The Best of SDCC 2016: Panels and Trailers and Nerds, Oh My!
So, San Diego Comic Con was last week, and while once again we couldn’t be there in person, we watched and tweeted and laughed as amazing things from Con appeared on the internet in all their nerdy glory. Here are some of our top highlights from San Diego!
NerdHQ killed it again in 2016, bringing top-notch talent to their offsite stage, with panels, one on one conversations and laughs. Oh, and by the way did we mention they made an absolute ton of money for Operation Smile? We suggest you go to the archives and watch them all, but if you can only pick a few, make sure you check out the Badass Women panel, Nathan Fillion’s solo panel and Stephen Amell and Friends.
Critical Role hit critical mass in San Diego this year, having not one, but two panels. One onsite at SDCC and then a second, Dating Game themed panel over at Conival, a joint collaboration between Nerdist and Geeky and Sundry. And boy howdy, did they deliver. All while managing to be more or less spoiler free for those viewers out there that may not be completely caught up. The cast was hysterical and irreverent as usual, and showed in both panels their love and respect for the nerd community. They’re not only putting dynamic and amazing entertainment out into the world every Thursday, they’re putting out a ton of love and joy. Which, just between us, the world sorely needs right now. Also, Travis sang C is for Cookie as Grog, so really, what more do you want?
All Things Wonder Woman
First off, let’s talk about that trailer. Oh, you haven’t seen it? Go, watch, we’ll wait. Are you back? Wasn’t it amazing? Yeah. There was also a short, but awesome panel with Patty Jenkins, Gal Gadot, Connie Nielsen and Chris Pine that we wished was 2 hours longer. Oh, and they did a Wonder Woman 75th Anniversary Retrospective panel too. Everyone keeps asking “Who won Comic Con?”. Our answer: Wonder Woman. Hands down. The first female superhero is finally, finally, finally getting her moment in the sun and it is glorious. Let’s watch the trailer again.
The Game of Thrones Panel
Game of Thrones always delivers at SDCC, and 2016 was no exception. They were funny, they were pithy and Sophie Turner got to shut down a fan who really, really, really wanted JonSan to happen. (Spoiler Alert: that’s not happening). Having the panel hosted by Rob McElhenney (Mac from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) continued one of my favorite SDCC trends as well; having famous fans host panels for things they nerd out over. It’s delightful, endearing and offers a unique view into how celebrities really are geeks just like the rest of us. We also got to cry over Hodor again and hear the cast predictions for who will sit the Iron Throne in the end. Good stuff.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Panel
It had showmanship. It had Chris Pratt generally being adorable. And Michael Rooker in full costume haranguing James Gunn in front of all of Hall H. What more do you want out of life? While it was short on scoop on the new movie, it was long on awesome. And also long on there being more awesome and ass-kicking ladies in Volume 2. And really, that’s what matters. The Guardians films are an important reminder that movies can, and should, be fun, silly and heartfelt. And that comic book movies area for everyone.
John Barrowman’s Cosplay
Holy nerdgasm, John Barrowman’s SDCC cosplay was next level. He did Harley Quinn, Squirrel Girl and Zapp Brannigan! Not to mention all that time he spent running about Con in heels just because he felt like it. John Barrowman is an international treasure who puts more positive, zany love out into the world every day than most of us can hope to in a lifetime. If you’re not following him on social media, you should be.
We know that the list of amazing, epic things that happened at SDCC 2016 is way longer than this. There was a ton of incredible cosplay and the annual Adam Incognito game. There were comics artists and authors and artists galore. There were pop-up parties and dance marathons. So tell us readers, what was your favorite moment from San Diego Comic Con? Tell us in the comments!