10 Masked Characters Perfect For Pandemic Cosplay

In the year 2020, it has become a requirement for many people to wear a face mask in certain establishments, like stores, depending on where you live. This gives everyone the ultimate opportunity to dress up without having to be self-conscious and there is a ton of inspiration out there when it comes to choosing the mask you want to wear. 

When else can you buy your eggs and milk as a ninja, super villain, cowboy, or any other, masquerade fantasy you can think of, apart from Halloween? Here is a guide to help inspire you.

10 Decker From Night Breed

Clive Baker’s Nightbreed is a cult classic from the 1990s that features Dr. Philip Decker, a psychiatrist who is secretly a masked, family hating serial killer.

Decker’s mask features sewn-on button eyes, which should creep people out enough to stay socially distant, plus the handy zipper mouth will help you speak more clearly whilst walking or driving between destinations.

9 The Invisible Man

There are three ways you can portray Claude Raines’s iconic Universal monster, and each of them is pandemic friendly. You can tuck your head under your top, covering it completely using wires, if you fancy giving the impression you’re wearing sunglasses or a fancy hat.

Secondly, you could rock the mummy bandage wrap around the head. The third option? Just stay inside and pretend that you went out. 

8 Immortan Joe

If you fancy going out in a face mask, but not really much of anything else, clothing-wise, then Mad Max: Fury Road antagonist Immortan Joe is the character for you.

The world hasn’t gone full post-apocalyptic just yet, but you might as well hit the gym and start recruiting War Boys now, just in case. Of course, Imortan Joe is played by Hugh Keays-Bryne, who also played Toecutter in the original Mad Max.

7 The Winter Soldier

Rather than go with the original, short pant, domino mask-wearing incarnation of Bucky Barnes from the golden age of comic books that existed even before there was a Marvel comics, let alone the MCU, the Captain America movies decided to go with the more badass, bionic armed masked assassin that we know and love today.

It’s just as well, really, as this version features a face-covering you can adopt when going to the cinema to watch the latest big-screen superhero outing.

6 Breaking Bad

As if you didn’t know, Breaking Bad saw the adventures of a school teacher named Walter White who, after discovering he has a terminal illness, decides to break bad and sell meth with his former student, Jesse.

So popular was the show at inspiring cosplay, that actors Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul turned up to the San Diego Comic-Con 2012 as their fictional selves. 

5 Elektra

Elektra is is the off again, on again hero and friend to Daredevil, who finally had her character done justice when she made her debut in the Netflix Daredevil show.

Like the title role, Elektra has a variety of costumes to choose from throughout the series, but her ninja guise is not only the fan-favorite, it is also the most practical to clad yourself in, should you wish to attend a social gathering.

4 The Shredder

Shredder is such an awesome looking villain. He ticks all the boxes – he’s the leader of an evil samurai ninja clan, wears a cape, has giant razors all over his body, and of course, has a mask. It’s the latter part of his wardobe, of course, that secures him a place on this list.

He is also one of those characters that had a few actors portray him, such as the late great James Avery aka Uncle  Phil from Fresh Prince of Bel Air, and Big Sexy, Kevin Nash, who famously wore the robes for a few seconds as Super Shredder in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2.

3 The Ninjas Of Mortal Kombat

Blessing the arcades at the beginning of the 90s with its bloodstained fighting antics, Mortal Kombat has become a mainstay of popular culture ever since its bone-breaking debut, with an almost countless number of games, two live-action movies with a third on its way, and various other forms of merchandise throughout the years.

One the reasons for the franchise’s success is its variety of awesome characters, not least of all, its ninjas. Scorpion, Kitanna, Sub Zero, Jade, and many more have graced our screens over the years. It’s probably best not to scream, “GET OVER HERE!” during these social distancing times, mind you.

2 Sister Night

When it was announced the Watchmen TV show would center around an all-new character, fans were quite rightfully bummed out. It wasn’t too long before Regina King won them over with her performance as Angela Abar aka Sister Night.

Like the original books, the show became a twisted echo of the problems facing today’s society and lent Sister Night’s instantly iconic look as a perfect guise for not only fighting injustice, but this horrible virus that affects us all.

1 Bane

Finally, topping the list is the mumbly mad man himself, Bane. Tom Hardy’s influence for the character comes from a bare-knuckle fighter named Bartley Gorman, and the strangely eccentric, almost posh vocal rhythms accompanied by the strange vocal distortion of his headpiece made the performance instantly beloved and imitated.

So whether you are threatening The Batman, holding Gotham for ransom, or trying to order a burger from your favorite fast-food establishment, be sure to keep a Bane mask handy in your pocket.