20 Years of NYCC

ReedPop—a division of RX born out of the launch of NYCC—doubled the floor space and it still wasn't enough. Saturday sold out, lines formed at midnight, and fans waited two hours in 20-degree weather. Frank Miller presented The Spirit two weeks before 300 opened, Stan Lee headlined "An American Icon," and footage premiered for Spider-Man 3, Transformers, and Simpsons Movie, the show's first real flex as a movie-marketing stop. Manga giant Yen Press debuted and revealed first wave of titles.

The only spring show in NYCC history. Academy Award-winning director Guillermo del Toro brought Hellboy II with Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, and Doug Jones; Lionsgate premiered The Spirit teaser; and Marvel Studios' Incredible Hulk panel showed a first look at a connected MCU with a reveal of that RDJ scene.

Dollhouse gave fans a sneak peek days before its FOX launch, and Bruce Timm premiered the animated Wonder Woman with a voice cast including Keri Russell, Nathan Fillion, and Rosario Dawson. Marvel unveiled Dark Reign with Bendis and Quesada on stage, and Takashi Miike appeared for Yatterman. NYCC fans watched the first 18 minutes of the Watchmen movie and Jonathan Hickman's Fantastic Four was announced. The last February show.

The turning point: NYCC moved to Halloween season for good, the city was more excited than ever for a pop culture celebration, and the New York Anime Festival co-located for the first time. It opened with its own ribbon-cutting as Crunchyroll made its fall announcements, and the "Psychology of Evangelion" panel packed out its panel room. Anthony Bourdain made an appearance promoting his comic Get Jiro!, which returns to NYCC 2026 as an animated series.

During Marvel’s The Avengers panel—with Feige, Evans, Hiddleston, Gregg, and Smulders—announced that Mark Ruffalo would take over from Norton as the Hulk. The entire cast of AMC’s The Walking Dead turned up with a season-two sneak peek days before it aired. Mark Hamill and Felicia Day took the spotlight. Ridley Scott announced Prophets of Science Fiction and Sunrise, the studio behind Gundam and Cowboy Bebop, held its first-ever official NYCC panel.

The Batman '66 Dynamic Duo, Adam West and Burt Ward, reunited on one stage in front of a room that had waited decades. Image marked its 20th anniversary with The Image Revolution preview, Final Fantasy legend Yoshitaka Amano appeared, Chip Zdarsky and Matt Fraction announced the landmark comic series Sex Criminals, and the MCU revealed #CoulsonLives to thunderous applause.

World premieres ran deep: Zack Snyder and Bruce Timm's Superman 75th short, and Necessary Evil narrated by Christopher Lee. Marvel finally confirmed the Miracleman reprint, ending one of comics' longest rights standoffs, and Attack on Titan landed as the hottest new anime of the year.

Attendance surpasses 150,000 fans. George Clooney—who was supposed to be on his honeymoon—surprised fans at Disney’s Tomorrowland panel alongside Brad Bird and Hugh Laurie. Marvel announced Secret Wars for its 75th. Darryl "DMC" McDaniels debuted his comic book imprint, Darryl Makes Comics. DC announced Wonder Woman '77, a continuation of the series with Lynda Carter. Death Note artist Takeshi Obata appeared and Survey Corps cosplayers were everywhere.

One of the best surprises in NYCC history: Marvel TV brought out the Jessica Jones cast, told the crowd there were no clips coming (to audible dismay) then screened the complete first episode, a first anywhere. The same panel teased Elektra and Jon Bernthal's Punisher for Daredevil: Season 2. Meanwhile, Mark Ruffalo secretly walked the Show Floor in a Luigi mask. The first episode of X-Files Revival premiered, and the cast of Back to the Future—Fox, Lloyd, Thompson—reunited for the 30th anniversary just days before 10/21/15, the future date visited in BTTF 2.

And the crowd goes wild. At the Iron Fist panel, Finn Jones asked, "Can I bring out some friends?" Cue Charlie Cox, Krysten Ritter, and Mike Colter—the Defenders together on stage for the first time. The crowd screamed for over a minute. Then Marvel took the mic, paused... and introduced Sigourney Weaver. She walked out. The room lost it for a second time, all while The Walking Dead delighted NYCC fans at the Theater at Madison Square Garden.

A record-breaking year with over 200,000 fans attending. Star Trek: Discovery took the Theater at Madison Square Garden with the full cast alongside Alex Kurtzman, and a surprise moment from Michelle Yeoh that brought the house down. Marvel's Runaways screened its full first episode ahead of the Hulu launch, Fairy Tale creator Hiro Mashima delighted fans with an appearance, Robert Kirkman confirmed the Walking Dead crossover, and Matt Ryan returned as the animated Constantine.

And the records keep breaking: 250,000 fans descended on the Javits Center and our offsite venues at Madison Square Garden, Hammerstein Ballroom, Hudson Mercantile, and Pier 94. Aquaman owned the building with movie costumes, exclusive comics, a life-size LEGO statue, and an extended trailer that had the show buzzing. DC premiered the Titans trailer for its new streaming service, Robert Pattinson made a surprise Zoom call into the Twilight 10th anniversary panel, and Cowboy Bebop's 20th anniversary drew one of the weekend's biggest anime rooms. But that’s not all—Jodie Whittaker screened her first Doctor Who episode, Prime Video revealed the first teaser for The Boys, and the Harvey Awards moved to NYCC.

HBO screened the full Watchmen pilot 16 days before broadcast, bringing out Regina King, Jeremy Irons, and Jean Smart to standing ovations, capped by a surprise Dave Gibbons appearance. Ryan Reynolds made a surprise appearance for his film Free Guy. Todd McFarlane collected a Guinness World Record as Spawn hit #301, Lauren Cohan announced her surprise return to the Walk Dead for Season 11, and the first NYCC after Stan Lee's death honored him with a tribute panel: "Excelsior!"

In the most unprecedented of times, NYCC brought the community together virtually with NYCC x MCM Metaverse. The free YouTube event gave fans a new way to connect from home, with virtual autographs and meet-and-greets, a Doctor Who spotlight with Jodie Whittaker, the first look at the Animaniacs reboot and footage from Prime Video’s Invincible, and more. Keanue Reeves, Matt Kindt, and Rob Garney previewed their comic series BRZRKR. It wasn’t NYCC as we knew it, but we still found a way to celebrate fandom together.

William Shatner, 90, walked onto the Main Stage in jeans and a leather jacket and captivated the room for 45 straight minutes, five days before he flew to space. He told the crowd he was scared, and about turning down the second flight: "I don't want to be known as the oldest guy. I'm bloody Captain Kirk!" Nothing else at the show came close.

The first Super Mario Bros. Movie trailer premiered here with Chris Pratt, Jack Black Anya Taylor-Joy, and Charlie Day. Picard reunited the entire Next Generation crew, the cast of Netflix’s Wednesday gave a sneak peek at Season One, and the first episode of Chainsaw Man screened for fans. The guest list was among the strongest ever: Michael J. Fox with Christopher Lloyd, Jamie Lee Curtis, Brendan Fraser, and Daniel Radcliffe with Weird Al for the biopic.

A Hollywood strike meant we found creative ways to still celebrate pop culture. Chris Evans and Ewan McGregor headlined spotlights ("Hello there!"), Percy Jackson screened its first seven minutes to a surprise Rick Riordan standing ovation, Tom Hardy joined Scott Snyder on a comic, and Jujutsu Kaisen brought exclusives as the biggest anime on earth that autumn. And yes, David Tennent showed everyone how he ties his shoes. We did say we had to be creative.

We’re back to post-pandemic attendance levels with over 250,000 fans. Charlie Cox and Vincent D'Onofrio walked on unannounced to reveal Daredevil: Born Again with the first look at the new costumes. Bleach's Japanese voice cast gave anime one of its most emotional rooms nine years after the series ended, Kid Cudi announced his move into comics, and James Gunn & DC Studios made its convention debut with Creature Commandos.

HBO’s Knight of the Seven Kingdoms and Critical Role ruled the stages. DC came home with a multi-level booth and John Cena's Peacemaker costume, celebrating 100 years of publishing and revealing Vertigo's ten-series slate to NYCC fans first. Toei gave the Empire Stage the first look anywhere at One Piece's Elbaf Arc designs under a giant Gear 5 Luffy balloon, and Marvel confirmed X-Men '97 season three.