Comic-Con 2018: Our Favorite New Trailers, Ranked
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What was the best trailer at Comic-Con?
It was a heck of a year at San Diego Comic-Con 2018. It may have felt smaller than usual, thanks to the absence of usual heavy hitters like Marvel, Star Wars, Game of Thrones, and Westworld, but there was still plenty to get excited about at SDCC this year.
Whether you were hunting for rare Funko Pops, trying to find the best cosplay at Comic-Con, or wanted to watch the latest exclusive footage from upcoming shows and movies like Titans, Doctor Who, Iron Fist 2, The Walking Dead, Netflix's Disenchantment, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Shazam, Wonder Woman 1984, Aquaman, or any other of the massive future hits that showed up to engage directly with fans, there was something for everyone at Comic-Con this year. You could even visit the Taco Bell from Demolition Man, and if you did, it was probably your favorite meal of the entire week.
Some of the trailers that debuted over the weekend were truly incredible. If you want to see them all in one place, we have a breakdown of every Comic-Con trailer all on one page for you. But if you want to know which ones were the best, click through the following slides. We ranked all our favorite Comic-Con 2018 trailers from good to better to best, ending on the best trailer of the whole show--a surprise contender that we never would have expected to be so awesome.
What was your favorite trailer from Comic-Con 2018? Let us know in the comments, and check out the rest of our SDCC coverage below.
San Diego Comic-Con 2018 Coverage
- Best Cosplay From Comic-Con 2018
- Best Cosplay From Comic-Con 2018 Day 1
- Best Cosplay From Comic-Con 2018 Day 2
- Best Cosplay From Comic-Con 2018 Day 3
- Best Marvel Cosplay From Comic-Con 2018
- All The Miserable, Discarded Electric Scooters We Saw At Comic-Con 2018
- The Rarest And Most Shockingly Expensive Funko Pops On Sale At Comic-Con 2018
- DC Universe Titans Trailer: F*** Batman
- Everything We Learned About DC Universe
- Taco Bell Built Its Demolition Man Restaurant At Comic-Con, And It Was Amazing
- All The Exclusive Funko Pop Figures You Can Buy At SDCC
- Doctor Who's New Sonic Screwdriver Revealed Alongside New Trailer
- Star Wars The Clone Wars Animated Series Is Back In New Trailer
- Cool-Looking Spider-Man PS4 Pro Bundle Announced
- Dragon Ball Super: Broly Movie Trailer Reveals Some Big Fights
- DC Collectibles Reveals Toys From Batman, Justice League, And More
- This Huge Lego Thanos Demands You Bow Before Him
- Netflix's Iron Fist 2 Gets Release Date, Teases Daughters Of The Dragon
- DC Holds Weird, Cult-Like Event To Promote Heroes In Crisis
- James Gunn Fired From Guardians Of The Galaxy 3
- What's Up With The "F*** Batman" Line In The New Titans Trailer?
- Andrew Lincoln Confirms The Walking Dead Season 9 Will Be His Last
- Netflix's Disenchantment: Everything We Learned About Matt Groening's New Show
- Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse Footage Debuts
- Venom Debuts New Footage, Teases Spider-Man Crossover
- Guardians of the Galaxy Star Dave Bautista Is "Not OK" With James Gunn Firing
- Fantastic Beasts 2 Footage Introduces Nicolas Flamel At Comic-Con 2018
- The Lego Movie 2 Comic-Con Footage Shows The Two Sides Of Chris Pratt
- The New Godzilla: King Of The Monsters Trailer Is Dope
- Shazam Trailer Makes Exclusive Debut
- Wonder Woman 1984 Panel Addresses The Chris Pine Question, Shows Footage
- Aquaman Trailer Finally Arrives, Exclusive Footage Shows Classic Costume
- Star Wars Figures From Sideshow Look Incredible
- Why Alita: Battle Angel's Eyes Are So Big, Trailer Coming Soon
- The Purge TV Show Trailer Teases A Night Of Mayhem
- DC's The Flash Season 5 Trailer Reveals New VillainSupergirl Season 4 Trailer Reveals New Suit
- DC's Legends Of Tomorrow Season 4 Airs This Fall
- Sideshow's Avengers: Infinity War And Black Panther Figures Are Amazing
17. Supergirl
Supergirl is making some serious moves in terms of powerful, positive statements about on screen diversity with the announcement of the world's first live action trans superhero, Dreamer, played by Nicole Maines--but the trailer itself was seriously lacking any upbeat flare. Between the ominous voice over of Agent Liberty and the brief glimpses of a National City under siege, we're hoping that season 4 of Supergirl manages to keep up the show's powerful optimistic vibe as things continue.
16. Legends of Tomorrow
Legends of Tomorrow closed out its third season earlier this year with the promise of magical shenanigans to come and that's exactly what the season four trailer delivered. Kind of. With only a few new scenes cut in among clips from last year's story, it's difficult to tell exactly what's going to be happening for the Legends' and their new series regular, John Constantine. But apparently there's going to be unicorns, so, hey. That's a win in our book.
15. Preacher Season 3 teaser
The new Preacher trailer shown during the Hall H panel at Comic-Con was pretty awesome, although we can't rank it too high, considering it was just a mid-season teaser (Preacher Season 3 is currently airing). Despite that, it was awesome to get looks at the Children of the Blood, Grandma's meeting with Satan, and, of course, the Allfather himself.
14. Young Justice: Outsiders
Fans of Young Justice have been waiting a long time for new content so it's probably fair that half of this five minute trailer was set up to recap the events of last season, but it's hard to feel like the extensive cliff notes weren't spinning their wheels at least a little. That said, the new stuff we did get looked pretty dang cool from Apokolips and Darkseid to Vandal Savage, Young Justice is definitely poised to start season three off with a bang.
13. The Walking Dead
As The Walking Dead prepares to say goodbye to star Andrew Lincoln, the trailer for Season 9 hints at a very different zombie apocalypse. With Negan locked up in prison, Rick is trying to keep the peace between the surviving groups. It's not easy though, as the clip teases tension between himself, Daryl (Norman Reedus), and Maggie (Lauren Cohan). Most importantly, though, the trailer gives the first look at Alha, the next big bad to be pulled from the comics. Get ready for the Whisperers.
12. The Flash
Let's be honest. The past couple of seasons of The Flash haven't been great, and a lot of that is due to weak villains. However, the first look at Season 5 shows the series will be adapting the villainous cult leader Cicada this year, as played by American Pie's Chris Klein, and it looks great. Cross your fingers that as The Flash reaches its 100th episode, it'll turn a corner and return to its former glory.
11. Doctor Who Series 11 trailer
For existing Doctor Who fans, the Series 11 trailer shown at Comic-Con was exciting because it gives us a glimpse not just at Jodie Whitaker as the new Doctor, but at her three new "friends," played by actors Bradley Walsh, Mandip Gill, and Tosin Cole. Even if you're not a fan, though, simply seeing more of the first ever female Doctor in action should be enough to pique anyone's interest.
10. Arrow
If you like the Green Arrow on your Arrow, you might not be a fan of this trailer. Oliver Queen has gone from city hall to prison and now he's surrounded by a bunch of villains he locked up with no team at his back. If this first look at Season 7 teases anything, it's that Oliver is going to spend a lot of time bruised and bloody with no escape.
9. Alita: Battle Angel
Whether you think Alita: Battle Angel looks like the greatest manga adaptation ever or even worse than the live action Ghost in the Shell movie, chances are you still can't tear your eyes away from hers. Based on the movie's Comic-Con trailer (well, technically it's a post-Comic-Con trailer, since it debuted the Monday after), Alita is going to be cheesy, grandiose, and filled with manga-inspired action.
8. Riverdale
Riverdale continues to hold its unofficial title as the most buckwild CW TV show close to its heart as it barrels into season three with the promise of a cult storyline to follow up on season two's serial killer. Who could have guessed that the candy coated Archie Comics of old were the go-to place for totally off the wall teenage melodrama? This trailer was mostly recap--understandable since the cast has only just started filming--but we can forgive that since it did a pretty good job of distilling all of Riverdale's patent absurdity into a two-minute roller coaster ride of bloody murder and wholesome swimming hole dates.
7. Glass
When Split hit theaters, nobody expected it to be a pseudo sequel to Unbreakable. Now, Glass is bridging the two movies into one of the most bizarre-looking superhero tales yet--which says something, given the deluge of comic book movies that come through theaters. Set largely in a psychiatric hospital, the trailer for Glass teases the idea of a showdown between Mr. Glass (Samuel L. Jackson) and the Beast (James McAvoy), which should be an incredible sight.
6. Fantastic Beasts 2
The original Fantastic Beasts was a massive disappointment. Its world had all the charm that Harry Potter fans expect from the series, but the characters were seriously lacking. With its focus on young Dumbledore and Grindelwald--not to mention the alchemist Nicholas Flamel--the sequel is looking a whole lot better.
5. Star Wars Clone Wars
It's been five years since Star Wars: The Clone Wars ended. While fans were excited to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the premiere at Comic-Con, chances are they weren't expecting a new trailer announcing the series' return. It became one of the highlights of the entire weekend, though. Now fans have to eagerly await its return. In the meantime, check out the audience reaction to the trailer--it's everything you'll need to feel good about Star Wars fandom for a moment.
4. Titans
It's an impressive feat to get a brand new meme off the ground on Comic-Con weekend when the whole internet is flooded with so much new content from so many angles but by god, the Titans trailer managed to do it. Featuring a brutal and bone crunching look at the DC Universe streaming service's new live action take on the classic comics team, Titans gave us the instantly iconic "fuck Batman" line from the Boy Wonder himself, cementing it as one of the con's most memorable moments--for better or for worse.
3. Aquaman
We've all been waiting in the wings for the Aquaman trailer for what feels like years and, finally, at long last, they have something to call their own--and, thankfully, it turned out to be well worth the wait. With a suitably larger-than-life look at everything in Arthur Curry's world from the saddled sharks of Atlantis to Jason Mamoa's now trademarked (mah man!) witty quips (yeah-uh!) and interjections, Aquaman seems like it has the potential to be the start of a brand new era in the DCEU.
2. Shazam
This was one of the biggest surprises of the weekend, as nobody was sure what to make of Shazam. After all, the DCEU isn't exactly the brightingest or happiest place in the cinematic universe. How could a little kid that says a magic word to become a superhero fit in? Thankfully, along with Aquaman, Shazam seems to be ditching the dark and gritty first phase of the DCEU for something new and fun. The trailer is funny and imaginative, the cast looks like they're having a god time, and so much of it happens during the day. If the movie manages to match the tone of this first trailer, perhaps DC's film universe isn't doomed after all.
1. Godzilla: King of the Monsters
It takes some serious star power to one-up actual cape-and-cowl superhero movies at SDCC, but Godzilla: King of the Monsters proves it can be done. With a truly bone-rattling presentation in Hall H, we were presented with our very first look at the next generation of Toho Kaiju on the big screen from Mothra to King Ghidorah and their human costars like fan favorites Millie Bobby Brown and Sarah Paulson. To really sweeten the pot, it was all set to the beautiful (and suitably majestic) classical stylings of Debussy's Claire de Lune making King of the Monsters easily the most awe-inspiring trailer of the con. Long live the king.