{"id":421260,"date":"2026-08-02T00:38:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-02T00:38:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/421260\/"},"modified":"2026-08-02T00:38:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-02T00:38:11","slug":"automatters-more-san-diego-comic-con-2026-including-apple-tv-marvel-studios-in-hall-h-san-diego-union-tribune","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/421260\/","title":{"rendered":"AutoMatters & More: San Diego Comic-Con 2026 including Apple TV & Marvel Studios in Hall H \u2013 San Diego Union-Tribune"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every year San Diego Comic-Con is a unique experience, and this year was no exception. There were loads of interesting, informative and entertaining panels, screenings, sneak-peek previews and the Comic-Con Masquerade (better-than-ever choreography and incredible, custom-made costumes) in the San Diego Convention Center. For those you needed a Comic-Con badge, as did the opportunity to check out the many exhibits and vendors in the massive Exhibit Hall. Speaking of which, I added my share of revenue to the event, with my purchases of gifts to share some of the San Diego Comic-Con joy with others.<\/p>\n

Even though I have a San Diego Comic-Con badge each year, I probably spend at least half of my time exploring downtown San Diego to experience exhibits and activities beyond the San Diego Convention Center, at locations including the San Diego Central Library and nearby hotels (Hilton San Diego Bayfront, Manchester Grand Hyatt and Omni San Diego). Activations and activities included the Alien Gaming Lounge, Stern Pinball arcade, card games, Comic-Con merch, San Diego Blood Bank\u2019s blood drive (over 3,500 pints of blood collected!), films, anime, Comic-Con art show & sale \u2014 plus the creative and very entertaining \u201cHer Universe Fashion Show.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"HerHer Universe Fashion Show
\n(Jan Wagner)<\/p>\n

As in past years, much of what is fun to see and experience are the mostly free pop-ups, activations and exhibits outside, on the streets that are within walking distance of the Convention Center.<\/p>\n

These included: Apple TV\u2019s \u201cSILO\u201d Experience; \u201cStuart Fails to Save the Universe \u2018The Comic Center of Pasadena\u2019\u201d (a \u201cmultiversal adventure\u201d in Stuart Bloom\u2019s comic shop); \u201cClash of the Clans: Clash for the Stache\u201d (an interactive team challenge room & themed shopping experience \u2014 not free, operating July 15 to Sept. 7 at Seaport Village); \u201cStar Trek Fleet Command: 60 Years of Star Trek Archives Experience\u201d (a museum-caliber collection of costumes and props \u2014 organized by each Star Trek series, a VR experience, claw machines with Star Trek prizes, and a personalized photo trading card); \u201cStar Trek: Boldly Built\u201d (photo op and Magic: The Gathering giveaway); Alliance Authentic pop-up; the Petco Park Interactive Zone, featuring the Maruchan Marumart (showcasing a huge variety of Maruchan noodle varieties, with samples), plus \u201cMagic: The Gathering Marvel Super Heroes Experience\u201d (with instruction, a free starter pack and game play); \u201cAdult Swim on the Green\u201d (entertainment, games with prizes and an indoor carnival ride!); \u201cSplatoon Raiders x Brisk\u201d; and \u201cPercy Jackson and the Olympians.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TheThe very first shooting model of the USS Enterprise \u2014 lost for 45 years
\n(Jan Wagner)<\/p>\n

Returning to the Gaslamp Quarter again this year was \u201cParamount+ The Lodge.\u201d This year\u2019s interactive sets represented \u201cStar Trek: Strange New Worlds,\u201d \u201cSouth Park,\u201d the \u201cUFC\u201d and more, complete with food and drinks. However, there was also something else \u2014 an iconic artifact that had been lost for 45 years. On display was the very first shooting model (33-inches in length) of the original \u201cStar Trek\u201d TV series\u2019 USS Enterprise (NCC-1701).<\/p>\n

In 1964 the USS Enterprise was designed by Matt Jefferies and this model built by Richard C. Datin Jr.. It was then used to film Star Trek\u2019s pilot TV episode (\u201cThe Cage\u201d) and the iconic \u201cStar Trek\u201d TV show opening, where it whooshed through space week after week, taking its crew on what was intended to be a 5-year mission: \u201cTo explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, (and) to boldly go where no man had gone before!\u201d It was also used as the reference model for the series\u2019 much larger (11-foot) miniature.<\/p>\n

\"PartPart of the massive Comic-Con Exhibit Hall
\n(Jan Wagner)<\/p>\n

From the late 1960s until around 1978-79, the model sat on Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry\u2019s desk, as a personal keepsake and piece of franchise history. Then he loaned \u201cthe model to Paramount during production of the film \u201cStar Trek: The Motion Picture.\u201d Shortly afterward, it went missing \u2014 for 45 years \u2014 until October of 2023, when, against all odds, it was discovered inside a California storage unit\u00a0purchased at auction. The finders initially listed it on eBay\u00a0before experts identified it as the genuine model.<\/p>\n

The \u201cHulu Animayhem\u201d exhibit, while smaller than in previous years, and relocated from behind the San Diego Convention Center to the front, and across the street, included free food and drinks inspired by \u201cFuturama\u201d and \u201cKing of the Hill.\u201d<\/p>\n

As I was returning home on the San Diego Trolley on the final day (Sunday) of San Diego Comic-Con, someone gave me this sticker: \u201cComic-Con SWAG BANDIT.\u201d Over the five days that I was there, I did accumulate a lot of Comic-Con swag: T-shirts, posters, \u201cMagic: The Gathering playing cards,\u201d a \u201cMy Little Pony\u201d collectable (that I gifted to someone else), a custom and plastic-encased \u201cStar Trek\u201d trading card with me wearing a Federation uniform, boxes of Red Vines licorice, pins, stickers, comic books, a bobble-head, a frisbee plus a Doctor Doom mask and cape from the insanely cool Marvel Studios presentation in Hall H \u2014 and that is just some of the free stuff that I collected!<\/p>\n

\"MarvelMarvel Studios blockbuster presentation in Hall H
\n(Jan Wagner)<\/p>\n

I am happy to report that Comic-Con will be staying in San Diego through 2030, at least. San Diego is where Comic-Con began, and our venue is unique. Whereas some other cities have huge convention centers, a large part of the charm of San Diego Comic-Con is the activation-filled Gaslamp Quarter and surrounding blocks in downtown (usually not requiring a Comic-Con badge). If this event moved entirely into a huge convention center, it would not be nearly as much fun, nor would it be as accessible.<\/p>\n

A picture can, indeed, be worth a thousand words, so I will upload \u2014 to the AutoMatters.net website \u2014 many of my photos from all four days, plus Preview Night, of San Diego Comic-Con. Included will be the star-studded Hall H Apple TV panels and Marvel Studios.<\/p>\n

As always, to explore a wide variety of content dating back to 2002, with the most photos and the latest text, visit \u201cAutoMatters & More\u201d at https:\/\/automatters.net. Search by title or topic in the Search Bar in the middle of the Home Page or click on the blue \u2018years\u2019 boxes and browse.<\/p>\n

Copyright \u00a9 2026 by Jan Wagner \u2013 AutoMatters & More #938r3<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Every year San Diego Comic-Con is a unique experience, and this year was no exception. There were loads…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":421261,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[310,1002,74,76,75],"class_list":["post-421260","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-diego","tag-del-mar-times","tag-del-mar-times-opinion","tag-san-diego","tag-san-diego-headlines","tag-san-diego-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/421260","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=421260"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/421260\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/421261"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=421260"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=421260"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=421260"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}