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When I heard that Morgan Spurlock had made a documentary called "Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope", I figured I knew what to expect: Spurlock, with his Gen-X wisenheimer prankishness, showing up at Comic-Con to talk to droolers in shiny white stormtrooper armor with a camera-ready wink of “Can you believe this?” condescension. The first surprise of "Comic-Con Episode IV" is that it's the first Morgan Spurlock movie that Spurlock isn't in. The second surprise is that it's the most entertaining and generous-spirited geek lovefest since "Trekkies."

Spurlock knows that on an earth the geeks have already inherited, it would be foolish to chortle at those who value droids, hobbits, Vulcans, zombies, and avatars more than their own lives. So he does something hipper and more honest: He takes Comic-Con seriously. He talks to Kevin Smith, Harry Knowles, and other famous grown-up geeks, but mostly he follows a handful of people whose dream it is to pass through the fan/professional looking glass, and to carve out a place for themselves in the industry of fantasy.

It's not exactly news that people who devote their entire existence to "Star Wars" or "Lord of the Rings" or graphic-novel cult geniuses like Neil Gaiman are creating a kind of alternate religion. But what "Comic-Con: Episode IV" reveals, with a funny and surprising humanity, is that no matter what the movie, comic book, or videogame, the real religion isn't the worship of Luke Skywalker, Buffy, or Master Chief. It's the idea that you can be somebody else -- that you already are somebody else.

Oh, and what about reality? That can go chase itself down a rabbit hole.