Entertainment Weekly - October 21, 2016

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INVISIBLE WOMAN IRON MAN JEAN GREY JESSICA JONES KITTY PRYDE LUKE CAGE MORPHEUS MR. FANTASTIC NICK FURY NIGHTCRAWLER PROFESSOR X PUNISHER RAPHAEL ROBIN ROGUE SHAZAM 

HEROIC 

DOUBLE 

ISSUE 

OCTOBER 21/28, 2016• #1436/1437 

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Æ/TM TRADEMARKS ©MARS, INCORPORATED 2016

THE 

TOP 10 THINGS 

WE LOVE 

THIS WEEK 

Vincent Rodriguez III and Rachel Bloom 

RODRIGUEZ: SCOTT EVERETT WHITE/THE CW; BLOOM: ROBERT VOETS/THE CW 

1 

TV 

CRAZY 

EX-GIRLFRIEND 

• Rebecca Bunch is back for season 2 and more crazy 

in love than ever. Expect all your favorites: quirky 

schemes, a more prominent love triangle, and, of course, 

lots and lots of singing. (Premieres Oct. 21, 9 p.m., The CW) 

ILLUSTRATION BY LINCOLN AGNEW 

OCTOBER 21/28, 2016 EW.COM 1

2 

The Must List 

2TV 

BLACK 

MIRROR 

• Smash your 

iPhone and delete 

your Twitter: Charlie 

Brooker’s dark anthology 

series about 

our vexing relationship 

with technology 

is back. Stars Bryce 

Dallas Howard and 

Mackenzie Davis will 

keep your eyes glued 

to the screen. (Premieres 

Oct. 21, Netflix) 

3 

4 

3BOOKS 

CHILDREN 

OF THE NEW 

WORLD, by 

Alexander 

Weinstein 

• This sci-fi collection 

envisions a future 

that feels terrifyingly 

close—and one 

vignette in particular, 

about a man who 

becomes addicted to 

beaming fabricated 

memories into 

his mind, is already 

headed to the 

big screen. 

5 

4MUSIC 

“24K MAGIC,” 

Bruno Mars 

• The first taste 

of the R&B singer’s 

forthcoming third 

album picks up where 

his chart-topping 

“Uptown Funk!” left 

of: groovy guitars, 

sexy synths, and 

a whole lotta swag. 

5MOVIES 

THE 

HANDMAIDEN 

• In one of the year’s 

sliest, sexiest thrillers, 

Oldboy director 

Park Chan-wook 

relocates Sarah 

Waters’ Victorian 

novel Fingersmith to 

1930s Korea for a 

florid mystery ripe 

with con jobs and 

double crosses. (NR) 

BLACK MIRROR: DAVID DETTMANN/NETFLIX; MARS: KAI Z FENG; THE HANDMAIDEN: CJ FILMS 

2 EW.COM OCTOBER 21/28, 2016

AN 

APPLE 

WALKS 

INTO 

A BAR 

©2016 REDD’S BREWING COMPANY, MILWAUKEE, WI 

ALE WITH NATURAL APPLE FLAVOR

The Must List 

6 7 

8 9 

10 

10 

6GAMES 

BATMAN: 

ARKHAM VR 

• Be your own Batman 

in this standout title for 

PlayStation VR, which 

has you reaching into 

virtual space, grabbing 

hold of Batman’s 

cowl, and placing it on 

your headset-covered 

face to solve a twisted 

murder mystery. 

Batcape not included. 

7MUSIC 

“LOVE ME NOW,” 

John Legend 

• The King of Romance 

has returned. On the first 

song of his upcoming 

album, Darkness and 

Light, Legend preaches 

living in the moment 

in a relationship and 

kissing, um, now—and 

we’re down. 

8APPS 

SHOWGO 

• Forgo your FOMO with 

this nifty TV-watching 

app, which acts as a 

delayed Twitter for your 

DVR. Boot it up when 

you start a show and 

relive the time-coded 

commentary (and 

add your own) like it’s 

brand-new. The idea 

is so commonsense, 

it’s genius. (iTunes) 

9MUSIC 

RUMINATIONS, 

Conor Oberst 

• Armed with little more 

than a piano, an acoustic 

guitar, and a harmonica, 

the prolific singersongwriter 

(and Bright 

Eyes frontman) is at his 

tender best on his fourth 

solo studio album. 

MOVIES 

MOONLIGHT 

• Barry Jenkins’ beautifully 

poignant, powerful 

drama follows a young 

African-American man 

from childhood to 

adulthood—told in three 

separate acts with 

three diferent actors— 

as he wrestles with 

his identity, sexuality, 

and the community 

around him. (R) 

LEGEND: BYRON COHEN/GETTY IMAGES; MOONLIGHT: DAVID BORNFRIEND 


a handwritten thank you 

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©2016 Shire US Inc., Lexington, MA 02421. 1-800-828-2088. All rights reserved. S14546 07/16 

Marks designated ® and are owned by Shire or an affiliated company

Nobody knows eggs better than Bacon, Kevin and Michael Bacon. 

They know one large egg is a nutritional powerhouse with 6 grams of 

high-quality protein for 70 calories each. And they also know how 

to sneak into your house to sing you a catchy egg song. Just yolking. 

Visit IncredibleEgg.org for recipe ideas.

EW 

10.21 10.28 

2016 

24 

The Oscar Race 

Is On! 

The films (and people) 

that are sure to 

capture our attention 

come Oscar night. 

BY NICOLE SPERLING 

26 

Anna Faris 

The actress is many 

things—movie star, 

TV star, wife, mother, 

and lately, hugely 

successful podcast 

host. One thing she 

isn’t? Unqualified. 

BY DARREN FRANICH 

30 

JoJo 

How a teen pop star 

overcame a bitter 

legal battle and 

family tragedy for 

a comeback album 

that’s been a decade 

in the making. 

BY ISABELLA 

BIEDENHARN 

FEATURES 

34 

Doctor Strange 

Benedict Cumberbatch 

takes the 

comic-book movie 

to cosmic dimensions. 

Inside the film 

that’s about to 

seriously expand the 

Marvel universe. 

BY CLARK COLLIS 

41 

The 50 Most 

Powerful 

Superheroes 

Caped crusaders 

have smashed 

the confines of their 

comic-book cages 

and now dominate 

almost every 

corner of global 

pop culture. 

But who among 

them truly rules? 

NEWS AND 

COLUMNS 

1 

The Must List 

12 

Sound Bites 

14 

News & Notes 

108 

The Bullseye 

REVIEWS 

82 

Movies 

88 

Streaming 

90 

TV 

98 

Music 

102 

Books 

LOGO BY MIKEY BURTON; FARIS’ SWEATER: MICHAEL KORS; SKIRT: MISSONI; RINGS: EFFY JEWELRY 

Anna Faris 

photographed 

on Oct. 5, 

2016, in Los 

Angeles 

ON THE COVER 

Benedict 

Cumberbatch as 

Doctor Strange. 

Photograph by 

Jay Maidment/© 

2016 Marvel. All 

Rights Reserved. 

PHOTOGRAPH BY KENNETH CAPPELLO 


THE TWO-DAY FESTIVAL SHOWCASING THE BIGGEST NAMES 

AND ACTS ACROSS EVERY GENRE—MOVIES, TV, MUSIC, BOOKS, AND MORE! 

••• 

At Entertainment Weekly, we 

know there’s no such thing as 

too much pop culture. So we’ve 

put together the ultimate 

entertainment experience with 

the biggest names from TV, 

film, music, and books gathering 

at the Reef in L.A. on 

Oct. 29 and 30. During the 

two-day event, we’ll welcome 

singers JoJo, Tove Lo, Janelle 

Monáe, and Nick Jonas to the 

stage; we’ll sit down with cast 

members of Supernatural, 

Grey’s Anatomy, and Happy 

Endings; and we’ll play trivia 

with the cast of This Is Us, 

hosted by Hollywood Game 

Night’s Jane Lynch. Plus, Eddie 

Redmayne will bring the search 

for Fantastic Beasts with exclusive 

footage from the movie, 

and Jennifer Aniston and her 

Office Christmas Party costars 

will kick things up a notch 

when they arrive to answer 

fan questions (and show clips). 

“Carpool Karaoke” crooner 

James Corden will take a seat 

for an intimate chat, as will TV 

genius Ryan Murphy—and 

his buddies Kathy Bates, Cuba 

Gooding Jr., and Jamie Lee 

Curtis. Excited? There’s so 

much more. Get tickets now! 

SATURDAY, OCT. 29 

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MONAE: BURAK CINGI/REDFERNS/GETTY MAGES; CORDEN: CBS/GETTY IMAGES; SCREAM 4: DIMENSION FILMS/EVERETT COLLECTION; PADALECKI AND ACKLES: PHOTOGRAPH BY MATTHIAS 

CLAMER; ANISTON: JASON LAVERIS/FILMMAGIC.COM; REDMAYNE: TODD WILLIAMSON/GETTY IMAGES FOR CINEMACON; HAPPY ENDINGS: BOB D’AMICO/ABC; TOVE LO: DIMITRIOS 

KAMBOURIS/GETTY IMAGES; MOORE AND VENTIMIGLIA: PHOTOGRAPH BY ART STREIBER; RICE: BECK STARR/WIREIMAGE.COM; JONAS: HARMONY GERBER/GETTY IMAGES

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“Here I am, caught 

in a love triangle—the 

sexiest of all shapes.” 

—Mindy (Mindy Kaling), about her Jody/Danny 

dilemma, on The Mindy Project 

THE WEEK’S 

BEST 

TWEET 

OF THE 

WEEK 

Any accounts 

using my 

picture and 

making 

references 

to the bone 

zone are not 

run by me. 

@Real 

KennyBone 

a.k.a. 

Ken Bone, 

who asked 

the candidates 

about 

energy policy 

during the 

presidential 

debate 

“Just don’t get too 

comfortable, because 

chiefs of staf get 

replaced all the time.” 

—Emily (Italia Ricci), to Aaron 

(Adan Canto), on 

Designated Survivor 

“This lettuce is drowning. 

It’s floating in a sea 

of ranch, like little Kate 

Winslets inTitanic.” 

—Cat (Calista Flockhart), 

dismissing her new assistant for 

bringing her a salad with 

too much dressing, on Supergirl 

“Damn, son. 

You look worse 

than I did when 

I was dying 

from ALS.” 

—Lucious (Terrence 

Howard), to Jamal (Jussie 

Smollett), on Empire 

“Instagram 

filters and how 

they capture my 

hourly moods.” 

—Zoey (Yara Shahidi) to Bow 

(Tracee Ellis Ross), on the subject 

of her college admissions 

essay, on black-ish 

“I went to a strip club. 

Where there were 

strippers. Who were 

stripping. And 

they became nude.” 

—Robert (Thomas Haden Church) 

on Divorce 

BONE: JIM BOURG/AFP/GETTY IMAGES; KALING: EVANS VESTAL WARD/HULU; RICCI: ABC; HOWARD: CHUCK HODES/FOX; SHAHIDI: BOB D’AMICO/ABC; FLOCKHART: BETTINA STRAUSS/THE CW; CHURCH: CRAIG BLANKENHORN/HBO 


don’t miss the 

thrilling finale to 

the young elites saga 

by #1 new york times 

bestselling author 

MARIE LU

EW 

10.21 10.28 

2016 

ELECTION 2016 

LET’S MAKE A BOOK DEAL! 

Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton memoirs are a gimme, but which 

other campaign characters could turn author? By Isabella Biedenharn 

14 EW.COM OCTOBER 21/28, 2016 

ILLUSTRATION BY RYAN INZANA

Huma Abedin, Chelsea 

Clinton, Kellyanne Conway, 

and Melania Trump 

Is This 

Thing On? 

Donald Trump is hardly the 

first celebrity to be caught 

on tape unawares. Here, 

a cringey history of hot-mic 

gaffes. BY CLARK COLLIS 

1 

BILL O’REILLY 

During his tenure as host 

of Inside Edition, O’Reilly 

became so enraged over some 

teleprompter confusion that 

he had a complete meltdown. 

“We’ll do it live!” he yelled. 

“F--- it! Do it live!” 

2 

ABEDIN: GILBERT CARRASQUILLO/FILMMAGIC.COM; CLINTON: LLOYD BISHOP/NBC/GETTY IMAGES; 

CONWAY: CHRIS GOODNEY/BLOOMBERG/GETTY IMAGES; TRUMP: ALEX WONG/GETTY IMAGES; O’REILLY: 

PAUL ZIMMERMAN/WIREIMAGE.COM; BALE: STEVE GRANITZ/WIREIMAGE.COM; DURST: LM OTERO/AP 

PHOTO; MATTHEWS: TAYLOR HILL/GETTY IMAGES 

NO MATTER IF YOU’RE WITH HER 

or you’re looking to make America 

great again, there’s no question 

that the 2016 presidential election is like 

none other in U.S. history—from candidates 

who could be characters on a Gilligan’s Island 

reboot (The First Lady! The billionaire!) to 

that damning Access Hollywood tape (see 

sidebar). Indeed, the unpredictable nature of 

the campaign and the colorful supporting 

players on both sides have publishers predicting 

a boom in political reads in the 

months to come. “There will be several 

books to emerge from this election cycle,” 

says literary agent Richard Pine. “Staffers’ 

inside looks, embedded-journalist narratives, 

Republican politicians hating on Trump, Ann 

Coulter’s Hillary takedown, the Trump 

brothers’ business-advice book, and Mike 

Pence’s premature 2020 campaign memoir.” 

Whose stories are readers most hungry 

for? Bernie Sanders’, for one. The senator’s 

devoted following all but guarantees huge 

sales for his Nov. 15 release, Our Revolution. 

Meanwhile, Jennifer Enderlin, publisher of 

St. Martin’s, thinks Trump campaign manager 

Kellyanne Conway could pen an 

interesting chronicle of her time with the 

Donald: “She was on the front lines of one of 

the most volatile campaigns in the history 

of American politics.” Enderlin also mentions 

Huma Abedin, vice-chair of Clinton’s 

campaign, as a possibility. “After Hillary’s 

out of office, I’d love to know her take on 

working so closely with the first woman 

president,” she says—noting that it likely 

won’t be written anytime soon, given the 

“personal turmoil” surrounding Abedin’s 

separation from husband Anthony Weiner. 

Enderlin cautions that “the key to any 

memoir, whether it’s political or not, is 

honesty,” which makes the prospect of 

books by Trump’s children or Chelsea Clinton 

a bit tricky (presuming they would need 

to maintain a certain level of discretion 

about their candidate parents). However, 

Paul Bogaards, vice president of publicity at 

Knopf, acknowledges that there is a market 

for a Melania Trump memoir: “A book like 

Melania’s would probably find a readership 

among the Breitbart, Fox News crowd.” 

Experts can’t quite agree on the amount 

these would-be authors could fetch from 

publishers, as the potential for revelations 

varies so widely. But it’s fair to assume 

Chelsea could earn seven figures, and 

Melania may be looking at six…if her 

future somehow becomes Donald-less. 

They do agree, however, on the bankability 

of a fly-on-the-wall account—even if 

it’s anonymously written—from either 

party’s camp. “Frankly, the only book I’d 

be interested in is one like Game Change, a 

deeply researched and reported chronicle by 

reporters embedded in the Trump 

or Clinton campaign,” says an 

3 

4 

CHRISTIAN BALE 

The actor blew up on the set 

of 2009’s Terminator Salvation 

after he was distracted by the 

film’s director of photography, 

Shane Hurlbut. When the 

DP tried to explain that he was 

checking the lights, Bale 

responded, “I’m going to f---ing 

kick your f---ing ass if you don’t 

shut up for a second, all right?” 

ROBERT DURST 

After being confronted with 

new evidence in the 2015 doc 

The Jinx, the real estate heir 

was heard muttering, “What the 

hell did I do? Killed them all, of 

course,” from the bathroom. He 

was later arrested for the murder 

of Susan Berman (he claims 

innocence) and awaits trial. 

CHRIS MATTHEWS 

During MSNBC’s coverage 

of Trump’s victory speech after 

the Indiana Republican primary, 

the of-camera Hardball host 

enthused about Melania Trump: 

“Did you see her walk? Runway 

walk. My God, is that good. I 

could watch that runway show.” 

Whether Matthews was speaking 

from a men’s locker room 

at the time remains unclear. 


executive director at a major publishing 

house. “Especially with the Trump campaign, 

which has hired and fired like mad, there 

must be disaffected staffers willing to talk. 

But is there a reporter with the chops to do 

that in the Trump press pool? I don’t know.” 

We may be in luck: Rumor has it that Mark 

Halperin and John Heilemann—the authors 

of 2010’s Game Change and its 2013 followup, 

Double Down—are already at work on a 

book laying bare this polarizing election. 

Of course, there’s one more thing to 

remember: It’s only October. “We don’t 

know what bombshells are yet to come in 

the next few weeks,” Bogaards says. “Suppose 

there are more leaks…and then there’s 

reporting that unearths who’s been responsible 

for the leaks. Then that becomes an 

interesting narrative: If somebody’s out 

there breaking news to influence an American 

election, absolutely people would read 

that book.” Your move, Marla Maples. 

DAVE 

EGGERS 

GETS 

POLITICAL 

The author talks about 

the inspiration behind 

his anti-Trump playlist 

30 Days, 30 Songs. 

BY JESSICA GOODMAN 

••• 

Back in June, Dave Eggers was attending 

a Donald Trump rally on assignment for 

The Guardian and was surprised to hear 

Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer” playing as the 

plane carrying the Republican presidential 

nominee taxied down the runway. 

“It was hilarious and perverse,” Eggers 

says. The A Heartbreaking Work of 

Staggering Genius writer was moved to 

recruit artists like R.E.M., Death Cab for 

Cutie, and Aimee Mann for 30 Days, 

30 Songs, an anti-Trump collection of 

new work from fan-favorite performers, 

available through Spotify and Apple 

Music. “The first three songs alone on 

30 Days, 30 Songs are so succinctly 

devastating and catchy that they might 

have the power to move the needle a 

bit,” Eggers says. “Or at least provide the 

soundtrack to voters registering and 

voting against oppression and bigotry.” 

A L T E R N A T E R E A L I T Y 

NeNe Leakes 

for President! 

Plus four other reality TV stars who would have made better 

candidates than Donald Trump. Because “You’re fired!” isn’t the best 

catchphrase for the leader of the free world. BY MARC SNETIKER 

NENE LEAKES 

FORMER REAL HOUSEWIFE 

The Real Housewives of Atlanta 

STRENGTH This jane-of-all-trades will keep a 

close eye on the executive, legislative,and judicial 

branches like they’re messy brunch guests. 

WEAKNESS It might be best to forget that whole 

acting phase. 

OCTOBER SURPRISE A scandalous cache of emails 

courtesy of WikiLeakes. 

MARK CUBAN 

PANELIST Shark Tank 

STRENGTH If the president must be a billionaire 

from a Mark Burnett-produced show, at least 

Cuban is honest, affable, and able to call in the 

Mavericks’ reserves at a moment’s notice. 

WEAKNESS He’s a billionaire from a Mark 

Burnett-produced show. 

OCTOBER SURPRISE Barbara Corcoran joins the 

ticket and offers 20 percent equity! 

RUPAUL 

HOST/JUDGE RuPaul’s Drag Race 

STRENGTH As a reality mogul, drag role model, 

and passionate champion of social issues, 

Ru’s already rocked society off balance—and 

he didn’t even have to use the power of veto. 

WEAKNESS His 1993 dance jam “Stinky Dinky” 

probably isn’t the best campaign anthem. 

OCTOBER SURPRISE Is middle America ready for 

the systemic shock of a wig reveal?! 

LISA VANDERPUMP 

PROPRIETRESS Vanderpump Rules 

STRENGTH In government it’s who you know, and 

she knows everyone. Also, no one can better 

whip a staf (granted, of a restaurant) into shape. 

WEAKNESS We’re not birthers, but we’re, like, 

50 percent sure she wasn’t born in the U.S. 

OCTOBER SURPRISE Shocking tape from Bravo’s 

dramatic 2014 White House Correspondents’ 

Dinner reunion special! 

TAYLOR HICKS 

WINNER American Idol 

STRENGTH This hero of the heartland is proof 

that you can still make the best of being elected 

even if everyone knows it was a mistake. 

WEAKNESS A vicious Super PAC funded by 

Katharine McPhee, Chris Daughtry, and every 

other season 5 finalist will challenge Hicks’ 

policy performance at every turn. 

OCTOBER SURPRISE His hair’s not naturally gray! 

EGGERS: AARON DAVIDSON/GETTY IMAGES; LEAKES: MARK HILL/BRAVO; CUBAN: CRAIG SJODIN/ABC; RUPAUL: LOGO; VANDERPUMP: BENNETT RAGLIN/BRAVO; HICKS: RAY MICKSHAW/FOX 


IN FOCUS 

BY ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY 

SweeTARTS 

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Happy Halloween from SweeTARTS®! 

SHERYL SANDBERG 

COO, FACEBOOK 

KATE HUDSON 

ACTRESS & CO-FOUNDER, FABLETICS 

CHELSEA HANDLER 

SERIES HOST, NETFLIX 

IVANKA TRUMP 

EVP, THE TRUMP ORGANIZATION 

ANGELA AHRENDTS 

SVP, APPLE 

GINNI ROMETTY 

CEO, IBM 

RUTH PORAT 

CFO, GOOGLE/ALPHABET 

PRISCILLA CHAN 

CO-FOUNDER, CHAN ZUCKERBERG INITIATIVE 

ANITA HILL 

PROFESSOR, BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY 

W A T C H 

LIVE 

OCT 17-19 

ON FORTUNE.COM 

SUMMIT

Comic Con attendees 

NEW YORK 

COMIC CON’S 

GREATEST HITS 

Stars and superheroes assembled for a 

weekend of screenings, special 

presentations, and—gasp!—Sigourney Weaver. 

EW has the highlights. BY SHIRLEY LI 

A MARVEL-OUS SURPRISE 

Marvel gathered all four Netflix series’ headliners— 

Charlie Cox (Daredevil), Krysten Ritter (Jessica 

Jones), Mike Colter (Luke Cage), and Finn Jones (Iron 

Fist)—at its Iron Fist panel (the show debuts March 

2017) before introducing one more jaw-dropper to 

the stage: Sigourney Weaver, who has joined the 

upcoming, heroes-uniting The Defenders cast as the 

villain. Marvel then scored another round of cheers 

the next day at the panel for FX’s Legion, an X-Mencentric 

drama that takes place in a parallel universe 

to the films—though showrunner Noah Hawley 

(Fargo) hopes the two worlds will eventually collide. 

“My hope is to create something that is so strong that 

the people at the movie studios call up and say, ‘We’d 

be foolish not to connect these two things,’ ” he said. 

A BURST OF FIRST LOOKS 

Power Rangers! War for the Planet of the Apes! Resident 

Evil: The Final Chapter! Studios treated fans to footage 

from several of 2017’s tentpole films, ofering a darker 

EWPULLSDOUBLE 

PARTYDUTY 

ATNYCOMICCON 

••• 

Entertainment 

Weekly hosted not 

one but two fetes at 

the annual fan fest. 

First up was the 

Heroes After Dark 

Red Carpet Celebration 

at the Highline 

Ballroom in New York 

on Oct. 5. The event, 

produced by Reed- 

POP in partnership 

with CAA Premium 

Experience, honored 

two young real-life 

superheroes making 

a diference in their 

communities. 

The following evening 

we toasted the 

biggest names in 

British (and American) 

television 

with BBC America 

at La Sirena in 

New York. The Doctor 

himself, Peter 

Capaldi, hopped in 

his TARDIS to make 

an appearance 

alongside new companion 

Pearl Mackie. 

They were joined 

by the stars of the 

new Who spin-of 

series, Class, plusthe 

cast of Dirk Gently’s 

Holistic Detective 

Agency. It was a jolly 

good time indeed. 

— Ruth Kinane 

take on the color-coded teens with attitude and seven 

minutes of Andy Serkis’ next turn as intelligent ape 

Caesar. In addition, attendees caught the first halves 

of pilots for dramas like Fox’s 24: Legacy, which also 

announced the return of 24 favorite Tony Almeida 

(Carlos Bernard). Is it 2017 yet? 

CASTING CONTROVERSY 

Not everything at the convention drew applause. 

At the panel for director Zhang Yimou’s The Great Wall, 

Matt Damon addressed his casting as the hero in the 

China-set creature feature, which had drawn accusations 

of perpetuating the white-hero trope. “It was 

a f---ing bummer,” the actor said of the controversy. 

“I was surprised, I guess, because it was based on a 

teaser. It wasn’t even a full trailer, let alone a movie.” 

SEASON 2 CLUES 

If you’re enjoying your stay in Westworld, you’ll be 

pleased to learn there’s more to come: HBO hasn’t 

ordered a second season of the twisty sci-fi Western 

yet, but executive producer Jonathan Nolan said the 

HEROES AFTER DARK NEW 

YORK COMIC CON KICKOFF 

RED CARPET CELEBRATION 

( Clockwise from top left)Barbara 

Dunkelman, Prince Amukamara, 

Sophie Hopkins, and Lance Rubin 

Sigourney Weaver, Charlie Cox, Krysten Ritter, 

Mike Colter, and Finn Jones 

writers have started breaking future story lines. 

Meanwhile, Matt and Ross Dufer, the creators of 

Netflix’s breakout drama Stranger Things, promised 

fans the next installment would be “insane.” 

Even more insane than a Demogorgon hunting 

boys and Barbs? Bring it on. 

EW HOSTS AN EVENING 

WITH BBC AMERICA 

( Top) Doctor Who’s Pearl Mackie and Peter Capaldi; 

( bottom)Dirk Gently’s Jade Eshete, Samuel Barnett, 

Max Landis, Hannah Marks, and Fiona Dourif 

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FIRST 

LOOK 

THE JESS CAGLE INTERVIEW 

SarahJessica 

ParkerIsn’t 

aCarrie 

The Sex and the City star 

returns to HBO with Divorce 

(Sundays, 10 p.m.) and sits 

down with People and EW 

editorial director Jess Cagle 

for a new episode of his chat 

show on the People/Entertainment 

Weekly Network 

(PEN). BY DEVAN COGGAN 

MORE THAN A DECADE AFTER 

Carrie Bradshaw bid adieu to 

the small screen, Sarah Jessica 

Parker is back on HBO. In 

her comedy Divorce, Parker 

plays a woman named Frances 

who leaves her husband 

of nearly 20 years (Thomas 

Haden Church). And although 

Parker didn’t develop the 

show as a starring vehicle for 

herself, she couldn’t resist 

playing such a complex and 

darkly funny character. “She 

is wonderfully diferent than 

Carrie Bradshaw [and] in 

every way diferent from me,” 

Parker says. “The three of us 

look alike. That’s basically it.” 

Frances and her suburban 

woes are a far cry from the 

shoe-obsessed sex columnist, 

but Parker says Divorce 

reminds her of the years she 

worked on Sex and the City, 

especially thanks to “fantastic” 

cast members like Molly 

Shannon and Talia Balsam. 

“To have spent that much 

time feeling such fulfillment 

and fortune, [it’s great] to find 

again a group of people that 

you feel such afection and 

admiration for,” she says. 

 

Jess Cagle and Sarah Jessica Parker 

Watch this full episode of 

the Jess Cagle Interview 

on PEN at people.com/ 

pen, or download the PEN app on 

Apple TV, Roku players, Amazon 

Fire TV, Xumo, Chromecast, iOS, 

and Android devices. 

 

Leslie Mann 

and Robert 

De Niro 

You Laughin’ at Me? 

In the dark comedy The Comedian (out in limited release in December, going wide in January), 

Robert De Niro plays a washed-up funnyman in search of a second act. BY JOE MC GOVERN 

••• 

You’d never expect to see him 

telling jokes with mic in hand, 

but Robert De Niro knows 

something about stand-up 

comedy. The taciturn Oscar 

winner drew on his collaborations 

with legends like Billy 

Crystal, Robin Williams, and 

Don Rickles—as well as his 

immortal role as Rupert Pupkin 

in The King of Comedy—for 

The Comedian (opening in 

limited release in December 

before going wide Jan. 13). 

De Niro, 73, plays a once-edgy 

comic named Jackie Burke 

whose material goes soft 

when he gains success on a 

sitcom. “He tries to go back to 

the comedy clubs, but he’s 

haunted by the ghost of his 

TV character,” director Taylor 

Hackford (Ray) says of the 

movie, which also stars Leslie 

Mann and Danny DeVito. 

“But he refuses to be thrown 

on the scrap heap. He really 

aspires to get up and practice 

his art in front of an audience 

and still be relevant.” That’s 

fairly self-aware subject matter 

for De Niro to tackle—and 

audiences should expect a 

dose of pathos along with the 

humor. “I saw the movie as a 

dark drama with some comedy,” 

Hackford says, “but then 

we tested it with an audience, 

and they really laughed hard. 

So better to call it a dark comedy 

with drama.” Either way, 

De Niro’s sad clown is sure 

to garner applause—perhaps 

even on Oscar night. 

THENEWTVSHOWSYOUCAN’TGETENOUGHOF 

The fall-TV horse race has begun, and several titles are delivering strong numbers a few weeks out of the gate. 

Here are the most successful ratings breakouts (so far). BY JAMES HIBBERD 

1. Bull & 

Kevin Can Wait 

17.1 & 11.3 million 

viewers 

One is a procedural, 

the other a sitcom; 

both CBS freshmen 

are scoring, aided by 

lead-ins (NCIS and 

The Big Bang Theory). 

2. This Is Us 

11.7 million 

NBC’s dramedy set 

records before it 

debuted, with 

millions of #MiloButt 

trailer views. 

Now it’s fall’s biggest 

new hit in the 

18–49 demo. 

3. Designated 

Survivor 

10.9 million 

Kiefer Sutherland 

is winning plenty of 

votes from ABC 

viewers. Finally, 

a president we can 

all agree on. 

4. Lethal Weapon 

8.3 million 

Reboots never 

work…except when 

they do! Fox’s take 

on the big-screen 

franchise proves 

buddy-cop dramas 

can still be a 

lethal formula. 

5. Speechless 

7.4 million 

ABC’s post–Modern 

Family sitcom about a 

teen with cerebral 

palsy (Micah Fowler) 

is the season’s 

sweetest surprise. 

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KEVIN CAN WAIT: DAVID GIESBRECHT/CBS; DESIGNATED SURVIVOR: BEN MARK HOLZBERG/ABC; LETHAL WEAPON: DARREN MICHAELS/FOX; SPEECHLESS: NICOLE WILDER/ABC 


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FAMILY TIES 

AMERICAN 

VOICES 

The diverse actors who are 

changing pop culture 

Going for Impact 

A Golden Globe winner for his turn as an eccentric 

conductor on Amazon’s Mozart in the Jungle, 

Mexico-born Gael García Bernal strikes a diferent 

chord in the migrant drama Desierto (out Oct. 14). 

BY NINA TERRERO 

Though his parents were actors in 

their native Mexico, García Bernal, 

37, says he tried his best to avoid 

the family business. “You have to 

be a contrarian growing up,” he 

jokes. So despite having starred 

in telenovelas as a teenager, 

García Bernal didn’t begin to take 

acting seriously until he arrived in 

Europe. “I was in London, working 

in restaurants and bars,” he recalls. 

“I didn’t know what to do, but I 

ended up going to look at drama 

schools.” The result? At 18, García 

Bernal became the first Mexican 

student to enroll at the city’s 

prestigious Royal Central School 

of Speech & Drama. Says García 

Bernal: “I surrendered to destiny.” 

MORE VOICES 

To read all of these profiles, go to 

time.com/americanvoices 

the many complexities around 

immigration,” says García Bernal 

of the film, directed by Gravity 

co-writer (and fellow Mexican) 

Jonás Cuarón. “It’s a way of 

sharing something about all the 

people who’ve risked their lives 

by taking on this journey.” The 

movie’s message is particularly 

poignant given the upcoming 

presidential election. “People 

need to understand how important 

immigration is, even 

economically.” 

HORSING AROUND 

While García Bernal has never 

shied away from playing challenging 

characters, his next role as the 

swashbuckler Zorro is an outsize 

opportunity to reinvent an iconic 

Hispanic hero. “I hope it’s a fun 

and interesting movie, with a certain 

transcendence,” he says of 

the project, which is currently 

being scripted. With it comes the 

chance to fulfill a lifelong goal. “I’d 

love to learn how to ride horses,” 

says García Bernal. “I can’t wait.” 

MEXICO MEETS 

HOLLYWOOD 

Working both in front of and 

behind the camera with his production 

company, Canana Films, 

García Bernal has built a bilingual 

career with credits that include 

his breakout coming-of-age 

tale Y Tu Mamá También, Oscarwinning 

drama Babel, and border 

comedy Casa de Mi Padre. And, 

citing the burgeoning influence of 

Mexican filmmakers in Hollywood, 

García Bernal bets Anglo actors 

will pursue multilingual careers 

too. “There’s something brewing,” 

he says. “I think in the future 

they’ll be willing to experiment.” 

PASSIONATELY 

POLITICAL 

García Bernal’s latest project, 

bilingual thriller Desierto, 

unfolds across the U.S.- 

Mexico border, as his character, 

Moises, guides a group 

of migrants on the journey 

north to California, where 

they unexpectedly find 

themselves the target of 

a merciless sniper (Jefrey 

Dean Morgan). “It conveys 

MAARTEN DE BOER/CONTOUR BY GETTY IMAGES 

22 EW.COM

“ MY WISH IS TO BE A 

HOLLYWOOD STUNT DRIVER.” 

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TheOscarRa 

( From left ) Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone in La La Land; Michelle Williams and Casey Affleck in Manchester by the Sea; (top) La La Land director Damien Chazelle with Stone; Manchester 

BEST PICTURE 

CURRENT FRONT-RUNNERS La La Land, 

Manchester by the Sea 

With The Birth of a Nation’s 

Oscar chances dashed after 

Nate Parker’s sexual-assault 

scandal (he had been previously 

acquitted) and disappointing 

box office returns, the Best 

Picture race is up for grabs. 

Damien Chazelle’s whimsical 

musical La La Land (out Dec. 9) 

was the talk of Toronto and 

Telluride, but it’s not the only 

one. Barry Jenkins’ stunning 

depiction of a gay black youth 

in Moonlight (out Oct. 21) 

surprised audiences, while 

Manchester by the Sea (Nov. 

18) and Loving (Nov. 4) have 

been solidly gaining steam 

ahead of their releases. Not to 

be discounted are the films 

that have already scored with 

audiences, including Clint 

Eastwood’s Sully, which has 

grossed $113 million, and Hell 

or High Water, the rugged indie 

Western that’s nabbed $26 million. 

Yet to be considered 

are November and December 

films from Oscar heavyweights 

Martin Scorsese (Silence), 

Ang Lee (Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime 

Walk), Denzel Washington 

(Fences), and Warren Beatty 

(Rules Don’t Apply), four men 

who have the potential to 

upend the entire conversation. 

BEST DIRECTOR 

CURRENT FRONT-RUNNERS Damien Chazelle (La La Land), 

Kenneth Lonergan (Manchester by the Sea) 

With the works of Scorsese, 

Washington, Lee, and Beatty 

still unseen, we can only 

evaluate this category with 

what we know. The shoo-in 

is Damien Chazelle, whose 

modern-day musical had 

so many ways of going wrong 

yet managed to go perfectly 

right. Other likely contenders 

include Kenneth Lonergan 

for his delicate portrayal of 

loss with Manchester by 

the Sea and Jef Nichols for 

his intimate depiction of an 

interracial couple’s fight for 

equality in Loving. Will Barry 

Jenkins make the cut with 

Moonlight, or will Tom Ford 

sneak in with his stunning yet 

bonkers film Nocturnal Animals 

(out Nov. 18)? Don’t yet 

count out the work of three 

influential foreign filmmakers 

whose movies approach 

familiar genres in a new light: 

J.A. Bayona for his meditation 

on grief in A Monster Calls, 

Pablo Larraín for his visceral 

approach to Jackie, and Denis 

Villeneuve for his cerebral 

sci-fi film Arrival. A strong set 

of directors, to be sure, but 

for the seventh year in a row 

there likely won’t be a woman 

among them. 

PRIZEFIGHTER LOGO: MATT LEHMAN; STATUETTE: OSCAR ® STATUETTE © AMPAS ®; LA LA LAND: DALE ROBINETTE (2); 

MANCHESTER BY THE SEA: CLAIRE FOLGER (3); JACKIE: STEPHANIE BRANCHU; LOVING: BEN ROTHSTEIN; FENCES: DAVID LEE 


ce Is On! 

Behold, moviegoers: The bleak summer of retreads and uninspired 

sequels has given way to a bounty of goodness at the box office. And 

with the fall harvest comes a slew of films worthy of consideration by the 

Oscar gods, ones featuring dynamic female roles, powerful portrayals 

of people of color, and stories that just make you feel good. Read on for 

what’s sure to capture our attention come Oscar night. —Nicole Sperling 

by the Sea director Kenneth Lonergan with Affleck; Natalie Portman in Jackie; Ruth Negga and Joel Edgerton in Loving; (top) Affleck; Denzel Washington and Viola Davis in Fences 

BEST ACTRESS 

CURRENT FRONT-RUNNERS Natalie Portman (Jackie), 

Emma Stone (La La Land) 

BEST ACTOR 

CURRENT FRONT-RUNNERS Casey Afleck (Manchester 

by the Sea), Joel Edgerton (Loving) 

Despite the scarcity of 

women in the director race, 

many nuanced, multilayered 

performances stand out in 

this year’s crop of actresses. 

Will Natalie Portman reclaim 

Oscar glory with her portrayal 

of a grieving First 

Lady in the urgent film Jackie 

(Dec. 2), which tracks the 

immediate aftermath of the 

assassination? Or will Emma 

Stone be able to stop Portman’s 

momentum with her 

on-pitch performance in La 

La Land? Both women will 

have to contend with relative 

unknown Ruth Negga and 

her understated performance 

as Mildred Loving in 

Loving, not to mention the 

solid turns by Jessica Chastain 

as a ruthless lobbyist 

in Miss Sloane (Dec. 9) and 

Amy Adams as a renowned 

linguist in Arrival (Nov. 11). 

Possible spoilers include 

Annette Bening in 20th Century 

Women and Viola Davis 

in the yet-to-be-seen Fences 

(though the latter could land 

in the Supporting Actress category). 

Both actresses have 

been nominated multiple 

times but haven’t taken home 

that coveted gold statue. 

Casey Afleck may not 

have any interest in playing 

the awards game, but his 

performance in Lonergan’s 

Manchester is impossible 

to ignore. As a broken man 

forced to confront his past 

once his brother suddenly 

passes away, Affleck fills the 

heartbreaking part with 

bubbling rage and bottomless 

sorrow. He will be challenged 

by Joel Edgerton’s 

subtle turn as Richard Loving 

in Loving and Ryan Gosling’s 

troubled jazz musician in La 

La Land. Of course, all talk of a 

horse race could be rendered 

moot once we see Denzel 

Washington’s adaptation of 

his Tony award-winning 

role in Fences. But in a strange 

turn of events, this year’s 

Best Actor category is the 

hardest one to fill. Who will 

land that fifth spot? Tom Hanks 

in Sully? Michael Keaton 

as Ray Kroc in The Founder 

(Dec. 16)? Dev Patel as a man 

in search of his home in 

Lion (Nov. 25)? Jake Gyllenhaal 

playing two different 

yet equally captivating roles 

in Nocturnal Animals? A 

case could be made for each, 

but none is a given. 


Anna Faris 

photographed on 

Oct. 5, 2016, 

in Los Angeles

ANNA FARIS 

IS MANY THINGS—MOVIE STAR, TV STAR, 

WIFE, MOTHER, AND LATELY, 

HUGELY SUCCESSFUL PODCAST HOST. ONE 

THING SHE ISN’T? UNQUALIFIED. 

BY Darren Franich@DarrenFranich 

PHOTOGRAPHS BY Kenneth Cappello

IS THE LAST PERSON WHO SHOULD 

host a podcast called Unqualified. She’s 

a movie star (see: What’s Your Number? 

and The House Bunny, not to mention a 

Scary Movie or four) and a TV star (on CBS’ 

Mom, she goes toe-to-toe each week with 

her Emmy-lavished costar Allison Janney 

as barely rehabbed boozehounds struggling 

upward from rock bottom), and she’s 

excelled at playing Anna Faris—on Entourage 

and again in this year’s Keanu, as 

a stark raving drug-mad version of herself. 

So how did the 39-year-old actress 

wind up hosting a relationship-advice chat 

show? “I wanted to be a producer again,” 

Faris explains. “I wanted to have a strong 

creative outlet for something.” Faris 

has a history of creating opportunities for 

herself. She moved to Los Angeles in 

1999 after graduating from the University 

of Washington and quickly picked up 

work. “I got this s---ty job,” she says. Apologetic, 

she adds: “It wasn’t a s---ty 

job.” Then she describes her very s---ty 

first job. “This horror movie called 

Lovers Lane. Oh, God. I get gutted. I’m a 

cheerleader who gets gutted.” But just a 

year later she’d star in the first Scary 

Movie, a franchise that made her a household 

name and kept her busy for the 

next six years. It also ultimately made 

Faris fear she was getting pigeonholed 

as a “comedy spoof person,” despite 

her brilliant small role in 2003’s Lost in 

Translation among other film work. 

When Hollywood didn’t ofer her the 

roles she wanted, Faris opted to create 

roles for herself instead: She developed 

the concept for The House Bunny with 

the writing team behind Legally Blonde, 

and they pitched it to Adam Sandler’s 

production company, which released 

the movie in 2008. She also produced 

2011’s What’s Your Number? So last year, 

while driving to work for Mom, Faris 

got into podcasts—This American Life, 

Snap Judgment, and Strangers are 

favorites—and she began imagining what 

she could do with the medium. “I thought, 

‘I’m gonna order some microphones 

from Amazon!’ Ordered three of them. 

Six hundred dollars total.” 

From that modest initial investment 

came Anna Faris Is Unqualified, which 

debuted last November. The format is 

straightforward: Faris, cohost-producer 

Sim Sarna, and a celebrity guest or two 

sit in the dining room of Faris’ Hollywood 

Hills home. They take phone calls from 

listeners. They listen to their romantic 

problems. They try to help them. Episodes 

are long, purposefully meandering. 

Guests so far have included Chelsea 

Handler, Ken Jeong, Katie Couric, and 

total-opposite-of-Katie-Couric comedian 

Eric Andre. Sometimes Chris Pratt 

( From left) Faris with costar Allison Janney on CBS’ Mom; in the 2008 film The House Bunny 

UNQUALIFIED 

CATCH-UP 

Haven’t downloaded 

Anna Faris’ podcast yet? 

Here are three eps to 

get you into her groove. 

1 

CHRIS EVANS AND 

JENNY SLATE 

Reports of the Gifted costars 

being romantically involved 

came as no surprise to those 

who heard their chemistry 

crackle on Faris’ podcast just 

a month earlier. Not only 

do we find out how they connected, 

we also learn such 

important things as whether 

Evans is a “boob or butt man.” 

2 

SHAQUILLE O’NEAL 

Hearing the larger-thanlife 

basketball star match 

lyrics to the NBA player who 

rapped them is hilarious, 

but his relationship advice 

to a caller is even better. 

3 

AUBREY PLAZA 

AND RETTA 

There’s good reason why 

Plaza is the first guest 

to appear on Unqualified 

twice. But when you add 

Retta and a cameo from 

Chris Pratt, it’s the Parks and 

Recreation mini-reunion 

we’ve all been waiting for. 

—Cristina Everett 

(PHOTO SHOOT) STYLING: ASHLEY AVIGNONE/THE WALL GROUP; HAIR: BRIDGET BRAGER/BUMBLE AND BUMBLE/THE WALL GROUP; MAKEUP: FIONA STILES/FIONA STILES BEAUTY/STARWORKS ARTISTS; PROPS: ALI GALLAGHER/JED ROOT; 

ON-SET PRODUCTION: RACHAEL LIEBERMAN; DRESS: JOURDEN; SHOES: MALONE SOULIERS; RINGS: EFFY JEWELRY; (THIS PAGE) EVANS: JAMIE MCCARTHY/GETTY IMAGES; SLATE: ALLI HARVEY/GETTY IMAGES; O'NEAL: LARRY BUSACCA/ 

GETTY IMAGES; PLAZA: ALBERTO E. RODRIGUEZ/WIREIMAGE.COM; RETTA: ARAYA DIAZ/WIREIMAGE.COM; MOM: CLIFF LIPSON/CBS; THE HOUSE BUNNY: MELINDA SUE GORDON 


wanders in. (After all, it’s his house, too. 

Faris married him in 2009, and they have 

a 4-year-old son, Jack.) 

She thought the podcast was going to 

be a hobby, something “that maybe four 

or five people would listen to.” Almost 

one year after her first show, she sounds 

simultaneously happy and nervous about 

the show’s stellar growth. ”I think that 

it’s going better than expected,“ she says. 

“Even though the podcast is ridiculous, 

I take a lot of pride that people come to 

my house, they sit in my weird dining 

room, surrounded by weird deer heads…” 

Sorry, deer heads? 

“We’ve got about nine heads,” she 

explains. Pratt is a hunter, and he brings 

his quarry home. “And we eat them.” 

When you hear this, you can’t help but 

laugh. And you only laugh harder 

when you notice that she isn’t laughing, 

that she is pointing at your notepad, 

dictating: “Anna noted that I’m laughing 

like a crazy person.” 

There’s an endearing honesty to the 

podcast, and it speaks to some of Faris’ 

deeper motivations. “I really want to 

qualify this,” she says, “because it sounds 

so gross, but…there’s an isolation element 

to being an actor, to being…I’m not 

famous, but to being some…mild…” 

Celebrity? 

“I missed the curiosity of knowing 

strangers, getting to have interactions 

with people who don’t view me as 

whatever,” she says. “I missed really talking 

to people that I didn’t know.” 

Faris met Sarna 16 years ago when 

she had a bit part in the little-seen 

Milo Ventimiglia ski comedy Winter 

Break, which Sarna produced. They’ve 

been friends ever since. Last summer 

she mentioned that she was thinking 

of starting a podcast. “Anyone Anna 

meets—on a street, at a restaurant, 

whatever it is—she immediately makes 

them feel like they’re best friends,” 

he explains. “You can tell when you 

listen to the podcast. I get frustrated 

sometimes. We’re talking to callers, 

and I’m trying to get them of the line, 

because we need another call or 

the guest has a hard out, and Anna’s 

like, ‘No, wait, before you go…’ and then 

she’ll go on for another 10 minutes!” 

Podcasts don’t have set running times, 

which means conversations can flow 

leisurely, but that doesn’t mean working 

on the show is a leisure activity. “There’s 

a daily basis where I feel unbelievably 

vulnerable,” says Faris. “When you’re 

doing anything scripted, you hide behind 

your dialogue, the editors, your director, 

your costumes, whatever character 

you’re playing. This is like, ‘Well, actually, 

this is the horrible person that I am. I’m 

really sorry, Mom and Dad!’ ” 

You hear that, and wonder: Has 

Faris been hiding all this time? She never 

expected to do comedy, nearly dodged 

the acting thing entirely, almost moved 

to London to work as a receptionist in an 

ad agency. Although Mom is a comedy— 

really, there’s a laugh track!—the show’s 

emotional core has given Faris some 

of her best dramatic material ever. In the 

third-season finale, her character, 

Christy, begging for a scholarship, gave 

a memorable speech about coming 

back from the brink. “I know firsthand 

what it’s like to fall through the cracks,” 

Christy says. “And I also know what 

it’s like to be given a second chance.… 

I’ve lived enough to appreciate how 

precious an opportunity like this is.” 

Right now, Faris is appreciating all of 

her opportunities. Season 4 of Mom 

begins Oct. 27. Unqualified sits high on 

iTunes’ list of top comedy podcasts. 

And if you ask her what her plans are for 

the future, she’s so excited that she 

points at your notebook again. “I want 

all your readers to read this. I would like 

to be up in Washington State with a 

200-person amphitheater,” she says. 

“We’ll have popcorn and beer for sale. 

People will be watching me perform 

The Member of the Wedding by Carson 

McCullers. That’s my dream. Will you 

come see the show?” Yes, and we promise 

not to laugh like a crazy person.

The 

LIBERATION 

o f 

HOW A TEEN POP STAR 

OVERCAME A BITTER 

LEGAL BATTLE AND 

FAMILY TRAGEDY FOR A 

COMEBACK ALBUM 

THAT’S BEEN A DECADE 

IN THE MAKING. 

BY Isabella Biedenharn @isabella324

JoJo performing in March 

EARLIER THIS YEAR, JOANNA 

“JoJo” Levesque was frustrated with some 

fair-weather friends and de-stressing the 

best way she knows how: with 35 minutes of 

interval sprints at her local Equinox gym in 

Los Angeles. The 25-year-old pop star admits 

that exercise doesn’t come naturally—“not 

like music does,” she says—but she pushed 

herself through that punishing session by 

thinking about her art. And so it was on this 

afternoon that she had a revelation and 

came up with the idea for a killer new song. 

“I was just thinking about the fake people 

that come in and out of your life,” she says. 

“I was like, ‘Yeah! Fake-ass bitches: F-A-B!’ ” 

That phrase nagged at her in the shower, in 

the car, and upon her arrival to the studio, 

where she was working on new music with 

partner Hayley Warner. “I was like, ‘I promise 

you, I think there’s something here,’ ” she 

recalls with a huge smile. “I just had to sell it. 

I was beaming. I love that—working toward 

something you believe in.” 

The sentiment is cliché, but it’s gospel 

for JoJo: She wouldn’t have a career today if 

she hated hard work. The proof? Her new 

album, Mad Love., has been a decade in the 

making—most of that time spent locked in 

a bitter and painful seven-year legal battle 

with her first label, Blackground Records. 

Yet with her millennial tenacity and socialmedia 

savvy (and a team of ferocious lawyers, 

naturally), JoJo is finally ready for her 

comeback—just don’t call it that. “To some 

people it’ll be a comeback, but for me it’s 

just the next chapter,” JoJo says. “I’ve been 

here the whole time.” 

JoJo’s rise is an unlikely one. The Foxborough, 

Mass.-raised artist signed a recording 

contract at 12 years old. Within a year, she 

had a massive Top 40 hit with her 2004 single 

“Leave (Get Out)”—an undeniable earworm 

that became an empowerment anthem to 

the TRL generation. She spun that success 

into movie roles, acting alongside Robin 

Williams in 2006’s RV and Emma Roberts in 

Aquamarine—no small feat considering this 

child star did it without the propulsion of the 

Disney or Nickelodeon machines. Reflecting 

on her rise over a glass of sauvignon blanc 

in New York City recently, JoJo says coolly, 

“I didn’t feel that young when I was doing it. 

And I wasn’t pushed to do anything—my 

mom was not a stage mother or anything. 

I was a precocious kid.” 

Her precociousness was challenged when 

she was about to release her third record, in 

2007. The saga goes like this: Her label, 

Blackground, lost its distribution deal with 

Universal Motown in 2008, and her album 

was repeatedly delayed. In 2009 she filed a 

lawsuit to get out of the contract, but 

dropped it when Blackground struck a deal 

with Interscope, which, like Motown, is owned 

by Universal Music Group. Then Interscope’s 

deal with Blackground crumbled in 2012. 

JoJo remained optimistic that Blackground 

would score yet another distribution deal, 

but when the company shelved the 2012 

single “Demonstrate,” she realized she was 

stuck. “I was like, Where is my future with 

them?” she says. “I’ve turned in several 

incarnations of an album; there’s no plan. 

They don’t even have an office anymore. 

(PREVIOUS SPREAD) SLAVEN VLASIC/GETTY IMAGES; (THIS PAGE) GUS STEWART/GETTY IMAGES 


WITH HER PARENTS: COURTESY JOJO 

I thought these people were my family— 

they were my brothers, my uncles, my father 

figures.” (Blackground founder Barry 

Hankerson declined to comment on the 

dispute, only telling EW, “We love JoJo. We 

wish her the best.”) 

Despite the ordeal, JoJo continued to 

create music. And she found a way to release 

mixtapes and one-off tracks to stoke her 

devoted fans. “Thank God for social media,” 

says JoJo, who has a combined 4.3 million 

followers on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. 

“Being able to connect with [my fans] 

kept me afloat and also kept me from sinking 

too far into my own depression when I 

was going through the lawsuit.” 

JoJo came out of her funk in 2013, when 

her attorneys found a loophole that liberated 

her from her Blackground agreement: 

A label can’t hold an artist to a contract for 

more than seven years if the musician 

entered into it as a minor. “I couldn’t believe 

it,” JoJo says. “I called my mom immediately, 

and we cried.” Within 24 hours she 

signed with Atlantic Records, which had 

been courting her for years. “I’m not looking 

to make this new relationship into a 

family,” she says firmly. “I’m looking for a 

business partnership now.” It was exactly 

this business savvy that appealed to Atlantic. 

“We had seen what she was doing on her 

own, keeping her flame going,” says COO 

and chairman Julie Greenwald. “She’s interested 

in having a long-term career. She 

wasn’t trading on her cuteness, on being 

this young, really gifted singer.… She’s one 

of those artists who has purpose.” 

Just when JoJo’s musical career had 

a clear direction once again, she suffered a 

personal tragedy. Last November her father, 

JoJo with 

her mom, 

Diana 

Blagden, 

and dad, 

Joel 

Levesque, 

in 1991 

Joel Levesque, passed away after a long 

struggle with addiction. JoJo had a complicated 

relationship with her dad: After he 

split from her mom, Diana Blagden, when 

JoJo was 4, the two barely communicated. 

But recently they had reconnected over 

dinners and phone calls. Shortly before his 

passing, she even played him some of her 

new music, including the self-empowerment 

ballad “I Am.” The song brought him to 

tears. Thinking about that heartbreaking 

moment now, JoJo is surprisingly Zen. “I 

think through his life he struggled with feeling 

worthy, and then made decisions that 

resulted in him losing his life,” she says. “I 

think we’re searching for things to fill us up, 

to make us feel worthy of love.” 

In fact, her late father’s mark is all over 

the album. JoJo punctuates the title of each 

track with a period—a reference to a tattoo 

she got with him. And on “Music.,” she 

opens up about her dad with some of her 

most confessional and gut-wrenching lyrics 

ever. “Went on the road to make my daddy 

proud,” she sings, “but I lost him and so I 

sang to the crowd/My only hope is he’s 

looking down/Thinking, ‘Oh my God, my 

daughter’s doing it now.’ ” Not surprisingly, 

that track was the hardest one for JoJo to 

write. “I felt like if I didn’t try to approach 

what I came from and what has shaped me 

into the person I am so far, the album 

wouldn’t be complete,” she says. “I wanted 

to start off where I came from and then get 

to where I’m going.” 

So what is next for JoJo—will it be 

another decade before she releases more 

music? Not likely: She has a multi-album 

deal with Atlantic. She recently logged 

session time with Pharrell Williams, one of 

her heroes. “His creative force is so full,” 

she says. “He’s able to do some left-ofcenter 

s--- and also make pop hits. I want 

that.” And despite her personal and career 

struggles, JoJo says those ordeals have only 

made her stronger. “Some child stars can be 

really, really f---ed up—I certainly have 

issues I need to work through,” she admits. 

“But I think for the most part I’ve had an 

array of experiences that have shaped me 

into a human being that I can look at in the 

face.... And here I am.” 

MAD LOVE. 

LABEL Atlantic GENRE Pop 

BY Nolan Feeney @nolanfeeney 

Back in 2006, on the eve 

of releasing her second 

album, then-15-year-old 

JoJo vowed to put 

out her next one after she 

turned 18. “I want there 

to be growth,” the singer 

explained that year. 

“I want to live and experience 

things…. That’s 

important.” She might 

have come to regret those 

words—she’d spend much 

of the next 10 years locked 

in a legal battle with her 

former record label—but 

JoJo’s instincts were right 

on. Her well-documented 

struggles and triumphs 

inform her long-awaited 

third LP, Mad Love., and 

they turn her tales of love, 

friendship, and family into 

one bold coming-of-age 

statement. (Literally: Every 

song title is punctuated 

with a period.) 

When it comes to the 

music, however, JoJo’s 

collection of soulful slow 

jams and dark, contemporary 

R&B head-bobbers is 

uneven. The latter category 

has more misses (the 

generic “Vibe.”) than hits 

(the flawless first single, 

“F--- Apologies.”), but the 

stirring piano ballads that 

bookend the standard 

edition more than make up 

for that—just try not to get 

choked up as JoJo sings 

about her late father on 

“Music.” or belts about her 

self-worth on “I Am.” 

Songs like those demonstrate 

why JoJo has a long 

career ahead of her: Industry 

horror story aside, she’s 

one of her generation’s 

finest vocalists. Period.B+

Benedict 

Cumberbatch

WHEN ACTORS TALK ABOUT PLAYING SUPERheroes, 

the conversation often revolves around 

the intense workout regimes and strict diets 

required to look suitably super. But on the U.K. set 

of Marvel Studios’ latest film, Doctor Strange (out 

Nov. 4), star Benedict Cumberbatch wants to chat 

about...electrons. “There’s a book I’ve been carrying 

around like a small Bible, Seven Brief Lessons 

on Physics,” says the Sherlock actor between takes, 

picking up the volume and reciting a passage. “ ‘It 

is not possible to predict where an electron will 

reappear,’ ” he reads, “‘but only to calculate the 

probability that it will pop up here and there.’ ” 

If studying the writings of Italian theoretical 

physicist Carlo Rovelli doesn’t sound like typical 

prep for a comic-book movie, that’s because 

Doctor Strange is arguably a little more cerebral 

than most adventures about a man in a cape. 

“It’s a peculiar one—Strange by name, strange 

by nature,” says Cumberbatch, 40. Directed by 

Scott Derrickson (Sinister), the film charts 

Stephen Strange’s evolution from gifted New 

York neurosurgeon to spell-casting sorcerer. 

The story unfolds across multiple dimensions 

and prominently features Tilda Swinton as a 

bald, androgynous guru who serves as a nearly 

omniscient spiritual guide. So, yeah...strange 

just about covers it. 

Stephen Strange encounters Swinton’s 

mystic, the Ancient One, after his hands are 

horribly injured in a car crash, and he journeys 

to Nepal in search of a cure. Instead, he acquires 

an array of mind-blowing magical abilities, a 

powerful amulet known as the Eye of Agamotto, 

a Cloak of Levitation, and some valuable allies 

in fellow sorcerers Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor) 

and Wong (Benedict Wong). He also finds himself 

at odds with a formidable enemy, Kaecilius, 

played by Hannibal star Mads Mikkelsen. 


DOES RACHEL MCADAMS’ DOCTOR 

HAVE HER OWN HIDDEN IDENTITY? 

(PREVIOUS SPREAD AND THIS SPREAD) DOCTOR STRANGE: MARVEL (6); 

NIGHT NURSE: MARVEL COMICS 

( Clockwise from above ) Tilda Swinton; Chiwetel Ejiofor; 

Swinton and Cumberbatch; Mads Mikkelsen 

Keeping Strange rooted in our reality is his former 

lover, ER doctor Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams). 

To prepare for the role, McAdams spent time at a 

London hospital and was tutored by a surgeon who 

was on set to ensure the medical scenes looked realistic. 

“Now, in a pinch, I could stitch somebody up on 

the sidewalk with a lighter and a needle and some 

thread,” she says. “So, that’s exciting!” 

Astral projection, alternate realities, time travel, 

a West Village safe house called the Sanctum Sanctorum—it would all sound so much 

more far-fetched if the studio hadn’t already turned a machine-gun-wielding raccoon, 

a talking tree, and a man who can shrink to the size of an insect into movie stars. Yet even 

for the comic-book powerhouse behind Guardians of the Galaxy and Ant-Man, Doctor 

Strange is something a bit different. The movie is the gateway into the cosmic corners 

of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, where things can get pretty trippy (fitting if you consider 

the counterculture cred of a character who was referenced in the 1960s by both 

Tom Wolfe and Pink Floyd). But the ideas at the heart of Doctor Strange aren’t entirely out 

of this world, says Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige. Right now, on our real Earth, 

“CERN [the European Organization for Nuclear Research] is trying to prove that parallel 

universes exist,” Feige says. “That makes our lives very fun, to try and match that up in 

the form of a big blockbuster movie.” 

Even before Marvel announced its plans for a Doctor Strange film back in 2005, other 

filmmakers—Back to the Future scribe Bob Gale, Wes Craven, and Guillermo del Toro, 

among them—had sought to bring the character to the big screen (he was the subject of 

a 1978 TV movie). The task ultimately fell to Derrickson, a longtime fan whose dark hair 

When news broke that 

Rachel McAdams would play 

Christine Palmer, fans began 

to wonder whether she 

might also adopt her own 

alter ego: Night Nurse. 

Marvel scholars know 

that Palmer appeared in a 

1970s comic book called 

Night Nurse, which followed 

three roommates working at 

a New York hospital. In 

2004, Daredevil comic-book 

writer Brian Michael Bendis 

reintroduced Night Nurse 

using the name of Night 

Nurse lead character Linda 

Carter. She provided medical 

assistance to superheroes 

and later became 

romantically involved with 

Stephen Strange. 

So is McAdams going to 

become Night Nurse? 

“Mum’s the word on that 

one,” McAdams says. Marvel 

Studios president Kevin 

Feige says there are no plans 

for Palmer to become Night 

Nurse—yet. “I will say that 

that story line does not play 

into the movie,” he says. 

“[But] it’s just as much 

fun for us as it is for the fans 

to speculate about that.” 

—Clark Collis 

( From top ) Rachel McAdams; 

Night Nurse

and facial manscaping give him an eerie 

resemblance to the Sorcerer Supreme. 

“I certainly have personal feelings of 

affinity with Doctor Strange, a guy who 

struggles to overcome his own ego and 

goes through a lot of pain and suffering 

just to get past himself,” Derrickson says. 

“I think that personal connection to the 

character is one of the reasons I wanted 

to make the movie.” Drawing inspiration 

from Strange’s early psychedelic adventures, 

the director wrote the script with 

Jon Spaihts (Prometheus) and C. Robert 

Cargill. “The biggest influences by far 

are...the original comics drawn by Steve 

Ditko,” Derrickson says. 

Cumberbatch, who was intrigued by the 

movie’s offbeat marriage of adventure and 

esoterica, officially signed on to star in 

December 2014, and production got under 

way nearly a year later with four days of 

location filming in Nepal last November. 

The cast and crew then relocated to Longcross 

Film Studios outside of London, and it 

was there that Mikkelsen, a die-hard Bruce 

Lee fan, found his dreams coming true 

shooting a fight scene between Kaecilius 

and Strange. “The characters are circling 

around each other [in the film], but they 

have head-to-heads a couple of times,” he 

says. “One is a big dialogue scene, and the 

other one is a gigantic stunt scene. We 

shot that for three weeks or something. 

You got up every morning, you looked at 

each other, it was like, ‘Oh my God, not 

again!’ And within five minutes we were 

just kicking the s--- out of each other! 

That’s a lovely memory.” Adds Cumberbatch: 

“He makes a masterly, dastardly 

villain, does Mads. He’s chilling and cool 

and funny and utterly committed to his 

cause, as all good villains are.” 

Shooting concluded in April with a 

two-day stint in Manhattan, during which 

Cumberbatch dropped by local merchant 

JHU Comic Books in full costume. “That 

was right at the start of my last shot,” he 

says. “I thought, ‘I’ve got to go in and have a 

look.’ I said, ‘If this movie doesn’t work out, 

can I have a spot working here?’ They were 

like, ‘Sure! You good at stacking shelves?’” 

Unfortunately, the goodwill Cumberbatch 

engendered from that visit was overshadowed 

weeks later when the first trailer 

for the movie debuted. Controversy erupted 

BEHIND THE DESIGN 

SECRETS OF STRANGE’S 

FAR-OUT LOOK 

CLOAK OF LEVITATION 

Doctor Strange’s 

Cloak of Levitation 

allows him to fly, 

and in the film it’s 

attached to the 

Sorcerer Supreme by 

magic. In reality, it 

was screwed into a 

harness worn by 

Benedict Cumberbatch. 

“What was 

difficult was going 

for a bathroom 

break,” the actor 

says. “You’d have to 

get out of it all and 

put it back on again. 

It was just arduous 

for everyone.” 

DENIM RETHINK 

A deliberate deviation 

from the usual 

superhero garb, 

Strange’s denim coat 

and pants were 

inspired by a Chinese 

jacket that costume 

designer Alexandra 

Byrne purchased 

from a clothing 

dealer who had 

brought it back from 

the Far East. “It’s 

very different,” says 

Byrne (The Avengers, 

Thor). “There’s 

not a stretch gusset 

in sight.” 

EYE OF AGAMOTTO 

Ancient relic the 

Eye of Agamotto is 

the source of many 

powers possessed by 

Strange, including 

the ability to “screw 

around with time,” 

according to Marvel 

Studios president 

Kevin Feige. The amulet’s 

design, surprisingly, 

“wasn’t that 

difficult,” says director 

Scott Derrickson. 

“It was so cool—we 

knew we didn’t have 

to improve greatly 

upon what was in 

the comics for it to be 

interesting for a 

modern audience.” 

IT’S A CINCH 

Why does Strange 

wear seven belts? 

“Because it looks 

nice,” says costume 

supervisor Daniel 

Grace. “There’s no 

particular plot point 

to that.” 

over Swinton’s casting as the Ancient One, a character traditionally depicted as 

an Asian man in the comics, and Derrickson found himself under fire for 

“whitewashing” the role. “I was a little surprised by it,” he says. “Certainly our 

intentions were to subvert racial stereotypes and to create the best possible 

diversity within the cast. Wong and the Ancient One in the comics were pretty 

bad racial stereotypes. To avoid the stereotypical ‘magical Asian,’ we cast Tilda.” 

For Wong, Derrickson updated the character from Strange’s servant to a master 

sorcerer. “Instead of a sidekick, he’s Strange’s intellectual mentor,” says Benedict 

Wong (Netflix’s Marco Polo). “I think it’s a really positive step that this character 

is fighting alongside Strange, into the unknown multiverse.” 

Whether the cultural concerns will impact the film’s box office is another 

unknown, but for Cumberbatch, Doctor Strange represents a real opportunity 

to transition from British superstar/internet heartthrob to bankable Hollywood 

leading man—and to prove his facility with Strange’s East Coast American 

accent. “There are always certain words which are harder than others,” 

he says. “God knows, I find that in [British] English as well, as you’ll know 

from my pronunciation of a certain animal that waddles from side to side.” 

(In his narration of a 2009 BBC nature series, Cumberbatch repeatedly mispronounces 

“penguins” as “pengwings.”) 

No matter how this solo adventure fares, Feige has big plans for Stephen 

Strange, who plays “a very, very important role” in many upcoming films, 

including the next two Avengers movies (the first one is due in 2018). 

“I remember looking at Robert [Downey Jr.] and Benedict backstage at an 

event,” Feige says. “It was long before Benedict was officially cast as Doctor 

Strange, and it was something that we were dreaming about at that point. I was 

just sitting there quietly thinking, ‘One day, they’re both going to have goatees 

and be in one of our movies.’” Just like magic. 

MARVEL 

38 EW.COM OICTOBER 21/28, 2016

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ENTERTAINMENT 

WEEKLY 

Presents 

THE50 MOST POWERFUL 

WE ARE LIVING IN THE AGE OF SUPERHEROES. CAPED 

crusaders have smashed the confines of their comicbook 

cages and now dominate almost every corner of 

global pop culture. But who among them truly rules? 

To create this ranking of the 50 Most Powerful Superheroes, 

we devised a 100-point system that rated 

each character in nine categories: Cultural Impact, 

Bankability, Design, Modern Relevance, Mythology, 

Nemeses, Originality, Personality, and Powers. We 

gave each category a maximum score of 10 points, with 

one exception: Cultural Impact. The power of a superhero 

is defined most by this quality, so we measured it 

on a 20-point scale to tilt the final list in favor of 

characters who have the deepest cultural footprints. 

(See the index on page 80.) We then assembled a team 

of EW’s superhero experts and had them individually 

score 155 characters in each category. Those category 

scores were averaged and then added together to create 

an overall power total for each character. This determined 

our final 50 and each character’s position on the 

list. The result, we believe, is the most precise and comprehensive 

superhero ranking ever created. We 

welcome you to share your thoughts about our 

choices as well as your own rankings. Tweet us @ew 

using the hashtag #SuperheroPowerList. Now let’s 

begin with our groundbreaking choice for No. 1... 

POWER, BY THE NUMBERS 

HOW WE SCORED EACH SUPERHERO 

CULTURAL 

IMPACT 

BANKABILITY 

DESIGN 

MODERN 

RELEVANCE 

MYTHOLOGY NEMESES ORIGINALITY PERSONALITY POWERS TOTAL 

20.0 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0 100 

Logo by M I K E Y B U R T O N

WONDER 

WOMAN 

AKA DIANA PRINCE 

DEBUT 

All-Star Comics #8 (1941) 

HOME 

Themyscira 

LIKES 

Ancient martial arts, tiaras 

DISLIKES 

Mansplainers, cat ladies (looking at you, Cheetah) 

TOTAL 

SCORE 

90.3 

TOP CATEGORIES 

Cultural Impact 

Modern Relevance 

Originality 

WHAM! CRACK! KA-RASH! THOSE ARE THE 

sounds of a red boot kicking through a glass 

ceiling. Before Leia, before Rey, before Katniss, 

Michonne, Ripley, Buffy, or Furiosa, there 

was Wonder Woman. Diana Prince. The Amazon 

princess of Themyscira. In the history of 

heroes, she ascends to the top as the singular 

icon for half the population—and more if 

you count all the boys who aren’t afraid to 

admire her unparalleled hardcore ferocity. 

On her 75th anniversary, it’s time she finally 

gets her due. As a feminist icon, she represents 

something that’s bigger than Spider-Man or 

Painting by A L E X R O S S

THE EVOLUTION 

OF 

WONDER WOMAN 

1941 TO PRESENT 

ORIGINAL 

WONDER WOMAN 

AsillustratedbyH.G. 

Peter, Wonder Woman 

woreanarmoredtop— 

exposingmuscular 

shouldersandarms— 

andaflowingstarspangledskirt,which, 

similartoacape,helped 

depictmovement. 

SILVER AGE 

GAL GADOT 

Batman. She’s an inspiration for every 

little girl who would like to imagine herself 

saving the world. Wonder Woman 

isn’t the only one, but she stands apart. 

Batgirl and Supergirl are beloved fellow 

female crime-fighters, but their identities 

are echoes of male heroes. Wonder 

Woman also blazed a trail as one of the 

first grown-up females in comics, without 

a “girl” attached to her name. 

But she’s more than just a symbol who 

resonates deeply across generations; 

she’s an enduring powerhouse. Matched 

against the boys, she’s an equal to Superman, 

usually battling the Man of Steel to 

a draw. When sheer might isn’t enough, 

she’s every bit the tactician as Batman, 

calculating her opponents’ weaknesses 

and utilizing the element of surprise. 

There’s hardly a DC hero she hasn’t 

bested. And if she could cross over into 

the Marvel Universe? Spidey...nice kid, 

but easily stepped on. Black Panther 

might earn her respect enough to open 

some trade between her island and 

Wakanda. Iron Man? Pfft, she’d crumple 

that tin can. Thor? He’d join the pantheon 

of gods whose asses she has kicked. 

The power of a punch is one thing. 

The power of truth is unbreakable, and 

her golden lasso compels obedience and 

honesty from anyone it ensnares. She has 

no use for a firearm—and neither do her 

enemies. Her bracelets can deflect gunfire 

like she’s swatting a fly. 

When creator William Moulton 

Marston first brainstormed the idea 

for a new kind of hero with his wife Elizabeth, 

they tried to devise someone who 

would be a contrast to the brute force 

dominating comicdom. That yearning 

for originality tapped into the type of 

heroism we often overlook. Wonder 

Woman’s debut in 1941, shortly before 

America’s entry into World War II, made 

her as inspirational as Rosie the Riveter 

to the women left behind to run the 

home front. Her star-spangled outfit, 

worn in tribute to her adopted homeland, 

even pays homage to the American 

immigrant experience: She’s the outsider 

who honors our nation’s ideals 

while adding her own and becoming 

indispensable. Even after seven and a 

half decades, she is still making history. 

Recently, Greg Rucka, the Wonder 

Woman writer for DC’s new Rebirth 

series, said that because she comes from 

an island of only women, Wonder 

Woman is probably bisexual. 

Whether it is in the early dynamic 

drawings by original artist H.G. Peter, the 

sunny fearlessness of Lynda Carter on the 

1970s TV series, or the teeth-gritting 

independence of Gal Gadot in the new 

films, Wonder Woman’s power can’t be 

denied. It leaps off the page, radiates off 

the screen, and shines a desperately 

needed beam of light and hope into an 

often dark reality. —Anthony Breznican 

Inherfirstmajoroverhaul,WonderWoman 

#98(1958)emphasized 

thecharacter’sancient 

mythologicalbackstory 

andgaveDianaflying 

powers,revealingshe 

canfloatonwinds. 

Bythispoint,shehad 

tradedherskirtfor 

afullyform-hugging 

uniform. 

MOD REMAKE 

In1968’sWonder 

Woman #178,Diana 

wasrebootedasaposh 

secretagentwhorelinquishesherpowers. 

Itwasnotwellreceived, 

andthe“new”Wonder 

Womanwasretired 

afterafewyears. 

TV’S WONDER 

WOMAN 

ABCbroughtWonder 

Womantolifeinthe 

formofLyndaCarter, 

whoremainsiconic 

nearly40yearslater. 

Herathleticism, 

toughness,andbeauty 

helpeddefineglamour 

duringthediscoera. 

MODERN 

UPDATE 

AsDCcompletely 

overhauleditscomics 

slatetwiceinthe 

pastdecade,Wonder 

Woman’s most extreme 

makeoverwasin 

WonderWoman#600 

(2010).Hernewlook 

includedabluejacket, 

ared-and-goldtop, 

andblackpants—less 

costumedheroand 

morestreetfighter. 

GADOT: CLAY ENOS; WONDER WOMAN: DC ENTERTAINMENT (4); CARTER:CBS/GETTY IMAGES; (OPPOSITE PAGE) SPIDER-MAN COSTUME: RPC STUDIO 


SPIDER-MAN 

Photographed atop One World Trade Center by M E T T I E O S T R O W S K I 

AKA PETER PARKER, MILES MORALES 

DEBUT 

Amazing Fantasy #15 (1962) 

HOME 

New York City 

LIKES 

Great power, great responsibility 

DISLIKES 

Goblins, editors 

TOTAL 

SCORE 

90 


Bankability 

Nemeses 

Personality 

JUST AS A VISUAL CONCEPT, SPIDER-MAN WAS A BOUNDARY-BURSTING PHENOMENON IN 1962. 

His powers are grossand grand: He spins gray webs (ewww!) to swing Tarzan-style through the 

urban jungle (whoa!). Most superheroes have big muscles and granite chins, but Spidey’s all 

long limbs and expressively oversize white eyes. Yet the brilliant secret of Spider-Man is that 

he is his own greatest creation: a melancholy loner’s escapist fantasy—literally a boy pretending 

to be a (Spider-)man. In his origin story, all that grown-up fun goes to Peter Parker’s head—with 

tragic, Uncle Ben-killing consequences. So Spider-Man’s stories are less about super-cool powers 

than relatable pressures: money problems, romantic problems, filial-piety problems (Aunt May, 

sick again!), laundry problems. The Everyguy spirit transcends Spidey’s original alter ego. In 

2011, Marvel introduced Miles Morales, a high schooler inspired by Peter’s example—and a cause 

célèbre in the internet’s crusade against #SuperheroesSoWhite. There’s a reason the wall-crawler 

evokes such passion. He’s the superhero for people who love superheroes, a regular guy who 

saves the city but always struggles to pay the rent. So it makes sense that he’s No. 2 on our list. 

Most superheroes are aspirational. Spidey is the hero whoaspires. —Darren Franich 

POWER POINT Live from New York, it’s...Spider-Man? The hero saved John Belushi and the SNL cast in a 1978 comic book.

3 

BEST OF 

BATMAN 

BEST MOVIE 

THE DARK KNIGHT (2008) 

ChristopherNolan’s 

thrilling,chillingcrime 

epicsmartlychallenged 

everythingBatman 

representsviacinema’s 

greatestsupervillain, 

HeathLedger’s 

Oscar-winningJoker. 

BEST BATMAN 

STORY 

AKA BRUCE WAYNE 

DEBUT 

Detective Comics #27 (1939) 

HOME 

Gotham City 

LIKES 

Caves, gadgets 

BATMAN: THE LONG 

HALLOWEEN (1996–97), 

by Jeph Loeb 

and Tim Sale 

Acomplex,stylish 

mysterythatshowcases 

thehero’sworldand 

detectivepersona. 

Atouchstonefor 

Nolan’sBatmanfilms. 

AKA CLARK KENT 

DISLIKES 

Retirement, therapy 

TOTAL 

SCORE 

89.7 




Nemeses 

DRAWING UPON HARD-BOILED 

pulp and tough-guy mystery men 

like the Shadow, cartoonist Bob 

Kane and writer Bill Finger fashioned 

a rival for Superman by 

exploiting their contrasts: a darkknight 

detective to the whiteknight 

demigod. An instant 

smash, Batman had an appeal 

that broadened as his mythos 

grew—a kid sidekick, the greatest 

cast of crooks ever—and as the 

property became a multimedia 

entertainment franchise. No 

figure has represented or influenced 

the cultural perception of 

superheroes more than Batman. 

The Pop-art Adam West TV series? 

Silly.SuperFriends? Kids’ stuf. 

Frank Miller’sTheDarkKnight 

Returns? A game changer that 

reframed the righteous vigilante 

as disturbed antihero, a complex 

makeover that captured Hollywood’s 

imagination and seeded 

contemporary pop. Christopher 

Nolan’s monstrous redeemer subversively 

mythologized post-9/11 

America. TV’sGotham is goofy 

gothic cynicism. Zack Snyder’s 

brutal avenger wallows in fanboy 

nihilism. Batman endures as a 

cautionary tale about how we 

respond to tragedy and evil, and 

as a mirror to our empowerment 

fantasies. What will he show us in 

the years to come? —Jeff Jensen 

BEST COSTUME 

BATMAN: YEAR ONE 

(1986–87), drawn by 

David Mazzucchelli 

Anelegantthrowback 

totheoriginalwrestling 

tights.Perfecthorns, 

cape,andbelt,and 

noarmororyellow 

spotlightonthebat. 

BEST BATMAN 

ARTIST 

NEAL ADAMS 

Themodernmaster 

rehabbedthecampy 

imageofthecharacter 

(above)withavisceral, 

realisticmakeover. 

BEST BATMOBILE 

BATMAN #5 

Batman’s1941comicbookride—drawnby 

BobKaneandJerry 

Robinson—isastylish 

roadster.Lookslike 

abatoutofhell. 

Driveslikeone,too. 

BATMAN (SIDEBAR): NEAL ADAMS/DC COMICS; SUPERMAN: DC ENTERTAINMENT 

DEBUT 

Action Comics #1 (1938) 

HOME 

Metropolis 

LIKES 

Lois Lane, conquering evil 

DISLIKES 

Kryptonite, moral ambiguity 

TOTAL 

SCORE 

87.2 



Bankability 

Powers 

SO MUCH ABOUT SUPERMAN— 

essentially America’s first superhero—feels 

quaint today. Truth, 

Justice, and the American Way 

were simple ideals for a simpler 

time, and his Boy Scout mentality 

may feel out of step with the 

darker, more tortured superheroes 

who fill our movie theaters and 

television screens today. But this 

alien from Krypton, armed with 

superstrength, superspeed, X-ray 

vision, and flight, is the superhero 

we all identified with first. Today, 

as America grapples with what it 

stands for, Superman—charged 

with saving humans from themselves, 

even when he isn’t 

wanted—may have renewed 

relevance. In Zack Snyder’s interpretation 

of the Man of Steel, 

his Achilles’ heel isn’t just a physical 

aversion to kryptonite. Turns 

out those broad shoulders are 

equipped to carry around a ton 

of emotional baggage, too— 

loneliness and guilt are formidable 

opponents. Maybe Superman’s 

quest for connection, the ultimate 

immigrant story, is more poignant 

now than ever. —Nicole Sperling 

Illustration by TOMER HANUKA

AKA JAMES HOWLETT, LOGAN 

DEBUT 

Incredible Hulk #180 (1974) 

HOME 

Canada 

LIKES 

Jean Grey, flared jeans, cigars 

DISLIKES 

Authority, magnets, Sabretooth 

TOTAL 

SCORE 

85.3 


Bankability 


Mythology 

THERE ARE THOSE SUPERHEROES WHO RUN 

into flaming buildings, rescue civilians, 

and pose adoringly for their fans. Then 

there is Wolverine. Grumpy and antisocial, 

this member of the X-Men prefers 

isolation but will defend his fellow 

mutants to the death. 

Born in Canada in the late 1800s, his 

mutation—switchblade claws that grow 

out of his knuckles and the ability to 

heal—first appeared when he was a 

child. His unique gift—or curse—slowed 

his aging process, allowing Wolverine to 

experience various lives, including one 

as a World War II soldier. Eventually, he 

was forced into the Weapon X scientific 

program and had his bones fused with 

indestructible metal adamantium and 

his memories erased. Plagued by visions 

and nightmares of his past, Wolverine 

constantly struggles to piece together 

his history even after he joins the X-Men. 

The latter affiliation has been the 

subject of eight big-screen adventures 

(including two solo films to date), with 

Hugh Jackman playing the gruff hero. 

The final Wolverine installment, Logan, 

is due in March, with Jackman donning 

the muttonchops and metal claws one 

last time. But who knows? Wolverine 

has come back from the dead on more 

than one occasion. —Tim Stack 

JACKMAN: JAMES FISHER; DOWNEY: DOUBLE NEGATIVE/MARVEL 

POWER POINT Hugh Jackman has played Wolverine eight times, but he initially got the role only after Russell Crowe declined.

WHO 

WOULD 

WIN? 

ROBERT DOWNEY JR. 

WOLVERINE 

VS. 

IRON MAN 

HUGH JACKMKAN 

IRON MAN 

Oneword:magnets. 

AsMagnetohasproved 

over and over, Wolvie 

can’thandleanyone 

abletomanipulatehis 

adamantiumskeleton. 

TonyStarkcouldwhip 

upanewmagnetic 

suit,nosweat. 

—Kevin P. Sullivan 

WOLVERINE 

Tony has cute toys, 

butyouknowwhat 

Wolverinehas?Claws 

thatcantearinto 

anything,unlimited 

healingabilities,andno 

fearwhenitcomesto 

goingforthejugular. 

—Tim Stack 

FINAL VERDICT 

Wolverine,byahair. 

AKA TONY STARK 

DEBUT 

Tales of Suspense #39 (1963) 

HOME 

New York City 

LIKES 

Technology, himself 

IRON MAN 

DISLIKES 

Collateral damage, hangovers 

TOTAL 

SCORE 

82.8 


Bankability 



THOUGH TONY STARK EXISTED AS A FOUNDING 

member of the Avengers long before Robert 

Downey Jr. and the Marvel Cinematic Universe 

came along, it’s impossible in 2016 to separate 

the genius/billionaire/playboy/philanthropist 

from his big-screen iteration. After all, in terms 

of the company’s modern relevance, no character 

is more important. Downey’s spin on the 

cocksure capitalist with a heart of shrapnel laid 

the foundation—in terms of its snappy tone 

and good-natured characters—for the colossal 

Marvel brand we know today. 

From his earliest days, Iron Man was an 

unlikely hero. A ruthless businessman, profiting 

from death, Tony Stark was a far cry from 

sympathetic (and nerdy) heroes like Bruce 

Banner and Peter Parker. Created by Stan Lee, 

Larry Lieber, Don Heck, and Jack Kirby, Stark’s 

stories found the humanity in a Cold War-era 

arms dealer with a drinking problem, drawing 

strength from his weaknesses instead of letting 

them define him. He utilizes his intellect, strong 

moral compass, and billion-dollar fortune to 

protect a world full of others just like him— 

flawed people, always looking for the light 

inside of themselves. —Kevin P. Sullivan 

Logo by M I K E Y B U R T O N

WORST 

POTENTIAL 

ROOM- 

MATES 

Photograph by M E T T I E O S T R O W S K I 

Livingwithacape 

mightsoundawesome, 

butbecareful 

whatyouwishfor. 

Thesesuperheroes 

couldruinyourlife. 

—Darren Franich 

1. THE HULK 

Youwouldn’tlikehim 

whenhe’sangry,and 

youreallywouldn’t 

likehimwhenhefinds 

outyoudeletedthe 

seasonfinaleofThe 

NightOffromtheDVR. 

2. SWAMP THING 

AKA STEVE ROGERS 

DEBUT 

Captain America Comics #1 (1941) 

Awalking,seeping 

massofvegetative 

marshland,Swamp 

Thingalsohastrouble 

withlong-termemployment,sothatrent 

check’s definitely 

cominginlate. 

HOME 

Brooklyn, baby. 

LIKES 

Civil liberties, Bucky Barnes 

DISLIKES 

Bad language, Tony Stark (sometimes) 

TOTAL 

SCORE 

80.3 


Bankability 



3. MULTIPLE 

MAN 

Sure,it’snicetohave 

somebodyduplicates 

aroundtodothe 

dishesandtakeoutthe 

trash,butthinkofthe 

lineforthebathroom 

everymorning! 

THE 

HULK 

CREATORS JOE SIMON AND JACK KIRBY 

considered Captain America a political statement: 

a red, white, and blue superhero version 

of Uncle Sam whose debut months before 

Pearl Harbor featured him socking old Adolf 

right in the kisser. Back then, Cap’s primary 

foe was fascism, but in recent years, as 

depicted in the 2006–07CivilWar comic-book 

series, he has championed civil liberties 

against the long arm of government overreach 

into citizens’ private lives, aware that even 

those institutions trusted with our defense can 

become threats. Like a true patriot, whether it’s 

in writer Ed Brubaker’s famous post-9/11 comics 

run or Chris Evans’ incarnation in the Marvel 

Studios films, Cap knows that defending America 

means fighting for its ideals, not following 

orders. —Anthony Breznican 

4. JEAN GREY 

Hasanannoyinghabit 

ofdying.Frequently... 

5. GROOT 

Justnotagreat 

conversationalist. 

AKA BRUCE BANNER 

DEBUT 

The Incredible Hulk #1 (1962) 

HOME 

On the run 

LIKES 

Puppies, elastic-waist pants 

DISLIKES 

Anger management, Bruce Banner 

TOTAL 

SCORE 

79.2 


Bankability 


Mythology 

SWAMP THING: DC ENTERTAINMENT 


POWER POINT The Incredible Hulk landed the

BLACKPANTHER 

AKA T’CHALLA 

DEBUT 

Fantastic Four #52 (1966) 

HOME 

Wakanda 

LIKES 

Vibranium, shadow physics 

DISLIKES 

Trespassers, the Ku Klux Klan 

TOTAL 

SCORE 

77.7 




Originality 

BOSEMAN: © MARVEL 2016; HULK: PROVIDED BY 

SIDESHOW COLLECTIBLES 

STAN LEE AND JACK KIRBY DOUBLED DOWN 

on the popularity of the Thing, 

the Fantastic Four’s brickhouse, by 

making this behemoth an introverted 

scientist whose repressed 

rage can transform him, Jekyll-and- 

Hyde-style, into an ogre of calcified 

id. The Hulk’s sharp, sudden jabs 

toward violence are a metaphor for 

itchy-trigger-finger militarism, but 

it’s Kirby’s brilliant design that 

Photograph by T R A V I S R A T H B O N E 

strikes a chord in all of us. The 

big green guy intentionally resembles 

a baby in a diaper during 

a crying fit—and that hits on our 

capacity to feel infantile during 

emotional stress. In sensitive 

Mark Ruffalo (plus an army of CGI 

maestros), the hero finally has an 

onscreen ambassador worthy of 

this most psychologically trenchant 

Avenger. —Joe McGovern 

AS THE HISTORIC FIRST BLACK 

superhero, Black Panther is for 

comic-book characters what 

Jackie Robinson was for baseball. 

(Interestingly,42 actor Chadwick 

Boseman portrayed both men.) 

There’s zero question that T’Challa 

is a hallowed pop culture figure 

for people of color who felt (and 

still feel) underrepresented in 

genre storytelling. He’s also just 

stone-cold impressive, from his 

sleek, midnight-hued costume 

forged from indestructible vibranium 

to his meditative warrior 

wisdom and personal history—as 

Wakandan royalty, and also as a 

pioneering physicist and inventor. 

The character’s arrival on screen 

as a key figure in the Marvel Cinematic 

Universe further enhances 

his prominence, as the first black 

hero in this series to be the title 

character of a film. (BlackPanther 

hits screens in 2018.) No doubt 

people of many backgrounds love 

him, but T’Challa’s identity as a 

powerful man of color is integral 

to the character’s appeal. Not 

only did he battle hooded perpetrators 

of intimidation and racism 

in the 1970s, but Wakanda’s status 

as an African nation that resisted 

colonization is an inspiring 

alt-history for a continent whose 

natural resources—and people— 

were often cruelly plundered. 

Black Panther and his homeland 

stand apart. They stand for hope. 

But mostly, they stand for pride. 

—Anthony Breznican 

CHADWICK BOSEMAN 

cover of Rolling Stone magazine for its Marvel Comics story in September 1971.

GRANT GUSTIN 

SUPER 

FUNNY 

Savingtheworld 

doesn’thavetobe 

seriousbusiness.These 

heroesalwaysseem 

togetthejoke. 


1. DEADPOOL 

TheMercWitha 

Mouth’sself-referential 

snarkisalanguagethat 

sarcasticcomic-book 

fansspeakfluently. 

2. SPIDER-MAN 

Thewebslingeristhe 

kindofwisenheimer 

inthebackofclass 

whoisn’ttakingthe 

lessonseriously. 

AKA BARRY ALLEN, 

WALLY WEST, ET AL. 

DEBUT 

Flash Comics #1(1940) 

HOME 

Central City 

LIKES 

Iris West, running 

DISLIKES 

Reverse-Flash, daylight saving time 

TOTAL 

SCORE 

77.5 



Nemeses 

Powers 

WHEN BARRY ALLEN TOOK OVER THE MANTLE 

of the Flash from Jay Garrick in 1956, 

he ushered in the silver age of heroes, 

and the Scarlet Speedster is still going 

strong 60 years later—not just in the 

comics but on TV and (next year) in 

the first Justice League movie. Struck 

by lightning and doused by various 

vials of chemicals, the former perpetually 

late Central City PD forensic scientist 

was turned into the fastest man 

alive, with the ability to run at near light 

speed and phase through objects, time, 

and other dimensions. Allen, whose 

wit is just as quick, helped found the 

Justice League, while taking on one of 

the most impressive and deadly Rogues 

galleries of nemeses, ultimately giving 

his life to save the world and becoming 

the lightning bolt that created him in 

the first place. —Natalie Abrams 

3. SQUIRREL 

GIRL 

Hercheerfulearnestnessandabilityto 

useunderestimationof 

hervarmintpowersas 

aweaponhavemade 

herbelovedand 

effective. 

4. ROCKET 

RACCOON 

He’snotjusta 

ridiculouslyfunny 

creation(anirascible 

furballwholaunches 

fireballs),he’salsothe 

smart-assofGuardians 

oftheGalaxy. 

5. THE TICK 

LittleabouttheTick’s 

absurdistapproachto 

crime-fightingmakes 

sense.You’releft 

scratchingyourhead 

asyoulaugh. 


11 

GUSTIN: NINO MUNOZ/THE CW; ROCKET RACOON: © MARVEL 2014; GELLAR: GREG GORMAN/WB

AKA BUFFY SUMMERS 

DEBUT 

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992) 

HOME 

Sunnydale, Calif. 

LIKES 

Sexy undead bad boys, her mom 

DISLIKES 

The undead (unless they’re sexy bad boys), 

being the Chosen One 

TOTAL 

SCORE 

77 


Personality 


Originality 

SARAH MICHELLE GELLAR 

THAT NAME. DO YOU REMEMBER WHEN YOU 

first heard it? The ditzy perkiness of “Buffy” 

combined with the gothic graveness of 

“Vampire Slayer”? Then you learned the 

head-turning premise: a superhero who 

isn’t a grown-up in some crime-filled urban 

hellscape, but a contemporary teen girl living 

in the suburbs—“high school as hell,” 

as creator Joss Whedon first pitched it. 

Buffy evolved in a complete reversal of the 

traditional superhero order. Introduced in 

a movie (not even a good one), it became a 

TV series and only later was launched as 

a comic book. But, of course, it was that 

second iteration, Whedon’s beloved sevenseason 

series starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, 

that made Buffy a brave new pop culture 

icon: the young, complicated, butt-kicking 

heroine who influenced countless imitators. 

And her powers? Well, those were 

probably the least interesting part about 

her (speed, agility, strength...the usual). 

Buffy’s best assets weren’t her abilities, but 

rather her friends. Who doesn’t want their 

own Scooby Gang? Having allies like Buffy’s 

would make all our high school purgatories 

survivable. —James Hibberd

DEADPOOL 

Illustration by F R A N C E S C O F R A N C A V I L L A 

AKA WADE WILSON 

DEBUT 

New Mutants #98 (1991) 

HOME 

Canada 

LIKES 

Chimichangas, Juice Newton 

DISLIKES 

Being mistaken for Spider-Man, Ryan Reynolds 

TOTAL 

SCORE 

74.9 


Design 


Personality 

THE LIBIDINOUS SCOUNDREL, FORMERLY KNOWN AS MERCENARY WADE WILSON, IS GRACED 

with balletic agility and regenerating abilities, but those qualities are not what distinguish him. For 

more than two decades, no character in the history of comics has smashed the fourth wall with 

such wild, anarchic hammer blows. His snark, especially regarding similarly suited Spider-Man and 

the X-Men franchise, is not only delightful (“With great power comes great irresponsibility”) but 

also rejuvenating for the entire genre. And yet the great irony of his recent upsurge in popularity 

is that it was utter comic-book saturation that gave Deadpool his opening. Writer Fabian Nicieza 

and artist Rob Liefeld created the character in 1991, but credit for his modern relevance belongs 

to director Tim Miller and actor Ryan Reynolds, who cleverly convinced a major studio that an 

unsanitized Deadpool would play with audiences. They were proved spectacularly right when the 

R-rated movie broke box office records earlier this year. Deadpool’s extraordinary 

healing powers lifted the whole superhero business. —Joe McGovern 

POWER POINT Deadpool grossed $783 million worldwide, the most by a superhero franchise starter since Spider-Man raked in $822 million in 2002.

On the hour, the lights illuminate 

and the clock plays the melody 

“Wh t’s Th ?” 

Christmas Town Cuckoo Clock 

• Fully-sculpted clock features Jack 

Skellington in his Santa disguise, Zero, 

Lock, Shock and Barrel, Santa’s elves 

and some Halloween Town toys 

• Brilliant LED lights illuminate Santa’s 

workshop and feature a separate 

on/off switch 

• Adjustable numbers 

let you count down 

to Christmas! 

• Issued in a limited edition of 295 

crafting days; accompanied by a 

Certificate of Authenticity 

Not sold in stores 

A Grand 

22 inches 

high! 

Your satisfaction is 

guaranteed! 

This one-of-its-kind timepiece is 

custom crafted in a limited edition 

and strong demand is expected. So 

act now to acquire Tim Burton’s The 

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Town Cuckoo Clock at its issue price, 

payable in four monthly installments 

of $49.99 each, for a total of $199.95*. 

Your purchase is risk-free, backed 

by our 365-day guarantee. Send no 

money now. Just mail the Reservation 

Application today! 

www.bradfordexchange.com/xmastown 

RESERVATION APPLICATION 

SEND NO MONEY NOW 

9345 Milwaukee Avenue · Niles, IL 60714-1393 

YES. Please reserve Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before 

Christmas Christmas Town Cuckoo Clock for me as described in this 

announcement. Limit: one per order. Please Respond Promptly 

Mrs. Mr. Ms. 

Address 

Name (Please Print Clearly) 

Shown much smaller than 

actual size of about 22in. H. 

(including weights) Requires 2 

“D” and 1 “AA” batteries (not 

included). 

©Disney 

©2016 BGE 01-23849-001-BI 

City State Zip 

Email (optional) 

01-23849-001-E51201 

*Plus $24.99 shipping and service. 

Limited-edition presentation restricted to 295 crafting days. Please allow 4-8 weeks after initial 

payment for shipment. Sales subject to product availability and order acceptance.

15 

DEBUT 

Journey Into Mystery #83 (1962) 

HOME 

Asgard 

LIKES 

Shakespearean dialogue, thunder 

DISLIKES 

Sibling rivalry, humility 

TOTAL 

SCORE 

74.7 


Bankability 

Mythology 

Powers 

NO ONE IS BETTER PROOF OF 

the connection between mythology 

and superheroes than Thor, 

who has seamlessly transitioned 

from ancient Norse myths (one of 

humanity’s first interconnected 

storytelling universes) to the 

Marvel landscape. (Being embodied 

by Chris Hemsworth doesn’t 

hurt.) The God of Thunder 

retains his hammer but now uses 

it to fight supervillains and aliens 

in addition to old enemies like 

frost giants. Plus, he looks incredibly 

cool doing it—a new god for a 

new age. —Christian Holub 

JEAN GREY 

AKA PHOENIX, DARK PHOENIX 

DEBUT 

X-Men #1 (1963) 

HOME 

Salem Center, N.Y. 

LIKES 

Cyclops, retconned redemption 

DISLIKES 

Head games, clones 

TOTAL 

SCORE 

74.3 


Design 

Powers 

Bankability 

ALREADY ONE OF THE STRONGEST 

mutants, telekinetic Jean Grey became 

even more powerful when her body 

was taken over by the cosmic Phoenix 

Force, occasionally losing control to 

become Dark Phoenix. Yes, she can be 

incredibly destructive, but on the other 

hand, tapping her dark side gives her 

Beyoncé-level hair waves. —Tim Stack 

JEAN GREY: MARVEL ENTERTAINMENT; HEMSWORTH: JAY 

MAIDMENT/© MARVEL 2015; NAMOR: MARVEL 

ENTERTAINMENT; SILVER SURFER: WETA 

THE 

LUST 

LIST 

Allsuperheroesinspire 

aformoffantasy.Some 

arejustmore,uh,nakedly 

arousingthanothers. 

1. 

NAMOR 

TheSpeedo-loving 

LordofAtlantishas 

agranite-carved 

six-packandbiceps 

onhisbiceps. 

CHRIS HEMSWORTH 


Illustration by A L B E R T O 

S E V E S O 

EMMA FROST: MURRAY CLOSE; SARA PEZZINI: IMAGE 

COMICS; HAWKMAN: DC ENTERTAINMENT 

AKA ORORO MUNROE 

DEBUT 

Giant-Size X-Men #1 (1975) 

HOME 

Wakanda 

LIKES 

Weather patterns, mysticism 

DISLIKES 

Small spaces, hair dye 

TOTAL 

SCORE 

70.5 


Design 

Bankability 

Personality 

CLIMATE CHANGE IS A REAL THREAT IN THE MARVEL UNIVERSE—ESPECIALLY WHEN REGAL, 

white-haired Storm can command Mother Nature with the flick of a finger. The 

orphaned daughter of a Kenyan priestess, Storm was mainstream comics’ first 

black female hero, and on the page and TV screen she is portrayed as one of the 

most powerful mutants in the X-Men universe. As the headmistress of Xavier’s 

School for Gifted Youngsters, she earns her peers’ respect—even besting Cyclops 

in a battle to determine who would lead the squad. On the big screen (played 

by Halle Berry and Alexandra Shipp) she’s been overshadowed, but her African 

identity was magnified by comics adventures in Wakanda that led to a romance 

with Black Panther. Wherever she is, she’s a feisty femme you don’t want to 

mess with (especially not without an umbrella). —Nina Terrero 

2. 

SILVER 

SURFER 

Yes,he’spretty 

muchnaked. 

Moreimportant, 

hemakesbald 

looksexy. 

3. 

EMMA FROST 

Thesuperhero 

aestheticisrife 

withcodedS&M 

imagery.TheWhite 

Queenmakes 

thesubtexttext. 

4. 

SARA 

PEZZINI 

Witchbladewas 

ImageComics’ 

soft-coresensibilityatitsmost 

shameless;Sara 

Pezzini’s costume 

mightaswellbe 

acensorshipbar. 

5. 

HAWKMAN 

Thechesttraps, 

themedieval 

weaponry, the 

mask:IsHawkman 

agoofyheroora 

fetishicon?

DAREDEVIL 

AKA MATT MURDOCK 

DEBUT 

Daredevil #1 (1964) 

HOME 

Hell’s Kitchen, NYC 

LIKES 

Rooftops, Catholicism 

DISLIKES 

Loud sounds, ninjas 

TOTAL 

SCORE 

69.2 



Mythology 

Bankability 

HELL’S KITCHEN GENTRIFIED 

long ago, but Daredevil has 

never been more prominent, 

with a Netflix series starring 

Charlie Cox. He’s sightless— 

but hardly blind—and his 

heroics are eternally applicable 

and sneakily provocative. 

He’s the local boy who makes 

good, looking out for the 

little guy, fighting fat cats in 

the courtroom and kingpins 

on the street. And his supercharged 

senses make Matt 

Murdock a veritable Swiss 

Army knife of superpowers: 

He can hear your lying heartbeat 

and practically smell 

your fear. —Darren Franich 

CHARLIE COX

AKA HAL JORDAN, JOHN 

STEWART, ET AL. 

DEBUT 

All-American Comics #16 (1940) 

HOME 

Coast City 

LIKES 

Willpower, imagination 

DISLIKES 

Yellow, fear 

TOTAL 

SCORE 

67.5 


Powers 

Bankability 

Mythology 

RIPPLING MUSCLES, GRANITE 

jaw, and the thrill of flying 

are superhero hallmarks. 

Green Lantern checks all 

those boxes but stands apart 

by tapping the power of the 

mind. An alien ring allows 

peacekeeping members of 

the Green Lantern Corps to 

will anything they can imagine 

into existence. So far, 

that hasn’t included box ofice 

success, but the Lantern 

mythology is deep and 

bright. —Christian Holub 

COX: PATRICK HARBRON/NETFLIX; GREEN LANTERN, BATGIRL/ORACLE: DC ENTERTAINMENT (2); STEWART: ATTILA DORY 

PATRICK STEWART 

AKA BARBARA GORDON 

DEBUT 


HOME 

Gotham City 

LIKES 

Hacking, Kali fighting sticks 

DISLIKES 

The Joker, carpal tunnel syndrome 

TOTAL 

SCORE 

67.4 



Nemeses 

Bankability 

BRAINY LIBRARIAN BARBARA 

Gordon was a proud member of 

the Bat-family. But when a controversial 

story line leaves her in a 

wheelchair, Batgirl transmythologizes 

into the computer-hacking 

mastermind Oracle (SuicideSquad 

#23, 1989). In the process, Barbara 

doesn’t just triumph over adversity. 

Waging war on evil one mouseclick 

at a time, she becomes the 

first superhero of the information 

age. —Darren Franich 

AKA CHARLES XAVIER 

DEBUT 

X-Men #12 (1965) 

HOME 


LIKES 

Literature, mentoring 

DISLIKES 

Sentinels, Magneto (sometimes) 

TOTAL 

SCORE 

67.2 


Mythology 

Nemeses 

Bankability 

THE WHEELCHAIR-BOUND LEADER 

of the X-Men is quite possibly 

pop culture’s most famous 

follicly challenged hero. (Sorry, 

Vin Diesel.) Played perfectly in the 

movies by Patrick Stewart and 

James McAvoy, the telekinetic 

provides his student-warriors not 

only with their name but also 

their conscience. —Tim Stack 


20 

AKA DICK GRAYSON, JASON TODD, ET AL. 

DEBUT 


HOME 

Gotham City 

LIKES 

Batman, “Holy” exclamations 

DISLIKES 

Being told to stay 

home, needing to 

be rescued 

TOTAL 

SCORE 

67 



Bankability 

Mythology 

BATMAN’S SIDEKICK IS A RASHOMON-LIKE FIGURE ACROSS 

thousands of pages of comics. Initially conceived in 1940 to 

lure younger readers, Robin, one could argue, is the Caped 

Crusader’s most useful gadget—a utility player for the hero 

with a utility belt. The earnest young protégé first embodied 

by orphaned acrobat Dick Grayson later became the standalone 

hero Nightwing. He’s also the evil Red Hood (and 

lately, a not-so-evil Red Robin). For a while Robin was simply 

dead, one of the Joker’s victims. He’s even, briefly, been 

a she. The facets of DC’s published multiverse of stories 

have perhaps never been more diverse (and contradictory) 

than with the heroic/villainous/rebellious/uplifting/tragic 

story of the Boy Wonder. —James Hibberd 

Illustrations by KAGAN M C L E O D 

D ICK GRAYSON 

Dick Grayson was the definitive 

aw-shucks sidekick, a spandex-clad 

Watson to the Dark Knight’s Sherlock 

for decades, most memorably in 

the 1960s Batman TV show. He was 

refreshed for a new generation in 

the ’80s Teen Titans comic series and 

again in 1995’s Batman Forever. 

J ASON TODD AND 

T IM DRAKE 

Jason Todd and Tim Drake were more 

rebellious and rugged Robins who 

occasionally chafed under Batman’s 

leadership. DC Comics made headlines 

by famously putting Todd’s 

fate to a public vote, and fans turned 

their thumbs down. 

DEBUT 

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1984) 

HOME 

New York City 

LIKES 

Pizza, rats 

DISLIKES 

Firearms, criminal organizations 

named after body parts 

TOTAL 

SCORE 

66.9 


Bankability 

Originality 

Design 

CHEER “COWABUNGA!” FOR THE HALF-SHELLED 

hero who, despite not being team leader 

Leonardo, boasts the muscle and badass 

’tude. Brought forth alongside his brothers 

by a mysterious ooze and a helping of 

Daredevil’s origin story, the red-masked 

Raphael may have the biggest temper, 

but his loyalty never wavers. Besides, it 

takes a true ninja to know how to wield 

those short-range sais. —Shirley Li 

SCARLETT JOHANSSON 

Illustration by DJ FATKAT 

JOHANSSON: JAY MAIDMENT/© MARVEL 2015

C ARRIE KELLEY 

Frank Miller reinvented Robin as a 

13-year-old girl in his 1986 graphic 

novel, The Dark Knight Returns. With 

a store-bought Robin outfit, Carrie 

earns the title by saving Batman’s life. 

Later, she became Catgirl, assisting 

Batman in a leopard-print costume 

and motorized roller skates. 

D AMIAN WAYNE 

Brass knuckles? A hood? And a sword? 

Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul’s 

murderous son took a while to warm 

up to his dad before claiming the 

role of Robin. Just to make matters 

more confusing, his own clone ultimately 

killed him in a story line that 

also featured Todd and Nightwing. 

N IGHTWING 

Robin flew the coop in 1984, 

assuming the identity of a preexisting 

Superman-verse character, Nightwing. 

Keeping his Bat-gadgets, 

he also added a snazzy high-flying 

suit and ricocheting clubs for 

his own popular comic series. 

R ED ROBIN 

Several Robins eventually assumed 

their own cowl, stepping out of 

Batman’s shadow to become the lone 

vigilante Red Robin. But Batman’s 

influence has remained evident 

in several Red Robin costumes, and 

the crimson hero often is drawn 

into the Dark Knight’s orbit. 

AKA NATASHA ROMANOVA, 

NATASHA ROMANOFF 

DEBUT 


HOME 

New York City 

LIKES 

Stretching, spy games 

DISLIKES 

Brainwashing, borscht 

TOTAL 

SCORE 

66.8 


Bankability 



BLACK WIDOW MAY BE THE 

productofsomedeeplydisturbingRussianmindgames— 

anorphanraisedinasevere 

ColdWarspyschool—butshe 

nevermournsherwarped 

childhood.Rather,herphysical 

andmentaltraining,her 

enhancedimmunesystem,and 

aslowedagingprocessmake 

heravitalmemberofthe 

Avengers—thesolefemale 

whocanlead,andoftensave, 

abunchofimpulsivemen. 

—Nicole Sperling 


24 

MELISSA BENOIST 

23 

AKA KARA ZOR-EL, LINDA DANVERS, 

ET AL. 

DEBUT 

Action Comics #252 (1959) 

HOME 

Metropolis 

LIKES 

The sun, crop tops 

DISLIKES 

Kryptonite, Superman Appreciation Day 

TOTAL 

SCORE 

66.5 


Powers 



JUST AS KARA ZOR-EL ARRIVED FROM KRYPTON 

after her cousin, Supergirl hit the 

comics 20 years after Superman. 

Despite her late start, she’s carried on 

for nearly six decades now, starring in 

one film and on two TV shows. Imbued 

with the Man of Steel’s same powers, 

the Maiden of Might lives in his shadow 

but gives little girls everywhere the 

dream they can fly. —Natalie Abrams 

AKA BEN GRIMM 

DEBUT 


HOME 

Lower East Side, NYC 

LIKES 

Demolition, Alicia Masters 

DISLIKES 

Cosmic radiation, Pet Rocks 

TOTAL 

SCORE 

64.6 


Mythology 

Bankability 

Originality 

BENOIST: DARREN MICHAELS/CBS; 

AMELL: CATE CAMERON/THE CW 

POWER POINT The Thing can dish out a pounding, but he often took it on the chin in showdowns

STEPHEN AMELL 

WHO 

WOULD 

WIN? 

SUPERGIRL 

VS. 

THE THING 

SUPERGIRL 

Villainswithpurebrute 

force have never been 

troublefortheHouseof 

El.Supergirl’scadre 

ofpowers,wit,and 

intellectcombineto 

givehertheadvantage. 

Ifallelsefails,shecan 

flytheThingintospace 

andcallitaday. 

—Natalie Abrams 

LOOK AT ANY GROUP SHOT OF THE FANTASTIC FOUR AND NOTE 

where your eyes dart first. The boulder pile called the Thing (he 

was Ben Grimm before a blast of space radiation) might seem like 

a monster, but you quickly see past the petrification. The Thing is 

one of comic’s most endearing—even cute—superheroes, and for 

the past 55 years his deadpan acceptance of his rocky fate has 

made looking different the essence of cool. —Joe McGovern 

Illustration by V I N C E N T B A L 

THE THING 

Thoughthere’sa 

Trumpianorangeness 

andquick-to-insult 

qualitytotheThing,he 

isn’tintofightinggirls. 

Butthebestoffense 

versusSupergirlisa 

greatdefense,andhis 

rock-hard6,000-pack 

abswouldeasilywithstandherheatvision 

untiltheopportunity 

for clobbering came 

along. —Joe McGovern 

FINAL VERDICT 

Supergirl, 

inanavalanche. 

AKA OLIVER QUEEN 

DEBUT 

More Fun Comics #73 (1941) 

HOME 

Star City 

LIKES 

Robin Hood, skintight leather 

DISLIKES 

Colors that are not green 

TOTAL 

SCORE 

64 


Mythology 



AN EARLY JUSTICE LEAGUE 

member,theEmeraldArcheris 

stillasuccessfulfranchise.The 

flagshipofTheCW’ssuperhero 

renaissance,starringStephen 

Amell,ledtothreespin-ofs, 

thankstoagroundedapproach 

toheroism.Afteryearsona 

desertedisland,theorphaned 

billionaireplayboy–turned– 

hoodedvigilantesoughttoend 

corruptionwithasimplebowand 

arrow—andsomenot-so-simple 

trickarrows,likeaboxing-glove 

one.Seriously. —Natalie Abrams 

against the Hulk, who weighs twice as much. 


AKA DR. STEPHEN STRANGE 

DEBUT 

Strange Tales #110 (1963) 

HOME 

Greenwich Village, NYC 

LIKES 

Ancient One, portals 

DISLIKES 

Medicine’s limitations, Dark Dimension 

TOTAL 

SCORE 

63.8 


Powers 

Design 

Mythology 

THE SURGEON-TURNEDsorcerer 

has a vast array of 

powers, including the ability to 

travel between dimensions, fly 

(thanks to his always-in-fashion 

Cloak of Levitation), and 

trend on Twitter. —Clark Collis 

BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH 

DEBUT 


HOME 

Zenn-La 

LIKES 

Exploring the cosmos, hanging infinity 

DISLIKES 

Hedonism, mundicide 

TOTAL 

SCORE 

63.3 


Design 

Powers 

Mythology 

SILVERSURFER 

HATCHED FROM THE VISIONARY MIND 

of Jack Kirby, Silver Surfer is one of 

the Marvel Universe’s earliest and most 

important cosmic characters. As a herald 

for the planet-eating Galactus, the surfer 

is tasked with finding worlds suitable 

for his master’s consumption, until an 

encounter with the Fantastic Four turns 

him into a force for good. Like all of 

Kirby’s creations, Silver Surfer’s sleek 

psychedelic design is peerless. Now 

if we could just get him into a halfway 

decent movie. —Kevin P. Sullivan 

CUMBERBATCH: © MARVEL 2016; SILVER SURFER: WETA; CAPTAIN MARVEL: MARVEL ENTERTAINMENT 


CAPTAINMARVEL 

THE 

(MS. AND 

CAPTAIN) 

MARVEL 

UNIVERSE 

CarolDanvers(left) 

isn’ttheonlyheroto 

carrythislegendary 

title.Alookbackat 

otherMarvelsofnote. 

—Chancellor Agard 

AKA CAROL DANVERS, 

MS. MARVEL 

DEBUT 

Marvel Superheroes #13 (1968) 

HOME 

New York City 

LIKES 

Wild blue yonder, preemptive action 

DISLIKES 

Skrulls, memory theft 

TOTAL 

SCORE 

63.7 

MS. MARVEL, BINARY, WARBIRD, 

Captain Marvel! Over her 48-year 

history, Col. Carol Danvers has 

had many superhero aliases. Originally 

she was a U.S. Air Force and 

NASA officer who was assigned to 

investigate the Kree alien Mar- 

Vell, a.k.a. Captain Marvel, and a 

freak accident spliced her DNA 

with his, giving her the power of 

flight, superstrength, and energy 

absorption. While Ms. Marvel was 

initially conceived as a pragmatic 

maneuver to trademark the name, 

Danvers has persevered through 

several traumas (and problematic 

story arcs) to become an actual 

feminist icon with fans affectionately 

called the Carol Corps. She’s 

feisty, confident, and one of the 

publisher’s busiest heroes: She’s 

leading the Ultimates and Alpha 

Flight in space; she’s coming to 

blows with Tony Stark in Civil War 

II; and she’ll headline the Marvel 

Cinematic Universe’s first female 

superhero film in 2019. “Higher, 

Further, Faster, More” indeed. 




Personality 

Powers 

CAPTAIN 

MARVEL 

Ablockbuster 

Superman knockoff 

created byFawcett 

Comicsin1940, 

thefirstCaptainMarvel 

waseventually 

acquiredbyDCComics 

andrebrandedas 

Shazam(seepage78). 

CAPTAIN 

MARVEL 

MAR-VELL 

Analiensenttospyon 

Earth’sspaceprogram 

inthe1960s,Mar-Vell 

cametolovehumanity. 

Afterhisdeath,his 

sonGenis-Velland 

daughterPhyla-Vell 

tookupthemantle. 

CAPTAIN 

MARVEL 

MONICA RAMBEAU 

ThesedaysMonica 

goesbySpectrumand 

useshercontrolover 

electromagnetic 

energytohelpthe 

Ultimates solve the 

galaxy’sultimate 

problemsalongside 

ColonelDanvers. 

MS. MARVEL 

KAMALA KHAN 

Debutingin2014, 

KamalaisaMuslim- 

American teenager 

andCaptainMarvel 

superfan who uses 

hershape-shifting 

powersasthecurrent 

Ms.Marvel.

FROM LEFT 

VENOM, 

Forget the good guys, let’s get to the fun 

stuff! The best supervillains present a vision 

of a super-id unleashed. No wonder 

we love them so much. By Darren Franich 

1 | MAGNETO 

Everyvillainconsidershimselfa 

hero,andnobadguyhasbetter 

intentionsthantheHolocaust 

survivorandviolentdefenderof 

mutantrights.Magnetoisamonster,butonlybecausetheworld 

madehimthatway. 

2 | THE JOKER 

Good?Evil?Ifyoubelievethat 

stuf,there’sabridgeinGotham 

theJokerwouldliketosellyou, 

rightbeforeheblowsitup. 

Theworldiscrazy.Whyfightit 

whenyoucanlaughaboutit? 

3 | KINGPIN 

Daredevil’sbigbadstartedout 

aDickTracy-worthystreetboss 

beforeFrankMillerreimagined 

anewkindofcorporatecriminal: 

alocal-grownNewYorktough 

guyradiatingbrains,brawn, 

andruthlesscapitalism.

OZYMANDIAS AND BUBASTIS, CATWOMAN, THE JOKER, GALACTUS, MAGNETO, KINGPIN, DOCTOR DOOM, LOKI, AND DARK PHOENIX 

Illustration by V I N C E P A S T I C H E 

4 | DOCTOR DOOM 

TheFantasticFour’sbestfriend– 

turned–swornenemyisamad 

scientistandrenegademystic. 

Coolmask,too! 

5 | CATWOMAN 

Catwoman’sthemosttantalizing 

figureonthislist:Youwant 

tobeherbecauseshehas 

allthefun. 

6 | LOKI 

ThereincarnationofThor’snefariousbrotherasatormentedemoglampranksterpinupderives 

entirelyfromTomHiddleston,who 

wasthewoundedheartof2011’s 

Thorandthefloridspiritmobilizing 

2012’sTheAvengers. 

7 | OZYMANDIAS 

MaybeAdrianVeidtisthegreatest 

heroofall:Thankstohim,aworld 

atwarbecomesaglobalsociety 

unitedinacommoncause. 

Ofcourse,it’sunitedinfear. 

8 | VENOM 

Aslobber-goopyparasitewith 

aGeneSimmonstongue,Venom 

bringsouttheworstrepressed 

aspectsofhishost’spersonality. 

Nowonderhe’ssopopular:He’s 

theinternetwithteeth. 

9 | GALACTUS 

Aplanet-devouringskyscraperman,Galactusisavisionofan 

aloofGodthatjustdoesn’tcare: 

abouttheworldshedestroys, 

orthebillionsoflivesthose 

worldsrepresent. 

10 | DARK PHOENIX 

JeanGreywaskindadullbeforeshe 

wascorruptedbyabsolutepower. 

DecadesbeforeBreakingBad,she 

wastheoriginalHeisenberg. 


MIKE COLTER 

AKA ARTHUR CURRY, ORIN 

DEBUT 

More Fun Comics #73 (1931) 

HOME 

Atlantis 

LIKES 

Sea creatures, lighthouses 

DISLIKES 

Pirates, piranha 

TOTAL 

SCORE 

62.9 



Design 


AQUAMAN RULES MORE THAN TWO-THIRDS OF THE 

planet, but he’s never received the same respect 

and adulation that his fellow Justice League 

cofounders enjoy. Snarky fanboys might dismiss 

his ability to communicate with and command 

the creatures of the sea, but the 6' 1", 325-pound 

King of Atlantis has depths that haven’t been 

fully explored on the screen—yet. Enter strapping 

Jason “Moon of My Life” Momoa, who 

teased hopeful fans with a Batman v Superman 

cameo that made it look like he could be more 

than just an extra Super Friend. With a larger role 

in Justice League and his own stand-alone film in 

2018, his tide is turning. —Sara Vilkomerson 

Photograph by B R I A N 

MC C A R T Y 

LUKECAGE 

AKA POWER MAN 

DEBUT 

Hero for Hire #1 (1972) 

HOME 

Harlem, NYC 

LIKES 

Jessica Jones, Christmas 

DISLIKES 

Prison, his shredded T-shirts 

TOTAL 

SCORE 

63 



Personality 

Originality 

THIS HERO FOR HIRE STARTED 

as Marvel’s response to ’70s blaxploitation 

films, but in 2016 there’s 

something particularly resonant 

about a bulletproof black superhero. 

He’s one of Marvel’s most 

down-to-earth characters, from his 

decades-spanning friendship with 

Iron Fist to his relationship with 

Jessica Jones. Plus, he crashed 

Netflix. —Devan Coggan 

COLTER: MYLES ARONOWITZ/NETFLIX

SAMUEL L. JACKSON 

DEBUT 

Next Men #21 (1993) 

HELLBOY 

HOME 

Bureau for Paranormal Research 

and Defense 

LIKES 

Alcohol, punching monsters 

DISLIKES 

Villain monologues, destiny 

TOTAL 

SCORE 

62.2 


Originality 

Personality 

Mythology 

NICKFURY 

AKA ONE-EYED EAGLE 

DEBUT 

Sgt. Fury and His Howling 

Commandos #1 (1963) 

HELLBOY IS THE BIBLICAL BEAST 

of the Apocalypse summoned 

by Nazis to trigger the end of the 

world, but all he wants to do is 

fight monsters and drink with his 

buddies. He’s defeated nearly 

every mythical creature there is, 

thanks to his refusal to give in to 

the demon he’s fated to become. 

His indestructible right fist 

helps too. —Christian Holub 

HOME 

United States 

LIKES 

Fellow soldiers, stoicism 

DISLIKES 

Depth perception, HYDRA 

TOTAL 

SCORE 

62.4 


Bankability 


Personality 

33 

JACKSON: ZADE ROSENTHAL; HELLBOY: DARK HORSE COMICS 

ON SCREEN, HE’S SAMUEL L. 

Jackson, the force that 

binds the Marvel Cinematic 

Universe together. In the 

comics, he’s the gritty 

soldier who has been 

fighting the good fight for 

decades. Fury is the battlescarred 

human who lays 

his extremely mortal body 

on the line time and again, 

showing gods, heroes, and 

monsters alike what one 

man with extraordinary will 

can do. —Anthony Breznican 

Photograph by M E T T I E O S T R O W S K I 

AKA JOHNNY STORM, 

JIM HAMMOND 

DEBUT 

Marvel Comics #1 (1939) 

HOME 

New York City 

LIKES 

Hot rods, hotheadedness 

DISLIKES 

Liquids, asbestos-lined cells 

TOTAL 

SCORE 

61.7 


Design 

Mythology 

Bankability 

JOHNNY STORM WASN’T THE FIRST 

Human Torch, but it was this cool 

member of the Fantastic Four that 

captured the public’s imagination. 

Storm began having solo adventures 

as early as 1962, battling 

the likes of Namor and Asbestos 

Man with his incendiary abilities 

(“Flame on!”). Even with stars like 

Chris Evans and Michael B. Jordan 

playing him, recent movies have 

failed to catch fire. —Clark Collis 


BEST 

CATCH- 

PHRASES 

1. 

“Spoooooon!” 

—THETICK 

He shouts this nonsensical 

battle cry 

before forking you up. 

ANTHONY MACKIE 

2. 

“By the 

hoary hosts 

of Hoggoth!” 

—DOCTORSTRANGE 

This postgraduate 

shout-out can invoke 

magical beings. 

3. 

“Oh, my stars 

and garters!” 

—BEAST 

A sign of astonishment, 

for sure. 

34 

AKA ANNA MARIE 

DEBUT 

Avengers Annual #10 (1981) 

HOME 


LIKES 

Elbow-length gloves, Gambit 

DISLIKES 

High fives, losing control 

TOTAL 

SCORE 

61.5 


Mythology 

Powers 

Personality 

ROGUE’S GREATEST ENEMY IS OFTEN HERSELF— 

her mere touch paralyzes adversaries and 

friends alike by absorbing their power, 

energy, and memories. But her ability makes 

her every superhero’s equal, and her 

struggle to control her gift often makes 

her a poignant player in the ongoing battle 

between good and bad mutants, best 

depicted by Anna Paquin in the X-Men 

movies. —Sara Vilkomerson 

ROGUE: MARVEL ENTERTAINMENT; THE TICK: FOX; HULK, FALCON: MARVEL (2); SMIT-MCPHEE: ALAN MARKFIELD 

4. 

“Hulk smash!” 

—THEHULK 

His prepunch 

catchphrase is 

anything but flat. 

5. 

“Shazam!” 

—BILLYBATSON 

Things get 

marvelous when an 

ordinary teen utters the 

shnazzy word. 

Bonus 

“Excelsior!” 

—STANLEE 

The original sign-off for 

his monthly column. 

TOP RIGHT KODI SMIT-MC PHEE Illustration by ALBERTO SEVESO 


AKA SAM WILSON 

DEBUT 

Captain America #117 (1969) 

HOME 

Harlem, NYC 

LIKES 

Social work, his falcon buddy 

Redwing 

DISLIKES 

Injustice, Red Skull 

TOTAL 

SCORE 

61.3 


Originality 

Bankability 


KNOWN FOR HIS TELEPATHIC 

abilitytocommunicatewith 

birds,hislongtimefriendship 

withCaptainAmerica, 

andofcoursehisaerialacrobatics,thehigh-flying 

Falcon—playedbyAnthony 

Mackieinthemovies—isa 

loyalenforcerofjustice(and 

oneofMarvel’sfirstblack 

superheroes).SteveRogers 

pickedSamashisCapsuccessor,andwecan’tthinkof 

anyonemoreworthyofthe 

shield. —Devan Coggan 

NIGHTCRAWLER 

AKA KURT WAGNER 

DEBUT 

Giant-Size X-Men #1 (1975) 

HOME 


LIKES 

God, Errol Flynn, his mother (Mystique) 

DISLIKES 

Teleporting long distances, lack of space in church pews for tail 

TOTAL 

SCORE 

60.8 


Mythology 

Powers 

Bankability 

SHAPED BY ONE OF THE DARKEST BACKSTORIES OF ANY 

Marvel mutant (involving child murders and a 

German circus), the devilish blue-skinned 

teleporter might be mistaken for a bad guy. 

In X2, we first see him attempting to kill the 

president—he’s been brainwashed, alas—and 

Alan Cumming’s dazzling performance capitalized 

on the character’s perverse charm. And 

though he isn’t the only devoutly religious superhero 

on this list (see page 58, Daredevil), the fact 

that his demon’s tail doesn’t fit within the tenets 

of Catholicism allows for real-world questions 

about how we all grapple with faith. —Joe McGovern 


Photograph by @ M A R S D E R O N I N S T A G R A M 

AKA AARKUS, J.A.R.V.I.S., 

ET AL. 

DEBUT 

Marvel Mystery Comics #13 (1940) 

HOME 

Circuit board 

LIKES 

Emotion, sweaters 

DISLIKES 

Disorder, narrow-minded suburbanites 

TOTAL 

SCORE 

60.3 


Powers 

Design 

Mythology 

AKA HANK PYM, SCOTT LANG, ET AL. 

DEBUT 

Tales to Astonish #27 (1962) 

HOME 

San Francisco 

LIKES 

Insects, celebrity Avengers 

DISLIKES 

Prison, scientist-villain Egghead 

TOTAL 

SCORE 

60.4 



Bankability 

Personality 

THE FIRST ANT-MAN—PYM-PARTICLESpowered 

scientist Hank Pym— 

cofounded the Avengers in the Marvel 

comics universe. But Antie spent decades 

as the Rodney Dangerfield of superheroes, 

with the real-life public failing to 

respect his ability to shrink and boss 

around insects. That changed thanks to 

the 2015 film Ant-Man, which starred 

Paul Rudd as ex-jailbird Scott Lang, and 

the character’s sizable cameo in Captain 

America: Civil War. —Clark Collis 

ORIGINALLY CONCEIVED AS AN 

alien police oficer, Vision 

was resurrected in 1968 as 

Ultron’s conflicted android henchman 

who ultimately sides with 

the Avengers. Always aspiring to 

some form of humanity—Paul 

Bettany’s J.A.R.V.I.S. gave him life 

in Avengers: Age of Ultron—he’s 

most vulnerable and sensitive 

when coupled with his love, 

Scarlet Witch. —Nicole Sperling 

VISION: MARVEL ENTERTAINMENT; RITTER: MYLES ARONOWITZ/NETFLIX; ALIAS VOL. 1: MARVEL ENTERTAINMENT 

AKA JEWEL, KNIGHTRESS 

DEBUT 

Alias #1 (2001) 

HOME 

Hell’s Kitchen, NYC 

LIKES 

Cigarettes, Luke Cage 

DISLIKES 

Sexist bullies, the color purple 

TOTAL 

SCORE 

60.1 



Originality 

Personality 


JESSICAJONES 

JONESING 

ON JONES 

Didyoufallinlovewith 

JessicaJoneson 

Netflix?Herbeginnings 

aresteepedineven 

richercomic-booklore. 

Herearethreeessentialstogetstarted. 

—Jeff Jensen 

ALIAS VOL. 1 

AtwistyChinatown-ish 

intro.Jessicagets 

dupedintoinvestigatingCaptainAmerica 

andhooksup 

withLukeCage. 

Pregnancyfollows. 

“THE SECRET 

ORIGINS OF 

JESSICA JONES” 

ALIAS VOL. 4 

Anironicriffonthe 

Spider-Man/Daredevil 

tragicoriginyarn, 

splicedwithMySo- 

CalledLifegrit. 

“PURPLE” 

ALIAS VOL. 4 

ThePurpleManarcin 

thecomicsisassmart 

andpowerfulastheTV 

version,butwithfulltiltsuperhero-fightscenecatharsis. 

KRYSTEN RITTER 

IN 2001, MARVEL LAUNCHED AN R-RATED IMPRINT CALLED MAX, HOPING THAT EDGY COMICS WOULD CREATE 

cultural buzz. It mostly produced dull sensationalism, but the inaugural title was a progressive masterpiece with 

a vital, resonant legacy. Created by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Michael Gaydos, Alias tracked Jessica 

Jones, a disgraced superhero–turned–private detective with a jaded view of the Marvelous world. Bendis gave her 

a raw and flawed expression of female identity unprecedented for the genre. She swore, she smoked, she drank, 

she screwed. She was fantastic at her job and brilliantly messy at everything else. Alias dealt directly with sexism, 

race, and exploitation, and by extension, slyly interrogated the retrograde values of superhero comics. The final 

arc saw Jessica retake control of her life from the mind-controlling misogynist who derailed it, the Purple Man. 

She went on to build a family with Luke Cage and morph into a more conventional superhero until screenwriter 

Michelle Rosenberg brought the character to Netflix in 2015 with Marvel’s Jessica Jones, starring Krysten Ritter. By 

bringing diversity, depth, and a female POV to superhero pop, Jessica Jones augurs a new era. Wonder Woman may 

soon reign on the big screen, but she owes a debt to a small-screen marvel for paving the way. —Jeff Jensen

ELLEN PAGE 

AKA SHADOWCAT, SPRITE, ARIEL 

DEBUT 

Uncanny X-Men #129 (1980) 

HOME 


LIKES 

Pet dragons, men named Peter 

DISLIKES 

Walls, time travel 

TOTAL 

SCORE 

59.8 


Personality 

Bankability 

Nemeses 

ONCE THE SPUNKY KID SISTER OF THE X-MEN, 

thepopularprodigywhocanpass—or 

rather,“phase”—throughsolidmattergrew 

upaftermemorablytakingchargeinthe 

DaysofFuturePastcomic-bookarcand 

partneringwithWolverineinaseriesofJapansetadventures.Also,shebefriendedan 

aliendragon,Daenerys-style.Howmuch 

coolercanyouget? —Shirley Li 

Illustration by R. KIKUO JOHNSON 


BLADE 

AKA ERIC BROOKS 

AKA REED RICHARDS 

DEBUT 


HOME 

New York City 

LIKES 

Family, patent royalties 

DISLIKES 

Doom’d college roommates, 

rubbernecking 

DEBUT 

Tomb of Dracula #10 (1973) 

HOME 

Detroit 

LIKES 

Revenge, sunglasses 

DISLIKES 

Dracula’s invincibility, teamwork 

TOTAL 

SCORE 

59.3 


Bankability 

Originality 


PAGE: EVERETT COLLECTION; BLADE: MARVEL ENTERTAINMENT 

TOTAL 

SCORE 

59.6 

“SOLVE EVERYTHING.” THAT’S 

the ambition of genius 

scientist and inventor 

Reed Richards, who 

becomes the infinitely 

flexible leader of the 

Fantastic Four after 

he’s jolted with space 

radiation. Fighting 

crime is for other 

capes; Mr. Fantastic is 

more interested in 

pushing humanity into 

the future, solving 

mankind’s most 

pressing problems, 

and fighting off apocalyptic 

threats like the 

egomaniacal Doctor 

Doom and world eater 

Galactus. Ever forwardthinking, 

the impossible 

is never a stretch 

for this humanitarian. 



Mythology 

Nemeses 

Personality 

AKA HANK MCCOY 

DEBUT 

X-Men #1 (1963) 

HOME 


LIKES 

Inventions, highbrow culture 

DISLIKES 

Bigots, his own mutation 

TOTAL 

SCORE 

59 


Personality 

Mythology 

Nemeses 

BEAST IS A WALKING PARADOX. 

Beneath his monstrous physicality 

lurks the brain of a superscientist 

and the wit of a first-rate 

raconteur. Beast was a founding 

member of the X-Men and remains 

one of the most important figures 

at Professor Xavier’s school, a 

vivid example of someone making 

sure his mutation doesn’t 

master him. —Christian Holub 

BLADE WAS LITERALLY BORN TO 

hate and hunt the undead, 

acquiring immunity and powers 

from the vicious vampire who 

killed his pregnant mother. 

He’s relentless and bloodthirsty, 

impaling bloodsuckers with 

extreme prejudice. Wesley 

Snipes starred in three action 

films that reinforced Blade 

as a black icon, and the nononsense 

slayer will stop at 

nothing in his quest to rid the 

world of Dracula and his 

minions. —Chancellor Agard 

Photograph by M E T T I E O S T R O W S K I

45 

Illustration by A D R I A M E R C U R I 

AKA FRANK CASTLE 

DEBUT 

The Amazing Spider-Man #129 (1974) 

HOME 

New York City 

LIKES 

Firearms, vendettas 

DISLIKES 

Due process, Mafia 

PUNISHER 

TOTAL 

SCORE 

58.4 


Design 

Originality 

Mythology 

FRANK CASTLE IS A COMIC-BOOK 

versionofCharlesBronsonin 

DeathWish,thevengefuleverydayJoewhodecideshe’snot 

goingtotakeitanymore.Atbest 

themanwithagreatbigskullon 

hischestremainsanantihero. 

Atworsthe’sareflectionofhow 

goodguyscangowrongwhen 

theythinkthey’reabovethelaw. 



WHO 

WOULD 

WIN? 

CYCLOPS 

VS. 

INVISIBLE 

WOMAN 

AKA SCOTT SUMMERS 

DEBUT 

X-Men #1 (1963) 

HOME 


LIKES 

Loyalty, special eyewear 

DISLIKES 

Magneto, star-crossed romance 

TOTAL 

SCORE 

57.8 

MARVEL GODFATHER STAN LEE 

once cited Cyclops (along 

with Beast) as his favorite 

X-Man, in part because 

he loves a tortured hero. 

And poor Scott Summers is 

often put through the 

wringer. His optic blasts of 

red energy caused him 

much anguish until he was 

fitted with a special mask. 

He forever pined for Jean 

Grey, and their romance 

repeatedly ended in death 

(hers). Though he never 

seems to get the happy ending 

he deserves, he always 

has the company of beautiful 

women—Emma Frost!— 

and the trust of Professor X. 

—Sara Vilkomerson 


Design 

Mythology 

Nemeses 

INVISIBLE 

WOMAN 

GiveCyclopsasmany 

eyebeamsasyoulike— 

hecan’thitwhathe 

can’tsee.Throwinthe 

InvisibleWoman’s 

masteryofprotective 

forcefields,andthis 

fightisaquickknockout. 

—Nina Terrero 

CYCLOPS 

Cyclopsisamaster 

strategistwithastute 

awarenessofthe 

psionicenergythatthe 

InvisibleWoman 

wields.He’snotblind, 

andonegoodblastis 

allheneeds. 

—Sara Vilkomerson 

FINAL VERDICT 

InvisibleWoman, 

by force 

INVISIBLEWOMAN 

AKA SUE STORM 

DEBUT 


HOME 

New York City 

LIKES 

Acting, new hairstyles 

DISLIKES 

Family feuds, sexism 

TOTAL 

SCORE 

57.5 


Mythology 

Powers 

Bankability 

ASPIRING ACTRESS SUE STORM WAS REED 

Richards’ college-age girlfriend when their 

failed intergalactic test flight scarred them 

with mutations and birthed the Fantastic Four. 

Initially her superpower was invisibility, and 

Invisible Girl, as she was first known, existed 

mostly to be chased and rescued. In time she 

learned how to command force fields and 

even fly, becoming the group’s not-so-secret 

weapon as she matured into the Invisible 

Woman. She split with Reed during theCivil 

War arc (they soon reconciled), showing she’s 

no one’s little girl. —Nina Terrero 

PUNISHER: MARVEL ENTERTAINMENT 


AKA CAPTAIN MARVEL, BILLY BATSON 

DEBUT 

Whiz Comics #2 (1940) 

HOME 

Fawcett City 

LIKES 

Superman, the color red 

DISLIKES 

Copyright-infringement suits, laryngitis 

TOTAL 

SCORE 

47 

57.4 


Powers 

Mythology 


THE ORIGINAL CAPTAIN MARVEL 

was superhero wish fulfillment 

incarnate. When young Billy 

Batson says “Shazam!” he morphs 

into a godly do-gooder with the 

powers of Solomon, Hercules, 

Atlas, Zeus, and Mercury. He’s the 

greatest of all Superman rip-ofs— 

and ironies. DC sued him out of 

business in the early ’50s, then 

bought him in ’72 and integrated 

his mythos into the DC Universe 

under his de-Marveled new name. 

—Jeff Jensen 

49 

AKA CLINT BARTON 

DEBUT 


HOME 

New York City 

LIKES 

Purple, Lucky (a.k.a. Pizza Dog) 

DISLIKES 

Tracksuit Draculas, shirtsleeves 

TOTAL 

SCORE 

56.2 


Bankability 

Personality 

Originality 

AKA DREAM 

DEBUT 

The Sandman Vol. 2 #1 (1989) 

HOME 

Collective unconscious 

LIKES 

Shakespeare, doomed romance 

DISLIKES 

Bad manners, dream vortexes 

TOTAL 

SCORE 

57 


Mythology 

Originality 

Powers 

MORPHEUS 

RIDING THE 1980S’ CREATIVE REVOLUTION 

in comics and pushing it forward, 

Neil Gaiman corralled all of literature, 

mythology, religion, and history into 

an ultra-erudite fantasy that transcended 

the genre. The brooding lord 

of dreams, nightmares, and stories 

was a trailblazer whose saga encapsulated 

the mainstreaming of alternative 

culture and presaged the 21st-century 

antihero apocalypse. —Jeff Jensen 

HAWKEYE IS THE EVERYMAN 

heart of the Avengers, and his 

ingenious marksmanship allows 

him to hold his own against all 

sorts of gods and supersoldiers. 

In recent years Clint Barton 

has become one of Marvel’s most 

unassuming heroes, and you’re 

just as likely to find him battling 

Russian mobsters or helping 

his neighbors with their jackedup 

rent. —Devan Coggan 

JEREMY RENNER 

SHAZAM, SANDMAN: DC ENTERTAINMENT (2); RENNER: MARVEL 


DR. 

MANHATTAN 

AKA DR. JON OSTERMAN 

DEBUT 

Watchmen #1 (1986) 

HOME 

Everywhere 

LIKES 

Clocks, omniscience 

DISLIKES 

Clothes, people 

TOTAL 

SCORE 

56.1 


Powers 

Originality 

Mythology 

Illustration by J A E L E E Colors by J U N E C H U N G 

WITH WATCHMEN, ALAN MOORE 

and Dave Gibbons ruthlessly 

deconstructed every character 

archetype on this list with a sharp 

eye for psychology and politics. 

Their aesthetic game-changer 

helped catalyze the current era of 

superhero pop, for better and 

worse. Dr. Manhattan comments 

on godlike supermen, supersoldiers, 

and superpower America. 

Obliterated by atomic energy, 

resurrected by sheer will, the 

scientist–turned–transhuman 

hyper-man can teleport, rearrange 

molecules, and experience all of 

time at once. He’s also profoundly 

bluesy—and blue (and naked)— 

and detached from mankind. DC’s 

Rebirth initiative has turned 

Dr. Manhattan into the cause of 

a wrongly rebooted DC universe— 

a comment on a comment gone 

too far. —Jeff Jensen

It’s the ultimate geek-out! For our list of 

The 50 Most Powerful Superheroes, EW 

ranked each character in nine categories. 

We scored Cultural Impact on a 20-point 

POWER INDEX 

scale, and every other category on a 

10-point scale, for a possible score of 100. 

WE SCORED EACH CHARACTER IN NINE CATEGORIES. HERE’S HOW THEY RANKED. 

THOUGHTS? TWEET US @EW USING THE HASHTAG 

#SUPERHEROPOWERLIST. 

CHARACTER 

CULTURAL 

IMPACT 

MODERN 

BANKABILITY DESIGN MYTHOLOGY NEMESES ORIGINALITY PERSONALITY POWERS TOTAL* 

RELEVANCE 

Wonder Woman 20.0 9.3 8.3 10.0 9.0 7.0 9.3 9.0 8.3 90.3 

Spider-Man 18.0 10.0 8.7 8.7 9.3 9.7 7.7 9.5 8.3 90.0 

Batman 20.0 10.0 9.3 10.0 9.7 10.0 8.0 5.8 7.0 89.7 

Superman 20.0 10.0 7.3 7.7 9.3 8.7 8.0 6.5 9.7 87.2 

Wolverine 18.0 9.7 8.7 9.3 9.3 6.7 8.3 7.0 8.3 85.3 

Iron Man 18.0 10.0 8.0 10.0 8.3 6.3 7.0 8.8 6.3 82.8 

Captain America 18.3 9.7 6.7 9.3 9.0 7.0 7.0 7.0 6.3 80.3 

The Hulk 17.8 10.0 7.3 8.3 8.7 5.3 8.0 5.8 8.0 79.2 

Black Panther 18.3 7.3 8.3 9.7 7.7 4.3 8.3 7.0 6.7 77.7 

The Flash 14.8 7.0 7.0 9.0 8.0 8.7 6.3 8.0 8.7 77.5 

Buffy 17.8 8.3 4.0 7.7 7.7 8.7 8.7 9.3 5.0 77.0 

Deadpool 13.5 7.3 9.7 9.7 6.7 5.0 7.7 8.8 6.7 74.9 

Thor 15.5 9.7 7.3 6.3 8.7 6.3 7.3 5.5 8.0 74.7 

Jean Grey 13.5 8.3 9.0 5.7 8.0 8.0 7.3 5.5 9.0 74.3 

Storm 13.0 7.7 8.7 6.3 7.3 7.0 6.0 7.5 7.0 70.5 

Daredevil 13.0 7.3 7.0 8.7 7.7 6.7 5.7 6.5 6.7 69.2 

Green Lantern 12.0 8.3 5.3 4.3 8.0 7.0 7.3 6.5 8.7 67.5

Batgirl/Oracle 13.0 7.3 6.3 9.0 6.3 7.7 4.7 6.8 6.3 67.4 

Professor X 12.0 7.7 4.3 6.0 8.7 7.7 7.0 6.5 7.3 67.2 

Robin 16.0 8.0 5.0 7.0 8.0 6.7 5.7 6.0 4.7 67.0 

Raphael 13.8 9.0 7.0 5.3 6.3 6.0 7.7 5.8 6.0 66.9 

Black Widow 14.5 8.7 6.3 8.3 6.3 5.0 6.3 7.0 4.3 66.8 

Supergirl 14.0 7.3 6.3 8.0 6.3 5.7 4.0 6.5 8.3 66.5 

The Thing 12.8 7.3 5.3 5.3 9.0 6.7 7.3 5.5 5.3 64.6 

Green Arrow 13.8 6.7 5.7 7.0 7.3 6.7 6.0 6.3 4.7 64.0 

Doctor Strange 11.8 4.7 7.7 5.7 7.7 5.7 7.0 5.3 8.3 63.8 

Captain Marvel 11.0 5.0 6.3 9.3 6.0 6.3 6.0 7.0 6.7 63.7 

Silver Surfer 10.3 6.3 8.7 5.0 7.7 7.3 7.0 3.0 8.0 63.3 

Luke Cage 12.8 5.7 5.3 9.0 6.3 4.7 6.7 7.3 5.3 63.0 

Aquaman 13.8 6.3 7.3 7.3 6.3 6.0 6.0 5.5 4.3 62.9 

Nick Fury 11.8 8.0 5.3 7.7 7.0 7.0 5.7 7.0 3.0 62.4 

Hellboy 10.0 5.7 6.3 5.7 7.0 6.3 7.7 7.5 6.0 62.2 

Human Torch 10.5 7.3 7.7 3.7 7.3 7.0 5.7 6.5 6.0 61.7 

Rogue 9.8 6.7 6.3 4.7 7.3 6.3 6.7 6.8 7.0 61.5 

Falcon 12.8 7.0 5.0 6.7 5.0 5.3 7.7 6.5 5.3 61.3 

Nightcrawler 10.0 7.0 6.3 5.3 7.3 6.0 6.3 5.5 7.0 60.8 

Ant-Man 10.5 8.0 5.7 8.0 6.0 5.7 6.0 6.3 4.3 60.4 

Vision 8.5 6.0 7.7 6.0 7.0 6.3 6.0 4.8 8.0 60.3 

Jessica Jones 11.0 4.7 4.0 9.3 6.0 5.3 8.0 7.5 4.3 60.1 

Kitty Pryde 9.5 7.0 4.5 6.3 6.0 6.7 5.3 8.5 6.0 59.8 

Mr. Fantastic 10.5 6.7 4.3 4.3 7.7 7.3 6.0 6.8 6.0 59.6 

Blade 13.3 7.3 6.0 5.7 5.3 4.7 7.0 5.0 5.0 59.3 

Beast 8.3 7.7 4.7 5.7 7.0 7.0 5.7 7.8 5.3 59.0 

Punisher 11.5 6.7 8.0 5.7 6.7 6.3 7.7 3.3 2.7 58.4 

Cyclops 8.0 8.0 6.7 5.7 7.7 7.7 6.0 3.5 4.7 57.8 

Invisible Woman 9.3 7.0 4.0 5.3 7.7 6.3 4.7 6.3 7.0 57.5 

Shazam 12.0 4.7 5.0 4.0 7.3 6.0 5.0 5.0 8.3 57.4 

Morpheus 10.3 3.3 4.5 6.3 9.0 4.7 7.3 5.3 6.3 57.0 

Hawkeye 9.8 8.7 5.3 5.7 5.3 5.0 6.0 6.8 3.7 56.2 

Dr. Manhattan 9.8 5.3 5.7 7.0 7.3 1.7 7.3 2.3 9.7 56.1 

WONDER WOMAN: EVERETT COLLECTION; BLACK PANTHER, FANTASTIC FOUR, WOLVERINE, HULK: MARVEL ENTERTAINMENT (4); BATMAN: PHOTOFEST; AQUAMAN: CLAY ENOS/2014 WARNER BROS. ENTERTAINMENT INC., RATPAC- 

DUNE ENTERTAINMENT LLC AND RATPAC ENTERTAINMENT, LLC; GREEN LANTERN, BUFFY: PHOTOFEST (2); BLADE: BRUCE TALAMON; LUKE CAGE: MYLES ARONOWTIZ/NETFLIX; SUPERMAN: KOBAL COLLECTION 

*AVERAGE SCORES WERE CALCULATED TO THE THIRD DECIMAL 

POINT BUT ROUNDED OFF ON THIS TABLE FOR THE SAKE OF CLARITY

REEL NEWS 

Back to the Future The Blade Runner sequel with Ryan 

Gosling and Harrison Ford will be called Blade Runner 

2049. • Re-Enchanted Rock of Ages director Adam 

Shankman may helm a follow-up to 2007’s Enchanted. 

EDITED BY 

KEVIN P. SULLIVAN@KPSull 

Alex R. Hibbert 

Moonlight 

STARRING 

Ashton Sanders, Naomie Harris, Mahershala Ali, Janelle Monáe 

RATING 

R 

LENGTH 

1 hr., 50 mins. 

REVIEW BY 

Chris Nashawaty@ChrisNashawaty 

DIRECTED BY 

Barry Jenkins 

WHEN WE LOOK BACK ON OUR LIVES, TRYING TO 

figure out how we wound up where we are and who we 

are, there’s a tendency to focus on a few events that, in 

retrospect, are weighted with course-determining 

significance. Like snapshots, these pivotal moments get 

edited together in our minds. We become the directors 

and stars of our own biopics. That’s also the approach 

that writer-director Barry Jenkins has taken in his new 

coming-of-age story, Moonlight—easily one of the most 

personal and most powerful films of the year. 

Adapted from a play by Tarell Alvin 

McCraney, Jenkins’ long-awaited follow-up 

to 2008’s Medicine for Melancholy is a lyrical 

meditation on identity—racial identity, 

masculine identity, and sexual identity— 

that asks what it means to be a black man 

who’s gay. Or, in the case of Moonlight, what 

it means to be Chiron. Set in a Miami far 

from the rococo glitz of South Beach, the 

film is broken into three intimate and 

perfectly constructed chapters—“Little,” 

“Chiron,” and “Black”—after the three 

names our protagonist goes by on his 

stations-of-the-cross journey from boyhood 

to adolescence to adulthood. 

In the opening third, “Little” is played by 

Alex R. Hibbert as a quiet, soulful 10-yearold 

small fry with sad eyes that are 

constantly cast downward. After being 

chased by schoolyard bullies, he hides out 

DAVID BORNFRIEND 


FINDING 

MOONLIGHT 

Director Barry 

Jenkins discovered 

influences in cinema 

from around 

the world. 

BY JOE MC GOVERN 

 

Ben 

Affleck 

The Accountant 

STARRING Ben Afleck, Anna Kendrick, J.K. Simmons 

DIRECTED BY Gavin O’Connor 

BEAU TRAVAIL, SOLARIS: PHOTOFEST (2); THE ACCOUNTANT: CHUCK ZLOTNICK 

in an abandoned building where he’s saved 

by Juan (Mahershala Ali), a neighborhood 

drug dealer who becomes an unexpectedly 

caring paternal figure since Chiron’s own 

father is MIA and his mother (Naomie 

Harris) is spiraling into addiction. Like 

everyone in Jenkins’ outstanding cast, Ali 

and Harris turn characters that may smack 

of sterotypes into real, aching human beings. 

They reveal three dimensions where other 

actors might’ve shown two. In the middle 

section, Chiron (now played by Ashton 

Sanders) is an unpopular 16-year-old high 

school string bean grappling with desires he 

doesn’t quite know how to act on. The same 

bullies who preyed on him as a kid can still 

smell his otherness and want to snuff it out. 

In the final chapter, “Black” (Trevante 

Rhodes) is almost unrecognizable. He’s bigger, 

and harder, and his life seems to have 

taken a tragic turn. Slinging drugs, with a 

gold grill in his mouth, Chiron’s the reincarnation 

of Juan. Beneath his bluster, he’s 

still trying to determine who he is and how 

he fits into a world where he feels as different 

and unwelcome as when he was “Little.” 

But life—and Jenkins’ film—isn’t done with 

him yet. Throughout this remarkable story, 

Chiron is repeatedly asked, “Who is you?” 

and he rarely answers, either because he 

doesn’t quite know or he’s too scared to 

say. It isn’t until the movie’s lyrical finale in 

the glow of the moonlight that he finds 

something like an answer.A 

THIS FILM CONTAINS THE FOLLOWING: 

ST 

T 

SEXUAL TENSION 

TEARS 

GF 

R 

GOOD FOOD 

REALNESS 

301/302 (1995) 

This South Korean 

cult horror film spoke 

to Jenkins despite vast 

cultural differences— 

and encouraged him 

to bridge those 

gaps in his own work. 

BEAU TRAVAIL (1999) 

Jenkins has cited 

France’s Claire Denis 

as his favorite director—and 

her balletic 

drama about male 

soldiers as his deepest 

movie influence. 

SOLARIS (2002) 

The languid pace and 

intimate close-ups of 

Steven Soderbergh’s 

underrated sci-fi tone 

poem about loss and 

remorse influenced 

Jenkins’ dreamy style. 

THREE TIMES (2005) 

The triptych structure 

of this masterpiece 

by Taiwanese director 

Hou Hsiao-Hsien 

inspired Jenkins 

to split up Moonlight’s 

story in the same way. 

RATING R | LENGTH 2 hrs., 8 mins. 

REVIEW BY Leah Greenblatt@Leahbats 

BEH0LD THE HERO ONLY BEN AFFLECK COULD 

play: Mortal, yes, but blessed with extraordinary 

abilities, he is driven by childhood tragedy 

to take on a secret identity, a righteous vigilante haunting 

the darkest corners of the underworld. Sometimes he 

puts on a cape and saves Gotham City; sometimes 

he just gets you an awesome return on your 401(k). 

Is the Bruce Wayne DNA spliced into The Accountant’s 

backstory a wink or a coincidence? If Affleck knows, he’s 

not telling. His CPA savant Christian Wolff doesn’t say 

much at all, actually: His high-functioning autism makes 

small talk about as comfortable as a kidney stone, but it’s 

given him a beautiful mind for numbers. Officially he 

operates a little tax-office storefront in a strip mall in 

Illinois, though that’s not what paid for the genuine 

Jackson Pollock or the stacks of gold bullion he keeps in 

the Airstream in his garage; there’s also the side job as a 

forensic auditor for an international A list of arms dealers, 

drug lords, and assorted other dudes who can’t go to H&R 

Block when millions go missing from their balance sheets. 

Inevitably, his tendency to materialize like a pocketprotectored 

Where’s Waldo in surveillance footage of 

nearly every baddie on the CIA watch list draws the 

attention of a Treasury Department agent (J.K. Simmons). 

To deflect the attention, Wolff takes on a legitimate case 

for a robotics entrepreneur (John Lithgow) and makes an 

unexpected connection with a bright-eyed junior clerk 

(Anna Kendrick) who is both confused and intrigued by 

his ability to enjoy problem-solving algorithms, paintings 

of dogs playing poker, and almost nothing else. 

Director Gavin O’Connor (Warrior) seems to know at 

some level that it’s all camp, though it’s unclear where he 

picked up certain elements of his medical definition of 

autism, or why Wolff’s military-officer dad decides that 

the best response to his son’s diagnosis is to train him to 

be a sharpshooting, Muay Thai-kicking assassin—aside 

from the fact that it works out super well for the plot. The 

whole thing’s ludicrous, down to the last loony twist, but 

it’s also a lot more fun than Batman v Superman.C+ 


Gael 

García 

Bernal 

Cobie Smulders’ 

Guide to 

Getting Action 

Desierto 

STARRING Gael García Bernal, Jefrey Dean Morgan 

In Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, the once-and-future agent 

of S.H.I.E.L.D. plays a soldier gone fugitive with Tom 

Cruise’s lone-wolf hero. Here are her tips for playing a badass. 

(Hint: Learn to take a punch.) BY DARREN FRANICH 

DIRECTED BY Jonás Cuarón 

RATING R | LENGTH 1 hr., 30 mins. 

REVIEW BY Chris Nashawaty@ChrisNashawaty 

IMMIGRATION HAS BEEN A HOT-BUTTON 

issue in the race for the White House. And 

there’s no denying that it’s a complicated subject. 

Sadly, you won’t find any of that complexity in 

Jonás Cuarón’s Desierto—a classed-up B-movie riff on 

The Most Dangerous Game. Call it “Tex-Mexploitation.” 

The film opens with a long shot of the sunbaked desert 

at sunrise. The landscape is a no-man’s-land, harsh and 

unforgiving. A speck on the horizon turns out to be a 

beat-up truck loaded with 14 Mexican illegals headed for 

the States. When it breaks down, the passengers are 

forced to continue their journey on foot. Gael García 

Bernal’s Moises quickly emerges as the desperate 

group’s leader, and eventually we find out why he’s 

making this dangerous trip—he’s got a wife and son in 

Oakland. But that’s as much backstory as director/ 

co-writer Cuarón (who co-penned 2013’s Gravity with 

his father, Alfonso) plans on doling out. He’s less interested 

in characters than in his cat-and-mouse setup. 

After crossing over, the group quickly finds itself in the 

crosshairs of a boozy American vigilante with a Confederate 

flag on his pickup and the on-the-nose name 

“Sam” (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), who begins picking them 

off one by one with a high-powered rifle. After pulling 

the trigger, he growls, “Welcome to the land of the free.” 

(I fear some people who see this will growl something 

similar.) Those he misses become lunch meat for his 

bloodthirsty attack dog. Who is this guy? Is he just a 

redneck psycho after sick giggles? Or is something else 

fueling him? Cuarón isn’t saying with this overly simplistic 

but effectively tense nail-biter. Given the loaded 

setting (and the last name of the filmmaker), Desierto 

should have more on its mind than just cheap thrills.B– 

 

Tom 

Cruise and 

Smulders 

in Jack 

Reacher: 

Never Go 

Back 

1 | HUMILITY 

TRUMPS PRIDE 

In the film, Smulders 

plays Maj. Susan 

Turner, a military 

police oficer framed 

by a government 

conspiracy. Turner 

wears a Ranger pin, 

indicating that she 

completed the 

famously tough 

Army Ranger school. 

Smulders talked to 

real-life soldiers and 

read Phil Klay’s Army 

anthology Redeployment 

for inspiration. 

“That Ranger pin is 

so tiny,” she jokes. “If 

I freaking graduated 

Ranger school, you 

better believe I 

would have a shoulder 

pad. But nobody 

wants to be so 

braggadocious.” 

2 | IMPROV IS 

EVERYTHING 

By her own estimate, 

Smulders, 34, fires a 

gun exactly once in 

the movie. “We’re not 

spies,” she says. “We 

don’t have this hightech 

technology. 

These are people on 

the run, and it’s very 

improvised fighting.” 

Lacking heavy artillery, 

Turner has to 

think on her feet. “We 

have one of our stunt 

guys, who’s this beautiful 

German man, 

6’ 6” and weighs 220 

pounds. In the real 

world, that is gonna 

be a significant challenge 

for me. So we 

put Turner in these 

situations where she’s 

fighting and she 

breaks a rake and 

uses the stick, or she 

uses her cell phone. 

Everything is at her 

disposal.” 

3 | HITTING IS EASY, 

GETTING HIT IS HARD 

Smulders has played 

terse S.H.I.E.L.D. agent 

Maria Hill throughout 

the Marvel Cinematic 

Universe since 2012, 

but she’s rarely been 

at the forefront of the 

action. “I’ve been in 

Avengers films, but 

I don’t do a lot of 

the action parts,” she 

says. “There are 

superheroes in the 

movie! People would 

much rather see them 

fight each other!” By 

comparison, training 

for Never Go Back 

took six weeks—and 

led the performer to 

an intriguing epiphany. 

“The hardest 

thing is getting fakehit. 

You really have to 

sell it. Somebody 

comes at you and 

stops a couple inches 

from your face. You 

have to react like it’s 

painful. In my training, 

those were the 

days I was more sore, 

doing gut punches 

or getting thrown 

against walls. You’re 

moving your body 

in a way that’s not 

natural.” 

4 | FRIENDLY 

COMPETITION BRINGS 

OUT THE BEST IN 

EVERYONE 

Turner and Reacher 

are well matched as 

partners. “These are 

two people who basically 

have the same 

job within the Army, 

both very educated, 

very strong,” Smulders 

says. That meant 

she had to keep up 

with Cruise—literally. 

DESIERTO: CARLOS SOMONTE; JACK REACHER: NEVER GO BACK: CHIABELLA JAMES

Movies 

Christine 

STARRING Rebecca Hall, Michael C. Hall 

DIRECTED BY Antonio Campos 

RATING R | LENGTH 2 hrs. 

REVIEW BY Leah Greenblatt@Leahbats 

SMULDERS: ALEXEI HAY; CHRISTINE: THE ORCHARD 

“He’s such a master of 

this genre of film,” 

she says of her costar. 

“And Tom is ridiculously 

fit.” Smulders 

had broken her leg 

not long before filming 

started. “I got of 

crutches and started 

shooting this movie 

three weeks later,” she 

explains. “I was in 

the weakest physical 

shape of my life. 

Luckily for me, I’m 

competitive. It was 

like,Ineedtobe 

able to run so I can 

keep up with Tom 

Cruise and look like 

IamasfastasTom 

Cruise. And he is so 

fast.Supremely fast.” 

5 | LET THE 

ADRENALINE KICK IN 

Reacher and Turner 

find themselves in the 

occasional highspeed 

car chase. “The 

times that Tom was 

driving, it was like 

being on a Canadian 

roller coaster. He’s 

a legit race-car driver,” 

Smulders says. When 

(safely) driving a 

car through closed 

roads and open fields, 

the actress found 

it important to remember 

not to overthink it. 

“I’m driving very fast, 

and Tom Cruise 

is sitting next to me,” 

Smulders recalls 

with a laugh. “This 

is for real.” 

 

Cobie 

Smulders 

IN THE RAREFIED REALM OF DUELing 

biopics, Christine Chubbuck 

seems like an unexpected name to 

land alongside Truman Capote, Wyatt Earp, 

and Steve Jobs. A reporter for a local news 

station in Sarasota, she’s mostly famous—or 

infamous—for killing herself live on air three 

weeks before her 30th birthday. 

Yet somehow her story is being told twice 

this year, more than four decades after her 

death: first in the headily meta documentary 

Kate Plays Christine, and now in director Antonio 

Campos’ stark, unsettling drama. Without 

context or preamble, his Christine (Rebecca 

Hall) appears in the frame, a woman thrumming 

with such fierce high-wire intensity that 

it’s almost comical to watch her attempt to 

deliver field reports on strawberry stands and 

county zoning laws—except, of course, that 

we know how terribly it will end. 

Shot in the goldenrod-and-avocado palette 

of the ’70s and dabbed with incongruous 

soft-rock lullabies, the movie itself is both 

painfully intimate and strangely opaque on 

the subject of mental illness, taking us deep 

inside Christine’s disintegration even as it 

never quite figures out what it wants to say 

about it. Hall puts everything she can into the 

role—and Michael C. Hall shines as the 

dopey-sweet anchorman desperate to connect 

with her—but it’s hard to shake the whiff 

of exploitation that hangs over the retelling 

of a tragedy that Chubbuck’s own family 

vehemently wished not to see on screen.B 

 

Rebecca Hall 


Movies 

Alien 

Event Horizon 

Halloween 

The 

Shining 

Carnage Park 

The Evil Dead 

Idiocracy 

The Day of the Beast 

Trick ‘r Treat 

I Saw the 

Devil 

 

THE DAY OF THE BEAST 

Fede Alvarez 

(Don’t Breathe) 

“This priest finds out 

the devil is going 

to be born in Madrid, 

and he finds this 

heavy metal dude, 

and they wander 

the streets of Madrid 

doing evil in order 

to connect with 

Satan. It’s bananas, 

but it’s amazing.” 

 

EVENT HORIZON 

Taika Waititi (What We 

Do in the Shadows) 

“I like the idea that 

the spaceship 

became a monster, 

the whole thing was 

this entity.” 

Nobody knows horror like the filmmakers behind some of your favorites, so EW polled directors 

about which hair-raising flicks they would recommend this October. BY CLARK COLLIS 

 

Your Ultimate Halloween 

Watch Guide 

TRICK ‘R TREAT 

Mike Mendez 

(Tales of Halloween) 

“I’m biased, but I recommend 

getting the 

Tales of Halloween 

four-disc Blu-ray. 

Other than that, I 

would recommend 

Trick ‘r Treat. There’s 

so many genres in 

there—werewolf 

films, evil kids. It’s a 

seasonal classic.” 

 

THE SHINING 

Robert Eggers (The Witch) 

“The Shining is great. 

The smell of The 

Shining is all over The 

Witch. I don’t think 

it would succeed 

without it.” 

 

ALIEN 

Greg McLean (Wolf Creek) 

“It’s just a perfect 

piece of cinema, a 

masterpiece of suspense 

and thrills.” 

 

CARNAGE PARK 

Joe Begos 

(The Mind’s Eye) 

“Carnage Park, which 

just came out, is a 

really cool, tense 

movie. The Neon 

Demon is a goddamned 

masterpiece. 

I really liked The 

Witch. I loved Green 

Room. People bitch 

about the state of 

horror, but there’s 

actually a lot of cool 

stuf around.” 

 

THE CONJURING 

André Øvredal 

(Trollhunter) 

“The Conjuring is a 

fantastic Halloween 

movie. The tension is 

so well-handled, it’s 

so original, there’s so 

many clever ways of 

creating unease. It’s a 

master class in how 

to direct horror. 

I was literally studying 

that film.” 

 

THE EVIL DEAD 

Eli Roth (Hostel) 

“When I’m having a 

party, I put on the 

original Evil Dead. 

From the opening 

shot, it never stops.” 

 

IDIOCRACY 

Karyn Kusama 

(The Invitation) 

“While my instinct 

was to recommend a 

classic like the original 

Texas Chainsaw 

Massacre, this Halloween 

calls for something 

diferent. I plan 

to revisit a film that 

started as a comedy 

but has evolved into a 

terrifying reflection of 

the world: Idiocracy.” 

 

I SAW THE DEVIL 

Scott Derrickson 

(Sinister, Doctor Strange) 

“It has perhaps the 

best sociopathic 

killer I’ve seen on 

screen, maybe with 

the exception of 

Hannibal Lecter.” 

 

HALLOWEEN 

Adam Wingard 

(You’re Next, Blair Witch) 

“I go to the classics: 

Halloween and 

The Texas Chainsaw 

Massacre. If I 

want to go into 

supernatural territory, 

I stick with Event 

Horizon and The 

Shining as a double 

feature.” 

EVENT HORIZON, THE EVIL DEAD, THE DAY OF THE BEAST: PHOTOFEST (4); HALLOWEEN: MPTV.NET; ALIEN: ROBERT PENN; IDIOCRACY: 

VAN REDIN; THE SHINING: WARNER BROS.; TALES OF HALLOWEEN: EPIC PICTURES; CARNAGE PARK: IFC MIDNIGHT 


The Conjuring

The Handmaiden 

STARRING Kim Tae-ri, Kim Min-hee, Ha Jung-woo 

DIRECTED BY Park Chan-wook 

NOW PLAYING 

YOUR COMPLETE GUIDE TO FILMS IN THEATERS THIS WEEK 

MORE ON 

EW.COM 

For Critical Mass 

and to read full 

reviews, head to 

ew.com/movies 

RATING NR | LENGTH 2 hrs., 25 mins. 

REVIEW BY Kevin P. Sullivan@KPSull 

EW 

A 

13TH 

THE HANDMAIDEN: CJ FILMS; BLUE JAY: ALEX LEHMANN; KEVIN HART: WHAT NOW?: FRANK MASI; CERTAIN WOMEN: JOJO WHILDEN 

THERE’S A SAYING OFTEN CREDited 

to pulp writer Jim Thompson 

that there is only one plot: “Things 

are not as they seem.” In the case of The 

Handmaiden, the maxim applies equally to 

the story and the filmmaking. Seamlessly 

transplanting Sarah Waters’ Dickensian caper 

Fingersmith to 1930s Japanese-occupied 

Korea, the film begins as the tale of Sookee 

(Kim Tae-ri), a street thief embedded as the 

maid to Lady Hideko (Kim Min-hee), a 

wealthy heiress. The position is arranged in 

order to lay the groundwork for Sookee’s 

scheming associate, Fujiwara (Ha Jung-woo), 

who aims to marry Hideko and steal her 

inheritance—before sending her off to the 

madhouse. Further complicating matters 

are Sookee’s growing feelings for Hideko. 

But that’s only part of the story. The rest 

is so suspenseful, sexy, and surprising that it 

would be a shame to say any more. Director 

Park Chan-wook (Oldboy) has always had a 

stunningly cinematic eye, but he’s better 

known for gouging someone else’s out. In 

The Handmaiden, he demonstrates a lightness 

and humor unseen in his previous 

work. Sookee and Hideko’s relationship— 

explicit as it may be—is not about exploitation 

or shock value, but instead the joy and 

intimacy of new love. And sure, someone 

gets his fingers slowly chopped off, but 

that’s, like, one scene. A– 

 

Ha Jung-woo and Kim Min-hee 

W A T C H I T N O W 

P R O C E E D W I T H C A U T I O N 

S K I P I T 

Directed by Ava DuVernay 

A– AMERICAN HONEY 

Starring Sasha Lane, Shia LaBeouf, Riley Keough Directed by Andrea Arnold 

A– THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN 

Starring Emily Blunt, Haley Bennett, Justin Theroux Directed by Tate Taylor 

A– BLUE JAY 

Starring Sarah Paulson, Mark Duplass 

Director Alex Lehmann’s minimalistic film reexamines 

the lingering shards of a long-broken romance as 

it thrusts two high school sweethearts, Paulson and 

Duplass, back together some 20 years after their 

tumultuous uncoupling. 

B+ THE BIRTH OF A NATION 

Starring Nate Parker, Armie Hammer, Aja Naomi King Directed by Nate Parker 

B+ UNDER THE SHADOW 

B 

B 

Starring Narges Rashidi, Avin Manshadi, Bobby Naderi Directed by Babak Anvari 

THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN 

Starring Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke Directed by Antoine Fuqua 

MASTERMINDS 

Starring Zach Galifianakis, Kristen Wiig, Owen Wilson Directed by Jared Hess 

B– KEVIN HART: WHAT NOW? 

Starring Kevin Hart, Halle Berry, Don Cheadle 

Hart launches his latest stand-up special with a long, 

James Bond-style opening (including a Halle Berry 

appearance), but the laughs really start when Hart 

takes the stage, waxing poetic about his goofy family 

and his raccoon nemesis. 

B– MASCOTS 

Starring Jane Lynch, Parker Posey, Chris O’Dowd Directed by Christopher Guest 

B– MISS PEREGRINE’S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN 

Starring Eva Green, Asa Butterfield, Ella Purnell Directed by Tim Burton 

C+ CERTAIN WOMEN 

Starring Michelle Williams, Laura Dern, Kristen Stewart 

Director Kelly Reichardt’s heartland indie tells three 

slice-of-life Montana tales. The cast is top-notch, but the 

journey’s too slowgoing, only sparking to life in the final 

act thanks to a heartbreaking turn from Lily Gladstone. 

C+ QUEEN OF KATWE 

C 

Starring Madina Nalwanga, David Oyelowo, Lupita Nyong’o Directed by Mira Nair 

SNOWDEN 

Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Shailene Woodley, Melissa Leo Directed by Oliver Stone 

C– MY BLIND BROTHER 

Starring Nick Kroll, Adam Scott, Jenny Slate Directed by Sophie Goodhart 

KEY = LIMITED RELEASE = NETFLIX = WIDE RELEASE

8 

1 

2 

3 

NETFLIX 

THE LITTLE PRINCE 

The delicate French tale of 

a boy from a small asteroid 

comes to magical—and 

magnifique—life. 

MOVIE | AGES 10+ 

NETFLIX 

JESSIE 

THE COMPLETE SERIES 

Say “hey!” to Debby Ryan’s 

Army brat–turned–New York 

nanny on this colorful sitcom 

chronicling her misadventures 

with a wealthy family’s 

four boisterous children and 

their—oh, boy—seven-foot 

Asian water monitor lizard. 

TV | AGES 7+ 

HBO NOW 

SESAME STREET 

Let Big Bird, Elmo, and 

Cookie Monster guide you 

to their new neighborhood, 

where kids can learn their 

ABCs and 1-2-3s from 

episodes new and old. 

TV | ALL AGES 

1 

4 

4 

5 

NETFLIX 

ZOOTOPIA 

A plucky police-oficer 

bunny (Ginnifer Goodwin) 

partners with a con-artist fox 

(Jason Bateman) to save 

their utopia in this comedy 

about the value of working 

together, no matter where 

you are on the food chain. 


AMAZON 

AVATAR: THE LAST 

AIRBENDER 

THE COMPLETE SERIES 

Warring nations! Mythical 

creatures! Fantastic 

prophecies! Just think of 

this engrossing epic about 

“benders”—people with the 

ability to control water, fire, 

earth, or air—as Game of 

Thrones for the preteen set. 

BEST EPISODE>“The Storm” 

(S1, EP. 12) Avatar Aang (Zach 

Tyler Eisen), guilt-ridden 

over his irresponsible past, 

learns to accept his destiny. 

TV | AGES 8+ 

6 

7 

HBO NOW 

CASPER 

Get in the Halloween spirit 

by revisiting this 1995 classic 

starring Christina Ricci as 

the daughter of a paranormal 

expert (Bill Pullman) 

who befriends the titular 

spunky, unspooky ghost. 


HULU 

DOC MC STUFFINS 

The doctor is always in when 

it comes to this adorable 

Peabody winner about a girl 

who “fixes” her toys using 

her magic stethoscope. 

TV | AGES 4+ 

8 

9 

10 

6 

AMAZON 

SHAUN THE SHEEP MOVIE 

A flock of sheep try to 

rescue their farmer in this 

delightful, pun-fueled stopmotion 

romp that proves 

those with enough (sorry) 

woolpower can do anything. 


NETFLIX 

WALT DISNEY ANIMATION 

STUDIOS SHORT FILM 

COLLECTION 

From the puppy-centric Feast 

to the Frozen mini-sequel 

Frozen Fever, these dazzling 

shorts are bite-size treats. 

MOVIES | AGES 5+ 

AMAZON 

DANIEL TIGER’S 

NEIGHBORHOOD 

Hoping to raise the next 

Grace VanderWaal? 

Introduce your tyke to wise 

4-year-old Daniel and his 

exuberant world of music 

and make-believe. 

TV | AGES 3+ 

AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER: NICKELODEON; THE LITTLE PRINCE: NETFLIX; ZOOTOPIA: DISNEY; SHAUN THE SHEEP MOVIE: LIONSGATE; CASPER: UNIVERSAL; DOC MCSTUFFINS: DISNEY JUNIOR 


7

With our worry-free guarantee, just return 

it, and we’ll replace it no matter how they 

say it broke–even if an octopus is to blame. 

1-Year of Amazon FreeTime Unlimited 

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99 .99

TV 

EDITED BY 

CAITLIN BRODY@cbroday 

Chance 

DATE 

Debuts Oct. 19 

TIME 

Streaming 

NETWORK 

Hulu 

REVIEW BY 

Darren Franich@DarrenFranich 

Gretchen Mol and 

Hugh Laurie 

ON HBO’S BOARDWALK EMPIRE, 

Gretchen Mol gave maybe the 

single most underrated TV performance 

of the past decade, shading her 

matriarchal femme fatale with layers of 

poignant innocence and world-weary 

experience. That show was an addictive 

blood battle that barely had a soul, but 

Mol was its crazy heart. On House, Hugh 

Laurie gave unquestionably the single most 

imitated TV performance of the new 

millennium. He defined a new kind of 

brainy-smarmy scientific investigator: He 

talked like a nerd, swaggered like a jock, and 

made medical babble sound angrily sexy. 

Now Laurie and Mol are at the center of 

Chance, Hulu’s new binge-friendly suspense 

thriller. Laurie is Eldon Chance, a forensics 

neuropsychiatrist in San Francisco, 

struggling through an expensive divorce. 

Mol is Jaclyn Blackstone, a battered housewife 

battling a ravenously sexual dual 

personality named Jackie Black. Eldon falls 

for her. What a sap. Hasn’t he seen Vertigo? 

When a blond woman in San Francisco has 

two personalities, you probably shouldn’t 

trust either one. 

Chance is based on the novel by Kem 

Nunn, a high practitioner of modern California 

weirdo noir. Nunn’s a novelist by 

trade, but he’s made a fine side career on 

the small screen: He worked with David 

Milch writing for Deadwood and John From 

Cincinnati and spent two years writing 

and producing on Sons of Anarchy. Nunn cocreated 

this new drama with Alexandra 

Cunningham, a TV lifer who developed the 

U.S. remake of Prime Suspect after spending 

most of the 2000s writing Desperate Housewives. 

And if you put every show I just mentioned 

in a blender and added a pinch of 

Antiques Roadshow, you might get something 

DAVID MOIR/HULU 


LOGLINES 

Lifetime Appointment Simon Cowell will continue as 

a judge on America’s Got Talent through 2019.• Back 

 

Bryce 

Dallas 

Howard 

With the Peacock Mindy Kaling and her Mindy Project 

co-EP are working on a sibling comedy pilot for NBC. 

LAURIE: AMANDA EDWARDS/WIREIMAGE (4); BLACK MIRROR: DAVID DETTMANN/NETFLIX; SCHUR AND JONES: DOMINIK MAGDZIAK PHOTOGRAPHY/GETTY IMAGES 

like Chance, which flirts with procedural 

investigation, florid soap opera, dreamy 

philosophical statements about the Banach- 

Tarski paradox, and a running subplot 

about furniture fraud. 

Hulu seems to encourage experimentation 

in its original programming. (Casual 

started as an internet-age rom-com and 

became a thrillingly bleak dark comedy of 

psychological dysfunction.) Chance has 

been greenlit for two 10-episode seasons, 

so I’m inclined to give the benefit of the 

doubt to the meandering first few episodes. 

The supporting cast helps. As a fellow 

shrink, LisaGay Hamilton is a fine foil for 

the increasingly unhinged protagonist, the 

suspicious Barbara Bel Geddes to Laurie’s 

Jimmy Stewart. As Jaclyn’s mysterious 

husband, Paul Adelstein gives a clever 

performance, half congenial and half 

murderous. And then there’s Ethan Suplee 

as D, a straight-faced monster-man who 

speaks softly but carries a tomahawk. 

These are fun characters. Right now, the 

show mostly uses them as ornaments 

around Laurie, playing decidedly un-House. 

Eldon is a thoughtful, recessive, and mostly 

passive protagonist—and so the early 

episodes suffer from a lack of momentum. 

It’s boring, but there are flashes of suspenseful 

brilliance. The filmmaking goes 

impressionistically French New Wave when 

Eldon and Jaclyn are together, all jump cuts 

and shuffled dialogue. There’s a revelation 

in episode 3 that adds a new layer to 

Laurie’s paranoid performance. And Mol 

brings humanity to what could’ve been 

Hitchcock pastiche. You’re pretty sure 

Jaclyn is lying—but you want to know why. 

The whole show is tantalizing. I’m hooked 

onChance, but only because I want to know 

why I’m hooked onChance.B 

WHICH 

DOCTOR 

IS IN? 

Dr. Chance and 

Dr. House 

have a way with 

words—can 

you guess who 

said what? 

A 

“Gotta go! 

Building full of 

sick people. 

If I hurry, 

maybe I can 

avoid them.” 

B 

“Life does suck, 

sweetheart.” 

C 

“I spend my 

days in the 

company of 

those mutilated 

by life, most 

of them 

beyond repair.” 

D 

“As the philosopher 

Jagger 

once said, ‘You 

can’t always 

get what 

you want.’ ” 

KEY 

A, D DR. HOUSE 

B, C DR. CHANCE 

Back toBlack: Inside 

the Making ofMirror 

With the dystopian series Black Mirror moving to Netflix, its showrunner 

turned to some very unexpected writing partners—Parks and Rec’s 

Mike Schur and Rashida Jones. The duo tell EW how they left Pawnee 

pleasantries for the (gulp!) not-so-distant future. BY JAMES HIBBERD 

IF YOU THINK FACEBOOK IS A TIMEsucking 

ego vortex of anxious 

social-status one-upmanship, just 

wait until you see Rashida Jones 

and Mike Schur’s episode of Black 

Mirror. The Parks and Recreation 

star and its showrunner collaborated 

as writers for the first time 

ever (well, the second, if you 

count a paper the longtime friends 

co-wrote while seniors together 

at Harvard) in order to pen an 

hour of the acclaimed sci-fi 

anthology series, which launches 

its third season Oct. 21 on Netflix. 

“I started harassing [Mirror 

showrunner] Charlie Brooker 

and forced him to be my friend,” 

explains Jones, a hardcore Black 

Mirror fan. “When I heard about 

the Netflix version being six 

episodes, I knew he probably 

couldn’t write them all, so I made 

him include us.” 

At first glance, the lighthearted 

duo—Jones now stars on TBS’ 

Angie Tribeca, and Schur is an EP 

of NBC’s The Good Place—seem 

like an odd choice for the dark, 

twisty show. (“How dare you, sir!” 

Schur reacts in mock outrage.) But 

Brooker had an idea for a comedic 

episode titled “Nosedive” that 

seemed perfect for Schur and 

Jones’ skill set—and since this is 

Black Mirror, by “comedic,” we still 

mean a story set in a totally horrifying 

yet believable dystopia that 

haunts you long after the episode 

ends. The pitch: In the near future, 

everybody has a crucial and 

ever-updating “status score” of 

one to five stars that’s determined 

by getting ranked after every 

social interaction—from chatting 

with a friend to buying a cofee 

from a barista. The episode follows 

one ambitious young woman 

(Bryce Dallas Howard) who concocts 

a scheme to try and boost 

her score, with disastrous results. 

If the premise seems a tad 

far-fetched, realize this is exactly 

how Uber already works (both 

passengers and drivers rate each 

other). “Everything in Black Mirror 

is like our world, it’s just a slightly 

heightened version,” Schur notes, 

while Jones confesses that the episode 

has since changed her outlook 

on daily random encounters: 

“I find myself thinking of how I 

would rate people after interactions 

and how they would rate 

me.” Ah, don’t worry, we’ll give this 

interview at least three stars. 

Mike Schur and Rashida Jones

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend 

DATE Premieres Oct. 21 | TIME 9 p.m. | NETWORK The CW 

REVIEW BY Jef Jensen@EWDocJensen 

“I’M JUST A GIRL IN LOVE! I CAN’T BE 

responsible for my actions!” So sings Rebecca 

Bunch (Rachel Bloom) as she dances through 

the title sequence for Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’s second season. 

It’s a punchier, more thematic intro than last year’s 

opener, a manic cartoon that pitched the show’s premise: 

Miserable New York lawyer throws away everything 

(including meds for a mental condition) to chase a guy in 

the strip-mall sprawl of West Covina, Calif. The new 

overture sums up everything that was exceptional about 

the season’s first three episodes. They restate and refine 

the show’s perspective and produce sharp, zany entertainment. 

Bloom’s ingenious anti-rom-com was one of 

last year’s best shows. It might be even better this year. 

Rebecca has finally bagged dream dude Josh (Vincent 

Rodriguez III), but happily-ever-after eludes them in the 

initial sweep of story. Their tenuous ’ship forces Rebecca 

to confront her narcissism and self-debasement, yielding 

musical sequences that zing pop culture for enabling 

those issues with wrongheaded romantic fantasy. Desperate 

for more than mere “love kernels” from Josh, Rebecca 

imagines herself the object of his rapturous desire in 

“Ping Pong Girl,” a rock spoof of female objectification. 

A major investment in secondary players creates an 

abundance of complex, character-driven conflict. Paula 

(Donna Lynne Champlin) tries to wean herself off 

Rebecca’s dramas and pursues her law-school ambition, 

while Greg (Santino Fontana) seeks treatment for alcoholism. 

Heavy? Yes. But also hilarious. Paula’s soaring 

premiere ballad had me rolling during the verses (“maybe 

this dream won’t be like Ebola eating the flesh of its 

host”) and tearing up by the end. Like FXX’s You’re the 

Worst, Crazy Ex offers a wild and wise examination of 

love, friendship, and our responsibility to each other’s 

happiness and healing. You’d be crazy to miss it.A 

 

Matt Lanter, Abigail Spencer, 

Sean Maguire, and Malcolm Barrett 

B O N D I N G T O G E T H E R 

A Very 

Timeless 

Script 

THE TIMELESS CREW IS ABOUT TO 

meet Fleming, Ian Fleming. Showrunners 

Eric Kripke and Shawn Ryan 

were looking for a suitable historical 

figure to be the special guest star in 

their Nazi Germany episode, “Party at 

Castle Varlar” (airs Oct. 24 at 10 p.m. 

on NBC), when the action drama’s 

in-house historian, David Hoffman, 

proposed the James Bond author. 

Turns out, the spy novelist was 

operating behind enemy lines as an 

intelligence officer at the time, years 

before his literary career took off. “We 

were like, ‘You gotta be kidding! That’s 

the most amazing thing ever!’” Ryan 

recalls. Hoffman and Ryan take 

EW through this 1944-set scene at 

Fleming’s (Sean Maguire) safe house 

deep within enemy territory, in which 

the 007 mastermind brainstorms 

a way for the trio to stop Flynn (Goran 

Višnjíc) from wreaking havoc at the 

castle. —Shirley Li 

 

 

Though the Castle 

Varlar party occurred in 

real life, the Nazi scientists 

didn’t fire nuclear 

rockets—just traditional 

ones, according to 

Ryan—and Fleming 

wasn’t in attendance. 

To up the stakes, the 

writers added Flynn, 

who wants to arm the 

rockets with an atomic 

core, and looped 

Fleming in with the 

heroes. “It’s spy work, 

so we don’t know all 

the details,” Ryan says. 

“We used that uncertainty 

to our advantage.” 

Lucy (Abigail Spencer) 

may keep quiet in this 

scene, but there’s good 

reason for her silence. 

After three episodes of 

“crazy time machines 

and dangerous adventures 

in which she has 

no control,” Ryan notes, 

“she finds herself very 

untethered and having 

a dificult time.” Still, as 

reserved as she is, she 

manages to catch a 

man’s eye. You have one 

guess who that man 

could be… 

…and you probably 

guessed right: Fleming 

takes a liking to Lucy, 

because, well, of 

course he does. “When 

we were breaking 

this story, we thought 

about how a Bond 

movie itself would play 

out,” Ryan says, laughing. 

“Here we have this 

gorgeous, smart, great 

woman, and it just 

seemed insane that Ian 

Fleming’s eye wouldn’t 

be drawn to her.” 

Rachel Bloom 


Ted Danson and D’Arcy Carden 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Writers tweaked history 

again for Fleming’s 

backstory. Hofman 

consulted biographies 

like John Pearson’s 

The Life of Ian Fleming 

in order to, he says, 

“pick up pieces that we 

could then put into 

the story.” One of those 

pieces turned out to 

be the Blitz—the 

German bombing 

raids carried out over 

Britain—which afected 

Fleming’s family. 

Surprise! Fleming ofers 

wine instead of Bond’s 

shaken-not-stirred 

martinis, largely for 

Lucy’s benefit. “I would 

say that Ian Fleming 

isn’t one to foist hard 

alcohol on a woman,” 

Ryan reasons. “I just 

loved the idea that 

when they realized 

they would be going 

into a tremendously 

dangerous and precarious 

situation, Ian 

Fleming’s first instinct 

is to have a drink.” 

While Rufus (Malcolm 

Barrett) finds Fleming’s 

actions amusing, Wyatt 

(Matt Lanter) doesn’t. 

After all, he and Lucy 

have “something building,” 

teases Ryan. On 

top of that, Wyatt’s 

mifed because of how 

he views Fleming. 

“Wyatt’s a huge fanboy 

of Ian Fleming’s,” Ryan 

says. “No one’s more 

excited to meet Ian 

Fleming in the flesh than 

Wyatt.” Poor Wyatt. How 

do you possibly compete 

with James Bond? 

Siri,Who’stheGood 

PlaceScene-Stealer? 

That would be D’Arcy Carden, who plays know-itall 

Janet on NBC’s afterlife comedy, The Good Place 

(Thursdays, 8:30 pm). We got the Upright Citizens 

Brigade vet to share facts that would surprise even 

her whiz of a character. BY NATALIE ABRAMS 

SHE’S BORROWED SOCKS FROM A-LISTERS 

The morning after seeing her first UCB show— 

which featured Amy Poehler—Carden signed up 

for classes, kicking of a decade-long tenure with 

the improv troupe she calls family. The 36-yearold 

recalls coming in from the rain before a show 

one night in NYC, soaking wet, and running into 

SNL’s Kate McKinnon backstage. “She took her 

socks of and said, ‘Put these on,’ ” Carden says. 

“She walked home with no socks on, because 

she’s a good girl—just buds helping buds.” 

SHE’S NOT AFRAID TO GO METHOD 

The California native reunited with her UCB 

costars Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer in 

season 3 of their Comedy Central series Broad 

City as competitive trainer Gemma—but one 

scene was particularly aggressive when Abbi 

beat Gemma with a pugil stick. “We all really 

wanted it to look real,” says Carden. “Abbi was 

nervous she was going to hurt me. I was getting 

jacked-up, almost like an athlete would: 

‘Just hit me! Hit me in the face!’ My mom won’t 

watch that scene because it looks so realistic.” 

SHE’S ANYTHING BUT ROBOTIC 

Taking cues from Star Wars’ C-3PO and Ex 

Machina’s Ava, Carden tries to find the soul in 

Janet, a Siri-like construct who provides all the 

information to residents in The Good Place’s version 

of heaven. “I don’t want her to be a beepboop-bop 

robot,” says Carden. Nailing someone 

who doesn’t quite understand emotions can 

be…unique. “We were doing Janet and Michael’s 

[Ted Danson] version of crying,” she says. “It 

turned into this thing where we held hands, 

looked into each other’s eyeballs, and moaned.” 

Though the actress admits she has some Janetesque 

tendencies, don’t ask her the square root 

of 456,766. “The answer is… S---! D’Arcy brain 

can’t even retain the number you just said.” 

CRAZY EX-GIRLFRIEND: SCOTT EVERETT WHITE/THE CW; TIMELESS: SERGEI BACHLAKOV/NBC; THE GOOD PLACE: JUSTIN LUBIN/NBC

MONDAY OCTOBER 17 

MUST 

WATCH 

OF THE 

WEEK 

Season Premiere 

THE WALKING DEAD 

SUNDAY, OCT. 23 9–10 PM AMC 

Our long national nightmare (of a cliff-hanger wait) is finally over. 

Or has the nightmare only begun? Greg Nicotero—who directed 

both The Walking Dead’s season 6 finale and season 7 premiere, 

which will answer the question as to whom Negan kills— 

says what we’ve seen so far barely registers on the emotionaldevastation 

meter compared with what’s to come. “It’s the most 

emotional episode I’ve ever shot,” he says of the premiere. The 

cast seems to agree. “It was exhausting, and it was no fun,” says 

star Norman Reedus (Daryl) about shooting the heartbreaking 

episode. “Ten days of hell” is how the man administering the 

hell, Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Negan), describes filming, while Ross 

Marquand (Aaron) promises that the installment “will affect people 

in a very profound way.” Yes, taking a barbed-wire-covered 

baseball bat repeatedly to the face tends to do that. —Dalton Ross 

Go toew.com/what-to-watch for our daily picks of What to Watch 

 

Michael 

Cudlitz, 

Lauren 

Cohan, 

Andrew 

Lincoln, 

and 

Sonequa 

Martin- 

Green face 

down Jeffrey 

Dean 

Morgan 


Jane the Virgin 

9–10PM 

NCIS 

8–9PM CBS 

THE CW 

Even on the night of her nuptials, a racy 

romp just isn’t in the cards for virgin Jane 

(Gina Rodriguez). Instead, the twisty 

dramedy kicks of its third season with 

Jane making life-or-death decisions for her 

critically injured husband, Michael (Brett 

Dier). “We’ve never seen Jane in a position 

like this before,” says showrunner Jennie 

Snyder Urman. But a double dose of magical 

realism—one sequence will showcase 

her history with a former flame, another 

will provide a peek into her potential future 

with Michael—could give Jane some clarity. 

Just follow Urman’s lead and be sure 

to stockpile tissues come showtime: “It’s 

definitely an emotional hour.” —Nina Terrero 

Bishop and 

Quinn are sent to 

Philadelphia to 

crack an extremely 

important unsolved 

mystery: Who 

makes the better 

cheesesteak, 

Geno’s or Pat’s? 

Marvel’s 

Agents of 

S.H.I.E.L.D. 

10–11PM ABC 

TUESDAY OCTOBER 18 

Ghost Rider’s thirst 

for vengeance 

brings him to a 

head-to-head battle 

with S.H.I.E.L.D. 

Who will come 

away victorious? 

Usually I think 

it’s smart to bet 

on the agency 

that’s spelled 

out in all caps. 

MUSIC MIX 

The Voice 

8–9PM NBC 

The contestants are 

joined by Joan Jett, 

Sammy Hagar, Bette 

Midler, and Charlie 

Puth—a.k.a. truly 

the most random 

Spotify playlist ever. 

ZOMBIES: GENE PAGE/AMC; THE WALKING DEAD: FRANK OCKENFELS 3/AMC; JANE THE VIRGIN: MICHAEL DESMOND/THE CW 


*TIMES ARE EASTERN DAYLIGHT AND SUBJECT TO CHANGE

WED OCT 19 THURSDAY OCTOBER 20 

FRIDAY OCTOBER 21 

THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW: STEVE WILKIE/FOX; BLACK MIRROR: LAURIE SPARHAM/NETFLIX; THE VAMPIRE DIARIES: BOB MAHONEY/THE CW; DIRK GENTLY’S HOLISTIC DETECTIVE AGENCY: BETTINA STRAUSS/BBC AMERICA 

ROUND 3 

Presidential 

Debate 

9–10:30PM VARIOUS 

Donald Trump and 

Hillary Clinton duke 

it out one last time 

before the election, 

while Gary Johnson 

watches from home. 

Hamilton’s 

America 

9–10:30PM* PBS 

Haven’t scored tix? 

PBS takes you to the 

room where it happens 

with this doc, 

which includes the 

Lin-Manuel Miranda 

musical’s backstory 

and performances 

from the show itself. 

*check local listings 

Series Debut 

Midnight Diner 

STREAMING NETFLIX 

The Japanese-set 

series takes place in 

a diner where customers 

come to eat 

and talk—but only 

between the hours 

of midnight and 

7 a.m. File under: 

Netflix Can Do Whatever 

It Wants and 

We’ll Still Watch. 

The Rocky Horror Picture Show 

8–10PM 

FOX 

Madness takes its toll on Fox’s twist of the 

1975 cult film about transvestite aliens with 

a tendency to time-warp. Movie-izing the 

event (instead of broadcasting live) showcases 

the vibrant production, but at the cost 

of spontaneous live energy, which would 

have better served this manic musical. The 

cast is nonetheless astounding, assembled 

with care of character over star power. 

Headliner Laverne Cox is clearly having 

a ball, and standout Victoria Justice nails 

the camp of the Susan Sarandon role. Still, 

there’s tonal inconsistency: Director Kenny 

Ortega wants to ofer fan service while also 

leaning into reinvention, leaving this picture— 

sorry—slightly rocky. B — Marc Snetiker 

FRIDAY OCTOBER 21 (cont.) 


The Vampire Diaries 

8–9PM 

THE CW 

When Damon Salvatore first returned to Mystic Falls in 

the Vampire Diaries pilot, he was the villain in Stefan’s 

story. Now, heading into the final season, Damon’s once 

again the villain—but only because he’s under the influence 

of something far more evil. “This particular beast 

has quite an influence over people mentally,” showrunner 

Julie Plec says. “It’s hungry for death, and right 

now, Damon and Enzo are its faithful servants.” And yet 

there’s one thing this villain can’t kill, and that’s love. 

“There’s a strong romantic core to this season,” hints 

Plec, who promises “lots of big moves and big declarations” 

in the show’s final 16 episodes. —Samantha Highfill 


Black Mirror 

STREAMING 

Series Debut 

Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency 

9–10PM 

NETFLIX 

People call Black Mirror the 21st century’s 

Twilight Zone. That’s certainly high praise, 

but the show’s ultra-eerie third season lives 

up to that promise. The visually stunning 

premiere, about an extreme social-mediacontrolled 

future (see page 91), features a 

thrilling Bryce Dallas Howard performance 

for the ages (or at least for the Emmys). 

The “Playtest” episode, directed by Dan 

Trachtenberg (10 Cloverfield Lane), uses 

augmented-reality videogames—think 

Pokémon GO—to chillingly explore the 

malleability of our thoughts and memories. 

Inevitably, some critics will mock the series 

for being antitechnology, but they’re 

watching it wrong. At its core, Black Mirror 

is pro-humanity. A– 

SATURDAY OCTOBER 22 

BBC AMERICA 

Though it’s not lacking the manic energy 

of writer Douglas Adams (The Hitchhiker’s 

Guide to the Galaxy), Dirk is missing something 

essential. The titular sleuth (Samuel 

Barnett) and his unwilling friend/assistant 

Todd (Elijah Wood) encounter coincidental 

oddities and odd coincidences as they wander 

in and out of mysterious circumstances. 

But the series’ attempts at cleverness come 

of as a screechy homage to Adams rather 

than channeling his wit and the big, silly 

heart hidden inside. C —Kevin P. Sullivan 

ILLUSTRATIONS BY MARTÍN LAKSMAN 


What to Watch 

GET MORE EW ON TV! 

SUN OCT 23 MONDAY OCTOBER 24 

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Entertainment Weekly Network 

STREAMING PEN 

Looking for even more goodness out of 

your TV? Check out the People/Entertainment 

Weekly Network, a new platform that 

brings to life everything you love about the 

People and EW brands. To wit: There’s 

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director of People and EW conducts intimate 

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full episodes of these shows and more now 

at the People/Entertainment Weekly Network, 

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devices—just download the PEN app on 

iOS or Android, or go to people.com/pen. 


Keeping Up With 

the Kardashians 

9–10PM E! 

Or as it’s known to 

the thieves of Paris, 

“prep work.” 

Westworld 

9–10PM HBO 

Dr. Ford and Theresa 

debate the future of 

the park. Something 

tells me they aren’t 

thinking, “Let’s make 

Westworld more 

kid-friendly!” 

The Last Man 

on Earth 

9:30–10PM FOX 

Tonight’s episode 

is titled “Five Hoda 

Kotbs.” That can 

mean only one 

thing: The group 

has found an enormous 

secret stash 

of white wine. 

Series Debut 

Man With a Plan 

8:30–9PM 

CBS 

Matt LeBlanc returns to sitcoms as 

a contractor who becomes more involved 

with his kids when his wife heads back 

to work—and it’s no easy task. “When you 

see your kids up close, one-on-one for 

extended periods of time, you realize 

they’re not quite as angelic as you may 

have thought,” says Jackie Filgo, who, 

along with her husband, Jef, is a co-creator 

and showrunner on the series. The couple 

pulled from personal experience for 

inspiration. LeBlanc’s Adam is “like an oldschool, 

meat-and-potatoes dad,” she says. 

“And in modern times, there are a lot more 

nuances and diferences in how you raise 

children.” —C. Molly Smith 

TUEOCT 25 WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 26 

PLAY BALL 

The 2016 World 

Series: Game 1 

8–11PM FOX 

It’s like that new Fox 

show Pitch, but with 

way less women. 


Rectify 

10–11PM 

SUNDANCETV 

Daniel (Aden Young) is technically free, but that 

doesn’t mean life from here on out is going to be 

easy. The gentle Georgia native has to start over 

in Nashville, where he continues to grapple 

with whether he’s guilty or innocent of the crime 

for which he spent 19 years on death row. “As he 

goes on to live his life, the machine around him 

is still chugging forward, and, perhaps ironically, 

when he’s getting to the point where it doesn’t 

matter so much, things will come back to him,” 

says creator Ray McKinnon. In other words? 

There’s still plenty to rectify in this slow-burning 

drama’s final season. —Ariana Bacle 

Series Debut 

Jon Glaser Loves Gear 

10–11PM 

TRUTV 

Jon Glaser (Parks and Recreation) has made altcomedy 

gold for years. In his latest, he plays the 

host of an outdoorsy reality show about gadgets 

that goes hilariously of the rails—the fourth wall 

falls as his emotions get in the way of the show’s 

production. In the premiere, Glaser gets into a 

fight with his wife and later becomes so jealous of 

his more knowledgeable sidekick, he nearly kills 

him with a crossbow (gear!). In episode 2, he buys 

surveillance equipment (gear!) in an ill-advised 

attempt to win back his wife. It’s silly, but those 

who like it will probably love it. B+ 

MAN WITH A PLAN: SONJA FLEMMING/CBS; RECTIFY: JACKSON LEE DAVIS/SUNDANCE TV; JON GLASER LOVES GEAR: K.C. BAILEY 


CAN’T GET ENOUGH TV? Then you’ll love EW’s What to Watch podcast! 

Subscribe now on iTunes for a new episode every week. 

THURSDAY OCTOBER 27 FRIDAY OCTOBER 28 

PURE GENIUS: SONJA FLEMMING/CBS; TRACEY ULLMAN’S SHOW: RORY LINDSAY/HBO (3); GOOD GIRLS REVOLT: COLLEEN HAYES/AMAZON STUDIOS 

Series Debut 

Pure Genius 

10–11PM 

CBS 

How did Jason Katims, of Friday Night 

Lights and Parenthood fame, create such a 

formulaic medical drama? The series about 

James Bell (Augustus Prew), a young Silicon 

Valley billionaire, and his state-of-the-art 

facility for nearly impossible cases, wants to 

make you cry but can barely find its heart. 

Prew comes of as a smarmy caricature of a 

boy wonder–turned–tech titan, and Dermot 

Mulroney, as the newest doctor to the team, 

gives a tired, perfunctory performance. It’s 

too bad: There’s enough in Pure Genius to 

suggest a deeper story—Odette Annable’s 

Dr. Brockett certainly has more to say—and 

the futuristic gadgets look jaw-droppingly 

cool, but the pilot’s plots are as thin as Bell’s 

own transparent touchscreens. C+ —Shirley Li 

Series Debut 

Good Girls Revolt 

STREAMING 

AMAZON 

FRIDAY OCTOBER 28 (cont.) 

Series Debut 

The Great Indoors 

8:30–9PM CBS 

Joel McHale stars 

as a longtime Gen-X 

print-magazine 

writer forced to get 

along with the 

newer, millennialheavy 

digital staf. 

Who knew 

Joel McHale and 

I were so alike? 

Superstore 

8–8:30PM NBC 

In a special 

holiday-themed 

edition, Dina 

threatens to ruin 

Halloween when an 

item goes missing 

and she forces her 

co-workers to stay 

late until it’s found. 

That’s right, the 

episode features the 

spooooookiest 

thing of all: unreasonable 

bosses. 

I wanted to like this show, I really did. I’m a huge fan of the Lynn Povich 

book it’s based on, a page-turner about the landmark class-action 

suit filed by the women of Newsweek in 1970. Back then, women— 

despite their smarts and Ivy League degrees—were relegated to 

research positions at magazines. But Good Girls Revolt, about the 

lives of three researchers, never manages to capture that backstory. 

Its narrative lurches forward so sluggishly that some episodes feel 

endless. And the sets, meant to cultivate a Mad Men vibe, replete 

with clouds of cigarette smoke, just feel cheesy. Even the standout 

actors—Genevieve Angelson as one of the researchers and Grace 

Gummer as Nora Ephron—can’t save this show. C+ —Tina Jordan 

Series Debut 

Tracey Ullman’s Show 

11–11:30PM 

HBO 

Tracey Ullman acquired U.S. citizenship a decade ago, 

but this sharp new sketch show sees the iconic comedian 

back in her native England for some good-natured 

(and occasionally brutal) British lampooning. As is her 

style, Ullman mixes portrayals of everyday folk with 

famous names. Characters include Camilla Parker 

Bowles, Angela Merkel, and, in a brilliant conceit, Dame 

Judi Dench. “Judi is a natural treasure,” Ullman says slyly. 

“So we wondered, what if she was a kleptomaniac menace 

and vandal? Could she get away with it?” Ullman 

was so convincing as Dench that people thought she was 

the Oscar-winning actress. “Everyone kept asking if we 

were filming the next Bond,” she laughs. —Joe McGovern 

SAT OCT 29 SUN OCT 30 

Amish Witches 

8–10PM LIFETIME 

A reality TV crew 

heads to Holmes 

County, Ohio, 

to follow an 

Amish sect, but 

production is 

stopped after 

an Amish witch 

dies. Double, 

double, toil and... 

bonnets? 

Pete Davidson: 

SMD 

11PM–MIDNIGHT 

COMEDY CENTRAL 

The breakout SNL 

cast member gets 

his own stand-up 

special. You’ll just 

have to watch to 

find out what “SMD” 

stands for. 

KANSAS STYLE 

Masters of Sex 

10–11PM SHOWTIME 

This episode is 

titled “Topeka,” and 

you know what 

that means! The sex 

is about to get 

really boring. 


Music 

EDITED BY 

KEVIN O’DONNELL@ODtron 

S T O R I E S B E H I N D T H E S O N G S 

KINGS 

OF LEON’S 

CALEB 

FOLLOWILL 

Broken shoulders, true-crime 

documentaries, and beer-soaked jams: 

The frontman, 34, shares never-before-told 

tales that inspired his band’s biggest hits. 

BY MADISON VAIN 


NOTEWORTHY 

Green Day will launch a 2017 arena tour with Against Me! 

on March 1 in Phoenix.• Drake has scored 13 nominations 

for the 2016 American Music Awards—the most ever for an 

artist in a single year. The show airs Nov. 20 on ABC. 

Kings of Leon 

CALEB FOLLOWILL: JIMMY MARBLE; KINGS OF LEON: RICK DIAMOND/GETTY IMAGES 

“MOLLY’S CHAMBERS” 

Youth & Young Manhood 2003 

I was a big fan of Thin Lizzy’s 

“Whiskey in the Jar.” It’s not 

actually their song, it’s an old Irish 

song, but he says, [sings] “I went 

to Molly’s chambers…” We wrote 

around that, making it about this 

girl who had this secret power that 

would take you over. I remember 

playing it for my little brother 

[Jared, Kings of Leon’s bassist], 

who was 13, and being like, “Do 

you think kids at your school 

would think this was cool?” 

“THE BUCKET” 

Aha Shake Heartbreak 2005 

We got back from this tour in the 

U.K., where we were massive. 

Everyone had grown their hair like 

us. But coming home, no one knew 

who the hell we were. Our mom 

was at the airport with her sign, 

like, “Welcome home, boys!” Every 

day we would go to the store and 

get some Miller High Life, some 

beef jerky, and some chocolate 

snacks, and write. “The Bucket” 

was one of the first ones everyone 

liked. It was about me being famous 

for the time and about the girls I 

had finally experienced. [Laughs] 

“ON CALL” 

Because of the Times 2007 

When we were making Because of 

the Times, we had just bought land 

in Tennessee with this old farmhouse. 

We would set up our amps 

on the front porch, so there were 

these wide open spaces. From that, 

we started to play with reverb and 

more grandiose sounds. It’s the 

simplest song we’ve ever written; I 

[sing] the same thing over and over. 

“SEX ON FIRE” 

Only by the Night 2008 

I had shoulder surgery [in 2008] 

and my doctor said, “You can’t 

play a guitar for eight weeks.” He 

gave me a bunch of pills, and then I 

took my sling off that night. I could 

barely move my arm, so I could 

only play high up on the neck, and 

the first thing I did was that opening 

riff. I don’t remember exactly 

when I said [the lyric] “sex on fire,” 

but I know that I was joking. I 

remember the guys going, “That’s 

it!” I was like, “Oh, boy…” But I 

have more pride in that song now 

than ever. I play that first part and 

the place goes f---ing nuts! You 

don’t know how many of those 

moments you’re gonna get. 

“USE SOMEBODY” 

Only by the Night 2008 

[This song also] came out when 

I was healing from [my] shoulder 

injury...and was away from everything 

out at my farmhouse. In that 

moment, I became more honest 

with myself and allowed myself 

to be vulnerable in my writing. 

No longer trying to be a tough guy 

and admitting I need the people 

around me—mainly referring to 

Lily [Aldridge, Followill’s wife]— 

to get through it all. I wrote it in 

one sitting, very late. 

“PYRO” 

Come Around Sundown 2010 

I watch a lot of TV shows about 

people that have f---ed-up situations. 

This one was a pretty famous 

deal [known as Ruby Ridge] where 

the FBI came to this family’s house 

to raid it and the family locked 

themselves inside. When [the 

authorities] killed their dog, it 

turned into this huge gunfight. 

There was something about when 

the son had gotten killed that I was 

thinking, “What if he had lived?” I 

started writing from that mentality. 

“SUPERSOAKER” 

Mechanical Bull 2013 

I started working on [Mechanical 

Bull] quickly after I got home 

[from tour in 2011]. [After a 

disastrous Dallas gig, the band 

canceled the remaining dates 

and went on hiatus.] I went out to 

my farm and I didn’t know if it 

was going to be Kings of Leon or 

something else, but I got very 

inspired. I remember coming up 

with the guitar part and it feeling 

throwback, like something off of 

Aha Shake Heartbreak. So I 

started writing about those times, 

about one person in particular 

from another band and how they 

lost their inspiration. 

Youth & Young Manhood 

Aha Shake Heartbreak 

Because of the Times 

Only by the Night 

Come Around Sundown 

Mechanical Bull 

TITLE WALLS | LABEL RCA 

GENRE Rock 

REVIEW BY Kevin O’Donnell 

@ODtron 

SINCE THEIR 2003 

debut, Youth & Young 

Manhood, Kings of 

Leon have veered between two 

styles. There’s the Lynyrd 

Skynyrd-biting good ol’ boys 

who love hot rock & roll, cold 

beer, and fast girls. Then there 

are the Grammy-winning artists 

with stadium-size ambitions 

to be the South’s answer to 

Radiohead or U2. They split the 

difference on their seventh 

album, and the result is their 

richest, most textured effort yet. 

With Arcade Fire and Björk producer 

Markus Dravs behind the 

boards, frontman Caleb, drummer 

Nathan, guitarist Matthew, 

and bassist Jared Followill craft 

songs with a tossed-off breeziness 

that only Southern gents 

can muster. That casualness is 

in stark contrast to Caleb’s dark 

lyrics. At 34—and married to 

model Lily Aldridge—he dives 

into his anxieties of staring 

down middle age, which is a 

boon to his storytelling: Even 

the machoest of bros will tear 

up over the gorgeous title track, 

where Caleb curiously confesses, 

“A man ain’t a man unless he 

has desire.” The Kings’ youth 

and young manhood may be 

fading; their music sounds all 

the better for it.B+ 

Matthew, Nathan, Caleb, and Jared Followill

Music 

Sia’s 

Acting 

Encore 

The songwriting savant, 

40, is releasing a deluxe 

edition of 2016’s This Is 

Acting, featuring seven 

additional tracks, on Oct. 21. 

EW grades the new tunes— 

on a scale of one to five Sia 

wigs. BY NOLAN FEENEY 

“THE GREATEST” 

FEAT. KENDRICK LAMAR 

5/5 wigs 

“THE GREATEST” 

5/5 wigs 

“CHEAP THRILLS” 

FEAT. SEAN PAUL 

4.5/5 wigs 

“CONFETTI” 

4/5 wigs 

“MIDNIGHT DECISIONS” 

3.5/5 wigs 

“MOVE YOUR BODY” 

(ALAN WALKER REMIX) 

3/5 wigs 

“JESUS WEPT” 

3/5 wigs 

Platitudes about overcoming adversity? Dramatic metaphors 

about climbing mountains? Yup, it’s a Sia banger, all right— 

but on this breezy collaboration with the Compton MC, 

released as a single last month, she makes the clichés feel 

genuinely inspiring. 

The rapper usually elevates everything he touches with his 

jaw-dropping guest verses, but it speaks to Sia’s songwriting 

that this version of the song is no less impactful without 

Lamar’s bars. 

Nobody does a sad-girl party anthem like Sia, who takes 

a frivolous tale of a night out and adds a dose of melancholy 

that even Sean Paul can’t shake on this remix, released 

in February. 

Sia takes the high road as she ditches a philandering lover 

who doesn’t bother to hide the lipstick on his collar—and the 

resulting power ballad is as cathartic as any revenge fantasy. 

Sia’s anxiety is palpable on this piano-driven cut about 

reconnecting with an ex she knows she should avoid. It just 

might be the most depressing booty call in pop music. 

One of This Is Acting’s weaker tracks gets a thudding EDM 

makeover—way more effective at getting you to do what the 

title commands. 

With haunting strings and a run time of nearly six minutes, 

this Sia outlier sounds like a castaway from a film soundtrack. 

That’s Hollywood’s loss—her IMAX-size voice here deserves 

to fill theaters. 

It’s been more than 

four decades since 

The Divine Miss M’s 

release. What’s your 

most vivid memory of 

making the album? 

It was a bit stressful! 

I had come in with 

Barry Manilow and my 

band. And I had asked 

for Joel Dorn to be 

the producer. But 

Barry and Joel didn’t 

get along. Ahmet 

[Ertegun, the head of 

Midler’s label, Atlantic] 

decided it wasn’t what 

they were looking 

forward to—it didn’t 

capture the craziness 

and energy of our live 

shows. So we invited 

a lot of people [to the 

studio] and we had 

Chinese food and 

then we did our show. 

A bunch of the album 

is live, and the rest is 

cut in the studio. 

Many of these songs 

were part of your set at 

a gay bathhouse in 

New York City, where 

you were discovered. 

What do you remember 

about those days 

performing at the 

Continental Baths? 

It wasn’t bizarre. 

I could understand 

how other people 

would think it was 

odd. But I was in 

community theater 

growing up and 

I understood that 

world. The thing that 

was strangest was 

the dressing room. 

It was in the middle of 

the floor, in this circular 

room, a barbershop. 

You’d go up 

some stairs, do your 

makeup, then come 

down, go through the 

crowd and up onto 

this little stage, which 

was maybe the size 

of a rug. 

Why do you think the 

album connected with 

a gay audience on 

such a deep level? 

I think the word of 

mouth was serious— 

people talked about 

it. And we really 

packed them in at the 

bathhouse. We also 

played nightclubs 

around the country 

and were on the road 

for close to two years. 

We built up a following. 

Like Bruce 

Springsteen has often 

said, if you want to 

become successful, 

get a band and start 

playing in the bars. 

That’s the truth. 

After Divine was 

released, you won a 

Grammy for Best New 

Artist in 1974. Were 

you shocked? 

I wasn’t shocked— 

I was thrilled! I was 

also kind of mortified. 

Because I had 

tweaked Karen 

Carpenter at the time. 

[Carpenter presented 

the award to Midler, 

who had made light 

of the singer’s eating 

disorder in concert.] 

She was so gracious 

and beautiful. I didn’t 

deserve her kindness. 

BE 

SIA: TONYA BREWER 


The pop icon, 70, is reissuing 

her 1972 debut, The Divine Miss 

M, on Oct. 21. Here, she looks 

back on the record that launched 

her career, opens up about 

her Twitter habits, and shares 

why she’s obsessed with Adele. 

BY KEVIN O’DONNELL 

MIDLER: TOM HILL/WIREIMAGE.COM 

What singers do you 

admire these days? 

I’m a mentor onThe 

Voice this season, and 

these kids are so 

talented, just extraordinary 

voices. And 

I cannot talk enough 

about Adele. She has 

a magical voice and 

great chops, great 

sensitivity, wonderful 

songwriting skills. 

And she’s hilarious. 

The men are another 

story: I listen to oldschool 

country like 

George Jones. I didn’t 

knowwhattodo 

when he passed 

away! Life does come 

to an end, my dear. 

Any current male 

musicians you like? 

I heard Shawn Menendez 

the other day. 

Menendez? No, those 

are the killers. 

Mendes! [Laughs] 

I mostly listen to 

the women—I love 

Beyoncé and Lady 

Gaga. I can sing along 

with them. With the 

men, it’s harder to 

sing in their ranges. 

You’ll be performing 

in Broadway’s revival 

of Hello, Dolly! next 

year. How are rehearsals 

going? 

I have a little 

trepidation because 

it’s a steep learning 

curve, but I’m excited! 

TTE MIDLER 

As someone who 

is vocal about your 

disgust for Donald 

Trump on Twitter, 

what’s your mood 

going into the election? 

I’m hopeful common 

sense will prevail. The 

last time people voted 

for the man they 

wanted to have a beer 

with, we wound up in 

a lot of trouble. [With 

Hillary Clinton], even 

if it is four more years 

of the same, at least 

we know it’s a steady 

ship and there’s not 

going to be too many 

surprises. [But] it’s 

been so terrible—the 

anguish over this race. 

Are you obsessed with 

Twitter? 

It’s fun. It’s easier to 

write short than long 

because you can find 

yourself falling asleep. 

I look at it as entertainment, 

but I don’t 

need that much 

entertainment in my 

life. Then you feel like 

you’re missing out 

on your life. I don’t 

have that much time 

left, so I’m going to 

spend it looking 

around and observing 

and thinking and 

memorizing poetry. 

Bette Midler in 1973 

You’re throwing your 

annual Hulaween bash 

at New York’s Waldorf- 

Astoria this month. 

What’s in store? 

We have Kathy Grifin, 

she’ll be the hostess. 

And Darlene Love—I’ll 

probably sing with 

her. We’re honoring 

Bobby Kennedy and 

Dan Lufkin, who 

helped create Earth 

Day. It’s the last time 

we’re doing it at the 

Waldorf. The booze is 

going to be top-shelf! 

Leonard Cohen 

TITLEYou Want It Darker 

LABEL Columbia | GENRE Rock 

REVIEW BY Leah Greenblatt 

@Leahbats 

YOU WANT IT DARKER? 

There might be none 

more black than 

Cohen, the elder statesman of 

elegant doom. On his 14th 

studio album, the songwriting 

maestro—still vital at 82—is a 

lion in winter, his lyrics heavy 

with God and sex and death 

and his legendary voice scraped 

down to a subterranean rumble. 

Nearly every one of the nine 

songs here catalogs some kind 

of loss, whether it’s romantic 

love (the hushed strings-andpiano 

plea “Treaty” and gospelbrushed 

“On the Level”), 

youth (the gypsy-ish “Traveling 

Light” and almost jaunty 

“Steer Your Way”), or even 

just the idea of losing (“If I 

Didn’t Have Your Love”). The 

production, by his son Adam, is 

lush but lean: Crisp guitar lines, 

the steady whispery whisk of 

percussion, and the occasional 

orchestral flourish surround 

vocals that sound like they’ve 

spent the past six decades in 

a rock tumbler lined with gravel 

and mescal. “I don’t need 

a pardon/There’s no one left 

to blame,” he intones heavily, 

halfway through. “I’m leaving 

the table/I’m out of the game.” 

But we still have him; hopefully 

he’ll stay a while longer.A–

Books 

BETWEEN THE LINES 

Sarah Jessica Parker scored her own fiction imprint at 

Hogarth.• Stephen King told fans to “cool the clown 

hysteria” after a spate of creepy sightings—some real, 

some bogus—sparked panic. 

EDITED BY 

TINA JORDAN@EWTinaJordan 

The Wangs vs. the World 

BY 

Jade Chang 

PAGES 

354 

GENRE 

Novel 

REVIEW BY 

Leah Greenblatt@Leahbats 

IF IT 

ALL FEELS 

A LITTLE 

OVERSTUFFED, 

HER BREEZY 

TANGENTS 

AND KEEN 

CHARACTER 

SKETCHES ARE 

ALSO HALF 

THE FUN.” 

CHARLES WANG—PROUD PATRIARCH, SELF-MADE 

millionaire, reigning cosmetics king of Bel-Air—has 

spent nearly his entire adult life swaddled in the cozy 

cashmere-plush embrace of the American dream. Until 

he is rudely awakened one day to the grim reality of a 

very American failure, brought on by the 2007 financial 

crisis and his own disastrous business decisions. Now it’s all 

gone: the manicured villa and booming factories, the speedboats 

and flat-screens and SUVs, repossessed by “some 

small-hearted official with a clipboard and a grudge.” But at 

least he has his beloved children: oldest daughter Saina, a 

disgraced New York art star now living in bucolic Catskills 

exile; college sophomore Andrew, an aspiring comedian and 

semiprofessional virgin; and Grace, the death-obsessed 

stylista and adored baby of the family. There’s also one car 

that has somehow eluded the long arm of 

the taxman, a powder blue 1980 Mercedes 

station wagon just big enough to fit them all. 

And so Charles grabs his suitcase and his 

quietly seething second wife, fetches Grace 

from her Santa Barbara boarding school and 

Andrew from his dorm room in Arizona, and 

sets off toward Saina’s New York farmhouse 

to seek out some still-hazy destiny, “a 

troupe of Chinese Okies fleeing a New Age 

Dust Bowl.” 

As the Wangs wend their way from the 

monied canyons of California through roadside 

Texas motels and crumbling Louisiana 

mansions, Chang packs her pages nearly as 

tightly as the Mercedes, piling on wry observations 

of everything from Asian immigrant 

culture and faded Southern gentry to 

fashion-blog etiquette and the boho bourgeoisie’s 

obsession with authenticity. If it all 

feels a little overstuffed, her breezy tangents 

and keen character sketches are also half the 

fun, and each Wang comes alive in their own 

memorable, messily human ways. Should 

Charles return to China to claim his longabandoned 

birthright? Can Saina find a 

second act? Will Andrew ever make it past 

third base? Maybe wisely, Chang chooses 

not to answer every question, but her brash, 

bighearted debut smartly recasts what the 

definition of a quintessentially American 

story can be in 2016. B+ 

MEMORABLE LINES “If only he could claw it all back. Rewind to that moment before some fireball of greed and ambition and catastrophic self-confidence made him stray.…” 

CHANG: EMMA MCINTYRE 


KEY =E-BOOK =CD =AUDIBLE

Darling Days 

BY iO Tillett Wright | PAGES 380 

GENRE Memoir | REVIEW BY Isabella Biedenharn @isabella324 

1> 

3 Q U E S T I O N S F O R 

ARMANDO 

LUCASCORREA 

Cuba may welcome visitors 

now, but in 1939 the country 

turned away scores of Jewish 

refugees who had arrived on a 

German ocean liner. People en 

Español (EW’s sister publication) 

editor in chief Armando 

Lucas Correa delves into 

that story for his new novel. 

BY ISABELLA BIEDENHARN 

Where did you get the idea for 

TheGermanGirl? 

I heard about the MS St. Louis 

from my grandmother when I 

was 10. I’m Cuban, and my grandmother 

was in Havana when the 

boat arrived. The xenophobia hit 

her very hard. She always said 

that Cuba would pay for the next 

100 years for what it had done. 

WHEN GENDER 

revolutionary and 

artist iO Tillett 

Wright told his first girlfriend, 

Nikita, stories about growing 

up in gritty late-’80s New York 

City, he was surprised to see 

tears streaming down her face. 

“I’m so sorry you had to live 

through that,” she said. “What 

do you mean?” he asked. Her 

reaction, and that of readers, 

will probably be the same: How 

could someone live through so 

much and turn out okay? 

Raised on Manhattan’s 

Lower East Side in a dilapidated, 

roach-infested building 

crowded with junkies and artists, 

iO’s childhood was a blend 

of gut-wrenching poverty and 

cultural abundance. Occasionally, 

friends let him crawl 

through their windows to finish 

off their leftover dinner 

because he was so hungry, 

especially when his erratic 

mother was in one of her fits of 

rage or long, bleak stretches of 

depression. But at other times, 

she would sneak him into the 

second half of Broadway shows 

to ensure his artistic growth— 

and when iO, assigned female 

at birth, decided as a small 

child that he preferred living as 

a boy, she accepted his wishes 

without question. 

iO has a poet’s gift for metaphor 

and breathtaking turns of 

phrase but retains the raw honesty 

and attitude of a city kid. 

Perhaps his greatest gift as a 

writer is his ability to describe 

his lifelong struggles with gender 

identity and sexuality. 

Darling Days isn’t comprehensive. 

It’s rare for a New 

York City memoir to skip over 

9/11, as this one does, and it 

ends rather abruptly in 2008. 

But here’s hoping iO is saving 

the rest for the next book. 

A– 

2> 

Cuba did let a few of the 

passengers into the country. 

What happened to them? 

When I was in middle school, my 

grandmother sent me to English 

classes with an old German guy. 

During those years, when it was 

hard to [even] get food in Cuba, 

she paid a fortune to him. 

Later, I realized he must have 

been one of those refugees. 

CORREA: HECTOR TORRES 

3> 

What kind of research did you do 

for the novel? 

I got obsessed. I bought everything 

related to the St. Louis: 

books, documents, the ship’s 

menu, even the captain’s diary. 

I am very exact with details 

about the clothes, the food, and 

the travesty of the St. Louis—but 

it’s my version of the story. 

IO HAS A 

POET’S GIFT 

FOR 

METAPHOR 

BUT RETAINS 

THE RAW 

HONESTY AND 

ATTITUDE OF 

A CITY KID.” 


GHOULTALK 

Though best known for the haunting Halloween-infused hottie she created 35 years ago—the campy and vampy 

horror-show hostess Elvira—Cassandra Peterson’s full-career arc has been jaw-droppingly exotic. Here, she talks 

about kissing Elvis, rejecting Brad Pitt, and considering the end of the Mistress of the Dark. BY CLARK COLLIS 

 

( Clockwise from 

far left ) Cassandra 

Peterson in character 

as Elvira and 

out; in costume as 

a child; Elvira gets 

patriotic for July 4 

and ready for 

Halloween; 1983 

sketches by Robert 

Redding 

You’ve just published a photo 

retrospective, Elvira: Mistress of 

the Dark. How did you decide which 

images to include? 

I hate picking photos of myself! 

Everybody does. Every time I see 

one, I’m like, “Ew! Ew! Ew!” I just 

picked the lesser of all the evils. 

Elvira started life hosting spooky 

movies on L.A.’s KHJ-TV. How did 

you land that gig? 

I was in a very popular comedy 

group called the Groundlings 

with Paul Reubens, who plays 

Pee-wee Herman, and the late 

Phil Hartman, from Saturday 

Night Live, when I heard about 

a local television station looking 

for a horror hostess. I ended 

up getting the part, and then it 

was up to me to come up with 

the character. I thought the show 

would maybe last a week or two. 

So, I was wrong! 

Have you always loved horror? 

About halfway through the making 

of this book, my mom sent 

this picture of me, when I was 5 

years old, in my first Halloween 

costume. I said to her, “What the 

heck was I dressed as?” She said, 

“Well, you wanted to go as the 

Queen of Halloween.” I’m 5 years 

old in Kansas on a farm! What’s 

up with that? I had this very deep 

love of horror as a child. My 

cousin took me to see House on 

Haunted Hill, starring Vincent 

Price, when I was in second 

grade. And I fell in love with that 

movie. I had nightmares for 

about a month afterwards, but 

I was fixated on it. Next thing, 

I was reading Famous Monsters 

of Filmland magazine; then I was 

begging for the little statues of 

Dracula and the Werewolf and 

the Mummy that you could paint. 

I kind of took a long way round— 

and went to Vegas, and all these 

other places—before getting 

back to my roots. 

People might be surprised to 

know that you worked as a Vegas 

showgirl. And you dated Elvis! 

“Dated” is an exaggeration. But 

I went out with Elvis. I’ve been told 

I was the youngest showgirl in Las 

Vegas history, and I imagine that’s 

probably true. My parents had 

to sign a document with a lawyer 

saying it was okay. I was not 

allowed to go into the casino, 

drink, gamble. But I was allowed 

to dance on stage in my skivvies! 

Isn’t that bizarre? Elvis came to 

see my show. He invited me to 

a party at his suite. He really took 

to me—I think because I was 17, 

and Elvis liked them young. So we 

did hang out one whole evening 

and, um, mostly talked, believe 

it or not. There was some kissing 

going on. But Elvis was watched 

very closely by people who probably 

prevented anything from 

really happening, since they were 

aware that I was [so young]. But 

he couldn’t have been more 

wonderful, and I credit him with 

changing my life. Elvis convinced 

me that if I really wanted to make 

it in show business I needed to 

get the hell out of Vegas. 

Did you take his advice? 

Yes. I took of with another one of 

the showgirls to Italy and began 

touring around singing with a Brazilian 

guitar player. Then I started 

doing a little acting and eventually 

got into an Italian rock group 

and spent the next year and a half 

touring with them. 

You know this all sounds completely 

crazy, right? 

[Laughs] I know, it’s pretty ridiculous. 

The stuf that happened 

over there was insane. Like, walking 

down the street and running 

into Federico Fellini, who asked if 

PETERSON: ALAN MERCER; ELVIRA PORTRAIT: MATT IRWIN; SKETCHES: ROBERT REDDING 


Books 

DAVID GOLDNER (2) 

I would like to be in the movie 

that he was shooting, Roma. 

He thought I looked like his wife, 

Giulietta Masina, when she was 

young. He said, “Would you like 

a part in this?” I said, “Would I!” 

That meeting actually led to my 

job with the band. 

Speaking of music, there is a rumor 

you are the scantily clad mystery 

woman photographed with Tom 

Waits on the cover of his 1976 

album, Small Change. You’ve previously 

said that might be the case. 

Have you gotten to the bottom, 

as it were, of this? 

[In lascivious Elvira voice] You 

mean the top? [Laughs] No, 

I haven’t, and I’ve really 

researched it. I’ve found all kinds 

of other photos from that same 

session and still can’t figure out 

if it’s really me! I will say it looks 

like me. I just can’t remember 

ever having my hair like that, and 

I always felt my boobs were 

better than that—but maybe 

they’re not. I do tell people that 

I don’t remember anything 

that happened in the ’70s. I went 

directly from the ’60s to the ’80s. 

Is it true that Brad Pitt auditioned 

for a part in your 1988 movie Elvira, 

Mistress of the Dark? 

[Laughs] Yes, he did. He auditioned 

for one of the teenage 

boys. I know exactly why he 

didn’t get the part. On the paper 

where I made my notes for Brad, 

all I wrote was “yum-yum.” I said 

to everybody, “If this guy was 

one of the teenagers, my boyfriend 

in the movie would not 

stand a chance. There’s no way 

Elvira’s going to be in a room 

with this kid and not jump on 

him.” [Laughs] I later ran into 

Brad—well, Brad bought my 

house—and I told him, “You owe 

me a really big debt because 

I didn’t hire you for my movie. 

If I had, you would be nowhere 

right now. So you owe me a 

big one!” 

What are Elvira’s fans like? 

Very diverse. I have a huge gay 

[following] who really love the 

character. I think they see me as 

a drag queen. But the horror 

community has been amazing 

too, and these conventions for 

horror, fantasy, and sci-fi have 

been popping up everywhere. 

Are convention appearances your 

biggest moneymakers? 

My biggest earner has always 

been licensing and merchandising, 

whether it’s slot machines, 

videogames, music, books, or 

Halloween costumes—endless 

items. I have a new Pop! Funko 

figurine coming out, which 

I’m really happy about, because 

those are so hot right now. 

Do you think about retiring? 

I thought I would stop when I was 

40. Then I said 50. Then I said 60. 

And now—my God, you know, 

I’m 65 years old this week! I was 

going to ask you how much 

longer I should keep doing it. 

Well, judging by the photos in the 

book, you barely seem to have aged 

at all. 

Thank you. I’ll be really sad if I’m 

not doing Elvira. But I want to 

get out at the top of my game, 

not become some old hag, you 

know? I think my fans would still 

love me no matter how old I am. 

But I’m afraid of turning into 

somebody like—oh, I’d better not 

say a name. [Laughs] Somebody 

who’s just like, “Oh my God, is 

that poor thing still running 

around in that outfit?” I just don’t 

want to cross that line from being 

kind of hot to being “Ew! Isn’t 

that pathetic?” 


Books 

I N S I D E T H E W O R L D O F S T R E E T R A C I N G 

Fast Cars & Bad Boys 

Kami Garcia merged her law-and-order upbringing 

with daredevil driving to give her new novel, The Lovely 

Reckless, its pounding pulse. BY ANTHONY BREZNICAN 

QUICKTAKES 

GROWING UP WITH A STEPFATHER WHO 

was an undercover police officer in Washington, 

D.C., Kami Garcia learned things other 

kids didn’t—like how to disarm attackers, 

wriggle out of handcuffs, and escape from the 

trunk of a car. Garcia puts those survival skills 

to good use in her new novel, The Lovely Reckless, 

about a teenager grappling with amnesia 

and PTSD after witnessing her boyfriend’s 

murder. While recovering under the stern 

care of her undercover-cop dad, she’s drawn 

to the adrenaline rush of outlaw street racing, 

which begins to jar those lost memories. 

Although the story was inspired by the 

Beautiful Creatures coauthor’s own youth, 

Garcia didn’t want to write a slice-of-life 

novel about an upbringing similar to hers. 

“It had to have action,” she says. “I was thinking, 

What would be problematic? And dating 

an illegal street racer when your dad is an 

undercover cop—that’s frowned upon.” 

To research the book, which is billed as 

Fast & Furious crossed with Romeo and Juliet, 

Garcia delved into the street-racing world, 

soaking in the sounds, smells, and attitudes. 

“There’s a difference between watching 

street racing and doing it,” she says. “I 

learned about makes and models, about 

modifying cars, about the sound of your 

engine when you get it to the bite point, that 

moment your clutch is engaged and you can 

shift out without stalling.” Though the passion 

she found for the subculture is clear, 

she’s quick to add, “Of course, if my stepfather 

is listening…I know 

nothing about street racing, 

or dating street racers, 

or any bad boys at all.” 

Hungry Heart 

JENNIFER WEINER 

Memoir 

This isn’t a flossy, 

sherbet-hued real-life 

version of one of 

Weiner’s best-selling 

novels. It’s an unflinching 

look at her own 

experiences that 

will that make you realize 

why she writes so 

persuasively about her 

characters’ complicated 

issues: She’s 

faced them herself. 

With the chatty, disarming 

frankness of a 

best friend, she tackles 

tough subjects like her 

decision to have gastric 

bypass surgery, 

her father’s death from 

a heroin overdose, 

and the miscarriage of 

a much-wanted baby. 

Lest you think 

this sounds a bit grim, 

know that Weiner 

mines her life 

for comic gold, too— 

and throws in some 

parenting advice and 

body-image pep talks 

for good measure. 

A– —Tina Jordan 

A Life in Parts 

BRYAN CRANSTON 

Memoir 

Hal, Walter White, LBJ. 

That’s how most of us 

know Bryan Cranston: 

through his iconic 

roles. In this captivating 

and unconventional 

autobiography, 

Cranston eschews 

standard chapters and 

instead breaks up 

his life into the other 

parts he has played— 

estranged son, father, 

minister (he married 

many couples in his 

youth), vagabond 

biker. Humorous, 

self-aware, and selfdeprecating 

throughout, 

the book gives a 

fascinating peek at 

how Cranston’s mind 

works, even at its darkest. 

While acknowledging 

his talent, the 

60-year-old also 

stresses the importance 

of hard work, 

making this a worthwhile 

read for nascent 

actors, too.B+ 


The Secret History 

of Twin Peaks 

MARK FROST 

Novel 

More than 25 years 

after Laura Palmer 

was found wrapped in 

plastic, Twin Peaks 

co-creator Mark Frost 

returns to the Pacific 

Northwest with a new 

novel structured as a 

secret dossier. Assembled 

by a mysterious 

“archivist” and annotated 

by an FBI agent 

known only as TP, this 

enigmatic collection 

includes undiscovered 

Lewis and Clark diary 

entries, UFO sightings, 

and personal journals 

of Twin Peaks residents. 

Plus, Frost 

(finally!) tackles unanswered 

questions from 

the show’s finale. Sifting 

through all the 

documents can get a 

bit tedious, but for 

Peaks fans, it’s a treasure 

trove of town 

secrets—and the perfect 

appetizer before 

the show returns to TV 

in 2017.B+ —Devan 

Coggan 

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BETTER TASTE 

NEXT TIME. 

MORE PEOPLE PREFER 

THE TASTE OF GEVALIA. 

Don’t be bitter, Starbucks. With over 150 years of experience making rich, never bitter 

cofee, it’s no wonder more people prefer the taste of Gevalia House Blend to your 

house blend. But don’t feel bad. We might have better taste in cofee. 

But you have better taste in artisanal cheese plates. 

ENJOY THE TASTE OF RICH, 

NEVER BITTER GEVALIA. 

Your friend in cofee, 

Johan 

Based on a January 2016 national taste test of cofee drinkers conducted by an 

independent third party comparing Gevalia House Blend and Starbucks House Blend.

The Bullseye 

BY MARC SNETIKER @MarcSnetiker 

Well, this is hawkward. 

You know what they say about guys 

with cosmic radiation elasticity... 

You call Dazzler’s power 

(converting music 

into light beams) useless. 

We call it Saturday! 

Every time this Phoenix rises 

from the ashes, so does 

a new statement necklace. 

Who wore it better? 

Don’t blame selfies— 

duck face was 

always a problem. 

Tina Turner was 

wrong. Turns out 

wedo need 

another hero. 

There are some things 

money can’t buy. For 

literally everything else, 

there’s Iron Man. 

Joke’s on anybody 

who tries to 

play this role again. 

If you don’t think 

this girl’s a 

superhero, you’re 

just plain Ron. 

The only nuclear family 

that can prevent things 

from going nuclear 

Easily one 

of our top 

five Mjölnirs 

Most likely to make you 

feel bad about your 

1983 exercise routine 

She turned a glass 

ceiling invisible. 

Sad: In six states, it’s still illegal 

for Wonder Twins to activate! 

Most likely to make you 

feel bad about your 

2016 exercise routine 

Real beauty is on the 

inside. Probably. 

SUPER FRIENDS, HOWARD THE DUCK: EVERETT COLLECTION (2); THE AVENGERS: ZADE ROSENTHAL (2); EMMA WATSON: JAAP BUITENDIJK; HE-MAN: GROUP W PRODUCTIONS/PHOTOFEST; THE FLASH: DEAN BUSCHER/THE CW; THE HULK: 

© 2011 MVLFFLLC. TM & © 2011 MARVEL; THE THING: KERRY HAYES; WONDER WOMAN: DC ENTERTAINMENT (2); GREEN HORNET: JAIMIE TRUEBLOOD; ELEKTRA: DOANE GREGORY TM/TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX; GHOST RIDER: JASIN BOLAND; 

GAMBIT: MARVEL COMICS; THE INCREDIBLES: PIXAR/DISNEY; SUPERMAN: DC COMICS/FOTO FANTASIES; DOCTOR WHO: ADRIAN ROGERS/BBC; HEATH LEDGER: WARNER BROS.; FAMKE JANSSEN: KERRY HAYES; DAZZLER: MARVEL; KEN BONE: 

JIM BOURG-POOL/GETTY IMAGES; MR. FANTASTIC: 20TH CENTURY FOX/PHOTOFEST; SPIDER-MAN: JACOB COHL 


Honestly, Gambit, isn’t there an 

app for you at this point? 

Never forget. Actually, on second thought, forget. 

MORE ON EW RADIO Tune in to Superhero Insider, our show about 

The CW’s comic-book world (Thursdays, 2 p.m., SiriusXM 105)

Entertainment Weekly - October 21, 2016

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