Do you love the MCU? Have you ever wanted to cosplay one of your favorite characters but didn’t think you could afford it? Well, today is your lucky day! In this blog post, we’ll show you how to cosplay Kingpin on a budget. Read on to learn more!
Cosplay Character overview for Kingpin aka Wilson Fisk
Kingpin is one of the most well-known villains in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He is a very large, man who is often seen as a towering figure of terror. Despite his size, he is incredibly agile and strong, making him a formidable opponent for even the most experienced heroes. In recent years, he has become increasingly popular in the cosplay community. Here’s everything you need to know about the kingpin of crime! (Source)
During his criminal career, Fisk has come into conflict with many of Marvel’s heroes, including Spider-Man, Daredevil, and Luke Cage. He has also worked with various other villains, such as Doctor Octopus and the Green Goblin. In recent years, he has even been portrayed as an anti-hero on occasion.
List of Items to Cosplay as Kingpin
- White or Black Suit – (Best found at a local thrift store)
- Bald Cap or shaved head
- Shirt
- Cufflinks (optional)
- Dark Shoes
How to find the perfect suit to cosplay as Kingpin on a budget
With a little effort, you can find everything you need to put together an amazing costume right in your local thrift store. Here’s what you’ll need to look for:
A Two-Piece Suit
I am a frequent shopper at the Goodwill stores around our house, and I can tell you that I see about 20 two-piece suits for every 1 three-piece suit. There are a lot of images of Kingpin wearing an iconic white three-piece suit, but it’s acceptable if you get a two-piece suit.
You can combine this with a loud shirt whether that’s a Hawaiian floral shirt or another vibrant-colored shirt. There are also images of him just wearing a traditional black button-up shirt under his suit jacket.
Tip: Buy a size or two larger suit than you need.
Going up a size will allow you to add padding if you want. Additionally, he is known for having a longer coat that often goes down to the middle of his thigh so the larger size will help sell the character.
A Three-Piece Suit
The most important part of any Kingpin cosplay is, of course, the suit. You’ll need to find a three-piece suit in a dark color such as black, charcoal, or navy. Look for a suit with wide lapels and plenty of room in the chest and waist. Avoid anything with busy patterns or too many details; simplicity is key when it comes to pulling off this look.
How to get Kingpin’s signature bald head look on a budget
I’ve dressed as Kingpin for a couple of conventions. It’s a great choice as I’m a larger male in my 40s. I have thinning hair that I normally keep shaved pretty close so for me the best option was just to get a head blade razer and have a smooth head. This only took me a couple of minutes to get the look, and my hair grew to the length I normally wear it a couple of weeks after the event.
If shaving your head isn’t your thing, then you could look at getting a bald cap. These are incredibly inexpensive. I wore a bald cap when I dressed as Walter White from Breaking Bad rather than shaving my hair as I had some presentations for my job right after the convention.
My favorite bald cap is less than $10, and it’s super easy to put on. I’ve included a video showing how to put on a bald cap.
How to find the perfect shirt to cosplay as Kingpin on a budget
One of the great perks about Kingpin’s shirt is that it’s always a statement shirt that doesn’t match. He also never wears a tie. Sometimes, he will wear an ascot, but that’s not something that you need to include if you are just starting. There are a lot of images of Wilson fisk just wearing a shirt without it. however, there aren’t a lot of other rules.
If you are going in his dark suit, then we recommend a loud Hawaiian shirt. These can be purchased for next-to-nothing at your local thrift store.
If you are going in a light or white suit, he will normally wear a black shirt under this. This could be a simple black t-shirt that is in your wardrobe. Alternatively, it could be a long sleeve shirt or even an oxford button-down shirt.
I don’t like the look of the dark shirt with the dark suit as I think it can make the character a little harder to recognize.
How to find the perfect shoes to cosplay as Kingpin on a budget
When it comes to Kingpin’s shoes, he traditionally wears leather loafer shoes. If you are set on going as close to the movies and comics as you can get, you can consider getting these shoes.
However, I strongly prefer wearing some simple black tennis shoes.
I normally walk 3-4 miles each day at a convention and even more on opening day as it requires waiting in a registration line. Because of this, I want the most comfortable shoes I can get. I wore some dress shoes to a convention about 20 years ago, and I immediately regretted it.
On the first day, I just dealt with the pain and pushed through it. I got blisters and it was painful. However, this left me miserable for the last two days of the convention. After that, I decided that I would always choose comfort over closer matching when it comes to my cosplay.
If you are set on wearing the loafers, I highly suggest getting a new pair of shoes that you can try on. Adding some extra padding to the shoes as most of the time companies won’t expect people to be wearing this type of shoes for walking miles each day.
I’ve also had several friends just keep a change of shoes in their backpacks. This way they can wear their athletic shoes most of the time, and then switch to the loafers for any group photographs. This can give you the best of both worlds if you don’t mind carrying the extra items.
How to find the perfect cufflinks to cosplay as Kingpin on a budget
A key element of Kingpin aka Wilson Fisk’s look is his overly fancy cufflinks. These are optional elements, but I want to share how you can create some with items you have around your home. I use 2 large old buttons that I’ll grab from an old shirt.
I then simply attach two coins from a foreign country to the button with a hot glue gun. A hot glue gun is a staple in any cosplayer toolkit so I highly suggest picking one up if you don’t have one already. Here’s a link to our favorite hot glue gun for beginners.
After you let the buttons and coins stick cool, then it’s time to find a way to fasten it to your suit. My approach to this is to hot glue a safety pin to the underside of the button. Once that is all dry you have complete custom cufflinks that can be added to Kingpin’s outfit. They can also be removed if you want to use the jacket for another outfit.
I’ve had a couple of people ask how you use the cufflinks without the pin visible, and I apologize for not explaining that better when I originally wrote this post. You will want to button the jacket as normal and place the safety pin through the buttonhole. The button and coin should be on the outside of the jacket while the pin is on the inside of the jacket. This may be a little tricky to do if the jacket is buttoned so I suggest undoing the real button until you get it set.
Conclusion
In summary, you don’t need to spend a lot of money to get a great budget cosplay for Kingpin. You can often find clothing items in your closet or at a local thrift store. Be creative with your makeup and hair to add some extra details that will make your cosplay stand out. And if you want to get creative, you can make your cufflinks with some old buttons and foreign coins.
So that’s our guide on how to dress as Kingpin for Halloween or a cosplay convention. Kingpin is a great character because he is instantly recognizable, and he is also a great character for someone like me who is on the larger side. I don’t have to worry about not having the perfect muscular athletic build for other characters in the MCU.
If you’re looking for more budget characters, we’ve dedicated an entire section of our website to cosplaying on a budget.
Finally, if you choose to dress as Kingpin, we’d love to see your picture. Please send us a message on Twitter @FancyMasks or tag us in the photos. Each month, we pick some of our favorite cosplay outfits to highlight on our site.
