Comics, pop culture and passionate fans were already filling the San Diego Convention Center and Gaslamp Quarter the day before San Diego Comic-Con 2025 officially got underway.
Some Con-goers were already in full cosplay ahead of the event — like San Diego local Carlos Vera Vandal, who was there with a group of friends. He shared what makes the Con special.
“This is with collaboration with 'Marvel Rivals,'" Vera Vandal said of his cosplay. "It is Doctor Strange from the video game. It took me about three months to make.”
Others, like local Angelica Delgado, had been staked out with a group since just after midnight — a full day before the event — hoping to be the first ones through the door.
"There's a lot of stuff in there that you can only get in there, so early bird gets the worm, basically," she said.
Nadar Scott flew in from South Carolina specifically for Thursday's 20th anniversary panel for "Avatar: The Last Airbender."
“I have a nice comfortable chair, I got a sweater, I got my hat, and I will get a blanket because it's going to be cool tonight,” Scott said.
It's his 18th year at the Con, and he also planned on sleeping outside overnight.
“My flight was supposed to be tomorrow, and I would've got here around 9 a.m., (but) that's not going to work for me," he said Wednesday. "I have to be up front, and close and personal. I changed my flight. I don't even have a hotel room tonight — this is my hotel room.”
