Comic-Con was back in full force this year! With major updates from Marvel, DC Comics and many others so let’s get right to it!
The Worlds Of Fantasy
The earliest updates we had were the final trailer for HBO’s House of the Dragon, the prequel to the hit series Game of Thrones. Our return to Westeros tells us the tale of the legendary Dance of Dragons, the war between Aegon Targaryen II and his sister, Rhaenyra. The show looks great and I’m really excited to see this all-star cast in one of my Favorite Fantasy worlds when the show premieres on August 21st of this year.
Next up, we leave Westeros to head back to the world of the Wheel in Amazon’s The Wheel of Time. Now personally, I didn’t care for the first season, but I like to think that they were merely finding their footing and that Season 2 will blow me away.
We still don’t have a release date for Season 2 just yet but this behind the scenes does show some interesting new locations and new sets. I’ve unfortunately only been able to read the first book so I don’t have a lot of background here on where we’re headed in the story but worst-case Scenario: Rosamund Pike and Daniel Henney were fantastic in the first season, and I know they will be in this one as well.
From the Wheel to the Ring, Amazon has another fantasy property coming out and that’s The Rings of Power. I’m very hesitant about this show, myself. I will admit that comes from a strong love and bias about Tolkien’s work. I’m really excited to see younger versions of Galadriel and Elrond in this I really like the idea of seeing the Elves, Dwarves and Men at the height of their power. That being said, let’s just say that I definitely have thoughts if the pouty lip guy in this trailer is supposed to be Sauron.
Either way we’ll just have to wait and see on September 2nd.
Now, in my opinion, the biggest surprise we got out of the fantasy side of Comic-Con this year was Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. Now, while I love D&D, I will admit to leaving it to others who I consider to be a much bigger authority on these matters so, without further ado, here is the trailer:
And I will let Al(Red Lanyard) and Alyssa(Snarky Shark) take it from here with their thoughts on the trailer:
As part of SDCC 2022, we got a new trailer for the upcoming 2023 D&D movie, Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (not the catchiest title, but it works). In it, we see what looks like a whole lot of fantasy fun: An acid dragon rains down gross acid pellets onto an army, a strong barbarian woman does her best Zangief impression on enemy soldiers, a druid seamlessly transforms into an owlbear to beat up some dudes before transforming back mid-jump onto their horse, Chris Pine strums some jaunty tunes on a lute. The trailer sets up the upcoming movie as a fun romp through a fantasy land, with plenty of action and nods to the world-famous TTRPG.
So of course, the fanbase decided it was a curse straight from the bowels of Baphomet.
From complaints that druid’s wildshape doesn’t include owlbears because of monster type to moans about the tiefling’s skin color (good job everyone, you finally complained about a character being white while *still* being wrong about the game mechanic and lore), D&D fans saw what promises to be a blast of an action movie and took it as a personal attack on a game whose lore and mechanics no two gaming groups can even agree upon in the first place. And while one almost expects a fandom to hate the very thing they claim to be fans of at this point, I think the reaction to the Honor Among Thieves trailer is indicative of a problem that’s been creeping up in the D&D community for a while now: the game is getting more popular, and older fans don’t know how to deal with their fandom not being as exclusive as it once was.
Thanks to Critical Role, Stranger Things, and the general onslaught of D&D-related products that have permeated pop culture over the last 10 years–as well as the current 5th Edition of the game texts being as accessible and user-friendly as the game has ever been–Dungeons and Dragons is more popular and mainstream than ever before. And while some players have welcomed this change as an opportunity to share their passion and hobby with friends, family, and strangers alike, others have knee-jerked into trying to gatekeep and “protect” something that has been so uniquely fringe for so long. So when the hot new trailer featuring hot actors hits the biggest fandom expo of the year, I for one am not surprised that a very vocal minority–and I do assure everyone that it IS a minority, the vast majority of us D&D nerds are very welcoming albeit a little socially awkward–of players hate it and everything about it. Because in their minds, any change is bad change when it’s something that you care deeply about. However, I would argue that instead of trying to gatekeep a game that you love and tear down something that might make a lot of people happy, maybe consider what Dungeons and Dragons really is supposed to be: a storytelling experience where anyone can be anything and–provided the dice are benevolent–do anything.
A big reason why I love Dungeons and Dragons is its ability to bring people together by creating a story that everyone can be invested in. I’ll be honest, while watching the trailer, I saw plenty of stuff that set off that nerdy little “That’s not quite how that works” alert we all have in our heads when it comes to things we care about. But I also understood something that a lot of us need to learn: it isn’t always about me. This movie looks like a rollicking good time that could potentially bring a lot more new players to the game, and while that does technically make the game a little less “special,” it also means that so many more people can get to create special stories and special memories that only D&D can facilitate. So yeah, you’re right that druids can’t wildshape into owlbears. But you know what, if I’m DMing and my druid asks if they can change into an owlbear because in their backstory, owlbears play a significant role in what makes their character tick, I’m happy to sit down with them and figure out a way to make it work. Why? Because sometimes, it’s not about the rules. Sometimes it’s just about creating something fun that people can enjoy.
You know, like a movie with Chris Pine singing silly songs. And yes, even a tiefling transforming into an owlbear.
Thank you, my friends, for that exceptional piece! Now we move onto:
DC Comics, Films and Series.
While different panels talking about current and prviously announced books such as Dark Crisis and Riddler: Year One which were really interesting to listen to, I was surprised that there wasn’t a whole lot of actual comic book news itself from DC. Although, they did announce the return of a Batman and Spawn Crossover written by Todd McFarlane and drawn by Greg Capullo which sounds awesome.
EDIT: They did actually announce two new YA Graphic Novels in Superman: The Harvest of Youth by Sina Grace and Constantine: Distorted Illusions by Kami Garcia and Isaac Goodheart. Sorry about that, it kinda slipped under the radar during my research. (Side Note: If you’re new to comics then these kinds of Graphic Novels are perfect for new readers cause they all have their own separate continuity)
Fortunately, DC did bring a pretty solid amount of other Content. First off is another look at Black Adam. The scenes shown have some cool effects and get to show off more of the JSA. I’m still a little hesitant about this one but I’m withholding too much judgement until the film comes out.
Also, seeing Dwayne Johnson in full costume at Hall H was pretty awesome, not gonna lie.
He also showed off the first full trailer to Shazam: Fury of the Gods. Now this one looks great. I really like where they’re taking the Marvel Family and I love the Silly Side of Shazam as a character. I’m hoping they lean hard into that personally.
Also, Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu always look great and I’m excited to see them in the DC Universe.
The last thing I wanna talk about from DC is one that I’m surprisingly more excited about than I anticipated and that’s The Sandman. Now, I wanna be clear, I have no issues with the Neil Gaiman classic at all, I’ve just only read the first two Graphic Novels, so it wasn’t a world I dove into like many others have. That being said, the two trailers they’ve released for it look incredible. It looks like they’re removing most of the connections to the larger DC Universe and with the exception of a Constantine appearance, I think that’s for the betterment of the world of the endless as its own story.
Note that I’m saying “A Constatine”, Jenna Coleman’s character is named “Johanna Constantine”. Some have speculated that she is going to be Lady Johanna Constantine who is a character from Morpheus’ past and some have speculated that she will be a Gender-Swapped version of John Constantine. Personally, I’m fine either way with this and there’s even been reports that Coleman will be playing both roles which would be cool. Jenna Coleman is an exceptional actress and can absolutely pull off the smarmy attitude necessary for the role.
Bottom Line, this entire series looks awesome…and I might be picking up some more of the other Sandman Graphic Novels to get ready for this.
Marvel Comics, Films and Series.
So first off, two pretty massive comic teasers were revealed confirming that there will be a new Creative Team on Fantastic Four starting in November, following Reckoning War.
The other major teaser was this image:
So…Hickman’s Return following Inferno, Cosmic Marvel(from the look of it) and Valerio Schiti on Art. Well, I know I’ll be signing up for it.
We also saw the first cover for Avengers Assemble which will be Jason Aaron’s Finale on his Avengers run. I’m really excited for this, if you haven’t been following Aaron’s work then just know that he’s been killing it. Seeing him finally bring together all three timelines of the Avengers will be awesome!
The last thing announced from the comics is one that I will always be excited for and that’s Chris Claremont writing more X-Men Mini-Series.
Particularly when it’s the return of X-treme X-Men with Salvador Larocca on art! This team was so much fun and I’m glad they’re both coming back to tell a new story with them! This will pick right where the original left off so it will be separate from the current X-Stories.
Marvel pulled out all the stops in Hall H this year. We’ve got updates on the MCU which basically lay out everything for the next 3 years! Now, normally, I would try to separate the Disney+ shows from the films, but let’s face it they’re all connected so I’m just going to lay out the full list of everything laid out over the weekend:
Phase 4
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law(D+) – August 17th, 2022.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever(Film) – November 11th, 2022
Phase 5
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania(Film) – February 17th, 2023
Secret Invasion(D+) – Spring 2023
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3(Film) – May 5th, 2023
Echo(D+) – Summer 2023
Loki Season 2(D+) – Summer 2023
The Marvels(Film) – July 28th, 2023
Blade(Film) – November 3rd, 2023
Ironheart(D+) – Fall 2023
Agatha: Coven of Chaos(D+) – Winter 2023/24
Daredevil: Born Again(D+) – Spring 2024
Captain America: New World Order(Film) – May 3rd, 2024
Thunderbolts(Film) – July 26th, 2024
Phase 6
Fantastic Four(Film) – November 6th, 2024
Avengers: Kang Dynasty(Film) – May 2nd, 2025
Avengers: Secret Wars(Film) – November 7th, 2025
So, some things to take note of:
1. there are currently 8 spots open during 2025 in their line-up. Shang-Chi 2? Dr. Strange 3? Spider-Man 4?hmm?
2. Apparently Daredevil: Born Again will be 18 episodes long…which is just the best news I heard all week. Give me as much as you want! I will never be tired of seeing Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock.
Also, with 18 episodes…maybe we’ll see some more of the Netflix Alumni in the series. Hmm?
3. I’m not a visual effects artist so maybe I just don’t know what I’m talking about but I think that She-Hulk looks great all around. I think everything about her design is perfect and I think Tatiana is gonna be great. Also, we get a hint of Daredevil’s new suit at the end!:
4. So the heart in the Ironheart Title is directly from the trailer for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever which is a pretty cool little easter egg to notice.
5. Two new Avengers movies in 2025! What!?!?! The Secret Wars Theories were correct!?!?!? Dude! I’m sorry I ever doubted you guys. Let’s see some Doctor Doom!
The clear standout of the entire con though…had to be the trailer to end all trailers:
I mean, I honestly don’t know where to start. Namor with the mayan influence…the funeral procession…Nakia’s Dreads…Riri and Shuri…the one third of the new suit we saw…that musical transition…Ramonda pulling our hearts out…There’s just so much to take in. It’s gonna be a rough one to watch, no doubt…but I truly believe this is going to be one of Marvel’s Best films.
