Does superman need his cape????

[pushupsindrag]

Im doing a documentary on superheros and my main aim is to find out if Superman really needs his cape to fly? I think he doesnt and if this is the case then why have it; wouldnt it just get in his way when fighting crime???
PLEASE HELP!

[Mike Smash!]

Superman can fly on his own. The cape is just for the costume.

[The Shadow]

It's a GREAT visual! Same with Batman!

http://www.rogers-md.net/v/wallpapers/Alex_Ross_Superman_Batman_Posters.jpg
http://www.supermanhomepage.com/multimedia/Wallpaper-Images2/jim-lee-in-space.jpg

[pushupsindrag]

So why does he have it, have you ever tried fighting crime in a cape...its hard!

[pushupsindrag]

and thats the other thing, batman doesnt fly, he glides so i can see why he needs his "cape/wings", but other than looking good i cant think of one reason why superman has his.

[Jake V]

So why does he have it, have you ever tried fighting crime in a cape...its hard!
He's freakin' Superman. He makes it work.

[The Shadow]

So why does he have it, have you ever tried fighting crime in a cape...its hard!
... you know this first hand??? :p

[pushupsindrag]

Im confused, and if your talking to me you must be too because im a girl! and another thing, i thought he was Superman, not a "friggin" showpony who has a costume just for looks, leave that to Batman!

[Jake V]

From what I remember, the cape is worn to honor his kryptonian heritage, as is the S on his chest.

Apparently, capes were common on krypton. Before it blew up, I mean.

[Devon C.]

Im confused, and if your talking to me you must be too because im a girl! and another thing, i thought he was Superman, not a "friggin" showpony who has a costume just for looks, leave that to Batman!
The cape is actually a baby blanket made on Krypton. He wears it as a partial tribute to his dead planet.

[Kirayoshi]

Back in PC, the cape(along with the rest of his costume) was indestructible. I remember once seeing Superman(in a daily comic strip) contain a nuclear blast in his cape. The image of a huge red teardrop shape with a giant yellow S-shield on the side, with a tiny Superman holding it at its point, was one of the more ludicrous moments in Superman history.

Nowadays the cape is worn for effect more than anything else. That and John Byrne(and artists after him) like to draw it torn up to make it look like Superman's been through the wringer.

[jadrax]

Its the only part of his costume that has pockets in it, Which he needs to keep his glases in.

[lonewolf23k]

Before Superman was given actual flight powers by the writers, he mostly superleaped all around, and used the cape to glide and maneuver in mid-air..

By the time he became an actual flyer, the cape had become an iconic part of his look and remained..

[cosmoboy]

I like the cape myself, but I also like the no cape look on Superboy. I remember an old PC issue where Superman stetched his cape between radio towers over the top of a town to contain a torrential rain storm. Also pretty silly.

[Sean Whitmore]

The post-Crisis Superman wears a cape because of what it represents. Simply, cape = superhero. That's also why he wears the 'S' on his chest, the swashbuckler boots, and the underwear on the outside. He wants to be a symbol oh hope.


Back in PC, the cape(along with the rest of his costume) was indestructible.


I always wondered how they somehow managed to sew a cape and costume out of indestructible materials. :)


SEAN

[glennsim]

The post-Crisis Superman wears a cape because of what it represents. Simply, cape = superhero. That's also why he wears the 'S' on his chest, the swashbuckler boots, and the underwear on the outside. He wants to be a symbol oh hope.





I always wondered how they somehow managed to sew a cape and costume out of indestructible materials. :)


SEAN

Little Clark cut the threads with his heat vision.

[thik_3rd]

he'd plummett to his death without it.

[Eliseu Gouveia]

Guys, I´m reading this thread and it´s literally FILLED with mixed signals and misinformation that may throw the thread starter into confusion.

Many people don´t know a thing about superheroes (or Superman).

Our knowledge in this area makes us an unvaluable comic book resource, so our duty is to help others learn more about our little world and, hopefully, enjoy it.

Pushupsindrag,

Superman is the last survivor from Krypton.
His physiology allows his cells to store sunlight which grants him his powers, namely flight, superstrenght, heat vision, invulnerability, superspeed, ice breath, etc.

So, no, he doesn´t need the cape to fly, it´s there as a mere part of his uniform (which his mother - Martha Kent - sewed for him).

A human may be hindered when fighting crime wearing a cape (Batman, anyone?), but when we´re talking about a creature that can crush coal into diamond, a piece of red cloth is of no consequence.

Hope I helped in anyway and if yoy have any doubts, please feel fre to ask, we´re here to help.

Welcome to the CBR :)

[We R. Venom]

The cape is actually a baby blanket made on Krypton. He wears it as a partial tribute to his dead planet.

your damn straight

[Ms. M]

I think the cape has certain uses beyond its obvious artistic appeal. I can recall a few cases, even in the post-Crisis version, of Supes taking it off and using it to wrap people or objects in. Does it still have certain indestructible qualities?

[Guts/Batman]

So why does he have it, have you ever tried fighting crime in a cape...its hard!

Have you tried to fight crime in a cape?

I wouldn't imagine it is a problem for a person who has super strength and super speed

[Joker2503]

I remember back i nthe Golden Age when Superman gave off some kind of invulnerable aura, which is why his costume and cape never took damage. Now, it's not uncommon for his cape and costume to get torn up every issue.

If his cape really is still his Kryptonian baby blanket, that must suck. I'd be pissed if Doomsday tore up my blankie.

[Sk8maven]

I always wondered how they somehow managed to sew a cape and costume out of indestructible materials. :)Oh, that was explained in a story where Kal's baby blankets (red, yellow and blue) were unraveled and knitted into the famous longjohns. And the only thing that could cut the yarn was Kal's heat vision. ;) I think this was a Superboy story from way long ago.

Now, how did they explain the costume growing WITH him? Or did they ever? ;)

Maevn

[Eliseu Gouveia]

I remember back i nthe Golden Age when Superman gave off some kind of invulnerable aura, which is why his costume and cape never took damage. Now, it's not uncommon for his cape and costume to get torn up every issue.

If his cape really is still his Kryptonian baby blanket, that must suck. I'd be pissed if Doomsday tore up my blankie.

IIRC, John Byrne was the one who introiduced in his revamp the concept of Supeman´s energy aura which protects him and anything within a couple milimeters next to him (tight clothes and uniform included).

That´s why he usually comes out of fires with his uniform intact but his cape turned to cinder.

[Kid Kyoto]

Superman's costume through the ages...

When created in the 1930s the cape was there to refect mythic heroes. Greek heroes, Roman legions etc often wore cloaks and capes. Roman Legions in particular had red capes.

Later in the 50s and 60s when more backstory was added it was explained that superman's costume was made out of indestructable cloth from his home planet Krypton that young superman and his mother made into an indestructable costume for him. The cape was used to wrap people, contain explosions and other things. It also had a pouch where Superman could hide his civilian clothes.

Later still in the 80s Superman's story was restarted and details were changed. In that telling Superman's costume is ordinary earth cloth but his body has a forcefield around it so that anything skintight is protected. The cape was outside that force field so it could be torn, burned etc. This gave artists an easy way to show that superman was taking a beating even though he's nearly invulnerable.

For example a tattered cape was used to represent the death of superman
http://encyclopedia.laborlawtalk.com/wiki/images/1/1b/Superman75.jpg

So Superman's cape was always purely decorative. Writers have found practical and dramatic uses for it over time and it is unlikely ever to be removed.

[The Shadow]

Guys, I´m reading this thread and it´s literally FILLED with mixed signals and misinformation that may throw the thread starter into confusion.
Mike Smash answered the question in post 2
Superman can fly on his own. The cape is just for the costume.

I gave a reason for the cape in post #3.

It's a GREAT visual! Same with Batman!

http://www.rogers-md.net/v/wallpapers/Alex_Ross_Superman_Batman_Posters.jpg
http://www.supermanhomepage.com/multimedia/Wallpaper-Images2/jim-lee-in-space.jpg


No mixed signals or misinformation up to that point!

[Spike-X]

I always wondered how they somehow managed to sew a cape and costume out of indestructible materials.

According to Elliot S! Maggin's Last Son Of Krypton novel, young Clark used his heat vision to cut the fabric, and to join the pieces together.

To answer the question posed in the first post - no, Superman doesn't "need" his cape, any more than he "needs" the rest of the costume. He can fly without it*, it's there purely for aesthetics.

No, it probably wouldn't be practical in real life, as demonstrated in The Incredibles. "No capes, darling!" It's just comics. Don't think about it too hard.



*Like I tell my son - the cape doesn't make Superman fly. He can fly because he's super. You're not super, so you can't fly, even if you wear a cape. So STAY OFF THE ROOF!!!

[Mike Smith]

The cape was added because in the first comics, they decided they needed to give Superman the appearance of motion.

Here is a link of the first comic, also, check out the main page of the site. It gives all of the "Why's" and locic that went into Superman, including the fact that intially he was actually going to be a baddie :D

http://superman.ws/tales2/action1/?page=-1

[Eliseu Gouveia]

No mixed signals or misinformation up to that point!

Not to that point, no, but take a look at this:

he'd plummett to his death without it.
Its the only part of his costume that has pockets in it
the cape is worn to honor his kryptonian heritage, as is the S on his chest.
Apparently, capes were common on krypton.

The cape is actually a baby blanket made on Krypton.


Like I said, many people don´t know much about the icon.

I intervened because .the thread still stated that she ws still confused, even after all those explanations you just pointed.

[Ronald Bryan]

Not to that point, no, but take a look at this:









Like I said, many people don´t know much about the icon.

I intervened because .the thread still stated that she ws still confused, even after all those explanations you just pointed.
Although, apart from the plummeting to his death part, all of those have been true at some point.

[mgs]

Apparently, capes were common on krypton. Before it blew up, I mean.
I remember seeing something like that on old comics
Its the only part of his costume that has pockets in it, Which he needs to keep his glases in.
ha! :D Yes, they do need to go somewhere.
I like the cape myself, but I also like the no cape look on Superboy. I remember an old PC issue where Superman stetched his cape between radio towers over the top of a town to contain a torrential rain storm. Also pretty silly.
whoa! see, I thought it had some crazy powers like that or something.

[mgs]

he'd plummett to his death without it.
hehe!
I think the cape has certain uses beyond its obvious artistic appeal. I can recall a few cases, even in the post-Crisis version, of Supes taking it off and using it to wrap people or objects in. Does it still have certain indestructible qualities?
yeah, wrapping people up and stuff is what I remember it being used for.
If his cape really is still his Kryptonian baby blanket, that must suck. I'd be pissed if Doomsday tore up my blankie.
:D

[Eliseu Gouveia]

Well, they used to be true but not anymore.

Due to the revamp, Supermsn´s cape is not his starship blankie anymore and (to my knowledge) in Byrne´s krypton nobody wore a cape.

[davids]

seigel and shuster said he needed the cape for balance when he leaped 1/8 off a mile.

Silver age he would wrap some one in his cape when he flew them thus avoided burning them with air friction.

Also silver afe the cape had a pouch, were superman kept his glasses and civillian clothes. The shoes pants suit ect could be compressed into small flast disks. They were treated with a chemical to keep them from wrinkeling. The chemical caused clarks suit dark blue that is why he always wore a dark blue suit!

[thik_3rd]

hehe!


thank you, thank you, i'm here all week.