Carbon Costume

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.

Loki is a recurring antagonist from the Marvel movies and comic books. His persona was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, but he originates from Norse mythology as the god of trickery and mischief. He is the adoptive son of Odin and brother of Thor. In contrast to his brother’s outgoing personality, Loki is reserved, yet he is also sly and deceitful. He usurps power for his personal gain to rule over Earth, driven by spite and jealousy of his father’s favoritism for Thor. He made his cinematic debut in Thor (2011), where he was portrayed by Tom Hiddleston.

Morbius the Living Vampire is a villain in the Marvel comics, specifically the antagonist of Spider-Man. Once known as Dr. Michael Morbius, he obtained vampiric abilities after a biochemical experiment went wrong. It was supposed to cure his rare blood disease, but instead it turned him into a psuedo-vampire with a craving for human blood. His other abilities include flight, hypnosis, and accelerated healing. Jared Leto is slated to play the role in his upcoming live-action movie. Sew or glue on the red ribbon to create the trim on the neckline. Use a pair of scissors to cut down the center of the bodysuit as well as to create the pointed edges of the cape.

Quentin Beck, aka Mysterio, is the main antagonist in the live action Marvel movie, Spider-Man: Far From Home. His power involves creating elaborate illusions that frame him as an admirable superhero. His goal is to obtain E.D.I.T.H, the artificial intelligence created by Tony Stark, to increase the scale of his illusions. He accomplishes this by tricking Peter Parker, preying on his grief to earn his trust. In the mid-credits scene, as Mysterio is dying, he reveals Spider-Man’s identity to the world. Use the silver spray paint on the globe to make his helmet.

Nakia (played by the fantastic Lupita Nyong’o) is one of Wakanda’s best spies in Black Panther. She regularly leaves Wakanda to help others and to ensure that the country she loves remains safe. When Wakandan civil war breaks out she is quick to defend her king and the beliefs they share. And though she tells Okoye she is not a general, her strength and compassion clearly rally those around her!

Nakia’s most memorable costume – the one she wears in the final battle of the Wakandan civil war – is gorgeously ornate. It’s not an easy look to recreate but you can get close with this premade dress costume. Add black leggings and boots under that for a battle-ready look. Of course Nakia joins the battle fully prepared! She carries two ring blades or chakrams. You might not have access to Shuri’s tech but embedded LED lights in the props pictures above get you close! Add to that a Dora Milaje spear and a vibranium bracelet and you’re ready for battle too!

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!

She-Hulk is a superhero from the Marvel comics. By day, she’s Jennifer Walters, a lawyer working in Los Angeles and cousin of Bruce Banner. When he visited Jennifer in town, agents of a crime boss named Nick Trask shot and wounded her. Realizing she was going to die, Bruce volunteered for the blood transfusion and committed her to a hospital. The agents returned to attack, but the sense of danger activated the gamma radiation in the blood. Jennifer transformed into She-Hulk and used her newfound super strength to defeat them. Like Bruce, she can be intelligent as both Jennifer and She-Hulk. She briefly joined the Avengers and replaced The Thing in the Fantastic Four. Use the purple fabric paint to make the stripes on either side of the leotard. You can also use green fabric paint to shade the unitard to emulate her strong muscles.

Banshee – also known as Sean Cassidy – is an Irish mutant with the power of “Sonic Scream”. He first appeared in X-Men #28 (1967) and has made a few appearanes throughout various runs since then. Cassidy is both a former NYPD officer as well as an Interpol agent. When Banshee works with the X-Men he is usually a full decade or more older than the other members of his team and is usually places in a mentor role.

Although the character appears in X-Men: First Class he is best known from his portrayal in the comics. And though the specifics of his costume have changed there are a few things that stay constant. His suit is always green with yellow markings on the chest. You can use fabric paint to get the exact markings you want so that you can choose which costume variation to go with.

His costumes also have yellow boots and yellow gloves as well as wings of some kind that attach under the arms, along the sides, and down the legs. These can be replicated using a large shawl such as the one pictured above. Older variations of Banshee also have him smoking a long-stemmed pipe, though this accessory fell out of use in the ’90s.