There's something special about those cosplayers who go the extra mile. Whether it involves a convincing weapon replica or perhaps a Ciri cosplay made with real leather from scratch, that little surplus of effort lends a nice seasoning of authenticity to what is already a remarkable piece of art. But what happens when going the extra mile involves actual literal lightning? Well, apparently they get some actual literal lightning, as seen with this Thor fan.
A fan wanted to create a cosplay that would impress Thor himself, and if he was going to pull it off, nothing less than a force of nature would suffice. Well, maybe a force of science would have to do. So he built his own hammer, draped himself in chainmail, and let the good times roll. The God of Thunder himself would probably settle for nothing less, to be fair.
Reddit user and Cleveland inventor Ian Charnas put a ton of effort into the whole affair, refusing to stop at a simple well-made outfit. It's one thing to create an accurate Thor (or Lady Thor) cosplay and enhance it with some visual effects afterward. But it's another entirely to make some real practical lightning. Holding aloft his custom hammer, the whole piece brimmed with electricity from 2 giant Tesla coils flanking the hopefully extremely cautious cosplayer.
Luckily, Charnas was nice enough to also post a video of his process, from the metal used to sculpt the hammer itself all the way to a sparky rendition of Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" (as heard in Marvel Studios' Thor: Ragnarok) played using the previously mentioned Tesla coils. That last part may be what brought the whole ensemble from great to fantastic. But even the single static picture of Charnas in his full cosplay with lightning striking his made-from-scratch Mjolnir is enough to take one's breath away.
But how does he stay safe during all this? Well, aside from apparently having the mind of a mad scientist, Charnas wore chainmail underneath the Thor outfit to act as a sort of Faraday cage, shielding him from the electricity. Sure, it sort of gives him a bit of a metallic ghost look, but on the bright side, it sort of gives him a metallic ghost look.
High effort, passionate projects like this are what really make it worthwhile to keep up with fan art and cosplay. It's a naturally passionate form of art in the first place, so anybody who manages to still go above and beyond generally deserves praise from Chris Hemsworth himself. But hopefully, no kids try this one at home. The Tesla coils would be far too big to fit in the living room.
Thor: Love and Thunder is scheduled to be released in theaters on May 6, 2022.
Source: Charnatopia/Reddit