As people around the globe look for protective gear to wear in public during the coronavirus pandemic, some fans of DC Comics had a galaxy brain idea: buy and wear Bane‘s mask from The Dark Knight Rises to protect themselves from getting sick. The Hollywood Reporter brings word that three major costume retailers, Costume.com, BuyCostumes.com and HalloweenCostumes.com, have all sold out of the mask after an increased demand for the product. Though it doesn’t include the pain-killing gas as seen in the film, the mask is also not a suitable covering for preventing the spread of infection with the United States Military even calliung out the Bane mask as an unauthorized face covering for servicemen in uniform (they also used Darth Vader’s helmet and Hannibal Lecter’s face mask as other unauthorized examples while having some online fun).
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“Looking at sales figures, the adult mask had quite a sales spike in April and early May, which is unusual for this time of year,” spokesman for Costume.com David DeJac told THR. DeJac noted that the complete adult costume for Bane remained fully in stock for the website, which seemingly suggests that buyers only wanted the mask. Gee, wonder why.
DeJac further noted to the trade that the increased sales of Bane masks aren’t an anomaly on their own for the costume seller and that they had “an unusual increase in sales and searches for masks” for the current time of year. Bane remains one of the most popular searches of course but V For Vendetta, Batman, and The Cat in the Hat are among some of the other masks that people are buying up on the retailer’s website.
Due to the ongoing threat of the coronavirus pandemic, masks have become a new normal for everyday life around the world and that doesn’t seem likely to change until a vaccine is released. Even the Walt Disney World Resort is making the wearing of masks mandatory. Having recently re-opened the Disney Springs shopping pavilion, all guests over the age of 3, in addition to cast members and other employees, are required to wear an appropriate face covering while present. Though Disney World itself isn’t open, Shanghai Disneyland reopened last week with similar safety measures in place and tickets sold out almost immediately.
Unfortunately for fans of Batman, Star Wars, Phantom of the Opera, or Friday the 13th, none of the masks that they can see in those franchises are considered worthwhile alternatives to cloth masks that cover the nose and mouth.
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