While there are a ton of superheroes in the pages of comic books and up on movie screens, there are an equal amount of supervillains.
In fact, superheroes themselves would not be very interesting if it weren’t for the bad guys they battle.
After all, it wouldn’t be all that fun to watch someone like Superman constantly fight a common bike thief or even a bank robber - there would just be no competition.
Instead, comic book writers created beings who were just as strong, if not stronger than everyone’s favorite heroes.
While conventions like San Diego Comic-Con see all types of villains, there will always be people who dress up as supervillains from comic-books.
Every convention has its fair share of ordinary cosplays, but there are always those select few who go above and beyond when it comes to making their costumes authentic and jaw-dropping.
While anybody can throw on a Halloween mask and call it a costume, some people spend weeks, even months preparing costumes for a convention.
Sometimes supervillains can be easy to cosplay as if they only need a few supplies, but others require the cosplayer to put in a lot of labor to make the costume like real.
There are dozens of reasons why a character would be considered impossible to cosplay as, but there are always those select fans who make it happen and bring their favorite characters to life.
Here are the 25 Supervillains Who Are Impossible To Cosplay (But Fans Pulled Off Anyway).
Apocalypse
Apocalypse may have been the big bad guy in X-Men: Apocalypse but his design wasn’t what fans are used to seeing.
While early concept art for X-Men: Apocalypse looked comic accurate, the final costume actor Oscar Isaac wears in the movie looks quite different. Regardless, Apocalypse is a hard villain to cosplay as given his huge stature.
Despite the obstacles, the Cinema Makeup School unveiled a comic-accurate cosplay of Apocalypse.
The incredible makeup was sculpted by Lee Jovner and the prosthetics were applied and painted by Rob Seal and Alanna Suen.
Mystique
Comic-book and movie fans often cosplay as the X-Men character Mystique.
Often times, cosplayers will go the route of the nude Mystique, but Rebecca Lindsay took a much more unique approach.
Drawing inspiration from Jennifer Lawrence’s military disguise in X-Men: Days of Future Past, Lindsay created a costume that depicted Mystique’s transformation.
She even went as far as dying half of her hair red and leaving the other half silver, and wearing one yellow contact while she walked around the show floor of the New York Comic-Con in 2015.
MODOK
MODOK, which stands for Mechanized Organism Designed Only for Killing, is a Marvel villain who first fought Captain America in the 1960s.
While he is a supervillain of Captain America, he has fought many other superheroes in Marvel history.
Once working for Advanced Idea Mechanics (AIM), George Tarleton underwent experiments to raise his intelligence which caused his head to swell up like a balloon and depend on a flying chair to move around.
Given that description, the villain seems like a hard character to cosplay as, but these unknown artists pulled it off.
Killer Croc
Killer Croc may have seemed like an alright guy in Suicide Squad; however, he is one of Batman’s many supervillains.
Born as Waylon Jones, Croc grew up with a rare genetic disorder which caused him to have a crocodile-like appearance. He grew up in an abusive household with his Aunt, whom he eventually took the life of.
He quickly became a criminal in Gotham City and saw Batman as an enemy.
This incredibly realistic cosplay is a product of Jerry Almond who went for the Suicide Squad look for his cosplay and was photographed by Josh Shot Photography.
Doomsday
Many times, supervillains are adapted to TV shows and movies in a way that angers longtime comic book fans.
Just that happened with Doomsday in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Doomsday was created using CGI; however, cosplayer’s can’t really use computer-generated imagery for a real-life costume.
Christian Hart dressed up as the villain Doomsday for the 2016 Baltimore Comic-Con and shocked people with his incredibly detailed costume.
Doomsday is often the supervillain to Superman and even took his life in the comic books and in Batman v Superman.
The Joker
The Joker may seem like an easy enough character to cosplay as. All you need is some white face paint, red lipstick, and some green hair dye.
While those materials will get you an average Joker costume, other people go to great lengths to make the character look comic-accurate.
Going by the name Harley’s Joker, Anthony Misiano has created a one of a kind Joker cosplay outfit.
Misiano has gone to great lengths to accurately portray Batman’s arch-nemesis and has even done photo shoots like the one seen above.
Venom
Venom may be becoming an even more popular character since Tom Hardy is starring in a movie as the character, but fans have been cosplaying as the character for years.
There are always different approaches to the character whether fans create a comic-oriented look or versions like the one in Spider-Man 3.
Artist mongrelman went for a comic-approach and created a full body Venom foam suit.
The attention to detail pertaining to the paint job and the foam cut-out makes this cosplay stand out among other Venom costumes.
Mr. Freeze
Mr. Freeze will always be one of Batman’s most famous villains. If Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze in Batman & Robin doesn’t break fans’ spirits, nothing will.
Victor Fries is forced to wear a cryogenic suit in order to keep his body temperature at an extremely low point.
Given the mechanics of his suit, Freeze isn’t an easy supervillain to cosplay as but this fan made it work.
His appearance looks very authentic given the rust marks on the metal suit and the frost patterns on his glass helmet.
Rhino
While many characters have assumed the identity of Spider-Man’s foe Rhino, Aleksei Sytsevich is the character most known for being the supervillain.
Initially, the character underwent a procedure which bonds strong artificial skin to his own, but later is given a suit which he can remove at will.
Many people have cosplayed as Rhino, but there aren’t many people who are able to pull off the look without looking silly.
Even though it is just a cosplay, this person’s version of Rhino, photographed by David “DTJAAAAM” Ngo, looks like someone one would not want to mess with.
Mojo
Mojo is an interesting X-Men villain, to say the least. He is from an alien race called the Spineless Ones.
Mojo rules a dimension via his television shows and forces everyone into slavery. His form is quite frightening having long sharp fingers, mechanical spider-looking legs, and eyelids that are held open.
Given his odd shape, Mojo’s look is a seemingly difficult cosplay to attempt, but not for Scott Whipple.
Although it doesn’t look easy to walk in, Whipple wore this suit at C2E2 in 2010, and Dragon Con in 2015.
Black Manta
Even though Black Manta will not be the main villain in Aquaman, he will no doubt play an important role since he is often considered Aquaman’s arch nemesis.
Given Aquaman’s rising popularity due to Jason Momoa, Black Manta will no doubt become a more popular cosplay character.
That being said, cosplaying as Manta would not be an easy feat. Black Manta wears a giant helmet which can shoot out laser beams.
This alone makes the cosplay seemingly impossible; however, Pbenson1167 was able to successfully master the look for Katsucon 2018.
Lego Joker
There may be several Joker cosplays out there, but none are quite as unique as this one.
This cosplay by Team Totoro features the Joker from The Lego Batman Movie.
The anatomy of a Lego person is obviously very different than a human, but these cosplay artists successfully brought the Lego character to life.
The clothes wouldn’t be terribly difficult once you found all the right supplies, but the head sculpt and the hands are a whole other story.
Lego cosplays sometimes come out looking awkward, but these cosplayers should be proud of their work.
Man Ray
Man Ray may not be the most recognizable supervillain out there, but that’s because he comes from a children’s cartoon.
Man Ray is one of the enemies that fights Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy in SpongeBob SquarePants.
Cartoon characters can sometimes be difficult to cosplay as since they are, well cartoons, but KayKatastr0phe created a full body Man Ray costume.
The cosplayer even included the famous tickle belt which Spongebob and Patrick would say was seen in Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy episode #17.
Man Ray isn’t always the most effective villain, but he’s a supervillain none the less.
King Shark
Even though the 30th anniversary of Shark Week has come and gone, people will no doubt still have a fascination for sharks.
King Shark is a half man half shark being who first appeared in 1994. Surprisingly, King Shark was originally a supervillain of Superboy rather than Aquaman.
King Shark would eventually fight Aquaman and even the Flash on the TV show The Flash.
This cosplayer from Trinity All-Stars decided to dress up as King Shark for a cosplay and the result is frightening.
Not only does the head look like a real shark, but the sculpting of the muscles is impeccable.
The Underminer
The Incredibles was a smash hit when it was in theatres in 2004.
It took Pixar 14 years to make a sequel which seemed like a lifetime for fans especially since the first film left off on a cliff-hanger.
The first film leaves off, and the second film picks up on the scene with the supervillain known as The Underminer.
His story was briefly elaborated on in Incredibles 2, but his story is still very much a mystery.
That hasn’t stopped people from cosplaying as him much like mr.justicecosplay has with the help of Hyn May Studios.
Nebula
Nebula from the Guardians of the Galaxy films is a complex individual both with her character and her anatomy.
Nebula is partly machine since Thanos replaced one of her body parts with a metal every time Gamora bested her in combat.
Given her half robot appearance, Nebula isn’t the easiest villain to cosplay.
Karen Gillan may play Nebula in three of the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, but this cosplay is from izabelcortez.
Nebula doesn’t smile very often, but this cosplayer nails her look even down to her slight smirk.
Galactus
Galactus is one of those characters who has a daunting stature.
Being a cosmic entity, Galactus is an incredibly tall character. Many people can cosplay as him, however most people don’t focus on how big the character is.
This cosplayer does just that by standing twice as tall as everyone around him and holding a replica planet in each hand.
It’s unknown who the cosplayer is or how he is able to walk with such a tall costume, but his work is impressive none the less.
Ultron And Sentries
While an Iron Man suit is tricky enough to build a cosplay for, imagine building a costume for the evil robot Ultron and making it look legitimite.
With Iron Man, there is an obvious space for a human being but with Ultron and his sentries, there isn’t a designated spot for a human to fit.
The people over at Village’s Hope are pictured here at the premiere of Avengers: Age of Ultron wearing their costumes, which are made out of foam, leather, and LED lights.
The cosplays look incredibly realistic and it’s stunning that the foam looks so much like metal.
Carnage
While Venom may be getting his own movie, it’s best not to forget about the other famous symbiote; Carnage.
Carnage is sometimes seen as the even more ruthless and twisted Spider-Man villain as compared to Venom. Symbiotes must bond with a host in order to survive as can be seen in this artist’s cosplay.
Taking the approach of a female form of Carnage, this cosplay shows the symbiote taking over its newfound host.
Throwing on a body suit is easy enough but creating a costume that looks this real with multiple layers of gelatin strands is quite the accomplishment.
Lex Luthor
Cosplaying as Lex Luthor may not always be a hard cosplay to accomplish.
For instance, Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor would just require someone to either grow out their hair or shave it off depending on which part of Batman v Superman they were going for.
Other versions of Luthor though would be much more difficult like this cosplay shown above.
Luthor’s battle armor would be a tough task to accomplish since the armor is sometimes very big. Props to this cosplayer for being able to maneuver his con in this massive suit!
