To celebrate the 2023 X-Men: Hellfire Gala, Marvel recently put on it own real-life Gala at San Diego Comic-Con, complete with amazing cosplays of mutants and non-mutants alike, including Deadpool, Professor X, Iron Man and Doctor Doom. These cosplays not only showcase the skill of the artists behind them but are also the perfect representation of the ethos of the Gala itself, with different corners of the Marvel Universe coming together to mingle with its merry mutants.
Marvel itself highlighted several of the cosplays on Twitter. The Professor X cosplay is a perfect rendition of Xavier’s Krakoa-era formal wear, including his Cerebro helmet and a Krakoan gateway flower. Meanwhile, Deadpool is sporting his classic mask, but changing things up with a snazzy red and black suit jacket.
Capt Cash (@captcash) as Doctor Doom has recreated Doom’s already-iconic 2022 Hellfire Gala look by Russell Dauterman, along with Doom-inspired bodyguards @writertlk and @blingblake in green LED half-masks. Finally, the Iron Man cosplay has taken the Gala theme to a whole new level by interpreting Iron Man’s costume as a stunning ballgown in red and gold, with matching gloves and wig. The look is topped off by turning Tony’s faceplate into a masquerade mask.
This Year's Hellfire Gala Was a Disaster
With the chaos of this year’s Hellfire Gala, it’s nice to see that there’s still some cause for celebration. Since the first Hellfire Gala in 2021, the events, meant to be public-facing diplomatic events for the mutant nation of Krakoa, have been host to some of the most dramatic X-Men moments in recent years. This has included the death of the Scarlet Witch and the terraforming of Mars into the planet Arakko in 2021. The 2023 Gala has been particularly devastating, with the anti-mutant organization ORCHIS launching its multipronged attack on Krakoa, murdering the new team of X-Men, devastating its population by sabotaging the island’s teleportation gates, and ruining the X-Men’s relations with humanity via manipulating Krakoa’s medicines, leaving mutants pariahs once again.
In context, it makes sense that one of the non-mutants highlighted in this amazing cosplay collection is Iron Man. Among ORCHIS’ best weapons are the Stark Sentinels, mutant-hunting robots developed with Tony Stark’s own tech after the takeover of his company by ORCHIS member Feilong. Tony’s lack of resources and guilt over what his technology has done has allied him firmly with the remaining mutants. This bond will only be solidified as Marvel has revealed that Tony will soon be marrying Emma Frost, though how much of this union is for political purposes only remains to be seen.
The remaining characters represented through these cosplays cover the gamut of the Marvel Universe and how its characters feel about mutants. Professor X’s perspective is obvious. He’s one of the most public leaders of mutantkind, and one of the architects behind Krakoa. Deadpool has traditonally not been a mutant until recently, but has worked with X-Teams and characters for decades, idolizing Wolverine. Doctor Doom, meanwhile, is a Krakoan skeptic, representing Latveria. As expressed during 2022’s Gala, Doom is resentful of how the X-Men have positioned themselves on the intergalactic stage. Whether Iron Man, Deadpool, Professor X or Doctor Doom, the Hellfire Gala cosplays highlighted are truly a cross-section of all the perspectives offered on mutants.