Winged costumes are among the most elaborate, time-consuming, fascinating costumes around. And it bugs me when I can’t put a name to them. Shark ninja is cool, too.
Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:
In 2019 my wife Anne and I attended our very first Dragon Con in Atlanta, Georgia. We returned home to Indianapolis with a plethora of new memories, hundreds and hundreds of photos, and a shared suspicion that we’d return someday. Not every year, but someday. In the year of our grand pandemic 2020 we attended exactly zero conventions for easily guessed reasons. In 2021 several cons made their comeback plans, but Dragon Con stepped up hardest and made us some offers we couldn’t refuse. We didn’t have to think long or hard before accepting the special rules under which this pandemic-era show would be held…
Yep, more costumes from that annual cosplay parade. Downtown Atlanta was busy and bustling with hundreds and hundreds of fans dressed to the nines and showing off their fandoms and their togs. We recognized quite a few. Our knowledge bases and pop-culture consumption habits don’t cover all of them. Media and genres range far and wide and hither and yon and recognizing every single name is impossible unless you’re the Dragon Con staffer who processed their parade application.
In this gallery and the previous one, many of the photos sport one or more characters we couldn’t put names to and Google failed to lend us a hand. Or it’s our aging brains holding back on us, which happens a lot. Some might also be the cosplayers’ own original characters that we never stood a chance at guessing. I hate posting costume pics without at least trying to identify the subjects. If you see someone you know, please feel free to shout it out. We do enjoy learning about new universes we don’t know, and we appreciate reminders of the ones we’ve forgotten. And yes, that was the same intro as Chapter 6 with one word changed. It’s been a long week and everyone else who was at Dragon Con has moved on with their lives except me, so it’s corner-cutting time. Enjoy anyway!
Another charity-minded cosplay group, Costumers With a Cause feature USAgent, PS4 Spider-Man, Deadpool, and Brother Voodoo. [UPDATED 9/14/2021 – see Comments.]
Not Homestuck characters, but Ian, Barley, and their dead dad’s legs and disguise from Pixar’s Onward. [UPDATED 9/14/2021 – see Comments.]
Our pic doesn’t do him justice, and I’m not even sure if that’s a costume per se, but this swordsman walked the entire parade route while balancing a third sword on his head.
Purple ghosty thing buzzing the crowd on a fishing pole.
Resident Evil residents included an Umbrella Corporation soldier and a curiously specific zombie. I’ve seen two of the movies and only played RE4, which I quit shortly after they made me babysit the President’s daughter.
Not sure if Resident Evil has endless medical zombies or if these are specific personnel, like all those evil Bioshock doctors.
Anime shark armor! At least two of those words are right, right?
Pikachu and the Pokestop are easy (remember that time I played Pokemon Go for a while?), but the suited guy in the middle must have debuted after my son stopped watching.
Miraculous‘ Ladybug, and I’m not sure if the purple butterfly guy is Hawk Moth?
A Cartoon Network/Adult Swim crossover with Johnny Bravo, folks from The Venture Bros., and…more?
I got as far as identifying Steven Universe, Garnet, and Bismuth, then hit a wall with the other two. I can only fake my way so far.
It’s a pirate ship full of pirates who may or may not have names! Like, aarrrrrr and whatnot!
There has to be a fun story behind this pirate flying a Betsy Ross instead of a Jolly Roger.
I’ve scrolled past enough tweets about Game of Thrones to know these are some of the Throne-Gamers. One is still unidentified, but we cna now vouch for Lady Olenna Tyrell, Melisandre a.k.a. the Red Woman, and the Night King. [UPDATED 9/14/2021 – see Comments.]
A cute giant bunny head that presumably has its own merchandising line.
The Duck Fairy! [UPDATED 9/14/2021 – see Comments.]
I had this in my notes as “steampunk tricycle”, but it’s actually the Time Traveller and a Morlock from H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine. [UPDATED 9/14/2021 – see Comments.]
Rufio from Hook and snazzy friend.
The cast of Star Trek Discovery, which we don’t watch.
Moff Gideon and Kylo Ren. [UPDATED 9/10/2021: Special thanks to Friend of MCC Chris Dowd for assistance with our sad memory lapse. Anne and I are kicking ourselves as we speak.]
Two custom Mandalorians among the several. But are they named? Refugees from the Expanded Universe, or New Canon all-stars in the novels that Anne hasn’t gotten to yet?
One more Mando for the road, same questions apply.
If you’ve perused all the way down here, thanks for your attention! All of these were provided by an extremely helpful commenter: All Might from My Hero Academia; Sailor Moon Eternal, Super Sailor Moon, and Sailor Saturn from Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (so my original Sailor Moon suspicions weren’t unfounded after all); and Beauregard Lionett from Critical Role.
…
…one more cosplay gallery to go. Just one more, I swear. I think.
To be continued! Other chapters in this very special MCC miniseries:
Part 1: Return of the Jazz Hands
Part 2: A Cosplay Sampler
Part 3: Some Cosplay Parade
Part 4: More Cosplay Parade
Part 5: Still More Cosplay Parade
Part 6: Cosplay Parade Stumpers
Part 8: Last Call for Parade Cosplay
Part 9: Winding Down the Parade
Part 10: [coming soon]