New Girl: "Fluffer" Review

Warning: Full spoilers from the episode to follow.

This week on New Girl was all about fluffers, Romneys and loft trolls -- normally an odd combination, but not so outside the realm of possibility for Jess and the guys. More specifically, though, "Fluffer" acted as an emotional outlet this week, as each of the roomies dug a little deeper than normal to solve their respective problems.

For Jess, it was using Nick to justify her sexual urges with her new boy toy Sam. This, of course, started out innocent enough as Nick joined Jess for a platonic date at a fancy restaurant. This scene probably had some of the best bits, including Nick's out-of-place hesitation to stick around ("I don't know which fork to kill myself with.") and Jess's thermos full of white wine ("You unexpected genius!"). Unfortunately, the fun didn't last long after Nick learned that he was merely an emotional patsy -- a "fluffer," if you will -- for Jess.

By the end, however, this was a sweet story for Nick and Jess, if not a bit of a redundant one; at this point, we've pretty much gotten the all clear that they're both into each other. Still, Nick's dresser dilemma ("It's like high-stakes LEGOs.") was a pleasant arc for all involved. I particularly enjoyed Nick's few scenes with Winston, a one-on-one pair-up that I feel doesn't happen nearly as often as it should. It was also a plus to learn for sure that Nick and Jess had both "thought about it;" Jess's flashback with Nick and the peanuts was especially hilarious.

Meanwhile, Schmidt's recurring Romney gag provided a few good laughs, as well as some intriguing insight into his past. On the surface, the Tugg Romney stuff perhaps felt a little over-the-top -- after all, he looked a bad guy from an '80s movie -- but it did its job in leading Schmidt to the real heart of his character arc this week, namely his unresolved father issues. And while the Romney stuff was all well and good for awhile, it was Schmidt's final scene with Cece that let us see a side of him we hadn't really before. I suppose that can be chalked up to his sage-like advice from Cece, who, being brown, has "the wisdom of a thousand white women."

Another big win this week was Winston's storyline with Shelby and his mental cheating. Not only was it hilarious to see his creeptacular arousal face -- which, by the way, is now in the running for best facial expression alongside Nick's turtle face -- but we also saw his clear struggle to make ends meet emotionally with Shelby. This paired with his mom's career remark from last week, and it seems as though Winston is going to have his own struggles to work out. While he still hasn't really taken center stage this season, it was nice to see him land some of his own scenes here as well.

It's true, New Girl is usually at its finest when they can somehow keep all the major players together in one overarching event. In this case, though, it was fun watching the characters veer off into their own stories. Every character had their moment this week, and in a half-hour comedy, an impressive all feat by itself. On the other hand, the stories themselves weren't incredibly engaging this week. At the end of the day, we're pretty much where we were at when the episode started. Still, a little personal character development goes a long way, too, and it was very much appreciated to see a few more of those seeds sewn.

Max Nicholson is a writer for IGN, and he desperately seeks your approval. Show him some love on Twitter and IGN.

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Boardwalk Empire: "Bone for Tuna" Review

Warning: Full spoilers for the episode follow...

So after three episodes, this has really become Bobby Cannavale's season. And let's face it, in "Bone for Tuna," we all knew there was no way Rosetti was leaving Atlantic City, for the second time, as anything other than bitter and angry. No matter how much Nucky tried to repair their working relationship. As Nucky put it so well, Rosetti could find an "insult in a bouquet of roses." And Cannavale is just crushing it. The way Rosetti not only gets offended when tells him something he doesn't know, but also when people who state the obvious is terrifying. And it was fun to see the fat corrupt cop get incinerated at the end since we all probably had him marked for death when he spoke out of turn in the diner at the top of the episode. Well, as fun as seeing someone burned alive can be. "You think you have friends. They're all dogs with bones."

"Everyone's a person though, right? How else are they supposed to take it?" Rosetti has a point, although taken to a psychotic extreme. Nucky's finding out the hard way that you can't remain cold and detached from a business that takes people's lives. Killing is personal, and now Nucky's repressed anxiety is manifesting itself in dreams. Now, I'm not a huge fan of dream sequences. Often they're a cheap way to show us what a character is thinking. In fact, I usually just deem most of them to be time fillers. And your enjoyment of this season will have a lot to do with how invested you are in Nucky's loneliness. Which is not an easy thing to care about when we're presented with people of great power. Nucky's obsession with Billie Kent is helping us empathize a little here since he's mistakenly fallen for a woman who simply can't give him what he needs. So he's actually making things worse for himself.

I do enjoy how much Nucky has Rosetti pegged though. "Are we starting with this now?," Nucky says right at the moment when Rosetti might be spiraling into one of his fits over a monkey comment...that Nucky actually said to diffuse a possible misunderstanding. So for Nucky nothing's personal and for Rosetti everything's a slight. And I have a feeling that, when all is said and done, Nucky's going to start to creep down to Rosetti's level, possibly even entering a state of rage. Of course, knowing how Rosetti is, Nucky should have known that him not being there to see Rosetti off would cause trouble. But, like I mentioned, he's distracted these days. Nucky's numbers might not come close to Harrow's "63," but he's still feeling the ill effects of an increased body count.

Harrow's scene with Nucky was great; telling Nucky that he blew out Manny's left eye for Angie, not Jimmy the soldier. I was also reminded of Eli's "How the f*** are you still alive?" from last week concerning Micky's hair-brained idea to start spreading the rumor that he killed Manny. Over in Chicago, Van Alden was having a harder time than usual bonding with the "Brotherhood of Bulls*** and Blarney." It was easy to tell that a raid was going to go down, as soon as the other salesbullies mentioned the speak easy, but I thought Van Alden was actually going to be the one to call it in, as payback on them for the ink prank. But no, he got caught in the raid himself. Actually taking more offense to the corrupt booze officer who asked for a bribe to let him scram. It's funny to watch for when and where Van Alden's "morality" rears up. Especially considering that he's now living a fake life and taken a new bride in Sigrid.

I don't particularly like not liking Margaret, so I was happy to see that she didn't make a giant scene in front of the Bishop regarding prenatal care. I expected a haughty lecture in front of unappreciative bores, but instead she actually acted a bit devious and played Dr. Landau for a fool. In the end, she just needed to present her case in front of someone who outranks Landau, and give the credit to Landau so no one thinks they're being upstaged by a woman. So I was happy to be able to leave this episode without being frustrated with her. Plus, she and Nucky were able to act nice and be civil with one another during the award ceremony. With even a slight undercurrent of caring.

On the less interesting side of "Bone for Tuna," Lucky and Lansky are still beefing with Joe Masseria. Not a lot of time was given to this story, and when you add to that the fact that viewers will have to remember back to last season in order to place the lesser Masseria storyline, it doesn't add up to anything interesting. On a more intriguing note, having to do with Rosetti naturally, Rosetti's infatuation with Gillian was nice touch. As gentle as he is around her though, I don't see this ending well. I just don't think anything can end well when Gyp wants something. Because that just means there's a possibility he can't have it. And then watch out!

Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and IGN. WARNING: No Nudity!

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The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes - "Winter Soldier" Review

Warning: full episode spoilers follow.

Picking up from the fallout of last week's "Code Red," this week's installment of Earth's Mightiest Heroes continued the focus on Captain America, Winter Soldier, and Red Skull. With the addition of the long-absent Nick Fury into the mix, "Winter Soldier" explored the darker, more espionage-influenced portion of the Marvel Universe. At least until Red Skull's giant super-mech shows up to stomp all over the US Capitol.

The writers offered no further explanation than the previous episode did as far as why Bucky was suddenly able to shake off his decades of brain-washing. Instead, this episode dived right into his current mission, which we eventually learned was trying to dispose of Red Skull's Hydra drones before his fail-safe activated. This was another area where the plot felt a little flimsy. If Red Skull had these gigantic, nearly indestructible drones lying in storage, why did he waste years infiltrating the US government when he could have caused more immediate and significant damage with these?

In any case, the episode delivered some brief but interesting flashbacks to Winter Soldier's early missions. Seeing a younger Fury and his S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in action was a nice bonus. We even learned that Bucky was responsible for Fury losing his eye. It's a shame this material wasn't expanded upon more, particularly with Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine making a silent cameo appearance. Marvel's live-action S.H.I.E.L.D. series can't happen soon enough.

"Winter Soldier" generally handled the title character well. His origin was pretty similar to the one established by Ed Brubaker in the Captain America comics, with the only major difference being that Skull was responsible for his "resurrection" from the beginning rather than stealing the assassin from his Russian handlers. He showed he had the skills to both defeat Fury in open combat and take down Red Skull's giant robot with sheer force of will (again, that fierce willpower should have been reflected more last week). By the end of this episode, Bucky's emotional arc was properly completed and the door was left open for more from the character. The problem there being that the series is ending soon, and it's still not confirmed whether Avengers Assemble will be a reboot or a continuation of Earth's Mightiest Heroes.

The final battle sequence wasn't quite the spectacle it could have been, but at least we got to see Cap and Bucky team up once again to punch Red Skull in the face. It offered a nice counterpoint to the tragic flashback sequence of Bucky's death we've seen multiple times during the course of the show. Unfortunately, Hulk and Yellowjacket were both conspicuous in their absence during the fight. It's been disappointing to see so many weeks pass without a return appearance by Hank Pym. His size-changing abilities might have lent an extra bit of flourish to the battle with Mecha Red Skull. Perhaps "Yellowjacket" was intended to take place after this one chronologically, but then why air it out of order?

On the bright side, at least next week's episode will finally bring Hulk back into the fold. The character was written out of the series just as his stock skyrocketed in the wake of the Avengers movie. Let's hope EMH can still run with that momentum as we inch closer to the big finale.

Jesse is a writer for various IGN channels. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following Jesse on Twitter, or on IGN.

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The Big Bang Theory: "The Date Night Variable" Review

Warning: full episode spoilers follow.

The Big Bang Theory ended the somewhat uneven Season 5 on a high note, with Wolowitz and Bernadette finally tying the know and Wolowitz subsequently blasting off to an uncertain fate aboard the International Space Station. The newfound momentum carried over into the Season 6 premiere, "The Date Night Variable." Here we learned that being trapped in the cold depths of space might be the least of Wolowitz's concerns, as there's apparently nowhere his mother's shrill, disembodied voice can't find him.

Given that the majority of the scenes in Big Bang Theory unfold on the same few sets, there was a certain amount of novelty in seeing Wolowitz floating in a zero-G environment with electronics crammed into every alcove and snarky Russian cosmonauts lurking around every bend. His fear of going to the space station clearly evaporated once he arrived, bringing that little subplot to a close. Instead, his fear of rebelling against his domineering mother went to war against his desire to please his new wife, leaving poor Wolowitz in quite the pickle. The back-and-forth was pretty amusing, particularly with Dimitri poking his head in to further take the wind out of Wolowitz's sails now and again. Melissa Rauch delivered a memorable performance despite only appearing as a talking head on a choppy video screen. Bernadette's bubbly exterior is clearly starting to crack thanks to Mrs. Wolowitz's nagging influence. Can you blame her?

Back on terra firma, the rest of the gang dealt with their own relationship crises. The final couple episodes of Season 5 seemed intent on pushing the various romantic relationships in a more purposeful direction again, and that trend continues here. Sheldon and Amy faced the prospect of their second anniversary and the contractually-obligated date that accompanied it. It's always been interesting to watch Sheldon deal with being in an actual relationship. This is a character who doesn't really comprehend romance, nor does he have any particular desire to learn. On one hand you have to admire him for sticking to his guns all this time, but on the other you have to feel a little bad for Amy when Sheldon exploits a loophole in their contract by bringing Raj along.

The uninvited dinner guest might be one of the oldest sitcom tropes in the book, but it worked well here. Raj's continual third wheel status kept the two date nights uncomfortable in a good way. It was also immensely satisfying to see him deliver the stern lecture about cutting the crap and embracing love that Leonard and Penny really needed to hear. Raj may be pathologically shy around women, but it seems even he knows a thing or two about matters of the heart. The episode took a funny swerve near the end when Raj and the perpetually lonely comic shop owner Stuart had a little male bonding moment over some "sad-tinis" and bossa nova music. Raj is in need of a new bromance now that Wolowitz is otherwise occupied. It'll be interesting to see how far the writers run with this pairing. The show has never allowed Raj much in the way of lasting romantic relationships. Maybe it's time he tried his luck with the other gender.

The only problem with this episode is the lack of resolution to some of these romantic conflicts. Sheldon at least provided Amy with the dose of affection she craved (with ample assistance from Spider-Man, of course). But the Leonard and Penny subplot was pretty much abandoned once they kicked Raj out of the apartment. Is it too much to hope they'll actually take Raj's advice to heart? Nor did Wolowitz do anything to quell the threat growing from the two women in his life. Clearly these relationship woes will continue to play out over the early part of Season 6. Again, it was nice to see a greater sense of purpose and direction with the characters late last season, and I'd hate for the show to start meandering with some of this material.

Still, "The Date Night Variable" provided a solid amount of laughs and some quality character moments, which is all anyone can really ask of this series. Now to grab my Chewbacca mug and get a refill on that sad-tini.

Jesse is a writer for various IGN channels. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following Jesse on Twitter, or on IGN.

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Channel Surfing Podcast, Episode 181

Welcome back to Channel Surfing, where I'm joined by guest host Jenna Mullins from E! this week.

First though a warning: We've got… audio issues this week! Yay! And unlike the infamous recent Skype-cast with Matt, I don't even have a good explanation for this one. Jenna and I were sitting in IGN's LA office, recording on the same equipment we always use, but something went wonky and while you can hear us, we sound oddly distant. And not just emotionally. Let's see if the Podcast lords are kinder next week, but my apologies. Channel Surfing: Always the top of the line in audio!

But let's get onto our topics this week, shall we? Jenna and I discuss this past weekend's Emmy awards and what we thought of the winners, including Homeland dominating and Mad Men being shut out. On the news front, we discuss J.J. Abrams and Alfonso Cuar¿n teaming at NBC, Ron Moore guiding A Knight's Tale to ABC and FX developing Fargo and The Strain as a TV shows. And we also chat about TV ratings from the past week and why CBS had a lower than expected Monday, while NBC Thursdays are looking dire.

We also discuss many of the season and series premieres airing this week, including How I Met Your Mother, New Girl, The Mindy Project, Ben and Kate, Last Resort and Vegas.

Lastly, reader email brings us queries about Attack of the Show and Glee.

Hey, why not follow us on Twitter?

Eric Goldman: @EricIGN

Jenna Mullins: @JBomb11

IGN.Com's official Twitter feed: @IGN

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New Girl: "Re-Launch" Review

Warning: Full spoilers from the episode to follow.

It didn't take long for New Girl to get back in the swing of things for Season 2. In a matter of minutes, I felt right back at home as Jess and Nick shared some quippy bathroom banter and Schmidt begged Winston to scratch the inside of his crotch cast. ("And before you ask, yes, I have been able to reach completion with some very precise and vigorous nipple play.") But after a long and seemingly uneventful summer, it was time to kick things back into high gear with Schmidt's DANGER-themed "rebranding" party, at which Jess, recently laid off from her job, volunteered to be one of the shot girls.

I must admit, I actually really like the idea of Jess's unemployment as an overarching plot device. Much in the same way that she had to cope with losing her boyfriend in the pilot, here we got to see how she handles another loss, this time with her teaching position. It was also fun to see the hilariously awkward support from the guys once they got the news (a la Nick's winking and Schmidt's disoriented sense of direction).

Jess's turn as a cocktail waitress was also pretty classic and -- what's that word again? -- "adorkable." Parker Posey's guest spot as Jess's "26-year-old" competition made it all the sweeter, too; her appearance was definitely one of the highlights. It's almost a shame we didn't get to see more of her, but then again, that almost made it funnier. Nick's comments comparing Jess to other shot girls were also pretty great. ("You're the nurse that I want to wake up to after I've had my stomach pumped. Different kind of hot -- but still hot!") And reintroducing the tiny silver hat from the lost and found was a nice touch.

We also learned that, not only are Schmidt and Cece are still broken up, but Cece now has a new boyfriend, Robbie (played by Franklin Nelson). Of course, that left the door open for Schmidt to continue his usual parade of shenanigans. His spinning flails of fire -- "the most dangerous element of all the elements!" -- was perhaps the most delightfully ridiculous, although I also enjoyed Robbie's nonchalant responses to Schmidt's interrogation. ("I don't like music. 'What's up with me,' you know?")

True to form, this episode also had a couple of really sweet moments, too. Schmidt and Cece's final conversation seemed to hint at a future reunion at some point, which would be preferable. Meanwhile, Nick and Jess's heart-to-heart outside was exactly what the episode needed to round things out. Indeed, "Re-Launch had just about all the makings of an exceptional episode of New Girl. Unfortunately -- as always, it seems -- Winston got the short end of the stick here. He never can seem to find his place, even when he's loosely attached to another character's storyline. While his drunken schtick was certainly not without its laughs, it felt like his character was kind of on the outskirts this time around. Having said that, Jess's storyline was the real draw this week, and it should be interesting to see how her unemployment pans out in future episodes.

Max Nicholson is a writer for IGN, and he desperately seeks your approval. Show him some love on Twitter and IGN.

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How I Met Your Mother: "Farhampton" Review

Warning: Full spoilers from the episode to follow.

It's been a long time coming -- a looooong time coming -- but with this season of How I Met Your Mother possibly acting as its last, it's clear after watching "Farhampton" that the show definitely has its sights set on the end. This, of course, was mainly due to the fact that we got the closest we ever have to seeing the mother, and for once, it almost feels like the end of our tale is within reach. Unfortunately, that fleeting exhilaration of that final moment was more or less undercut by the 21 humdrum minutes preceding it.

Once again, Barney and Robin were back on the long road to reuniting -- did I mention? -- again. In what is possibly the most roundabout way of writing someone off a show, it's borderline infuriating that we'll soon be forced to witness the train wreck that will eventually become Barney and Quinn's inevitable breakup. More than anything, I almost just feel sorry for Becki Newton, whose presence on the show now only serves as a constant reminder that she's leaving. We already know how the story ends, must we spell out how it all happens? At this point, I think we can put the pieces together. It's kind of like watching The Sixth Sense and knowing the whole time that (spoilers?) Bruce Willis is a ghost. It's simply not as interesting to watch.

How I Met Your Mother Creators on Crafting the (Probable) Final Seaosn

However, Lily and Marshall's storyline was easily the laziest of the bunch. Not only have we seen the "sleep deprived parents" bit in countless other sitcoms, but it seemed like there were some mixed metaphors going on between the initial zombie references and the bizarre recurring fish tank gag. Hopefully their season arc will improve, as theirs is currently the only one without a predetermined destination. It's a shame they got the shaft this week, as their hackneyed B-story could have easily been reworked into a stronger social rules bit. Admittedly, though, I did chuckle when Quinn explained why she had overheard the dazed couple's conversation, "'Hey, Quinn. Let's all hang out in Marvin's room!'"

Meanwhile, we also got a followup from Ted and Victoria, who, last we saw, had driven off into the sunset together. But as someone well versed in the etiquette of being left at the altar, Ted was appalled to learn that Victoria had not left a note for her fiancee Klaus. After all, "it's common courtesy!" Honestly, this arc -- while ultimately about as meaningless as Barney/Robin/Quinn's -- was perhaps the most entertaining. Ted's not so stealthy attempts at leaving the note were among some of the better sequences, particularly Barney's remote distraction of Andrea the Giant. ("Quinn's on board!")

However, it was Thomas Lennon's portrayal of Klaus that truly elevated this story. His conversation with Ted at the train station definitely added a bit of much needed weight to the episode. Although Band of Horses' "Funeral" wasn't exactly the most appropriate underscore for the montage, Klaus's speech was still a rather well-written summation of the presumed events to come, and provided a nice lead-in to the aforementioned mother sequence.

"Farhampton" was not without its occasional redeeming qualities, but as far as HIMYM episodes go, this one was certainly not a standout. In fact, the only substantial joke was Barney's one-minute recap of the entire series thus far, which seemed oddly fitting for HIMYM's potentially final premiere. Likewise, Robin's bridal cold feet at the top of the episode also provided an additional nugget of intrigue (although this obviously won't be addressed until later on). Aside from that, the episode was pretty lacking in both laughs and dramatic content. While it's a plus that Season 8 is heading somewhere assuredly interesting, I only hope the road ahead is a little more scenic.

Max Nicholson is a writer for IGN, and he desperately seeks your approval. Show him some love on Twitter and IGN.

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Alphas: "The Devil Will Drag You Under" Review

Warning: Full spoilers for the episode follow...

Whatever the cost is right. Unfortunately, the cost of finding Dani, from the push that Nina gave to Hicks, was Dani herself.

"The Devil Will Drag You Under" was a thrilling and poignant "dark before the dawn" episode that helped elevate Dani up the ranks to become a character whose death we care about possibly even more, at this point, than some of Rosen's actual team members. It also both redeemed her character and gave our villain, Parish, a more savage edge. Now I'm sure none of us thought Parish would actually spare Dani at the end, no matter how conflicted he might have been. He's a man who's lived way too long and seen far too much "sacrifice" to ever get trapped inside sentiment. But does anyone else think that he'll actually emerge from this angrier and more determined than ever as well?

Rosen and Hicks will be devastated, naturally. But it also seems like Parish will now carry around a deep resentment for Rosen and his ideals for turning Dani against him and forcing his hand. Which brings me to another great aspect of this episode - Parish's plan to kill all of Manhattan as a way of "culling the herd." Yes, from the playbook of "That Escalated Quickly," it turns out that the soft-spoken Parish isn't interested in baby steps. Nope. No gassing a subway car or taking out a bunch of people at a sporting event. He's skipping over a bunch of villainous rungs and going right for the genocidal maniac mantle. And yes, Rosen sending Dani back into Parish's clutches, as an obvious double agent, wasn't going to turn out well for her. That's writing 101. But if he hadn't, they'd also never have discovered Parish's plot.

In fact, it was purely because Parish revealed his master plan to Dani that Rosen and Hicks had to go in and rescue her. Because it caused her to noticeably freak out in Parish's eyes. Causing him to detain her. Causing her to miss her meet-ups with Rosen. And just when I thought Nina was going to be confined to doing her Nina-rounds (trying to comfort the distraught members of the team), she was revealed to be an instrumental component in Rosen's plan to send Hicks in after Dani.

In fact, there was quite a bit of mind manipulation in this episode. Kandyse McClure (BSG's Dualla) stopped by as a mind-vetter named Agnes. Who suffers the Rogue-esque curse of never being able to touch someone with her skin. Which then causes her to admire the true love that Hicks feels for Dani. Also, creepy Kimi was back, creepily whispering into Hicks ear, trying to get him to blow his brains out. Come to think of it, Hicks' mind was kind of like a boxing speed ball in this episode. But no matter how powerful these mind Alphas can be, they can't bring someone back from the brink of death.

Save for Rosen, everyone around Dani's fallen body had powers. But no one could heal her. Not even Nina's last ditch effort to push her with "DO NOT DIE!" It was a tragic, well-crafted scene that will hopefully push our heroes into the final stretch of Season 2 with an inspired fury.

Ashes for paradise.

Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and IGN. WARNING: No Nudity!

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The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes - "Code Red" Review

Warning: full episode spoilers follow.

This week's episode of Earth's Mightiest Heroes was nothing if not ambitious. "Code Red" was a loose adaptation of the comic book storyline of the same name (penned by Geoff Johns in a rare foray into the Marvel Universe). But it also brought Red Hulk back into the forefront as well as exploring the mystery of Winter Soldier and his connection to Captain America. Needless to say, the script bit off a bit more than it could feasibly chew in the span of 22 minutes, but "Code Red" was entertaining nonetheless.

The episode got off to a strong, slightly creepy start as Red Skull's virus spread and morphed all it touched into sickly, red-skinned, almost zombie-like creatures. This was some unusually creepy imagery for an animated superhero series, and it lent a nice darker edge to the episode. Unfortunately, the scope of Red Skull's attack was very limited compared to the original story. Rather than being a global pandemic, the Code Red virus only impacted the Avengers and the Manhattan civilians in the immediate vicinity. Ideally, this conflict could have been spread across multiple episodes, with one devoted to the Avengers battling against and ultimately succumbing to the virus, and the second shifting focus to Secretary of State Dell Rusk and his gang of superhuman enforcers.

It was strange seeing Doc Samson, Red Hulk, and Falcon relegated to what essentially qualified as hired muscle. The writers seemed inspired by Jeph Loeb's Hulk work in both the brawl between Red Hulk and Thor and the fact that Red Hulk was a member of a team comprised solely of characters who wear red costumes. Luckily, all three contributed to some memorable action scenes. The highlight was easily the Red Hulk/Thor battle, which was fierce enough to literally rock the Statue of Liberty on its foundations. Falcon showed his bad-ass side as well in the fight with Hawkeye, which should help win him some new fans in advance of his starring role in the upcoming Avengers Assemble series. Lance Reddick's vocal work certainly didn't hurt. Reddick, Fred Tatasciore (Red Hulk), and Steve Blum (Red Skull) all delivered memorable performances this week.

But again, the script was juggling more material than it could really handle, and the final minutes were really weighed down by the rush to the finish line. Winter Soldier's transition from loyal minion to Cap's savior was abrupt, to say the least. There wasn't even much indication as to what turned him against Skull. Red Hulk quietly vanished, while Samson's recent misdeeds were quickly explained away as a product of brainwashing. In the final moments, the Avengers discuss the downfall of Dell Rusk's political career and the resulting swell of public support for the Avengers, but this is all material that might have worked better if it were shown rather than told to viewers. Ultimately, Code Red either required more running time or a more narrow focus on Cap, Winter Soldier, and Red Skull.

Luckily, this isn't the end for these particular plot threads. Next week's episode will delve deeper into the Winter Soldier mystery, while the following installment (whenever Disney XD chooses to actually air it) will finally bring Hulk back into the fold and reveal Red Hulk's secrets. We're entering the final stretch for this series, and it looks to be an eventful time for Avengers fans.

Jesse is a writer for IGN Comics and IGN Movies. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following Jesse on Twitter, or on IGN.

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Boardwalk Empire: "Spaghetti & Coffee" Review

Warning: Full spoilers for the episode follow...

"Tell Nucky, Old Pop Collingsworth says hello!"

The violent hair-trigger temperament of Gyp Rosetti that was established last week in the Season 3 premiere helped a great deal in carrying us through "Spaghetti & Coffee," adding a extra layer of tension to every single scene he was in. From his dealings with the young man at the gas station to the scene in the diner, you just could never tell what might set Rosetti off. And honestly, it made for some very great, nerve-racking scenes. But the Rosetti we saw in this episode was a much more restrained, plotting gangster, with enough smarts not to just fly off the handle and kill innocent people in public. And with enough intelligence to actually figure out a plan to thwart a giant booze shipment headed to Rothstein. I'll tell you this though: The next time Rosetti is actually alone, with no witnesses, with a guy who's pissed him off, the crimson's gonna flow!

But even though Gyp stepped up a few notches on the crime boss evolutionary ladder by actually hatching a devious idea, "Spaghetti & Coffee" was a quieter episode than last week's. And it was also the first time that I specifically missed Jimmy. Perhaps it was because Harrow and Gillian took this week off, or maybe it was because one of the side stories involved Eli returning home, prison-gaunt, to his family. There is sympathy to be found in Eli, but not too much. He backed the wrong horse and was complicit in the plot to murder his own brother. Seeing him humbled seems like a natural progression, but Boardwalk needs to be wary of not overloading itself with "fallen" characters. We've also got Van Alden over in Chicago, trying to make his way through life by looking into mirrors and self-motivating himself through psychotherapy.

"How the f*** are you still alive?" Eli says to Mickey, as his new life now involves answering to Nucky's oft-inept gigglepuss. But work is work and Eli's ready, eventually, to lend a hand to Nucky's transport operation. The most interesting thing that developed here though was, at the end, when Owen trusted Eli's advice over Mickey's when confronted by Rosetti's "everybody got guns" battalion of thugs. So it looks like it takes about, oh, one episode for a disgraced character to climb back a few rungs and become useful again. I say this assuming that Van Alden will also take O'Banion up on his job offer.

Although there sadly was no Harrow this week, we did get a peek back inside Chalky White's world and got introduced to Stephen Root's cryptic Special Investigator, Gaston Means. Means, the money-drop go-between for Smith and Daugherty, already fits in well on this show, being both someone who's direct and puzzling at the same time. Chalky, however, is having a bit of trouble at home when he discovers that his daughter, Maybelle, doesn't want to marry the extremely do-right future-doctor, Sam. Even after Chalky vetted him ("How bout you doctor me?"). No, being Chalky's daughter has given her a penchant, and attraction, to a more secretive, gangster life. Even though she doesn't fully know the gruesome details of his work and legacy. "Am I interesting now?" Chalky asks her after Sam's face gets slashed at a juke joint, which then leads to the assailer's face getting stomped in by Dunn Purnsley. Chalky's story didn't have anything to do with Nucky, or the bootlegging biz, but it's always awesome to visit his world. And it's touching to know how much he wants his daughter to elevate her position in life. He could easily succumb to pride, thinking that the paid-for-in-blood life that he's provided her is plenty good enough. But he's done the things he's done so that she never has to.

Margaret, meanwhile, is still on Dr. Mason about prenatal care education. It's a good story, but I have a little trouble latching onto giant, historical issues like this when I know that there're so many more years of research and work and protesting involved in evoking eventual change than this series can dare to encompass. It's a lofty undertaking, which at this point seems like a bit of a burden for a character that many are still straining to appreciate. And Nucky? Well, Nucky's off and under the spell of follies-performer, Billie Kent. His very own White Rock Girl, as he references. But Billie is anything but something that reflects the crystalline purity of White Rock beverages. She's a good-natured, but flighty, actress. And Nucky mistakenly thinks he can curb her flirty, secretive ways. And for a guy who's so direct, and expects honesty in return, it's a bit foolish of him to get wrapped up in her allure. But from their time together we were able to learn that all Nucky wants, more than anything, is for "everything to run all by itself." Which is close to the life he could have had with Margaret if she hadn't thrown all his money at the pediatric hospital.

I do miss Jimmy, and I still haven't found a "not-Nucky" story that can match up with Jimmy's former side of the Boardwalk Empire coin. Eli's not going to cut it, and while Chalky and Harrow are fascinating to watch, they're still mostly "the frosting on top." Rosetti, and the tension he brings, is already a great addition, but stretching him out over a whole season could be a tricky endeavor. This episode felt a bit shallow, but perhaps that's because Nucky was busy dipping his feet in the shallow end, hoping his hummingbird wouldn't fly too far away.

Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and IGN. WARNING: No Nudity!

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Gunfire, then a missing ambassador -- officials describe chaotic scene at Benghazi post

The attack started with little warning. The U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi began taking fire at 10 p.m. Tuesday night. Within minutes, the attackers were in -- firing inside the building. 

It would be hours before U.S. personnel regained control. And hours before U.S. ambassador Christopher Stevens' body was recovered. 

These details and others emerged late Wednesday, as U.S. officials sought to reconstruct what happened in those chaotic and violent hours in eastern Libya the night before. 

The attack on the U.S. Consulate left four dead, including Stevens, and three wounded. Questions have swirled over what instigated the attack, with a number of lawmakers and others speculating that it might have been a coordinated strike timed for the 11th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. Speculation is also widespread over Stevens' exact cause of death. 

Senior administration officials, in a briefing late Wednesday, could not answer those two questions. But they sought to explain how the attackers mounted such a deadly assault on the compound, and in doing so acknowledged that U.S. personnel effectively lost track of Stevens after the initial attack. 

Though details could change and State Department employees are still piecing together what happened, officials described the chain of events on Tuesday night as follows: 

At 10 p.m. local time (4 p.m. ET, in Washington), the compound "began taking fire from unidentified Libyan extremists." That compound consists of a main building, as well as several "ancillary" buildings and an annex. 

Just fifteen minutes later, the attackers busted their way inside the compound and began firing into the main building, setting it on fire. At the time, there were three people inside -- Stevens, department official Sean Smith and a regional security officer. After the attackers gained entry, those three became separated in the heavy smoke and fire. 

The security officer made it outside, only to return in search of Smith and Stevens. They found Smith. He was already dead. However, they could not find Stevens, and had to leave the building because of the heavy smoke and "small-arms fire," officials said. 

At about 10:45 p.m. local time, U.S. security personnel tried to regain the main building but could not and returned to the annex. Thirty-five minutes later, they tried again with the help of Libyan forces. This time, they held it down, for long enough to evacuate everyone to the annex. 

However, at midnight, the annex too came under fire. The attack lasted for two hours, during which time two more Americans were killed. 

At around 2 a.m. local time, Libyan security forces assisted the Americans in "regaining control of the situation." 

In piecing together these details, U.S. officials are still trying to figure out what exactly happened to Stevens. 

"At some point in all of this, and frankly we do not know when, we believe that Ambassador Stevens got out of the building and was taken to a hospital in Benghazi," a senior administration official said. "We do not have any information what his condition was at that time." 

U.S. personnel did not see his body again until it was returned to the Benghazi airport around dawn. The official said the administration cannot say what the cause of death was -- reports have ranged from smoke inhalation to an attack on his car -- until an autopsy. 

As for the rest of the U.S. Consulate staff, they were all evacuated back to Tripoli over the course of a couple cargo flights from Benghazi on Wednesday. The flights included the three wounded personnel and the remains of the four Americans. The staff is now in the process of being flown to Germany, where those who are wounded will be treated and others will be on "standby" while the security situation is assessed. 

One official said the embassy in Tripoli, while still operating, has been reduced to "emergency staffing levels." All diplomatic posts around the world have been ordered to review their security situation and make improvements where necessary.

Fox News' Justin Fishel contributed to this report. 

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Death Comes for an Icon in Avengers vs. X-Men #11

Warning -- this article contains full spoilers for Avengers vs. X-Men #11!

Most event comics can be broken down into a series of watershed moments. Civil War had the debut of the Superhuman Registration Act, the unmasking of Spider-Man, and the assassination of Captain America. Fear Itself had the breaking of Captain America's shield and the (apparent) deaths of Bucky Barnes and Thor.

And Avengers vs. X-Men has its own watershed moments. There was the original spark that ignited a war between the two teams. There was the pivotal moment when Hope refused the power of the Phoenix Force and it was divided among five of the X-Men. And now, as issue #11 hits the stands and the final battle between the Avengers and the X-Men begins, there's another major development that may come to define the event for many readers.

Last chance -- don't continue if you don't want to be spoiled!!!

That moment comes when Cyclops finally gives in to the corrupting influence of the Phoenix and kills his former mentor, Professor Xavier. Though the body count in AvX has been zero so far (unless you count the death of the briefly resurrected Captain Marvel), the writers changed that in a big way this week. We were able to sit down with both writer Brian Michael Bendis and Marvel Senior Editor Tom Brevoort to discuss the big death and how it will impact Marvel's post-AvX plans.

Brevoort noted that the decision to kill Xavier came fairly late in the planning process. "We didn't start out looking for someone to kill or having a hit list or anything. In fact, the discussion about killing Xavier went back and forth for a good, long while as we were dealing with the middle point. The five guys who were working on this weren't always of one accord. By the end of it, one writer was still regretful that we ended up going this way. He was just out-voted by the rest of the group." He continued, "It was such a visceral thing. Their relationship was so Shakespearean that it proved, at least in our estimation, that it was the direction the story needed to go."

Brevoort laid much of the credit/blame for the decision on Bendis himself, saying that Bendis and Jason Aaron "did a lot of the heavy lifting in terms of outlining the super-structure of AvX. Brian is sort of the main Avengers guy, and Jason was the guy most currently heavy in the X-Men world. It made sense for them to do a lot of our outline process and run those outlines by the other three writers and have them vetted."

Bendis said, "I was moving into the X-office, and I was surprised how out of the loop Xavier was. He wasn't really a part of the plans or any books going on. It just seemed to me, and maybe it's because I'm a father, but his point of view was one of the most interesting. I kept pushing for it, and they were like, 'Well, he's not in any of these books right now.' And then we started talking about why Xavier had outgrown the X-Men franchise. He wasn't really part of it. I thought that was interesting. Is he more interesting now in death than he was in life? Does the idea of him being sacrificed to all of this make the X-Men as characters that much more interesting? And if so, what kinds of stories can we get out of it? And that's when the serious talks started happening."

Bendis pointed out that the issue leaves room for interpretation as far as whether Xavier willingly allowed himself to perish in battle. "Does he do an Obi-Wan and just close his eyes, or does he fight to the death? I kind of have it up to interpretation. This didn't happen privately – this happened in front of the entire Marvel Universe. So a lot of people are going to have a lot of interpretations about what they saw and what it means. That is certainly something to consider. Even if he fought to the death, does he somehow know that, either way, he might win? Is this the final thing he could give to the X-Men – his final sacrifice?"

Towards the end of Grant Morrison's New X-Men run, Xavier chided Magneto with this speech: "The worst thing you ever did was come back, Erik. Magneto had become a legend in death, an inspiration for change. Now look at you -- just another foolish and self-important old man with outdated thoughts in his head. You have nothing this generation of mutants wants... except your face on a T-shirt."

We asked Brevoort if the same was now true for Xavier, and if he was more important to the mutant race now as a martyr rather than a living, active figure. "Especially with M-Day and with Cyclops coming to prominence as the new general of the X-Men, Xavier, by necessity was sort of forced to take a back seat and be off to the side. There can't be two chiefs... I don't know that I'd reduce Xavier to being better off dead than alive. He's a person with ideals and dreams and hopes and so forth. The power of this moment and what it means for Scott to strike him down, even in a moment of losing his cool, striking down the guy that was essentially his father. Xavier took him from being a guy who was homeless and had these uncontrollable optic blasts and gave him a life to live in and surrounded him with friends and got rid of his loneliness and gave him purpose and a cause to believe in so strongly that Cyclops took it to this point... As a moment or a capstone or the beginning of the end for the journey of Scott Summers, it was a necessary, important beat."

Throughout the latter two acts of this event, the Phoenix Five have fought a losing battle against the influence of the Phoenix Force. The question now is whether Cyclops is wholly responsible for the death of Xavier, or if he had finally been consumed by his newfound power. Though obviously neither Bendis nor Brevoort could definitively reveal whether Cyclops survives the final battle in issue #12, the question of his culpability will be addressed in short order. Bendis said, "I'm getting right into that in my new series, because a lot of people have very specific ideas about just how much he is to blame for what has happened, including himself. That's a question we're going to explore throughout the book, and writing a character in this situation is just about as interesting a challenge as I could have as a writer. This is as big a hole as you can dig for yourself. Let's say the Phoenix was completely responsible and Scott wasn't in his right mind. How do you live with that?"

For Bendis, one of the benefits to launching a new X-Men series after AvX is the opportunity to explore the ramifications of Xavier's death. He said, "I'm coming into the X-books with a lot of notoriety. In a positive or negative way, I don't know. It was weird with House of M, particularly with Wolverine's memories, to put such a giant piece of storytelling out into the world, yet not be the one who takes it to the next step." he continued, "But now, at least with Xavier -- and a lot of this is happening after AvX -- I'll be able to be one of the guys following through on the promises made in the event. And as I've discovered over the years, that's really the best part."

The X-Men franchise entered a new status quo last year in the wake of Jason Aaron's Schism mini-series. Where once the mutant community was split in its support of Xavier or Magneto, now Cyclops and Wolverine became the two opposing figureheads in the struggle for mutant survival. Another common question regarding AvX as been how the event will affect this status quo. With many of the X-Men now united with the Avengers against Cyclops and Emma Frost, is the schism healed? Bendis said, "There's definitely a sense of unity, but if you pay close attention, it's not every X-Man. Only the ones who want to team up are there. And what they witness when they show up is not what they signed up for. They didn't go there to see Xavier be murdered. And how they all react to that and what they do next will be the stuff we deal with afterward. And on top of that, even though some of them agreed to team up for this fight, they may not like how the fight went. They may not like the aftermath and depart soon afterward. So there won't be what you've called a schism or a civil war. There will be lots of characters with different points of view to push forward. And I think the audience is going to gravitate naturally to who they agree with or who's got the most interesting point of view in all of this."

Bendis also elaborated on how Xavier's death will impact the course of All-New X-men, specifically how the five original X-Men respond to the discovery. "I'm certainly excited that this element of the story is finally revealed to the public. One of the big questions since we announced what All-New X-Men is partially going to be about is 'Well, what about Xavier? How does this happen?' With the death of Xavier, people can start to put together 'Oh, that's why they're here.' This is Days of Future Past to the original X-Men. This is a nightmare. Xavier is gone and Scott killed him? This is definitely worth pursuing from the eyes of the original X-Men. Now people can see where we're coming from a little better. Here's the original five. Now imagine you're Cyclops and you're at your most idealistic in the original days of the X-Men, and you come here to find out it all goes to hell. And how do the other four feel? Can Jean possibly still love Scott when she discovers what he's capable of becoming?"

Brevoort directed readers to All-New X-Men and Uncanny Avengers as the two primary books to deal with the fallout of Xavier's death, as well as the AvX: Consequences mini-series. "Xavier's death is going to have a greater impact than just AvX #11. It's going to be a central point in all the material Brian has coming out during Marvel NOW!. It's part of All-New X-Men. It's certainly going to be a central, motivating factor in Uncanny Avengers. Xavier's funeral is going to be in Uncanny Avengers #1, so it's the big kick-off of that. You're going to see it reflected throughout the Marvel line, at least for now."

Avengers vs. X-Men #12 will wrap up the event on October 3rd, while Uncanny Avengers #1 will hit the following week. All-New X-Men #1 is currently scheduled for release on November 7th.

Jesse is a writer for IGN Comics and IGN Movies. He can't wait until he's old enough to feel ways about stuff. Follow Jesse on Twitter, or find him on IGN.

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The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes - "Yellowjacket" Review

Warning - full episode spoilers follow.

My biggest complaint about the previous episode of Earth's Mightiest Heroes, "Ultron Unlimited," was that it didn't focus enough on the bizarre Pym/Ultron family dynamic. A major part of the problem was that Hank Pym was still in superhero retirement at the time and thus not around to confront his creation. But while that was a bit of wasted potential, at least Hank made his long-awaited return for "Yellowjacket." This episode borrowed from some classic Bronze Age Avengers material as it chronicled Pym's descent into madness and his misguided attempt to reinvent himself as a more proactive hero.

This isn't easy material for a more family-oriented superhero show to tackle, but the writers seemed to handle the challenge well. Speaking of which, the Man of Action team were responsible for this week's installment. They seemed to bring an extra dose of sly humor to the characters, particularly when it came to Hawkeye and his quips. But despite that extra dose of humor, the episode was fairly dark in tone. The writers didn't shy away from Pym's deteriorating mental state. If anything, they pushed him a step further than he went in the comics. Though he didn't get to the point of physically abusing Jan as he did in the infamous Avengers #213 (good luck convincing Disney to air that), Yellowjacket's schizophrenic desire to kill off his Hank Pym personality was arguably more extreme than it was in the source material.

All of this made for a very interesting character study. The characterization in Earth's Mightiest Heroes has always been a bit wooden and straightforward compared to some of the more ambitious superhero cartoons out there, but Hank may be the lone exception on the team. The show is immediately better off for having him back in action. And kudos to Wally Wingert for providing a Yellowjacket voice that was convincingly different from his regular Pym voice. Even for viewers who haven't read an Avengers comic, I'm sure the identity reveal was about as surprising as Senator Palpatine turning out to be Darth Sidious, but the effort was appreciated anyway. That said, hopefully Wingert can find more of a happy vocal medium if Pym really is determined to keep up his Yellowjacket persona going forward.

The one down side to this episode is that it didn't offer the resolution regarding Pym's mental state I was hoping for. Iron Man's brief outburst aside, the Avengers seemed perfectly willing to accept Hank back in the fold despite his recent misdeeds. That's to say nothing of the bizarre public reaction to Yellowjacket's debut. For all anyone was aware, Yellowjacket was caught on video giving the Punisher treatment to the Serpent Society, yet he was being praised on the news as a welcome addition to New York's costumed community. Will there be opportunity to keep exploring Hank's tenuous grip on sanity in the remaining episodes, or is this it? And is it just me, or is anyone getting tired of the Serpent Society being the de facto characters whenever the writers need a group of bad guy punching bags? The Marvel Universe is a crowded place, and surely there are some other C-Listers out there deserving of being punched in the face.

But if not as conclusive as I would have liked, "Yellowjacket" was nonetheless a strong return for Hank Pym.  With more episodes slated for the remainder of September, we'll see if Earth's Mightiest Heroes can keep building on its recent momentum.

Jesse is a writer for IGN Comics and IGN Movies. He can't wait until he's old enough to feel ways about stuff. Follow Jesse on Twitter, or find him on IGN.

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