History Main / SuperheroesWearCapes

* Lance from ''[=~Pokémon~=]''. In the anime Marina has an admiration for men in capes, which causes Jackson to start wearing one like Lance to get her attention.

More recently (as in, more recently than 60 years ago) there's been a bit of a trend against them, due to becoming something of a DeadHorseTrope and because of some awareness of the practical downsides. Most Marvel heroes are capeless, for example. The ones that do wear them tend to have some combination of otherworldliness, moral ambiguity and a less physical method of attack than others. [[Comicbook/TheAvengers The Vision, the Scarlet Witch]] and DoctorStrange all hit at least two of these.

Compare HeroesWantRedheads, HeroesPreferSwords, BadassCape (a cape used to signify a {{Badass}} character), CapedMecha, RequisiteRoyalRegalia, OminousOperaCape.

By and large, if any character wears a cape, and it's not a historical or pseudo-historical setting, it should be taken as read that he is either very powerful/important (and probably a villain), or a vainglorious dolt with an inflated opinion of himself. Bonus points if you've got a huge collar and shoulderpads as well.

* ''{{Lunar}} 2'' made use of capes for characterization. Hiro and Leo both wear them, but the differences between them say plenty about the two characters: One is a golden, yet tattered, cape and the other is a red, official-looking cape. When Leo [[spoiler:finishes his HeelRealization and joins the heroes]], he marks the change by ditching his red cape... but only in favor of a ''blue'' one.
* The Hero character in ''QuestForGlory'' wears a cape in the first game. This might be an example of the "vainglorious dolt" variety, though, since at that point he was a greenhorn freshly graduated from the Famous Adventurers' Correspondence School. In the beginning of the second game the cape is removed and it never returns.
** The cloak can also be interpreted to be intended for heat purposes, since the valley of Spielburg at the time is just recovering from a particularly harsh winter.
* A guild without customized capes for its members in ''GuildWars'' might as well not be a guild at all. Even though they're ground-level investments that exist solely to display your affiliation (and billow awesomely whenever you move), guild recruiters will never neglect to mention that they have capes, and the only characters running around capeless are those not belonging to a guild.
* Cloaks are a part of every player character's wardrobe in ''WorldOfWarcraft'' and they come in [[RummageSaleReject various colors]]. [[{{YourMileageMayVary}} Fortunately]], there is an option to turn them off.
* ''FinalFantasy'' loves to put its heroes and villains in capes. For proof look no further than ''[=~Dissidia: Final Fantasy~=]'', where fourteen out of twenty-two characters in the playable cast wear some form of cape or cloak.

* Ralph's alien-bestowed super suit in ''TheGreatestAmericanHero'' comes replete with a hip-length cape.

* Reconstructed in ''TheCape'', where the ridiculousness of wearing one is pointed out on more than one occasion...and one is worn anyway.

* ''FinalFantasy'' loves to put its heroes and villains in capes. For proof look no further then ''Dissidia Final Fantasy'', where more than half the playable cast wears some form of cape or cloak.

* ''CalvinAndHobbes'' presents: "'''''[[http://www.s-anand.net/calvinandhobbes.html#19870604 This]]''''' is a job for..."

*** Batman's cape, however, is possibly the straightest example of a useful one...short or people who have magic capes, anyway. He uses it to glide (yes, even before BatmanBegins), he uses it to hide his arms (so nobody knows whether he's about to throw a punch or a Batarang), it makes him appear larger and scarier than he is (going along with his motif of fear), and it provides a large amount of useless space for mooks to target.

** It should be noted batman uses his cape like frills on a chinese spear. To confuse and hide.

* Averted in the Legion of Superheroes, where Superman is teased for his cape("Love the cape, Very 21st century"), as almost nobody wears them, the only notable exceptions being Phantom Girl and her mother the president.

[[TheNonAdventuresOfWonderella http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/wonderella_superhero_cape.png]]

On the other hand, capes have remained very popular with villains, especially the most important ones. Doctor Doom fears no [[TheIncredibles jet engine]]. This probably relates to EvilIsCool.

Compare HeroesWantRedheads, HeroesPreferSwords, BadassCape (a cape used to signify a {{Badass}} character), CapedMecha, RequisiteRoyalRegalia.

*** Also lampshaded in a story arc of ''Batman/Superman''. Batman and Superman find themselves in an alternate universe where there are still superheroes, but none of them wear capes. When Superman appears, the locals fond him strange not because of his powers, but because he's wearing a garment that went out of fashion centuries ago.

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