Mean book reviews are a fact of life nowadays. And if you spend any time in a workshop, you’re going to hear some pretty harsh feedback. But Cecilia Tan, the erotic speculative fiction mastermind behind the Magic University books, has some brilliant advice on her blog.

http://www.amazon.com/Magic-Universi...

Not only does Tan offer some great ideas about how to deal with harsh criticism of your writing, but she talks about reading stories in her slushpile—and finding that the story that she had the most doubts about was usually the one that her readers ended up loving the most. She adds:

Same thing in my MFA writing workshops in grad school. The stories or chapters or poems that the class argued the most about–meaning some of the students hated it and some loved it–were often the ones I was sure were actually the best stories. I found myself sometimes taking a fellow student aside and telling them, essentially, don’t let the haters get you down. Sometimes you walk out of a workshop feeling like the life’s been beaten out of you because the reaction was so negative from other students. “Don’t feel bad,” I’d say. “Getting a rise out of them is the proof that you’re actually onto something, you’re writing is actually working. When the story doesn’t work, nobody really cares.” The writers by and large who were able to take that negative feedback as a positive sign were the ones who went on to publish and have careers as pros. The ones who were too discouraged to keep going…didn’t.

The whole thing is brilliant and very much worth reading, if you’re a writer who gets to hear or read other people’s opinions on your stuff. [Cecilia Tan]

Charlie Jane Anders is the author of All The Birds in the Sky, coming Jan 26 from Tor Books. Follow her on Twitter, and email her.

The Cassini spacecraft made its final close flyby of Saturn’s icy moon Enceladus in December, releasing its final up-close look at these weird little spots last week. Discovered over a decade ago, we’re still trying to work out exactly how these spots formed.

Now the spacecraft is making its farewell tour of Saturn’s moons in preparation for a final big dive in between the rings before crashing into the gas giant.

The small dots were first spotted during a flyby in 2005 in the “smooth plain” region of the little moon, facing Saturn and just north of the equator. The tiny black pits posed a new mystery.

A section of Enceladus in the “smooth plains” region slightly north of the equator on the Saturn-facing side as seen on February 17, 2005 at 410 feet (125 meters) per pixel. North is at an angle to the lower left. Image credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

The spots aren’t really that little. They range anywhere from 400 to 2,500 feet (125-750 meters) in diameter. Their distribution doesn’t appear random; instead, rough chains run parallel to narrow fractures. The extreme contrast is especially puzzling, suggesting they might even be compositionally different than the rest of the landscape.

Finally, last week we went back to look again. This time instead of just focusing on optical wavelengths, Cassini imaged the area at higher resolution and included ultraviolet and infrared wavelengths.

A closer look at the “smooth plains” taken on December 19, 2015 at 220 feet (67 meters) per pixel. North is up. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

These new images reveal details the science team couldn’t see before. They’re actually bumps piercing the surface, possibly protruding outcrops of “bedrock” ice or ice blocks. They’re also smaller than initial estimates—dozens to hundreds of feet (tens to hundreds of meters) in size.

Scientists don’t yet know how the icy blocks came to be exposed. The moon doesn’t have a thick atmosphere, so it lacks the wind that scours clear surfaces here on Earth. Instead, the blocks might have been cleared by sublimating ice evaporating directly from solid to gas or by tumbling themselves clean while inching downslope.

To visualize wavelengths beyond what we can perceive with our limited human eyes, the image colors are remapped so that ultraviolet (338 nanometers) is blue, green optical light (568 nanometers) is green, and near infrared is red (930 nanometers). Other times we’ve used this color mapping, all the green bits were coarse grained or solid ice. The same is true here: coarser ice lining the steep walls of cracks and troughs.

It’s a beautiful final view of the moon—and delightfully detailed— that provides new observations for researchers to puzzle over in the future. But it hurts, somehow, knowing that something is weird on Enceladus and we won’t have the tools to keep looking.

Contact the author at mika.mckinnon@io9.com or follow her at @MikaMcKinnon.

It’s actually impossible to sum up the huge contribution to genre publishing of David G. Hartwell, who died today according to Locus. He discovered countless great authors and industry professionals, and he edited Frank Herbert’s Children of Dune and Gene Wolfe’s Book of the New Sun. Hartwell is simply irreplaceable.

Many people recognized Hartwell as a senior editor at Tor, as the editor or co-editor of countless anthologies including a long-running Year’s Best series, or as the wearer of an endless succession of riotous ties at conventions. But his contributions to the genre go much deeper than that.

In the 1970s and 1980s, Hartwell worked as an editor at Signet, at Berkley/Putnam, and at Pocket Books/Simon & Schuster. In that last job, he was responsible for the influential Timescape Books imprint, and also for starting the Pocket Books Star Trek novel series. The Cambridge Companion to Science Fiction notes that in addition to Book of the New Sun, Hartwell put out genre-busting books by Gregory Benford, Michael Bishop and Philip K. Dick, and it was “among the most intelligently edited series of modern sf titles.” Hartwell also published Mirrorshades, Bruce Sterling’s defining anthology of Cyberpunk stories.

From 1984 until now, Hartwell worked at Tor Books, where he has published more great novels than I can count. And yes, he also put out a ton of anthologies, many of which deserve a permanent place on any book-lover’s shelf. His anthologies about the resurgence of hard science fiction and space opera, which he co-edited with his then-wife Kathryn Cramer, not only identified important trends, but crystalized and shaped them as well.

Hartwell also published a literary magazine, The Little Magazine, from 1965-1988, and he helped to found the New York Review of Science Fiction. He helped to publish some of the most challenging, literary books, including authors like Molly Gloss, who once praised his “literary taste in science fiction.” But Hartwell always insisted that he didn’t want science fiction to be more like literary fiction—he just wanted it to be “better written,” which is “a different thing.”

As his friend, the author Michael Swanwick, wrote a few years ago:

Almost all editors begin as writers, whether successfully or not — and almost all writers begin by reading a bad work of fiction and thinking, “I could write better than this!” David Hartwell’s moment on the road to Damascus came when he read a bad science fiction novel and thought, “I could show the writer how to fix this!”

Hartwell also chaired the board of directors of the World Fantasy Convention and co-administered the Philip K. Dick Award (with Gordon Van Gelder.) And as a scholar of the history of science fiction and fantasy, Hartwell had few equals. He was one of those people who was always illuminating to listen to, whether in the dealer’s room of a convention or on a panel.

He was also a book reviewer for Crawdaddy, the music magazine that Paul Williams, the ground-breaking rock critic and Philip K. Dick scholar, published in the 1960s.

You could fill one hell of a bookcase with books that David G. Hartwell put together, or made better through his ministrations. And he was, as he told Locus, always an optimist about science fiction in spite of all the doomsaying.

Here’s Hartwell, from the introduction to The Science Fiction Century, one of his many anthologies:

Science fiction is a literature for people who value knowledge and who desire to understand how things work in the world and in the universe. In science fiction, knowledge is power and power is technology and technology is good and useful in improving the human condition. It is, by extension, a literature of empowerment. The lesson of the genre megatext, that body of literature that in aggregate embodies the standard plots, tropes, images, specialized diction and cliches, is that one can solve problems through the application of knowledge of science and technology. By further extension, the SF megatext is an allegory of faith in science.

David G. Hartwell restored our faith in the power of science fiction. He’ll be missed.

Top image: The Science Fiction Century. Bottom image: Cory Doctorow, via BoingBoing

Contact the author at charliejane@io9.com.

Some days, man, the life of two hard-boiled private eyes—one of whom happens to be a robot—requires a drive out into the desert to rest.

This is “Befriend a Robot” by Isaac Still. See more of his work on Instagram.

Contact the author at katharine@io9.com.

Toyland Bathing in 500 Pounds of Liquid Glass Putty Is a Terrible Idea | Gawker Oregon Wildlife Refuge Occupiers Rifle Through Native American Artifacts | Jalopnik Can You Still Get A Car With A Non-Black B-Pillar? | Lifehacker How to Overcome Your Inner Dialogue of Doubt and Get Stuff Done |

For decades, Schrödinger’s famous thought experiment involving a cat has been the turn-to illustration of quantum mechanics. But now there’s a new quantum puzzle, which asks: Can three pigeons be placed into two pigeonholes with no two pigeons being in the same hole?

Prepare for your brain to hurt a little as you read what the researchers describe in the abstract of their newly published paper:

“If you put three pigeons in two pigeonholes, at least two of the pigeons end up in the same hole,” is an obvious yet fundamental principle of nature as it captures the very essence of counting. Here however we show that in quantum mechanics this is not true! We find instances when three quantum particles are put in two boxes, yet no two particles are in the same box.

The research, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, shows—through a series of complex quantum calculations that seem fairly impenetrable—that it’s possible to put an arbitrarily large number of particles into two boxes without any two particles ever ending up in the same one box.

Right. Yes, that is pretty bewildering—but then, it seems to be for the researchers too. Speaking to PhysOrg, Jeff Tollasken, one of the researchers, explained:

It is still very early to say what the full implications of this research are... But we feel one should expect them to be major because we are dealing with such fundamental concepts.

We can probably expect this new discovery to shape modern thinking about some of the weirder parts of quantum behavior, like spooky action at a distance. Quite how, though? We’ll just have to wait and see.

[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences via PhysOrg]

Image by Frank Serritelli

Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2 could feature a (literally) huge Marvel comics character. Bryan Singer teases the Game of Thrones-esque mutant plight in X-Men Apocalypse. Arrow teases another live-action hero. Plus oodles of pictures from The Originals, The Expanse, Agent Carter, and Lucifer. To me, my Spoilers!

Captain America: Civil War

Deaths have been a persistent rumor for Civil War—first the reported funeral of Peggy Carter, and then the more recent rumors of Captain America’s untimely demise. But now the Hashtag Show is claiming that the film will feature three other major death scenes... sort of.

The youtube show claims that three death scenes, involving Scarlet Witch, War Machine, and Falcon, have been filmed. Only one however, is an actual death of a character—one will leave the involved hero critically wounded, and the other will be a misdirect. As ever with these rumors, take this with a pinch of salt... otherwise, Civil War sounds like quite the bloodbath.

Thor: Ragnarok

Mark Ruffalo describes the tone of the film:

I feel like that’s kind of where we’re heading with this relationship between Thor and Banner. It is a universal road movie — that’s where we’re heading... It’s not where you’d think it will be, so it’s not your classic road movie but it has that structure, I think.

This is what we’re talking about. I love Chris [Hemsworth], and it’s not an accident that we’ve been put together because we have a good time together and we goof off. The fact that we’re moving towards the smart-comedic bent plays into our relationship.

[Empire]

Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2

Geek.com are reporting that the wonderfully bizarre comic book “character” Ego the Living Planet—literally a planet gifted with sentience—will appear in the film. In the comics, Ego occasionally flipped between good and evil, and mainly had encounters with Thor.

Deadpool

During a showing of the movie at a fan event earlier this week, Ryan Reynolds appeared optimistic when a fan asked if Deadpool would team up with his longtime ally in the comics, Cable, for the the sequel:

Your lips to God’s ears, my friend... Believe me, that’s being talked about.

[Comicbook.com]

X-Men Apocalypse

Bryan Singer compares the plight of the young mutants to a seemingly strange source: Game of Thrones.

I’m a huge Game of Thrones fan…There’s a crossover between X-Men and Game Of Thrones, they’re both about a younger generation finding their powers, finding out who they are, and what their place in the world is. I like how the show’s about different groups of people moving towards a common goal. They don’t even know if that’s the right goal, who wants to sit on that uncomfortable throne? I don’t! Everyone in King’s Landing is miserable. But for some reason, they want that power.

[Yahoo]

Spider-Man/Pirates of the Caribbean 5/Jumanji

Star Wars Episode VIII wasn’t the only film that had a release date shuffled around yesterday. Sony have announced Spider-Man will now release slightly earlier, on July 7, 2017, while Jumanji takes its former slot on July 28, 2017. (This gives Jumanji, which just named a director, an additional seven months.) Star Wars’ original May 26, 2017 slot will be filled by Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. [CBR]

The X-Files

Here’s the press release for the fourth episode of the revival, “Home Again”:

Mulder and Scully are sent to investigate the murder of a city official, which it seems no human could have committed. Meanwhile, Scully deals with a personal tragedy, which brings up many old feelings about the child she gave away for adoption in the all-new “Home Again” episode of THE X-FILES.

[Spoiler TV]

Supergirl

Likewise, here’s a press release for “For The Girl Who Has Everything”, an adaptation of the classic 1985 Superman comic by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, “For The Man Who Has Everything”:

A PARASITIC ALIEN TRAPS KARA IN A DREAM WORLD WHERE HER HOME PLANET WAS NEVER DESTROYED, ON “SUPERGIRL,” MONDAY, FEB. 8

“For The Girl Who Has Everything” – Kara’s friends must find a way to save her life when a parasitic alien attaches itself to her and traps her in a dream world where her family is alive and her home planet was never destroyed. Also, Alex, Hank and the DEO must fend off a Kryptonian attack while Kara is out of commission, on SUPERGIRL.

[Spoiler TV]

Lucifer

A gallery of stills from the pilot has been released—find more at the link. [KSite TV]

The Originals

Here’s a few pictures from “Wild at Heart”—once again, click through to see more. [Spoiler TV]

The Expanse

More pictures, this time from “Critical Mass”—click the link to see more. [Spoiler TV]

Agent Carter

Even more pictures, this time from the second season’s fourth episode, “Smoke and Mirrors”—you know the drill, click the link to see more. [Spoiler TV]

Arrow

Finally, Stephen Amell has taken to twitter to tease the arrival of Megalyn Echikunwoke on the show, reprising the role of comics hero Vixen, whom she voiced for an animated spinoff set in the Arrow/Flash universe.

Additional reporting by Gordon Jackson and Charlie Jane Anders. Image: Captain America: Civil War.

Darkwing Duck, which aired its last new episode in 1992, will return to TV in 2018. Plenty of time to get dangerous.

Update 10:30 am: It looks like we, and TV Overmind, were tricked by an old April Fool’s post dated April 2, 2015. Sorry about that. Thanks to Chris Guanche for letting us know.

The new version of the show will air on Disney XD, which promises both the “same energy and bumbling crime-fighting spirit” and a new “gritty look that this generation of kids love.” The gritty look is an interesting comment, since, if anything, Disney XD has been much lighter and softer in its programming than Disney animation of years past. Just three years ago, the channel replaced the excellent Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes with the much gentler Avengers Assemble.

If they’re really looking to make sure that Darkwing Duck has a dark tone, that could be great. Of course, we’re going to have to wait two years to find out. Which is plenty of time for us to get dangerous.

[TV Overmind]

Contact the author at katharine@io9.com.

After what’s felt like a lifetime of waiting, the sixth season of The Venture Bros. is nearly upon us. It even feels like it’s been ages since we got our first glimpse of this new season. But a new extended trailer reveals so much more about the Venture’s new fate—and how suitably weird New York is in this universe.

http://io9.gizmodo.com/this-new-ventu...

With Doctor Venture coming into an obscene amount of money the last time we saw him, the team are riding high—which can’t really be said for the Monarchs, who are also in town, trying to reverse their situations after the fall of the Guild of Calamitous Intent. But there’s so much going on in this trailer: Avengers stand-ins! Techno grim-reaper guy! Brock Samson! Robot Dinosaurs! A villain named Think Tank who’s part-MODOK, part tank! Oh, it’s been way too long without this insane world being back in our lives.

The Venture Bros. will finally return on Adult Swim on January 31st.

Given the recent hubbub about Rey toys, or the even earlier concerns about a lack of toys based on the female heroes in Star Wars Rebels, it’s no surprise that Hasbro wants to join the fray. After her appearance in last night’s episode of the show, the company has revealed that Princess Leia is heading to the Rebels toyline.

http://gizmodo.com/hasbro-flounde...

USA Today revealed the figure as part of the ongoing 3.75-inch with five points of articulation Rebels toyline, in anticipation of the young Leia’s debut in the midseason return of the show last night, where the young senator-turned-rebel met the show’s cast of ragtag resistance fighters for the first time.

http://io9.gizmodo.com/a-teenage-prin...

Like many Rebels designs, Leia’s outfit is based on some original concept art by the iconic Star Wars artist Ralph McQuarrie. And while the figure itself is pretty basic, as part of the budget Rebels line, it’s nice to see that the character gets to be a part of it. After all, fans couldn’t even get toys of the female heroes Sabine and Hera when the show began (they weren’t available until almost a year after the show launched, well after their male allies got toys), so its cool that Hasbro are up front about adding Leia.

Sadly though, it’ll still be a bit of a wait. Although Leia will join a bunch of other new Star Wars figures at Toy Fair next month, you’ll have to wait until the fall before you can actually buy the $8 figure.

[USA Today]

Toyland: We love toys. Join us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

I guess if you’re making a time travel movie, you may as well get some advice from James Cameron. And if you seek his advice, you should probably take it. Which is exactly what Bryan Singer did with the end to X-Men: Days of Future Past.

Singer told the story to Coming Soon, explaining that his editor wanted a blurry, dreamlike quality for the end of the film. Which has Wolverine succeed in his mission and wake up in a universe where X-Men: The Last Stand never happened. Singer showed the sequence—minus a few giant cameos—to Cameron. According to Singer, this is what Cameron said:

“Bryan, that blurry thing made me think that the wool was going to be pulled out from under me and I was not satisfied. I thought it was going to be a lie and it had failed and it would all be dark, and then suddenly it was okay.” It was the only note Jim gave me.

And it was a good one! The last thing that bit of retconning needed was to be more confusing. He was right that we all just wanted to enjoy a happy ending. Maybe Cameron’s missed his calling as an editor.

Oh, and when Cameron found out that the version he saw was missing three big cameos? He said, “OH Why didn’t you tell me that? That makes a big difference, dude, in letting me enjoy the ending of the goddamn fucking movie!” I really, really hope that Singer is dead on accurate with that quote. It’s perfection.

[Coming Soon]

Contact the author at katharine@io9.com.

“Back to the Future Part II is by no means my favorite time travel movie, but it has my favorite time travel thing,” said Jacob Gentry, the writer and director of the new film Synchronicity. “Which is when Marty gets to see the first movie all over again. So I was like, ‘What if you made a whole movie that used just that?’”

Genrty, who previously co-directed 2007's The Signal, cites that stroke of genius by Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis as one of three things that inspired him to make Synchronicity, which hits theaters and on demand January 22. In the film, a scientist named Jim (Chad McKnight) creates a wormhole that he believes will allow someone to travel though time. Once weird things start happening, the question becomes not if it works—but whether he’s already done it before.

“In Back to the Future Part II, that’s just one small section and I wanted to see, if you saw the movie from a different perspective, would you see something you didn’t see the first time?” Gentry told io9. “So I got fascinated with that whole concept.”

Back to the Future Part II was just one of the inspirations behind Synchronicity, however. Another was something very real, and a third was something extremely hypothetical.

“When I first started working on the story with Alex Orr, it was right around the time the Large Hadron Collider in CERN was really starting to gear up, and I just became fascinated with all the things they were doing,” Gentry said. “So we started thinking about a story of what it might be like working there. I thought the people at CERN are like cosmic detectives.”

“And also the notion of, if someone says something cruel to you, what if that wasn’t actually something that was cruel?” Gentry continued. “What if you got another vantage point or parallax view of that situation? What if you found out they were doing that to protect you from something?”

True to Gentry’s word, Synchronicity is a film that combines those three pillars. It has a scientist as the main character, shows many scenes as viewed from different perspectives and time periods, and ends up sneakily being about the connection between the main scientist, Jim, and a mysterious woman named Abby (played by Brianne Davis. A.J. Bowen, and Michael Ironside also co-star).

As he was making the film though, Gentry realized the more and more he thought about the film’s structure and time travel mechanics, the less important they were. The third pillar was the strongest.

“Even though I was so obsessive with the logistical [time-travel] stuff, as I got further [into the process], especially in the editing room, I realized the emotional math was way more important for a story,” Gentry said. “When I’d show people the movie they were like, ‘I don’t have to see every dot connect.’ So I made it that emotional conflict and human story were more at the forefront.”

And if you want to talk about weird, time-travelly, folding-a-story-on-top-of-itself oddness, Gentry’s discovery that the emotion of Synchronicity was the most important part of the film, became a meta commentary on the film’s actual message.

“I was becoming like Jim, the main character,” he said. “I was missing out on the whole thrust of the movie, which is [that] he’s trying to solve an emotional problem with math. I was trying to do that with the movie.”

As weird as the director becoming one with his main characters sounds, Gentry said the film was always a labor of love. Something personal, something rewarding. “I just wanted to make a movie I wanted to see,” he said. “It combines a lot of my favorite science fiction stuff and I hadn’t really seen a time travel movie the way I wanted it.”

Watch our exclusive clip from the film below:

Contact the author at germain@io9.com.

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If you’re still cooking with the $15 nonstick pans you bought during college, you deserve an upgrade. And today, you can afford it.

As part of a Gold Box deal, Amazon is currently selling a 13-piece T-fal stainless steel/copper bottom cookware set for just $130, or 10 pieces for $100. These won’t be quite as durable as All-Clad pans, but they’re still oven safe up to 500 degrees and come with a limited lifetime warranty. Plus, those copper highlights look way too nice for pans this affordable.

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The best SSD for most people is back below $300 for 1TB. Your computer will thank you. [Samsung 850 EVO 1TB, $290]

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If you missed out on Black Friday’s Brother monchrome laser printer deals, you can pick up a barebones (but still excellent) 2320D for $45 today from Best Buy’s eBay storefront.

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We’re big fans of Anker charging products around these parts, and their well-reviewed Lightning cables are on sale today.

$6 gets you a 9' cable that’s perfect for running across the room to your couch, or you can spend $2 more for a kevlar-wrapped PowerLine cable with reinforced stress points. If you’re rough on your Lightning cables, you won’t find a better third party option.

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Anker’s PowerCore chargers are a little more expensive than others we post, but they make up for it with premium build quality and fast, intelligent charging. You can’t go wrong with either option below, but note that the smaller PowerCore+ model includes Quick Charge 2.0 input.

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If you can’t stand doing “real” work on a phone or tablet, this foldable Bluetooth keyboard can slip into any bag, and turn your favorite mobile device into a bona-fide computer. [BATTOP Foldable Portable Bluetooth Keyboard With Kickstand, $25 with code DJ5T958X]

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It might be too late for most of you on the east coast, but you can be prepared for the next snow storm with this cheap set of crampons. The price varies by size, but you won’t spend more than $23. [OUTAD Hiking Traction Cleats/Crampons for Snow and Ice, $20-$23 with code UTEK8DQV]

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$390 is a lot to spend on a vacuum cleaner, but the Dyson Cinetic has an ace up its sleeve:

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If your closet looks anything like mine, you could definitely use this shoe organizer. It’s $10, has great reviews, and holds 12 pairs, so there’s not a lot to complain about here. [Ohuhu Over-the-Door Shoe Organizer / Shoe Storage, 24 Pockets, $10 with code 8Q664OI9]

http://www.amazon.com/Ohuhu-Over—Or...

Before you head out for your next camping trip, it might be worth picking up one of these cheap lanterns.

OxyLED 3-in-1 Multi-Function LED Flashlight/Lantern With Magnetized Base ($7) | Amazon | Use code XYWMGBUO

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B013OLP7JU

BYB Super Bright Portable COB LED Camping Lantern ($9) | Amazon | Use code P8J9RZ85

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ZCBD3V0

The mostly-excellent Life Is Strange just got its limited edition retail release, and Prime members can save $8 if they order it from Amazon.

http://kotaku.com/you-really-sho...

In addition to the game itself, you get a 32 page artbook with unreleased concept art, a 13-track licensed soundtrack, an 8-track original score, and exclusive director’s commentary. [Life Is Strange Limited Edition, $32 for Prime members. Discount shown at checkout.]

http://www.amazon.com/Life-Strange-L...

http://www.amazon.com/Life-Strange-L...

Tide Pods are the easiest way to do laundry, and you can get an 81-count tub for just $15 today on Amazon. You’ll need to clip the $5 coupon, and order via Amazon’s Subscribe & Save program, but you can always cancel that subscription once you receive your first delivery. [Tide PODS 81-Count, $15 after $5 coupon]

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...

The near-flawlessly reviewed Root Assassin shovel features 40 serrated teeth to cut through weeds in your garden, and for a limited time, you can pick one up for $40, or about $20 less than usual. I recommend burying the money you saved in your backyard. [Root Assassin Garden Shovel, $40]

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...

You all have bought a lot of Lodge cast iron skillets, but if you’re having trouble cleaning them, a couple of popular solutions are on sale today.

Lodge Manufacturing SCRAPERGPK Grill Pan Scraper, 2-Pack ($3) | Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0073E3Q7A/...

The Ringer Cast Iron Cleaner Chainmail ($16) | Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...

http://bestsellers.kinja.com/bestsellers-lo...

If you have any old speaker systems lying around, this $8 dongle will bring them into the present with seamless Bluetooth streaming capabilities.

All you have to do is plug one end of the Mpow Streambot Slider into a USB charging port, and connect the other end to your speakers via the included 3.5mm audio cable. Then, just connect your phone, and enjoy the music. [Mpow Streambot Slider Bluetooth Music Audio Streaming USB Receiver Adapter, $8 with code OO6FDEZ9]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00YBJURB8

We see a lot of external battery packs around here, but rare is the deal that breaks the $20 threshold for a battery over 20,000mAh. If you don’t own something like this already, or just want a bigger model for long trips, I wouldn’t hesitate. [EC Technology 2nd Gen 22400mAh External Battery, $19 with code NZGFMLUN]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FDK2G2C/...

If you missed out last week, Belkin’s WeMo Insight Switch is back in stock on Amazon for just $40.

Functionally, the Insight Switch is no different than a standard Belkin WeMo switch. Just plug one in between a wall outlet and the device of your choice, and you’ll be able to turn it on or off from your smartphone or Amazon Echo, and even create automatic schedules. The difference is that the Insight will monitor your device’s energy use, and even calculate its monthly cost on your power bill. I wouldn’t go as far as to say that the Insight will completely pay for itself, but it can certainly make you more mindful of what goes into your monthly bill. [Belkin WeMo Insight Switch, $40]

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...

Tech

Storage

• PNY 64GB microSDHC Class 10 UHS-I/U3 Memory Card ($30) | Best Buy
• PNY 32GB microSDHC Class 10 UHS-I/U3 Memory Card ($15) | Best Buy

Power

• Amprobe BAT-250 Battery Tester ($7) | Amazon
• ORICO 3-in-1 Desktop 2 Surge Protector Power Strip with 5 USB Charging Ports ($18) | Amazon | Use code XASITUPK
• 4000mAh Portable External Power Bank Battery Charger Pack Recharger Power Supply ($7) | eBay
• Anker 9ft/2.7m Premium Lightning Cable (White) ($6) | Amazon | Promo code X2TD8QVG
• Anker 9ft/2.7m Premium Lightning Cable (Black) ($6) | Amazon | Promo code B79BA3KA
• Anker PowerLine 3ft Kevlar-Lined Lightning Cable (White) ($8) | Amazon | Promo code TV4PTUV2
• Anker PowerCore+ 13400 Premium Power Bank ($27) | Amazon | Promo code QQFE2WXH
• Anker PowerCore 20100 Power Bank (White) ($32) | Amazon | Promo code VCX88FFJ

http://www.amazon.com/ORICO-Protecte...

Audio

• Sennheiser HD429s Over-Ear Headphones ($25) | Newegg | After $10 rebate
• Inateck Premium Genuine Wood In-ear Noise-isolating Hi-Fi Headphones ($10) | Amazon | Use code QD9E2JWH
• Inateck Aries Premium Genuine Wood In-Ear Noise-isolating Headphones ($15) | Amazon | Use code O27PBER6

Home Theater

• Sony 40-Inch 1080p 60Hz LED LCD HDTV ($398) | Walmart
• Epson EX7230 Pro WXGA 3LCD Projector ($400) | Best Buy
• Altra Galaxy TV Stand with Mount for TVs up to 50-Inches ($63) | Walmart
• Wiremold CordMate Cord Cover Kit ($6) | Best Buy

Computers & Accessories

• Acer G257HL bmidx 25-Inch Full HD (1920 x 1080) Widescreen Display ($130) | Amazon
• HP 22vc 21.5" IPS LED Backlit Monitor ($100) | Staples
• Brother HL-L2320D Black-and-White Printer ($45) | Best Buy

PC Parts

• NZXT S340 White Steel ATX Mid Tower Case ($60) | Newegg | After $10 rebate
• Fractal Design Arc Midi R2 with Window Side Panel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case ($80) | Newegg
• MSI GeForce GTX 970 DirectX 12 GTX 970 GAMING 4G 4GB 256-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support G-SYNC Support Video Card ($310) | Newegg | After $20 rebate

Mobile Devices

• BATTOP Foldable Portable Bluetooth Keyboard With Kickstand ($25) | Amazon | Use code DJ5T958X
• LUNATIK EPIK Case and Band for Apple Watch 42mm ($70) | Best Buy
• Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard Folio for iPad mini 3/ mini 2/ mini ($50) | Amazon
• Inateck Protective Leather Cover for Kindle Voyage ($10) | Amazon | Use code C3UQ6F4L
• Inateck Kindle Paperwhite Leather Case Ultra Slim Cover ($10) | Amazon | Use code C3UQ6F4L
• Inateck iPad Mini Ultra Slim Smart Case ($7) | Amazon | Use code A69A8NMI
• Inateck iPad Air 2 Ultra Slim Leather Smart Case ($7) | Amazon | Use code A69A8NMI

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EXK1MJG/...

Photography

• Hasselblad Lunar Mirrorless Digital Camera with 18-55mm ($1199) | B&H
• Manfrotto Allegra 10 Messenger Bag w/ Manfrotto Pocket Tripod ($25) | B&H
• Smatree Baseball Hat for GoPro ($19) | Amazon

Home

• Dyson 206035-01 Cinetic Big Ball Multifloor Upright Vacuum ($390) | Amazon
• 10-Color LINKYO Liquid Chalk Marker Pens ($10) | Amazon | Use code CHALK1AB
• Seneo 100 ml Essential Oil Diffusers with 7 Color LED Lights ($21) | Amazon | Use code RKSNJK7B
  
• AIRSEE Halo Magic LED Desk Lamp With Removable Lighting Element ($50) | Amazon | Use code BTV8J6SF
• 2 Set of Micro 30 LEDs Super Bright Warm White Color Wire Rope Lights Battery Operated ($7) | amazon | Use code IIIVOAOB

http://www.amazon.com/Seneo-Essentia...

Beauty & Grooming

• DBPOWER Electronic Pedicure Foot File Callus Remover ($21) | Amazon | Use code MDV2JC5S

Kitchen

• Contigo Autoseal Metra Travel Mug ($20) | Amazon
• T-fal Ultimate Stainless Steel Copper-Bottom Heavy Gauge Multi-Layer Base Cookware Set, 13-Piece ($130) | Amazon
• Danby 5.8 Cu. Ft. Keg Cooler Compact Refrigerator ($450) | Best Buy
• 2 Pack Reusable Coffee Filter for K-cup ($10) | Amazon | Use code KXQD8S89

Apparel

• OUTAD Hiking Traction Cleats/Crampons for Snow and Ice ($20-$23) | Amazon | Use code UTEK8DQV
• Ohuhu Over-the-Door Shoe Organizer / Shoe Storage, 24 Pockets ($10) | Amazon | Use code 8Q664OI9
• Columbia Boulder Glen Soft-Shell Jacket - Men’s ($60) | REI
• Winter Ushanka Russian Hat ($10) | Amazon | Use code N68CJMPB
• Invicta 7334 Signature II Chronograph Mens Stainless steel Watch ($40) | eBay
• Get 45% Off Bostonian Men’s Shoes | Amazon
• CHEESEHEAD® Hat ($18) | Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GGNAXGQ/...

Camping & Outdoors

• OxyLED 3-in-1 Multi-Function LED Flashlight/Lantern With Magnetized Base ($7) | Amazon | Use code XYWMGBUO
• BYB Super Bright Portable COB LED Camping Lantern ($9) | Amazon | Use code P8J9RZ85
• Coleman Willow Creek Warm-Weather Scoop Sleeping Bag ($19) | Amazon
• Wise Company 72-Hour Emergency Food Kit ($75) | Woot
• OUTAD Portable Nylon Hammock with 660 Pounds Maximum Capacity ($19) | Amazon | Use code HBPYU2UR

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00363X1M2/...

Tools & Auto

• DBPOWER Portable Car Jump Starter ($30) | Amazon | Use code FNL57Q5S
• All Weather Rubber 4pc Car Floor Mats Set ($4) | eBay
• 3 Section Car Trunk Organizer ($7) | eBay
• X-TRONIC 3000 SERIES - MODEL #3010-XTS Variable Power 70 Watt Soldering Iron w/ Control Station ($40) | Amazon
• Bluetooth 4.0 Recever w Handsfree Car Kit Design ($12) | Amazon | Use code 3ZCGRHTU
• Husky 15 in. Tool Tote and Parachute Bag Combo ($10) | Home Depot
• Craftsman 236-piece Mechanics Tool Set and Rolling Storage Combination ($180) | Sears
• Craftsman 155-Piece Mechanics Tool Set with 75 Tooth Ratchets ($100) | Sears
• Proslat 8' Garage Wall Kit with 20 Hooks ($145) | Woot
• Cadet 5,000-Watt Portable Garage Heater ($230) | Home Depot

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B014ER61G6

Media

Movies & TV

• The Wind Rises ($18) | Amazon
• Ferris Bueller’s Day Off ($5) | Amazon
• Gangs of New York ($5) | Amazon
• The World’s End / Hot Fuzz / Shaun of the Dead Trilogy ($15) | Amazon
• Footloose ($14) | Amazon
• Speed ($6) | Amazon
• Earth to Echo ($6) | Amazon
• Batman: The Complete Television Series (Limited Edition) ($92) | Amazon

Books & Magazines

• Final Judgment (Lou Mason Thrillers Book 5) [Kindle] ($1) | Amazon
• A Single Man Audiobook ($2) | Audible

Gaming

PC

• DuckTales: Remastered ($5) | Steam
• The Aquatic Adventure of the Last Human ($8) | Steam

PlayStation 4

• Life is Strange Limited Edition ($32) | Amazon | Prime members only. Discount shown at checkout.
• Call of Duty: Ghosts ($11) | Amazon
• Resident Evil: Revelations 2 ($21) | Amazon
• Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition ($15) | Walmart
• Terraria ($13) | Walmart
• Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons ($13) | Amazon

Xbox One

• Just Dance 2016 (Gold Edition) ($29) | Amazon
• The Witcher III: Wild Hunt - Hearts of Stone Gwent Card Bundle ($10) | GameStop
• Life is Strange Limited Edition ($32) | Amazon | Prime members only. Discount shown at checkout.
• Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition ($15) | Amazon
• FREE The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings | Xbox Live

PlayStation 3

• Twisted Metal ($9) | Best Buy
• inFAMOUS Collection ($17) | Amazon

Xbox 360

• FREE The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings | Xbox Live

Wii U

• Rodea the Sky Soldier - Launch Edition ($40) | Best Buy

3DS

• Refurb Nintendo 2DS ($60) | eBay | Also available in red
• New Nintendo 3DS XL + Charger Bundle ($189) | Amazon
• Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer ($34) | Amazon
• The Legend of Legacy ($21) | Amazon

Toys

• Voit 48" 14 in 1 Combo Game Table ($100) | Sears
• Little Tikes Splish Splash Sink & Stove ($11) | Amazon

Commerce Content is independent of Editorial and Advertising, and if you buy something through our posts, we may get a small share of the sale. Click here to learn more. We want your feedback.

Send deal submissions to Deals@Gawker and all other inquiries to Shane@Gawker

Terminus, from South African writer and co-director Marc Furmie, is a science fiction thriller about a man whose quiet, small-town life is forever changed when he car-crashes his way into close contact with an alien organism. Can he save the world—and convince his skeptical daughter to help him in his quest?

Here’s the official synopsis:

Blinded by the light of a falling meteor, David (Jai Koutrae) has a devastating car accident, leading to a profound discovery: an extra-terrestrial organism that may contain the secret of life itself. When David goes missing for two days, Annabelle (Kendra Appleton) searches for her father only to discover him wandering the forest, without so much as a scratch. David’s mysterious reappearance draws the attention of federal authorities and gives Annabelle reason to doubt his sanity. But David has a new sense of purpose, fueled by nightmarish visions. Driven by what he believes is an otherworldly purpose, David must convince Annabelle to believe him and complete his task before government agents can stop him, and the world destroys itself.

In this clip, a horrified Annabelle watches as her father demonstrates the (decidedly creepy) object’s amazing healing powers:

Here’s the trailer, too:

Terminus hits theaters and VOD on January 22.

Star Wars Rebels returned Wednesday for the back half of its second season and it did so with a major player joining the show. Welcome Princess Leia Organa. Even in animated form, her highness is still a commanding presence.

At this point in the Star Wars story, Leia appears to normal people as a servant of the Empire. She’s just a Princess and Senator from Alderaan with the expected galactic allegiances. But in reality, she’s a leader of the Rebellion, working back channels to help the cause however she can because it’s still getting its footing.

In this episode, “A Princess on Lothal,” Leia goes to the planet Lothal with a cover story to provide aid. The real reason for her trip is to provide Kanan, Ezra and the Rebels with a few ships, and she has to do it without the Imperial Officers realizing her true colors. She succeeds with the help of her trademark wits.

Contact the author at germain@io9.com.

Whenever the Flash runs, Supergirl flies, or the Legends of Tomorrow travel through time, it’s with Armen Kevorkian’s help. He’s the VFX Supervisor and Executive Creative Director at Deluxe’s Encore, which creates the many, many VFX in these three TV shows simultaneously—and does a damn good job, too.

With The Flash and Supergirl having returned from their midseason breaks and Legends of Tomorrow premiering tonight, we spoke with Kevorkian about how he and his team bring the DC universe to life on TV three times a week—especially in regards to giant, evil, telepathic gorillas.

io9: This interview is taking place right after The Flash’s midseason finale, so I’ve got to ask: did you do the scene where the Flash runs across the helicopter blade (1:12 in the video above)?

Armen Kevorkian: Yeah, we did.

That was pretty great. It seems like you guys have at least one awesome special effects scene like that per episode. Is that right?

Kevorkian: Yeah, because we have so much mobility in how we set up everything in our digital world, and we have total control of the camera in the city that we built. We try to have one or two great shots like that that you would see in a comic book [every episode] because we know it’s the eye candy that everybody loves.

How much of that shot was practical? Is even Grant Gustin in it?

Kevorkian: Oh, it’s all digital.

Everything?

Kevorkian: Every single bit. The city, the Flash—everything.

Clearly then you’ve got a full CG model of Grant Gustin at this point. Do you even need to call him in any more for the special effects?

Kevorkian: Well, depending on what it is, obviously. A lot of the stuff you see him in is really grand. But for those epic shots, we have such a good digital double, we always use it.

Is there a rule you guys have to decide when do a practical effect and when to use CG?

Kevorkian: Not necessarily a rule. It depends on the shot. There are [scenes] where you see Grant first, where he kicks it off, so obviously he’s there for those moments. Then we kind of take over at that point.

But for some of the big stuff that we have a lot more control we do go all digital. Like in our last Grodd episode—when he punches Grodd and sends him into the breach? We didn’t use an element of Grant, we just did a whole CG Grant doing a supersonic punch.

I assume you had to make a giant full-body scan of Grant Gustin?

Kevorkian: Yeah, I did. I scanned Grant the January before we shot the pilot. And we didn’t even have a suit then! We had his body, his face and all that, so we started on that.

I chose to do it “the feature route,” which is more of an intense scan, getting his real facial detail and all that. It wasn’t a one-and-done scan that you sometimes do for characters that are not going to be there as much. I think it was the first time in television anyone had done that kind of scanning for a character.

Since then, we’ve made detailed scans like that for characters on the other shows we’ve done. Like, for some of the Legends of Tomorrow characters. And we did Supergirl as well.

How you prepare such a VFX-heavy a show like The Flash?

Kevorkian: It was definitely doing R&D on speed effects. What do see and what you don’t see: is it a blur? What is it? How’s his lightning going to be represented? So I did a lot of R&D to make that work. That was the start. Even before we had the visual double of Grant, we had a mock-up of the characters, just to kind of play with different looks.

CW shows don’t generally have the biggest TV budgets. Does that limit your process at all?

Kevorkian: I mean obviously you think about the budget, but that was the least of my worries. I just wanted something that would be representative of what would look cool—what was established in the comic books, but still felt it lives in the real world.

I always feel like—and this goes for movies, too—once it airs, it lives forever. So if you feel that you didn’t put everything into it, to make it the best you can? Then you’ll regret it. Once it’s out of your hand and it airs, it’s theirs. I kind of represent the work that you put into it. At the end of the day, you want to do the best that you can, but what does air is worth the blood and sweat that you put into it.

Speaking of blood and sweat, are you doing the VFX for Flash, Legends of Tomorrow and Supergirl simultaneously?

Kevorkian: I am, actually.

Which one takes up the most of your time?

Kevorkian: They all do. [laughs] But it’s a lot of fun. If it wasn’t fun, I don’t think I could do it. When we read fan reaction and some of the things you guys write, and you do justice to a character that people grew up with, that they love, and had their doubts about... and we did something that was pleasing to people. I think that’s a good bit of gratification.

Did you start with Arrow, too?

Kevorkian: No, actually. When they did Arrow, I didn’t know Greg Berlanti yet. I met Greg on Political Animals, which isn’t really an FX show, but it had quite a bit of invisible effects. When we met, he had already done Arrow at that point. And then Greg did another show called Tomorrow People, which I did for him. And then that kind of rolled over into The Flash and then eventually Legends and Supergirl.

How many people do you have working on all this?

Kevorkian: We have about 120 people. A big team of animators, a big team of character guys, a big team of L&R [lighting and rendering] guys, environment guys, a big team of compositors… I have a lot of support, obviously. I’d go crazy if I didn’t.

They’re a really, really, really hard-working team that’s very passionate about what they do. They come to work not looking at it as a job, and I think it’s the dedication and the hard work that I’m surrounded by that is able to bring the vision, at least, that I have, for these effects.

I was about to ask if was like 40 people per show, but I assume they’re all working on all three shows simultaneously.

Kevorkian: Yeah, I think that’s the best way to do it. If you say, “you’re only working on this show,” you’re not really tapping into the talent where you need it. One guy might be really good at building a creature, but not as good as building a spaceship, so—if there’s a creature in Supergirl—he does it. If there’s a creature in Flash, he does it. And then, if a guy’s better at something else, then you give it to him. So we don’t limit who works on what show.

Are you a comic fan at all? Is this job a dream come true?

Kevorkian: Oh, absolutely. I grew up reading comic books as one of my—I used to go to a 7/11 when I was 11 years old, and buy my comic books from there, because there were no comic shops near my house. Every month you’d wait for the next issue to come out.

It’s playing in a giant sandbox and getting paid for it, you know? You get to work with great people like Greg, Geoff Johns, Mark Guggenheim… They all love what they do as well, so it’s not just making a show. It’s not a job. We’re all older, but we still get excited in the room when we see something cool.

Then I imagine you all must have been pretty excited when you put a giant evil telepathic gorilla on primetime TV. Did you all always know you were doing Gorilla Grodd?

Kevorkian: Well I remember when we did the pilot—in a conversation with Geoff Johns, Andrew Kreisberg and Greg Berlanti were there—and we were just talking about, “well now the pilot’s picked up, what are we going to do?” as far as like villains and all that. And they said we’d really like to explore Grodd.

The minute that I heard that, I went back to my team, and said, “We have to start designing Grodd,” not even knowing if we were going to do it or not. Because I knew if we didn’t get a headstart, we couldn’t do the character any justice. Full week, just in the background while we’re working on current episodes, we would start building him. Two hours today. Three times a week. Little bit. Little bit. That way you’ll be prepared for when it’s written.

Has he been the toughest VFX of your three shows?

Kevorkian: No. Obviously he’s not easy, but the team that I have, as far as with characters and all that, they’re really, really, really, really strong. I have a good team of animators.

I find the toughest effects sometimes are actual effects. Like, what’s coming out of someone’s gun needs to be different. Someone has powers coming their hands, for example. Those are a little bit more difficult, I think. Just kind of getting a look that... something that nobody has ever seen before, and hopefully something that everyone’s going to like. Those seem to be harder to nail down.

Has there ever any DC character or monster or any effect that made you say, “No, that is just too out there. It’s impossible”?

Kevorkian: No. Not as of yet. The one thing that I like about what we do is I actually like the challenge of doing something that may be more on the difficult side, cause there’s that internal satisfaction knowing that you pulled it off. There’s also the risk that you failed at it, of course. But we’ve been lucky so far.

Even when we were told we were going to do King Shark—and I think I’ve told this story before—it was pretty much me walking by Andrew Kreisberg in the hallway.

“Hey, we’re thinking about doing King Shark!”

“Oh, great.”

And that was the conversation. I went back to the office and said the same thing: “I think we’re doing King Shark.” And we started that day.

Is there any character or fight or anything on your VFX wish list?

Kevorkian: Yeah. Who wouldn’t want to see a King Shark and Grodd battle?

No one. Not a single person on the planet.

Kevorkian: Yeah, exactly.

Contact the author at rob@io9.com.

Announced just before the New York Toy Fair last year, Nerf’s Rival blasters, which launched tiny foam balls at speeds of up to 70 miles per hour, were the biggest innovation in foam warfare in years. And this year Nerf is expanding the Rival line in the best way possible.

Ahead of the the 2016 New York Toy Fair next month, Hasbro gave Toyland an exclusive first-look at four of its upcoming Nerf blasters that will eventually be hitting store shelves in the fall, just in time to add to your holiday wish list. They’re all massive, packed with ammo, and look like a guaranteed way to dominate your next office Nerf war.

Nerf Rival Khaos MXVI-4000 Blaster

Designed to keep teenagers interested in the Nerf brand, the Rival blasters were easily one of the most exciting new toys released last year. But as soon as they hit store shelves, Nerf enthusiasts found ways to further improve the blasters, and one of the most popular DIY upgrades was converting the Zeus to be fully automatic.

This hack obviously didn’t go unnoticed by the designers at Hasbro, because the new Nerf Rival Khaos MXVI-4000 is the first fully automatic blaster in the Nerf Rival line. Holding down the trigger quickly empties the blaster’s capacious 40-round magazine, but to power the $70 Khaos MXVI-4000's auto-feed mechanism you’ll need to fill it with six D-sized batteries. So expect this blaster to have some real heft once it’s primed and ready to fire.

Nerf Mega Mastodon Blaster

How can you not be excited about a blaster named after a massive prehistoric creature? The Nerf Mega Mastodon is the first motorized blaster in the Mega line that fires super-sized foam darts as fast as you can pull the trigger.

Its rotating drum holds 24 darts in total, and that shoulder strap is as functional as it is a fun accessory because like the new Rival Khaos, the $80 Mega Mastodon needs six D-sized batteries to bring it to life. So it’s going to get really heavy, really quickly, in the heat of battle, and you’ll be thankful that shoulder strap is there to help carry all that weight.

Nerf N-Strike Modulus Tri-Strike Blaster

Nerf’s Modulus line is all about letting blaster fans take the bigger is better approach. Using modular components they can assemble a massive custom blaster that will hopefully intimidate their opponents into submission before a battle even begins. And the upcoming Modulus Tri-Strike incorporates three types of Nerf ammo into a single blaster.

The $50 Tri-Strike includes 10 Elite darts, four over-sized Mega darts, and one foam missile that can be particularly satisfying when it hits your intended target. And it looks like Nerf has also improved the handle included on the original Modulus blaster to be more comfortable with the new Tri-Strike—for that reason alone it might be worth the upgrade.

Nerf N-Strike Elite Hyper-Fire Blaster

If your strategy during a Nerf battle is to just dive in and cause as much damage as possible as quickly as you can, you’ll definitely want to add the new $50 N-Strike Elite Hyper-Fire Blaster to your arsenal. It’s being billed as the fastest-firing Nerf blaster to date, capable of unloading up to five darts per second on your opponents in its full automatic mode that’s powered by four D-sized batteries.

To ensure you don’t accidentally squander all of your ammo at the start of a battle, the N-Strike Elite Hyper-Fire Blaster includes a 25-dart capacity drum. But you’ll still want to try to show some restraint, or you’ll find it empty in about five seconds if you’re not careful, leaving you nothing but a frustrated, easy target.

[Nerf]

Toyland: We love toys. Join us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

Fan work based on established licenses always treads a fine line. It speaks to the passion a fanbase has for a property, but the more attention that work gets, the more likely it’ll draw the ire of the original creator. We sat down with Joel Furtado, the animator behind a new X-Men webseries out this week, to ask him what it’s like pouring your heart into work that could very easily vanish through legal threats.

http://io9.gizmodo.com/jean-grey-and-...

Furtado has spent the last year working on The Danger Room Protocols, an 18-part animated short series based on the X-Men engaging in combat exercises in Professor X’s holographic training simulator. When he first revealed his creation to the wider web the combined wroth of Marvel Comics and 20th Century Fox (who own the X-Men characters’ movie rights) didn’t seem to strike, the attention may have made more impact than he initially thought—shortly after this interview was conducted, the first episode of Danger Room Protocols was promptly pulled from YouTube by Marvel, and moved to Vimeo instead.

By day, Furtado is an animator and art director in the video game industry, working for companies like Electronic Arts and Microsoft. So why turn to the X-Men in his free time? “I’ve always loved X-men since I was a little kid. It was something I gravitated to, reading the comics at that time even before the animated series,” Furtado told io9 over email. “When Fox’s cartoon came out that was it, I was hooked. I’ve done a few personal projects over the years, but nothing of this scale or scope. I decided I wanted to take a year off and do this thing for myself, as well as the fans. I knew there were X-men fans out there, wanting more than what the official powers that be were giving them.”

Concept art from X-Men: Danger Room Protocols by Joel Furtado. Screencap via Vimeo.

The ‘90s era of the X-Men, particularly Fox’s famous 1992 animated series, was a huge influence on the project. “I really wanted to bring a feeling of nostalgia with the project. I still keep up with the current comics, but I feel the whole experience of X-men has changed so much,” he continued. Furtado also saw it as an opportunity to explore characters that had yet to really get a spotlight in the ongoing X-Men movie saga and putting them alongside classics like Wolverine and Storm. “The roster for me was a good mix of the animated series and the comics. In some cases these characters have never appeared in a cinematic form of any kind, so it’s pretty cool to work with them.”

Furtado spent nearly a year designing and working on the series before revealing it in full earlier this month. The reaction from fans and media was mostly positive, but the excitement also caught the suspicious eye of Marvel Entertainment. “I have to be very political about this answer,” Furtado laughed. “At this time I cannot discuss any conversations with Marvel, but let’s just say it got people’s attention.”

He wouldn’t clarify further beyond the fact Marvel had contacted him, but Furtado suggested the communication was at least amicable. “For the time being everything is moving ahead as planned and there has not been any serious action taken against the project,” he continued. Ultimately, to Furtado it was the fan reaction that worried him before release, rather than the threat of copyright woes. “I was thrilled at the fan reaction, which I was really nervous about. Sometimes you wonder if you’re too much in your own head, and it’s really kind of a mess. But from the reaction I got from the public it seems like everyone is on board and excited about what I’m doing, which means the world to me.”

Although any potential conflict with Marvel wasn’t his primary concern, Furtado says it was a challenge to create the series not just on his own, but with the lingering threat of legal action always over his shoulder. “Stressful. Very stressful,” is how Furtado recalled the project. “I’ve been doing seven-day work weeks for about six months straight, and feeling pretty burnt out. The idea that it could all be shut down and nobody would ever see what I did is heartbreaking. I can only hope for the best though, and I’ve taken every precaution to prevent that from happening.”

When we brought up comparisons to the much vaunted, professionally produced Star Trek fan film Axanar (which was beset by ongoing litigation after over a year of work on the project being tolerated by CBS and Paramount, who own Star Trek), where even amicable relations between creator and license holder broke down, Furtado believes that Danger Room Protocols has been spared thanks to the fact that he’s not sought money from outside sources to fund the project through crowndfunding sites like Indiegogo or Kickstarter. “In my case, it’s all self-funded and the videos are not making any money on YouTube, as my channel isn’t monetized. So in that regard it’s not impacting Marvel’s business, or taking money from fans that would have otherwise been spent on X-men products.”

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In the end, it seems for now that Danger Room Protocols is safe—among a sea of other fan works that sometimes skirt the line between fan art and copyright infringement. “Why it’s allowed is a complicated answer, but I hope this project will fall into that category and be treated as any other fan art on the internet,” Furtado concluded. In the end, only time will tell if the series will continue to evade Marvel’s ire as it has so far.

Star Wars is bigger than ever, and we’re celebrating 50 years of Star Trek. This is a great time to be a fan of space action. But these two universes are actually very different, and I have a theory about why. Star Wars is about fighting the Man, and Star Trek is about being the Man.

Star Wars is usually about the plucky Rebels, who stand up against the evil Empire—or else it’s about the corrupt Republic being lured into war, while the little guy suffers. Meanwhile, pretty much all versions of Star Trek revolve around the officers and crew of Starfleet, who worry about how best to follow their own rules and how to keep random trouble-makers and evil foreign regimes from screwing everything up.

Don’t believe me? Let’s delve deeper.

George Lucas was a counter-cultural experimental film-maker

Lucas started out as a member of the counter-culture, part of a group of young film-makers who were challenging the status quo in Hollywood, alongside Francis Ford Coppola. He was very much a product of the 1960s counter-culture: His earliest work was Look at Life, an “abstract montage” of still black-and-white images that explore the political tensions of the 1960s. He was one of the cameramen in Gimme Shelter, which was viewed as a West-Coast alternative to Woodstock.

Lucas’ first science fiction movie, THX-1138, is very much about distrust of the state. And it’s all about the fear of being oppressed by the technocratic, sterile government, in which everything organic and individual has been crushed by those in power. It’s very much a counter-cultural document, about the individual trying to break free from a consumerist, conformist order.

And at the time when Lucas made the first Star Wars, he was definitely thinking of it as a counter-cultural movie. As I wrote a while back, Lucas was actually supposed to direct Apocalypse Now as his next project, and chose to do Star Wars instead. All of Lucas’ friends urged him to do Apocalypse Now, as a way to make a “big statement.” Everybody wanted him to make his Taxi Driver or Chinatown.

And when Lucas decided to do Star Wars instead, he believed that his space fantasy would cover a lot of the same ground as Apocalypse Now—he intended it to be a searing critique of U.S. imperialism, with the Emperor based on Richard Nixon. (There are tons of great details about this in Chris Taylor’s book How Star Wars Conquered the Universe.)

The Original Trilogy avoids explicit political messages, but it has a distinct anti-authoritarian idea, in its images of jackbooted Stormtroopers and weapons of mass destruction. Lucas didn’t really succeed in getting the political message of Star Wars into the Original Trilogy, and it wasn’t until he made the prequels that he was able to include his full critique of imperialism and war-mongering.

Gene Roddenberry wrote speeches supporting police militarization

Gene Roddenberry flew B-17 bombers in World War II, and then in 1949 he joined the LAPD. According to the book These Are the Voyages: TOS Season One by Marc Cushman with Susan Osborn, Roddenberry only used his service weapon once during his seven years on the force: to put a dog out of its misery after being hit by a car.

But at the same time, Roddenberry was instrumental in helping Police Chief William H. Parker to militarize the LAPD. Parker hired Marine drill instructors to train the police, and tried to turn them into a highly mobilized force, on a paramilitary model. Parker was trying to root out corruption, but the LAPD’s newly aggressive tactics are often credited with leading to the 1965 Watts riots. And Roddenberry wrote the speeches that Parker used to sell this policy.

Cushman and Osborn’s book quotes Roddenberry as saying about Parker: “I was Parker’s speechwriter, writing his philosophical beliefs. I had to justify for him many of the the things he did. These were things of rare honesty. I was close to him in the days when he dreamed of building a better police department, and when he was engaged in putting his dreams into action.”

But Roddenberry also said about Parker, “It was only when he forgot he was a philosopher and began to think he was God that he got into trouble... as his student, I have gotten into trouble the same way.”

In the 1950s, TV and radio shows like Dragnet and Mr. District Attorney were constantly seeking details of real-life LAPD cases to turn into scripts, and Roddenberry used this connection to become a technical consultant for them. Soon, he was writing scripts for cop shows, while still working at the LAPD. And then he created a drama about the Marine Corps, The Lieutenant, starring the future Gary Mitchell, Gary Lockwood.

When Roddenberry pitched Star Trek, it was as a space-faring version of Wagon Train, the long-running Western show. But also as a military show with a “slight Naval flavor.” And one of the fascinating details that emerges when you read all three volumes of These Are the Voyages is how Roddenberry worried that Captain Kirk was getting too chummy with his subordinates. Especially in the show’s second season, Roddenberry would rewrite scripts at the last minute so that Kirk spoke more formally to the other officers and referred to them by their job title (e.g., “navigator”) instead of their names.

Star Wars is destroying, Star Trek is building

At this point, we almost expect a Star Wars movie to end with a triumphant explosion. The end point of a Star Wars story is that something gets destroyed—in the prequels, it’s the Republic, which was a force for good, but the overall arc is still one of things being torn down. Star Wars includes a backstory in which the Republic stood for a long time, but we never get to see much of that in canonical works. Instead, there’s an endless wheel of destruction, going around and around.

In Star Wars, too, the only good military organization is a rag-tag band of guerilla fighters, who hang out in a bunker somewhere. A big government, with a well-funded, properly equipped military, is probably fascist and definitely evil. (I guess the Republic doesn’t even have a proper military until they get the clone army. Before that, they’re just relying on a small group of warrior monks to keep the peace across an entire galaxy. Makes sense.)

Meanwhile, the arc of Star Trek is all about building the Federation and spreading enlightened values throughout the galaxy. The biggest concern, throughout all of the Star Trek series, is with the stability and influence of the Federation. A huge secondary concern, of course, is with the Prime Directive and generally with the question of how the Federation can restrain itself from using its incredible power to reshape other societies.

And consider the average plot of an Original Series Star Trek episode. The central worry, more often than not, is Kirk losing command of the Enterprise. His authority is challenged by Starfleet officers, local despots, godlike aliens, mutinous crew-members and weird children. The common thread is usually that Kirk belongs in that central chair, and anything that undermines his control is a problem. Of course, Kirk goes around overthrowing other people’s societies all the time, especially if they’re governed by an evil computer—but he’s almost like a cop, coming into your house and sorting out your domestic disputes.

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The later Star Trek series are frequently concerned with the wisdom of command—Picard, in particular, obsesses about choosing the wise path and being a responsible leader. Deep Space Nine and Voyager try to take away some of Starfleet’s awesome power (by showing a crew without a giant starship, or a starship without starbases) but still end up being about Federation values, and the responsible use of power.

This is obviously a broad-brush generalization, and it’s true that both Star Trek and Star Wars were both, in their own ways, products of the counter-culture. Star Trek very much wants to interrogate the dangers of too much state power, while Star Wars very much yearns for the possibility of an enlightened government, the good Republic which is Star Wars’ Paradise Lost.

But I can’t help wondering if this is one reason why Star Wars looms so much larger in the popular imagination than Star Trek: Because we always want to identify with the scrappy rebel against the evil empire. Even when we actually are the world’s main superpower, with unparalleled military and economic might, we Americans like to think of ourselves as still a ragged group of revolutionaries, fighting the American Revolution against the overbearing redcoats. Star Wars plays into our national fantasy of righteous underdoggery, while Star Trek is actually closer to reality.

Charlie Jane Anders is the author of All The Birds in the Sky, coming Jan 26 from Tor Books. Follow her on Twitter, and email her.

When it comes to pop culture art, there’s a fine line between cute and annoying. Lots of artists turn characters or actors into non-threatening, sweet version of themselves but you can go too far. Jeff Victor doesn’t. And he tows that line by blending in a heft dose of nostalgia.

We’ve covered some of this before. Victor is best known for his “Evolution” pieces, which take famous actors or characters and show them throughout the years. Here are just a few.

Batman

Superman

Robin Williams

Samuel L. Jackson

Marty McFly

Alan Rickman

And now, if you like Victor’s work, you can check out his Kickstarter where he’s funding his new book, called “Adorkable: The Art of Jeff Victor.”

In there you’ll find those “Evolution” pieces, as well as characters with a more traditional, fan art spin.

For more on Victor, check out his official site.

Contact the author at germain@io9.com.