Warning: This post contains major spoilers for Agent’s of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s upcoming episode “Uprising.” 

Any one of you who pays a visit to New York Comic Con is more than likely to find yourself enrapt at one point or another in a conversation about one of your favorite nerd-friendly properties. It’s also fairly likely that the other end of said conversation will be a masked stranger—a species that travels the Javits Center grounds in droves. But it’d be a much rarer phenomenon for you to find yourself engaged in discussion with an anonymous cosplayer about one of any number of mutually beloved movies or TV shows only to find out mid-conversation that you’ve actually been chatting with Clark Gregg the whole time. Don’t get me wrong—it’s not like this never happens. Just… once in a blue moon.

A few lucky NYCC-goers this year got to experience such a surprise, when Gregg draped himself in a particularly goofy Ghost Rider costume and hit the floor to screw amicably with fans of his Marvel series, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. He wasn’t alone, either. Gregg’s costars Chloe Bennett and Gabriel Luna joined him on the antic, dressing up as Rocket Raccoon and Star-Lord, respectively. Those of us who stopped by Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s official panel on Friday evening got to see authentic video footage of the agents messing with, delighting, and embarrassing innocent fans on the convention floor—it was especially funny when they ran into the odd S.H.I.E.L.D. detractor.

The video, while a lot of fun, was hardly the only thing Marvel had to share during the panel. Additionally, we were treated to an advance screening of a brand new episode of the series, one that seems to really be pushing forward a number of standing conflicts. First and foremost: the accelerating threat of the Inhumans… that is, the spread of propaganda about the accelerating thread of the Inhumans.

When a power-out hits Miami, Inhumans are pegged as the prime suspect, thanks in no small part to a garbled anonymous message gracing the news and taking responsibility for the act on behalf of the superpowered community. The messenger touts himself as the representative of an activist group looking to incur an end to Inhuman Registration worldwide by means of terror. Agents Coulson, Mack, and Fitz are relocated to Florida to handle the situation, which brings Mack and Yo-Yo together for a somewhat contentious reunion.

Back in Upstate New York, May’s comatose body flirts with death while Simmons and Dr. Radcliffe toss about theoretical ideas in the name of bringing her back to life and good health. (Things go especially awry when yet another ostensibly Inhuman-caused blackout overtakes the lab, rendering them without the medical equipment needed to perform a very pivotal element to their ultimate plan.)

Finally, we catch up on the road with Skye and Ghost Rider, who are bound for the latter’s home, where his younger (and much more levelheaded) brother Gabriel Reyes awaits… though not before the vagabond heroes dispose of a bunch of armed attackers, which gives Gabriel the chance to glimpse the secret Skye is hiding. More pertinent to him than her powers, however, is the sort of influence she’ll be on his impressionable brother; Gabriel spends the duration of the episode running Skye through the ringer to determine whether or not she is someone he can trust with Ghost Rider’s company.

In addition to one pretty stellar fight scene, the primary takeaway from the episode was its conclusion, which proved there is more to the Inhuman rights movement—and to one particular politician embattled therewith—than meets the eye. Will you check out “Uprising” on Oct. 11? Tell us below.

Images: ABC/Marvel