San Diego Con '07: Day 2 (update #3)

Update #1: added news on the Mattel/DC panel
Update #2: added DC Nation panel news, animated panel news
Update #3: added animation panel news from CBR

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Here's what those lucky enough to be in San Diego get to see on Friday 7/27. Got to work late today, so don't expect any updates until after midnight.

11:30-12:30 Mattel and DC Comics: A Heroic Partnership — You’ve been a fan of Mattel’s popular DC toy lines, now find out the latest news, sneak peaks, and behind-the-scenes scoop on your favorite Mattel/DC action figures, including DC Super Heroes, Justice League Unlimited, The Batman, and DC Superfriends, plus exciting new lines and never-before-released information. Join Mattel toy designers, and Warner Brothers and DC Comic representatives for an insightful Q&A. Room 10

See my rant here.

Action Figure Insider has some of the "news".

• Mattel is changing the name of the Justice League line to DC Super Heroes. "Legion of Superheroes and Teen Titans animated shows can also be folded into the line."
  
  
• "DC + Mattel + WB: Beyond Batman and Superman, over 3000 characters available... our chance to give the fans what they want! The vault is open, so what's next?" (the next slides show 3 new Supermans, 3 new Batmans, 3 new Robins, 3 new Two-Faces, 3 new Jokers... sigh....) Coming in 2008: a new line of 25 figures plus variants, but you'll have to wait until Wizard World Chicago to see them

Toy News International has the Q&A:

Q: When will we see Legion Of Super Heroes?
A: How does the audiance feel about it? (Everyone claps.) The future of this line is still up in the air.

Q: Will we see the Legion Of Super Heroes in the 6" Classic line?
A: It's possible.

4:15-5:45 Warner Bros. Animation: The Batman/Legion of Super-Heroes — This action-packed 90 minutes is split between two Warner Bros. Animation standouts: The Batman and Legion of Super Heroes. The Caped Crusader crew just picked up its fourth Emmy Award heading into a season that promises even more punch, courtesy of guest appearances from some Justice League pals. Supervising producer Alan Burnett (The Batman), producer-director Michael Goguen (Batman: The Animated Series), renowned voice director Andrea Romano, and the voice of Batman himself, Rino Romano, will discuss the upcoming surprises. LOSH enters its second season with double the action as the group adds new members—and a new ally from across the space-time continuum—just in time to face a daunting new villain. Producer James Tucker (Justice League Unlimited), director Brandon Vietti (Superman Doomsday), and story editor/writer Michael Jelenic (The Batman) will be joined on the panel by cast members Yuri Lowenthal (Superman on LOSH), Phil Morris (Seinfeld, Smallville), and Alex Polinsky (Charles in Charge). TV Guide senior editor Rich Sands will moderate both halves of the panel. Room 6B

Nightcrawler over at Legion Clubhouse has some info (more than I have here, so check it out), including:

• Season Two is a year and a half to two years after Season One. Lots of changes happened between that time including new members such as Chameleon Boy.
  
  
• Imperiex plays out throughout the entire Season. Karate Kid will be there and appears in the opening among the known Legionnaires (Tyroc, Shrinking Violet, etc.) After I left, I wish I would have looked harder for Colossal Boy or Cosmic Boy, cause I can't recall either now.
  
  
• Dream Girl gets an episode, but the Subs will only be in cameos this Season. The guy who voices Chameleon Boy was unfamiliar with the character and had to check the Internet for references. He's going to be the goofy, comedy relief character and not the more serious character in the comics. The Fatal Five and the LSV return (in fact in the clip shown it looked like they were teaming up?).
  
  
• Tucker mentioned that the first season was sort of the Silver Age and the second season will be more in the vein of the Bronze Age. Including an appearance by Grimbor.
  
  
• And Dawnstar! She's coming up too! Invisible Kid was mentioned as well.

CBR has more:

• "The great thing about the Legion is every so often they do a reboot," Tucker said. "Going into the second season, the mandate was to up the ante. Season one was the Silver Age version of the legion. Season two we wanted to make it the Bronze Age, things happen that are a lot more exciting and dangerous. The show's got a lot more hard hitting action. It's darker visually, and the plots are more adult, but not adult skewing. It's a lot more exciting of a show."
  
  
• On the new clone Superman: "There's a little bit of Mon-El in him," Tucker said, "and a little bit of a character i can't name, but you recognize the color scheme." That seems to imply possibly the late Kon-El, who also had some super-clone issues.
  
  
• Phil Morris is now the voice of Imperiex, who will be the overarching threat to the Legion and the galaxy this season. "In the comics he kind of sucked, to be honest," Tucker said. " We needed a villain who we could do anything with, who didn't have baggage like Darkseid, and a guy who had some heft to him. We picked somebody the fans wouldn't be too mad if we tweaked, and somebody we could develop. He's way cooler in the show. You'll grow to appreciate him as a villain in his own right."
  
  
• Chameleon Boy is joining the show as a regular character. "He's there because his dad kind of funds the Legion," Tucker admitted. "We wanted to bring another thing of comic relief," Goguen said, "which is what Alex brings to the character. He's still a serious super hero, and he can still kick ass." "We described him as Eddie Haskell as a shapeshifter," Tucker offered, or Danny Bonaduce on 'The Partridge Family.'" Polinsky said, "He likes to get in trouble, and he's a smack talker, I love him, he's a great character."
  
  
• As for what other Legionnaires we can expect to see, the panel noted Karate Kid, a return for Matter-Eater Lad (also voiced by Polinsky), Dream Girl, Computo, Nemesis Kid, Dawnstar and Invisible Kid. "He's in every episode," Tucker quipped. The Legion of Substitute Heroes could be seen in cameos, "and Tyroc rocks."
  
  
• As for dream LSH stories to adapt, Tucker would go for Earthwar or the Heroes of Lallor, saying that to do The Great Darkness would need more time and more than a network show could handle. "Maybe on a DVD, so put your votes in."

6:00-7:00 DC Nation — Come one, come all, rise up and join the DC Nation! Meet Dan DiDio, senior VP/executive editor DCU, as he invites you to be part of the revolution! Discuss surviving 52, living in a multiverse guarded by Monitors, and trying to discover the secret of the cosmic chess game as the DCU counts down. Rise up and shout—The Nation is waiting! Room 6A

CBR starts off the coverage:

• "Batman's now met two different versions of the Legion of Super-Heroes, is he going to start putting the pieces together?" asked a fan. Geoff Johns confirmed that the World's Greatest Detective is, indeed, realizing that something's up.
  
  Hey, maybe hes's recovering from the effects of Multiversal Retconitis!
  
  
• Q: When are we legally allowed to have Superboy back? A: [Question ignored!]

Wizard Universe has a little more:

How many versions of the Legion of Super-Heroes are floating around? Johns’ answer was “Two... well, really three”.

Newsarama didn't have anything more to add.