Marvel Cosplay Governor's Island Meetup

A little rain can’t stop Earth’s mightiest heroes from saving the day — nor can it deter nearly 100 cosplayers from the most epic Marvel meetup of all time.

On a gloomy Saturday morning, the east coast’s finest cosplayers gathered on Governor’s Island in New York City to participate in a photo shoot organized by Naiquan (aka @CosplayNay) and Dom Charland.

Marvel Cosplay Governor's Island Meetup: Captain Marvel

May 4, a day typically devoted to Star Wars celebrations, was instead spent commemorating Marvel’s biggest heroes and villains, shortly after the theatrical release of Avengers: Endgame. From the Avengers to the Defenders to the X-Men to the Inhumans, more than 10 Marvel factions were represented at the massive meetup.

While cosplayers often find each other at comic conventions across the country, this fan-fueled event brought people together in a unique way, escaping convention halls for greener pastures and a scenic ferryboat ride.

“Sitting on the ferry and watching hero after hero board, watching the looks on the regular passengers’ faces as we boarded; the gravity of what we had organized finally hit me,” Charland says. In addition to helping organize the event, Charland came camera-ready in a full Star-Lord cosplay.

Marvel Cosplay Governor's Island Meetup: Nebula

With dozens of cosplayers in full body paint, intricate makeups, and fragile, hand-crafted suits of armor, the dreary skies posed a few challenges, but just like the Avengers, this crowd vowed to do “whatever it takes” to pull off a successful shoot.

“Although the weather took a bit to turn in our favor, everyone’s energy was infectious and seeing this finally come to fruition was almost surreal,” Charland says.

 

Marvel Cosplay Governor's Island Meetup: Valkyrie Selfie

The event — which took eight months to plan — was kept underwraps by Naiquan and his team. The secret nature of the shoot was meant to ensure a variety of characters were appropriately represented, and only the best cosplayers were included.

“I reached out to a lot of people individually, people who take their craft very seriously,” Naiquan says. “I wanted to assemble a solid team.”

The marvelous meetup proved the strength of the cosplay community, as the makers shared glue, hairspray, palettes, and other supplies. They helped each other prep for photos, fine-tuned their costumes, and huddled together under umbrellas in an effort to stay dry.

And after a few hours, the heroes — and villains — got their day in the sun. Photographers gathered groups of cosplayers together, snapping professional-grade photos of the mish-moshed Guardians of the Galaxy, the fierce Wakandans, and the rough-and-tough Defenders. Finally, all 90 heroes assembled for a recreation of the final fight scene in Avengers: Endgame, with @Call_Me_Cap_Brooklynkid leading the charge as Captain America.

“I am very happy. It was a great turnout,” Naiquan says. “I just wanted everyone to have a good time. … And maybe we’ll come together in the future to do more.”

 

Marvel Cosplay Governor's Island Meetup: spidey mini spidey

As the weather warmed up, passersby began to stumble on the massive cosplay event with wide eyes and even wider smiles. They looked truly mindblown to see such an impressive display of talent, and some lucky little ones even got to come face-to-face with their favorite heroes.

Instagram is sure to be buzzing over the next few days when the cosplayers and photographers release the fruits of their labors. Keep your eyes peeled on all of the below accounts.

Marvel Cosplay Governor's Island Meetup: Villains

Villains

Thanos: @Champumagic
Proxima Midnight: @Hollypeppermint
Red Skull: @Jon.Sywan._
Hela: @Miss_Sam_Mae
Mysterio: @BlueKirbyCosplay

Avengers

Captain America: @Call_Me_Cap_Brooklynkid
Captain Marvel: @Samanthas_Cosplay
Thor: @BrokeCosplay
Iron Man: @NyTonyStark
Spider-Man: @CosPlayNay
Ant-Man: @Original_Marley_G
Wasp: @Babsbutcher
Black Widow: @Mandaglorian
Ronin: @_R_o_n_i_n
Winter Soldier: @Raf_Bucky Barnes
Falcon: @KristheRisk
Hulk: @Emmadames12
Agent 13: @Codenamecitadel
Scarlet Witch: @Cosmic_Sea_Turtle
Vision: @Ghostlyflareboy
Dr. Strange: @Verdant_vanguard
War Machine: @Rancidprops
Squirrel Girl: @Kambrias_cosplay

Defenders

Daredevil: @NewYorkSpidey
Luke Cage: @Fire_Forged_Cosplay
Jessica Jones: @Brokecosplay
Iron Fist: @DannyCarmelo
Elektra: @Ajkick101
Misty Knight: @Runitslittlewolf
Cloak: @Sngdnc
Dagger: @Rebzdeladisco (Cosplay by @Livicolecosplay)
Punisher: @Defcon21
Blade: @Eric_Blade_Brooks
Ghost Rider: @Shawnshonuff
Moonknight: @PhillyBlackPanther

Wakandans

T’Chaka: @BossJones
T’Challa: @Vibranium.cosplay
Okoye: @Nyxxiemoon
Nakia: @RaiysaAliyah
Ayo: @Neka_l0han

Asguardians

Heimdall: @Hellspawned_Cosplay
Loki: @Cowdemon
Infinity War/Dark World Loki: @SilhouetteCosplay
Valkyrie: @Maweezy
Valkyrie Soldier #1: @Isabellecarrigan
Valkyrie Soldier #2: @Phreshxbear

https://www.instagram.com/p/BxF2Sqkjsn4/

Guardians of the Galaxy

Starlord: @Domcharland
Gamora: @_Carmen.Sandiego_
Drax: @RobVegas29
Mantis: @Cosplay213
Groot: @Crashprojectcosplay
Rocket: @Electricemy
Nebula: @Genovere
Yondu: @Angel_ta2
Nova: @itsalphachris

https://www.instagram.com/p/BxEAgUjDGd5/

Fantastic Four

Mr. Fantastic: @Kofitnessnycosplay
Invisible Woman: @LiviColeCosplay
Human Torch: @Crimson_Spider15
Thing: Cosplay by @InfinitePolygonCosplay
She Hulk: @Shinylikethesun
Silver Surfer: @Alex.hansenn

Marvel Cosplay Governor's Island Meetup: Deadpool Domino

X-Force

Deadpool: @CosplayWade
Domino: @BeautifulDiz
Cable: @Ohrocco
X-23: @Xperiment_23

https://www.instagram.com/p/BxDufVpBydR/

X-Men

Cyclops: @Fallnmerc
Jean Grey: @SirynCosplay
Wolverine: @Saiyanjcosplay
Rogue: @Megarahopecosplay
Gambit: @Dexb.entertainment
Nightcrawler: @Hit_Cosplay
Beast: @GalaticEdgeCosplay
Storm: @Flawless_By_Tenisha
Iceman: @Flextopher
Mystique: @HeirofGlee
Emma Frost: @Frostmooncosplay
Quicksilver: @Spideyfromdablock
Colossus: @AB7223
Jubilee: @Wolfbandit_arts
Psylocke: @RinCosplayNyc
Negasonic: @Negasonicxcosplays
Kitty Pryde: @Simplyarabella

Inhumans

Black Bolt: @Trucking_spartan
Medusa: @Cucumbercosplay
Crystal: @Palmtopginger
Karnak: @Lilgee.cosplay
Gorgon: @M80thegreat

Marvel Cosplay Governor's Island Meetup: Siderverse

Spiderverse

Silk: @RealCindyMoon
PS4 Spider-Man: @SubwaySpidey
Punk Spider-Man: @TheTriStateSpidey
Miles Morales: @Spidey_Verse
Gwen Stacy: Danielafavaloro
Scarlet Spider: @Eddie_graysn_
Symbiote: @InfinitePolygonCosplay

Photographers

Michael Lee: @Jollyrogerimagery
Arturo Daichi: @Arturodaichi
Jeff: @JsCosplayphotog
Francisco: @Graceandshinephoto
Neville: @B_U_Photography
Corey: @__Knowhere_Nyc__
Rob: @Cosbotphotography
James: @Jrod_artography
Joshua: @candid_cosplay_photography

Videographers

Reece: @Sirkeyes
Keem: @Pheonixfoto
Andrew: @Kamenramenstudios
Yanni: @Yannimouts

All photos (excluding Instagram posts): Joshua David, @candid_cosplay_photography

About the author

Marissa Silva

Marissa Silva

Marissa Silva is editor-in-chief of the Pop Insider and the Toy Insider, the leading consumer holiday gift guide and toy review and news website. As a professional toy reviewer and an industry expert, she consistently reports on toy, entertainment, and pop culture trends and hot products. In addition to digital content management, Marissa contributes feature-length articles to the Pop Insider and leading toy industry trade magazine The Toy Book, providing retailers, manufacturers, and licensors with information on the latest in toy news. Marissa has been featured on the TODAY Show, Good Morning America, Fox and Friends, ABC World News Now, MSNBC, CBS, NY1, WPIX, and more. A board game fanatic and professional toy reviewer, she spends most of her free time shopping for superhero T-shirts, crushing at Mario Kart, and anxiously awaiting her Hogwarts acceptance letter. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram @thattoygirl.

archivearrow-chevron-downarrow-chevron-left-greyarrow-chevron-leftarrow-chevron-rightarrow-fatarrow-left-blackarrow-left-whitearrow-right-blackarrow-rightarrow-roundedbookscalendarcaret-downclose-whiteclosedocumenteditorial-archiveeyefacebook-squarefacebookfilesgifthamburgerheadinghearthomeinstagram-squareinstagramlatestlinkedin-squarelinkedinmailmedia-inquiresmessagenewsopen-boxpagination-leftpagination-rightpauseplayprintproduct-archiverecent-productssearchsharesort-filterspotifysunteamtiktoktime_purpletimetrendingtvtwitter-squaretwitteryoutube