Marvel and Disney have been absolutely killing it at the box office these days, and it's easy to see why. The MCU is filled with amazing characters pretty much everyone out there loves, and each one comes with hundreds (if not tens of thousands) of pages of comic book history. When it comes to making a cinematic-grade costume for a beloved character, the studios put in a lot of time and effort to ensure their sometimes rabid fanbase doesn't lose it. Often, these costumes are amazing (so long as they don't have nipples), but they often require hundreds of hours of work and thousands of dollars to develop them. The Batman suit from Batman vs. Superman was said to cost $100,000 so you know the studios are putting in their time and effort to get these costumes right.
When it comes to cosplaying as any of these characters, most people don't have a few hundred grand sitting around... or a costume design department. They have to rely on their skills and personality to pull off the characters they love. Not just anyone can throw together the perfect Doctor Strange costume; it takes skill, time, some money and a lot of effort to pull it off. Fortunately, there are a select few who have put their talents to the test cosplaying characters they absolutely shouldn't be able to pull off as well as they do. Granted, we aren't saying any of these were easy to make, but the perfection makes it look effortless! After scouring the Internet for the greatest, we found these 25 MCU cosplays that should have been impossible (but fans made anyway).
25 NEBULA - AMBER SKIES COSPLAY
When it comes to portraying some of the characters from the MCU, most people can slap on a costume and head out of the house. Not so when it comes to Nebula; even Karen Gillan had to shave her head to take on the role.
That wasn't a problem for Amber Skies, a self-described artist, cosplayer, teacher and nerdybutt! While Amber Skies' head is not typically shorn, her ability to adapt her image to suit her needs is second to none! She typically cosplays as Disney Princesses, fantasy characters and people from various anime and manga, but had no difficulty adapting her particular set of skills for Gamora.
24 THE MAXIMOFF TWINS - THE SISTERS MISCHIEF
It's unfortunate only Wanda Maximoff made it to the end of Avengers: Age of Ultron seeing as her brother's powers were so well-done for the movie. Even with Quicksilver feeding the worms, cosplayers are still honoring his sacrifice with cosplays showing off their love for the characters and this one represents one of our favorites.
The Sisters Mischief is a cosplay group of five sisters who get together and make their favorite characters come to life. While we aren't certain who the dashing fellow is playing Quicksilver in the photo, the woman killing it as Wanda is Siffy, the second oldest of the clan.
23 SPIDER-MAN - WEBHEADPARKER
There is rarely anything new when it comes to Spider-Man cosplays. The character has been swinging through the streets of New York for more than 50 years so fans have been paying homage for a long time. That said, there is a rare occasion when a cosplayer truly nails the character when something new comes along and we have to give props to WebHeadParker's take.
This costume clearly pays respect to Spider-Man: Homecoming in a way that brings the character to life. Granted, it could very well be Tom Holland behind that mask, but we will take WebHeadParker's word for it that he put the costume together and made it look as real as possible.
22 CAPTAIN AMERICA - VORIAN
Captain America is another costume that's fairly easy to make, but it takes a particular type of gentleman to pull it off. Let's face it, few could achieve Chris Evans' level of physical perfection, but the rare example can be found online, including this awesome one by Vorian Cosplay.
Vorian Cosplay doesn't just have the look of Steve Rogers, he has the heart as well. Not only is he a skilled prop maker and costume designer, he's on a mission to "fight (and end) childhood cancer." As the co-founder and chairmen of Cap for Kids, he seeks out and helps kids fight the disease as Captain America!
21 THE ANCIENT ONE - LIONESS COSPLAY
There were a lot of upset fans when The Ancient One hit the screens as a white woman, but you would have a hard time finding someone who didn't love Tilda Swinton's take on the character. Even though she ended up knocking it out of the park, The Ancient One isn't a character many folks cosplay... at least not well.
Then there's Lioness Cosplay, an artist with an amazing talent you might mistake for Swinton. Her skills pay homage to a wide number of characters, including many from Disney's Coco, a rather alluring Wonder Woman and this amazing example from 2016's Doctor Strange.
20 LOKI - MISCHIEVOUS JANE
Tom Hiddleston's Loki is probably one of the most beloved characters from the MCU, but it takes a talented cosplayer to do him justice. We think we found the best cosplayer to take on the task with Mischievous Jane!
Mischievous Jane is a cosplayer who has only been in the game since 2014. Since that time, Jane has compiled an impressive portfolio adapting some of science-fiction and fantasy's best characters. Jane studies fashion design in the Czech Republic and has competed in several competitions, which include taking on the role of Judge at the NowJapan Cosplay Contest in 2018.
19 PEGGY CARTER - JULIE CARTER
Many may recall Hayley Atwell's Peggy Carter as Agent Peggy Carter from her television series, but it all started in Captain America: The First Avenger back during WWII. In the film, she wore a uniform and it's that look we think Julie Carter has absolutely nailed.
While it isn't difficult to dress in a uniform, it's not so simple to craft a look so close to the character. From her hair to the makeup and everything else, Ms. Carter has achieved perfection with her Peggy Carter Cosplay. She has only been in the cosplay game for a little over a year, which just goes to show how skilled she really is.
18 DOCTOR STRANGE - RAGING STORM COSPLAY
Doctor Strange is one of Marvel Comics' most beloved heroes, which is why he has been no stranger to cosplay over the years, though interest began waning for a while. Fortunately, his recent film with Benedict Cumberbatch in the starring role reignited the cosplay community to take on the role of Sorcerer Supreme!
There are hundreds of talented Dr. Strange cosplayers out there, but the best we have seen comes from Raging Storm Cosplay, otherwise known as Jay McDougall. While his Newt Scamander and Matt Smith's Doctor Who are impressive, he absolutely perfected his look for the good Doctor at the Emerald City Comic Con in 2018.
17 BLACK PANTHER - ROCKO DUBBS
Black Panther is another character who has gotten a lot of love from the cosplaying community thanks to his recent success on the silver screen. It's not an easy look to pull off; a person has to be physically fit and comfortable in a skin-tight bodysuit, but that was no problem for the likes of Rocko Dubbs.
Dubbs typically puts his talents to work cosplaying as any number of Power Rangers, but that hasn't stopped him from jumping on the MCU bandwagon from time to time. He has nailed Spider-Man and killed it as T'Challa. In his off time, Dubbs works as a police officer in Southern Maryland where he also makes costumed special appearances.
16 CAPTAIN MARVEL - HANARI502
Captain Marvel is one of the most highly anticipated films coming from the MCU in 2019, but even though nobody has seen it yet, that doesn't mean cosplayers aren't taking on the character. After all, Carol Danvers has been a fan-favorite for years, and thanks to her constant changing of uniforms, there are a lot of options out there to emulate.
Hanari Solomon, otherwise known as Hanari502, took on the challenge with this an older version of the costume, but her best asset was definitely the hair. The faux hawk look may have been easy to achieve due to her natural cut, but there aren't many who can pull this off.
15 BLACK WIDOW - CLEF ATELIER
Natasha Romanoff, aka Black Widow, is another cosplay many have done, but not necessarily done well. The character certainly has a distinctive look, but few would take up the challenge to emulate the talents of Scarlett Johansson. One cosplayer who showed no fear was Clef Atelier, La Petite Feuille.
Sadly, Atelier was diagnosed with a serious illness in 2016 and has disappeared from the convention circuit, but her skills were on point when she put this cosplay together. If you would like to help out and support her during her treatment, please check out her Patreon page and give what you can.
14 ANT-MAN/GIANT-MAN - ANT-LORD COSPLAY
Putting together an Ant-Man or Giant-Man cosplay is no easy task. It requires a suit (of course), but the real difficulty comes in crafting the helmet, gloves, and belt. It's not easy and there is a great deal of skill involved in making it look like the character from the MCU. Many have tried, few have succeeded, and we found the best.
Ant-Lord Cosplay has perfected the suit and style as seen in the MCU, but that's not the only thing he has done well. Thanks to the incredible photography of Ryan Sims Photography, an Ant-Man costume became Giant-Man. It's all in how the character is shot and they really killed it with this one.
13 MANTIS - MAYOMI YOMI
There are a couple of aspects of the character Mantis some cosplayers find hard to emulate. For one thing, she has enlarged eyes few could possibly come close to achieving, but there are also a couple of antennae on her forehead that aren't so easy to make look real... as if they are coming out of one's own skin.
Mayomi Yomi not only gets the eyes right thanks to her naturally large anime-esque beauties, her skill with latex and whatever paint/make-up she used to attach those antennae should land her a job working at the MCU's studio. Mayomi typically works out of Russia and her cosplay is a testament to her skills in the craft.
12 RONAN THE ACCUSOR - MNAMNA COSPLAY
One of the greatest characters to show up in Guardians of the Galaxy was Ronan the Accusor. The character was played by Lee Pace, though it was difficult to tell thanks to the impressive makeup and costume put together to bring Ronan to life on the silver screen.
Because of the extensive makeup and costume involved, it can be difficult to pull off a convincing Ronan. Fortunately, there are brave cosplayers like John Spaw, aka Mnamna, who was up to the challenge. Spaw put together this impressive rendition of Ronan equipped with his familiar hammer, which even has a glowing Power Gem beset within.
11 STAR-LORD - DEADPAUL5150
You might think it is easy to pull off the likes of Star-Lord... after all, he tends to wear a t-shirt from the '80s as his primary clothing, but then you might be forgetting his signature helmet/facemask and some other accouterments he picked up over the years.
DeadPaul5150, a cosplayer, and professional prop-maker, threw together a movie-ready prop mask with an aero rig used in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2. And, yes, he does answer the question in the comments on his Instagram page... the rig did chafe the nipples a little bit.
10 HELA - JOBETH WAGNER
Cate Blanchett's Hela was one of the scariest, yet most amazing supervillains in the history of the MCU. She played the character perfectly, but much of her costume was created thanks to the amazing talents of the digital effects department. Perhaps this has led fewer cosplayers to take on the role, but then there is Jobeth Wagner.
Wagner's take on Hela is picture perfect from the film. She completely nailed the intricately-designed helmet with horns jutting out of her head in a way that looks almost natural. Her costume and makeup are also on point with her eyes even being obscured into a whited-out look. It's truly amazing to behold her skill and talent.
9 MATT MURDOCK & ELEKTRA NATCHIOS - MICHAEL BONANNO & VERONICA BENANTI
While most of the cosplays on this list come straight out of the movies, let's not forget that the Marvel Cinematic Universe also encompasses some amazing shows on television. In addition to Marvel's Agents of SHIELD on ABC, Netflix has delighted fans with an incredible Matt Murdock, aka Daredevil, thanks to the acting talents of Charlie Cox.
Rounding out his cast is the lovely Elodie Yung as Elektra Natchios. The couple was perfectly portrayed by Michael Bonanno and Veronica Benanti who is a self-described cosplay enthusiast and vet tech. They certainly captured the look of both characters, though looking through their Instagram suggests their love of animals supersedes cosplaying.
8 THOR - THOROFOZ
It's pretty much settled that the only man in the world who can play Thor accurately is Chris Hemsworth. His take on the God of Thunder is one of the things that make MCU movies great, but even with his talents, there has to be someone out there who can at least look the part.
Granted, it's not easy: you have to rock a beard, long flowing hair and the physique only an Asgardian warrior like Thor possesses. We found such a man with Andrew Lutomski, otherwise known as Thorofoz, a cosplayer, fitness coach and get this: an Australian actor... sound familiar?
7 IRON MAN - DEJOTA CRAFT
Many fans have been able to pull off a convincing Tony Stark cosplay, but few have the technical genius and eye for costume design to make an actual Iron Man suit look like... well, an Iron Man suit. The costume has a lot of parts, LEDs and, for those going for a look of realism, moving mechanical pieces.
One of the rare breeds capable of pulling it off is the pictured Dejota Craft, otherwise known as Konrad Kudlaty. His Mark 43 Iron Man suit is actually better than the MCU version since that one is almost entirely made out of digital effects and motion cap.
6 HULK - LAWRENCE GRECH
Let's face facts: the Hulk isn't easy to cosplay unless you look like Lou Ferrigno and happen to have some green body paint lying around. For most of us, it's a look we can never achieve, but there are those ready, willing and able to take on the Jade Giant.
Lawrence Grech not only nailed a Hulk cosplay, but he also perfected the character as he appeared on Sakaar in Thor: Ragnarok. The costume requires a lot of work, but we can assure you, Lawrence is in there... somewhere. He even has a championship belt on, which is the cherry on top of this amazing Hulk cosplay.