C2E2 2025 Was A Weekend Of Nerds, Normies, And Nostalgia Nuts
It has been two weeks since the Chicago Comics Entertainment Expo closed its gates and dismissed the 85,000+ attendees back to their mild-mannered, daily lives. They left quietly with their hearts heavy, but with wallets rendered weightless from a massive overdose of impulsive spending.
Those who attended carry with them varying levels of emotions. For many, it was a magical weekend of excitement, laughter, gawking at famous people, and connecting with kindred spirits who share the same enthusiasm to be part of the fandom of fantastical fiction.
Then there are the ones who are just now regaining themselves after three soul-draining days of unwanted social interactions, and wading through large crowds of sweaty, cosplaying humanity that feels the need to come to an abrupt halt in the middle of a busy walkway for no reason other than to stare off into space for a moment. If there’s one thing they all have in common, it’s a love for geek culture, and another is the deep understanding that leg day must never EVER be skipped.
The 15th annual Chicago Comics Entertainment Expo came and went with a record-breaking 100,000+ nerds, nerdettes, and normies of all ages in attendance to engage in the exact same things they do online, but in actual reality, and with way less toxic mud-slinging.
The event is located at McCormick Place in a gentrified patch of Chicago’s South Loop area that’s only a bullet’s throw away from neighborhoods in desperate need of a hero, and visitors will quickly find out what happens if they wander too far down the street in any direction besides north. Other than that safety tip, it is a time for celebration.
A respite for those who’ve been wise enough to maintain the fires of childhood wonder within their hearts, and need an escape from the banal, hopeless, dreamless world of adulting. Along with this, it gives some individuals a chance to brush up on their people skills, or it at least gives them enough reason to go back inside, and avoid massive crowds for another year.
C2E2 is one of the few places where one can see firsthand what happens when worlds collide between the overbearingly gregarious and those whose social capabilities range from something like a chihuahua that was fed amphetamines its entire life to a complete misanthrope that even Marv from Sin City would try to avoid. Whether the experience helps them or only diminishes their desire to ever do it again is anybody’s guess, but at least they got some physical exercise in their lives.
Then there are the brave souls who throw caution (and hydration) to the wind by dressing up as their favorite character, even if it means burying themselves alive in a overheating makeshift costume with no air flow to vent the intoxicating fumes from the industrial adhesive that’s holding everything together, and then to go stumble blindly through a horde of humans which give off their own considerable amount of body heat within close proximity.
As uncomfortable as it must be for people to walk around in the air conditioning with hardly a strap of clothing to cover their body parts, at least they can keep warm by walking, and not just add to their self-imposed hellish torment. This doesn’t even include the ordeal of having complete strangers walk up and ask to take a picture every five seconds, nor does it consider the strangers who don’t walk away after taking said picture, but that’s what lightsabers are for.
Unlike so many conventions out there, C2E2 caters to all forms of entertainment (or at least the ones that are legal). It gives gamers a chance to mingle with each other offline and discuss matters that range from the Diablo Immortal/Berserk crossover to a good ol’ fashioned round of DnD.
The Jedi order cross paths with the United Federation of Planets, the weebs eat their lunches next to Hobbits, and Daredevil teams up with Inosuke Hashibira from Demon Slayer to crack some skulls, or at least until their egos clash. A cornucopia of dreamers invaded each other’s space, but not a single photon torpedo was fired. That is a miracle, and miracles are the way things ought to be. Can you dig it?
Scattered about the seemingly endless Show Room were booths with people giving makeup tutorials, and costume repair instructions for those panicking cosplayers who already knew that they’re only one wrong body movement away from Hulking (or She-Hulking) out of their costumes in front of everyone. There were costume contests all weekend, and a big talent show on Saturday for anybody feeling confident enough to evaluate their might against all comers, fighting to reach that upper echelon at the center of everyone’s attention around them.
They are like a hybrid between the aforementioned gregarious and antisocial types who crave your eyes, but not the words coming from beneath them. Not that every cosplayer wants people staring at them all day. Many don the mask, cowl, and/or makeup to step outside themselves: To cast aside the burdens that come with the dreary daily grind, and escape a treacherous reality which is quickly turning into some doomed alternate timeline where Ultron has clearly defeated everyone on Marvel’s hero roster.
They are the ones who use it as an outlet to counterbalance the proper vanilla demeanor society imposes upon them, and they’re given a chance to show more of their dark side. It was lovely to see so many people gathered together, and having a good time with smiles that were wide, and genuine, even if they looked out of practice.
To see strangers wearing familiar faces, and how that could eventually lead to them ceasing to be the former, but that’s assuming they can even stutter a few words out before dashing away with embarrassment, where they can walk alone while looking at the billions of collectables on display. Alcohol is served at the convention (and at astronomical costs!) for those looking to calm their nerves, but booze has a funny way of backfiring in social settings.
Or they could try their luck at a retro arcade game presented by Galloping Ghost Arcade of suburban Brookfield. This fifteen-year-old wonderland proudly wears the crown of the largest arcade in the country, and they brought several games to C2E2 for free play all weekend.
Classics such as Rampage, Altered Beast, Galaga, NBA Jam: Extreme, or someone can play Mortal Kombat II as Scorpion, and easily beat two adults in a row, but then get destroyed by a hyperactive little blonde girl wearing a dark blue ballcap in perhaps the most tragic three-round Mirror Match of all time.
The most strategic minds can only do such much against smaller hands that know all of the character’s moves, and can also press the correct combination of buttons a lot faster. It is great to see parents showing their kids the ways of old, even if that youngster is going down in a rematch next year.
There isn’t much that can replace the warm feeling when a heavy wave of nostalgia crashes across the jaded stone of a heart that yearns for the past, but grows weary of seeing it constantly repeated in the present, then seeping into a place inside where the original still holds the test of time, and it has no need for a retread.
Not only is it something most fans of geekdom have roiling inside them, but it’s something that can be passed along to later generations. Of course, that’s if they left their homes a little more often.
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