Benedict Cumberbatch Just Proved That Marvel Is an Unstoppable Force

There was an unusual amount of pressure on Doctor Strange, Benedict Cumberbatch’s introduction to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The second film after the star-studded Captain America: Civil War to usher in Marvel’s so-called “Phase Three,” Strange placed a lot of expectations on Cumberbatch’s crimson-cloaked shoulders and, as if by magic, he’s exceeding every one of them. Cumberbatch’s Sorcerer Supreme has now surpassed every other single Marvel character introduction at the box office. Not bad for someone whose yet to be drafted into the Avengers. If Marvel is planning on slowing down, it won’t be any time soon.

Deadline reports that in only its third week of release, Cumberbatch’s Strange has conjured up $616 million worldwide. That’s certainly more than previous origin stories like The Incredible Hulk ($263M), Captain America: The First Avenger ($371M), Thor ($449M), Ant-Man ($520M) and Iron Man ($585M). (To be fair to Tony Starkâ€"the original, arrogant, goateed geniusâ€"Iron Man was released before the Marvel brand packed such a punch.) At this rate, Doctor Strange could potentially even catch Marvel’s ensemble origin Guardians of the Galaxy ($773,328,629 after 25 weeks) and Fox’s Deadpool ($782,612,155 after 18 weeks).

How did Doctor Strangeâ€"a surreal, spiritual film plagued by early controversy and featuring a superhero that, frankly, was not even that popular with readersâ€"soar to such enviable economic heights? Well, the fact that the scene’s final showdown was set in Hong Kong couldn’t have hurt. There is no Chinese Sanctum in the comics and the splashy battle for Hong Kong was only the latest way a major 2016 studio release pandered to Chinese audiences.

Thus far, Strange has earned $102M of its $411M foreign gross from China, but Cumberbatch has more than Chinese dollars to thank. The reviews for director Scott Derrickson’s first foray into the world of comics were more glowing than even Marvel’s usual thanks, in large part, to some fresh visual flair and an alluring, unconventional performance from Tilda Swinton. Even those suffering from superhero fatigue couldn’t resist her serene, art house charms.

And the bigger-than-expected reception for both Cumberbatch’s Strange and Paul Rudd’s Ant-Man means Marvel’s future is looking much more secure than it was even a year ago when Avengers: Age of Ultron failed to dazzle critics. Though no official announcement has been made, conventional comic book wisdom dictates that Stephen Strange, Scott Lang, Chadwick Boseman’s T'Challa, Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, and Brie Larson’s Carol Danvers have been/will be introduced in order to replace the Avengers line-up we’ve come to know and love. The Avengers team is forever changing in the comics and factors like Robert Downey Jr.’s enormous sticker price and other Avenger actors’ increasingly busy schedules means that the films will likely follow suit.

That means Rudd, Cumberbatch, and the rest have to be at least as popular as Scarlett Johansson and the Chrises Evans and Hemsworth in order for the franchise to survive a changing of the guard. If dollars equal popularity then, well, recent box office wins mean that Marvel has nothing to be worried about.

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The Cover Shoot: Benedict Cumberbatch Bends Minds

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The actor rolls up his sleeve. Photo: Photograph by Jason Bell. Styled by Jessica Diehl.

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Marvel's X-Men ResurrXion: Everything You Need to Know

The X-Men have had a hard couple of years in the comics, having had to continuously fight for mutantkind’s survival.

However all of that’s going to change come spring, when, following the conclusion of its big event series Inhumans Vs. X-Men, Marvel will be launching a whole slew of new titles under the banner of ResurrXion. Instead, the focus will be on what the X-Men are going to do with future they’d spent all this time fighting for.

“ResurrXion is all about embracing the [X-Men’s] original dream of coexisting with humans and fighting together to make a better world. All the books in some way, shape, or form, embrace that idea,” explains Daniel Ketchum, one of the editors overseeing the entire X-Men line up. “We’re going to get back to flights, and tights, and capes, and all the classic X-Men tropes. We very much want to harken back to that era where it’s the most classic iteration of the X-Men.”

One way in which the launch will do this is by leaning into the nostalgia of older series, with titles like X-Men Gold, X-Men Blue, and Generation X.

The other is by featuring new costumes. For Blue, artist Jamie McKelvie is in charge of the designs. For Gold, series artist Ardian Syaf will take the helm. And to welcome the new change, EW has an exclusive first look below at Syaf’s rough sketches as he worked out the final looks of each character’s costume.

“[Syaf] designed all of the costumes to specifically harken back to that classic golden age flavor,” says Ketchum. “They should in some way, feel familiar.

With Marvel launching so many series, EW asked Ketchum and X-Men line editor Mark Paniccia to break down what readers can expect from the rest of the series, as well as X-Men: Prime, a special standalone comic that’s meant to serve as a primer for the X-Men universe going forward. You can look at the exclusive cover reveal below. 

X-Men: PRIME

Ketchum says that this will be a perfect jumping in point for fans looking to get into the X-Men when ResurreXion starts since the single, standalone issue is meant to serve as a primer. With that in mind, Ketchum and Paniccia called on most of the writers who’ll be helming one of the new X-Men series to contribute. “It’s a book that represents the X-Men line going forward, as everyone plants their seeds,” explains Ketchum, of the comic, which will pickup directly after Inhumans Vs. X-Men ends. “We’re just at the tail end of the war. They’re literally picking up the pieces.”

Ken Lashley will be the artist drawing a bulk of the art for the issue. “He’s currently involved in the X-Men, and will be involved moving forward as well, so he was the right guy to pivot us from Inhumans Vs. X-Men to ResurrXion,” says Ketchum. 

Image Credit: Marvel

X-Men Gold

Writer: Marc Guggenheim Artist: Ardian Syaf

Fan favorite and long time X-Man Kitty Pryde will finally be leading her own team of X-Men, consisting of Storm, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Old Man Logan and Rachel Grey. With the X-Men line focusing on more hopeful storylinesâ€"and tapping into some of the nostalgia of older titlesâ€"Ketchum says it makes sense to see Kitty in a leadership position. “She really was the Xavier student,” says Ketchum. “So in a lot of ways, the dream has come full circle. Kitty is now the person picking up the mantle and leading the team forward in the name of Xavier’s dream.” 

X-Men Blue

Writer: Cullen Bunn Artist: Jorge Molina

With their mentor Charles Xavier gone, the original five X-Menâ€"Jean Grey, Cyclops, Iceman, Beast, and Angelâ€"will not only be dealing with being stranded in the present day, but they’ll also be aligning themselves with Magneto, one of their greatest former foes. A large part of this has to do with humankind not considering mutants to be as much of a threat anymore. “Magneto sees that as an opportunity he wants to seize,” explains Paniccia of the unexpected partnership. “He makes a deal with them to take down anyone who’s going to pose a threat and disrupt the chance to have a peaceful, if not, neutral relationship with humanity.”

And this is just one of the big changes in the series. Another one is that Jean Grey will lead the team instead of Scott. “[Writer Cullen Bunn] and I just really felt that this is the perfect place for us to see her rise to the occasion and take control of the team. There’s no reason she couldn’t lead the team.” What’s more, Paniccia says that there will be new members joining the team, with the first one being hinted at in the series’ first issue. “As far as Jean goes, she’s the only woman on the team right now. This is a reflection of the fact that these are the original five. But the membership’s not going to stay at five.”

Image Credit: Marvel

Jean Grey

Writer: Dennis Hopeless Artist: Victor Ibanez

Not only will Jean Grey be leading a team of X-Men this spring, but she’ll also be helming her first ever solo series, which sees her taking her future into her own hands in an even more direct way. “Jean’ll get a premonition that the future she feared is actually a lot closer than she thought. The Phoenix is a very real threat,” says Ketchum of the premise for the series. “She realizes she is not where she needs to be to fight that thing.”

Ketchum says that writer Dennis Hopeless’ pitch for the series was that in between her adventures with the team Jean Grey will also be traveling the Marvel Universe in preparation for this encounter. “She’s going to study with Doctor Strange and maybe have an adventure alongside Ghost Rider,” says Ketchum. “Anyone who knows something about other forces or being possessed, or speaks to the mission she’s undergoing she’s going to have an adventure with.” 

Iceman

Writer: Sina Grace Artist: Alessandro Vitti

“The book is primarily focused on older Iceman, because it’s really his journey, informed by the younger Iceman’s journey,” explains Ketchum of the aim of Bobby Drake’s first solo series. “Younger Iceman is a hero who knows where he wants to go and what he wants to be as a hero. He’s completely well adjusted in many ways that adult Bobby is not.” It’s recognizing this that inspires the older (and now, openly gay) X-Man to reconsider his legacy beyond being known as “The X-Man who tells jokes” while also fully exploring his Omega-level powers. Ketchum says that the series will see the character “focus on him getting his act together both in his superhero life and also as a human being.” 

Cable

Writer: James Robinson Artist: Carlos Pacheco

The third and final character getting his own solo book as part of ResurrXion is none other than Cable. “With Xavier, Scott Summers, and Logan fallen, Cable is now the patriarchal figure of the X-Men line,” explains Paniccia. “The big man gets the big solo series.” The seriesâ€"which Paniccia says is one of the darker of the ResurrXion line upâ€"will see the X-Man traveling back and forth through different time periods in order to fix time itself. “It’s one of the best things about Cable in one book,” says Ketchum. “Cable jumping through time, and kicking ass, with preposterously huge guns and even bigger shoulder pads.” 

Image Credit: Marvel

Image Credit: Marvel

Generation X

Writer: Christina Strain Artist: Amilcar Pinna

“Not all mutants are created equal,” says Ketchum of series writer Christina Strain’s pitch for the series. “When you look at the line of X-Men, not every mutant is destined to be a world-saving X-Man. Some are just kids with a bunch of extra eyeballs.” And it’s exactly these young mutants that the series will focus onâ€"a group of “lovable losers” led by none other than Jubilee, and includes Nature Girl, Eye Boy, Bling, and Quentin Quire just to name a few.

“You’re going to see these kids go through all the growing pains of finding their way, finding out who you love, trust, or don’t,” says Ketchm of what you can expect from the series “[They’ll be] learning those hard lessons and fighting for their lives all along.” Ketchum adds that part of the fun of the book is watching these inexperienced teens encounter villains they’re not really equipped to go up against. “What does a girl who talks to squirrels do against a sentinel?”

And just like Blue and Gold, the series will pay homage to the series from which its name comesâ€"and not just be continuing to be a book about Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. Teases Ketchum, “One of the villains is actually from the original series because we wanted to make sure we paid homage to the predecessors.” 

Weapon X

Writer: Greg Pak Artist: Greg Land

“Weapon X is back as a reaction to [mutants’] resilience to extinction. It’s like bringing out a can of industrial Raid,” explains Paniccia of the titular program. “They’re going to wipe [mutants] out for good this time.” And as part of the program’s bid to extinguish mutants forever, they’ll primarily be going after the mutants they know are going to “fight dirty,” including Old Man Logan, Sabretooth, Warpath, Lady Deathstrike, and Domino.

And with the series’ core group being a mix of heroes and villains, the team’s dynamic is going to definitely be interesting. “Logan and Sabretooth have no love for each other, so it speaks volumes for how effective and dangerous the Weapon X program is for him to end up seeking out Sabretooth and forming an alliance with him,” says Paniccia. “It’s going to be a dark book. It’s arguably our darkest book out of the line, and is going to have some really shocking moments in it.” 

X-Men: PRIME will be released Spring 2017. You can look at the rest of the series’ covers below.

Image Credit: Marvel

Image Credit: Marvel

Image Credit: Marvel

Image Credit: Marvel

Image Credit: Marvel

Image Credit: Marvel

Image Credit: Marvel

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inexperienced | teens | villains | they’re | equipped | against | “What | does | girl | talks | squirrels | sentinel< | homage | comesâ€"and | continuing | School | Gifted | Youngsters | Teases | “One | wanted | sure | paid | predecessors | p> Weapon | Greg | Land< | p> “Weapon | reaction | [mutants’] | resilience | extinction | bringing | industrial | Raid | titular | program | “They’re | wipe | [mutants] | good | program’s | extinguish | forever | they | know | “fight | dirty | including | Sabretooth | Warpath | Lady | Deathstrike | Domino | core | heroes | team’s | dynamic | definitely | interesting | “Logan | volumes | effective | dangerous | Weapon | seeking | forming | alliance | dark | arguably | darkest | shocking | moments | em> will | released Spring | 2017 | covers | div> |

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Creators & Details On Marvel's CABLE Ongoing From X-MEN RESURRXION Line

By Chris Arrant, Editor December 7, 2016 01:43pm ET

Credit: Marvel Comics

Credit: Marvel Comics

The creative team and plot for the 2017 Cable ongoing series has been announced by Marvel. One-time Cable writer James Robinson is returning to the title, with veteran illustrator Carlos Pacheco, in what is the sixth (and final, for now) X-Men book coming as part of the new "ResurrXion" joint line with the Inhumans.

The big conceit of the new Cable book, according to Robinson, is Nathan Summers' expertise as a time traveler, with 'timesliding' as 1990s readers will recall.

Credit: Marvel Comics

"One of the things about Cable is he’s a 'time warrior.' Time travel is part of his make-up in almost every aspect of his history - no pun intended," said Robinson. "This series will be Cable on a race against time to fix time. The reason Cable must take on this quest will reveal itself as the story and mystery unfolds, but he’s doing it for the sake of the Marvel Universe, which will fall apart if he doesn’t take action. And in the course of Cable’s mission, we’ll see him in a lot of great time periods like 15th century Japan, WWI, the Stone Age, Victorian England, and on and on, all with those time periods made more crazy and sci-fi by time being fractured by the villain of our series."

While the X-Force founder has had numerous enemies over the years, Cable's first big bad is someone new.

"This series, while not throwing out any of Cable’s past, will focus on him as a character for new readers as well as old ones. The villain is a new character simply named Conquest. He’s a technocrat from a future where he’s worked out how to manipulate the butterfly effect of times past to make his reality perfect for his wants," Robinson said. "That ripple effect has changed the present. Cable has to stop Conquest. Conquest has no intention of being stopped and intends to use all that history has to offer in terms of warriors and villains to stop Cable at each stop our hero makes  in time."

This new Conquest has no connection to the previous Marvel villain of the same, who appeared Avengers/JLA and Thor. One piece of history that Robinson is keeping in mind for Cable, however, is his short run on the character in 1997's Cable #44 - #50. Although its nigh on twenty years since it occurred, Robinson remembers it vividly.

"I remember a great deal actually. I had been invited to a summit by the Marvel powers-that-be at that time. I didn’t have a Marvel book then and was invited just to contribute ideas. It was a lot of fun, sitting down with Chris Claremont, Kurt Busiek and others, planning the new storylines, and it definitely made me want to get on a book and stay a part of Marvel at that time," the writer said. "To an outsider, at that time Marvel seemed to be a place with two fiefdoms. One was the main Marvel characters and the other was the world of X-Men. The two worlds were really apart with many fans only collecting X-books and the continuity being quite separate from the main Marvel U. to accommodate them. I saw Cable as a character that was lost in his own ever-more convoluted back story, and thought it would be great to have him (very much a lone wolf like Logan) as a crossover character that could operate in both the X-world and the main Marvel worldâ€"a tired old warrior who’s trying to keep the present day in line and make sense of it for both mutants and humanity."

Robinson said he's returning in part to make up for his abbreviated first run with the character.

"Honestly, leaving Cable when I did was one of the regrets I’ve had with my career. I was overwhelmed with life outside of comics at that time and so I just felt it was one book too many to write," said Robinson. "My leaving helped Joe Casey get a good footing in the industry, which is a great thing, but part of me has always regretted not muscling through and staying on the book for longer. So, when my friend Mark Paniccia recently got the X-books to oversee, we began talking about something for me to do there. Cable’s name came up and an idea began to form almost immediately. And so here I am."

Cable is expected to debut in spring 2017.

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| Creators | Details | Marvels | CABLE | Ongoing | From | X-MEN | RESURRXION | Line | Chris | Arrant | Editor< | span> | December | 2016 | 01:43pm | p> < | div> Credit: | Marvel | Comics< | cite>< | div> < | div> Credit: | cite> The | creative | team | plot | 2017 | Cable< | strong> | ongoing | series | been | announced | time | writer | James | Robinson | returning | title | with | veteran | illustrator | Carlos | Pacheco | what | sixth | (and | final | now) | book | coming | part | ResurrXion | joint | line | Inhumans | p> The | conceit | according | Nathan | Summers | expertise | traveler | timesliding | 1990s | readers | will | recall | p> < | cite> One | things | about | Cable | he’s | warrior | Time | travel | make | almost | every | aspect | history | intended | said | This | race | against | reason | must | take | this | quest | reveal | itself | story | mystery | unfolds | doing | sake | Universe | which | fall | apart | doesn’t | action | course | Cable’s | mission | we’ll | great | periods | like | 15th | century | Japan | Stone | Victorian | England | those | made | more | crazy | being | fractured | villain | p> While | Force | founder | numerous | enemies | over | years | strong>s | first | someone | p> This | while | throwing | past | focus | character | well | ones | simply | named | Conquest | He’s | technocrat | from | future | where | worked | manipulate | butterfly | effect | times | reality | perfect | wants | That | ripple | changed | present | stop | intention | stopped | intends | that | offer | terms | warriors | villains | each | hero | makes  | connection | previous | same | appeared | Avengers | JLA< | Thor< | piece | keeping | mind | however | short | 1997s | Although | nigh | twenty | since | occurred | remembers | vividly | p> I | remember | deal | actually | invited | summit | powers | didn’t | have | then | just | contribute | ideas | sitting | down | Claremont | Kurt | Busiek | others | planning | storylines | definitely | want | stay | outsider | seemed | place | fiefdoms | main | characters | other | world | worlds | were | really | many | fans | only | collecting | books | continuity | quite | separate | accommodate | them | lost | ever | convoluted | back | thought | would | (very | much | lone | wolf | Logan) | crossover | could | operate | both | worldâ€"a | tired | who’s | trying | keep | sense | mutants | humanity | p> Robinson | abbreviated | p> Honestly | leaving | when | regrets | I’ve | career | overwhelmed | life | outside | comics | felt | write | helped | Casey | good | footing | industry | thing | always | regretted | muscling | through | staying | longer | friend | Mark | Paniccia | recently | oversee | began | talking | something | there | name | came | idea | form | immediately | here | p> Cable< | expected | debut | spring | div> |

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‘Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ Midseason Finale Recap: Ashes to Ashes

Henry Simmons as Alphonso “Mack” MacKenzie and Natalia Cordova-Buckley as Yo-Yo Rodriguez. Jennifer Clasen/ABC

Even though this is the second episode after a month-long break, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is having a midseason finale because momentum isn’t something they care about apparently. Last week was about getting the agents back from the ghost dimension so they can take on Eli Morrow and this week we finally get to the climax they have been building to.

So what’s Eli doing? Well, he’s making a big, weird, glowing chamber but turns out his hired help hasn’t actually seen any money and the cops and S.H.I.E.L.D. are outside and they are starting to have some doubts in leadership. Eli quickly puts those fears to rest by paying the men by creating diamonds inside the lungs of one of the complaining members and tells the other men to cut him open if they want more. Pretty dope power move.

News crews are outside of the building where Eli is executing his master plan and Director Mace is trying his best to keep the situation under control. Coulson suggests using Daisy, Yo-Yo and Robbie to stop Eli but Mace is less than enthusiastic about the idea of using a still-wanted terrorist and a demon serial killer. Coulson reminds Mace that Robbie is unstoppable and is on their side and that they need all the help that they can get. No matter how many episodes we go through, people just can’t remember that Robbie is the only one that has managed to stop any of the Darkhold-related stuff. Coulson also believes that Aida can be of some assistance prompting him to reveal that she is an android. Despite Mace’s shock that people haven’t seemed to learn anything since Ultron (as well as revealing a slight attraction to her), Mace agrees to let Aida join the mission as long as she’s dismantled after.

With the go ahead from the director, Daisy, Yo-Yo, and Robbie are ready to storm the building. Yo-Yo runs in to do some reconnaissance only to trigger an explosion and gets hit from the blast. It turns out Eli created Caesium (which is apparently the most active metal on Earth according to Google) and Fitz realizes he’s testing the limits of his powers. Fortunately fire doesn’t scare Robbie at all and he heads on into the building. He takes out a few goons and finds the chamber Eli has created. It’s a quantum battery, similar to the one that was in the lab that first gave Eli his powers but this is on a bigger scale. Fitz has seen the set up before and realizes it’s called the Demon Core (because of course it is) and that it’s basically a fail-safe. If something messes with it, it activates the plutonium within (which Eli made from scratch) and everything goes boom. But before Robbie can do anything about it, he confronts his uncle and blames him for everything only to get stabbed by some carbon spikes preventing him from transforming. He is also facing radiation from the quantum energy in the chamber and Eli realizes the prison rumors of Ghost Rider were true and realizes it’s been his nephew this whole time.

Elizabeth Henstridge as Jenna Simmons and Iain de Caestecker as Leo Fitz. Jennifer Clasen/ABC

The agents still don’t have much of a plan. Yo-Yo is patched up from the blast and Mace wants her back in the fight as soon as possible only to get in an argument with a very heated Mack. Yo-To and Mack are still having their little lovers quarrel. Daisy has been feeling an increasing amount of seismic activity that Fitz is looking into and the lack of trust towards Mace finally reaches a tipping point as both Coulson and Daisy confront Mace about his dealings with Senator Nadeer. Turns out it’s all pretty simple, he gave Nadder Jemma to examine the Inhuman just so Nadeer wouldn’t release the photos of Daisy and Robbie during the prison incident â€" Nothing too sinister. Mace does however show a glimpse of uncertainty, which is something we don’t see often from his confident demeanor. He doesn’t believe they are a team, but Coulson is determined to prove just how great of a team they can be.

Back in the building, Eli is creating water now; elemental compounds that he says are the first step to being able to create life. Coulson appears at gunpoint with some of the thugs and delivers a beautiful line that Eli should “get a girlfriend first.” He might be held prisoner but he did bring a chain (!) so fingers crossed Ghost Rider will be able to use it. Underneath them however, the rest of the agents are putting their plan into action. Now it was tough for me to keep up with this logic here. I had to rewind five times just to see if I understood the plan. See, Fitz believes Eli isn’t creating matter from nothing. According to the law of conservation of energy, energy can neither be created nor destroyed. And even though Eli is power hungry, he doesn’t realize the matter is coming from the quantum energy from the other planes of existence. As he steals more energy, the tremors get worse. To stop Eli, Aida is going to rebuild the gateway to try and get rid of the potentially explosive quantum chamber. The process requires Daisy to control the building tremors and to keep Eli and his goons from killing all of them. There are some small moments where Aida is watching the agents in almost a studious way and I feel like it’s important to point it out and remember for later.

Eli reveals the Darkhold told him he can create life after death and Coulson realizes the chamber isn’t a failsafe but an actual bomb Eli intends to use. Acting fast, the agents move in with May and Mack taking out some of Eli’s gang and Yo-Yo doing a super cool slow motion run through the room. Even Mace is suited up in an armor suit of sorts and is tossing people around. Downstairs the agents are dealing with their own firefight as a gang member shoots Aida. Coulson tosses the chain to Robbie who turns into Ghost Rider and tries to pull himself away from the spikes sticking through him but instead lets go of the chain and chooses to burn up Eli instead. And in that moment the fail-safe goes off and the explosion happens only for the chamber to disappear thanks to the gateway.

Ming-Na Wen as Melinda May. Jennifer Clasen/ABC

Although Aida is bleeding out on the floor, she reveals she was programmed to react to pain just like a human would to better help her fit in as an actual target on missions. She’ll be fine, but that doesn’t mean she enjoys the process. Daisy is struggling after absorbing all the quakes and has to step outside quickly. She runs out and blasts herself into the sky and ends up landing right in the center of all of the news teams who quickly identify her as Quake. Mace steps in right on time to say she was the one that saved everyone and even calls her Agent Johnson.

Later, she mentions to Coulson how Robbie’s car should go to Gabe but Coulson doesn’t believe she should lose hope yet. He even mentions that the last Ghost Rider came back which could be a reference to the Johnny Blaze version we possibly saw in the flashback episode. It also could mean S.H.I.E.L.D. knew about Ghost Rider way before Robbie. All he says is it’s a long story, which means we might never get an answer.

Daisy is asked if she wants to be an agent again and she says there are definitely parts she misses and is also happy the new face of S.H.I.E.L.D. is an Inhuman. Turns out, Coulson actually wanted her to be the new face but Daisy only says, “maybe in the comic book version.” Beautiful. Also Mack and Yo-Yo kiss, so, yay. They can stop fighting, Daisy can stop whining, and everything should be good right? WRONG! Mace approves Radcliffe to work on the LMD program at S.H.I.E.L.D. and that means bringing his research over here. Agent Nathanson is the lucky guy that gets to go do that. And you don’t have to remember that name because as he is packing all of Radcliffe’s things up, he stumbles upon something shocking in a closet. So shocking that Aida shows up and snaps his neck after seeing it! What is it? Turns out it’s an unconscious May covered in blood. Wait? But if May is there, who is having a drink with Coulson at the end of the episode?! Is this May a robot? Is that why Aida is so keen on watching people? Is she learning from them so she can make copies of the agents? If you can’t wait for 2018 for the second season of Westworld, I would suggest coming back to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. in January for all of your robotic nightmares. Until 2017, True Believers!

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