Assignment 2, Ms. Marvelous cosplay

The picture above is of a woman who goes by the name of Ms. Marvelous and she is dressed up as Jean Grey from the X-Men. Ms. Marvelous is featured on a website called Critical Blast, as their October 2021 cosplay feature. She likes to attend conventions and do photoshoots in her cosplay but not much outside of that. Her costumes are all store bought but she may do alterations or add things if feels needed. Jean Grey first appeared in Marvel comics X-Men in 1963. She is Ms. Marvelous’ favourite character to portray. 

All of Ms. Marvelous’ costumes are of strong female superhero characters, signifying she likes to feel empowered as a woman in her cosplay. She does not think it matters that her costumes are not homemade because it is just about going, having fun and respecting everyone. Ms. Marvelous is pictured doing a powerful pose, recreating a poster of Jean Grey. Her costume is the same bright green and gold full body suit seen in the comic books, rather than choosing the remade black suit worn by the live action actress. This shows she is loyal to the original portrayal of the character. Strong female characters in the cosplay community are important to empower females and show that women can also be super heroes. Women superheroes in particular are almost always portrayed in a sexualized way, from their costume to specific body parts being enhanced. Women are able to both stay true to the original costume and show that they are confident in who they are and they are also able to change costumes in order to feel comfortable and know they are more than just their body. It is important to see both ways so that young girls can know that they can do whatever they want and can participate in conventions as their favorite character the way they want to. Cosplay allows for women to be in control of how they want to dress, not always sticking to gender norms brought on by the broader society. 

Cosplayers not only dress up as their chosen character, they also may fully try to embody them. Some may change their attitude, change their voice and way of talking or take on certain personality traits from their character. (Hale 2014) To some it is a chance to dress up as a character and go have fun for a couple days of the year and to others it is a full embodiment of another person or character. 

Hale, M. (2014). Cosplay: Intertextuality, Public Texts, and the Body Fantastic. Western Folklore, 73(1), 5–37. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24550744

Critical Blast staff. (2021). Meet Ms. Marvelous — Our October Bombshell of the Month. Critical Blast. http://www.criticalblast.com/articles/2021/10/01/meet-ms-marvelous-our-october-bombshell-month