If Spider-Man, Wonder Woman, Harry Potter, Harley Quinn, Wolverine and several Jedis were all gathered in a room, the phrase “nervous sexual tension” might not be the first thing that comes to mind.
But that’s what happened Thursday on opening night of Sci-Fi Speed Dating at Salt Lake Comic Con, where about 100, mostly costumed, pop-culture fans came together in the hopes of making a nerdy love connection.
Or at least land a date for the new “Thor” movie.
This was the first of 10 hourlong speed dating sessions during Comic Con — two of them reserved for LGBTQ folks — and it’s a big draw each year, said Ryan Glitch, the evening’s referee, who hosts these dating events at around 60 conventions each year.
“With traditional speed dating, there are no guarantees you’ll have anything in common with anybody,” Glitch said. “Here, even if you’re not a ‘Star Wars’ fan, you at least understand the ‘Star Wars’ fandom because you’re a fan of something too. You have that commonality to meet people and build from.”
That doesn’t necessarily mean all Comic Con people are naturally compatible.
“Star Trek” fans versus “Star Wars” fans?
“Those never seem to work,” Glitch says.
Marvel fans versus DC fans?
“That usually results in a couple of bodies.”
Before things began, Glitch laid down a few ground rules: This is anonymous speed dating, so no exchanging of names or phone numbers — that will be sorted out later if there’s a match. Each pairing has exactly 3 minutes to get acquainted before the men have to slide one chair to the right and move on to the next woman.
Glitch, a natural standup comedian, kept things entertaining: a Utah-is-so-white crack, a dig at one dater whose Spider-Man costume he declared to be “too Walmart,” and a tip that “Hi, would you like to see my collection of human fingernails?” is a really bad opening line.
“I’ve always tried to make people laugh, and in a situation like this, when they’re laughing, they’re not nervous. I figured I could make people laugh and bring them together, that’s the whole reason for doing this,” he said.
Caitlyn Smith came down from Boise for Comic Con and thought she’d give Sci-Fi Speed Dating a shot. She’s in a bright red wig, dressed as Anastasia from the 1997 animated film of the same name.
“I’m trying to step out of my boundaries and meet new people,” Smith said. “I’ve tried dating on my own terms and it didn’t work out because they don’t have similar interests. ... I’m very old-fashioned. Dating to me is like courtship, so I would rather someone court me to a possible marriage.”
Sami Newell-Nickel of West Jordan — decked out as Elizabeth Liones from the Japanese anime “The Seven Deadly Sins” — said she was “looking for someone who shares similar interests and who’s willing to travel to other Comic Cons in Sweden and Japan.”
“If I just get one number out of this, I’ll be happy,” said Slade Trevethick of South Salt Lake, who’s rocking a look from the anime video game “Steins;Gate.”
“I got to meet a lot of people. Better than last time.”
Joshua Rush, who lives near Logan and is dressed as a “Star Wars” Sith, said his 3-minute dates went really well.
“It was fun and there were a lot of nice girls, which was really refreshing,” Rush said. “For the $20 registration fee it was well spent. Love has no price like that, right?”
