"DC Universe Online is the first chance for a player to step into the universe and play a character as their own hero," says Chris Cao.  He's been working on DCUO for a couple years now, but Comic-Con is the first time they've brought it forth from their steaming laboratory to show it off.  "The coolest thing about the game is to have players in it.  Now everybody gets to see it and be there," says Chris.

It was a classic Comic-Con surprise visit, the kind that every fan hopes for - and one even newbies could get starry-eyed over. The LGBT Portrayals in Comics panel had just settled into a fun Q&A when moderator Patricia Jeres of Prism Comics interrupted to welcome a "very special visitor."

You could find these Why So Serious? dollars as part of a scavenger hunt for The Dark Knight at last year's Comic-Con (Warner Brothers)

This Friday the eagerly anticipated sequel to Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins opens and the buzz about The Dark Knight is that it kicks ass. Kevin Smith posted on his blog that "It's the Godfather II of comic book films." But the buzz for the film began generating at last year's Comic-Con with a viral marketing campaign (whysoserious.com) and scavenger hunt from Warner Brothers. On July 26 of last year the altered dollar bills (pictured above) started circulating at the Con. The rumor was that funny money was a clue and would lead to something big on Saturday. Warners didn't deliver a Dark Knight panel at the Con but if you participated in the scavenger hunt you were able to unlock an exclusive Joker photo and teaser trailer. Who knows what surprises may lurk at this year's Comic-Con. But I'll bet we have a lot of Jokers showing up.