SDCC: The Belated News Wrap-Up

?Sorry this is late, folks. My flight was delayed a few times coming back  yesterday and I was medically brain-dead by the time I finally got home. I pretty much would have just written one of those those bizarre Russian comments that sometime show up here, so I decided to wait until today when my synapses began firing again. This is, I believe, everything you need to know from this year’s San Diego Comic Con.

THINGS THAT WERE AWESOME THAT VIRTUALLY NO ONE SAW
? Iron Man 2. The footage was apparently awesome, although the panel was a bit of a disaster. Also, several big time reporters (like from Wired) managed to not get in. I didn’t even bother. Footage described at ex-sister site Deadline Hollywood Daily.
? James Cameron’s Avatar. Although the giant mock mech at Mattel was kind of basic, everyone who saw it says the movie will be as mind-blowing and revolutionary as everyone else says it will be. Footage described at Cinematical.
? Despite all odds, the guys over at io9 say the Jonah Hex movie will be appropriately dark and supernatural. Megan Fox does play Hex’s love interest/favorite prostitute, which should surprise no one.
? Very few people got to see the incredible Tron Legacy clip in person — footage that was shown at last year’s SDCC, but includes new bits — but it was released for general consumption and it is awesome.

TV NEWS
? Lost spoilers — Juliet and Claire are not dead, and of the people who are dead, everyone the creators/producers can get will be making an appearance next season.
? The Futurama panel included no voice actors, thanks to the negotiations/bullshit from Fox. All Groening and David X. Cohen could say was “cross your fingers.”
? Clark will don a superhero suit in the next season of Smallville. No one got any pictures (that I know of), but apparently it’s black and leathery and Matrix-y and has the big red “S” in the middle.
? The next season of Heroes will feature a carnival troupe of people with powers. Folks who saw it said the trailer looked “exciting,” but I remain inherently skeptical that it will be anything other than a shitty Carnivale rip-off. Check out the trailer here.

COMICS NEWS
? Marvel got the rights to Marvelman, the United Kingdom’s beloved superhero who pretty much started this whole revisionist superhero thing while written by luminaries such as Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman. Robot 6 has a great article about why this is so important.
? World War Z author Max Brooks will write a G.I. Joe comic. I’m compelled.
? Del Rey will publish a graphic novel version of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.

NEW TOYS
? Mattel’s going to make 12-inch figures of the Christopher Reeve Superman as well as Terrence Stamp as Zod. I know people who have been waiting a very, very long time for these. See ’em here.
? There were new figures revealed from the G.I. Joe movie line, some Star Wars stuff, Masters of the Universe Classics and a ton of Marvel and DC figures, but nothing you absolutely need to know to be a well-informed nerd. If you want details and pics, your best best is to check out ToyNewsI’s reasonably organized SDCC coverage and galleries here.

VIDEOGAMES
? The biggest news was The Force Unleashed DLC. This is sad on many, many levels, but mostly for the poor bastards who sat in line for hours to watch the Star Wars panel. Watch the trailer here.
? The other reveal was the Iron Man 2 videogame. It looks like the first Iron Man videogame. There’s a trailer here.
? I am excited about the Scott Pilgrim 16-bit videogame, but there was no footage shown, just an announcement.
? Oh, the Metalocalypse game was revealed, but it looks terrible. Seriously.

GENERAL

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? There wasn’t a lot of spectacle at the show this year. Blame the lack of big movies coming up or blame the economy, there just wasn’t that much to see. By far the best promo thing was Flynn’s Arcade, a recreation of the arcade from Tron, complete with Space Paranoids cabinets (each time you beat a level, you got a secret code to enter into FlynnLives.com. After a while, a secret passage opened up in the back and everyone was ushered to see a full-size model of the new lightcycle, complete with rider. It was pretty darned awesome, and nothing else really came close.
? LA Weekly has a ton of pics from the con, including the show’s best tattoos and pics from the various parties, including the Topless Robot get-together. Check ’em all out here.
? Oh, Great White Snark has several cosplay galleries as well, if you’re so inclined.