The San Diego Comic-Con is about a lot of things, such as new footage of hyped-up movies, announcements about fan-favorite comics, and general discussion of all things nerdy. But, for plenty of people, there's another draw at the nation's largest comic convention: the costumes.

Cosplay, or costume play, is all about dressing up as characters from movies, comics, anime, television, and basically any other medium with recognizable characters. It's all the rage at gatherings such as Comic-Con. Onlookers can be trapped in a sea of superheroes, elves, aliens, and others.

Some people add new spins on recognizable characters, while others just go for the most realistic takes possible. And at Comic-Con, it's a free-for-all of fans trying to one-up each other, each one competing to have the best costume at the convention.

Here are a few favorites from Comic-Con 2012.

Even though"The Dark Knight Rises" is bringing a new interpretation of Batman villain Catwoman to the table, some fans are still clinging to the old look.

One of the best things about the costumes at Comic-Con are the radical reinterpretations of familiar characters. Well, it doesn't get more radical than this.

Since "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" updated the '80s cartoon for modern audiences, the series has found a more, err, adult fanbase than expected.

Veteran cosplayer Jessica Nigiri brings us this shot of costumes based on the indie fighting game "Skullgirls."

Anders Holm, star of the Comedy Central show "Workaholics" appears with a woman recreating one of the more memorable scenes from "Prometheus."

This is one of the weirder ones. Betsy Brandt and Dean Norris, who play Marie and Hank on "Breaking Bad." Brandt doesn't appear to have dressed up, but Norris is in full Xena regalia. Because of course.

Several women dress up in female versions of the MJOLNIR armor from "Halo." And there's some kind of Power Ranger beside them.

Three women dress up as DC Comics characters inspired by the "Batman: Arkham Asylum" series of video games.

A fan dresses as the one-eyed Leela from Matt Groening's "Futurama."

Another gender-swapped take on "Star Wars," this time just with Han Solo. She's smoking a cigarette to really get that "rebel smuggler on the run" look down.