WonderCon March 29-31st 2025 in Anaheim California was a fabulous event to attend for X-Men Fans!
Unknown comics sponsored a booth with a large percentage of the VA cast from X-Men 97, including appearances by AJ LoCascio (Gambit), Cal Dodd (Wolverine), Catherine Disher (OG Jean Grey / Val Cooper), Matthew Waterson (Magneto), Lenore Zann (Rogue), JP Karliak (Morph), Holly Chou (Jubilee), Gui Agustini (Sunspot), Isaac Robinson-Smith (Bishop) and Ross Marquand (Professor X).
On Friday March 29th, Episode 5 director Emmett Yonemura participated in the panel "Gay Geeks and Where to Find Them," opening up about their time working on X-Men 97 and how their love of the original show impacted their work. Afterwards they posed with emotional support Gambit and signed autographs for fans.
Emmett menacing with Emotional Support Gambit after discussing Episode 5 (photo by PunkerDuckie for Gambitspotting)
On Saturday, March 30th there was a Hellfire Gala Walk featuring some amazing X-Men cosplays, and a Marvel fan shoot on the 2nd floor stairs with a phenomenal turnout.
Hellfire Gala Walk 2025 (photo by cosnapography, from Instagram)
In the afternoon some of the cast attended a panel moderated by Larry Houston (X-Men 92 Producer/Director) titled World of X-Men '92 and X-Men '97.
Panelists included Eric and Julia Lewald (X-Men story editors), Rick Hoberg (X-Men character designer), Mark Lewis (X-Men production artist), Cal Dodd (voice of Wolverine), Isaac Robinson-Smith (voice of Bishop), and Matthew Waterson (voice of Magneto) who discussed their behind-the-scenes experiences and tidbits from the making of both series.
Larry Houston in action as Moderator (photo by PunkerDuckie for Gambitspotting)
Panelists getting seated (photo by PunkerDuckie for Gambitspotting)
Eric Lewald discussing how they integrated storylines from the comics into X-Men 92 (photo by PunkerDuckie for Gambitspotting)
Larry Houston and Rick Hoberg discussing surprise cameos in X-Men 92 and how they avoided detection, such as slipping Black Panther in as "african mutant #3" (photo by PunkerDuckie for Gambitspotting)
Matthew Waterson (Magneto) tells the audience how he was cast (photo by PunkerDuckie for Gambitspotting)
On Sunday March 31st, some of the X-Men cast participated in the panel the "X-Men Fandom Panel: Mutant Voices" moderated by Chandler Poling and Chris Riley of the X-Reads podcast.
This panel featured voice actors from X-Men ’97, and Marvel Rivals, talking about bringing their characters to life and answering some excellent questions from the crowd. Participants included Lenore Zann (Rogue/X-Men TAS/'97), AJ LoCascio (Gambit/X-Men '97), Matthew Waterson (Magneto/X-Men '97), Isaac Robinson-Smith (Bishop/ X-Men '97), J. P. Karliak (Morph/X-Men '97), Alpha Takahashi (Psylocke/Marvel Rivals), and Daniel Marin (Namor/Marvel Rivals).
AJ LoCascio (Gambit) discusses his childhood obsession with Gambit (photo by PunkerDuckie for Gambitspotting)
Lenore Zann (Rogue) talking about what she loves about her character (photo by PunkerDuckie for Gambitspotting)
Matthew Waterson (Magneto) jokes about cosplaying "speedo Magneto" (photo by PunkerDuckie for Gambitspotting)
Also in attendance during the convention at various booths Jim Lee (co-creator Gambit), Rick Hoberg (X-Men character designer), Larry Houston (X-Men 92 producer/director), Dan Vessenmeyer (artist, X-Men 92, MONDO toy box designer).
Overall it was an AMAZING convention chock full of wonderful X-Men cosplays and so many booths it was hard to see everything, even over three days. GambitSpotting looks forward to reporting from WonderCon in 2026! See you there!
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