WHAT’S YOUR SAY IN COSPLAY: Glenmarc Antonio on Deadpool

In some parts of the geek crowd and in geek conventions and events, you would get to see Glenmarc Antonio cosplaying as The Flash. Recently, he’s been cosplaying as a Star Wars character Darth Z’umm. But what most of us don’t know is that he is also one of the few people who cosplayed Deadpool here in the Philippines even before the Merc with a Mouth became quite famous outside comic books. With the Deadpool Movie hitting the theaters this week, we here at Flipgeeks have decided to have a talk with Glen and ask him a few questions about him cosplaying the Deadpool.

FLIPGEEKS: First off, do you see yourself in Deadpool sometimes? Like a kind of resemblance between the two of you?
GLENMARC ANTONIO: Oh, yes. Absolutely. I think my innate wackiness has helped me translate Deadpool from comics to real life cosplay. Resemblance? I can’t really tell. But I don’t mind being called the younger version of Ryan Reynolds though.

Going back and seeing myself as Deadpool, there were a lot of times really. Snarkiness, sarcasm, and tons of pop culture reference before facing a big challenge? Yep… that’s pretty much like me right there.

What made you decide to cosplay as Deadpool?
Back in 2011, Deadpool cosplays weren’t too common yet. One of my friends who’s part of (cosplay group) Fil X-Men, Karl Chua did it first locally. I think his version was much closer to the Rob Liefeld look (all serious and with pouches).

So when I started collecting Deadpool action figures and his mainstream appeal was steadily growing, I decided to try my hand in wearing the Deadpool suit. Trivia: I first owned a Deadpool suit BEFORE a Flash suit!

So I had a Deadpool suit made (the one I’m using now is actually half-a-decade old) but I wanted my look to be unique so I went for the version with the Y-harness (with chest teleporter in front and two sword sheaths at the back). The costume incorporates two different masks: the regular head mask and the ninja hoodie head mask. It allowed me to vary my costume for every event.

What are your favorite moments while cosplaying as Deadpool?
Some of my favorite moments while cosplaying as DP include:
-Doing all sorts of crazy poses and not having to care a thing simply because my face is covered and also because that’s what he does in the comics. I can do serious action poses and random wacky ones without going out of character.
-I can also troll people on a whim simply because I’m staying in theme with Deadpool’s personality. That includes photobombing shoots of my friends, going crazy onstage and more!
-Getting so much fan love without hearing “Hey, it’s Spider-Man… with katanas!”. Deadpool is sooo big now that people actually recognize him without confusing him with any other character.

What was the most weirdest thing you did as Deadpool?
The weirdest thing I think I ever did as Deadpool was go up the stage during a cosplay contest and just hammed it up as the Merc. I never really join contests or skits during cosplay events as I normally prefer just going around with my friends but the moment was too good to pass up!

What is the thing you most want to do when cosplaying Deadpool?
I’m absolutely a fan of forming cosplay teams/sub-groups, so the main thing I want to do while cosplaying as Deadpool is getting ‘team’ shots or ‘versus’ shots in with other cosplayers. That includes forming Uncanny X-Force, Team X, Deadpool Corps, Thunderbolts, Deadpool with Domino, Deadpool vs Snake Eyes (G.I. Joe), Deadpool & Domino vs Joker & Harley and many more!

Any pet peeves when cosplaying the Merc with a Mouth?
Basically about three pet peeves:
-People not knowing the Deadpool at all. And essentially just calling me Spider-Man or Iron Man in costume.
-People think they can do away with totally wacky poses all the time. I mean, yeah, that’s part of the fun but sometimes some fans just go overboard.
-People just playing around with my cosplay props too much. Those aren’t toys, yo!

If you were to meet Deadpool in real life, what would you say to him?
Comic book Deadpool: Dude, you seriously need to run for public office. The world would be much more fun if you did.
Cinematic Ryan Reynolds – Deadpool: You are doing a fantastic job as Wade.. can I give you a hug? *slaps butt*

What are you expecting from the Deadpool movie?
For it to be sooooo good that it would actually translates into being a movie franchise (trilogy, anyone?).

As a Deadpool cosplayer, how do you feel about the huge probability of the amount of Deadpool cosplayers to increase in the Philippines?
It’s bound to happen. I just sincerely hope cosplayers will not mess up the fandom by becoming all too predictable and all too mainstream. More fun for everyone of course… but, hey. Don’t f*** it up.

Any message to those who want to cosplay Deadpool after the movie comes out?
Please study the source material. Understand why Wade is Wade. His motivations, his quirks, and his eccentricities. Do read the comics, whilst getting good inspiration from the live-action movie. Don’t just lock yourself in the wisecracking Deadpool version. There are a whole lot of Deadpool costumes and renditions over the years… feel free to showcase that too.

But most of all.. HAVE FUN WHILE PISSING PEOPLE OFF!

For more about Glenmarc Antonio, you can contact him thru:
Instagram: https://instagram.com/i_am_flash/
Twitter: @I_Am_Flash
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/FlashQuickChange