Photos: Comic-Con 2014 | The scene

Chris Vick of Los Angeles touches up his makeup during a break from his role as “The Spoon Killer.”  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

A cosplay group entertains passersby in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter during Comic-Con.  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

San Diego friends Elizabeth Walsh, left, and Traci Haze clown around for a photo with a model of “The Hobbit’s” Gollum.  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Gina Gianni of Chicago as Batgirl.  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Elias Meraz, left, poses with cosplayer Alicia Bellamy, dressed as the “Scarlet Witch.”  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

The Gonzalez family of Santa Ana takes a rest on the convention hall floor.  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Fans pass by BBC America’s “Orphan Black” ad on a convention hall wall.  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Chris Beasley as the Hobbit’s Gandalf makes his way through the crowd.  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Kevin Uribe, of Red Bank, NJ, stands quietly, dressed as “Silent Bob.”  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

John Whitt of Minneapolis spreads his wings as “Batman.”  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

“Orphan Black” fan Cynthia Perez walks away with a cardboard cutout of the show’s character, Cal Morrison.  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Fans pack an elevator to the convention center sky bridge.  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Matthew Angle dresses as a green elf.  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Elisa Teague walks the convention center floor in an unconventional gown.  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Hilary Wirkowski of Pittsburgh wears a horned crown.  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Bugs Mitchell of Westminster finds a quiet cove to check his email during Comic-Con.  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Keeleigh West of Reno, Nev. spreads her homemade wings on the convention hall floor.  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Chopper the dog moves through the Gaslamp Quarter with his owner Mark Shaffer.  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Chris Clarke of San Diego reaches out to touch a macabre mannequin to see if it might be a real human in front of the Zombie Apocalypse Store in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter.  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Cornelia Singer of Yonkers, N.Y., during Comic-Con.  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Andrew Knighton, under the gigantic eyeball, heads into the Comic-Con convention center.   (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Convention attendees gather around a scale model of Star Trek starship USS Reliant.  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Convention-goers stop at nothing, even if it means waiting in long lines, to buy Marvel merchandise.   (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

A woman in a period gown takes the stairs after realizing it would be a tight squeeze into the elevator.  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

The face of fictitious mascot and cover boy Alfred E. Neuman shines through in a compilation of Mad magazine covers.   (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

A pair of Supermen give onlookers a double take as they check out “Star Wars” merchandise at the convention.   (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Keith Rivera goes undercover as a lowrider Joker.   (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Josh Roemele, 10, marvels at “Transformers” merchandise, just one item among a bevy of goodies.   (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Fans, dressed up and dressed down, take an escalator to the convention floor.   (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Cosplayers David Schoelen, left, and Paul Baum work up the right attitude.   (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Thomas Willeford of Harrisburg, Pa., appears in costume at Comic-Con 2014 as Steampunk Iron Man (circa 1889).  (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Attendees enter the San Diego Convention Center as Comic-Con 2014 officially opens its doors for preview night Wednesday at 6 p.m.   (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Kevin Harper plays the new “Kingdom Hearts” game at Comic-Con 2014.  (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

The Marvel booth at Comic-Con 2014 gives away free posters to the early arrivals during preview night Wednesday.   (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

A.J. Peplinski, 6, and his father, Allen Peplinski, of Las Vegas look up at a Bumbleblee figure from the “Transformers” movies at Comic-Con 2014.   (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Josh Buonocore of Orlando, Fla., takes a selfie with a zombie at “The Walking Dead” Terminus wall.  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Children construct Lego projects during a contest at the Lego booth.  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Crys Harm of Langhorne, Pa., sports bright green contact lenses.  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Zak Skelly rides on dad David’s shoulders through a packed San Diego Convention Center.  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Hannah Collier, right, explains the new video game “The Crew” to Robert Atwater at Comic-Con 2014.   (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

A Thorin Oakenshield figurine, part of the Hobbit collection at the Weta booth.  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

A Han Solo in Carbonite. The life-size figure is part of a giveaway at the Sideshow Collectables booth.  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Men are reflected in a glass case as they look over a Superman figure.  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Adult Swim’s master of ceremonies Randall Byers, center, supervises the Wheel of Wonder, which fans spin for prizes.  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Kris Keyes as Dive Bomber, right, checks his email as passersby take his photo.  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Comic-Con 2014 in San Diego officially opens Thursday but fans arrive early to pickup credentials on Wednesday. Travis Jackson with 1540 production helps with the construction of Warner Bros.’ 24-foot tall sculpture of Godzilla behind Hall H.  (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Renee White of Melbourne, Australia, snaps a photo of a giant Godzilla at Comic-Con in San Diego.  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Arriving early at Comic-Con, para-olympic runner Blake Leeper of San Diego is the first double leg amputee in America in the Olympic games.  (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Anna Kegler, left, Rochelle Keyhan and Erin Filson, representing a group called geeksforCONsent at Comic-Con. The trio will be handing out anti-harassment paraphernalia at the convention.  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

A worker helps assemble a giant billboard for the new NBC show “Constantine” near Petco Park as part of Comic-Con preparation.  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Docy Elliott of Ottawa, Canada, is already in costume (Goku from “Dragonball Z”) as he arrives early to pick up credentials.  (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Lauren Moyer assembles flowers and billboards for the Interactive Zone at Petco Park as part of Comic-Con.  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Passersby look at a re-branded Hard Rock Cafe -- now the Ascension Cafe -- which is a Comic-Con placeholder touting the Syfy show “Ascension” in San Diego.  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

The city of San Diego gets into Comic-Con as trolley cars are wrapped in ads from the CW’s new “Gotham” television show.  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)