DC FanDome 2 Recap

I’m back with another FanDome experience (for those who might have missed it last weekend).  The first one was fun, but this one was a little bit more interactive than the last.  Not a whole ton of new things, but I’ll go ahead and give you the highlights as I experienced them on Saturday, pulled straight from my Twitter account:

• Gonna live tweet DC FanDome again today. Should be fun!
• Really cool how the second installment of DC FanDome is a “choose your own adventure” style format.
• Starting off in the Watchverse.
• First up: watching the world premiere of Superman: Man of Tomorrow, DC’s newest animated feature film.
• Superman: Man of Tomorrow review: Solid action, good standalone story, felt more like a pilot episode than a movie. Not enough Lex (Zachary Quinto was great) and Darren Criss would be a good live-action young Superman/Clark Kent. Pretty fun animated film. Overall: 4/5
• Cool to see A League of One: The Dwayne McDuffie Story documentary offered up again. Watched it years ago, but really miss the guy. What a talent. He is still so missed in the comic community. Give it a watch if you haven’t already seen it.
• All Super-Villains panel part one was pretty cool. Jason Isaacs, John Glover, Mark Strong, Clancy Brown, Mark Strong, Marvin Jones III, Diedrich Bader, and Tiffany Smith offered up some great insights into playing the bad guys on screen.
• All Super-Villains panel part two was also pretty fun. Troy Baker, Gina Gershon, Clancy Brown, John DiMaggio, Jason Isaacs, Tara Strong, and Tiffany Smith offered up some great stories behind playing the bad guys on screen.
• Ask Harley Quinn (Uncensored) was delightfully inappropriate the first time. It remains so.
• Batman: The Joker War! panel part one gave some sweet insights into the epic storyline. James Tynion IV, Jorge Jiminez, and Ben Abernathy are doing something special in the pages of Batman. Let’s just say there’s a reason it’s selling so well! (1/2) Side note/hot take: Anyone else going to acknowledge how charming and handsome Jorge Jiminez is? It should be illegal for someone that talented to also be good-looking. Kidding, but not really. My man-crush has been initiated. (2/2)
• Batman: The Joker War! panel part two gave more details about the fantastic crossovers. Dan Jurgens, Cecil Castellucci, and Ben Abernathy are killing it on Batgirl and Nightwing. The Bat Family line of books is the best it’s been in years!
• Batman: The Joker War! panel part three had a preview of the upcoming War Zone one-shot. John Ridley and Ben Abernathy talked about the anthology and what to expect.
• The Batman: Three Jokers panel with Geoff Johns, Jason Fabok, and Amy Dallen was amazing. Cool to hear behind-the-scenes information about the best book on the shelves so far in 2020. Go watch them talk about the story and then go buy it. (1/2) Also: Super cool to hear about the influences behind Fabok’s style and that Johns has made it abundantly clear that this is a grounded story taking place in our world, giving us no gimmicky/cheap “alternate universe” deus ex machina endings to this mystery! (2/2)
• The CW Batwoman panel was fun, talking with the cast and stories of season one as well as introducing and previewing the characters and plot threads for season two. I enjoyed Kate, but Ryan sounds cool. Looking forward to it!
• Saw the BAWSE Females of Color within the DC Universe panel and the Big Belly Burger commercial at the last Fan Dome, but glad they’re putting some old content up to watch (or re-watch) today.
• The CW Black Lightning panel was eye-opening, showcasing the cast and crew as they navigate how important social topics weave their way into the super heroics on the small screen. So happy this show exists.
• Quick exploration of the Funverse: read comics, customize cars, use selfie filters, download coloring pages, get new screen backgrounds, ride virtual Six Flags rollercoasters, play with Legos, get out of a Joker escape room, answer some trivia, and buy merchandise.
• You can also watch a large portion of the August 22 Hall of Heroes content if you missed it the first time.
• The Brazil Loves DC: For the Glory of the Fans is really annoying. It’s the first thing I will be skipping today. I made it about 3 minutes before I had to get out of there.
• Creating Heroes: The Life and Art of Jim Lee screening is a great opportunity to see the documentary if you missed it a few years back. Loved it so much the first time, I’m watching it again. The industry is supremely lucky to have him.
• The Youverse is a fun place to check out fan art, cosplay, huge fan collections, contests, tattoos, pets, recipes, portfolio reviews, small and big screen fan Q&As with various casts and crews, makeup tutorials, and sign up for a virtual run.
• The Kidsverse is also full of all-ages fun. Some great videos from the last FanDome, Lego Lab, music videos, “how to” tutorials, Batman 101 shorts, kids comics to read, Brick Builder activities, karaoke, and all things Teen Titans Go! and DC Super Hero Girls.
• Daily Planet commercial was cute, DC Art Mzansi Masterclass: South Africa panel was fascinating, and DC Down Under: Australia and New Zealand panel of actors/costumers/writers/artists was amazing. Glad to see them truly explore the “global” part of this experience.
• The DC Showcase Collection: Death in the Family panel was pretty cool. Great seeing and hearing more about the upcoming interactive animated film and the epic story that inspired it. Multiple paths, storylines, endings, etc. have me curious.
• The DC’s Legends of Tomorrow panel, the Stargirl panel, and the Deathstroke: Knights & Demons panel solidify my love the CW shows and the creators and casts and the crazy stories they tell every year.
• The Discover DC in Japan panel is somehow more obnoxious than the Brazil Loves DC panel. Hard pass.
• The Doom Patrol panel was delightfully normal for such a bombastically insane show. Excited for the next season on HBO Max (which I apparently have to get now).
• The eTalk Celebrates DC in Canada segment was nice, polite, and wholesome. Much like Canada. I had no idea how many actors and creators call America’s hat home.
• Entering the “Filler” (bathroom break) portion of the event: From the Middle East to DC with Love, Game On: Venus Williams Jim Lee, GLSEN Presents: You Brought Me the Ocean with Alex Sanchez, Great Big Story: Magic Wheelchair.
• Come on, guys. Stop with the filler/repeat content. The Harley Quinn panel, Have a Super Screening commercial, I’m Latinx What’s Your Superpower? panel, Immortal Vigilante: Hooded Justice screening, Injustice 2 Showmatch: Latin America/Brazil were all fluff.
• Not gonna lie, I’m not a video game person (haven’t been since college), but the Inside Injustice: Making the Hit Games & Comics panel has me reconsidering my position. (1/2) The last game I played was Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe. And now Joker is in Mortal Kombat 11 and DC games are pretty much universally enjoyed (I’m thinking the Arkham franchise in particular), it’s probably time. Plus, Suicide Squad and Gotham Knights look sweet. (2/2)
• Back to the fluff: Italy Loves DC panel, Jitters commercial, John Ridley and the Other History of the DC Universe panel, Latin America Celebrates DC panel, Legacy of the Bat panel (extended), Legion of Super Heroes panel, Live Like a DC Super Hero in Spain panel. (1/4) More skippable content: Lucifer panel, Mostly DCeased panel, New Voices of Wonder Woman panel, Pennyworth panel, Phony PPL live performance, Real Life Super Heroes: The Story of Muckle Mannequins segment, Reintroducing Nuba: The Black Amazonian Queen panel. (2/4) Okay. The Rendez-Vous with DC: France panel and the Static Shock episode screening appear to be the last “filler/skippable/repeat/why-is-this-on-here” content for the day. Looking forward to the home stretch after a snack/bathroom break! (3/4) Being hungry and having to use the bathroom are the biggest obstacles in the DC FanDome experience so far. Lots of good content and super impressed with how much effort/work went into this. Just as cool (albeit different) than the first one a couple weeks back. (4/4)
• The Superman & Lois panel makes me very excited for the new CW show. Superman’s kids growing up after a tragedy is unusual, but is a compelling premise. Big fan of Smallville, Gen. Lane, a new costume, love triangles, and hope. And Jim Lee remains a national treasure.
• My favorite part of the day so far has been the Superman: An Enduring Symbol of Hope panel. Brian Michael Bendis, Gene Luen Yang, and Dan Jurgens make for a great team to talk about the first and best super hero. I could listen to these three talk for hours.
• A brief exploration of the Insiderverse shows a bunch of behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with the people behind our favorite characters, both on the page and on the screen and makes me miss DVD special features and DC Daily.
• The Superman: Man of Tomorrow panel was great fun after watching the premiere of the film earlier today. Darren Criss really should be Superman in a live-action version of the character some day. Small or big screen, he’d kill it either way.
• I stand corrected… best part of the day is Take a Tour of DC’s Death Metal Metalverse! Watching Scott Snyder, Joshua Williamson, and James Tynion IV talk about shaping/re-shaping the DCU is such a delight. Previews of upcoming issues, one-shots, and crossovers!
• The Teen Titans Go! Concessions commercial was cute and the Teen Titans Spotlight on Kami Garcia and Gabriel Picolo panel was fun. So great to see these characters get the credit they’re due from creators at the top of their game.
• The Creative Coalition Presents: Superman Radio Show premiere has a ton of surprise guest stars as voices, which is neat, but it is essentially a giant commercial, so I’m gonna pass.
• Smartest part of the day: The Expansion of DC’s Watchmen Universe panel with Damon Lindelof, Tom King, and Jorge Fornes talking about taking the Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons masterpiece to the next level and creating controversial sequels on the screen and the page.
• The extended versions of The Flash panel and the Titans panels are repeats of great cast/crew chats about previous seasons and the upcoming 2021 seasons. Tons of talent on these shows. Looking forward to next year’s episodes.
• Tomorrow’s Super Heroes with Jim Lee Brought to You by Gold House was a great tribute to the most famous living comic legend with the last name Lee. Watched it last time. Might give it a watch later tonight again because Jim Lee is amazing.
• Happy to see the Truth, Justice, and the DC Comics Way panel. Proves why DC has been, currently is, and always will be better than Marvel. Not a publicity stunt. Not a cash-grab. Just good characters tackling real issues on the screen and on the page.
• First saw the Unity of Hero documentary as a special feature on the Justice League Vs the Fatal Five DVD. Still holds up. DC’s diversity game has always been on-point. Give it a watch if you haven’t seen it yet.
• The Watchmen Unmasked documentary delves into the original comic series and the HBO series and focuses on the big questions. I hope that both texts become required reading/viewing in schools across America.
• Gonna go ahead and skip the last Young Justice panel and Ziggy Marley live performance and let the final moments of my day-long DC experience be that of questioning authority. Who Watches the Watchmen? And, more importantly, who enjoyed FanDome? (Answers: Us. And Me!)
• Had a lot of fun. Learned a lot of new things. Looking forward to 2021’s exciting projects. Check out more in-depth coverage and a wrap-up article in the next day or so from me on Comic Booked! Night!

And there you have it!  What did you think?  Anything you missed?  Anything you wanted more of?  Anything that made you super excited for upcoming DC releases?  Let us know your thoughts on social media.  We’d love to connect and chat about all things DC FanDome!