COMIC CON REVIEW 2013

(What we learned)

     From Thursday to Sunday, hundreds of thousands of fans gathered in San Diego to witness first hand a plethora of announcements, footage, q&a sessions, and seminars presented from their favorite movie stars, directors, producers, writers, tv stars, and other characters in costume. It would be near impossible to update my readers on every surprise or announcement that went down this weekend, but I was kind enough to narrow it down to the ones people care the most about.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D (Marvel/ABC): Many were skeptical how this would be received or attended, especially because of its competition with AMC's "The Walking Dead" who was presenting during the same time slot. Fortunately for Marvel, A.O.S. was met with a lot of positivity. The cast was attendant and sporting "Coulson Lives" shirts and other merch. Clark Gregg was met with loud cheers and Joss Whedon received an ovation as usual. The crowd went especially nuts when it was announced they would be treated to an early viewing of the pilot episode.

What we learned: Whedon was asked about the possibility of characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe making appearances in the show. Whedon responded by saying it was greatly possible that characters from both past and future films could make appearances on occasion, but the show's main focus would be the agents who appear every episode and their work with S.H.I.E.L.D.

The Walking Dead (AMC): Once again, AMC's biggest show drew a huge crowd as the filmmakers and their entire cast were on hand. AMC was generous enough to provide a 5 minute trailer of the upcoming season, and all that can be said is that it looks like things will get really crazy really quickly.

What we learned: By the looks of it, season 4 will be the best yet. Robert Kirkman plays both sides, saying the group will face its biggest threat yet, but also be exposed to hope and a light at the end of the tunnel. A question was asked about a possible Rick/Michonne romance, to which the filmmakers seemed open to but not committed to anything. Rick is expected to give up his leadership role to focus more on his role as a father. Season 4 looks to be more violent than its predecessors, October 13th is the confirmed premiere date.

Game of Thrones (HBO): Let me first admit that I'm currently catching up on the latest Game of Thrones trend. The cast was headlined by actors & actresses whose characters died in the first 3 seasons of the show (or so we thought?). The crowd was treated to footage from season 4 as well as a deleted scene from season 3.

What we learned: The filmmakers are very confident that Season 4 will be the best yet, and all we know as far as a release is Spring 2014. George R. R. Martin admitted he's still continuing to write novels in the G.O.T. universe, but currently has no plans for a prequel. He did state that the world is full of characters, so continuing to kill more off in Season 4 is a given.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (Marvel/SONY): Once again Marvel came to please, having the web-slinger himself appear in costume for his q&a. Director Mark Webb was present along with Andrew Garfield, Jamie Foxx, and other members of the filmmaking crew. Spider Man humorously told the crowd he loved comic-con and it was the one place he felt normal. Jamie Foxx revealed when he got the role as Electro, his daughter said Spider-Man would kick his ass, though he plans on doing some ass kicking of his own as well.

What we learned: Although TASM2 has a lot going on (Oscorp, Gwen Stacey, 4-5 confirmed villains, Peter still learning of his past) Electro will still be the main villain and the conflicts and parallels between him and Spidey will be the main focus of the film. This film should be a lot more "fun" with the origin story out of the way.

Warner Bros: WB occupied the longest time slot of all the panels at 2.5 hours. The time was well spent, cramming as much as they possibly could into their allotted time and even running over a bit. WB showed off footage from the Godzilla remake, the 300 sequel, a Tom Cruise film entitled "Edge of Tomorrow", Seventh Son, and The Lego Movie. But it was the last 2 minutes that had everyone going bananas...

What we learned: The big announcement from Warner Bros and DC was a Batman/Superman mash up film coming in 2015. The logo is a sick metallic kryptonian "S" shield with the bat logo behind it. A quote was also read from the film suggesting Superman & Batman won't start off as the best of friends. The hot rumor going around is that this is part of a plan for an expanded DC universe which would include  The Flash in 2016 and FINALLY a Justice League Film in 2017. God Bless America.

Thor: The Dark World (Marvel/Disney): The crowd went nuts as Loki appeared in costume and toyed around with the Hall H crowd, making them pledge allegiance to him in exchange for Thor 2 footage. With a trailer already out and the film set to release in less than 4 months, the only new eye candy was extended footage.

What we learned: The film should be Thor's greatest adventure yet. While still repping the hammer, Thor also deals with a lot of internal conflicts such as the impact the events of the Avengers had on him as well as his legiance to his family and the throne and new found love for humanity. The trailer concluded with what looked like Loki punching off Thor's arm with the hammer in hand? Something bizarre is about to go down in November...

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (Marvel/Disney): The first ever footage of the film was released and the cast was on hand to answer questions. Samuel L. Jackson had the best line of the panel. When asked what it was like to put on the eye patch and command the avengers, he simply paused and said it was badass. CA2 is unique in that it uses 2 directors, and is set to release in April of next year.

What we learned: Not much, the cast members really worked hard to keep the spoilers to a minimum. We were officially introduced to The Falcon (Anthony Mackie) but we already kinda new that. Aside from the action, the film still deals with Cap adapting to the new world after being asleep for 70 years.

Guardians of the Galaxy (Marvel/Disney): The cast has been filming less than 2 weeks but they flew in from London, U.K. to appear at comic con. Once again despite the limited work put in thus far, footage was still provided and the cast members and filmmakers did a good deal of q&a.

What we learned: While the Guardians still exist in the Marvel Universe, their story and characters are intended to be very separate from the Avengers. The film is actually intended to be quite comical, and rather than heroes fighting villains, the intention is bad people fighting worse people.

Avengers 2: Age of Ultron (Marvel/Disney): At the conclusion of Marvel's panel and the Saturday comic-con festivities Joss Whedon took center stage. He said he wasn't going to say anything, but rather had something to show us.

What we learned: Ultron. Ultron is the villain that will wreak havoc on the Avengers in 2015. This came as a huge surprise as most popular predictions were either Thanos (who appeared at the extra scene in Avengers) or a potential "Masters of Evil".

     Those were the biggest stories coming out of this year's comic-con. If we missed anything or if there's any new information you'd like to add, feel free to comment.

Written by: Ryan Quigley