Heroes season 3 premiere *spoilers*

So, without giving too much away, let's just say that 'The Second Coming' and 'The Butterfly Effect' kick volume 3: Villains of Heroes off to an emphatic start. There's a time-travelling future Peter wondering about trying to fix fixes of fixes, unleashing a butterfly chain of events across the space/time continuum. We find out who shot Nathan Petrilli and why. We see Sylar bad-ass himself around, chomping scenery, getting back on the power-stealing mission, including visiting one that got away, resulting in one of the most chilling moments so far. I won't say anymore but that person will be forever changed. Meanwhile, who is the fatguy on Level 5 of the company's bunker in Odessa and why does he claim to be Peter Petrilli? And who are the other macabre demons with him, and why does one of them look like Marlo Stanfield from the Wire? We also find out Hiro's latest destiny quest, spurred on by a message from his past and Angela Petrilli's power.

The pacing is nice and fast, a contrast to the slow-boiling unfurling of events in the previous two series. We see the main themes quickly, the butterfly chain of messing with the time-continuum and the innate evilness within us. There is a lot of action quickly, a lot of resolutions from previous seasons and some new questions and mysteries being asked all the time. Even though the previous season was unevenly plotted, there was still plenty of drama and charm to keep you hooked in. This doesn't play on the Lost level of dangling unanswered questions in front of you instead of drama. This actually seeks to clue you in. Although it's slow and deliberate, it demonstrates that those pulling the puppet strings are in the know. Also, as powers and invoked and tested, nurtured and revealed, we follow each character's voyage of discovery around them.

This was a strong opening to what will be a great action-packed volume for the show. There's even a cheeky nod to X-Men, which this seems to be directly ripped from. See if you can spot it. Heroes season 3 debuts on the Beeb in October so not too much longer to wait.

Here's a preview: