History Main / OminousOperaCape

[[caption-width-right:310:Who wears the baddest cape of all?]]

[[caption-width-right:310:Who wears the most sinister cape of all?]]

* In the {{Mind Screw}}y ''SherlockHolmes'' pastiche "[[http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/sherlock/deerstalker1.shtml The Deerstalker]]" by PaulCornell, a group of fictional and historic characters who have ascended to popular mythology try to shift Holmes from Doyle's character to the one that exists in the public conciousness by giving him a deerstalker. It's mentioned that for Moriarty, the equivilent item was an opera cape.

Compare CapeSwish, BadassCape, SpikesOfVillainy, SuperheroesWearCapes (which can include villains).

** To make it that much freakier, in the ''Castlevania'' series the damned thing is arguably ''alive and sentient''.

* Doc Ock and Vulture wore those in opera-themed episode of TheSpectacularSpiderMan

** [[spoiler:he gets rid of the cape just before he stops being an IneffectualSympatheticVillian and upgrades himself to Total Bastard status]].

* {{Megamind}}: The Black Mambaaaaaaaaaa.

* Drake from [[http://www.goldcoincomics Gold Coin Comics]] is a villain with a dark cape to match.

* In ''UminekoNoNakuKoroNi'', the Endless Magician [[spoiler:Battler Ushiromiya]], wears one of these from Episode 6 onward.

[[AC:MMORPGs]]
* [[WorldOfWarcraft The Lich King]], to EPIC effect.

* Zero's cape in ''CodeGeass'', even though he is supposed to be a good guy. The show is full of BlackAndGrayMorality though.
* The Queen of ''Disney/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs'' wears a black cape, but with white trim, just for [[ErmineCapeEffect a touch of grandeur]].
* Mushiban, the main villain in the YesPrettyCure5 Gogo movie, wears a cape like this. It also has that high collar.
* In ''AtopTheFourthWall'', Linkara was reviewing ''The Others'' [=#1=], and thought it was silly that a wolfman (not a werewolf though) would wear one of these.
* The Hammerites in {{Thief}} have armor like this, making it much harder to knock them out with a blackjack.
* Jenner wears one in ''TheSecretOfNIMH''.
* Maleficent from ''Disney/SleepingBeauty''. Bonus points for the flame-like fringe.
* Jafar from ''{{Disney/Aladdin}}''.
* Bun-Bun from ''SluggyFreelance'', after suffering burn wounds, [[http://sluggy.com/comics/archives/daily/20090813 wears one of these]] as part of a ''PhantomOfTheOpera'' theme he's got going on.

* Subverted by Siegfried in SoulCalibur, but played straight by Nightmare. Those familiar with the series' storyline will get why this is funny.
* The Lich King, to EPIC effect.
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* V from VForVendetta.

* Dark-colored

* Surely {{Batman}}, in most modern appearances, counts as a subversion. He uses his long, dark, swishy cloak to inspire the kind of fear and menace that defines this trope in criminals.

** Parodied in NightAtTheMuseum: Battle of the Smithsonian, when Khamen Ra pokes fun at Darth Vader. "And what's with the cape? Are we going to the opera? I don't think so."

In the 19th century, the opera cape was a fashion accessory that upper class men wore AtTheOperaTonight. It was grand, but not too flashy, and went great with a top hat and tuxedo. But fashion changed, and the cape when out of style, destined to fade into the kind of outfit you would only see in {{Period Piece}}s.

But then ''{{Dracula}}'' was adapted into a hit stage play, and an even bigger hit film. BelaLugosi used his old fashioned cape, and turned it into something iconic, giving the garment a sense of grandeur and menace, especially with him flourishing it whenever possible.

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