I've heard of batarangs, grappling hook, and Batman's glider...

About fifteen years ago, I checked out a book from the library, which I would like to locate again. It was a slim volume, recently published by a female author. I remember from reading the cover blurb that she was in her 20s and it was her first book. I believe that the title had the word "Maz...

When I was young I watched this movie I have limited vivid snapshot of the film, but I think it was a kid who (a boy about 9-13) who visits this toystore and for some reasons the toys were alive. I can also recall that they were also rival toys (villains) who wanted to bomb the area with tanks an...

Do Civil War and Thor Ragnarok happen at the same time?

In the film Thor Ragnarok, Fenris helps Hela take over Asgard and goes after Thor, Loki, Valkerie, and Bruce/the Hulk. In the original myths, Fenrir( as he was named), was Hela's brother. Is he also her brother, pet, or just an ally in the film?

At the (relative) beginning of Thor: Ragnarok, Hela returns to Asgard after a long absence. Odin expelled her—he mentions that he can’t hold her off any longer. Hela mentions that she was banished. But where to? I don’t recall it being mentioned in the movie. The obvious answer is to Niflheim...

When Hela first appears to Thor and Loki, she steps through a portal crawling with greenish-black energy. What’s unclear to me is the nature of the portal. The fact that the color scheme matches Hela’s strongly suggests that it’s something she did. But if it’s a facet of Hela’s powers, why was...

The primary antagonist of Thor: Ragnarok is Hela, the God of Death. Obviously, Hela is much better known simply as Hel. There are cognate terms that are pretty close to “Hela,” but “Hel” is the standard. However, Marvel uses a different term. This isn’t a choice that started with the film, eit...

I'm looking for a book series (a duology, I think) I read a while back. It has Lucifer as a protagonist, in a world where deities from multiple religions exist (IIRC, Lucifer's father is Chronos, a Greek deity, and he converses with Jesus and the Bhudda, among other deities). Lucifer isn't evil o...

From The Force Awakens we know that the following events took place at some time between RTOJ and TFA. 1) Rey is abandoned on Jakku by someone. 2) Ben Solo is seduced to the dark side by Snoke, joins/creates the Knights of Ren and betrays Luke Skywalker, the man who has trained him up to this p...

We all know the hammer is made from uru and was forged in the heart of a star. But what about the leather strap? Has this ever been addressed and if not than what animal hide or fabric could it be?

Everyone calls Aether an Infinity Stone. It has became common now. But, look at these: In Thor: The Dark World, Odin said: Their leader, Malekith, made a weapon out of that darkness and it was called the Aether. While the other relics often appear as stones, the Aether is fluid and everchang...

I'm trying to remember the name of a story. It was about this alien group mind that takes over other life forms. The way you can recognise the creatures that have been taken over is their eyes get replaced by a new sensory organ that looks like green hair. I thought it was Asimov but I could be w...

We know from Star Trek TOS S2:E13 - The Trouble with Tribbles that the problem is that they keep reproducing, and the way to fix it is to stop feeding them. We see Captain Kirk 'discover' this 10 years after Star Trek Discovery. In Star Trek Discovery S1:E3 - Context is for Kings, we see Lorca'...

In Guardians of the Galaxy 2, Ego gives a speech wherein he talks about his origins and his search for meaning, illustrated with a cool claymation-like diorama. I don't know where I came from exactly. First thing I remember is flickering adrift in the cosmos, utterly and entirely alone. Over ...

In the movie Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the excellent Colin Farrell plays Percival Graves, Director of Magical Law Enforcement at MACUSA. However, by the end of the movie, it is revealed that My question is: Do we ever see the actual Percival Graves in the movie?

I've read dozens of works by Stephen King and recently encountered a movie (oldie) based on his book Desperation. Even though I have never read the book version, I do think it was interesting and I am aware most of the times movies don't necessarily cover the entire story. Now I am planning on re...

In Sci-fi movie Existenz (1999), Ted came to Gas to be installed with bio part in the back of the spine to play the video game. Ted saw equipments in the drawer and said these words to Gas: Ted: Those are sterilized aren't they? Gas: Not to worry. You could fire in a bio-port in a slaug...

So, we know that the use of balefire can effectively "rewind time", in a manner of speaking, when used against people. But what happens if its used on a forest? Does all of the oxygen that tree produced cease to exist, and the people who breathed it suffocate? In the battle with Rahvin, Rand used...

Book was most likely a paperback book from the 1970s or 1980s. Possibly set in a post-apocalyptic (possibly plague or pandemic) United Kingdom (maybe Scotland) or Ireland? A American(?) Soldier arrives in a small town driving a (Sherman? or M1?) Tank. (Maybe the sole survivor of a nearby Army B...

Related to How do people shave in the 24th century? (regarding Star Trek), how do people shave in the Galaxy Far, Far Away (i.e. the Star Wars universe)? Do they use traditional razors? Do they have any fancy sci-fi devices that do it for them? Or do they have lightshavers as Robot Chicken sugges...

In Person of Interest, the team continues to use the subway tunnel as a "base of operations" even after Shaw is captured by Samaritan operatives. Given that they almost certainly would've interrogated Shaw (which they did), and she was aware of that location, why didn't they find a new location i...

In the original three Dune novels, it is mentioned numerous times that Stilgar - Naib of Sietch Tabr and Paul's Fremen mentor/friend - is uncle to Chani, Paul's wife. However, Chani is the daughter of Liet Kynes, the Imperial planetologist from the first novel. So... that means that Stilgar is ei...

Ego tells Peter something along the lines of If my planet and I are destroyed, then you will not be celestial anymore. It seems to me that if Peter is a celestial like his father, or at least a demi-celestial, then he should continue being so even after his Father dies. Why would Peter's power ...

Doctor Dolittle can talk to animals and has no hesitation to use them for his work. Yet I don't seem to recall him ever using animals to get around for non-normal use (for example, he's always taking a car or boat, instead of flying across sea by bird. I'm not referring to riding a horse, or even...

I couldn't make out what happens at the end of the much anticipated Thor-vs-Hulk fight in Thor: Ragnarok. We see that for most of the fight: And at the end of the fight: Then, suddenly: So what exactly happens there? One more thing: But there's a contradiction:

I understand many wizards don't know much about Muggles, probably because they have no need or desire to. However, Arthur Weasley has always puzzled me. He loves Muggles. He obsesses over them. His hobby is taking apart Muggle objects. Heck, even his job involves Muggle relations! So, why in th...

In shots of the Grandmaster's Palace, you can see the heads of various Gladiator Champions carved on the side. The hulk is clearly being constructed on the top. One of them (I'm fairly certain) was Beta Ray Bill. Another may have been the Bi-Beast (hat tip to a commentor on io9). Any idea who...

Ever since I first saw Guardians of the Galaxy 2 I was curious if this scene was a reference to The Little Prince. Essentially in the scene Ego is explaining to the Guardians how he traveled the cosmos looking for life. One scene in the models shows Ego in human form talking to a child in green o...

At the end of The Opal Deception, Opal loses her magic by inserting a pituary gland in herself and turning herself into a human. The simple truth was that Opal had been too clever for her own good. By placing a human pituary gland in her own skull, she had effectively humanized herself. Gradu...

The answer here ends with this opinion of Obi-Wan Kenobi: "Ultimately, what we see is a true dueling master. One able to hybridize the forms and adjust as necessary..." The whole answer shows that Jedi could be skilled enough in multiple Forms to be able to mix-and-match as needed. This exa...

Short story I read years ago, can't remember which one. It was almost certainly by Asimov, and would have been in some anthology but can't remember which. Could be in "The Winds of Change and Other Stories", but I don't have the book anymore and it might have been in others. The main character t...

I don't remember reading about this in the books and I was very curious to know two counts: How many people are there in the "magic community" in Harry Potter's universe? What's the number of students at Hogwarts during a typical school year?

Because, you know, Luke was evil, and Hazel says that the judges pull the thoughts from your head and all that. I'm not sure if Luke did enough good to get to Elysium.

I understand why Astronomy is taught, it can be useful in Divination (an elective) and in harvesting potion ingredients, but wouldn't it be better as an elective/extra-curricular? Where if you wanted to know more about how it affects potion-making you could take it additionally, like how you can ...

Read this story 20-30 years ago but it was probably old then. A team of operatives (from the future?) tries to influence the actions of one key man to prevent devastation of earth. In one world this man is a high-handed snob...I remember he’s ordering breakfast and the waiter asks him if he want...

   Yoda didn't believe turning away from Dark Side is possible, and kept this belief right until his death. He famously said to Luke Skywalker: Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny, consume you it will. He may have changed this opinion moments before he d...