Annual geek festival extraordinaire Fan Expo Canada is one of Toronto’s hot commodities: no longer the sole domain of misfits and nerdlingers (like me!), Fan Expo is a celebration of the poppest of pop culture, drawing in fans from across genre and media – movies, gaming, comics of course – and a bevy of starry guests from same. Arriving (presumably on purpose) just before the Toronto International Film Festival overwhelms the city, this year’s Fan Expo was the nerd-friendly event of the summer.
Fan Expo 2025 represents the convention at its best, ranging from celebrities like Michael J. “Marty McFly” Fox and Christopher “Doc” Lloyd, to comic book megastars like legendary X-Men writer/artist Jim Lee and The Dark Knight Returns artist Klaus Janson.
Thursday (opening) night’s Fan Expo was one for the comic fans – and the Canadians. The highlight of opening day was a panel featuring the voice cast from the legendary 1990s X-Men cartoon (and its quarter-century-later sequel X-Men ‘97). A fun fact, which most diehards already know, is that X-Men was largely produced in Canada, with an all-Toronto voice cast. A special Q and A, Previously On X-Men, brought together most of the cast for a wide-ranging discussion about the show, what they make of the pop culture juggernaut Marvel has become, and more. Cal Dodd (Wolverine), Alyson Court (Jubilee), Alison Sealy-Smith (Storm), Adrian Hough (Nightcrawler), Catherine Disher (Jean Grey), and George Buza (The Beast) all featured.
Friday, the first full day of Expo, was a great opportunity to get in some early shopping and autograph-seeking before the hordes arrived. As always, one of the major highlights was “Comic Alley”, the lengthy row of comic creators selling original art, signing copies of comics dug up from storage bins, and even just hanging around, being friendly. (We had a great time chatting with Marvel legend Art Adams this year.) Friday night also hosted probably the second most famous Canadian of all Expo: Michael J. Fox, Marty McFly himself, for An Evening with Marty and Doc alongside Christopher Lloyd, Mary Steenburgen, and Back to the Future screenwriter Bob Gale. Fox is, not to put too fine a point on it, an All-Canadian Hero and an incredible speaker, and his rare public appearance will surely remain a Fan Expo highlight for many years to come.
Saturday was when the fans – and cosplayers – descended en masse. Lengthier lineups – especially in the tunnel connecting the north and south buildings – were well-moderated by organizers and volunteers, while it was a delight spending time with the diverse crowd made up of locals and visitors, kids and seniors, deeply invested cosplayers and bewildered parents who showed up in their civvies. That said, Saturday’s biggest disappointment was the discovery of a militarized presence at this otherwise kid-friendly, progressively-minded event: nestled in amongst the comic shops and media “activiations”, the Canadian Armed Forces had, inexplicably, been permitted to set up a booth, presumably on the theory that cosplayers might also be convinced that battle fatigues are just as cool. It was a weird, sour note to the show – an army recruitment booth that had absolutely zero to do with any of the pop culture being celebrated – and a sentiment shared by those others who, anecdotally, we noticed shaking their heads as they passed the booth.
That said, Saturday was also a great night for sci-fi fans: Ewan “Trainspotting” McGregor appeared for a dedicated Q&A Saturday evening, accompanied by lengthy queues for photo ops/autograph opportunities. Most importantly, Friday was where the most Canadian star beamed down for a hotly anticipated discussion of his stellar (get it?) career: Montreal’s own William Shatner may be 94 years old, but remains one of the most engaging raconteurs on the circuit, this year regaling a rapt audience with his experiences as an up-and-coming actor in Montreal, Stratford, and even some early radio days in Toronto. Here’s hoping Shatner will be back again next year as he continues to live long and prosper.
Finally, Sunday was the day for deals: with crowds thinning (but not exactly thinned), it was a great opportunity to browse the show floor the afternoon of this, the final day. Comics were marked back down to more reasonable prices; toys and box sets had some decent discounts, if you knew where to look. That said, Sunday wasn’t without its celebrity appeal, with panel appearances from the likes of Dafne “X-23” Keen, Hailee “Hawkeye” Steinfeld, and Ron “Everything Guillermo del Toro Has Ever Made” Perlman. It wsa also a last chance to scoop up the last of the comic autographs you might have missed on earlier in the fest: Klaus Janson, Jim Lee, and many homegrown favourites including Craig Yeung, Mike del Mundo, and Jason Loo were all on hand. Fun fact: Toronto’s own Dave Ross, artist on Avengers West Coast, Spider-Man, and others, is now the head of the MTM College of Animation, Art and Design, an Ontario-accredited college located on Spadina Avenue, just west of the Art Gallery of Ontario. If you fancy having a comics legend for your art instructor, check it out!
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Fan Expo Canada ran August 21-24, 2025, at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Next up? Toronto Comicon 2026, which lands March 20-22, 2026 next year.
