The Gateway to the Capital
Regardless of being frequent con-goers on the East Coast, we might by no means heard of Superior Con. It is doubtless as a consequence of Superior Con being primarily for celeb autographs, with extra give attention to expertise than followers. It additionally appears to maneuver timeframes fairly a bit — this 12 months it was in March, subsequent 12 months it is in April. Moving into the Walter E. Washington Conference Middle instantly made it clear how Superior Con has matured into the Mid-Atlantic’s premier popular culture hub, with over 60,000 followers within the coronary heart of Washington, D.C..
The conference heart itself is gigantic, with an Exhibitor Corridor rivaling Gen Con’s in measurement (if much less distributors current), with the Primary Stage—Ballroom A, B, and C—reserved for the large bulletins and panels. The programming for 2026 was pretty balanced, providing a mix of celeb panels, a Science Honest, Artist Alley, and a devoted give attention to Delight Alley for LGBTQ+ creators. To place Superior Con’s sheer measurement in perspective, it has over 700K sq. ft of house in comparison with Gen Con’s 566K (to be honest, Gen Con has a further 152K from Lucas Oil stadium). The conference heart is so massive, it someway makes the attendance (600K keep in mind!) really feel small.
Superior Con 2026 has a sprawling Tabletop Gaming Room that ran periods from morning till late night time. There was a heavy emphasis on D&D 5E and Pathfinder, with a number of Study to Play workshops particularly designed to onboard new gamers into the passion. The programming featured high-energy occasions like D&D Improv, the place skilled performers took viewers recommendations to construct chaotic dwell adventures, and area of interest panels deep-diving into world-building and indie RPG design. Past the dice-rolling, the Exhibitor Corridor was filled with specialised TTRPG distributors—good for scouting these premium steel cube or customized minis—and the Cosplay Competitors noticed loads of heavy hitters from the Essential Position and Baldur’s Gate 3 fandoms taking the stage. I purchased some actually nice Inspiration chits and spell trackers from Fyre and Ashe.
The TTRPG scene was headlined by heavyweights from the Essential Position and Baldur’s Gate 3 forged, together with Neil Newbon, Devora Wilde, Sam Riegel, and Taliesin Jaffe, who hosted packed panels on the Primary Stage discussing narrative design and their iconic characters. Past the celeb draw, the gaming flooring featured a sturdy Indie Showcase the place gamers may dive into methods like Trench Campaign, Monster of the Week, and Blood on the Clocktower, and even playtest unreleased titles on the “Break My Recreation” sales space. The programming balanced these high-profile Q&As with hands-on periods for Vampire: The Masquerade and Cypher System, guaranteeing that followers of each mainstream actual-plays and area of interest indie mechanics had a devoted house to roll cube and discover new worlds.
Friday the 13th
The first major panel we attended was the collaboration between Adam Savage and space history curators from the National Air and Space Museum. This session focused on the “interrelationship between fictional visions and possible real futures.” Adam Savage (of Mythbusters fame, editor-in-chief of Tested.com and a board member of the Smithsonian), explained how he bridged the gap between making and myth-busting.
The curators discussed why icons like the X-Wing or R2-D2 are on display at the National Air and Space Museum, arguing that these sci-fi artifacts embody the public’s enthusiasm for imagined space futures—some of which eventually become reality. Savage emphasized that many of the technologies we see in the Museum’s “Futures in Space” exhibition—such as resource extraction and commercial tourist spaceflight—were first play-tested in the minds of writers and filmmakers.
Later that evening, in Room 204 ABC, we attended the “X-Files Fan Retrospective: Celebrating The Legacy of The X-Files“. This session provided an exclusive look at a new documentary featuring 100 original interviews with cast and crew. The creators, Lauren and Carly, have spent years documenting the show’s cultural impact, including Zoom interviews during the pandemic with legends like Melinda McGraw and Nicholas Lea.
The retrospective wasn’t just a highlight reel; it was an archival deep dive. We learned about the ordered chaos of the original production from prop master Ken Hawryliw. Hawryliw, who passed away recently, was instrumental in creating the look of the series, from the faceless alien fire wands to the specific types of photographs used as crime scene evidence. He noted that the props were often built to feature film quality because they knew they would face extreme high-definition close-ups.
The discussion also touched on the return of writers Glen Morgan and James Wong in the legendary episode “Home,” and how they drew inspiration from Charlie Chaplin’s autobiography. The takeaway was clear: the fandom keeps the series alive decades later by treating the show’s mythology as a living, evolving world. That would hold true for the Firefly panels later on.
Once We Were Spacemen
Saturday is the true test of any convention: crowds are denser, cosplay is more ambitious, and the Main Stage is where the action is. It’s worth noting that though the convention center is enormous, this year seemed like the largest yet — that was no doubt due to the anticipation of Nathan Fillion’s announcement about Firefly. That would have to wait until Sunday, but that didn’t stop us from arriving two hours early to get a seat for the 10:00 AM “Once We Were Spacemen” panel, a live recording of the podcast hosted by Nathan Fillion and Alan Tudyk. The podcast is a Collision33 production where the two former spacemen (from their Firefly days) get to know fellow creatives and explore who they once were.
The atmosphere was electric. Before the show started, audience members handed out glow sticks with instructions to sing “Happy Birthday” to Nathan and Alan, both of whom were celebrating March birthdays. When they hit the stage, the ballroom erupted in song. Fillion and Tudyk spent the session sharing stories that were whimsically nostalgic, touching on everything from their first impressions of guests like Molly Quinn to the challenges of eating on camera. A standout moment occurred when they teased handmade gifts for question-askers but ended up giving away the actual watches from their wrists. We sat next to a little girl and her dad who got a chance to ask a question (jury’s still out on whether or not she knows what a watch is!).
At noon, the Main Stage transitioned to “Oh My! It’s George Takei,” a conversation moderated by Kevin Gilligan. George Takei, a living legend of the Star Trek franchise, arrived to our surprise in a wheelchair due to recent foot surgery. He discussed the delicate balance between his career as an actor and his life as a social activist and shared anecdotes ranging from his journey fighting for the rights of people everywhere to the systemic silences he has fought against throughout his career.
The Saturday marathon continued at 1:00 PM with “Ron Perlman: From Hell to Anarchy,” moderated by Maggie Lovitt. Ron Perlman’s career spans decades, from the unforgettably stone-faced Hellboy to the gritty, high-stakes world of Sons of Anarchy. Perlman and Lovitt were not a good fit for each other. Lovitt likes to explicate on her questions in detail; Perlman is a simple guy who was suffering from jet lag. Her first question elicited a “huh?” from him. It was a little painful to watch.
Perlman discussed how his roles often involve characters who are eccentrics from far-flung lands or figures in absurd, often violent situations. He touched upon the intense storytelling of Sons of Anarchy, noting that the consistent freshness of the show over seven seasons was due to an exceptional cast. But mostly he made it clear he’s a working actor who does what he’s told, when he’s told, and loves the energy from fans but is surprised to get it at all — to him, the character is owned by the creators, not the actor.
The Big Reveal
Sunday at Awesome Con 2026 is usually a lighter attended day for most cons, but since Awesome Con started later (Friday afternoon) the schedule was packed with heavy hitters that prevented any late-weekend burnout. The highlight of the entire convention occurred at 10:15 AM: the full Firefly reunion. Nathan Fillion, Alan Tudyk, Gina Torres, Morena Baccarin, Summer Glau, Sean Maher, and Jewel Staite took the stage to discuss heists, romance, and “cursing your sudden but inevitable betrayal”. We all knew there’d be an announcement — several of the actors are no longer on the Hollywood scene — so it was just a question of what they would announce that could possibly justify all of them showing up to teh conventionat once?
The panel reached a fever pitch when they finally announced it: a brand-new Firefly animated series is currently in development. The show is set during the chronological gap between the original television series and the film Serenity. The cast revealed they already have a pilot script, showrunners, and an animation house. However, they emphasized that the project’s future depends on the fans. They launched a mission for Browncoats (Firefly fans): engage with the announcement on Instagram and show “the powers that be” that the fanbase is still ready to fly.
Directly following the Firefly high, Gillian Anderson took the stage at 11:15 AM. Moderated by Dory Jackson, the session celebrated Anderson’s legendary career, from the skepticism of Dana Scully in The X-Files to her powerful roles in modern television. Anderson reflected on the lasting impact of her characters and how they helped shape the modern landscape of television and film. Like Perlman, she professed surprise and real pressure in being the embodiment of a character she didn’t feel she fully owned; but then came to embrace Scully as someone SHE could aspire to as well.
A Big Con
Awesome Con 2026 is big. The enormous convention center is so large it’s easy to feel like there’s not that many people in attendance. This year, there certainly were, enough that it strained the food services available and staff openly expressed dismay about how crowded it got. To that point, Awesome Con also seemed to struggle with lines. The lines to enter the main ballroom (which we avoided the first two mornings since we came so early) snaked all away around the upper floor and then blocked access to the elevator, a legally-required egress for a significantly disabled population.
Awesome Con also moves daters frequently. The reason for this is understandable; the convention center is quite popular, so Awesome Con “fills in the blanks” for when there is availability. But this unpredictability means fans show up when they can, and one year’s experience can be very different from another. Unlike the steady, inevitable growth of Gen Con, Awesome Con hops weeks and even months year-to-year. This year, the stars aligned for us and the for the Firefly cast, which is likely why Awesome Con’s staff seemed surprised by the sheer volume of attendees.
And of course, the reason for all that popularity was surely the Firefly announcement. In a world where AI can be fed data on past shows to make new ones, Fillion is making an early claim to ownership of a brand that — like Anderson and Perlman explained — they don’t typically own. Fillion surely knows this, and the announcement of an animated series maps out a path that can’t just be fed into an AI generator with their voices. The fan excitement in the room was palpable, straining the ballroom’s space to the limit, but it was also something only real flesh-and-blood actors can bring.
Awesome Con next year is April 23-25 (see what I mean?). We probably won’t go. But for my wife’s birthday, over Friday the 13th, on a special weekend in DC where Nathan Fillion and Alan Tudyk decided to share some very special news…this year, it was magic.
Your Turn: Ever been to Awesome Con? What were your past experiences there?
