Comic Con, a safe haven for devotees of any fandom and a chance for fans the world over to ditch normality, unburdening ourselves from the shackles of normality and finally be ourselves. I’ve not attended many conventions of this nature, as the only one I repeatedly attend is MCM London Comic Con, but the act of doing so has swiftly become a pastime activity.
There is a treasure chest full of options and reasons for fans to visit Comic Con, but my reason for going in May 2023? The cosplays? While we can easily lose hours of the day, glancing at cosplays of all varieties, posted on the likes of Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, there is nothing quite like seeing cosplay in person. I’m not just talking about the insanely good ones, that look perfect, I’m talking all cosplays, which includes the last-minute efforts as people take a bit of this and a bit of that, or just throw a white sheet over one of their kids, with eye holes cut out, as if this was Halloween.
Not everyone has the means or the money to create a Hollywood quality outfit and as such, all efforts should be appreciated, as there is a story behind every cosplay and if you ever get the time to ask what that story is, it might just leave you with a smile that wasn’t there a few moments before. Still, my cosplay reason for going to Comic Con was a bit more specific than just to see what people have thrown together this year. Following on from the likes of The Super Mario Movie Bros. debuting a month earlier, performing infamously well, and the fact that the “Peaches” song was everywhere, I was curious to see how many Mario and friends cosplays we would get this year.
During my last two visits to Comic Con, Doctor Who and Star Wars always get plenty of love, but the outfit of choice that stood out the most was Marvel related. I saw so many Scarlet Witch cosplays, that there’s a good chance I saw every variant possible. At the very least, every costumed version of the character that ever appeared in all of her comic book appearances.
That’s not to say I didn’t see any Scarlet Witch cosplays this year, there were plenty of them, but like I had suspected, the popularity of Princess Peach would be huge this year and Comic Con did not fail me. While the Wario and Waluigi department were sorely lacking, almost everywhere I turned, there was at least a Princess Peach, accompanied by either a Mario, a Toad, or a Rosalina.
I know, right? No love for Daisy, it’s a shame. [Editor’s Note: What isn’t a shame though is Daisy is available as a playable character in Super Mario Bros. Wonder, releasing on October 20, 2023 for the Nintendo Switch.] Still, at least Rosalina is getting some attention, I would love to see a Pauline cosplay though, if only I could go back to 2017, or at the very least, early 2018 and visit a Comic Con then. There was bound to have been one Paulina cosplay. Regardless, little did I know, it would not be a singular Princess Peach cosplay that would still my breath, nor was it the fact that I saw at least 42 Princess Peach cosplays, but when I wasn’t expecting it, there he was. The magnificent…. The incredible… Perfection itself… Geno,
Given to us by Square Enix via Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, in 1996, Geno was a warrior sent to the Mushroom Kingdom to aid Mario and friends in battle and for all of us who have played the N64 game, we have never forgotten it. Denied a sequel and no sign of a remake, Geno is a character that went on to cement himself a place in the heart of Mario fans the world over. For a long-time, he, like Banjo & Kazooie, were among top choices for characters players wanted in Super Smash Bros. but unlike Banjo & Kazooie, who finally made it in as part of paid DLC for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, the best Geno could do was be a Mii Fighter outfit.
[Editor’s Note: Of course, things would change for the better as a remake would be announced during a Nintendo Direct that aired on June 21, 2023, with Super Mario RPG releasing on November 17, 2023 for thew Nintendo Switch.]
Seeing Geno, especially how well-crafted the cosplay actually was, stirred up old feelings in me long forgotten, and just like others have done so over the years, seeing the amazing cosplay made me wish for a remake. I would then chastise myself for being silly in wishing such a thing, but as we’d find out less than a month later, such a wish would become a reality. I could have stared at the Geno cosplay for hours, but that would have been creepy stalker behavior, so instead I took my photos, got a little video and moved onto the next cosplay that would momentarily occupy my attention, followed by the next one after that.
For anyone who would like to see some of the other cosplays we had the privilege of seeing, you can do so with this link here, as it will take you to a gallery of our best photos taken during MCM London Comic Con 2023. Otherwise, thank you for reading and for those of you who also attended, we hope you enjoyed the event as much as we did. From signings to merchandise, seeing the likes of the iconic Veronica Taylor, there was something for everyone, but our star of the show was Geno, especially since Geno had Mallow on his shoulder.
