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Next, a new trailer for "Prince Caspian" premieres. This is clearly a darker, more adult film than "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," with scenes of epic conflict that edge toward "Rings" territory. Producer Mark Johnson and returning star William Moseley (who plays Peter Pevensie) are joined on the panel by series newcomers Peter Dinklage, who plays Trumpkin, and young, unknown British actor Ben Barnes, who essays the title role. They all agree that "Caspian" is both more tragic and action-packed than the first film, although Johnson jokes that Dinklage and Moseley "don't know what they're talking about" because they haven't seen the finished film yet.

Afterward, Barnes admits he hasn't seen it either: "I saw (director) Andrew Adamson a couple of days ago and he offered to show me bits of the film, but I said no. I want to wait and see it all together. I want to be blown away like any other Narnia fan." As for the fans at Comic Con wondering just who he is, Barnes says, "They're in the same boat as me. I don't know who I am or what I'm doing here!"

Back in the theater, there are rumors going around that the next presentation will be attended by a certain near-mythical figure. George Lucas does not in fact show up, but Lucasfilm rep Steve Sansweet is here to run through the upcoming slate from Lucasfilm and its subsidiaries, including the new "Star Wars: The Force Unleashed" video game. But the big applause is saved for the clips from "Star Wars: The Clone Wars," the animated film and TV series coming to theaters this summer and to TV in the fall.

Next, the trailer for "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" is shown -- and for many in the crowd, myself included, it's the first time seeing it on the big screen. We'll know in a month if the long wait was worth it. But the biggest ovation of all is given up for, as Sansweet deadpans, "the first two graduates of the doctoral program on 'Star Wars' at NYU's film school," as he introduces "Robot Chicken" creators Seth Green and Matthew Senreich. The crowd loves every minute with the makers of the hit Adult Swim series, and goes positively berserk for the "Robot Chicken: Star Wars" trailer from the DVD due out in May.

The Boys of Summer

That finished, Universal Pictures takes over the theater for the next two hours. First up is "Wanted" director Timur Bekmambetov, who makes up for his lack of strong English by showing a clip of what's either an incredible or ridiculous gunfight/car chase from the film. Stars James McAvoy and Angelina Jolie don't do much acting in the clip, but they sure do a lot of jumping, running and rolling -- sadly they're not present to tell us all about it.

Then the audience hails Mexican director Guillermo del Toro, as he leads the cast of "Hellboy II: The Golden Army," along with character creator Mike Mignola, onto the stage. Del Toro is himself a huge fanboy and laps it all up, basking in the adoration but utterly passionate in his love for genre storytelling and his devotion to the fans. Three minutes of deliriously fantastical "Hellboy" footage is shown and when the lights come back up, towering monsters from the film stand all along the stage, flanking the cast and creators at the table.

Del Toro dominates most of the ensuing Q&A session, making some news along the way: He says he's four or five days away from knowing if he's officially doing "The Hobbit," and is also writing a new film titled "Saturn and the End of Days." Designed to complete a trilogy that includes "Pan's Labyrinth" and his earlier masterwork, "The Devil's Backbone," it's about a young boy who watches the end of the world on his way back and forth from the supermarket every day.

Also: Read MSN Movies' Q&A with del Toro and "Hellboy II" star Ron Perlman

Finally, it's "Incredible Hulk" time. The Internet has been ablaze with bad buzz about the movie, but director Louis Leterrier, star villain Tim Roth, Marvel Films bigwig Kevin Feige and producer Gale Anne Hurd are on hand to soothe fans' nerves. All it takes is one clip, a long scene in which Edward Norton transforms into the Hulk, lays waste to an Army brigade and finally goes hand-to-hand with a scientifically enhanced Roth. Even unfinished, the scene brings down the house, doing a tremendous amount of damage control in a few short minutes. The audience is further riled up by the surprise appearance of TV "Hulk" Lou Ferrigno for a nice blast of nostalgia.

The new trailer is then shown as well, incorporating the aforementioned scene and some footage from the first teaser, and then we are given an extra treat -- the long-rumored cameo by Robert Downey Jr. as Tony "Iron Man" Stark, where he meets with General Ross (William Hurt) in a bar about Ross' Hulk problem. "Avengers" movie, anyone?

It's not widely publicized, but Warner Bros. has booked 15 minutes in the theater just before Lionsgate's "The Spirit" showcase and the crowd goes ballistic as the new trailer for "The Dark Knight" is premiered. Bloggers and Internet reporters are asked not to write about it in much detail before it officially arrives in two weeks, but it includes a lot more Joker (Heath Ledger) and a lot of Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), although the latter's Two-Face alter ego remains hidden. Nonetheless, it turns up the heat even higher for this heavily anticipated film.

Panels? What Panels?

Now, the film presentations draw the largest crowds, but smaller panels are going on everywhere else, in intimate meeting rooms where comic-book artists are discussing their craft and publishers are hawking their upcoming slates. I gamely seek out the presentation by Boom! Studios, a publisher whose highly enjoyable horror and sci-fi titles include "Fall of Cthulhu" -- one of the few authentically creepy comics I have read -- "Dominion" and "The Foundation." After a brief hold-up by security thanks to the over-capacity crowds clogging the "Robot Chicken" panel, I finally find the Boom! team in a little room down the hall that's both half-empty and blessedly cool.

Competing for attention at Comic Con with heavyweights like DC and Marvel, Boom! co-founder Ross Richie admits, "We're trying to reach out and get people who maybe don't read comics to read our stuff. I think our stuff in particular is well-suited for that and it's worked well for us this weekend. A lot of people have come to the booth who are unfamiliar with comics, see something they like, and pick it up."

Next I dart across the hall for the packed "Cup o' Joe," a lively affair in which Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Joe Quesada makes announcements about the massive Marvel line and takes on all questions. But the edgy, cocky Quesada himself is upstaged by Stan Lee, recipient of the Comic Con's first New York Comics Legend Award earlier in the weekend. The 85-year-old writer -- who co-created Spider-Man, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, the Hulk, Thor and many others while turning Marvel into a publishing powerhouse -- makes a surprise visit to the panel, leaping onstage for five minutes to rib Quesada before leaping off again and sprinting out of the room like a teenager. Lee gets a tremendous standing ovation from the audience and is perhaps living proof that geek culture keeps you forever young.

The Final Chapter ...?

Like Lee, certain modern writers are virtually rock stars to the fans, and Scottish writer Grant Morrison fits the bill as well as any. In addition to currently writing "Batman," "All-Star Superman" and other titles for DC, he is also the author of the upcoming "Final Crisis," the third in a line of miniseries that upend the entire DC universe every few years. Morrison and other DC luminaries show up on Sunday for a panel on "Final Crisis," and there is a moment that, for me, is perhaps the single most important one of the entire weekend.

One fan stands up to reveal that he was so changed and inspired by a tale of dolphin slaughter written by Morrison for issue No. 15 of "Animal Man" back in the '80s that he went on to become an attorney working to protect marine life. If something like that doesn't justify this entire world of geek culture, and its positive effect on the aspirations and imaginations of fans, readers and potential creators everywhere, I don't know what does.

Men, women, girls and boys who read comics, love science fiction films, collect toys and trading cards and play Dungeons & Dragons are often characterized as nerds and misfits, the kids who don't have any friends or ever leave their basements. But in the world of Comic Con, most of the attendees are intelligent, enthusiastic, passionate about what they love and genuinely open to the power of imagination. Having spent not just a weekend but much of my life in that world, I can say it's a place more people should visit -- they may find that they don't want to leave.

Also: 'The Big Debate': Are comic books cool again?

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Don Kaye is a geek and proud of it. He writes for Fangoria, Blabbermouth and others.