DC Studios Max adult animated show Creature Commandos took fans new and old by surprise. Not only was its first season yet another marvelous show to add to the comic book juggernauts repertoire of phenomenal series, it also served as a harbinger for what the future of DC Studios will look like under James Gunns guiding hands. It certainly didnt hurt that it had all the flair, humor, heart, and sex appeal that, until now, was unheard-of for a DC project. Much like The Suicide Squad (Gunns version), Creature Commandos sees a weird assortment of DC oddballs tasked with completing deadly missions fit for a monster. Key among its cast of rejects are Rick Flag Sr. (Frank Grillo), the Bride (Indira Varma), GI Robot (Sean Gunn), Weasel (also Sean Gunn), Doctor Phosphorus (Alan Tudyk), Dr. Nina Mazursky (Zoe Chao), Frankenstein (David Harbour), and Circe (Anya Chalotra). While many of the characters above reveal themselves to be more than they initially appear as a force for good throughout the show, Princess Ilana Rostovic proves herself to be the quite the opposite. In tandem with the shows season finale, we spoke with Princess Ilana actor Maria Bakalova to ask her whether those fluttering eyelashes and Disney Princess front were genuineor if she was just playing with the audiences sympathies.This interview has been edited for brevity. Isaiah Colbert, io9: This isnt your first time working on a James Gunn comic book project. Your first was in Marvels Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 as the talking space dog, Cosmo.What drew you to joining another Gunn work? Maria Bakalova: Its James. Im just a huge admirer of everything hes doing. Hes such a master storyteller [in] the way he builds characters, the way he builds stories, [and] the way he tells stories is exceptional. Its extraordinary.You can always find his signature because of the humor, the love within these characters, and the idea of finding your place in life somehow and finding people that you can recognize yourself. You can find your chosen family to a degree. You can find friends and feel like you belong somewhere, which I feel we, as human beings, are always born with this feeling of I want to belong somewhere. I want to be seen by somebody. I want to be understood by someone. We see that with Creature Commandos. We saw that with Guardians of the Galaxy. Max All of these projects have these misfits, monstrous creatures that somehow get united by the idea that theyre outsiders of the world and they dont fit anywhere. Yet, they can be the greatest heroes at the end, and you can find yourself falling in love with them, rooting for them, wanting them to be successful in their mission. Even though Im a little bit biased here [and] I dont want them to kill my princess, lets say shes also part of the creature commandos team, because I dont wanna end up in the prison as well. io9: Creature Commandos is filled with a cast of characters who arent what they seem on first blush, including Ilana. Throughout the show, Ilana rubber-bands from being a Disney Princess-type figure to a cold and plotting villainess. How did you balance those two disparate tones between her character?Bakalova: Ilana is a character that I havent really played before. Ive gotten to work on a lot of interesting projects [that were] very different to each other, but I havent played a villain before. I havent played somebody that is using manipulation to get what they wanted. To sacrifice their dignity and humanity to achieve a goal of power and control over society. Its interesting. Im always curious how people end up in this place and how they transition from just having this as a thought to actually starting to take action on it. Shes a complex woman. She can be seen as innocent and fragileand someone who really needs protection. But she is not as silly as she plays it to be and is not as fragile as she wants people to think she is. Max Even though she reveals a little bit in front of Rick, shes like, Im a woman, and I get what I want. I know that Im capable of dealing with a lot of stuff. I dont need a boy. I want a man. Its a bit of a glimpse that maybe she is not exactly who they think she is. She wants to play with her charm, and she wants to play with her femininity. She wants to play with the idea [that] she is not dangerous, she is in dangerwhen shes actually the biggest danger of them all. I did get to play something similar when I was trying to convince people that my character is a real human being back in 2020 with Borat [Subsequent Moviefilm]. Sometimes, you just have to let people believe what they want to believe, and I think thats her goal as well. She just lets Rick and the creatures believe that they need to protect her. So thats why she plays it like, Okay, I need protection, just dont stay [in] my way. Later, we reveal that, especially when she speaks her language, she is a completely different human being. Shes a monster. She has some terrible ideas for the future. But yeah, shes an interesting character to play. Max io9: You mentioned Ilana striking up a relationship with Rick Flaga nonprofessional relationshipthat leads to the hilarious scene where Doctor Phosphorous covers for them being intimate. James Gunn shared the clip of you kissing the back of your hand to make that noise on his social media. Was that a scene that required an intimacy coordinator, or was it simply going in the booth and performing as many takes as necessary to make it work? Bakalova: No. As much as I do think you need to be provided an intimacy coordinator if you need one, for this specific scene, at the end of the day, I personally didnt need it. If I needed somebody to be there with me, I could have always asked for it. Its always an open conversation with James and with everybody behind DC. But what James does pretty well is using humor all the time. Yeah, its animation for adults, but its done with a lot of humor. Its not that serious. Even when we look at the scene itself, We look at the people in front of the door, listening to them being so angry and violent. And its like, How long is this going to last? What is even happening? Its not like a romantic scene. Its not like Pretty Woman. Its a scene about two characters that somehow use, lets say, passion to distract themselves from the real danger and the real problem. And its funny. Its hilarious. Max Theyre not supposed to be doing that, but theyre doing that. Rick is fully aware thats not his job there, but hes doing it. Ilana is aware that she should not be doing that because she might expose herself, but shes doing it. And its weird. And its funny. And its strange.Its been fun to have fun with it because Creature Commandos is a great show. Its a very layered show rich with characters, places, and music. Its beautifully edited, but its also a lot of fun. Its not that heavy and pointing a finger [saying] This is wrong and this is right. Its a fun show. Dark but fun. I didnt need an intimacy coordinator. I dont know about Frank [Grillo]. Maybeif he needed onehe would have had one, but we just had a lot of fun doing it. Max io9: Speaking of darker moments, in a future sequence from Circe, we see Ilana take over the world and kill a pantheon of DC heroes, including Peacemaker and the Justice Leagues Wonder Woman, Batman, and Superman. Which member of the Justice League do you think Ilana would have been the most merciless against and why? Bakalova: Oof! Maybe If I knew that the Bride is going to kill me, I would have been the most vicious against her. Thats my biggest enemy here because I can pretty much trick everybody else, but the Bride is my biggest problem. Max io9: Throughout the show, Ilanas status as a villain is played vaguely, given the runaround the Creature Commandos go through regarding whether Circes visions were correct. This all wasnt helped by Ilana endearing herself to characters like Flag and Weasel. Was Ilanas affection for them genuine, or was it a facade?Bakalova: I think its a little bit of a facade. Maybe with Weasel, [its] not that much of a facade. But to be completely honest, you just have to play the game. If she wants to succeed [in] her goal, shes just putting on a mask that [pretending] shes so fun, joyful, and enjoys the company of them. Its so fake at the end of the day. She has a bigger mission. She has domination of the world. If she has to pretend that she likes them so much, shes gonna like them. Maybe, when were not on her, shes kicking Weasel and throwing him away when Flag is not around. Maybe there is somebody else that she can have fun with. I dont really buy that she has empathy for them. Max io9: Despite your character being dead at the end of Creature Commandos, are there other comic book roles youd love to take on? Bakalova: Who knows? Im going to keep this for myself for now, but definitely. I do want to play a few more comic book roles.All seven episodes of Creature Commandos are streaming on Max. Season two is on the way. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, whats next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

First Apple TV+ made its original programming free to watch during the first weekend in January. The streamers effort to woo potential new subscribers continues with its latest promotion: its showcasing one of its most acclaimed seriesSeverance, which returns for its long-awaited second season next weekfor a limited time free on the Roku Channel. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Roku announced today that season one of Severance will be available on the Roku Channel through January 19, part of an exclusive fan experience (which sounds both sincere and like a reference to Severances infamous, in-universe music dance experience). The trade further notes in addition to the first season, Roku Channel will get a preview of season two of the Adam Scott-starring thriller, as well as behind-the-scenes content. Users will also be eligible for three free months of Apple TV+. (No additional details were provided on the three free months offer, but presumably becoming a paid subscriber would be a part of that.) Putting season one of Severance on the Roku Channel, and making it directly accessible from the platforms home screen at that, actually makes a lot of sense; as THR points out, Roku has an enormous reach with its 90 million users and is one of the biggest free streaming video platforms on the market. According to an IndieWire report in March 2024, Apple TV+ does not share subscriber numbers, though outside estimates have it at around 25 million. (Netflix, by contrast, had over 260 million at the time of the IndieWire article.)So really, its a win-win-win-win situation: a win for Roku to be hosting season one of Severance; a win for Apple TV+ to get way more people hooked on Severance ahead of its new season and become subscribers; a win for Severance to expand its fan base; and a win for viewers, because Severancea dystopian, deeply original, mystery-driven office drama about a world where employees home lives and work lives are medically separated, with chaotic resultsis one of the best shows out there right now.Severance comes from director and executive producer Ben Stiller, and creator, writer, and exec producer Dan Erickson. It has won Emmy and Peabody awards, and stars Adam Scott, Britt Lower, Tramell Tillman, Zach Cherry, Jen Tullock, Michael Chernus, Dichen Lachman, John Turturro, Christopher Walken, and Patricia Arquette. Season two kicks off January 17 on Apple TV+. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, whats next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

Atelier 111 House / Andr Simo & Nuno BessaSave this picture! Carlos Eduardo VinagreHousesBarcelos, PortugalArchitects: Andr Simo & Nuno BessaAreaArea of this architecture projectArea:379 mYearCompletion year of this architecture project Year: 2024 PhotographsPhotographs:Carlos Eduardo VinagreManufacturersBrands with products used in this architecture project Manufacturers: FamCozinhas, Gercima, RMC Lead Architects: Andr Simo, Nuno Bessa More SpecsLess SpecsSave this picture!Text description provided by the architects. This intervention takes place on a partially ruined building, located in the historic center of Barcelos, a small city in the northwest of Portugal. The project installs a multifunctional program: a single-family house and an architecture studio. Taking advantage of the two facades (north and south) of the pre-existing building, facing two streets at different levels, the following functional distribution was organized: the parking and storage area are located on the ground floor, with access from the street at a lower level (facing north); the studio, on the first floor, with access from the street located in a higher level (facing south); the housing unit, occupying the third and fourth floors.Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!The project recovers and revisits traditional construction methods, particularly with regard to the structure (wooden beams supported on the perimeter walls made of granite masonry) and the composition and materiality of the facades (ornamental stonework and wooden frames). A floor was added (to accommodate the private area/bedrooms of the house) and its elevations highlight the guiding lines of the geometry of the primitive building. This floor is set back in relation to the alignment of the existing facades, allowing a response to three fundamental objectives: the creation of outdoor living areas/balconies; the demarcation between eras and languages (on this floor, corrugated sheet metal is adopted as the predominant exterior covering material, typically used in blind gables between buildings); reducing the impact of the construction on the profile of the two streets that border it.Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!On the inside, two strategies were implemented: the articulation between contemporary and traditional elements, alluding to the building's various historical periods; the creation of open-plan spaces and the use of materials and devices permeable to light, so that in each compartment you can experience the simultaneous presence of the lighting and environment of each of the streets that the building faces.Save this picture!Project gallerySee allShow lessAbout this officePublished on January 09, 2025Cite: "Atelier 111 House / Andr Simo & Nuno Bessa" [Casa Atelier 111 / Andr Simo & Nuno Bessa] 09 Jan 2025. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1025402/atelier-111-house-andre-simao-and-nuno-bessa&gt ISSN 0719-8884Save!ArchDaily?You've started following your first account!Did you know?You'll now receive updates based on what you follow! Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors, offices and users.Go to my stream

The BepiColombo spacecraft during its sixth flyby of Mercury on January 8, 2025.ESA/BepiColombo/MTM ShareThe BepiColombo spacecraft has sent back some incredibly detailed images of Mercurys north pole. The snapshots were collected during its closest ever flyby of our solar systems smallest planet. You can check out the awe-inspiring images below.On January 8, the robotic explorer operated by the European Space Agency (ESA) and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) came as close as 183 miles above Mercury. The newly released images show permanently dark craters spotting the surface of the planet closest to our Sun. Nearby volcanic plains and the largest impact cater on Mercuryover 930 miles wideare also visible. Get the Popular Science newsletter Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. By signing up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.The spacecraft launched in 2018 and has completed five previous flybys. This most recent approach puts BepiColombo on a course to enter orbit around Mercury in late 2026. It holds one orbiter for Europe and one for Japan that will circle the planets northern and southern poles.M-CAM 1 took this long-exposure photograph of Mercurys north pole at 07:07 CET, when the spacecraft was about 787 km from the planets surface. The spacecrafts closest approach of 295 km took place on the planets night side at 06:59 CET. In this view, Mercurys terminator, the boundary between day and night, divides the planet in two. Along the terminator, just to the left of the solar array, the sunlit rims of craters Prokofiev, Kandinsky, Tolkien and Gordimer can be seen, including some of their central peaks. Because Mercurys spin axis is almost exactly perpendicular to the planets movement around the Sun, the rims of these craters cast permanent shadows on their floors. This makes these unlit craters some of the coldest places in the Solar System, despite Mercury being the closest planet to the Sun! Excitingly, there is already evidence that these dark craters contain frozen water. Whether there is really water on Mercury is one of the key mysteries that BepiColombo will investigate once its in orbit around the planet. CREDIT: ESA/BepiColombo/MTM. The image shows that large regions of Mercurys heavily cratered surface are smoothed over by lava from volcanic eruptions. This smoothing over is visible inside the 290 km-wide crater at the right of the image, called Mendelssohn. While its outer rim is still visible, it has been largely filled by the same smooth material that makes up the surrounding plains. Smaller, more recent impact craters dot the otherwise smooth crater. The vast plains surrounding Mendelssohn, called Borealis Planitia, were formed by the widespread eruption of runny lava some 3.7 billion years ago. The volume of lava making up Borealis Planitia is similar in scale to mass extinction-level volcanic events recorded in Earths history, notably the mass extinction event at the end of the Permian period 252 million years ago. Borealis Planitia is bordered by older and hence more heavily cratered terrain. CREDIT: ESA/BepiColombo/MTM. BepiColombos main mission phase may only start two years from now, but all six of its flybys of Mercury have given us invaluable new information about the little-explored planet, Geraint Jones, BepiColombos Project Scientist at ESA, said in a statement. In the next few weeks, the BepiColombo team will work hard to unravel as many of Mercurys mysteries with the data from this flyby as we can.The bright patch near the planets upper edge in this image is the Nathair Facula, the aftermath of the largest volcanic explosion on Mercury. At its centre is a volcanic vent of around 40 km across that has been the site of at least three major eruptions. The explosive volcanic deposit is at least 300 km in diameter. Nathair Facula is a major target for several BepiColombo instruments, which will measure the composition of the erupted material. This will teach us about what Mercury is made of, and how the planet formed. Also visible is the relatively young Fonteyn crater, which formed a mere 300 million years ago. Its youth is apparent from the brightness of the impact debris that radiates out from it. Older material on Mercurys surface has become much darker from weathering as it aged. Rustaveli, seen roughly in the centre of Mercury in this image, is about 200 km in diameter. Within its rim is a ring of peaks, making it a so-called peak ring basin. These peaks barely poke above smooth material on Rustavelis floor, which suggests the crater has been flooded by lava. CREDIT: ESA/BepiColombo/MTM.

NewsPaleontologyHumans, not climate change, may have wiped out Australias giant kangaroosFossilized kangaroo teeth hint at varied diets, helping the animals weather climatic changes Simothenurus occidentalis (illustrated) was one of dozens of kangaroo species that went extinct by 40,000 years ago.Nobu Tamura (CC BY 3.0)By Carolyn Gramling1 hour agoThe demise of most of Australias kangaroo species by 40,000 years ago may have had less to do with climate-caused dietary pressures and more to do with human hunters.Dental analyses of ancient kangaroos reveal they werent such picky eaters as once thought, researchers report in the Jan. 10 Science. Instead, when it came to climate-related changes in food availability, the animals might have rolled with the punches, the scientists suggest.Between 65,000 and 40,000 years ago, more than 90 percent of Australias large animal species went extinct. Over half were kangaroos. The primary suspects behind these extinctions were thought to be human hunters, who had arrived sometime between 70,000 and 50,000 years ago, and rapid changes in the climate, which may have dramatically reduced the animals dietary options.

Nature, Published online: 09 January 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00012-7Previously undescribed cells look like fat cells, but they function to provide cushioning and support in cartilage.

Nature, Published online: 08 January 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-024-08194-2This Review addresses the roles of type 2 immunity in cancer and the potential for cancer immunotherapies targeting this pathway.

Nature, Published online: 08 January 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-024-04080-zChemicals derived from neurotransmitter molecules in the brain can act as epigenetic marks on histone proteins to regulate gene expression. These marks control circadian clock genes and influence behaviour.

A new study describes a type of cartilage that may have been discovered, forgotten and found again at several points in history.

Human brains take in sensory data at more than 1 billion bits per second, but only process that information at a measly 10 bits per second, new research has found.