We’ve seen Preview Night and Day 1 of San Diego Comic Con; but nothing compares to the madness of the second and third days. These are truly the most action packed and full days of the entire Con; and as someone reporting on this I just want to take a second and acknowledge everyone out there trying to do the same. Now with well wishes aside, let’s get underway with one of the most exciting days yet.

Arrow Season Panel:

San Diego Comic Con is the time for trailers; and the CW hit Arrow is no exception. With its spinoff, The Flash making a big splash at Premier Night, you knew the original show would have to up the ante; and Arrow did not disappoint. With a trailer that makes both fans of the show and fans of the comics proud, this trailer showed that DC is alive and well on the CW – if not on the big screen.

When Season Two ended, everyone was happy. For once a season ended on a happy note! Though Season Three will explore what cost that victory came at, and we’ve been assured they won’t be happy for long. Also discussed at the Arrow Panel was how Arrow will cross over again with its spinoff The Flash in the 8^th episode of the Season – though Felicity will make a pop up appearance in the 4^th episode of The Flash as well. I sense a very Buffy/Angel season coming.

Avengers 2 Posters – Some Assembly Required (Part 2):

On Preview Night we got an Ironman poster and Scarlet Witch poster. On Day 1 we got a Captain America poster and a Black Widow poster, which made us realize that these concept art posters would actually combine to form one large mega poster. Well it looks like our predictions are coming through as today we received a Quicksilver poster and Hawkeye poster.

With our placement on the mark thus far, it’s safe to assume that the final two posters will be Thor in the 2^nd top spot and Hulk in the top right. Though in Quicksilver’s poster today we got an added bonus of a figure hovering over the battlefield. Admit it, you thought that was Magneto – Quicksilver’s father in the comics – at first. Don’t worry, I thought that for a brief second too; but that is actually Vision – the synthoid whom we’ve yet to actually see any photos of.

Beyond FINALLY getting to see Vision – at least partly – his inclusion into the poster makes us wonder if there’ll be another dual hero poster in the mix. We have Thor and Hulk left. Could one of those posters have Iron Patriot/War Machine – who is confirmed to be in the film. Time shall tell and we won’t have to wait long – since the posters will probably be released a few hours after this article is posted.

Game of Thrones Panel:

Of all the panels thus far, I think Game of Thrones won for most members. From the huge cast to George R.R. Martin himself, there was a ton to learn and even more get excited for. The panel featured bloopers and discussions about Season Four and some new cast members announced, including: Keisha Castle-Hughes as Obara Sand and Jonathan Pryce as High Sparrow. In addition to this, we got to learn what it was like shooting ‘the Wall’ in Iceland – fun fact: it’s freezing.

Though one of the most entertaining moments of the trailer was when we learned how Benioff and Weiss convinced George R.R. Martin that they were the ones to bring the books to life. Hint: It involved the question that’s on all our minds, ‘who is Jon Snow’s mother?’. They must have guessed right because days later Martin called them up and said ‘Yes.’

Harley Davidson:

While fans were visiting the Marvel Booth, they learned that there would be an unveiling of a new prop from The Avengers 2: Age of Ultron. What was the prop you ask; and was it worth the wait? Well we’d like to think so. Thanks to the valiant efforts of San Diego Comic Con field reporter Abigail Hapil, we got a front row look at the unveil – and yes, it was SO worth it.

Introducing the world’s first electric motorcycle, aka Project Livewire. This beautiful Harley Davidson doesn’t just look good; but will be the bike of choice for Black Widow in the upcoming film. Harley Davidson and Marvel usually team up when it comes to Captain America/S.H.I.E.L.D. related stuff; and this time they’ve definitely out done themselves. Though if you liked the old Street 750 that was featured in Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier, fear not. Both bikes will be featured in Avengers 2: Age of Ultron.

Marvel TV Panel:

Do you side with S.H.I.E.L.D. or Hydra? Your allegiance may have been called into question during the Marvel TV Panel; but it was all worth it in the end to get a glimpse at Agent Carter and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Star Hayley Atwell joined showrunners Tara Butters and Michele Fazekas, Marvel Studios co-president Louis D’Esposito, and Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely – the screenwriters of Captain America 1 & 2 – who wrote the show’s pilot.

Agent Carter takes place in 1946 and will show the evolution of Atwell’s character in many different ways. The series itself will explore many points of the Marvel Universe that have only been hinted at thus far, including: the foundation of the SSR, Zodiac, and Stark Industries being under investigation. Fans got to see a quick little trailer for Agent of Carter and learned that the Russo brothers – directions of Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier – will be directing a few episodes of the new series.

With the Agent Carter portion of the panel over, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. took center stage as the cast and crew of season one came out – including Brett Dalton (Agent Ward) in a Hydra t-shirt. We got to catch up a lot with the team and hear some of their thoughts. Chloe Bennet is still team SkyWard; but that ship has already left the harbor and sank to a water grave.

Beyond Season 1 recaps, we got to learn a lot about Season 2 which will feature Lucy Lawless as verteran S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Isabel Hartly. Nick Blood will join the show as well as S.T.R.I.K.E. Agent Lance Hunter – though in the show he’ll simply be a mercenary Coulson turns to for help. Finally, we got word on the Hydra bad guy this season named Daniel Whitehall – aka The Kraken – who will be played by Reed Diamond.

Throw is a blooper reel, Clark Gregg accepting that he and Coulson have become one in the same, and a short video of Patton Oswalt (aka Billy Koenig) and an ‘identical brother’ telling guests about the importance of security lanyards, and the Marvel TV Panel is a wrap.

Sleepy Hollow Panel:

The Fox hit Sleepy Hollow also had a panel for their upcoming Second Season; and it did not disappoint. In fact, even if you coulnt make the panel itself, there was an outside exhibit where you could put on the Oculus Rift virtual reality goggles and join Ichabod in one of his tales. Though this highlight is about the cast filled panel which showed a scene from the new season and revealed some upcoming plot points.

 

When we last left our heroes in the season finale, everyone was in major peril will little to no way of getting out. From new characters and monsters (ie, Benedict Arnold, Pied Piper, etc) to possible redemptions for old character, this is sure to be a season to remember.

Square-Enix Redesigned Batman:

Sometimes, two amazing titles join forces and create something totally new, yet totally representative of both individually. This is what Kingdom Hearts creator and Final Fantasy designer Tetsuya Nomura did when he re-imagined Batman for Square-Enix’s Play Arts Kai line. This astounding action figure – and accompanying art – was revealed at San Diego Comic Con on Friday and it looks glorious. Our friends over at the Dark Knight Dossier noticed various pieces of inspiration for this redesign:

 Impressive. Really pushes both the satanic imagery and the “beyond” look while mashing it with the medieval knight. The cape is reminiscent of Alex Ross’ Kingdom Come Dark Knight armor.

As a huge fan of Batman Beyond and Final Fantasy, I love everything about this design. In fact, I think Square-Enix should make this bad boy a summon in the upcoming Final Fantasy XV – or at least a DLC Summon. Seriously, we need to see more of this guy! Dark Knight Bahamut would be a good name in my opinion – something for you to think about Sqaure-Enix.

 

There’s also word that this figure will kick off an entire new line of Batman figures from Square-Enix, so maybe we’ll even see their take on Robin, Joker, Catwoman, Killer Croc and more. Either way, THIS is the right way to celebrate 75 years of Batman. Take notes Batman V Superman – before you release another grainy mask close up and call it a ‘reveal’.

The Last of Us Movie:

It seems like video game franchise after video game franchise is being turned into a film within the next few years or so. Now personally, I’m a die hard Assassins Creed fan; but even I have to give credit where credit is due and pay heed to a little game called The Last Of Us.

Unlike, AC, Halo and all the other video game inspired films in the making, The Last Of Us was only one game; but it in many ways encompasses what a game should be: an experience. Anyone who’s played The Last Of Us can tell you what an incredible tear jerking game it is. If you haven’t played it, then you should really check it out or at least watch the cinematic story on Youtube – I’m sure someone’s uploaded it. Then again, maybe wait for it to come out. All I can tell you is that in a market with everyone trying to have the next big zombie-craze, The Last Of Us finds its niche and gets an A for storytelling.

Actually, I lied. That’s not all I can tell you. Rumor has it that Maisie Williams – whom you might know as Arya Stark from Game of Thrones – is in talks to play the lead girl. The talks are also going quite well I might add. As a fan of The Last Of Us and a new fan of Game of Thrones, I think this is an amazing cast choice and hope everything goes well.

Walking Dead Season 5 Trailer:

One of the biggest reveals of the day – if not the biggest – had to be the highly anticipated release of the trailer for Season Five of The Walking Dead. For a full analysis of this trailer, please see my related article; but I will say that this trailer had everything we were expecting.

Earlier this year, Wilson Yeun who plays Glenn on The Walking Dead remarked “What the eff … how is this legal?” when he saw some of the scenes they’d be shooting. In fact, there’s even talk that the first episode might have to be severely edited due to how graphic some of it is. Well if this trailer is any indication, then we can be sure that this will be a season like no other.

It’s fitting that the Walking Dead trailer closed out the days highlights because in many ways it was the must see thing in a list of must see things. Though that was just Friday folks. Saturday is will be underway soon and with it the highly anticipated Marvel Movie panel. So go take a break, clear your head and get ready to come back for my coverage of Day 3.