The 20 best costumes we saw at Phoenix Fan Fusion 2023

Local geeks came to Phoenix Fan Fusion 2023 in droves — and many were suited up in style. Costumes and cosplayers were legion at the three-day pop culture convention from June 2 to 4 in downtown Phoenix as attendees portrayed characters from movies, television shows, video games, anime, and comic books.

Besides all the usual con standbys — including multiple Mandalorians, a slew of superheroes, and dozens of Deadpools — this year’s Fan Fusion was populated by cosplayers who went above and beyond with fantastic and memorable costumes. They stood out from the crowd or caught people’s eyes with their creative, unique, or impressive get-ups.

We’re taking the opportunity to highlight these individuals who, in our humble opinion, wore the best costumes at Phoenix Fan Fusion 2023.

Victory Bot

Leo Gutierrez of Yuma wore what was arguably one of the most unique costumes we’ve ever seen at Fan Fusion: A robot suit made from cardboard and paper that essentially served as a walking canvas for others to write or draw on. “I originally had the idea of a shirt people could sign, but that was a little too bland,” Gutierrez says. “So I decided to amp it up.” Sometimes less is more.

The Demon King

It was hard to miss local goth artist and cosplayer EX001 at his booth in Fan Fusion’s Exhibitor Hall, considering he was wearing enormous black wings that towered over the crowd. “They tend to stand out, don’t they?” he says. EX001 uses the wings, as well as a pair of red and black horns, to transform himself into The Demon King, an original character he’s described as “The monster in your nightmares” and “The fiend of a thousand faces.”

Deirdre Beaubeirdre

Given the sheer popularity of “Everything Everywhere All At Once,” it ain’t surprising people cosplayed characters from the bonkers sci-fi/fantasy film at Fan Fusion. And Marc Leatham’s tribute to Deirdre Beaubeirdre, the cranky IRS auditor played by Jamie Lee Curtis, was one of the best we encountered. The Chandler resident mimicked the character’s frumpy outfit, right down to her wrist splint and a beaded necklace, and also brought along a recreation of one of her infamous “Auditor of the Month” trophies. Thankfully, it was merely an accessory to his cosplay and wasn’t, um, “used” to activate any multiversal superpowers.

Cal Kestis

The Force is strong with Seligman resident Bryant Miller’s cosplay of Cal Kestis, the former Padawan who escaped Order 66 and fought the Galactic Empire in the video games “Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order” and “Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.” Miller describes himself as a “huge fan” of the character. “[Cal’s] story is so compelling and he’s in some of the best ‘Star Wars’ games in a long time,” he says. Miller admits most of the work he put into the costume was 3D-printing his mockup of BD-1, the pint-sized droid used by Cestis. “It took a couple of weeks to print all the pieces, assemble it, and mount it,” Miller says.

Calypso

Valley resident Simone Young got mythological with her costume for Fan Fusion. She cosplayed Calypso, the mythical goddess-nymph and daughter of Titan who has come to represent the ocean. As such, Young donned a blue bodysuit covered with fish, coral, an octopus, and other aquatic flora and fauna. She says the costume took three months to make and illustrates her affinity for nature. “I love all the elemental [parts of nature], so I wanted to embody the entire ocean. It's made for one of the more unique and high-concept costumes we encountered at the event.

Retro Amidala

Cosplay isn’t always about creating screen-accurate reproductions of costumes seen in famous movies or TV shows. Folks will sometimes give things a remix to make something new and unique. To wit: Kayleigh Jones of Chandler gave Queen Amidala’s regal throne room gown from “Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace” a retro twist, creating a 1950s-style dress with a poodle skirt and other vintage flourishes. According to Jones, the hand-sewn outfit took 35 hours of work to create. The movie that inspired the get-up might be a bit substandard, but this cosplay certainly isn’t.

‘Midsommar’ cosplay

This couple's costume illustrates how almost any movie could be cosplayed, even one as unsettling as the folk horror film “Midsommar.” Created by Houston resident Evy Freeman, it features her in the May Queen floral dress worn by Dani at the end of the flick. Meanwhile, Michael Cummings of Phoenix wore a recreation of the bear carcass that Christian was stuffed into before being sacrificed. “It’s my favorite movie,” Freeman says. “I made him watch it the other day.” She originally planned to make the bear costume grizzlier (no pun intended). “I was going to make some fake intestines, but I ran out of time,” Freeman says, laughing.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles family

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fandom was one of the focuses of this year’s Fan Fusion. A “Turtles Shell-A-Bration” was a part of the con and featured the chance to meet actors and crew members from the live-action films from the early ‘90s. A number of con-goers also came as characters from TMNT comic books and cartoons, including Julio and Leanna Miera. The Peoria couple showed up as the villainous Shredder and the masked vigilante Casey Jones, respectively, as a way to celebrate their fandom for the franchise. They also got their daughter Hazel involved, dressing her up as April O’Neil. “We love the Turtles and all that stuff so we decided to cosplay [the characters],” Leanna says.

Rita Repulsa and Lord Zedd

Longtime fans of “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers” will likely recognize the costumes worn by Sara and Michael Angell to this year’s Fan Fusion. The Phoenix couple came to the event as Rita Repulsa and Lord Zedd, arguably the two of the television show’s biggest villains. “I’ve loved Power Rangers since I was a kid,” Michael says. “I came across [Lord Zedd’s] helmet and I decided I had to play him, so I built an entire costume around it.” Would they consider having a friend play Ivan Ooze, another legendary villain from the “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers” universe? "Maybe next year,” Sara says.

Queen and King Cosplay

When Queen and King Cosplay of Phoenix came to Fan Fusion, they came to impress. The duo sported phenomenal-looking fursuits depicting Goldduck and Persian from “Pokémon,” which took three months to build, and proved why they were the very best (like no one ever was). They even took home an award in the “journeyman” category during the annual Masquerade Costume Contest.

Shao Kahn and Sindel

If you spent any time getting pwned playing the first few “Mortal Kombat” games, you know that Shao Kahn is quite the fearsome villain. Essentially the first “Big Bad” of the series, the tyrannical emperor ruled over Outworld with an iron fist and punished opponents with his sledgehammer and devastating moves. So when we saw this excellent cosplay of the character in Fan Fusion’s Exhibitor Hall, we automatically felt a Pavlovian need to start mashing the “block” button. He was accompanied by his wife, who cosplayed Shao Kahn’s bride Sindel. Thankfully, they allowed us to snap a photo without breaking any of our bones or stealing our souls.

‘The Clone Wars’ characters

Everyone could use a friend like Preston Woolsey. The cosplayer created custom-built armor and other costuming for himself and three of his friends to portray characters from “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” including Ahsoka Tano and Captain Rex. Made using vacuum-formed white styrene and 3D-printed materials, the project required plenty of elbow grease. "With the helmets, you can't really [vacuum-form plastic] because there are too many sharp edges,” Woolsey says. “I had to print all of our helmets and we just spent weeks sanding them down trying to get them as smooth as possible.” Can’t argue with the results, though, especially since the group cosplay won an award during Fan Fusion’s Masquerade Costume Contest.

Elizabethan Princess Peach

Starlit Memory Cosplay of Prescott gave Princess Peach from the “Super Mario” video game series an Elizabethan twist with her handmade costume. “It's all historically appropriate,” she says. “Everything is lined [and] all of the beading is individually tied off, so it took a very long time [to make].” (She also created the 3D-printed molded jewelry.) She got kudos from the judges of the Masquerade Costume Contest, who lauded her intricate craftsmanship of the dress.

Chewbacca and Princess Leia

Amy and Mitch Wright traveled all the way from Casper, Wyoming, to attend Phoenix Fan Fusion, and they came prepared. Mitch wore the enormous Chewbacca costume that took four months to create from countless strands of wig hair. His wife dressed as Princess Leia from the original “Star Wars,” complete with hair buns. Phoenix New Times asked if they brought along a medal to give to Chewbacca (since he never got one). "We must’ve left it on the ship,” she says, laughing.

A.S.G.A.R.D. and Lady Wheelsworth

Cosplayers and friends MJ Kammueller and Sterling Silverman not only created the costuming for their steampunk-themed alter-egos A.S.G.A.R.D. and Lady Wheelsworth, but they also plotted out each character’s imaginative backstories. To wit: Lady Wheelsworth, played by Silverman, is described as a “brilliant mechanic with a penchant for repair projects” who discovered A.S.G.A.R.D., a clockwork robot portrayed by Kammueller. “Basically, my character found this [automaton] in a scrap heap and repaired her,” Silverman says. “And from then on, we've been doing adventures at conventions.”

Moria Battle Dwarf Armor and Witch-king of Angmar

The story of how Colin Jones and his son Anthony ended up respectively dressing as a Moria Battle Dwarf and the Lich King from “The Lord of the Rings” is both geeky and heartwarming. Colin, a retired Phoenix Police officer, was working security at Fan Fusion and all of the great cosplay inspired him to build his own custom armor. “He thought everything and everyone looked awesome and he loves ‘Lord of the Rings,’” Anthony says. “So he made something for us.” Colin estimates it took upwards of 200 hours of work to mold and shape some EVA foam into replica armor, including using more than nine different colors to get the perfect shade of gun-metal gray.

Mollymauk Tealeaf

It's said that good things come to those who wait. Just ask Cheryl Hutchins of Tucson, whose award-winning cosplay of Mollymauk Tealeaf from the role-playing game web series “Critical Role” took four years to finish. “I've been working on it off and on,” she says. “It's been a long stretch.” According to a post on her Instagram account, Hutchins used a variety of techniques in the creation process, including hand-sewing the character’s technicolor jerkin. We’re not the only ones who appreciate her work, though. Hutchins won third place in the “journeyman” category at Fan Fusion’s annual Masquerade Costume Contest after judges applauded the time spent making the outfit and all the detailing and techniques she used.

Spartan Kratos

Enduring Phoenix’s early summertime heat while dressed in costuming is never easy, a fact that Lance Fite definitely knows. His amazing-looking cosplay of Kratos from the “God of War” series, which combined aspects from four different versions of the badass character, was made from EVA foam and actual metal armor. Fite says the costume was a little burdenous to wear at times, but he didn’t mind it too much. “My neck and shoulders don't love me by the end of the day, but my calves look great,” he says. Was it worth it? “Of course,” he says. Kratos would expect nothing less.

Alice in Wonderland

Phoenix resident Karlyn Herring, who cosplays as Lunar Lyn, created her intricate and highly detailed Alice in Wonderland costume completely from scratch. “I really wanted to challenge myself and make every layer from the foundation up, so I made the bloomers, the chemise, the corset, the cage, the crinoline, two different petticoats, and the dress,” Herring says. Her creativity didn’t end there, as she also used millinery to create a tiny hat and worked with crafting foam to make a Cheshire Cat-inspired mask. Herring’s exhaustive efforts were rewarded when she won an individual “Best in Show” award during Fan Fusion’s Masquerade.

‘Warhammer 40,000’ armors

Local cosplay armorer Joe Ramirez didn’t create just one costume for Fan Fusion; he built an entire army. Over the course of two years, the Chandler resident hand-crafted nine life-sized versions of armor from the popular miniatures game “Warhammer 40,000.” It was a labor of love, Ramirez says. "My son loves the game [but] I couldn't play. I'm actually horrible at it,” he says. “So I figured, 'You know what? I’ll make some costumes instead.’” Ramirez used EVA foam to construct four Adeptus Astartes Ultra Marines, four Adepta Sororitas (also known as the Sisters of Battle), and one Chaos God. His efforts impressed the crowd at Fan Fusion’s Masquerade Costume Contest (causing audible gasps as all nine armors marched onto the stage) and earned him the “Best in Show” award for groups.