The final day of San Diego Comic-Con is met with anticipation, anxiety, and a bit of sadness. Even after several highly-entertaining days packed with pop culture excitement, attendees are eager to cram as much into the final hours as possible, particularly with the show floor closing two hours earlier on this last day.
Sunday is the day to rapidly hop from booth to booth, exhibit to exhibit, seeing all the sights put off until “later.” There is no “later” and the commotion around the convention is noticeably higher as attendees try to fit it all in.
San Diego Comic-Con, Day 4 – Sunday, July 15, 2012
Our day began early, crowding around the not-yet-open convention halls with hundreds of others, including an Astromech droid roaming about. For some unknown reason, the doors to the show floor weren't going to open until close to 10 am, cutting a short day even shorter.
Since we arrived before 9am, expecting earlier entry, I killed some time by finally making it over to the nearby Hilton lawn to see the Batmobiles from across the years that were on display together for the first time. Here's the vehicle from "The Dark Knight."
This camouflage "tumbler" from "The Dark Knight Rises" was shown off for the first time as well.
But my favorite Batmobile will always be this one from Tim Burton's films. It's the one I grew up watching.
The later Joel Schumacher variations were cluttered with far too much bling.
Another Joel Schumacher monstrosity.
But you can't go wrong with the classic, from the much-beloved '60s TV show.
Finally making it onto the show floor, I found my way to the giant Marvel booth, which had somehow eluded me for three days.
The array of Iron Man costumes, including the debut of the new suit from "Iron Man 3," was impressive. Even Deadpool and Harley Quinn thought so. Or perhaps they were plotting something...
I continued down to the lower-numbered booths, as I hadn't sufficiently explored that area of the show floor yet. Much to my surprise, there stood a massive Power Ranger, at least 20-feet tall.
The Profiles in History booth was displaying instantly-recognizable pieces of movie history.
Come with me and you'll be in a world of pure imagination...
The prices on these Wonka items (and everything else) did not indicate what they were selling them for, but rather estimates of what they think they'll fetch when they soon auction them off.
Joe Maddalena and his team were happy to meet with fans of their reality TV show "Hollywood Treasure."
Backtracking, I wanted to hit a few booths showing off new collectibles, like the always-impressive offerings from Sideshow.
I'm not sure who actually buys these statues, but they are highly detailed.
This series of Avengers statues was arranged to create that famous shot from the recent film circling around the main characters.
Classic Tygra caught my eye.
Sideshow also displayed life-sized statues, like this Star Wars baddie.
And a "Terminator" T-800 Endoskeleton.
And Han Solo encased in carbonite.
Nearby I spotted a guy hand Wonderwoman his Wonderbaby to take a picture. Slightly awkward, but still fun.
Continuing down my list of must-see booths, I hopped over to Diamond to check out a few more collectibles.
I have a growing Street Fighter collection and that Ryu with a Hadouken fireball may be added to it soon.
New Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles figures and vehicles are always tempting, particularly when it's a new Turtle Van. I already own two versions... why not a third?
These reimagined classic Turtles figures look amazing. I love the real metal chains on Michaelangelo's nunchucks.
I'd walked by the LEGO booth many times but hadn't stopped there until now.
No LEGO booth would be complete without a few life-sized LEGO sculptures, this one of Gandalf.
Opposite Gandalf was Bilbo Baggins, both in promotion of "The Hobbit."
A massive Hulk LEGO sculpture didn't scare anyone, though this kid felt the need to pose with his head in a box.
LEGO Darth Maul certainly looked menacing.
Little Batman attracted attention when posing in front of the large(r) LEGO superheroes.
Continuing to wander all the booths I hadn't yet seen, I stumbled across the Prop Store, featuring screen-used props from years of filmmaking.
My favorite was the somewhat toasted Stay Puft Marshmallow Man head.
All of the above was packed into the first couple hours of the day. I had a panel to get to by 1pm so it was time to head back out into the Gaslamp Quarter to find some lunch. While there, we came across some girls promoting Will Ferrel's upcoming film "The Campaign."
Also outside were characters from the upcoming movie "ParaNorman."
After grabbing a quick sandwich at The Old Spaghetti Factory, we headed back to the convention center, where Catwoman was playfully pawing at a San Diego Police car, though regularly looking around to make sure she wasn't caught.
Inside, Playboy bunny Avengers turned heads as they walked by.
My first panel of the day and last of the convention was for Epic Mickey 2, with surprise moderator Adam Sessler.
The panel consisted of the same crowd I'd interviewed the day before: Marv Wolfman, Epic Mickey creator Warren Spector, Walt Disney Archives' Becky Cline, and Peter David. They not-so-subtly made the whole audience jealous by wearing their hard-to-get Oswald ear hats.
You can watch the full Epic Mickey 2 panel in the video below, also briefly touching on Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion for Nintendo 3DS:
VIDEO
Some outstanding artwork and clips from the game were shown off but it was clear from Q&A that many were concerned with how the group was improving on the first game, which suffered from control issues. They're convinced those issues have been solved and the addition of voices and songs will take the new game to a new level.
Those who asked questions received special E-tickets. But no one received any Oswald ear hats, despite many hoping for a giveaway.
After the panel, I was determined to photograph and video every interesting costume I came across in the little remaining time I had left at the convention. This girl not only had a good costume but also strongly reminded me of Kaley Cuoco, one of the stars of "The Big Bang Theory" and hugely popular among the geeks at Comic-Con. That should be this girl's costume next year.
All throughout this last day, I was once again dressed as a character. This time it was Freddy Krueger - or at least mostly, minus the burnt face. Here I posed with The Walking Dead photo op, though I was told Michonne would likely win this battle.
I headed over to "The Hobbit" booth from WETA to snap a decent shot of their huge trolls, including the costumed one in the bottom. Too bad the other photographer snuck into an otherwise excellent shot.
Around the corner, Gollum was being very paranoid... as usual.
Some of the upcoming toys for "The Hobbit" were on display.
At first glance, it seemed props from "The Hobbit" were also being shown off, but they turned out to be replicas, despite being behind glass.
Over at the Hasbro booth, "Clone Wars" voice actress Ashley Eckstein was signing autographs, always smiling.
Different cars rotated out at this booth celebrating James Bond's 50th anniversary.
Continuing through the collectibles, we briefly passed by Tonner's booth.
I couldn't resist taking a peek at the "Tron: Legacy" dolls, though I can't say I have any desire to own them. Gem looks good and is tempting simply because there is very little merchandise of her available. But the other two... eh.
Nearing the end of the convention, I stumbled across actress Mindy Robinson once again, who I didn't actually recognize in unicorn form until reviewing these photos later. She reluctantly but politely posed for this photo, quite tired at the end of the day. I was too.
Finally, this woman was spritzing attendees with Febreze to mask the unpleasant odors of 4.5 days spent at San Diego Comic-Con. It was over and while there was sadness in the air, there was also much relief, with a hint of anticipation for 2013.
San Diego Comic-Con 2012 Day-by-Day Photo Reports:
July 11 – Preview Night
July 12, Day 1 – Twilight, Walt Disney Studios, costumes, Walking Dead Escape, Dawn of the Con
July 13, Day 2 – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Tron: Uprising, zombie walk, Con of the Dead
July 14, Day 3 – Marty McFly, Futurama, The Simpsons, Frankenweenie Electrifying Garden, True Blood
July 15, Day 4 – Batmobiles, Iron Man 3, Epic Mickey 2, LEGO, collectibles, and wrap-up
Also from Comic-Con 2012:
Best of Comic-Con Cosplay: Sexy and surprising costumes command attention during San Diego Comic-Con 2012
“Frankenweenie” touring exhibit electrifies San Diego Comic-Con as Disney producer Don Hahn explains its origins
Inside ‘The Walking Dead Escape’, unleashing zombies on San Diego Comic-Con with gruesome, grueling experience
“Wreck-It Ralph” retro excitement extends across San Diego Comic-Con with playable arcade game and panel presentations
More photos from San Diego Comic-Con, Day 4 – Sunday, July 15, 2012: