10. Con Man Fan Makes Costume That Barely Exists
If there's a Most Dedicated Fan Award, it could go to the woman who somehow managed to make a costume based on actor Alan Tudyk’s flight suit from the upcoming film Con Man. The thing is, the costume hadn’t even been revealed until the day before!
The fan stood up at the Hall H panel to ask a question. Tudyk was utterly shocked. “What the hell?!” he exclamed. “How did you do that so fast?” “I stayed up until 2 in the morning with some markers and sewed some stuff,” the fan replied. Tudyk rewarded the fan by giving her the shirt off of his back—or at least the shirt he’d walked into the panel wearing as his Firefly character, Wash. The great moment starts at the 53:50 mark in this video.
9. The Great Agent Carter/Agents Of Shield Dubsmash War
The star of ABC series Agent Carter, Hayley Atwell, is obsessed with the Dubsmash app. It allows users to make short looping music videos with existing songs and soundbites. That inspired a musical challenge from Agents of S.H.I.E.LD. stars Chloe Bennet and Clark Gregg. Who won? Let’s just say, never underestimate Agent Coulson, who will do anything to get the job done. Check out the full battle on the Hypable web site, but the winning blow is below.
8. Maisie Williams Revealed As Doctor Who Guest
A collective gasp arose from the Hall H audience when, at the very end of the Doctor Who season trailer, a special guest star was revealed. Just in time, after Game of Thrones season six just ended, Maisie Williams' fans will get to see her in a new light. Experience the revelation for yourself with the trailer below.
7. Conan O’Brien Sets Up Shop In San Diego
An neon outline of the host’s carrot top was the only sign needed to bring fans lining up around a building in San Diego. Setting up shop in the East Village was a savvy move by the late-night talk show host, as it allowed him to feature celebrities in town who were also appearing at SDCC. Guests included Elijah Wood, Peter Capaldi, cast members of Game Of Thrones and Chris Hardwick. Check out the highlights on O‘Brien’s web site.
6. Nerd HQ Lives
The new Children’s Museum in San Diego proved to be a pretty good setting for the fifth annual offsite showcase of video games, computer displays and photo ops. There ended up being two downsides. One, the stage setup for the panels wasn’t raised high enough to allow fans in the back rows to easily see the guests. In certain seats, the overhead lighting was a bit blinding. Two, there was apparently an alcohol. compliance issue to contend with, as on Saturday the bars were no longer able to accept cash directly and visitors had to buy drink tickets to redeem instead.
Regardless, it was wonderful to see Nerd HQ get back on stable ground: no crowdfunding required this time around. IGN, AMD and Loot Crate all turned out to be very complementary sponsors for the event who were interesting for fans to be around, not intrusive.
5. New Arrow Costume Revealed
After actor Stephen Amell announced he had “worn the Arrow suit for the last time,” people wondered what that meant. Well, the found out at SDCC when Amell came out for the panel wearing a brand-new Arrow costume—or should we just say, Green Arrow costume? The new outfit is much closer to how Oliver Queen appears in the comic books. We dare say it’s sexier, too, as it does a great job of showing off Amell’s muscular arms.
4. Heroes Is Reborn
After an acclaimed first season, the original Heroes series lost its way. Season two was stunted by a writers’ strike and the show’s writing never seemed to recover. Writer and producer Tim Kring seems well aware of the issues. As he addressed the crown in Hall H, he seemed grateful for the packed house and a second chance.
All of the stops are being pulled out for Heroes: Reborn. There’s an app for mobile devices already, which includes a prequel series called Heroes: Dark Matters. In addition, two different video games are under development. One is called Heroes: Gemini and is for consoles and personal computers while Heroes: Enigma is made for mobile devices.
Of course, NBC also ensured that the new series had a huge marketing presence at SDCC, just as the original series did. A new trailer was debuted there and, thanks to the presence of both new characters and old, the show’s future looks promising.
The Heroes: Reborn premise is quite dark. In the last episode of the original series, the existence of people with special abilities was revealed to the world. Five years later, it turns out that wasn’t a great idea. Watch the trailer below for some insights on what’s in store. Heroes: Reborn debuts on September 24.
3. William Shatner Plays Santa At Nerd HQ
Those little 200-seat panels at Nerd HQ are often the setting for the best types of wackiness. “God you’re close!” 84-year-old William Shatner exclaimed when a front-row fan asked the first question. “Want to just sit on my lap?” The fan accepted and he wasn’t the last to have such a prime spot during the panel. Shatner totally owned the audience and hopefully his first Nerd HQ appearance won’t be his last.
2. Supernatural Fans Honor Jared Padalecki
Supernatural fans have the reputation of being uncommonly supportive and had a surprise for actor Jared Padalecki during the show’s Hall H panel. Padalecki bravely revealed his struggles with clinical depression earlier this year. It’s a topic that others prefer to bury but Padalecki decided it was important to “to hit it head on and take action.” His “Always Keep Fighting” campaign raised money for suicide prevention group To Write Love On Her Arms and his openness about his own problems inspired others to start talking about their own.
At the Supernatural Hall H panel, while the actors were fielding questions, they were suddenly confused and distracted by hundreds flickering lights. Audience members were inexplicably waving LED candles. Padalecki’s face brightened when he understood what was going on and it was obvious that he was holding back the emotions.
The over 1,200 electronic tealights were funded by the organization Random Acts. Check out Supernatural fan Anne Kirn’s Twitter feed for a behind-the-scenes look at how the feat was pulled off. Finally, go to 33:50 in the video below to watch the moment when the actors slowly start to realize what’s happening. Then, watch Padalecki’s heartfelt thank-you at 52:15.
1. J.J. Abrams Takes Star Wars Fans To A Free Concert
J.J. Abrams set a new high watermark for convention surprises. At the end of the Star Wars: The Force Awakens panel, all 6,500 fans were escorted (by Stormtroopers, no less) behind the convention center where a symphony awaited. Fans were issued the lightsaber in their choice of color then Harrison Ford introduced a free concert featuring the music of John Williams. Oh, and there were fireworks, too. Good luck beating that, future panelists! Watch the concert below. In a San Diego Comic-Con full of memorable moments, this was by far the most amazing feat.
