August 25, 2019: A day I will never (god willing) forget.
It was ReedPOP's sophomore event in Philadelphia known as Keystone Comic-Con. With Wizard World out of the picture (at the time before they rebranded as Fan Expo) one the top leading event organizations followed up with a major event headlined by one of the most popular actors in the MCU. However, this was almost not the case due to company's original headliner which was the Italian Stallion himself Sylvester Stallone.
ReedPOP wanted to provide Keystone CC with a Philly vibe by bringing in the legendary actor who is immortalized with a statue at 2300 Benjamin Franklin Parkway and bring in that fighting spirit that we are known for.
But little did ReedPOP know is that making Stallone the headliner would be like a tourist thinking that Pat's and Geno's has the best cheesesteaks in the city ( one of the biggest and most misleading facts about the city of brotherly love).
Fans were partially excited about the appearance but something felt missing from it. Added to that there was a bigger issue that came with his appearance. Price.
Turns out that Stallone wanted a lot of money for not only his appearance but also fan photos and autographs.
The prices for photos and autographs were way above what fans would pay for a celebrity. Well, at least that celebrity. When fans saw the price list for things like him signing boxing gloves, posters, or even a photo op Philly fought back.
Granted this was just a year shy of the pandemic so at this time the economy was fairly healthy but not enough to want to splurge for him.
After constant complaints over the prices we got updated news that due to "scheduling issues" the Italian Stallion would not be able to appear at the event.
Now what I am about to say is nothing more than a hypothesis at best. But covering these events over the years there seems to be a pattern of things like this happening with some guest that are scheduled to appear at an event. A lot of times it is usually higher level attractions that seem to have these "contractual scheduling" issues.
Consequently, ReedPOP would be without a main attraction and the anticipated Philly fans began to get a little concerned that this event wouldn't be able to live up to it inaugural event in 2018.
Then, we got the biggest announcement that we could ever imagine in the form of a Spider (man).
Through whatever channels the people of ReedPOP went through they managed rebound big time.
Fans lit up when Keystone CC announced that the "Ultimate" Spider-Man himself Tom Holland was coming to headline the event.
When this news hit those same fans that were angry and cynical about the appearance of Sylvester Stallone were quickly washed away thanks to the coming of one of the biggest and most important MCU actors during the Infinity Saga.
Holland was hot off of the premiere of the second installment into the Spidey standalone movies called Spider-Man Far from Home which also released in 2019 to a world wide acclaim. Since his role as the webslinger debuted in Captain America: Secret Wars Marvel fans have been overjoyed with his performance with many proclaiming him the best Spidey/Parker since Toby McGuire (some even saying he superseded him in rank which led to a funny scene in Spider-Man No Way Home where the Spidey Trio discuss who is Spider 1, 2, and 3 between Holland, McGuire, and Andrew Garfield).
With the news spreading like wildfire fans jump online immediately to get their badges so they can have the chance to see him in person. It was safe to say this acquisition was a jackpot for the company.
However, shortly after the announcement of his appearance fans would have some shocking news that turned the MCU and the fans upside down.
One of the biggest news stories at the time was the dysfunctional relationship between Marvel Studios and Sony/Pascal Pictures.
We must remember how Marvel Studios was able to acquire the rights to Spider-Man to appear in a film outside of Sony.
Sony bought the rights to use the Spider-Man IP in 1999 as a way for Marvel to get out of Bankruptcy at the time and as long as they can make a new Spider-Man project within every four years the IP will remain with them (which is why we have all of number of Spidey related films).
The company decided to break bread with Marvel Studios after Sony was backed into a corner do to a hacker (believed to have been from Korea) compromising their email accounts and exposing confidential and personal information on many staff members and executives who worked for Sony.
According to the VICE TV docu-series ICONS UNEARTHED: SPIDER-MAN Episode 6 entitled "The Marvel Way" the hacked incident was believed to be based on Seth Rogan's controversial comedy film "The Interview" which parodies Supreme leader of North Korea Kim Jong Un (played by Randal Park).
Part of the hacked information that was revealed was personal (and controversial) emails from former Sony Co-Chairperson Amy Pascal which revealed some offensive and racist conversations and jokes about former president Barak Obama.
This put Pascal and Sony in a bind that was hard to untangle. Damage control was needed. On the other side Kevin Feige saw this as opportunity and leverage. This would later lead to Marvel Studios finally bringing the web head home. At least for a while.
That time seemed to be up in 2019 when the two companies could not come into an agreement in terms of how Spider-Man would continue to be utilized between the two as well as who benefits from the use of the IP.
Entertainment media from all over put out an article that said the negotiations between Sony and Marvel Studios could not come to terms which resulted in Spider-Man being on borrowed time in the MCU.
When the news got out fans in the Tri-State/Del Val area it was nothing short of heartbreaking let alone worrisome to the rest of the fans around the country and world who enjoyed the performance of Holland as the icon superhero for over five MCU films (Civil War, Homecoming, Infinity War, Endgame, and Far from Home up to this point).
Even more frightening was the idea that the latest news could mean the cancelation of Holland's appearance at Keystone CC.
There was a air of uncertainty that effected fans, ReedPOP staff, merchant sellers who registered for the con, and other panelist (like myself) that would be putting together other entertaining panels for the fans.
It's amazing (no pun) who one person can change the dynamic for many.
Later we would learn that the relationship between the two company would soon heal as reported in an article from Variety in Sept 27, 2019 which not only talks about the situation but contains a video clip with comments from many actors in the MCU giving their thoughts about the news of Holland's departure at the time. The new agreement would led to use enjoy possibly the best of the three MCU Spider-Man movies with No Way Home which feature all three Spider-Men from the three films coming together which also is the beginning of the MCU's Multiverse Saga and the connection to the Sonyverse.
So after days and maybe a couple of weeks after the big announcement regarding Spider-Man's fate in the MCU ReedPOP finally updated the Keystone CC attendees on whether Tom Holland would still honor his commitment to headlining the event at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in downtown Philly.
With great joy fans were told that Holland would commit to making his appearance at the event which made fans both elated but also sad at the idea that we will eventually say goodbye to Holland in the MCU.
While the bad news did bring fans to somber there lies a new energy that was brought to the event. Sadness turned into supportive as the new intention for the attendees is to show how much fans appreciate his contributions to the MCU.
This led to Sunday Aug 25, 2019. The final day of Keystone Comic-Con and that day (although long for me) was nothing short of epic as a person in the media covering it and as a fan and speaker/moderator with his own panel shortly after Holland that same day.
I knew that this panel would be big and to make sure that I got a great spot I had to wake up early in order to be in line (NOTE: Being a part of the press does not give me total access to everything in the con despite me knowing some of the people involved with the event. Fair is fair folks).
My diligence paid off as I woke up at 3:30am to Uber it over to the Convention Center at 5am where there were only 5 people in line making me number 6. There were guard rails out there in anticipation for early gatherers which means Keystone CC/ReedPOP was ready for the inevitable. TAKE NOTE: The panel was at 10am.
As the hours past more and more people came and lined up. So much to the effect of the line going around the Pennsylvania Convention Center building which by the way is a huge building that goes for around four blocks long.
Looking at the people behind me made me feel that much more pleased I planned for this properly.
While waiting I met with a lot of nice people as we all stuck it out together and as a result the time went by quickly believe it or not. A very kind family from out of town even gave me a bagel which was very helpful since I could not get out of line to get something to eat without risking my spot. Who says altruism isn't real?
As we reached closer to the 10 o'clock slot we the doors opened and we began to traverse through the building leading us to the hall where we would see Holland in the flesh.
The excitement was brewing and people were even more energetic once they found there seating.
One of the great things that I've learned about ReedPOP is how they hype a crowd up before the real show begins.
After years of watching how they do things its a wonder how other events don't pick up on it.
It has become a learning experience over the years and I always appreciate the work they do to make sure the fans in attendance have a great time.
I have been to other fan conventions and they don't carry the energy that ReedPOP does with there events. Whether it is Keystone, CES, PAX, and especially NYCC their brand is based on making sure you have a great and memorable time even before the main event starts.
The DJ is plays a major factor in this too. They have to know what is hot right now in the current climate and ReedPOP understands their demographic. Trust me I've been to some Philly events where they tried to hype the crowd with "Sweet Caroline" which didn't sit well with everyone.
Of course you have to have a cosplay contest on stage to really living things up and the number of Spider-Man cosplayers for this event was a big turn out. I don't think I've seen one like this even at NYCC. QUICK NOTE: The attendance for this panel was said to be in the thousands. Keystone CC structured and optimized the halls to be able to fit as many people as possible and to this day this is the biggest crowd I've seen for a panel since Wizard World 2016 (which boggles my mind as to why Fan Expo doesn't structure their main stage this way).
After all of the preshow activities it was time for the man himself to come through and greet his fans to a rockstar reception.
The fans didn't disappoint and neither did the guest of honor.
While he could not talk about the situation between Marvel Studios and Sony as it was literally a few weeks fresh from the event he did sit for an hour to talk about how great his experience was with the movies to that point.
As you would expect and hope Tom came off genuine and kindhearted and didn't want to disappoint any of the fans who spent hours to see him.
What made his appearance even better is that he added a day to his appearance so people can get as many pics and autographs with him as possible. He truly lived up to the spirit of Spider-Man and Peter Parker. (ALSO NOTE: it was said that his prices for pictures and autographs were much more reasonable compared to Stallone's prices).
For me personally as a long time Spider-man fan, podcaster, and moderator at this event I could not have been more happier for everything he has done for Keystone CC and the fans of Philadelphia.
By the end of this panel everyone was overjoyed and more optimistic about their fandom for him and the MCU.
But it didn't stop there. Because of how well received that convention turned out the energy throughout the day was felt all over the convention.
That was especially true for the panel that I hosted and moderated with the "Voices of Overwatch" which starred guest Fred Tatasciore and Charlet Chung. The energy from the Tom Holland panel transitioned right over to my panel which began a little while after.
I was ready to have a great show and a great show it was. And according to the people of KeystoneCC/ReedPOP my panel had the second biggest turnout of fan attendance of the weekend (second only by Holland's panel respectfully).
It is safe and easy to say that Spider-Man helped make my panel even more epic in addition to the very talented actors Tatasciore and Chung who were the voices of the famed characters from the ultra popular E-Sports FPS game OVERWATCH.
The biggest take away from all of this is that "with great guest comes great opportunities" to have a great event.
That was definite with the turn of events that year. One thing is for sure, Marvel Studios = Money. From fans have helping Deadpool and Wolverine achieve a billion in the box office and the anticipation of RDJ returning to the MCU as Doctor Doom in the upcoming Avengers movies, to even Paul Bettany (Vision) and Haley Atwell (Agent/Captain Peggy Carter) being the most anticipated attraction at this year's NYCC you are more than sure to be entertained to the fullest. With that said, thank you ReedPOP for the opportunity to be a part of such a memorable weekend. Thank you to the fans for turning out for not only Holland's panel but our OVERWATCH panel and everything that went on during Keystone CC that year, Thank you to my guest Fred Tatasciore and Charlet Chung for making my panel such an epic affair, and a special thanks to Mr. Tom Holland for being the hero that the city of Philadelphia needed.
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