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We’re in for an even weirder Halloween in 2020 than normal. The COVID-19 pandemic will surely have an effect on many people’s favorite holiday. Trick-or-treating, costume parties, and other festivities will have to be drastically altered for this year, or outright canceled. But as long as a face covering is involved, there are still fun and clever ways to dress up this year. Here are ten costume ideas that include a mask or face covering.

Spider-People

One of the easiest masked costumes to pull off is Spider-Man. However, everyone and their nephew will be wanting to dress as Peter Parker on Halloween night. Fortunately, there are a plethora of Spider-Men to choose from! Aside from Peter, there is Miles Morales, Miguel O’Hara (Spider-Man 2099), and Ben Reilly (Scarlet Spider), all with their own unique suits. There are even alternate versions of Peter Parker such as Spider-Man Noir, or you can try to find an Iron Spider or Symbiote suit that Peter wore in the comics. And for the ladies, there are plenty of Spider-Women as well! Jessica Drew (aka Spider-Woman), Spider-Gwen, and Silk are some great examples. Although it might be a simple choice, there are plenty of ways to make a Spidey suit stand out.

Darth Vader/Kylo Ren

The two helmed Sith Lords will surely be a popular costume choice this year. Vader and Ren both wear helmets that encompass their entire heads, ensuring the utmost safety for Halloween 2020. While their outfits are bulky and extravagant, they are still easy to find due to their popularity. The budget for these costumes might be on the high side, but owning a fully functioning Vader helmet is probably worth it. The only downside to these costumes is that you will possibly have to engage in a lightsaber battle with your doppelganger at some point in the night.

Mortal Kombat Ninjas

The Mortal Kombat universe may be the best place to find masked costume ideas. The games feature an abundance of ninjas who all wear masks, including poster boys Scorpion and Sub-Zero. The palette swaps are all in play as well, including Reptile, Smoke, Rain, Ermac, and Noob Saibot. There are also female ninjas in Kitana, Jade, Mileena, Frost, and Skarlet. These costumes are both easy to find and easy to make if you want to go the DIY route. Just don’t go performing any Fatalities out there; do Friendships (Friendship?) instead!

V

This is a costume I feel like I don’t see enough under normal circumstances. In the COVID landscape, there is no better time to take to the streets as V for Halloween. Taken from Alan Moore’s classic comic V for Vendetta, V’s costume is instantly recognizable thanks to the movie adaptation released in 2005. The costume is rather easy to pull off, needing only a black cloak, a matching brimmed hat, and V’s patented mask and wig. There is even a complete costume set available on Amazon!

Sango

For the ladies looking for an anime character to dress up as there might be no better choice this year than Sango. One of the more popular characters from Inuyasha, Sango is a female yokai slayer whose talents rival anyone else in the series. She has one of the cooler-looking outfits in anime, especially with her metallic mask. Along with her sword, she wields a giant boomerang that drapes over her shoulder. This costume may require a big budget or some serious DIY work, but the best costumes usually do!

Kakashi Hatake

This will likely be the top costume choice for anime fans this Halloween. Naruto‘s Kakashi Hatake sports one of the most famous looks in all of anime, most notably (and conveniently) for his face mask. His outfit is also the most modern out of any character on this list, making it very easy for DIY methods. The only challenge with this costume is dying your hair white or finding a wig. If you are having trouble, Amazon has a complete costume set available.

Sheik

For everyone planning on dressing as Princess Zelda for Halloween, why not go with her masked alter ego instead? Sheik first appeared in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and was further popularized in the Super Smash Bros. series. Her face mask was used to conceal Zelda’s true identity, but it will work well as a safety measure this year too. Sheik has a very unique and complex look to her, making this a very difficult costume to find. You will probably have to look at cosplay stores, which usually have a heftier price tag. But dressing as Sheik would catch the eye of many onlookers, especially those who main her in Smash (like me!).

Samus Aran

If you really wanted to turn some Nintendo fans’ heads on Halloween, look no further than gaming’s first leading lady. Though fair warning, this will be the most expensive costume on this list, given that Samus wears an entire power suit. On the other hand, it will also be the safest costume during COVID Halloween, so there is a fair trade-off. Zero-Suit Samus is perhaps a cheaper option, but she normally wears no mask or helmet. To dress in her classic look from the Metroid games, it will require a big budget and advanced DIY talents. A Samus Aran costume is only for those willing to go all-out this Halloween.

Ghouls from Tokyo Ghoul

The ghouls in Tokyo Ghoul may be mostly villainous, but they could be anime fans’ saving grace this Halloween. All ghouls wear masks to conceal their human identities, each being unique from the other. The simplest masks belong to protagonists Ken Kaneki and Touka, with the latter being that of a rabbit (very easy to find). The best masks belong to the leaders of Aogiri. Tatara, Noro, and Eto Yoshimura have eclectic masks to go along with their outfits, making them some of the more cooler-looking ghouls to choose from. While some characters may be harder to pull off than others, they can probably all be accomplished through DIY means since most wear modern attire.

Bleach Characters

Simply put, Bleach is one of the most beloved anime of all time. Protagonist Ichigo Kurosaki is already a popular costume choice for Halloween, only needing to don his mask for this year. But there are many other masked characters in Bleach who deserve some Halloween shine. Similar to Tokyo Ghoul, most of the masked characters in Bleach are villainous. The masks are related to hollows, evil souls who remain behind to wreak havoc on earth. However, the two main groups of masked characters are the Arrancar and the Visored. The Arrancar are hollows who have reverted back to human form by removing parts of their masks, though some still have their mouths covered. Tier Harribel is perhaps the most famous example and is a great choice for ladies. The Visored are Shinigami who betrayed the Soul Society and have adopted Hollow masks. They perhaps have the best-looking masks in the series and are prime choices for costumes, given that there are both male and female members. While there are plenty of masked characters to choose from, Ichigo remains the most popular and easiest to accomplish.

If you have any other suggestions for masked Halloween costumes, be sure to leave your suggestions in the comments!