Reader and 9th Wonders member Roxygr1223 was nice enough to point us in the direction of some new pictures from Chapter Sixteen “Unexpected” posted over at NBC Universal Media Village (NBCUMV as it’s more widely known). A few of them are a little spoilerish. But what Roxygr1223 brought to our attention was a nice cameo of comic book legend Stan Lee as a bus driver. Not sure how much screen time Mr.Lee gets, but it’s welcoming to see a show who’s recently brought the essence of comic book storytelling to the mass public in turn give a direct nod to the man who made comics what they are today.

Source: Roxygr1223 at 9th Wonders and NBCUMV

We have some interesting spoilers coming in from around the web today. First off is a short bit from Kring about Sylar and season two of Heroes posted over at Sci-Fi Wire:

As for the cliffhanger? “It’s not necessarily a cliffhanger in terms of what has been set up so far storywise,” he added. “It’s more of a cliffhanger as to the welfare and well-being of several of our characters. … Obviously it plays into where we kick off at the [beginning] of season two.”

Don’t expect the villainous Sylar (Zachary Quinto) to go away. “I love Zach Quinto, and I love what he’s doing for the show,” Kring said. “And the truth is I would like to continue and have him in the second season.” There’s a reason he’s being kept alive by his mysterious captors, he added: “They really want something from him. The organization that Jack Coleman’s character [H.R.G.] works for is on some sort of obvious research-oriented, as we call it, tag-and-release program. So there are things that they are gleaning by getting each one of these people. And remember, he is a character who seems to be exhibiting more than one power, which is intriguing to them as to how and why.”

Next up, Kristin over at E!Online had these spoilery little tidbits to throw our way:

Sylar holds the Bennets hostage. Get ready for a squeal-worthy, edge-of-your-seat episode next week, because Zachary Quinto (Sylar) is not messing around. And Mama Bennet is gonna have a rude awakening about what her beloved Rim Job (aka Horn-Rimmed Glasses, aka Mr. Bennet) has been up to all these years.Radioactive Guy is coming back. Rena Sofer (Nathan’s wife) is also coming back. She told me at the Fox party (doing press for that other amazing show she’s on, 24) that “they just called,” so we see her closer to the end of the season. She also said cryptically of her character’s future, “Next time you will see me in a wheelchair, but who knows?”Something tells me Eric Roberts is playing Linderman. Call it a hunch. As for the biggest reveal coming up in February sweeps—the identity of Claire’s father—well, let’s just say that, just like mommy, her daddy also has an ability. And it is truly an amazing twist!

And last but definately not least, we’ve learned, thanks to zotonian over at 9th Wonders, that Malcom McDowell will be joining the cast of Heroes as an ally of Nathan’s. Will he have abilities, they didn’t even hint - it was a small side note in the paper.

Source: Sci-Fi Wire, Kristin at E!Online, zotonian at 9th Wonders, and USA Today.

9th Wonders forum member Plastic Bag was kind enough to share the spoiler highlights from the latest issue of TV Guide. There’s some juicy stuff in it. Here’s the recap:

• The next death will occur in the Februrary Sweeps.
• Once Claire meets her real parents, it will become more important to find others like her.
• Hana is played by a Candian actress Stana Katic and will debut in the Februrary 19th episode (thats Chapter Sixteen - Unexpected).
• Hiro’s father is supposed to be one of the world’s wealthiest men, he arrives with bodyguards in a $450,000 car.
• It will be revealed that Hiro’s family are members of a long and very important Japenese dynasty.
• Linderman will be revealed after February.
• Very soon Niki and Jessica will battle to take control and a winner will be declared.
• D.L will struggle as a single parent.
• Matt will be the last hero to be folded into the main story.
• Ted is named after Ted Kaczynski.
• Simone and Mohinder will NEVER have powers.
• Nathan’s destiny will become clear in episode eighteen.
• No one will be able to find Peter for several episodes [ed. new tag line? How do you find an invisible man?].
• Nathan WILL win his campaign.
• There will be no more new characters introduced in the Heroes comics [ed. thank god, Hana’s kewl but those who don’t follow Heroes outside that one hour a week can get confused].

WOW! Great stuff Plastic Bag!

And speaking of TV Guide, Ausiello threw out another tidbit today. We’ve seen an earlier spoiler about a new female character that “wields a tremendous amount of sex appeal” and is willing to “get her hands dirty” for her employer. Ausiello says that the new character’s name is Faith (played by Missy Peregrym) and will debut in chapter eighteen. He promises that tomorrow he will drop us a clue to her power in one of his famous asterisk cryptograms.

Source: Plastic Bag at 9th Wonders and Ask Ausiello

This morning, HeroesTheSeries.com covered a story that originally broke yesterday by Michael Ausiello of TV Guide. Ausiello says that Eric Roberts will be joining the cast of Heroes during the February sweeps as an associate of Mr.Bennet (HRG). It was a little short snippet of a Heroes mention on Ausiello’s blog and it’s quite easy to see how it might have gotten missed in the hoopla of anticipation in waiting for Heroes return yesterday.

The report is starting to circulate around the industry as well as several other fan sites. The growing rumblings we’re hearing is that he will be playing a character named Thompson. For those who read the comics, you may remember Thompson only as a name that came across HRG’s cell phone when testing Hana Gitelman during the Wireless mini-arc. Looks like we now have a face to go with the name.

Sources: Ausiello Report, Heroes the Series, HeroSite, Hollywoord Reporter