11 MCU Characters Who Actually Still Wear Masks

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The Marvel Cinematic Universe is not the biggest fan of its heroes wearing masks, although there are still some that do. Thanks to the brilliant improvised line by Robert Downey Jr. in Iron Man, in which Tony Stark admits to being a superhero publicly, the MCU doesn"t overly concern itself with secret identities in most cases, with the majority of the Avengers having their real names known. Still, there are plenty of Marvel heroes that still opt to keep their faces covered.
Admittedly, the MCU will often find ways to keep masks and helmets off for the certain characters that do use them, allowing their famous actors to soak up as much star power as possible. The famous helmet cam pioneered by Iron Man in the series is also a creative workaround the MCU has used. Barring heroes who are dead or retired, such as Star-Lord, or upcoming characters like Robert Downey Jr."s Doctor Doom, there are a myriad of MCU heroes whose costumes include a mask.
11 Captain America Has a whole new flight helmet

Custom image by Nicolas Ayala As Falcon, saying Sam Wilson wore a mask would be something of a stretch. Falcon"s sparse and utilitarian costume included a pair of red goggles that served as a heads-up display, allowing him to control his flight path and Redwing drones. Now, Sam Wilson serves as the next Captain America, carrying over his predecessor"s penchant for wearing a mask when out in public.
Sam Wilson"s first Captain America costume had an interesting white cowl that left his chin, ears, and scalp exposed. As of Captain America: Brave New World, Sam"s upgraded suit also includes a fully-integrated nanotech flight helmet that can cover his entire face, allowing for better protection when soaring through the sky at supersonic speeds. Even if his identity is more than public knowledge, Sam Wilson carries the torch of Captain America and benefits from real utility with his mask and helmet.
10 Daredevil Is sure to be back with a few brand new masks

Image via Disney+
Daredevil was once exclusive to the world of the Netflix continuity, but has been successfully integrated into the MCU as a whole. As one of the few heroes in the franchise to bother with concealing his identity, Matt Murdock started out with just a simple black bandana before he even had a superhero name, terrorizing Wilson Fisk"s criminal activities as a simple masked vigilante. Now a more established hero, Matt Murdock"s new facial covering has been consistent over multiple costume variations.
When in his superhero attire, Matt Murdock wears a striking devil mask that covers the top half of his head, with intimidating opaque eyes and demonic horns to strike fear into the hearts of his enemies. His mask has always stayed relatively similar-looking over the years, though he has experimented with different colors such as yellow. The trailer for Daredevil: Born Again has promised that Matt Murdock will be coming out of retirement with a whole new armory full of different colored Daredevil masks before long.
9 Moon Knight A mystical disguise provided by Khonshu

As the mystical avatar of the Ancient Egyptian moon god Khonshu, Moon Knight is one of the only Marvel heroes whose powers are directly tied to his costume. By summoning the ceremonial armor of Khonshu, Marc Spector becomes Moon Knight, giving him a white armor adorned with a white cloak and hood that bears a resemblance to the funeral wrappings of Egyptian mummies. This armor completely covers his face in bandages, allowing only two glowing eyes to peer through his dark hood of justice.
In addition to the traditional armor, Marc Spector"s alters like Steven Grant have demonstrated an ability to summon their own unique costumes. Steven Grant can trigger a similar transformation, though his "psycho Colonel Sanders" look (as dubbed by Spector) consists of a pure white formal suit topped with a skintight white balaclava with a moon symbol on the forehead, providing a familiar yet distinct appearance. It"s also worth mentioning that these costumes provide Moon Knight with his weapons as well, including his crescent blades and batons.
8 Spider-Man One of the most iconic masks in superhero history

Being the wearer of perhaps the single most iconic full face mask in comic books in general, it would be quite egregious for the MCU to leave out Spider-Man"s mask. Just like in the comics, Spider-Man in the MCU has consistently worn a mask that fully covers his face, with only the two large iconic eye visors to see out of. Spider-Man"s various MCU costumes have ranged from awkward homemade balaclavas with camera lenses for eyes to advanced nanotechnology built by Tony Stark.
As of the ending of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Peter Parker is completely by himself, stripped of all resources and allies with no one who remembers his name. Thus, he is once again reliant on a new homemade costume made with simple fabric. Considering the MCU"s ability to use technology to justify Spider-Man"s eyes changing size in accordance with his emotions as they do in the comics, it"ll be interesting to see how the new handcrafted suit is able to accomplish this.
7 Ironheart A new successor to Tony Stark

The most famous mask as far as the MCU is concerned is easily Iron Man"s original helmet, which served as the face of the franchise for a long time. With Tony Stark now out of the picture, the franchise begs for another hero to spiritually succeed him as the premiere armor user in the series. Riri Williams, soon to be known as Ironheart, is poised to take this role, swooping in with a new suit of her own design.
Riri"s suit is shown off in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, demonstrating impressive capabilities able to contend with even the impressive mutant warriors of Talokan. Ironheart"s suit may represent a much-needed shift from immaterial nanotech masks to heavy, chunky hunks of iron that thunk down on the user"s face as their visors are lowered. Hopefully, the upcoming Ironheart show can expand on the true limits of Riri"s suit and what the mask might mean to her.
6 Black Panther Still the suited protector of Wakanda

Speaking of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Shuri is another young heroine who makes her mask-wearing debut in the film. Historically, it seems as though the Black Panther has always worn a mask in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with T"Challa being the first to adorn the title"s responsibilities on screen. Now that the honor has passed on to Shuri, she has honored her brother with a similar-looking suit.
Unlike Ironheart, Shuri"s mask utilizes advanced Wakandan technology and vibranium to be made with nanotech materials, allowing her to instantly don her protection, similar to how her older brother did with a necklace of her own design. Shuri"s mask stands out from T"Challa"s with extra gold embellishments and ceremonial white dots hearkening to traditional African face paint. Shuri sadly doesn"t spend much time in the mask throughout the film, giving her more chances to emote, but it"s an incredibly cool-looking design.
5 Ant-Man A practical and stylish choice

Ant-Man"s helmet is one of the more clever designs as far as the MCU"s adaptation of classic comic book art is concerned. The original design for the character"s strange helmet would look quite odd in live-action, as demonstrated by the first ever live-action adaptation of Ant-Man"s costume worn by Garrett Morris on Saturday Night Live. The MCU changes the bulbous shape into more of a harshly angled full-face helmet, almost coincidentally resembling an ant"s eyes and antennae with more of a gas mask look.
It seems as though this helmet is a vital part of Hank Pym"s size-changing technology, as the helmet is often seen snapping into place before Scott Lang shrinks or grows, perhaps needed to regulate the flow of oxygen at a disrupted size. It"s worth noting that Hope Van Dyne"s The Wasp and Scott"s daughter Cassie, who becomes the superhero Stature in the comics, also wear these specific kinds of helmets. For how goofy Ant-Man is as a character, his helmet is still shockingly cool.
4 War Machine Essentially a gray Iron Man helmet

Ironheart isn"t the only superhero living up to Tony Stark"s legacy still active in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Don Cheadle"s James Rhodes is one of the most bitterly underrated heroes and performances in the whole series, fulfilling a valuable role as a supporting character since Iron Man 2. War Machine"s suits have always been more practical and less flashy compared to Iron Man"s, as evidenced by even the most cutting-edge version.
War Machine"s gunmetal gray armor stands out among the colorful heroes, identifying itself as a touch and purpose-built armor. Still quite similar to the original Iron Man suit, War Machine"s helmet is quite cool, and comes with all the same necessary functionality to successfully pilot a Starktech suit. Hopefully War Machine will get more love in the upcoming Armor Wars project, which has been seemingly stuck in development limbo for some time.
3 Taskmaster Only vaguely implies its comic counterpart

Taskmaster is one of the MCU"s most altered characters compared to their comic selves, which more than extends to their choice of costume. The Taskmaster of the comics is a wisecracking villain for hire with a photographic memory, taking on jobs that make use of his eerie ability to unerringly copy the physical movements of anyone he sees. Meanwhile, the MCU re-imagined the character as the silent daughter of General Dreykov, brainwashed to be a merciless assassin with the uploaded moves of the Avengers via an experimental implant.
In the comics, Taskmaster"s mask is a realistic-looking skull, but the MCU sands off the edges for more of an implied skeletal look. Taskmaster will return to the cast of the upcoming Thunderbolts*, apparently not done working even after the destruction of the Black Widow program. The trailers have not shown much footage of her, leading many to believe that Taskmaster won"t be surviving to see the final act.
2 The Red Guardian A lovable Soviet knockoff

Another character from Black Widow who will be returning to Thunderbolts* is the affable Red Guardian. The Soviet Union"s answer to Captain America, the Red Guardian was given a super soldier serum that worked to some degree, even if it may not have been as potent as Captain America"s. After being abandoned by the state, Red Guardian was left to languish in a Russian prison before eventually being freed by Black Widow to help her as a valuable ally against Dreykov.
Being a proper rip-off of Captain America, Red Guardian bears a similar cowl to the mask that Steve Rogers typically wore, only red with a white star rather than blue. Alexei frequently finds himself without this garment, though Thunderbolts* will see him don it once again. With his new extra-length beared, Red Guardian"s mask looks more intimidating and fitting than ever.
1 Ghost A creepy and intimidating espionage agent

Ghost is another character, like Taskmaster, who was given significant changes from her comics iteration to her MCU counterpart. In the comics, Ghost is a simple corporate espionage agent and an Iron Man villain whose powers come from advanced technology, bearing a suit that allows him to become invisible and intangible. The MCU instead posits that Ava Starr was given native powers allowing her to do the same after a quantum accident, though she wasn"t always able to fully control them.
Ghost sports a new look in the trailers to Thunderbolts*, ditching the white panel mask with multiple red eyes for a completely gray full-face visor that leaves only two small trios of white lights on display. Like Taskmaster, Ghost doesn"t have too big of a presence in the promotional materials, but she"s one of the only members of the team to have powers that go beyond a simple super soldier serum. With her new appearance, Ghost has one of the coolest-looking masks in the MCU.
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