I don’t know about you, but I’m not crafty enough to make my own Halloween/Cosplay costume.  Therefore I’m stuck wearing the dreaded store-bought costume.  Generally speaking, these are poorly made, unflattering monstrosities made out of the poorest grade fabric allowable.  But, what else is there to do, when as I said, I can’t exactly make anything myself.  Plus, I very much enjoy Halloween festivities and costumes in general and want to get into the spirit.  With some searching, you CAN find some nifty nerdy costumes for sale.  Some cost a pretty penny, but it’s worth it to not look like some schlub in an ill-fitting Wolverine get-up.

Here are my top pics of nerdy store-bought Halloween costumes for men:

10. Green Lantern (Comic Version)

They went overboard with the movie costumes.  I think I counted four, Hal, Killowog, Sinestro and Abin Sur.  I understand these costume deals are made well in advance, before these movies come out and in this case, bombed.  Fans were hating on this suit well before the movie hit screens and it still doesn’t work.  Ugh!  The above GL costume, accurate to the way it looks in the comics is much better.  It’s a tad bulky and the molded muscle is pretty weak, but overall, I’d much prefer to be seen in this costume than the movie look.

9. Happy Potter

This Harry Potter costume looks above all else, comfy!  It also looks like it would be warm and I don’t know about you, but where I live, Halloween tends to be pretty cold!  Drawback, you have to listen to people all night saying ” ‘Arry Pottah” in a fake British accent.

8. Thor

This looks pretty spot-on!  Once again, looks pretty comfortable.  Plus it has a cape!  Capes are a plus!  The helmet might be annoying though and I don’t typically like carrying props.  Even so, it looks cool and you don’t have to be built like a god (like Chris Hemsworth) to pull it off!

7. Captain America

I love the Captain America movie costume and I’m bummed that they’re changing it for ‘The Avengers.’  Grab this sweet replica while it’s still relevant!  I’d add gloves.  For whatever reason, store-bought costumes almost never include them.  The same for boots, actually, they’re always essentially spats.  Nevertheless, this looks decent!

6. Any Crew Member from ‘Star Trek’

Super easy and incredibly comfortable!  I’m down with both original Trek or the J.J. Abrams reboot, but I find the ‘Next Generation’ jumpsuits heinous, like space janitors!

5a. Tie – Superman

5b. Tie – Batman

Super heroes in general are tough to pull off for most of us mere mortals.  They’re ridiculously built and wear spandex!  A few years ago, costume makers started making suits with molded muscles, but often that looks really fake.  (See Green Lantern, above.)  These two amazing suits have taken that concept to an all-time high, with crazy muscles on top of muscles!  The detailing is fantastic!  I love Batman’s utility belt!  They’re a tad too shiny, but overall, crazy awesome!

4. Anyone in a helmet from ‘Star Wars’

It can be Boba Fett (pictured) or Darth Vader or a Storm Trooper.  Refer to what I said about paying premium prices, though.  These sorts of costumes cost HUNDREDS of dollars, but you don’t want to cheap out and show up in a foam facsimile.  I find the more human costumes, like Han or Anakin tend to look flimsy.

3. Skeletor (‘Masters of the Universe’)

I LOVE IT!!!  I couldn’t believe it when I saw it!  (There’s a matching He-Man costume that’s also nice, but not as killer as this one!)  I’m seriously considering getting this!  It’s just… awesome!  The mask looks incredible!  It reminds me of the live action ‘Masters of the Universe’ tour I went to as a child.  The one drawback is young whipper snappers won’t know who he is.  But still!  Sadly, I can’t cackle as wonderfully as Alan Oppenheimer did on the old cartoon series.

2. Beast (‘X-Men’)

Oh sure, Wolverine and Cyclops are more popular.  There’s even a Magneto costume, but it looks lousy.  Beast isn’t the biggest name in the X-Verse, but this suit is STUNNING nonetheless!  The detailing is phenomenal!  The arms look so intricate, the muscle sculpting is nicely done, but of course the mask seals the deal!  It looks unbelievable! If I had a group of friends who wanted to go out dressed as the X-Men, I’d immediately call dibs on this suit!  (Well… after Dazzler.)

1. Bumblebee (‘Transformers’)

I swear, I’m NOT a secret crazed ‘Transformers’ fanatic who’s sticking them at the top of every list I make (top 10 robots in science fiction), but look at that thing!  It’s incredible!  There’s an equally amazing Optimus Prime, but Bumblebee narrowly beat him out.  That thing is just SICK!

Stay tuned, tomorrow I’ll have my ten nerdy store-bought female halloween costume choices.