March 15--Few come to C2E2 for the celebrities. They show up for the clothes. (In a convention full of Harley Quinns and Captain Americas, last year's cosplay contest winner was Groot from "Guardians of the Galaxy.") Or the panels -- Saturday is all about "Sailor Moon" and "Deadpool," while Sunday's Medieval Times workshop teaches 5-to-12-year-olds the useful skill of fighting with swords. But for those tired of watching homemade Boba Fett helmets bob around the pavilion, star power will be everywhere: Panelists, autograph-signers and speakers include World Wrestling Entertainment stars like Mick Foley and Honky Tonk Man, much of the "Robot Chicken" cast, John Ratzenberger of "Cheers" and "Toy Story" and stars of "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.," "Sons of Anarchy," "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers," "Grimm" and "Flash." Here's who not to miss:
Melissa Benoist: For decades, Supergirl was a peripheral supporting character in the DC Comics universe, but this CBS show bestowed sharp writing and strong supporting characters onto Kryptonian space-refugee Kara, not to mention Benoist's broadly heroic but easy-to-relate-to performance. (Her secret identity is an office assistant with a manipulative boss infinitely meaner than Perry White.) The show opened last fall with a boost from a "Big Bang" lead-in but has developed a ratings strength of its own.
John Cusack: Chicago's Cusack has played the same rich character for so long -- rebellious pipsqueak Lane Myer of "Better Off Dead" grew into rebellious high school romantic Lloyd Dobler of "Say Anything," who grew into rebellious high school reunion hitman Martin Q. Blank of "Grosse Pointe Blank" and so on -- that it's distractingly incongruous when he takes on more diverse roles like the activist preacher in "Chi-Raq." He did a fantastic job as grown-up Beach Boy Brian Wilson in last year's "Love Mercy," but the whole time he seemed like a smoldering, grown-up Lloyd Dobler.
J. August Richards: No respectable comics convention can get away without at least one character from the Buffyverse, and this year's C2E2 has two -- Clare Kramer, the best of the big bads on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," and conflicted warrior Charles Gunn of "Angel." Richards transferred his tortured cool to Mike "Deathlok" Peterson of "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.," based on the comics' beloved family-man-turned-cyborg. He doesn't receive top billing, but he frequently shows up at the most heroic possible time.
Edward James Olmos and Mary McDonnell: Maybe it's his background as a feisty late-'60s rock 'n' roll singer in a band called Pacific Ocean, but the dead-serious Commander Adama of SyFy's classic "Battlestar Galactica" reboot has a Shatneresque ability to make fun of himself -- check out his deadpan 2013 "Portlandia" cameo where Carrie and Fred spend so much time binging on "Galactica" that they lose their jobs and electricity. With luck, Olmos and McDonnell will show up together, reprising their roles as everyone's ideal intergalactic mother and father, er, fleet commander and Twelve Colonies president.
Greg Capullo: In the long line of DC Comics' Batman illustrators, nobody has captured the dark-and-creepy side of the Dark Knight quite like veteran comic artist Capullo -- his hero doesn't just scowl, he embodies a Gotham City of orange-red skies and eerily dilapidated skyscrapers. Capullo, who penciled Todd McFarlane's "Spawn" for years before shifting to DC in 2011, has helped reinvent the character, with Commissioner Jim Gordon taking over the batsuit to fight bizarre new villains like flower-faced Mr. Bloom.
Jill Thompson: The graduate of Chicago's American Academy of Art has a way of drawing characters so dense and lively that they appear to be in motion even when they're standing around doing nothing. Thompson is a freelance illustrator who has specialized recently in DC characters, from Sandman to Swamp Thing to Wonder Woman, for whom she continues to expand the regal imagery of alter-ego Princess Diana. (Her long-awaited graphic novel "Wonder Woman: A Very Selfish Princess," is due later this year.)
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