Does cosplay affect geopolitics? It does not. Does it drive the nation's economy? Not unless the United States' biggest global export happens to be glue guns or Lycra. What cosplay does do, though, is act as a barometer, a handy gauge displaying the various pressures influencing the zeitgeist. While there might be something fun in dressing up as an anonymous henchman or a deep-cut fan favorite—or, as seen at Comic-Con this year, Bill Lumbergh from Office Space—only very special cases can inspire large numbers of people to buy or create an intricate costume in hopes of embodying, even becoming that character.
Last year, Rey for The Force Awakens was one of those special cases. And as this year's Comic-Con loomed closer, we at WIRED thought we had a decent idea of who the breakout cosplay choice might be: Wonder Woman. Patty Jenkins' movie celebrating the comic-book legend is so far the highest-grossing film of the summer, after all, so we figured there would be quite a few little (and less little) Wonder Wannabes walking around San Diego.
Turns out we underestimated things by a long shot.
Wonder Women were everywhere. On the expo floor. In Hall H. Waiting in lines to get into panels. Sitting in restaurants. On sidewalks and stairways, in signings and Starbucks, dozens and dozens of women (and a few men) were letting their Themysciran flag fly. We couldn't photograph and talk to all of them, of course, but we wanted to try and at least give you some sense of how the long-overdue multiplex emergence of one of DC's greatest heroes had affected the very essence of Comic-Con this year. We'll see you next year, San Diego—and we can't wait to see who everyone's newest hero is in 2018.
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