The Geek Beat: Costume Ideas to Keep Things Geeky This Halloween

Halloween is nearly upon us, and that means you only have a few more days to ponder the ways in which you can turn up the geekery to 11 this year.Whether you;re suiting up to shake down your neighbors for candy, attending a party, or simply want to impress the kids who knock on your door, a good costume is an important starting point for a successful Halloween. Last week, I offered up some suggestions for a movie marathon inspired by the next wave of high-profile superhero and sci-fi films hitting theaters, and this week it;s all about getting off the couch and gearing up for a geek-tastic Halloween.Just about anybody can put together (or certainly buy) a costume based on one of the X-Men or their foes, but with the big-screen X-Men franchise currently working its way through various generations of pop culture, there;s an opportunity to put a unique spin on your favorite Marvel mutants. Combine the standard claws and Wolverine wig with some groovy ;70s fashion and you;ve gone full Days of Future Past. Make that an ;80s ensemble, and you;re looking ahead to X-Men: Apocalypse. Want to avoid Wolverine? Slip on Magneto;s helmet (replica or homemade), some silver hair dye and goggles (for Quicksilver), or some blue body paint (for Mystique) to cast a wider net on the mutant-verse.The first trailer for Avengers: Age of Ultron made a lot of jaws drop – particularly when Marvel Studios debuted Iron Man;s “Hulkbuster” armor. Want to rock your own version of Tony Stark;s best weapon against gamma-irradiated behemoths? You can try to replicate the armor-within-armor configuration of the Age of Ultron armor by doubling up on Iron Man costumes (or simply the helmet/mask). Wear one formfitting costume (or mask) underneath a larger costume that;s been padded out and you;ve got your own version of the Hulkbuster. Take that, Bruce Banner.Of course, there;s never been a better time to gender bend that Ghostbuster costume now that a reboot of the 1984 film with a female cast is gaining momentum. Ladies (and guys looking ahead to the franchise;s future), it;s time to bust some ghosts.Ben Affleck;s upcoming debut as Batman has become a lightning rod for debate regarding Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and you;ll have no shortage of opportunities to let your opinion be known if you decide to go “Super Affleck” this Halloween. Combine a red leather or vinyl jacket and pants (and some homemade batons) inspired by Affleck;s 2003 turn as Daredevil with a Batman cowl and cape, and you;ve got yourself a conversation-starter. (Warning: It may not be a very pleasant conversation.)And because Halloween always seems to bring out the most inappropriately “sexy” costumes, there;s no reason you can;t mine that sad, disturbing trend for an outfit that combines sex appeal with geek cred. Want a costume that will have people saying, “You are one sexy motherf***er”? Give Sexy Predator a try. (And let;s be honest: The costume works for women and men.) In most cases, all you need is a character mask and a lack of modesty to pull off sexy versions of geek-friendly cinema icons who weren;t wearing much to begin with. Sexy Gollum? It can be done, precious. Sexy Yoda? Daring, you are.Warner Bros. surprised everyone earlier this month by announcing an ambitious slate of superhero movies based on DC Comics properties. With that many high-profile characters to choose from, it;s understandable if you;re not sure which one to embody this Halloween. And why do you have to? Mix and match Batman;s cowl with Superman;s cape, Aquaman;s fish-scale shirt, Wonder Woman;s skirt, Flash;s scarlet pants, some Cyborg-inspired metal of your choosing, and Green Lantern;s emerald ring for good measure. Sure, it might look like a mess, but tell everyone you;re a “Crisis of Infinite Costumes” and you;re good to go.On a related note, if you;re not having any luck finding a Wonder Woman costume in the style of the new, Gal Gadot version of the character debuting in Batman v Superman, you can probably get away with a modified version of a Xena: Warrior Princess costume from that series. I;m not saying they;re the same, but well... Okay, they;re pretty much the same.Of course, if you want to be really timely, you can just don an overcoat, a scarf, a Deerstalker cap, and a T-shirt inspired by a certain Sorcerer Supreme and find out who;s been paying attention to the headlines this week.Question of the Week: What;s your Halloween costume going to be this year?Rick Marshall is an award-winning writer and editor whose work can be found at Movies.com, as well as MTV News, Fandango, Digital Trends, IFC.com, Newsarama, and various other online, print, and on-air news outlets. He;s been called a “Professional Geek” by ABC News and Spike TV, and his personal blog can be found at MindPollution.org. You can find him on Twitter as @RickMarshall.