In the past decade or so geek culture expanded into the mainstream with more inclusive ways to express your love of fandom. Once marketed only through black t-shirts with logos slapped on them or collectible toys, merch has undergone a major shift.

In 2024, responding to your fandom has become easier than ever, thanks to collections inspired by sci-fi and fantasy worlds in almost every imaginable fashion and lifestyle arena. Amidst all the bold casual cosplay, subtle streetwear, and even luxury makeup and perfume, there’s always a collaboration in the wings waiting to go viral. That’s not to mention the movie popcorn buckets that were also crazy this year—so they warrant their own post.

This year also had some more daring moments with mountains of fandom merch. Read on to see how things are becoming more experiential and experimental thanks to the seamless flow of products and events driven by social media.

There’s a whole month of celebration on Nickelodeon SpongeBob SquarePants by creating “Krabby Patty Kollabs” at burger destinations across the country, timed to coincide with the show’s 25th anniversary. But Wendy’s version feels the most true to the show’s depiction of the kind of burger you get at a fast food place under the sea, especially compared to the high foodie stunt versions (they’re cool, but Mr. Krabs isn’t really) .

Wendy’s brought back the square meat patty for the occasion, and that was genius; it hits double the nostalgia factor so I find myself ordering it more often. Speaking of food, Deadpool and Wolverine makes a pizza line (which is on brand for merc with a mouth) with DiGiorno with mixed results. It wasn’t the wildest of those Deadpool placements; There are also Heinz ketchup and mustard bottles, and the bonkers bootylicious Xbox controllers.

On the fancier side of things around Halloween, we’ve got the Universal Monsters x Care Bears collection that smashes adorable bears with a spooky twist through classic bear plushes, Funkos, and makeup. Plushies are hard to find at their regular price points today, with third-party sellers selling them for questionable prices. I still miss the Creature From The Black Lagoon bear

For Gen Z goths, Pottery Barn came out with a creepy cute Wednesday collection which exudes a Nevermore dorm vibe. We’re especially tickled at the thought of the Thing-shaped pillow, which sold out in a flash.

While the above collection is very limited at this point, Dr. Martens still has a few of them Wednesday The capsule is available online. Docs and The Addams family? The perfect match for any goth kid (and kids at heart) shoe collection.

In the field of beauty products, our favorite expert match came in the form of Rihanna’s Fenty x Arcane line inspired by the characters of the Netflix show. The deep collection is derived from the sense of style and power of the leading quality capsule of makeup from our sci-fi dreams.

Anime and partner on Netflix One Piece has been featured in several fun collections inspired by the Straw Hat Crew, but the most unique unhinged is Casetify collab that became a tech accessory cover to Devil Fruits from the show. Especially fun are the Gum Gum fruit headphone cases.

And for Cowboy Bebop fans, Logic dropped a collab on Crunchyroll featuring streetwear inspired by the looks of anime characters and their signature iconography to make you feel like you fit into the world of the classic cartoon.

while Deadpool and Wolverine dominated the shelves in the first half of the year, BAD replaced the fall. There is an amazing range of pinks and greens at every price point, most of which seem to be targeted BAD fans who have waited 20 years for merch more than any online theater shop.

I’m an eighth grader with a gray shirt that reads “Defy Gravity” in the tiniest green printed letters wonder how many BAD things I’ve gotten the adults this year, and he’s proud too. Do I really need the Evil x Con-Air hair rollers? Yes. Did I actually drop an undisclosed amount of change for That’s x BAD baggage? Yes, I can use it for work travel. Do I lie awake at night haunted by the fact that I did not get the tumbler of Elphaba Stanley from Batas? Yes, and I stupidly check at random times for a re-stock because goodness knows that the life of the wicked is lonely.

In addition BAD Guaranteed sales will come thanks to the 2025’s Bad: For good—however we are all still waiting for some sort of official meta “Holding Space for ‘Defying Gravity'” release.

The end of the year brought some great collaborations that make me curious about what 2025 will bring. Nosferatu came up with the stupidest of all, including a vampire coffin bed which is more expensive than the limited edition Nosferatu coffin to be buried. In addition, there is also a Nosferatu perfume collab with Hereticfor those who care about inundating the scent of a ghost roaming a flower-filled funeral home.

Talking about bats and the winter cold at the end of the year holidays. A continued to release unhinged versions of the card game including a Batman: The Animated Series VERSIONS with messy “Joker” cards for extra card slamming on the table.

And Walton Goggins pulled Baby Billy Bible Bonkers with his own “Walton Goggins Goggle Glasses,” perfect for hitting the slopes despite the stubborn reasons why he did it, because the official commercial feels like performance art. (To be honest, we can’t wait for an official Fallout collab called “Walton Goggins Ghoul Goggle Glasses”).

and Squid game season two earned some deeply eyebrow-raising partnerships with McDonald’s in Australia. If the fans buy an adult Squid game Happy Meal they get a shot at an exclusive McDonald’s Squid game Green Player Tracksuit or $100,000 if they can carve their own Dalgona candy and scan it in MyMacca’s App.

Audiences stateside were a bit confused by the Domino’s Emergency pizza ad during their binge show because that’s some chilling late-stage capitalism tone deafness. There is also an official partnership with Puma with new track suits as well as shoes and a tech accessory drop via Casetify. At least in the past you can wear gear that identifies your vote to end or continue games when you’re in them, but let’s be real—we’re all in the game.

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