Saturday afternoon at Wizard World Philly sees Dan DiDio hosting a panel on "Final Crisis." CBR is reporting live from the show, so hit "refresh" for regular updates. On hand for the panel are Ian Sattler, Jimmy Palmiotti, Jim Calafiore, Tom Derenick, Shane Davis, Art Baltazar, Franco, Jimmy Palmiotti, and Ethan van Sciver

"Anything that has to do with the story of Final Crisis, will take place in Final Crisis and assorted minis," not in regular series, DiDio said.

"Final Crisis: Requiem for Martian Manhunter" will be written by Peter Tomasi and drawn by Doug Mahnke.

"Superman Beyond" will be partly in 3D, from both the reader's and Superman's perspective.

DiDio talked a bit about "Trinity," noting that DC has now published 104 consecutive weekly issues. The backup story "supports what's going on up front without featuring the leads," DiDio said.

DiDio described Michael Green and Shane Davis as the "regular team" on "Superman/Batman." Davis said there are things in the upcoming issues that "I haven't seen people on the message boards pick up on at all," and that he expected people to be "blown away."

"Rann/Thanagar Holy War" is the latest showcase for space heroes, while "Reign in Hell" will focus on the infernal characters.

The next slide was "Batman RIP," which DiDio allowed a fan to describe at length. Following this was Adam Beechen's "Batgirl" miniseries and that "she's not supposed to be doing any super-heroing" according to Calafiore, who is drawing the series. "Batgirl has certain issues with Kane," he said, "and we're introducing a character who is a relative of hers."

"I really like the creepiness of her," Calafiore said.

There was applause for "Jonah Hex," and Palmiotti said an upcoming issue written by Darwin Cooke would take the Western hero to Canada, "where he crosses the boarder to kill Mounties."

Next up was a slide for "Green Lantern," the current developments of which were again summarized by a fan.

"We're working on something called 'Blackest Night,' van Sciver said. "All the stuff that's been going on this year links up nicely to this event."

DiDio said "Action Comics" would show who all of the Braniacs have been.

Regarding Power Girl: "Everything about this book is big," Palmiotti said.

There are no plans at this time for former "Blue Beetle" writer John Rogers to do a new DC project. "He has a real job--he writes multi-million dollar movies," DiDio said.

Will "Reign in Hell" tie the DC Hell to Vertigo's Hell? "I guess the easy answer is, 'no chance in hell," DiDio joked.

Jimmy Palmiotti's Terra miniseries "will come out," DiDio said, after bantering with the writer about whether he had turned anything in for it.

A fan asked if he could see "Dark Knight" early. 'Only if you live in Chicago," DiDio said.

Another question focused on why some sidekicks or young characters grow up while others don't, noting that Billy Batson is still a child but Roy Harper has had a dramatic life leading to adulthood, including a heroin addiction. "We wanted to give Billy Batson a heroin addiction too," DiDio joked. He said that some characters can not age and that they try to address aging to "the best of our ability."

All Star Batgirl? "JG [Jones] got a little busy," Sattler said. The fan insisted on a timeline. She then asked the panel for their favorite redheads in DC.

"She doesn't work at DC anymore," Sattler joked. Van Sciver's was Guy Gardner. Palmiotti offered, "I'm going to say Power Girl, because we're going to have some fun with that book."

There are no plans for a "Young Justice" trade, DiDio said, though he noted that he was not in charge of trades so he couldn't be sure.

Shane Davis said he would like to do a Bizarro/Batzarro one-shot, after a fan's suggestion.

The intersection of "Batman and the Outsiders" and James Robinson's "Justice League" will be shown after "Final Crisis," DiDio said.

The Ryan Choi version of the Atom is "very safe," Sattler and DiDio empasized. "Our hope is that we get to show him in other series, and people get to know him and we can give him his own book again somewhere down the line," DiDio said.

On the subject of DC "taking all my money" by publishing so many good comics, DiDio said, "I feel your pain--but I want to inflict as much as possible."

For a series starring DC's villains, DiDio recommended the upcoming "Secret Six."

"I would love to have Static Shock as part of the DC Universe," DiDio said, but emphasized that the characters are still owned by another company.

In "Legion of Three Worlds," "fans all Legions will have their cake and eat it too -- but two of those pieces won't taste as good as the other one."

"One of the goals of 'Death of the New Gods' was to say goodbye to one interpretation," DiDio said, explaining it was meant partly as a tribute to Kirby's vision. The New Gods first seen in "7 Soldiers Mister Miracle" and now appearing in "Final Crisis" will be the New Gods moving forwards.

"Did we ever officially say Barry Allen was coming back?" DiDio asked the panel. "If there was a place Barry Allen were to come back, it would probably be in the middle of a major Crisis. But if this is the Final Crisis, it shouldn't just be about one Flash but all Flashes."

"Barry Allen's coming back in 'Tiny Titans," Baltazar joked.

DiDio praised the late Steve Gerber's work on "Hard Time" and "Dr Fate."

Billy Batson will appear in James Robinson's "Justice League."

DiDio then called lightning round.

New Booster Gold team: yes!

7 Soldiers in Final Crisis: yes.

Is Damian really Bruce Wayne's son? Silence.

Martian Manhunter really dead? Yes, sorry.

Suicide Squad: no.

Plans for Phantom Stranger: yes.

"Barry Allen comin' back?": Pause--Yes.

See the Batman Beyond Earth again? Maybe.

Will FC clean up the Legion of Super-heroes?: "Oh God, I hope so."

Is Harvey Dent coming back? Yes.

GL merchandise: "Oh, yeah," van Sciver said.

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