10 Things We Learned At Comic-Con 09

Avatar is loose

Not only did James Cameron provide one of the more memorable footage screenings, offering up more than 20 minutes of Avatar goodness, he also made history by announcing that the same material would be in cinemas around the world on August 21, or "Avatar Day."

It's an interesting move - how many people will want to watch just twenty minutes of a movie, we wonder - but personally we can't wait to see Pandora unspool before us again.

Kick-Ass does what it says on the tin

Matthew Vaughn knew he needed to make a splash with his bloody - and, from the looks of the footage - bloody brilliant comic adaptation. He did just that, nervously dishing out clips to rapturous applause.

Dear Hollywood studios: Forget your worries and pick this up for distribution RIGHT NOW. Or we'll get Big Daddy to send Hit-Girl round...

Tron Legacy is the sequel's title

It looks good. Very good. And despite having very little to show at ComicCon, the reaction was very positive.

The highlights? Director Joseph Kosinski impressed the audience with a scene set in the real world, and, er, showed off some concept art. Oh, and the stunt demonstration video? We nearly de-resed with glee.

And we can't wait to see House star Olivia Wilde in her Tron outfit...

Twi-Hards are just that

There was a lot of fussy rumbling (particularly around the Twitterverse) about the new breed of female geek that were seemingly taking over.

Some camped for more than a day to get a good place in line to scream at Robert Pattinson and anyone else representing Twilight sequel New Moon (they probably would have squealed for the craft service guy).

So you've got to admire their dedication, even as we sort of wish Twilight had gotten its own slot away from the other panels to avoid disappointment for others...

Ladies love Tim Burton's "invisible friend"

Yes, the scream-o-meter was certainly worried by Robert Pattinson and Tyler Lautner during the Twilight: New Moon Panel.

But surely the biggest, most ear-damaging squeals were heard when Tim Burton brought on a surprise guest at the end of his Alice In Wonderland Panel.

Thank goodness he never took his shirt off. We could have been deafened for life.

Iron Man 2 is shaping up

After winning over the crowd in 2007, Director Jon Favreau returned with the weight of expectation on him and the footage he was slinging.

Fortunately for us all, he definitely did not disappoint. From scenes of Tony Stark sassing a US senator (played by Gary Shandling) and back-chatting Sam Jackson's Nick Fury, to our first glimpse of War Machine, the Iron Man sequel looks like the team is at work on an outstanding follow-up.

Cameron Diaz needs a Spoiler Awareness course

When you're in Hall H promoting one of the more anticipated movies - in this case, Richard Kelly's The Box - it really helps if you don't blurt out what sounds like a massive spoiler when answering a fan's question.

Poor Cameron Diaz apparently never got that memo, and Richard Kelly looked like a child who'd had their ice cream knocked to the floor.

But no, we're not going to tell you what she said.

Solomon Kane looks really, really violent

If you think Kick-Ass will walk away with Most Violent Film screened at the Con, you haven't heard about the Solomon Kane footage.

It's violent in a really visceral way - and in one moment, James Purefoy takes three attempts to hacks someone's head off.

We're not sure about his semi-Yokel accent, but we're pretty certain he'll be a force to be reckoned with.

Megan Fox + a room full of nerds= creepiness

It was always going to be a problem - exposing a room full of fanboys (and girls) to pinup gal-of-the-moment Megan Fox.

But at the Jonah Hex panel, she got an avalanche of frankly creepy questions (including one request to be part of a celebrity sex tape, which saw the the person in question removed.

The more things change...

2009 was easily the biggest in the Con's history. As the event turned 40, more people than ever crammed into the increasingly tight convention center to witness more presentations from around pop culture.

But here's to the costumed types, the ones who throw themselves into Con life, never worrying that they'll be sniggered at because their semi-authentic Wonder Woman costume is a little tighter on them than others.

And to think, it all starts again next year...

For more, check out our Comic-Con 2009: The Total Film Diaries .