesn’t Grohl on trees. But, is that really true?

Dave Grohl isn’t afraid of getting heavy—that’s clear. Nirvana is one of the forebears of modern hard rock. And Foo Fighters often blur the line between hard rock and the classical, Sabbath-days definition of heavy metal. But nu-metal would be a first for the rock star. And something about Grohl and nu-metal just feels…unnatural.

Grohl was recently spotted in a recording studio with Korn, as you can see in the Instagram post by Korn drummer Ray Luzier (below). “That one time when Grohl stopped by our studio for #serenityofsuffering sessions. Huge thanks to #nickraskulinecz for making our new record so awesome!” he wrote.

That one time when Grohl stopped by our studio for #serenityofsuffering sessions. Huge thanks to #nickraskulinecz for making our new record so awesome! #korn #korntour2016 #davegrohl #foofighters #musicislife @foofighters

A photo posted by Ray (@rayluzierkorn) on Aug 23, 2016 at 4:24pm PDT

Korn are in the midst of recording their twelfth studio album, Serenity of Suffering (which, by the way, according to guitarist James ‘Munky’ Shaffer, is a nine on a “heaviness scale of one to 10 with 10 being the 1994 self-titled”). It’s still unclear whether Grohl’s appearance was a celebrity run-in or a scheduled collaboration. If it’s the latter, it wouldn’t be the album’s only collaboration; as NME reports, Slipknot’s Corey Taylor is set to appear on one track. But, I mean, that makes sense.

So what do we make of this? Grohl isn’t one to just stalk around aimlessly—what would that yield? Certainly not the plentiful career that he’s had. And the fall is coming, which means harvest is nigh, as is a veritable kornucopia of new music. When Serenity of Suffering arrives on October 21, if Grohl is indeed on it, will this still-Grohling Korn tree be an abomination of nature, or some strangely appealing new hybrid? Only time will tell.

Is Grohl going to be the newest kernel on Korn’s cob? Let us know what you think in the comments.

Image: HBO

Everything We Know About Proxima b, the New Earth-Like Planet

Space explorers! Shift your attentions away from No Man’s Sky for a moment back to this universe, because astronomers at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) believe they have identified an Earth-like planet orbiting our nearest stellar neighbor, Proxima Centauri. It’s called Proxima b, carries the very Carl Sagan-esque nickname “pale red dot,” and could potentially have liquid water.

We seem to be finding possibilities for that delicious life-allowing liquid on other planets a lot these days, don’t we?

Rendering of Proxima Centauri and Proxima b: ESO/M. Kornmesser

The ESO broke the news at a press conference—check it out in the video below—the highlights of which are essentially as follows: Proxima b is likely a rocky planet about 1.3 times the mass of Earth that orbits Proxima Centauri roughly every 11 Earth days, and it may be tidally locked—meaning that it always shows the same side toward its star, and doesn’t rotate on its axis.

What is most notable about Proxima b is the fact that it may lie in the “habitable zone,” which means it may be able to support liquid water and even life. But, as The Guardian points out, the habitable zone around Proxima Centauri is much closer to the star than the one around our Sun. This is because Proxima Centauri is an M Dwarf, or a star that is relatively dim and cool compared to our Sun. And because Proxima Centauri is dimmer and cooler, the habitable zone lies closer to it—exactly where Proxima b finds itself in orbit.

This may be an issue however, because of the star’s UV radiation. Gizmodo explains that the planet may be able to combat this with biofluorescence however, which is the “downshifting” of the star’s UV rays into a more life-friendly segment of the light wavelength spectrum.

Perhaps the most exciting part about the discovery of Proxima b is the fact that it isn’t that far from our solar system (in relative terms). Proxima Centauri is only 4.2 light years—or about 25 trillion miles—away from our solar system, which in cosmic terms is really just a jaunt around the ol’ galactic block. This makes it a perfect target for the Breakthrough Starshot program, which plans to send a fleet of “nanocraft” out to explore our nearest stellar neighbor.

Add to the discovery of Proxima b the fact that Kepler has recently doubled the number of discovered exoplanets—nine of which are in the habitable zone—and it seems like the odds of alien life being discovered at some point are definitely increasing. Which means all you No Man’s Sky players will have a lot of creature naming to do.

What do you think of Proxima b? Do you think it could host life? Will we ever be able to visit it with “nanocraft”? Is anybody allowed to toss an M dwarf star?! Let us know in the comments below!

Featured Image: ESO/L. Calçada/N. Risinger

Big Paper #26: STRANGER THINGS Have Been Illustrated

About Big Paper, the new Nerdist comic strip!

Abandoned as an infant, Everett, a living and breathing cartoon dinosaur, was adopted by a loving human couple. Within a reality where cartoons live and work among us, Everett navigates what it is to be 8-years-old along with his two cohorts: a cartoon turtle and child actor called Mel, and a brooding instigator and human girl named Keaton. They reside in a place where geek and pop culture have physically manifested itself, from the Incredible Hulk studying in your acting class to having the great Pumpkin King over for dinner.

About Michael McCusker:

Michael McCusker is an actor, improviser, and artist originally from Boston, MA. At an early age, he fell in love with the theater and live comedy. Michael discovered the North End’s Improv Asylum in 2005 and has been performing regularly since. Upon graduating from Bentley University in 2007, he moved westward to Los Angeles where he continued his improv education with IO West, Second City, UCB, and The Groundlings. Michael has since been featured in a string of commercials, music videos, online sketch, and some of those sweet, unaired pilots for major networks!

Thanks for taking the time to read Big Paper. If you dig the art, please check out his online portfolio, or grab something for yourself in his Society6 store.

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New strips of Big Paper debut every Wednesday, right here on Nerdist!

ROGUE ONE Trailer Set to FRIENDS Theme Doesn’t Need to Make Sense

Last week, when we brought you the kick-ass fan-made Rogue One trailer set to the Beastie Boys classic “Sabotage” it just made sense. The movie tells the story of a bunch of rebels working on a dangerous, covert operation to steal the plans for the Death Star, so the song fit as perfectly as any music could. But not everything that gets made needs to make sense; not everything mankind creates has to be in the service of logic and reason. Some things simply exists so that they can exist.

What we’re trying to say is we have no good explanation for why this Rogue One trailer set to the Friends theme song is a thing.

But it doesn’t matter, because it makes us laugh.

We came across this at HitFix, and it was made by the folks at CineMash. How did the conversation that led to combining the two go, we wonder. Did they see a bunch of people standing together and say, “What show had people?” Did they think Rogue One was mostly about friendship, so it was obvious? Did they randomly spin a wheel of songs and it came up “Friends“?

Was it a miscommunication but they had already made the fonts for it so they just finished it?

Something happened in that office to lead to this, but the truth is that though we have many questions, we seek no answers. Sometimes it’s okay to exist merely for the sake of existing. The universe is confusing enough; life’s meaning remains elusive.

There is comfort in knowing that something is unknowable, like why this is a thing at all, and when the rain starts to fall that comfort will be there for us, in the form of a trailer that makes no sense.

What existential crisis did this create for you? Tell us in the comments below.

Or to check out what Friends would actually look like today, watch this:

Image: CineMash/Lucasfilm

This Baby’s STRANGER THINGS and MAD MAX Cosplays Win Naptime

Laura Izumikawa Choi is an established wedding photographer in Los Angeles, but it is the Instagram photos of her baby Joey that have captured the internet’s heart. During naptime, baby Joey is dressed up in casual cosplay to look like iconic pop-culture characters. She’s served as model for everyone from Han Solo to Misty from Pokémon, all while taking in her daily nap.

Oh, what a day. What a lovely day!