I seem to recall a passage in Jules Feiffer’s (sp?) THe Great Comic-Book Heroes discussing a period of several years in the late 40’s or so where superheroes did not have capes. The obvious exceptions were, of course, Batman (the cape-as-wings motif) and Superman. This came about due to DC’s suit against Fawcett for SHAZAM/Captain Marvel supposedly being a rip-off of Superman. Evidently, all the comic book publishers were afraid DC would go after any superhero with a cape, so all the capes got dropped.
Capes were very popular in the 60’s, but have been dropping out of fashion ever since. I haven’t read comics consistently for quite a few years, but as of the early 90’s, only a few of the old, iconic characters still had them. And a few third-string villains whose character designs no one ever bothered to update.
Dr. Doom, Thor and Dr. Strange are the only significant characters I can think of that still had them in the Marvel universe. (Moon Knight is not significant) They were a bit more popular over at DC, but DC had more legacy characters.
They’ve largely been replaced by the long coat, which can do the ‘blowing dramatically’ thing, and the ‘provide a flat background to show off the hero’s silhouette’ bit while still passing for normal clothes. And are apparently immune to being sucked into jet engines, because no one ever makes that joke about them.
‘He tripped on his cape!’ jokes have been an old gag since AT LEAST the late 70’s/early 80’s. (Happened to Captain America, of all people!) I was less than impressed at this presented as high cleverness in the mid 2000’s. But then, I was less than impressed by the whole movie, so I might just be being cranky.
For the record: I didn’t think it was BAD, but I never understood it’s vast popularity. Well, the pro-bullying message was kinda bad, but I don’t think that was intentional . . .
–
Skirts are subject to the same risks, but amazingly, people seem able to wear them without tripping over them or getting them caught in doors. From this evidence, one must assume that your average woman or male cross-dresser is significantly more agile than the majority of super-heroes.
Batman’s cape is so long that it’s really a cloak. I always assumed he wore it from the start to help himself loom more mysteriously when appearing behind a criminal.
I swear I read somewhere that another benefit of capes was it made it obvious to a comic reader that a character was flying by drawing the cape flapping.
Ok, that came out a bit meaner than I’d intended. Sorry, I was a little sleep deprived. And full of bitterness and self-loathing, but mostly sleep deprived.
By way of apology, check out the sheer awesomeness of Dr. Strange’s cape. Just LOOK at that thing. It’s the superhero version of a giant, beplumed pimp hat.
–
The cape is the equivalent of the bow tie. If you’re a superhero, of course. If not, it’s somewhat worse.
Skirts tend to be more conforming than the standard cape/cloak. A cape can billow out behind much more easily than a skirt that encircles and is closed in front. Though yes, skirts can be a source of trip hazard. I have seen women wearing long skirts that reach to the floor have trouble walking - like nearly taking a header down stairs because the heel of their shoe caught on the fabric. My sister wore a hoop skirt for the first time on her wedding gown, only to discover in the process the difficulty navigating steps in the chapel because of a lack of visibility.
I would also imagine that serves as a bit of costume camoflage (a wig doesn’t necessarily look like your own hair - see Hit Girl in Kick Ass.
It did in the TV series, which was honestly the first time I’d heard that it was a wig.
IT always surprises me how a different hair cut, let alone hair color, can make someone look completely different. Sure, if you actually look carefully, you can tell, but it seems that it’s pretty easy to throw off at least my automatic facial detection.
That’s probably part of the in-character reason she decided on the wig, instead of just wearing her hair short and leaving it at that. (Both in and out, continuity of image is likely the big reason. Well, no ‘likely’ for out of character - that’s obviously the reason.) She IS a red-head, but her real hair is a completely different style.
Batgirl and Batwoman are two different characters.
Batgirl was Barbara Gordon, the niece, and adoptive daughter of Commissioner Jim Gordon (just his daughter in all the TV versions); a librarian, and currently known as Oracle (the current Batgirl is Stephanie Brown, FKA Robin, FKA Spoiler). Batwoman is Kate Kane, a former Marine cadet (discharged for being gay a couple years before the present); her father is a Marine Colonel, her step-mother is moneyed.
I don’t get it. But I haven’t paid any attention to that British show since the gentleman with the long scarf was on it. So I have no context for the comparison. Honestly.
