Comic-Con 2018's Most Unexpected Moments

The ship called San Diego Comic-Con has sailed, leaving behind a bounty of useful tidbits about the year ahead in comic book adaptations and more. The 2018 edition included trailer premieres for Aquaman, M. Night Shyamalan’s Glass, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, and Godzilla: King of the Monsters, among others, plus in-depth, star-studded panels from a host of high-profile casts. And as usual, the yearly expo’s complex alchemy of thousands of impassioned sci-fi nerds mixed with scores of celebrities yielded plenty of unexpected IRL moments. Below, a roundup of best moments—both real and fictional—from the industry’s flagship convention.  

Fans defeated the trolls

As more diverse casts have started to shake up the industry, rabid fandoms haven’t always reacted positively. This year’s Comic-Con addressed the issue in varying styles; in response to internet trolls who bullied Star Wars: The Last Jedi star Kelly Marie Tran, forcing her to log off social media completely, a contingent of fans showed up dressed as her character Rose Tico for the #RallyForRose. The panels, by comparison, didn’t address trolls head-on; at the Doctor Who panel, pioneering female star Jodie Whittaker kept mum on the issue despite early detractors making waves last year.      

Jamie Lee Curtis saved someone’s life

If you haven’t watched the original Halloween, you might want to the self-defense lessons alone. In it, the babysitter protagonist Laurie Strode played by Jamie Lee Curtis fights off escaped psychopath Michael Myers with a knitting needle. As Vulture reports, during a Q&A with Curtis, who will reprise her role in the upcoming remake, one fan shared that the scene led to him grabbing the same utensil when he found an intruder in his home.

The first transgender superhero is on the way

During a panel on the CW’s Supergirl on Saturday, showrunners reveals that the upcoming fourth season would include a transgender character known as Nia Nal or Dreamer, tapping actress and transgender activist Nicole Maines to play the role. Dreamer is described as a "a soulful young transgender woman with a fierce drive to protect others."

The convention was a family affair

This winter will be busy for the Kravitz/Momoa household, with Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald and Aquaman, starring Zoë Kravitz and Jason Momoa respectively, both expected to be end-of-year blockbusters. Comic-Con facilitated a reunion between the stepdaughter/stepfather duo, who walked the red carpet together. While Kravitz’s mother Lisa Bonet (Momoa’s partner of over a decade) stayed home, her rocker father did make a cameo—albeit elsewhere on the convention floor; the Star Trek: Discovery trailer featured the Lenny Kravitz song “Fly Away.”