5 Melting Cosplays For This Brutal Summer

It’s So Dang Hot Outside That Even Cosplays Should Be Melting

It’s hot outside. We’re in the depth of summer, and the heat is beating down. And there’s nothing much to do about it day-to-day except keep cool, drink water, and stay out of direct sunlight. But we can have a little fun with it—a little morbid humor.

If we’re going to feel like we’re melting, why not make cosplays around characters that melt? Characters that are more liquid than solid.

I’ve got five such cosplays, each from a different franchise, and somehow only one of them is from a game (I’m as surprised as you are). So, sit back, try not to turn into a puddle, and let’s get going.

Mud Monster (Goosebumps)  

I’m starting with something obscure. With over 200 Goosebumps books, you’d be forgiven for forgetting You Can’t Scare Me! from the original lineup. Now, I’ve not read that book in a very, very long time, and I don’t know if it holds up. I also don’t know how well the episode of the television show holds up—it probably doesn’t—but that’s where we’re pulling inspiration from. At the end of the episode, we see a (probably rubber) monster suit that mimics the muck and mud of a creek. No CGI there, so you can totally recreate it. Be sure to do only a full-body cosplay like this inside with air conditioning. Fake mud is not nearly as cooling as the real stuff.

Gelatinous Cube (D&D)

With the recent movie showcasing these classic monsters, I wanted to also give them a shout-out. These certainly ooze a lot, but also, as an added morbid bit of fun: they canonically melt people.

Creating a gelatinous cube as a cosplay is a challenge—because you must either totally obscure yourself or lean into being some poor adventurer trapped in a melting cube. But, in either case, nerds of all stripes will be delighted to see the classic monster roaming whatever convention hall you attend.  

Venom (Marvel/Spider-Man)

Sorry Carnage fans. Had to go with the original for this list. Venom is one of the classic slime monsters, able to do all sorts of inventive—and deadly—tricks with his shifting form. He also offers an interesting opportunity for some…layered cosplaying. Symbiotes can attach to all sorts of beings, and there’s no reason other cosplays can’t have their own symbiotes altering their personality. Venom-Deadpool. The Doctor with a Symbiote. Superman somehow even more powerful. Imagine the possibilities.   

Clayface (D.C.)

The other famous supervillain with a shifting form, Clayface is a challenging cosplay. He’s usually shown as big, with massive arms and a monstrous mouth. If you can figure out a way to have a transforming aspect to your cosplay, then obviously do that. There are many creative options, including having him half-transformed, so you don’t have to carry so much (probably foam) around on your body. Like with the Mud Monster, only do this when you can safely stay cool.

Goop (Ben 10)

Goop is a Polymorph from a planet called “Viscosia” (because Ben 10 has never been subtle with its naming conventions) with access to many powers, including shooting acidic slime out of his body. The main part of the cosplay is relatively simple, all things considered. He’s a green humanoid blob. But the actual formation of this species is the little spaceship floating above his head. And figuring out how you want to make a little floating object is the fun part. Will you use a halo-style trick? A clear material attached to your head? The gauntlet is thrown, and the challenge is there.

And those are a few melting cosplays to distract you from the melting heat outside, at least for a little while. There’s a fair number of slime and ooze-based characters, so even if none of these are what you want to do, there are still options to go amorphous.