Florida Supercon 2026 kicks off weekend in Miami Beach

If you’ve ever pondered just how dedicated Florida Supercon fans are, wonder no more: They’re hardcore.

On Friday, they braved ruthless traffic, sizzling heat, melting body paint, questionable footwear and heavy props, all in the name of cosplaying their favorite characters from video games, anime, manga, comics, TV and movies.

The annual gathering, which runs through Sunday at the Miami Beach Convention Center, drew thousands of fans to the three-day event for panels, games, photo ops, dance parties and autograph signings. But as always, one of the highlights is the cosplayers and the creativity they display.

They transform pool noodles into tentacles. Shape cardboard and styrofoam into swords. Dust off gardening gloves for a higher purpose, or at least just to hear admiring fellow fans shout “You look AMAZING!” with true appreciation.

The convention floor was packed with the requisite Marvel superheros (Spiderman remains a favorite, tights and all). There were evil fairies with glowing eyes. A pregnant Winnie the Pooh. Marios and Luigis. A “Bridgerton” lady (who confessed to pulling off her shoes under all those skirts because ow). Richard Attenborough’s John Hammond from “Jurassic Park,” riding an inflatable T-Rex. Ghostbusters, after all these years.

One of the most popular costumes on this hot, hot summer day was Monkey D. Luffy from the anime series “One Piece,” mostly because Monkey wears shorts, a vest, a hat and no shirt. It was a good day to be Monkey.

Good and bad guys from the ever-sprawling “Star Wars” universe were also popular, which is fitting, as “Star Wars” star Hayden Christensen appears on a panel Saturday. Best of all, Florida Supercon remains one of the few spots in Miami where you can hear the following sentence, spoken with the utmost passion: “These battle droids are so fire.”

Here are some of our favorite costumes from the 2026 Florida Supercon.

Ava Bachryj cosplays as Hua Cheng from the Chinese fantasy romance ‘Heaven Official’s Blessing’ during Florida Supercon 2026 in Miami Beach. Photo by Matias J. Ocner mocner@miamiherald.com Noah Decembre cosplays as Goku from ‘Dragon Ball Z’ during Florida Supercon 2026. Photo by Matias J. Ocner mocner@miamiherald.com Craig Miller, a member of the 501st Legion, cosplays as Arc Trooper Fives from ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ during Florida Supercon 2026. Photo by Matias J. Ocner mocner@miamiherald.com Jared Gardner cosplays as Tenna from the role-playing videogame ‘’Deltarune’ during Florida Supercon 2026. Photo by Matias J. Ocner mocner@miamiherald.com Teryian Folkes cosplays as Master Roshi from ‘Dragon Ball Z’ during Florida Supercon 2026. Photo by Matias J. Ocner mocner@miamiherald.com Ben Albert cosplays as KV-2 Tank from the anime ‘Girls Und Panzer’ during Florida Supercon 2026. Photo by Matias J. Ocner mocner@miamiherald.com J.D. looks at his Pomeranian-Shiba Inu, Roxy Foxy, who is cosplaying as Woody, during Florida Supercon 2026 at the Miami Beach Convention Center on Friday, July 10, 2026, in Miami Beach, Fla. J.D. and his Pomeranian-Shiba Inu mix Roxy Foxy, who is cosplaying as Woody from the ‘Toy Story’ franchise, at Florida Supercon 2026. Photo by Matias J. Ocner mocner@miamiherald.com Ben Alonso cosplays as Prototype from the video game ‘Poppy Play Time’ at Florida Supercon 2026. Photo by Matias J. Ocner mocner@miamiherald.com Salvatore Pizzi cosplays as the Witch-king of Angmar from ‘Lord of the Rings’ at Florida Supercon 2026. Photo by Matias J. Ocner mocner@miamiherald.com Rosabella Paez cosplays as Shadow Milk Cookie from the video game ‘Cookie Run: Kingdom’ during Florida Supercon 2026. Photo by Matias J. Ocner mocner@miamiherald.com Eduardo Lagares cosplays as Wolverine from ‘X-Men’ during Florida Supercon 2026. Photo by Matias J. Ocner mocner@miamiherald.com Amanda Walling cosplays as a dark fairy at Florida Supercon 2026. Photo by Matias Ocner mocner@miamiherald.com Sebastian Bolivar cosplays as Kris from ‘Deltarune’ during Florida Supercon 2026. Photo by Matias J. Ocner mocner@miamiherald.com Richard Rodriguez cosplays as Jinbe from the anime series ‘One Piece’ during Florida Supercon 2026. Photo by Matias J. Ocner mocner@miamiherald.com Terrell Lewis cosplays as Qifrey from the manga ‘Witch Hat Atelier’ at Florida Supercon 2026. Photo by Matias J. Ocner mocner@miamiherald.com Justin Aragon cosplays as Ice King from the animated series ‘Adventure Time’ during Florida Supercon 2026. Photo by Matias J. Ocner mocner@miamiherald.com Brianna Galeano cosplays as Riyo Reaper from the manga series ‘Gachiakuta’ during Florida Supercon 2026. Photo by Matias J. Ocner mocner@miamiherald.com Kristen Giordano cosplays as an original character from the Netflix series ‘Bridgerton’ during Florida Supercon 2026. Photo by Matias J. Ocner mocner@miamiherald.com Maddy cosplays as Alice Angel from the horror franchise ‘Bendy’ during Florida Supercon 2026. Photo by Matias J. Ocner mocner@miamiherald.com Angelita Izaguirre cosplays as Rize Kamishiro from the dark fantasy ‘Tokyo Ghoul’ during Florida Supercon 2026. Photo by Matias J. Ocner mocner@miamiherald.com Maelyn Brown cosplays as Sailor Pluto from the series ‘Sailor Moon’ during Florida Supercon 2026. Photo by Matias J. Ocner mocner@miamiherald.com Angelo Zervos cosplays as the unnamed space explorer main character from the mystery game ‘Outer Wilds’ during Florida Supercon 2026. Photo by Matias J. Ocner mocner@miamiherald.com Sebastian Grace cosplays as The Courier from the video game and TV series ‘Fallout: New Vegas’ during Florida Supercon 2026. Photo by Matias J. Ocner mocner@miamiherald.com Christopher Warrens cosplays as Nero from the game ‘Devil May Cry 4’ during Florida Supercon 2026. Photo by Matias J. Ocner mocner@miamiherald.com Timothy Alonso cosplays as Huggy Wuggy from the video game ‘Poppy Play Time’ during Florida Supercon 2026. Photo by Matias J. Ocner mocner@miamiherald.com Florida Supercon