Kick-Ass 2: Suited and booted for hardcore villainy

Kick-Ass 2: Suited and booted for hardcore villainy

A costume partly inspired by Marilyn Manson may be the most spectacular super-villain get-up ever seen in the movies. Christopher Mintz-Plasse, who dressed up as superhero Red Mist in Kick-Ass, has ventured to the dark side in the upcoming sequel and is inspired to take on the evil pseudonym The Mother F%&*^r by donning S&M gear he discovers hidden inside his dead father's gun case. Costume designer Sammy Sheldon Differ says it was the most complex costume to create out of the dozens made for the action thriller: “We played around with the texture and the zips. The idea was to not have a cross-dressing feel. When he first puts on the underwear and holds the guns, oddly he didn't look that bad. We looked at people who dressed up in that hardcore rock look – Marilyn Manson, My Chemical Romance and the guys from Green Day – and tried to mix it with S&M gear in a way that tried to make it look like a superhero.”

In designing the costumes for new characters such as Black Death, Colonel Stars and Stripes and Mother Russia, Differ says, “What's important is the characters are real, and the idea is that the costume has to have functionality and not be in the world of spandex. We looked at real people who dress up as superheroes and try to help people, people like Phoenix Jones in Seattle.” The results are costumes that you will want to wear at Halloween.

'Kick-Ass 2' is on nationwide release from 14 August (www.kickass-themovie.com)