Spider Man? LAME
Wolverine? LAME
The Duck Avenger? PERFECT!

Making up your own superhero for Halloween can be the perfect costume, and can tailor to your own interests! It also gives everyone a great conversation starter when asked "Who are you?"

Step 1: Inspiration

The Inspiration for this costume came out of wanting to make up a superhero character for halloween. I'm really interested in electronics so i wanted to come up with a character that would harness that.

The name i came up with was Greggawatt, a crime fighter who knew how to fix even the most kludgey of hacks! Armed with a multimeter and electrosensitive goggles!

The purple theme came out of my recent hair dyeing, and i really like that shade of purple.

For your own costumes, you can make the back story as complex or as simple as you want. Having a bit of a back story does make the costume a bit more exciting to outsiders. Once you have a good idea of what you want to be, do some sketch-outs and figure out what you want your costume to look like.

Once you're satisfied with an idea, time to get supplies!

Step 2: The Costume

The most important part about being an actual superhero for halloween is having a radical costume.

There are two routes you can go with this, more traditional "bright colors" costume or a modern more realistic idea. I went with the bright colors version with tights!

Sourcing the materials wasn't too hard because i started early but my costume had these basic elements:
Tights
Gloves
Boots
Goggles
Accessories

I'll go thorough each of these elements to give you an idea of what you can do to make your costume awesome.

Step 3: Tights

I found that tights in different colors for guys were hard to come by. I searched lots of places online and could only find ballet type that i would have to dye.

Luckily i remembered that American Apparel carries tights of all colors. I was able to find both a top and a bottom that worked for my costume there.

Girls will have an easier time going places to find tights, it's also go to think about when you will be wearing them so you know if you should get thick or thin ones.

Guys, be sure to also consider the "bulge factor" you don't want to be embarrassed mid-evening. I used a pair of padded bike shorts to complete the look and make myself a little more presentable. Wearing a cup could help this as well.

Step 4: Gloves

Gloves of course are less necessary, but they give the super hero a more professional look.

I used some cycling gloves i had from a mountain biking trip, they had a nice texture to them and looked good with my costume. Motor cycles gloves would look good for a more tough look but if you need something more delicate some nice dressy gloves from a tuxedo or dress shop would work.

Step 5: Boots

If you're jumping from building to building fighting crime you need some good footwear. Depending on your character you may need some special boots or shoes to finish the look.

I had a pair of doc martens lying around that matched perfectly. Take a look at thrift stores or costume shops. I would avoid spending too much unless you plan to use these shoes for other events.

Using something you already have is always best!

Step 6: Goggles

My character needed some good goggles. I went to the army surplus and found some nice french tank operator goggles that were very cool.

Army surplus stores have the better deals usually on some odd stuff, going to one may help you get more ideas for your costume!

Welding goggles have a good look as well, but you may have to arm wrestle some steampunkers.

Step 7: Accessories

Finally it's time to accessorize.

The different colored hair i think brings a lot to the costume that makes it more comicy, if you can't dye your real hair, get a cool wig.

I used EL wire to accent the costume, it made it more impressive than just a guy wearing purple tights.

Lastly i clipped on my multimeter to my waist band and i was good to go!

Step 8: The Final Product

The final product was very impressive, people liked my costume and did ask "what are you??" a lot. I wore this costume for 3 days straight around Halloween. I also used it to attend the premier of "kick-ass" this past spring.

Creating your own super hero can be rewarding and much more fun than taking someone else's idea. Superhero culture is a part of our growing up and everyone wants to "be" a superhero. And now you can!

I hope you enjoyed this instructable, post your ideas for costumes and be sure to show off your own costumes once you get your crime fighter together!