When cosplayers conjure up Wonder Woman’s invisible jet, they’ll usually tell you to just use your imagination. But one little girl, with the help of her professional balloonist father, brought the make-believe plane to life.
Marty Pants, a Chicago-based balloonist who goes by the name “Smarty Pants,” recently shared an epic photo of his 5-year-old daughter, Penny, dressed up as Wonder Woman for a comic convention. But this tiny Amazon has something special: An entire invisible jet! Pants told io9 that Penny is a huge fan of DC Superhero Girls and jumped at the chance to cosplay for Milwaukee Comic Con earlier this month.
“She wanted to dress up as Wonder Woman and I said off-hand, ‘Why don’t I make you an invisible jet out of balloons?’ not realizing that with a 5-year-old, nothing is an off-hand joke,” Pants said. “So of course I had to make it.”
Pants said it took about three hours to make the jet, which Penny wore proudly during the entire convention. In fact, he said she was so excited about it, she wouldn’t let any other kids try it on because she was worried they would rip it. Penny entered a kids’ costume contest and was apparently the crowd favorite, although no prizes were awarded.
Pants, a comic book fan himself, added that he’s super proud his daughter is getting into the stories he loved growing up. She often asks him about the lore and history behind some of her favorite heroes, and is building her own collection of costumes to cosplay with at future events. I’m sure they’ll definitely include balloons.