by Mike Fye, Reporter
C2E2 2023 saw a special event that was one part celebration and one part united defiance. Dozens of attendees donned their Wednesday Addams cosplays and marched towards the now famous C2E2 letters. During the roughly 20-minute takeover of the grand concourse, the cosplayers cheered and danced celebrating the titular heroine from Netflix’s recent hit, “Wednesday.”
If this sounds familiar, that’s because less than one year ago, a similar event took place at C2E2 2022. Attendees there dressed as Eddie Munson, the fan-favorite, doomed Dungeon Master from “Stranger Things.” Some carried guitars mimicking Munson’s epic rendition of Metallica’s “Puppet Master” alongside a guitarist who even brought an amplifier to play the song note for note. It was magical. But that’s not why people across the country heard about this flash mob. It was due to online harassment. TikTok users targeted cosplayers who shared posts of themselves at the event with gatekeeping, ageist comments, and tired “geeks are cringe” comments. See: TikTok reacting to Eddie Munson flash mob.
This hit particularly hard for some as it represents a paradox in our society. “Stranger Things” is a show about outsiders and geeks defending their small town from interdimensional forces. This is a story where geeks are truly the heroes of the story, and they are very popular among viewers. However, when real life geeks dress up as these characters, those same viewers bully them for it. The term “Cringe” was regularly seen and heard. It’s a case of, “geeks are cool until they start doing geeky things,” making the internet feel more like a middle school lunchroom than a place to find and share information.
This made 2023 even sweeter as these geeks weren’t just celebrating “Wednesday,” but each other. Cosplayers no older than 10 got high fives from cosplayers in their forties and fifties. People dressed as other characters like Enid Sinclair, Principle Weems, and even Uncle Fester joined in on the fun. They were dancing with each other and laughing.
Seeing this was such a wonderful reminder of the good in geekdom. The words “my people” ring in your ears regularly, as you walk around conventions. There’s an ever-present camaraderie within geekdom. And despite the opinions of a few vocal accounts on TikTok, cosplayers keep on cosplaying. Frankly, that’s pretty cool.
Special thanks to Eddie B Photos for the use of the images.
…
Stay tuned to ComicsOnline for more exclusive C2E2 coverage, interviews, reviews, and everything geek pop culture!
