Carbon Costume

Valkyrie is a character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Played by Tessa Thompson, she first appears in Thor: Ragnarok. Her actual name is Brunnhilde, though she goes by Valkyrie because she was part of a group of Asgardian warriors called the Valkyries. Before selling Thor to the Grandmaster, she was a bounty hunter on the planet Skaar named Scrapper 142. She befriends Thor and Bruce Banner, ultimately joining the Revengers to defeat Hela. In Avengers: Endgame, Valkyrie survived the snap and helped relocate the Asgardians. Later on she led the Asgardians in the battle against Thanos. Thor then appointed her as the new leader and king of Asgard. To achieve her look from Thor: Ragnarok, style your hair into a half updo top knot. With the NYX White Eyeliner, draw the lines around her eyes, and use this close up picture for reference.

Hera is the Greek goddess of marriage. Because she is married to Zeus, she reigns alongside him as Queen of the Gods. She is also the mother of Ares and Hebe. In Lore Olympus, she has golden hair and skin. She wears 20s inspired outfits in white and dark blue. While empathetic and nurturing, Hera has quite the temper, especially concerning her husband’s infidelity. She is especially caring towards Persephone and can sense her trauma. Aside from those she cares about, she is often stubborn and unrelenting. Her abilities include blessing or fixing marriages, shapeshifting, and clairvoyance.

Sebastian Shaw has been one of the X-Men’s biggest foes since his introduction to the franchise in January of 1980. He is a mutant capable of absorbing many different kinds of energy. But his status as a mutant hardly puts him on the same side as Wolverine, Charles Xavier, and the others. As a member of the Hellfire club he is determined to take over the world, even going to far as to fund the Sentinel program so that it will hunt down mutants that defy him. And while Kevin Bacon put his own spin on the character in the most recent run of X-Men movies, the Earth-616 comic book version is by far the most iconic.

Shaw often goes by the moniker of Black King and his costume is fittingly grandiose. He wears a coat with tails and a waist coat with an ascot. The colors vary from costume to costume but the elements stay the same. Shaw also wears knee breeches, tall socks, and shoes with buckles on them. A more modern twist is a tailored suit with an ascot but the comic version usually maintains this mid-century look.

Shado is a controversial figure in the DC comics. In some iterations she is the mother of Oliver’s half-sister. In others she’s is the mother of Oliver’s son. Oliver was delirious when he and Shado slept together though Shado claimed not to know this at the time. It’s a long-standing point of tension on her character. In the CW show Arrow she is a straight-forward love interest at one point, which is only one of the many changes the show made to the character.

Cosplaying as Shado requires a few specific pieces. The most important is a bow with a quiver of arrows as Shado is a master archer. You will also need a black off-the-shoulder shirt and white wid-legged pants. Shado’s shirt has a long black panel in the front that extends past a belt but finding this exact style is difficult. A black scarf can be used to emulate the look while a white scarf can serve as she belt. Black martial arts shoes round out the look.

Shado also has a red dragon tattoo on her left arm which you can recreate with face paints. She is often seen with her hair in a long braid down her back but her style does vary from time to time so the braid is not a hard and fast costume piece though one is linked above.

Cosplaying as the comic book version of Shado is fairly straight-forward.

Most people know him as Sandman but this immortal being’s name is actually Dream. Brother to death and bane of Satan’s existence, he is one of many immortals that drift in and out of the world of humans. Like his siblings, Dream’s appearance changes depending on the era and where in the world he finds himself. This gives cosplayers a lot of options, though there are a few things that remain constant no matter when or where Dream finds himself.

Dream’s clothes are always in shades of black and white. And, more often than not, his black hair is in wild disarray. When he’s not around humans he favors a pair of black pants, black boots, and a long flowing sweater or robe left open over his bare chest.

Even when Dream dresses to suit a particular time period he’s not always accurate. When you’re timeless, the fine details of mortal fashion probably don’t matter all that much. In the case of the Victorian era – or in many modern subcultures – the printed coat and pants paired with a white ruffled shirt and black boots is classic Dream.

Whichever look you choose, you’ll need a black wig styled in a bit of a fly-away style and a contour kit to mimic Dream’s shadowed and sharp look.

Of all the people in the universe, the last one you want to meet is Lobo. He’s the last known Czarnian – because he wiped out his entire species as a science project. And unless you’re Al or Darlene – the owner and waitress in his favorite diner – or a dolphin (the one animal he has a soft spot for) he’s not going to hesitate to wipe you out either.

He first appeared in a 1983 Omega Men comic and has been running from fight to fight ever since. Though you can be sure he’s only running so he doesn’t miss any of the really bloody bits.

Lobo doesn’t wear much which is funny for a man who spends most of his time in fights. Then again he race was nearly immortal before he wiped them out. Of course his clothes don’t make for the best armor. But they do make for a pretty easy cosplay.

A long black wig is a good starting point. From there you can either use a grey bodysuit and body paint or just body paint to get Lobo’s greyish-blue skin tone. Then add in some black leather pants and leather boots. You’ll also want a pair of knee protectors decorated with a red star you’ll have to paint on by hand. Finish up with some costume chains to use against your enemies and you’re ready to chase mayhem too!

Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of beauty and love. She is the lover of Ares and mother of Eros (Cupid). In Lore Olympus, her skin and hair are light purple and she often wears fashionable clothing in either white or pastel colors. Her title makes her vain, viewing any offense against her beauty very personally. If anyone dare to say another is more beautiful, then Aphrodite will exact her revenge. This happened with both Persephone and Psyche, in which she employed her son to seek vengeance. When he fell in love with Psyche, Aphrodite turned her into a nymph so she could live on Olympus. However she’s still annoyed by Persephone.

Far out there in the multiverse exists Jay Garrick, a different incarnation of The Flash. On The CW’s The Flash show, John Wesley Shipp, an original Flash actor from the 1990s show, appears as both Barry Allen’s father and, later, the real Jay Garrick of his native timeline. (There was some confusion, initially, about who Jay Garrick really was. Long story.) Aside from the winged helmet, Jay Garrick’s Flash costume is extremely easy to source and assemble. A simple red crewneck shirt can be enhanced with the Flash’s signature lightning bolt printed over iron-on transfer paper.