Carbon Costume

Primrose Everdeen (Willow Shields) is a minor character in The Hunger Games trilogy. She is twelve years old, affectionately called “Prim” and “Little Duck” by her older sister, Katniss. But whereas Katniss is prickly, Primrose is gentle. Her talent doesn’t lie within hunting or archery, but healing. She works alongside their mother as a nurse, and she especially loves caring for animals — she has a cat named Buttercup and a goat named Lady.  Despite their differences, the two sisters love each other dearly, to the point where Katniss volunteers as tribute when Effie Trinket picks Prim to participate in the 74th Hunger Games. Before Katniss leaves, Prim gives her the famous mockingjay pin. She had been training to become a doctor, but her life was cut short by a secondary explosion. Peeta Mellark plants primroses outside of Victor’s Village in memoriam.

Rasputin is one of modern history’s most mysterious figures. Mike Mignola’s take on the man in the original Hellboy comics published through Dark Horse. And there is no denying the sinister air Karel Roben brings to the character in the 2004 film adaptation.

Part of what sets Rasputin apart even from his Nazi henchmen is his penchant for dark near-religious regalia. In the 1940’s he wears a flowing black robe trimmed at the neck with black fur and decorated with cold cordwork designs. While the exact coat is hard to find, a plain black overcoat can be altered with a segment of fake black fur and appliques attached with either fabric glue or safety pains, depending on your skill level and if you want to use the coat for other costumes.

The same coat can be used without the fur and with additional brocade decoration down the front and cascading across the shoulders. Both this look and the ’40s look are worn over black pants and black boots, skipping the shirt.

Between his two ritual-esque looks, Rasputin favors a black suit, black dress shoes, a black overcoat, and a draped purple scarf as well as some iconic black sunglasses.

All three looks are rounded off with a bald cap and a goatee.

Serleena (played by Lara Flynn Boyle) is the alien villain from the sci-fi comedy film Men in Black II.  Serleena’s true form looks like green vines or snakes, so when she comes to Earth to find the Light of Zartha, she takes on the appearance of a Victoria’s Secret model from a magazine.  Serleena wears two outfits primarily, her first being a lacy black lingerie set that she soon covers with clothing she takes off a biker whom she consumes for food.

Tyler (played by Shia LaBeouf) is a man on the run who befriends 22-year-old Zak in the movie The Peanut Butter Falcon.  Recently fired, Tyler agrees to help Zak travel to find the Saltwater Redneck in order to take wrestling lessons from him, and the two become fast friends during their travels.  Tyler’s costume consists mostly of denim cut offs, a dingy white t-shirt, and a faded red Outer Banks baseball cap.  He also uses a steel frame hiking backpack.

In Promising Young Woman, Cassandra “Cassie” Thomas (Carey Mulligan) is a med school dropout who now takes revenge on predatory men by pretending to be drunk at clubs and bars, letting men take her home, and revealing her sobriety when they try to take advantage of her. In her latest act of vengeance, Cassie poses as a stripper dressed in a nurse outfit to reach her target at his bachelor party.

The Men in Black is a mysterious organization. And few are more mysterious than their leader, Chief Zed. Played by the late Rip Torn, Zed is sardonic and sarcastic but never lets that get in the way of doing his job. Or trying to do right by his agents.

The Men in Black all have a standard uniform and Zed is no exception. They are the quintessential “G-men”. A black suit, black shoes, a black belt, and a black tie over a white button down shirt is their uniform. Black sunglasses, an MIB badge, a neuralyzer, and a Noisy Cricket help too. But for Zed there is one thing that has to be included or his costume won’t be complete: His goatee.

LarryBoy is the superhero alter ego of Larry the Cucumber (voiced by Mike Nawrocki). He uses every power in his control to be the best superhero he can be. Which, generally speaking, are his plunger ears. Those and his LarryMobile which is as close to all-terrain as it can get!

Cosplaying as LarryBoy means taking a few liberties with the look. Larry is, after all, a cucumber. He has no arms or legs. You, as a human, are going to have to improvise.

To that end, use a white long sleeve lace-up shirt as his  top and paint on a yellow vest and ties using fabric paint, reminiscent of Silver Age hero costumes. A pair of purple shorts worn over yellow running pants will give you the purple bottoms while still sticking to that Silver Age style. A back belt serves as a utility belt while yellow foam and silver paint can recreate his belt buckle. You can either hot glue this to your belt buckle or glue a magnet to the back of the foam, depending on how permanent you want the modification to be.

Larry’s hat is where it gets a little tricky. Plungers can be kind of heavy. But if you can find two lightweight ones, you can cut the posts down and glue them to either side of a purple mask. Purple foam and more hot glue gives you the crest of his mask while green face paint gives you the signature cucumber look. Then all you need is a pair of black hero boots to finish off your costume.

Eddie Blake is not what you would call a nice man. He’s done his fair share of hero work as The Comedian and the press loves his patriotic public persona. But behind closed doors he’s not what most people would call a hero. Jeffrey Dean Morgan manages to bring a certain charm to the character in Zack Snyder’s 2009 adaptation. But it’s up to the audience how long that charm holds out.

Blake is a military man and a good portion of his costume is inspired by the military. Black combat boots, black tactical pants, and his thigh holster with a (costume) pistol all stem from his interest in the military. His chest piece is pretty easy to recreate with a paintball vest and leather belts can be repurposed as the straps over his shoulders. His belt buckle can also be recreated using black foam painted with the same silver spray paint you’ll need to modify pre-made shoulder protectors so they have the red, blue, and silver colors Blake wears.

Add a mustache, mask, and smiley button as your finishing touches and you’re good to go. Just don’t forget the cosmetics glue to keep your mask in place!