Forums of the Megaverse®

depends on the character. Superman would appear to be fashion, but in older issues , I think he has used his cape to protect/ shield innocents as its seems to have some of his invulnerabilities. Batman is part fashion, he would not look as menacing without his cape, but is also functional as a glider, plus I believe it is flame proof, and bullet resistant.
The Cape, no Cape question, also comes from the movie Incredibles. Where it is implied that capes are dangerous to the wearer. Which can be true, but they can also be useful to the wearer, as in Batman s glider cape, or just used to distract a foe , used as a weapon ( with weighted ends), plus if worried about it getting snagged, and being used to choke, or injury wearer it can have break away clasps, as Cyan , from Century Station.
Also the cape, can be and is a fashion statment, with the right costume, but at the same time can be a fashion disaster with the wrong costume. Spiderman with a cape BAD, Doctor Doom with cape GOOD, DareDevil cape BAD, Magneto cape GOOD. Superman GOOD, Batman VERY GOOD , the Flash cape BAD.
Although I am sure that some would argue that capes are just Bad, on anyone, other than Batman.

No cape!

Every time I think of this question I think of the words of Edna Mode in The Incredibles "NO CAPES!!"

I gotta go with the whole it depends on the character, his motif, his image and his powers and useage of the cape.

When I can, I usually try to affix a cape to all my superhero's I've created...

i guess i'd have to vote cape, just because for some characters it is appropriate.

really, anyone who needs to be quick and unencumbered would tend to not wear a cape. as stated, batman has many uses for his cape in combat situations as well as assisting travel. besides, i don't think he does so much dodging as blocking. of course, fliers tend to wear capes, though that isn't a rule.

basically, its a statement by the character (hero or villain) that he/she can handle possible drawbacks of a cape.

Capes have a certain aesthetic appeal that, in comics, I think is very important. So I vote yes for capes.

If we're going to get into realism, then I think a better question would be:

Spandex as a good fabric choice for your costume: Yes or No?

jolt

Amberjack wrote: The Cape, no Cape question, also comes from the movie Incredibles. Where it is implied that capes are dangerous to the wearer.

It originally comes from The Watchmen, actually.
Along with a bunch of other stuff that The Incredibles ripped off.

Killer Cyborg wrote:

Amberjack wrote: The Cape, no Cape question, also comes from the movie Incredibles. Where it is implied that capes are dangerous to the wearer.

It originally comes from The Watchmen, actually.
Along with a bunch of other stuff that The Incredibles ripped off.

gonna call homage on this one. The Incredibles, that is.

Killer Cyborg wrote:

Amberjack wrote: The Cape, no Cape question, also comes from the movie Incredibles. Where it is implied that capes are dangerous to the wearer.

It originally comes from The Watchmen, actually.
Along with a bunch of other stuff that The Incredibles ripped off.

Prior to the Watchmen, Steve Rogers, as The Nomad, tripped on his own cape, and this allowed Viper and Eel to escape.
He later modified the costume to no longer include the cape.

Marrowlight wrote:

Killer Cyborg wrote:

Amberjack wrote: The Cape, no Cape question, also comes from the movie Incredibles. Where it is implied that capes are dangerous to the wearer.

It originally comes from The Watchmen, actually.
Along with a bunch of other stuff that The Incredibles ripped off.

gonna call homage on this one. The Incredibles, that is.

Too much was taken for me to be that kind, but I'm sure the writers meant no harm.

Killer Cyborg wrote:

Marrowlight wrote:

Killer Cyborg wrote:

Amberjack wrote: The Cape, no Cape question, also comes from the movie Incredibles. Where it is implied that capes are dangerous to the wearer.

It originally comes from The Watchmen, actually.
Along with a bunch of other stuff that The Incredibles ripped off.

gonna call homage on this one. The Incredibles, that is.

Too much was taken for me to be that kind, but I'm sure the writers meant no harm.

Look at it as a neat gateway. Half the stuff that was taken from won't be available to the target audience for years. They're gonna love it when they run across stuff like James Bond, the Fantastic Four, etc.

If you want too much taken, go check out Mutant & Mastermind's city book.


(that'll bring the raging defenders of M&M out )

Would a trench coat be considered a cape or not? In the movies and
in the TV show Blade seems to use the coat more like a cape.

To Cape or not to Cape, that is the question.... and the answer is it depends on the character. I've had more then a few heroes who've had capes including one who wore a cape because as far as he was concerned it was the ultimate symbol that he was a hero, but I've had more who never wore them at all.


Daniel Stoker

the more i think of it, historically capes are so much associated with heroes or combatants as much as with royalty.
its a symbol of power, authority, prestige, respect...

(btw, ARE there any "raging defenders of M&M"?)
(i am fond of the peanut ones... )

also, I can see wolverine wearing a cape... thanks to Amalgam Comics.

Sir Ysbadden wrote:

MontanaPlayer wrote:

Sir Ysbadden wrote:

MontanaPlayer wrote:My question to our comic book historians is this; which heroes first wore capes and what year and have any of the creators from back then explained the why of it? I look at early marvel, in so much as my knowledge goes, and I see pretty much just Thor wearing one on the hero side and Doom/Magneto on the villain side (didn't Magneto predate Doom? )

To answer this you must look to the heroes of 19th and early 20th century literature such as Zorro and Sherlock Holmes both of whom wore capes. allthough their wearing of capes goes along with the style of the era in which their stories took place.

Maybe I need to specify-comic book heroes. My bad.

Well most of the early comic book heroes drew hevilly from the literary characters of the period i mentioned allthough i am not sure for certain what hero is the first to dawn such a garment i would be inclined to say that Superman was the first to comic book super hero to wear a cape as he is the hero responsible for starting the genere in action comics #1.

Batman predates Superman by almost 2 years...

Novastar wrote:Batman predates Superman by almost 2 years...

And the Shadow came out in Comic Strip form in 1938 a year before Batman.


Daniel Stoker

Novastar wrote:

Sir Ysbadden wrote:

MontanaPlayer wrote:

Sir Ysbadden wrote:

MontanaPlayer wrote:My question to our comic book historians is this; which heroes first wore capes and what year and have any of the creators from back then explained the why of it? I look at early marvel, in so much as my knowledge goes, and I see pretty much just Thor wearing one on the hero side and Doom/Magneto on the villain side (didn't Magneto predate Doom? )

To answer this you must look to the heroes of 19th and early 20th century literature such as Zorro and Sherlock Holmes both of whom wore capes. allthough their wearing of capes goes along with the style of the era in which their stories took place.

Maybe I need to specify-comic book heroes. My bad.

Well most of the early comic book heroes drew hevilly from the literary characters of the period i mentioned allthough i am not sure for certain what hero is the first to dawn such a garment i would be inclined to say that Superman was the first to comic book super hero to wear a cape as he is the hero responsible for starting the genere in action comics #1.

Batman predates Superman by almost 2 years...

really?


Superman
Historical:
Action Comics #1
(June 1938)

Batman
Historical:
Detective Comics #27
(May 1939)

Marrowlight wrote:

Novastar wrote:

Sir Ysbadden wrote:

MontanaPlayer wrote:

Sir Ysbadden wrote:

MontanaPlayer wrote:My question to our comic book historians is this; which heroes first wore capes and what year and have any of the creators from back then explained the why of it? I look at early marvel, in so much as my knowledge goes, and I see pretty much just Thor wearing one on the hero side and Doom/Magneto on the villain side (didn't Magneto predate Doom? )

To answer this you must look to the heroes of 19th and early 20th century literature such as Zorro and Sherlock Holmes both of whom wore capes. allthough their wearing of capes goes along with the style of the era in which their stories took place.

Maybe I need to specify-comic book heroes. My bad.

Well most of the early comic book heroes drew hevilly from the literary characters of the period i mentioned allthough i am not sure for certain what hero is the first to dawn such a garment i would be inclined to say that Superman was the first to comic book super hero to wear a cape as he is the hero responsible for starting the genere in action comics #1.

Batman predates Superman by almost 2 years...

really?


Superman
Historical:
Action Comics #1
(June 1938)

Batman
Historical:
Detective Comics #27
(May 1939)

Holy Bat-****

I stand corrected.

(For some reason, I thought Supes was '39, and Bats was '37...)
(And did the Shadow wear a cape? I thought it was just a long overcoat... )

Novastar wrote:(And did the Shadow wear a cape? I thought it was just a long overcoat... )

I remember it described as an opera cloak. Here's a pic from one of the pulp novels.


Daniel Stoker

Sentinel wrote:

Killer Cyborg wrote:

Amberjack wrote: The Cape, no Cape question, also comes from the movie Incredibles. Where it is implied that capes are dangerous to the wearer.

It originally comes from The Watchmen, actually.
Along with a bunch of other stuff that The Incredibles ripped off.

Prior to the Watchmen, Steve Rogers, as The Nomad, tripped on his own cape, and this allowed Viper and Eel to escape.

:lol: Seriously?!!!

Damn that is funny

Migamus wrote:The question of capes also came from computer games.

Everquest promised capes for a long time, but was unable to create them / make them look good with the available technology.

City of Heroes successfully added them a few months after the game launched. They even had a cool story about why no capes and how to "earn" a cape.

Also long after Watchmen.