# MCM Comic Con London October 2026 – Three Days of Fandom, Cosplay and The Variant
From sunny Manchester to a rather stormy London, we were heading to MCM Comic Con for three days of everything nerdy, geeky and absolutely brilliant.
The weather clearly didn’t get the memo that thousands of fans were heading to the capital for a weekend of fun, but did it stop anyone turning up?
Not a chance.
We spent Friday, Saturday and Sunday at ExCeL London covering MCM Comic Con October 2026, from the celebrity Q&A panels and gaming experiences to Artist Alley, the merchandise stalls and of course, the cosplay.
And this year was a little different for Comic Movie DB because we had somebody new joining us.
More on him shortly.
Daredevil, Hellaverse and the People Behind the Characters
One of the things we love about attending conventions is getting the opportunity to sit down and listen to the people behind the characters we’ve spent years watching.
This weekend we caught the Daredevil panel with Charlie Cox, Vincent D’Onofrio and Wilson Bethel, discussing the series, what the future might hold and some of the funny things that happen when the cameras aren’t rolling.
One story about Wilson falling asleep during filming in Season 2 certainly gave everyone a laugh.
It’s those little moments I enjoy. We spend so much time watching these actors play incredibly serious characters, especially in something like Daredevil, that it’s nice to see them having a laugh and sharing stories about what actually happens on set.
We also discovered a new appreciation for Hellaverse.
Vivienne Medrano, Bryce Pinkham and Georgina Leahy gave a really interesting insight into the amount of work that goes into creating an animated show, and honestly, I don’t think I’d fully appreciated just how complicated that process can be.
They spoke about the scripts and how difficult it becomes to change things once the animation process is underway. Unlike live action, where you might be able to adjust a scene or try something different on the day, animation takes so much planning that you really need to know what you’re creating before everything starts coming together.
Which must be a little terrifying when you’re putting something out there and hoping the fans love it.
Thankfully, the Hellaverse fandom certainly doesn’t seem to be going anywhere.
What I also loved was hearing how much fun they have making it. There’s clearly a lot of work involved, but also plenty of laughter along the way.
Gaming, Red Bull and a Reminder That We’re Getting Old
Now, I think we may have enjoyed the Red Bull stand a little too much.
First of all, whoever was responsible for keeping everyone supplied with Red Bull, thank you. Much appreciated when you’ve spent three days walking around an enormous convention centre.
But then there were the competitions.
Some of the challenges looked absolutely insane, although we did manage to hold a high score for most of Saturday on the football light challenge.
I’m taking that as a win.
Considering how many people were having a go, I think we’re entitled to celebrate that one. Even if somebody probably came along five minutes after we left and absolutely destroyed our score.
Ubisoft had gone all out with its Rayman experience too, with eight different sections for multiplayer action and even a chill-out area when your fingers finally needed a break.
The Final Fantasy Resonance booth seemed to have queues whenever we walked past, which tells you everything about how much interest there was.
Then we reached Nintendo.
Forty years of The Legend of Zelda.
FORTY YEARS!
Nothing quite reminds you how old you’re getting like walking around a gaming stand and realising something you grew up playing is celebrating its 40th anniversary.
We also got to meet the one and only Super Mario, which was pretty awesome. I don’t think you ever really grow out of seeing characters from your childhood brought to life.
Well, I certainly haven’t.
It’s Not Just About the Big Stands
As impressive as some of the bigger companies were this year, we always enjoy exploring the smaller stands and meeting the people behind them.
Artist Alley was packed with creative talent, and we had some great conversations with merchants, artists and makers who are working hard to get their creations out into the world.
We even stopped by the Royal Navy stand, which had a pretty impressive setup in the back of a Land Rover.
That’s one of the things I love about MCM. You can go from chatting to somebody who’s just starting out selling their artwork to standing in front of a huge gaming experience, then turn a corner and find something completely different.
And everyone is there because they love what they do.
For us, that’s what makes these weekends special. It’s not always about the biggest celebrity or the most expensive display. Sometimes it’s just having a conversation with somebody who’s passionate about something they’ve created.
The Fandom Really Is What Makes Comic Con
We met some absolutely awesome cosplayers and fans over the weekend.
And the more conventions we attend, the more I realise just how similar we all are, regardless of where we come from or what we’re into.
You might have somebody dressed as an anime character standing next to an Avenger, a horror villain walking past a Disney princess or a group of gamers arguing about which character would win in a fight.
And nobody really bats an eyelid.
That’s Comic Con.
People from completely different backgrounds coming together because they love something, whether that’s a movie, series, comic, game or a character they’ve followed since childhood.
It’s also why we want Comic Movie DB to be more than just a website with movie reviews and ratings. We want the fans to be part of it, sharing their opinions, showing off their cosplay and celebrating the characters that mean something to them.
Which brings me nicely onto somebody we introduced at MCM this weekend.
Meet The Variant – Our New Original Cosplay Character
Some of you might remember The Mancdalorian.
Well, RIP Mancdalorian.
We loved creating him, but with the character being heavily inspired by an existing franchise, we started thinking about potential copyright issues further down the line and whether it was time to create something that was actually ours.
And that’s how The Variant came to life.
Rather than building another costume based on an existing character, we wanted to create our own hero, with his own story, abilities and a reason for being part of all the different fandoms we love.
The Variant can travel between universes. Marvel, DC, anime, gaming, horror, sci-fi… nowhere is really out of reach.
He’s not there to be the loudest or strongest character in the room. He’s the one in the background, quietly making sure things happen the way they should.
If somebody needs help, he’s there. If something needs putting right, he’ll do what he can, usually without anybody even realising he was involved.
He’s the unsung hero.
And because his story isn’t tied to one particular franchise, it gives us the freedom to explore all the different worlds and characters we enjoy.
I’ll be honest, we weren’t entirely sure how people would react to him at MCM.
When you’re walking around in a completely original costume, nobody knows who you’re supposed to be. There’s no instantly recognisable Marvel or Star Wars character for people to point at.
We were also a little worried that some of the younger children might find him intimidating.
Turns out we didn’t need to worry.
The response was brilliant!
Kids loved him, people were stopping to ask who he was, what universe he came from and how we’d built the armour. We had some lovely conversations with other cosplayers too, which made all the time spent creating him feel worthwhile.
And I think that’s what I enjoyed most about the whole thing.
People weren’t recognising a character they’d seen in a movie. They were genuinely curious about somebody new.
For a character we’d created ourselves, that meant a lot.
We’ll be sharing more about The Variant, his story and the work that went into bringing him to life very soon.
Thank You MCM London!
Three days, a ridiculous amount of walking, plenty of Red Bull and more footage than we probably know what to do with.
But what a weekend.
From the celebrity panels and gaming stands to meeting creators, artists and cosplayers, MCM London once again reminded us why we love being part of this community.
A massive thank you to Hannah and everyone at Midas for inviting Comic Movie DB down to cover the event. We really do appreciate the continued support and the opportunity to be part of these weekends.
And thank you to everyone who stopped to chat, posed for a photo, spoke to us about their cosplay or came over to meet The Variant.
We’ll be sharing plenty of footage from the weekend across our socials, so keep an eye out. And if you spot yourself in anything, give us a shout!
Until the next one, Fandom! 🙂
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