Every year they build it, and every year they come. The nerds of American culture unwedge themselves from their recliners, don their best "Star Wars" frock and head to San Diego for the city's annual Comic-Con, a festival that celebrates the latest in superhero-related entertainment, television and other relevant nerdery. There were a number of awesome things to come out of Comic-Con 2015, and we're gonna give 'em to ya.
Bill Murray Leads Off
Making his Comic-Con debut, the flower pattern do-rag-wearing Murray had his moments during a 48-minute panel, wherein he discussed his new roadie movie, "Rock the Kasbah," set for 2016, his love for
Miley Cyrus and of course and the lady reboot of "Ghostbusters." References went as far as having "the coolest car in Manhattan" while saving New York. Now that's how you lead off strong at Comic-Con, Bill!
Bryan Cranston Lays Some Poor Kid Out
In one of the best mic drops in the history of man, Bryan Cranston, the actor formerly known as Walter White, took down Albuquerque's biggest nerd with not only a diss on the poor kid's mother, but then topping it off with a drop of the microphone after winning the crowd over. There have been no reports as to whether the young lad is currently celebrating being part of the funniest bit of this year's Comic-Con, or if he has since moved on from this world after getting owned.
"Star Wars" Dreams Do Come True
Fans were hoping to get some extra action from December's "Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens," and they did, but they got a hell of a lot more when Harrison Ford showed up. In his first public appearance since his recent plane crash, Ford was joined by some of the original cast, including Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill, just before fans got a look at new faces of the film and were joined together in a mosh pit of light sabers and George Lucas lovin' for behind-the-scenes footage from this winter's
biggest blockbuster sequel. Life will not get any better for these people.
Joker Steals the Show
The "Suicide Squad" panel got a shot of adrenaline when director David Ayer forewent sharing teasers and instead dropped the full first trailer for his anti-hero film. As far as Comic-Con bootlegs go, this was the mother of all of them. Fans got a first good, hard, sexy look at Harley Quinn (
Margot Robbie), as well as Will Smith's Deadshot and boss lady, Amanda Waller, played by Viola Davis. But all took a backseat to Jared Leto's Joker, who made his psychotic appearance towards the end of the preview. Leto didn't even have to make an appearance to steal Comic-Con. Impressive.
"Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice" Trailer Shows All
A second look at Zac Snyder's Superman sequel featured a nearly four-minute trailer, including a more in-depth look at our two head-butting heroes, along with first glimpses of Wonder Woman (
Gal Gadot), a character who had yet to hit the high-def big screen, and the second most anticipated villain of Comic-Con, Lex Luthor, played by the smarmy, yet pleasantly maniacal Jesse Eisenberg.
Jennifer Lawrence Picks Her Nose
Fans of the upcoming "Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part Two" and "X-Men: Apocolypse" got more than they bargained for this year when
Jennifer Lawrence went from sexy starlet to booger friendly creep, wiping her nose with the cloth of the panel table. She's all about the class. First Class. X-Men. Hugh Jackman. Fin.
"The Walking Dead" Trailer(s)
Rick! The gang is back for a sixth season, and though it's not set to premiere until October, the
trailer for the AMC zombie drama was long,
addressing some big questions and plotting out a lot of the storyline we should expect to see. Rick and his crew joined the inexperienced survivors of Alexandria in late season five, just before Rick took up his usual mantle as community leader. This season seems to focus around inner conflict involving Rick's leadership and the opposing addition of his longtime survivalist friend, Morgan Jones, whose return was the last scene from season five. Looks like Rick's head might be getting a little too big for that sheriff's hat. Also, as a bonus, we got a full trailer for the prequel series, "
Fear the Walking Dead."
"Deadpool" Reel
Another heavily sought-after trailer leak belonged to early 2016's "Deadpool" reboot. Ryan Reynolds, set to play Wade Wilson/Deadpool, came out at the SDCC to share the footage, albeit in less than impressive quality. Fans were excited to at least see something from the February film, but anything impressive will have a few weeks to see the light of mobile and computer screens.
"Arrow" & "The Flash" Are Back
After a heavy third season on "Arrow" in which we couldn't picture how they could possibly return to the same old ways, or even continue at all, The CW has promised a little more Oliver Queen in the upcoming fourth season. Arrow has been given a new suit of armor, which was displayed at this year's panel. This only adds to the hype after the show's lead, Stephen Amell, announced he'd be playing Casey Jones in the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" sequel, set for next year. In addition, "The Flash" crossover has delivered much promise, and fans are excited for another season after a successful debut with Grant Gustin rocking the red suit.
Not One Joker, But Two, And Superhero Group Selfies
Can we coin the term "groupies," the group selfie? Done. Fans got really amped up when Stan Lee brought all of his superheroes together onstage for a quick superhero groupie. But the super villain saga continued when the "Gotham" panel was stolen by "Shameless" actor Cameron Monaghan, who more than confirmed he would be playing The Joker in upcoming episodes of "Gotham." That's two Jokers in one Comic-Con. If only Heath were still around, it would have been an amazing trifecta.
"Warcraft" Movie
Gamers just found a new reason to leave the house besides Comic-Con. The long-awaited movie adaptation to their favorite interactive game is finally coming to fruition, and with less than a year until its release, director Duncan Jones showed up at SDCC once more, only this time with footage from the film. With impressive imagery of the characters and orcs, many were just as excited as they were somewhat confused by what was going on in the footage. The official trailer, set for November, will hopefully clear up some of that confusion. But just look at those sexy orcs!
And of Course, Amazing Cosplay
Oh, who are we kidding? There were a shitload of Jokers at Comic-Con this year! Here's a look at some of our favorite Cosplay costumes at this years SDCC. First prize goes to the guy below who walked more than 600 miles in a Stormtrooper costume to Comic-Con in honor of his late wife. Is that for real? Big ups, man. That sure beats the hell out of anything
Courtney Stodden did.