"Heroes" creator Tim Kring shocked and gratified not only Comic-Con fans but his own cast when he announced who would be writing and directing an episode of the offshoot anthology series "Origins."

"Clerks" filmmaker Kevin Smith brought the crowd to its feet and caused one of the "Heroes" actors to exclaim, "No way. Are you serious?"

Smith, wearing a red and black shirt with the number 37 on the side, joked about how he responded when Kring approached him to enter the "Heroes" world.

"I told him I would love to write and direct an episode about the two gay heroes," said Smith. "He said, 'What are you talking about?' 'You know, the Japanese dudes because they're gay, right?' It's about time, it's high time. If you can do an autopsy on a cheerleader, you can show a couple heroes making out."

At this point, castmembers Sendhil Ramamurthy and Greg Grunberg laughed and applauded while "the Japanese dudes," Masi Oka and James Kyson Lee (pals Hiro and Ando on the show), looked bemused.

"[Tim] was like, 'I don't think you understand the show or my work at all,'" recalled Smith. "And then he explained what it was, and I was like, 'Oh, I'll do that too.'"

Although Smith wasn't familiar with the "Heroes," he quickly became one of its many fans.

"I did not watch the show from its first airing," Smith confessed. "I watched it all -- I was telling Tim -- in about two and a half days when I downloaded all the episodes on iTunes. I watched with my old lady, and it's one of those shows where they've really mastered the cliffhanger ending, so much so that every time an episode ended, I was like, 'Oh, I know our kids are waiting downstairs to be fed, but let's watch another one.' And we did.

"We went from episode to episode to episode," continued Smith. "And it was cool because normally my old lady's like, 'Comic books -- you're such a jerk.' But she fell in love with the show big time, and I was like, 'Well, alright, who's the f** now, right? You.'"

As Smith wrapped up his surprise appearance, he expressed how seriously he was taking the gig.

"It's going to fun, but I just don't want to be the guy who ruins 'Heroes,'" he added. "I'd hate to sign onto the Internet after my episode airs and they're like, 'They jumped the shark. "Heroes" is done. Close up. "Clerks" guy ruined it.' A series closer is what I am. Because I was on 'Veronica Mars,' and now that's canceled too."

The six consecutive "Origins" episodes will run at the end of April all the way through May. Each episode, set in the same world as "Heroes" and thus following its mythology, will center on someone from around the world who discovers their unique powers.