With Avengers: Infinity War‘s shocking ending and huge box office success, we were bound to see a Thanos or two (or a hundred) at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con. But what we didn’t expect was to see one that would simultaneously bring us so much joy and fear. One man, who goes by the name darknytestudios on all social media platforms, dressed up as Cholo Thanos. This improved version of the Marvel villain doesn’t need an Infinity Gauntlet to rule the entire universe; instead, his endless powers come from an Infinity Chancla, which are already adorned with six stones. (When he snaps his finger, the chancla probably strikes half the world’s malcriados.)
Batt Rivera, a graphic designer nailed the look with the help of a plaid shirt, converse, long socks, bandana, and of course, a chancla. But of course he would. At this point in his life, he’s an expert at bringing out the cholo in different characters. “I’ve done cholo-styled cosplay for a few years now,” he tells me in an email. “I once had an idea to do a cholo Joker, but I had always wanted a chola Harley Quinn to go with the idea. A friend of mine, Leela Bluepins, graciously thought it would be an amazing idea. So the two of us embarked on what would be the beginning of my cholo cosplay.”
The look was a hit, and since then he’s mixed it up with a few other cholo-fied characters. “I did a full on puntastic cholo version of my favorite ’80s cartoon, the Thundercats with Cho-Lion-O, and also Green Lantern since I have it tattooed on my hand. I kind of had them on the back burner for a bit when a friend of mine posted an Infinity Chancla meme. That is when the idea came to me that Thanos could be a cholo, and he would wield the deadliest weapon in all of the universe. I can’t take credit the chancla; it did, however, inspire the new cosplay.”
Like most of his costumes, he first tried it out at WonderCon. For SDCC, it came together last minute, but once he got to the venue, he fully committed to his character. “Every time I turned a corner, it seemed like someone was giggling because they noticed the Infinity Chancla,” he added. “I stopped at a taco shop to have lunch and when I walked out this lady was practically in tars laughing when she saw me. She could hardly speak, and that probably really sold me on this being something special.”
While no one asked him to hurl the chancla at them (because no one’s trying to relive this childhood moment), he did have fun vanquishing at least one Spider-Man. Check out a few pictures of his adventure below.
Update, July 26, 2018 at 10:30 a.m. ET: We have updated this story to include quotes from Rivera.