The best of ComicCon 2018
THEY came, they saw, they conquered.
More than 100,000 fans geeked out over superheroes and sneak peeks at some of Hollywood’s most anticipated blockbusters and TV shows at the annual San Diego ComicCon, but the most memorable moments weren’t limited to the Hall H stage.
From splashy Aquaman footage to the first female Doctor Who, to Ezra Miller’s reign as our greatest celebrity cosplayer, the best moments from ComicCon 2018 had fans buzzing at the biggest pop culture event of the year.
SYFY makes noise with a marching band (and a karaoke bus)
Don’t tell Syfy that this year’s ComicCon was any less vital in the absence of brands like HBO and Star
Wars — they were all in with a scheduled 10 panels and multiple activations.
Some of these promotions were moving targets with a New Orleansstyle secondline brass band led by actor Orlando Jones that swung through music from Harry Potter and
Star Wars down Fifth Avenue in the centre of the Gaslamp Quarter. The area is hard enough to navigate during ComicCon, but that didn’t stop another promotion a few blocks away in a slowrolling bus that functioned as a network billboard as fans belted out karaoke from the open top.
What did any of these have to do with Syfy’s programming, which tilts towards the genre of the network’s name with shows by the Russo Brothers and George R. R. Martin?
Only the fans know.
The new ‘‘Doctor’’ is in
‘‘My name is Amelia and I’ve actually been waiting for a girl Doctor for a very long time,’’ a young fan said during the panel for the venerable British series Doctor
Who, which will enter a new era this autumn as its title character will be portrayed by a woman, Jodie Whittaker, for the first time.
A cheer rippled across Hall H in response to the girl’s statement. ‘‘You’ll make me cry,’’ Whittaker said, and the fan went on to ask whether the Doctor would include more ‘‘girl stuff’’ in the new season.
Whittaker responded that her character — in accordance with some 55 years of onscreen existence — is an alien, and thus neither female or male. Or, as she explained with a grin at an earlier press conference, ‘‘I’ve got two hearts, so I can do whatever I want.’’
Reunited and it feels so good (to be ‘Bad’)
Breaking Bad brought a touch of 2008 to ComicCon as the show celebrated its 10th anniversary with a Hall H panel on Thursday.
Although there was talk about how Walter White’s signature blue meth was the actual cause of the zombie outbreak in fellow AMC show The
Walking Dead — ‘‘it’s canon’’, according to Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman — the favoured topic was bringing the cast and characters back together by any means necessary.
One audience member proposed a Malcolm in the Middle reboot with Aaron Paul portraying Bryan Cranston’s character’s son (‘‘I would be so down,’’ Paul said), and another asked about the possibility
for a future movie. Cranston, who confirmed that Walter White is indeed dead, dismissed the idea. However, Breaking Bad creator
Vince Gilligan remained less certain. ‘‘I love that question,’’ he said, as surely a few hopes in the hall took flight. ‘‘Anything’s possible.’’
A family affair for The
Walking Dead
At The Walking Dead panel inside Hall H, star Andrew Lincoln confirmed to a chorus of disappointment that this would be his final run as Rick Grimes. ‘‘Now hear me out, please,’’ he went on. ‘‘I love this show; it means everything to me — I promise not to cry. I’ve done enough crying on the screen.’’
After speaking more about how much The Walking Dead and its fans have meant to him, Lincoln paused and asked the crowd, ‘‘I’m talking too much, aren’t I?’’ The fans assured him he was not.
Lincoln wasn’t the only emotional one as costar Norman Reedus pulled the crowd to its feet for a standing ovation for Lincoln, which culminated in a cast group hug. Parting is such sweet sorrow.
Tears, no fear, for Jamie Lee Curtis At Halloween panel
Universal’s Halloween presentation for the upcoming sequel got unexpectedly emotional
when one fan stepped up to the microphone during the panel Q&A; to tell star Jamie Lee Curtis how her Laurie Strode helped him escape an attacker in real life.
‘‘I’m here today because of the way that you portrayed Laurie Strode,’’ he said, breaking down in tears before Curtis ran offstage in
front of thousands of applauding fans to embrace him. ‘‘I’m a victor and not a victim.’’
Ezra Miller’s Toadette cosplay wins ComicCon
Fans in incredible costumes abound each year at ComicCon, where Storm Troopers, XMen and a lot of Spideys and Deadpools were spotted strolling the convention halls and Gaslamp streets last week.
While WWE superstar John Cena scored huge nerd points for roaming the con in a bright yellow ‘‘Bumblebee’’ outfit, it was Fantastic
Beasts star Ezra Miller who — once again — took home the crown as the No 1 celeb cosplayer of ComicCon. In 2016, he dressed as Gandalf for his first Hall H panel. Last year, he showed up in a Fullmetal Alchemist
Edward Elric outfit. This year, Miller worked it in pink and white Toadette cosplay — and wore it all day as he did the press rounds. As the saying goes: Some heroes don’t wear capes.
Aquaman passes the Hall H test with flying colours
From Iron Man to Man of Steel, many a superhero franchise has been launched from the hallowed Hall H stage. This year it was
Aquaman’s turn to make a splash. Warner Bros. handily dominated Hall H this year with panels for
Wonder Woman 1984, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, Godzilla: King of the Monsters and more at ComicCon’s biggest arena, where the studio unspooled innovative visuals on its exclusive wraparound screens and brought interactive lightup bracelets for all 6500 fans in attendance.
Aquaman director James Wan came packing a new trailer for the December blockbuster and treated the hardcore fans to an extended version with even more action and a coveted reveal of Jason Momoa in the iconic Aquaman suit — a special reward for the ComicCon fans, some of whom had lined up overnight for a first glimpse at the superhero standalone. Rally for Rose Tico unites
Star Wars fans
Star Wars fans showed up for Last Jedi star Kelly Marie Tran, who deleted her social media posts in June after being harassed online by trolls. That meant that the Rose Tico cosplay at this year’s ComicCon was a particularly meaningful show of support for the actress — even more so Saturday, when Tran fans in
Rose for Hope Tshirts and a squadron of Tico cosplayers gathered to stage an empowering Rally for Rose on the convention’s busiest day.
Using the hashtags #ForceOutHate and #RallyForRose, the moment organised by the Nerds of Color blog visibly rallied around not just Tran but also diverse representation in the Star Wars galaxy and beyond. Even Star Wars star Mark Hamill tweeted his support.