Hundreds of people adorned in heroic attire gathered at the U.S. Capitol Reflecting Pool in D.C. April 18.
The goal? To hold the largest gathering of outfitted heroes.
D.C. comic convention Awesome Con hosted the event with support from the Museum of Science Fiction to kick off the event held from April 18 to April 20.
DreamWorks Animation set the record of 1,580 costumed heroes in 2010, according to Guinness World Records. This recent gathering managed to pull in 237 “cosplayers,” said Awesome Con employee Patrick Strange.
“Cosplay” is a term used to describe the practice of dressing as fictional characters.
Founder of Awesome Con Ben Penrod came up with the idea in an attempt to get people excited for the convention.
“We threw some ideas around and eventually it went from a small get-together into a gigantic world record attempt,” Penrod said.
The record was also an attempt to make D.C. “the capital of cosplay,” Strange said.
Characters seen at the event included Captain America, Hellboy, Robin, Scarlet Witch, Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, Azazel and many more.
Many people’s costumes were more than a Superman T-shirt or a mask. One man painted his entire body with silver acrylic paint to transform himself into Colossus. Another girl said she spent two days making her entirely crocheted outfit.
Many in attendance felt confident the event would break the record.
“I think we have a good chance to crush [the other record-holders],” Jesse Hodges, dressed as Robin, said.
However, Strange predicted a different outcome.
“It’s a little cold out, so I think a lot of people didn’t come because of that and the weather,” Strange said, “but it’s cool. We’re trying and we’re having a good time.”
Even though the record was not broken, Ira Sumarno said she still enjoyed the event. She took the day off from work and got to have fun with her son and husband, she said.
John Barclay, dressed as Hellboy, said he spent three hours getting ready and was happy despite the outcome of the event.
“It was definitely worth it to come out here, have a great time, see all these other superheroes, hang out with cool people,” Barclay said.
