Kate Bishop a.k.a. Hawkeye, and Samurai Iron Man!
Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:
It’s that time again! The ninth annual Chicago Comic and Entertainment Exposition (“C2E2″) just wrapped another three-day extravaganza of comic books, actors, creators, toys, props, publishers, freebies, Funko Pops, anime we don’t recognize, and walking and walking and walking and walking. Each year C2E2 keeps inching ever closer to its goal of becoming the Midwest’s answer to the legendary San Diego Comic Con and other famous cons in larger, more popular states. My wife Anne and I missed the first year, but have attended every year since 2011 as a team.
In this special miniseries I’ll be sharing memories and photos from our own C2E2 experience and its plethora of pizzazz…
If it’s a convention, that means it’s time for more cosplay photos! Anne and I are fans of costumes and try to keep an eye out for heroes, villains, antiheroes, supporting casts, and various oddities that look impressive and/or we haven’t seen at other cons. First up: a great big batch of characters from assorted iterations of the Marvel Universe, movies as well as comics. These aren’t even all the Marvel characters we saw, but I had to draw my arbitrary dividing lines through our nearly five dozen costume photos where I could. Caveats for first-time visitors to Midlife Crisis Crossover:
1. My wife and I are not professional photographers, nor do we believe ourselves worthy of press passes. These were taken as best as possible with the intent to share with fellow fans out of a sincere appreciation for the works inspired by the heroes, hobbies, artistic expressions, and/or intellectual properties that brought us geeks together under one vaulted roof for the weekend. We did what we could with the tools and circumstances at hand. We don’t use selfie sticks, tripods, or cameras that cost more than a month’s worth of groceries.
2. It’s impossible for any human or organization to capture every costume on hand. What’s presented in this series will be a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of the sum total costume experience. Other corners of the internet will represent those other fractions that we missed, which is the cool part of having so many people doing this sort of thing.
3. We didn’t attend Sunday. As previously explained at excessive length, we also nearly never do costume contests anymore. Sincere apologies to anyone we missed as a result.
4. Corrections and comments are always welcome, especially when we get to Part 4, which will include at least two characters we young geezers didn’t recognize. I do like learning new names and universes even if you’re more immersed in them than I am.
5. Enjoy!
Loki and Hela, who probably get along better in another timeline.
Another Hela and Dr. Strange.
Future movie star Captain Marvel and USAgent, a sort of alt-Captain America from the ’90s who hasn’t made it to the big screen yet.
Thor modeling the Infinity Gauntlet in front of the Avengers: Infinity War poster at the Marvel booth.
Ghost Rider, the very first cosplayer we encountered this weekend.
I brake for the unbeatable Squirrel Girl (and Tippy-Toe!) whenever and wherever possible.
Mandatory Deadpool variants, 1 of 4: Santapool. You better watch out! You’d better not DIE.
Breakfastpool brings his own unicorn cereal and, uh, Infinity Gauntlet.
I like to imagine Sheriff Woodypool yelling, “THERE’S A SNAKE IN MY BOOT!” and then shooting his own foot off, because it’s the only way to be sure.
Lady Deadpool demonstrating how we felt later when we had to settle for convention center cheese pizza for dinner.
The Wasp, one of the original Avengers from back in the day, well before Captain America joined the team and began hogging all the glory.
Say what you will about X-Men: The Last Stand, such as “It was sooooo horrible!” or “Why did you say that name? Uuuuggghh”, but Kelsey Grammer’s performance as the Beast, if not his fur, was eminently salvageable.
The Juggernaut, another scarred X3 survivor.
Hip-hop Hulk out in the lobby Saturday afternoon, kicking it old-school.
Hulk’s dance partner Spider-Man, who also happens to be one of the guys down at my local comic shop.
Punk rock Spider-Man bringing a different vibe.
Marvel Team-Up presents Elektra and X-23.
The Beetle, a classic Marvel villain who’s fought both Spidey and Daredevil, but has yet to be invited onto a live-action Marvel stage. Someday, maybe?
To be continued! Other chapters in this very special MCC miniseries:
Part 1: Another Jazz Hands Gallery!
Part 3: More Cosplay!
Part 4: Last Call for Cosplay!
Part 5: Comics Creators Cavalcade
Part 6: Who Else We Met and What We Did
Part 7: Random Acts of Pop Culture