The best cosplayers of SDCC 2017

Andrew, Jay, Josh, and I all went to SDCC this year.  And while there, we did what anyone going to Comic Con does.  Take plenty of pictures.  And that includes costumes!  What follows is not a complete compilation of every single photo taken.  If I included them all, we’d have more than 200 different photos in this article, and that seemed excessive to me.  So instead, you’ll find a selection of some of the more impressive costumes.  Whether that be impressive because they were really well done, simply too funny to pass up, or immensely creative; you’ll find an eclectic grouping of photos in this article.  Also, since this is Batman News, I did lean more toward the Batman/DC characters.  But if someone did a truly awesome job on their costume, I included them as well.  So, you’ll find costumes from other franchises in this article as well.

Let’s start off with the humorous ones.

I have to give it to this guy.  That’s a pretty awesome J Jonah Jameson.  I didn’t snap this photo, but Jay said he was even speaking in movie quotes.  Way to commit to the character.  And extra points for the custom made newspaper.  It’s even funnier due to the fact that there actually were tons of Spidermans all over the place since the newest Spiderman movie had just been released.

Speaking of just having been released, time for the parade of…

The Wonder Women.

Last year, it was Harley Quinn everywhere you looked.  This year, it was Wonder Woman.

It’s hard to tell from this picture, but this woman was tall.  And when I say tall, I mean tall.  If I had to guess, I’d say 6’6”.  So even without the boots, this was one tall woman.  And you know what, I thought it was awesome.  I mean, Wonder Woman is an Amazonian.  She is supposed to be tall.  Love it when cosplayers play to their strengths.

Sweet.  A retro World War 2 pinup Wonder Woman.  Totally digging it.  IG: @taranicoleazarian

And this would be my pick for the best Wonder Woman.  It’s a combination of a fantastic costume and the fact that of all the Wonder Women I saw, she was the one that most closely resembled Gal Gadot.  But if we are talking classic comic book Wonder Woman, it would go to the super tall cosplayer two pics up.  She was both impressive and, even though she was smiling, intimidating.

Kids like to cosplay too!

Ok, that’s just disturbing.  I mean, Professor pig is already disturbing enough.  But a little kid version of him. Yikes!

Ok.  Maybe I spoke too soon.  That’s pretty terrifying as well.

Hey StarLord, I’m not taking a picture of you.  I’m taking a picture of the total and utter badass next to you.  But seriously though, this is the most incredible Damian Wayne cosplay I have ever seen.  The armor, the fabric, the kids presence…it’s absolutely perfect.  And look at this:

He wore white contact lenses so that it looked like he had that pupilless look characters always have when they wear their masks.  And while we are zoomed in, make sure you check out that armor more closely. All the dings and scratches.  It’s totally beautiful.  This kid is definitely in the running to win everything.

Best in Tech.

Holy crap is that impressive!  But you’ll have an even greater appreciation for it if you see the behind the scenes.

The man is in stilts inside of that thing!  And if you look around and compare him to the surrounding convention-goers, you can get an idea about just how huge this thing was.  And all the joints actually worked too.  It was super impressive.

I think Captain America’s expression says it all.  The things was so cumbersome, he had an aide that carried around the upper half till he got to the next location he was going to pose at.  I know I already said it, but this was super impressive.

The Mighty Megatron!  Just like Hulkbuster Ironman, this guy was on stilts.  You could say he isn’t as impressive as the Hulbuster armor because he looks less realistic, but I actually think that was intentional.  I mean, the plastic looks like that cheaper kind of plastic that the older toys were made from.  So really, I think he is pretty accurate to what he is portraying.

Wow.  Just wow.  You’re probably looking at this and wondering how he walked around the convention center in that thing.  Well…

The wings folded up, man!  They just folded up!  And not like somebody had to help him or anything like that.  His backpack thing was motorized or something.  He just hit a button somewhere and the whole thing would open up or fold down.  When it folded down, they also rotated behind him.  And when they opened up, they rotated forward and spread out across his width.  And each feather was individual and rotated independently of the other feathers.  I know I’m going on and on about the wings, but the rest of the suit was grade A as well.  The mace lite up, the head gear was totally legit, and the costume was pretty much perfect.  All in all, it was insanely impressive.

In case it wasn’t clear yet, the last one in each category gets my vote.  Hawkman wins best tech!

Ok, time to throw the rest in one giant grab bag.  

A mashup of Wendy from the fast-food chain mixed with the Margot Robbie Harley Quinn.  I also think this could totally be a Bombshell statue.  But maybe that’s just me.

Speaking of Bombshell statues.  IG: @camislyce42

Incidentally, the Bombshell Batgirl and this one are the only two Batgirls I saw during the entire convention.  What?!  Why no love for Barbara SDCC cosplayers?

The grab bag award goes to Poison Ivy right here.  I don’t think the picture does this costume enough justice.  Her body is covered in makeup.  But nothing too overt.  It’s a subtle shade of green that covers almost everything.  Just enough so that you do a double take since it’s just slightly off from a normal pigment.  But then you have areas where the green hue pops more prominently, primarily around the neck and eyes.  She is also wearing these crazy green contacts that give her an additional unsettling look.  But that’s just her.  I haven’t even gotten to the costume itself.  Every single ivy leaf is individual.  And the hair piece is massive with a huge amount of body.  It also goes quite far down her back as well.  The hair is definitely modeled after the Tim Sale version of Poison Ivy.  All in all, this was some very impressive cosplay.  And extra props go to her for putting up with the discomfort.  These strands of ivy are the kind you can get at a craft store for making floral arrangements.  And if you’ve ever handled stuff like this, you know they can be very stiff with wires running through them and everything.  With the amount of bare skin she has going on, I couldn’t help but think of all the poking and prodding those little leaves and wires were going to be doing to her.  I’m guessing it was pretty uncomfortable.  Ah well, the things we do for our passions.

So, who won?

My runner up spot goes to Poison Ivy.

The Bronze Medal goes to Hawkman.  Those wings were just too much.

The Silver Medal goes to Robin / Damian Wayne.  I mean, just look at him.  He’s perfect.

And the Gold Medal goes too…..

I kind of cheated on this one because he wasn’t in any of the previous pictures up above.  But I wanted to save the best for last and really give you a big surprise at the end.

Is…is that a statue?  Nope!  That’s a human being in there.  Seriously though, how impressive is that? I mean, that is the spitting image of The Joker from the Rocksteady video game Batman: Arkham Asylum.

There is only one very small problem here, and it’s a shame really because everything else is so insanely perfect….but his hands aren’t white/ gloved.  Fortunately, I found some additional pictures of him online, and he has gloves in those.  He just wasn’t wearing them when I took his picture.  I guess he lost/forgot to put them on or something.

The individual inside of the costume is Strange Dave and you can find him here.  IG: @artmodeldave

The face sculpt and lab work were carried out by Lee Joyner.  You can find him here.  IG: @joynerstudio

Hair work, makeup application, lab assist, and costume distress was provided by Gabi Gonzalez.  IG: @beastlymakeup 

“Joker” was created for use at SDCC2017 by IG : @cinemamakeupschool

If you want to see a bunch more pictures of The Joker, including behind the scenes, you should check out Joyner and Gonzalez’s Instagram accounts.  Seriously,  it’s definitely worth a look.

If you are wondering why all my picture of him look the same, he was doing the whole living statue thing.  He stood perfectly still for quite some time, and then all of a sudden, he leapt forward scaring everyone half to death.

Awesome!

Who was your favorite?  Sound off in the comments below.

Also, if you attended Comic Con and have any amazing shots you’d like to share, feel free to post them in the comment section as well.