FEATURE: DC Entertainment’s Five Best Moments From San Diego Comic-Con 2016

DC Entertainment had another highly successful year at San Diego Comic-Con in 2016. Warner Bros. showcased the next three DC films at Hall H with great trailers and cast/director appearances. Some exciting announcements for the future of the television world were made. And next year’s slate of animated features was confirmed.

Below, we’ve compiled a list of our top five favorite moments from DC’s time at Comic-Con.

#5: The Legion of Doom is Coming to the Arrowverse

Plenty of cool things were revealed during the DC television panels, including the new big bads for Arrow and The Flash, Katie Cassidy’s future in the Arrowverse, and all of those trailers. However, arguably the most exciting is the revelation of the big bad for DC’s Legends of Tomorrow next season. Or, more accurately, big bads.

Arrow enemies Malcolm Merlyn and Damien Darhk will unite with The Flash‘s Captain Cold and Reverse-Flash to form the Legion of Doom, a team of supervillains. Seeing this group fight the Legends should be an absolute treat, especially given Sara’s bad blood with Darhk. The Legion of Doom is a fan-favorite group in comics and animation, so seeing them incorporated into the Arrowverse should be cool.

#4: DC Announces its 2017 Animated Film Slate

On the animated side, DC held the premiere for Batman: The Killing Joke at SDCC. There, next year’s three installments in the Original Animated Movies line were confirmed. We have Justice League Dark, the supernatural team’s animated film debut; Teen Titans: The Judas Contract, an adaptation of the acclaimed comic book arc; and Batman and Harley Quinn, an original story by Bruce Timm.

It’s nice to see a little more variety in DC’s animated films here. Unlike recent years, only one title is Batman-centric. Then we have the Teen Titans’ second feature, while, again, Justice League Dark is that team’s very first movie. After several years of only Batman and (mainstream) Justice League titles, this is a good, unique slate.

#3: Meet the Directors of the DCEU

During Warner Bros.’ DC Films presentation, the directors of the next six installments were brought on stage. Suicide Squad‘s David Ayer, Wonder Woman‘s Patty Jenkins, Justice League‘s Zack Snyder, The Flash‘s Rick Famuyiwa, Aquaman‘s James Wan, and Batman‘s Ben Affleck all came on stage to talk about their films and their approaches to the characters.

Warner Bros. has been heavily touting a “filmmaker-driven” environment for DC Films, and taking the time to showcase these directors at SDCC is a very nice touch. This is a very talented, diverse group of filmmakers who each has an opportunity to tell a unique tale within the DC Universe. Fingers crossed that they are all successful in these ventures.

#2: Wonder Woman Arrives

2016 marks the 75th anniversary of Wonder Woman, and Warner Bros./DC emphasized on that during SDCC with a slew of activities, panels and more. Among these was the Hall H panel for next year’s Wonder Woman movie, and during this presentation, the very first trailer was released. And boy is it great.

The trailer offers teases for Diana’s origin story, as well as the World War I setting. There are also some jaw-dropping action sequences and cinematography. Simply put, it’s about time for Wonder Woman to headline her own movie. If this trailer is any indication, Wonder Woman is gonna be a massive hit next year.

#1: First Look at the Justice League

And at #1, we have the biggest “surprise” of the convention. During the Warner Bros. Hall H panel, Zack Snyder returned to the stage, but this time with the cast of Justice League. There, they revealed not only the first-look photo, but also a nearly three-minute long sizzle reel. The footage focuses on Bruce Wayne recruiting the League in anticipation of a new threat.

Based on the trailer, Justice League looks to be an awesome, insanely fun superhero epic. It’s noticeably lighter in tone and heavier on humor – something that should please those who didn’t like Batman v Superman‘s dark tone. And that first-look group photo is simply a thing of beauty.

Warner Bros. did a bang-up job giving a first look at DC’s biggest film to date. And for that, it lands at #1 on our list.

What was your favorite DC-related moment from San Diego Comic-Con 2016?