Carbon Costume

Brock Rumlow (played by Frank Grillo) first hit the MCU as a main villain in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. By the time Civil War rolled around he was far more dangerous that the average Hydra agent. And he had a vendetta against the Avengers, Captain America in particular. Of course by then he wasn’t Rumlow anymore, not really. He was Crossbones.

Copying Crossbones’ look will require a little bit of DIY. This will mostly involve painting a black X onto the front of a chest protector and adding the skull details to a black hard mask. You will also need to add the ammunition to some should pads to recreate Crossbones’ armed-to-the-teeth look.  Under it all you should wear a black compression shirt and utility pants as well as black combat boots. A thigh holster, costume pistol, and utility belt round out the look.

Will Simpson (played by Wil Traval) is an antagonist-turned-protagonist over the first two seasons of Jessica Jones. In the show he is a cop with the NYPD who is first brainwashed by Kilgrave and then recruited by a secret government project to test pills that cause supersoldier-like abilities with a nasty set of side effects.

This storyline is adapted from the Marvel Comics character Frank Simpson also known as Nuke. He is depicted as a foil to Captain America to such a degree that the two go up against each other more than once. The second time is in Captain America #14 (2013) when Cap defeats Nuke while uttering the poignant truth, “Patriotism taken too far is fanaticism”.

Portraying this contrast in the Netflix show is a little harder than it is with the comics since Cap never makes an appearance in any Netflix run. The show runners did manage it, however, though some clever costuming. In fact Will Simpson’s most memorable costume is almost identical to that worn by Steve Rogers while on the run in Captain America: Civil War. The big difference comes down to the behaviors they display and the pills Simpson takes.

Aside from the pills the cosplay for Simpson is very easy. A dark grey baseball cap, light grey shirt, and basic jeans all pair well with aviator sunglasses, a brown leather jacket, a brown leather belt, and brown leather shoes. If you do choose to take something along that resembles Simpson’s supersoldier pills, please do not use real medication. Mike and Ikes candy look close enough and come in all the same colors (plus a few extra you get to eat whenever you want!)

Baron Helmut Zemo is a classic Marvel villain. He was brought to life in Captain America: Civil War by Daniel Bruhl. And though his character is not quite so evil in the movie as in the comics, his impact is just as strong. After all, who can’t relate to the desire to stop those we blame for our family’s deaths?

Zemo’s costume in the movie is much simpler than in the comics. He wants to blend in and so he wears clothes that are easy to ignore. A grey sports coat and matching dress pants. A black button down, black leather belt, and black leather shoes. He has a little bit of stubble growing in but nothing noteworthy. And his brown hair is styled with a simple side-sweep.

His only visible accessory is a brown leather shoulder bag. But the bag isn’t as important as what’s inside. To really complete a Zemo costume you need the red notebook that contains the code words that give you control of the Winter Soldier. You can also get a copy of Mission Report: December 16th 1991 if you want to add a bit more to the bag.

Of course this costume also makes it easy to pay Zemo’s comic origins a little homage. A purple ski mask and a golden circlet crown is an easy – if a bit cheeky – addition to the costume.

Red Skull (portrayed by Hugo Weaving in the MCU) was the first recipient of the serum that eventually turned Steve Rogers into Captain America. It – for better or worse – did not have the same effect on Johann Schmidt. Instead of great strength and agility he was reduced to a blood-red near-skeleton ever in search of power he cannot hope to control.

Cosplaying as the Red Skull takes a bit of work because getting the skeleton-like look is not easy. Start with a bald cap and some red SFX paint. Red gloves will cover your hands and a little bit of standard makeup can finish the look. Then add on a long black military-style coat, bloused pants, and black boots. Finally around out the costume with a Hydra belt buckle, a World War Two pistol, and a tesseract!

Miss America, or America Chavez, is a superhero in the Marvel comics. Raised by her parents in the Utopian Parallel, she absorbed her powers from Demiurge’s magic. Her abilities include super strength, super speed, and flight. Another one of her abilities, star blast, projects a star with an incredible energy blast that was capable of wounding Captain Marvel! Miss America is on the current roster of the Young Avengers. Additionally, she makes history as the first Latina LGBTQ character to star in an ongoing series.

Are you a well-known superhero looking for intel while incognito?  A celebrity crime fighter just trying to have a quiet lunch out on the town?  Then the “I’m Just a Civilian” starter pack is for you!  In almost every Marvel movie, one of our cherished Avengers dons a baseball cap, a hoodie, and a pair of sunglasses to blend in with their surroundings.  Depending on whether you are trying to emulate Tony Stark’s Iron Man, Steve Rogers’ Captain America, or another member of the team, you can play around with the color of your hat, your glasses, and what you wear beneath your hoodie or jacket.  This is a great way to use your favorite superhero t-shirt as part of a simple–but clever–costume.

Steve Rogers is best known as Captain America (Chris Evans), the first Avenger. But in Civil War, he breaks away from the rest of the team and takes a few allies with him. He spends much of the movie out of his uniform and in this casual but iconic look. A little hair gel keeps his hair in place while all the brown leather makes it clear he’s nobody to mess with, even without his shield.

In Captain America: Civil War, Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) was abducted and brainwashed by Hydra. For the last 70 years, he has been their mindless killing machine as the Winter Soldier, but now he’s free and finding himself again. While on the run, he stops in Romania and tries to make a normal life for himself. This includes wearing gloves to hide his prosthetic left hand and shopping for plums at the local farmer’s market. He wears layers in case he has to take off again, though the red Henley in this costume is his most iconic look from the movie. Grab your own bag of plums and stock your backpack with notebooks and candy bars for even more in-character costume details!