By CGTN’s Mark Niu

One of the world’s largest conventions is taking place in San Diego with plenty of masks, tights and secret identities. Comic-Con brings out the inner child in thousands of people each year though many will insist it’s not child’s play.

Line after line leads into the San Diego convention center where the reward is to get into more lines, but for the thousands upon thousands that come – it’s worth every minute.

An Iron Man modified as an Iron Renaissance Man (L) accompanies a "Captain America" character who became frozen in ice during the movie "Captain America the First Avenger" during Comic-Con 2017 in San Diego, California, July 21, 2017. /VCG Photo 

To outsiders, the question is simple, why do so many get dressed up for this event to express themselves like they wouldn’t dare to do in ordinary life?

“Honestly, that question changed my life,” Travis Langley, Psychology Professor at Henderson State University said. “First time I came to San Diego Comic-Con in 2007, I came to this environment and I saw these people and this environment that celebrates interests that might make them feel ostracized elsewhere in their lives. And that was just fascinating to me.”

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Travis Langely calls himself a superherologist. In fact, the professor has taught psychology classes on Batman and Stan Lee’s heroes. He’s written psychology books on "Captain America" versus "Iron Man" and recently released a new book "Wonder Woman Psychology: Lassoing the Truth." It’s a topical book given the success of the recent "Wonder Woman" feature film.

“We still want heroes and 'Wonder Woman' says you can have somebody who’s doing the smart thing, you can have someone doing the right thing, and being heroic and being healthy at it,” said Langley. “It sent a very strong message considering the incredible success of that movie.”

But Comic-con isn’t only about the big celebrity superheroes like "Batman," "Wonder Woman" and "Spiderman." It’s just as much about celebrating the off-beat, oddball, and obscure characters that could easily become tomorrow’s fan favorite.

And perhaps it could be "The Tick" – an oddball superhero coming soon to Amazon’s streaming service. With a giant controllable Tick and a scavenger hunt that sends participants searching for clues, Amazon is pulling out all the stops to immerse potential viewers in the superhero’s universe. That also means making participants feel and look a little bit like superheroes before they come crashing back down to reality.

One more question with Travis Langley, Psychologist and Superherologist: Is the era of the oddball superhero upon us?