In a red-carpet interview with the BBC at the “First Steps” premiere in London, a reporter asked Garner about the response from certain … fans … who were upset that the “Silver Surfer” is female. The “Wolf Man” actress gave a gracious response – in which she embedded a savage, blink-and-you-missed it schooling.

Shalla-Bal, first seen in “The Silver Surfer” #1 in 1968, is the female counterpart to Norrin Radd, who was featured in 2007’s “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.” In that film, the humanoid alien was played by Doug Jones and voiced by Laurence Fishburne.