SDCC 2025 Saturday Panels Worth Keeping An Eye On: DC On Superman, Marvel Comics’ Ultimate Future, And The Gary Gygax Universe
From a bevy of admittedly incredible looking Magic: The Gathering x Spider-Man reveals to the worldwide premiere of the new King of the Hill season, the 2025 San Diego Comic-Con’s panel line-up delivered on the flash and excitement (and sometimes disappointment) expected of the world’s biggest comic book convention – and unsurprisingly, Saturday is shaping up to keep the notable announcements flowing.
For those wondering what we’re doing here, Panels Worth Keeping An Eye On is a new feature wherein one of our teammates – in the case of SDCC 2025, your friendly neighborhood BIC EiC, will provide daily panel recommendations for a given fan convention.
Without further ado, let’s dive in to the Panels Worth Keeping An Eye On entry for Friday, July 25th:
Gary Gygax: Dungeons & Dragons and Beyond – 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM, Room 9
Official Description: Writer and producer Tom DeSanto (X-Men, Transformers), Luke Gygax (founder of Gary Con), and Steve Chenault (Troll Lord Games) discuss the world Gary built with Dungeons & Dragons and Gary’s other creations that go beyond the beloved game. Expect special announcements on the merging of all of these stories and characters into a new Gygax Universe.
Our Take: There are few creative geniuses as influential to not just geekery, but the world of entertainment in general as Gary Gygax, and while recent years have seen Wizards of the Coast run roughshod over his legacy, this potential ‘Gygax Universe’ stands to give the man the respect he and his creations deserve. At the very least, it’ll be cool to see Gygax’s lesser known works getting some love.
DC Comics: Metropolis and Beyond – 11:15 AM – 12:15 PM, Room 6DE
Official Description: A legion of celebrated DC comic book creators discuss Superman, DC’s comics, and more. Moderated by DC group editor Paul Kaminski.
Our Take: Super brief and generic description aside, this panel is where fans can get a look at the next year of Big Blue’s comic book adventures – and given just how strongly the newly-released Superman film’s declaration that ‘caring about people is punk rock’ is resonating with audiences, hopefully DC will put their best foot-forward and announce some truly stellar creative team-ups.
DC Comics: Gotham City – 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM, Room 6DE
Official Description: Walk the dark and gritty streets of the DC Universe with top DC comic book creators for news and surprises involving Batman and the other protectors of Gotham City. Moderated by DC group editor Rob Levin.
Our Take: In following up one World’s Finest member-centric panel with another, this panel will be the place to be for Batfans interested in the future of the main continuity Dark Knight. Plus, we’ll likely hear something about Tom King’s upcoming return to writing the hero, so at the very least, that oughta be good for a laugh or three.
Scott Pilgrim EX with Bryan Lee O’Malley and Tribute Games – 1:30 PM – 2:30 PM, Room 5AB
Official Description: Moderator Griffin Newman (Blank Check Podcast) and Bryan Lee O’Malley (Scott Pilgrim creator) present an inside look at the making of an all-new Scott Pilgrim video game adventure! Jean-Francois Major, Yannick Belzil (Tribute Games), and John Melchior (Universal Products & Experiences) will be on hand to offer a behind-the-scenes look at the development of the game with exclusive first-look gameplay footage and many more surprises from Josh Fairhurst (Limited Run Games).
Our Take: Anyone who played the previous Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game knows just how not only fun, but genuinely reverent of its various source materials that side-scrolling beat-em-up was, and the upcoming sequel is gearing up to deliver yet another quality Toronto vacation. With O’Malley in tow, this panel stands to present fans with a bevy of new material that will make the wait for EX‘s release even more unbearable.
Marvel Comics: Ultimate Universe – 1:45 PM – 2:45 PM, Room 6A
Official Description: Marvel’s growing Ultimate Universe continues to captivate longtime fans and new readers alike! Learn why as Editor-in-Chief C.B. Cebulski, Ultimate Editor Wil Moss and some of the line’s hit creators including Jonathan Hickman (Ultimate Spider-Man), Deniz Camp (Ultimates), and Chris Condon (Ultimate Wolverine) discuss the imprint’s success while revealing the bold and unpredictable storytelling still on the horizon. The countdown to the Maker’s return is on, as the moment readers have been anticipating since the start prepares to send the universe and characters they’ve grown to love into a frenzy! Make sure to stick around until the end of the discussion to score an exclusive giveaway comic book.
Our Take: The Maker’s about to come back – and given the sheer quality of the Ultimate line, whatever comes next for the residents of Earth-6160 is sure to be just as dramatic, explosive, and outright good as its first year and a half of life (and you just KNOW that giveaway comic is going to have a cool variant cover).
UDON Entertainment Industry Panel – 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM. Room 23ABC
Official Description: Celebrating another groundbreaking year of publishing the best video game and anime artbooks and manga from Japan and all over the world, UDON’s chief Erik Ko and director of publishing Matt Moylan share all the projects that UDON is going to offer in the coming months.
Our Take: One of the main players helping to create a genuine bridge between Western and Eastern ‘nerd media’, whenever Udon adds a new SKU to their product offerings, whether a shirt, variant cover, or art book, it’s almost guaranteed to bee of the utmost quality. As such, whatever Ko and Moylan reveal here is sure to have weeb wallets sweating (mine included).
Transformers and G.I. Joe: All Out War in the Energon Universe – 4:30 PM – 5:30 PM
Official Description: The biggest year for the Energon Universe is here! Transformers, G.I. Joe, and Void Rivals from Skybound continue to top the comics sales charts. Robert Kirkman (Void Rivals), Daniel Warren Johnson (Transformers), Joshua Williamson (G.I. Joe), and Sean Mackiewicz (SVP/publisher, Skybound) reveal their plans for the Quintesson War, the Dreadnok War, and more. Moderated by Arune Singh (VP, brand, Skybound).
Our Take: Right now, the Energon Universe is regularly touted as some of the best Western comics currently being produced – and its next year looks to keep the hype going with a bevy of top creators, crossovers, and even an intra-company line. Anyone interested in the Autobots and Joes’ ongoing battle against the forces of evil will definitely want to tune in to this one.
Peter David: A Celebration of His Life, Work, and Legacy – 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM, Grand 10 & 11, Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina
Official Description: The comic book and science fiction communities recently lost a true titan when Peter David passed away. While Peter’s works will be celebrated for decades to come, panelists invite you to join them for a lively celebration of Peter, the longtime convention presence, and amazing “Writer of Stuff.” Panelists will include comic legends, friends, and collaborators, including Paul Levitz, George Takei, Mark Evanier, Chris Ryall, and J. K. Woodward. Moderated by Peter’s longtime Comics Buyer’s Guide friend, Maggie Thompson.
Our Take: The passing of the late, great David, as well as all the surrounding circumstances that led to it, was perhaps one of the most tragic in the history of comic books. The least we can do is take a moment to honor the man who brought us such seminal characters as the Maestro, Phyla-Vell, and Spider-Man 2099.
And with that, we’re down to the wire – just one day left to go before it’s back to reality. Come check in with us tomorrow for Sunday’s panel run down!
