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Superman has worn a cape since his first appearance and was perhaps the man who made the concept of capes popular.

A scene from The Incredibles, specifically the one with Edna and her general dislike of capes, made me wonder why Superman wears a cape.

Batman wears it because it acts as a part-time glider of sorts, and yes this question could be asked for the numerous other heroes (Shazam, Homelander, Black Adam, etc.), but since Superman popularized the trope I ask about him.

I have read that he wore it because it was a part of Kryptonian culture, because it healed him, and because Martha just made him wear it.

Is there any actual reason why Superman wears a cape in-universe?

F1Krazy
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shanu
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2 Answers2

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TO PROTECT OTHERS

Superman has on numerous occasions used his cape to protect people from bullets, explosions and whatnot. The Silver Age Superman also used to wrap Lois Lane in his cape when flying her to the Fortress of Solitude. See pictures below.

There may be other reasons, but this one, at least, is very well documented.

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Klaus Æ. Mogensen
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  • Interestingly, Batman and Robin have done so too to a lesser extent, as far as I can remember. – Clockwork Mar 22 '23 at 10:30
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    Now the question is: was it an intended feature of the cape, or was it just a conveniently jury-rigged feature? – Clockwork Mar 22 '23 at 10:32
  • @Clockwork: I had exactly the same question :) I have the feeling that in the picture above, the cape is used simply because it is a lot more visible than an energy field (literally invisible). Thus, more dramatic effect. – virolino Mar 22 '23 at 11:31
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    As I recall the cape originally had a pouch to hold his Kent clothing. – Paulie_D Mar 22 '23 at 12:53
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    Maybe, @virolino, the cape is just the visible manifestation of Superman's energy field. ;) – FreeMan Mar 22 '23 at 16:11
  • In some versions, his mom Martha designed the costume. Maybe she was influenced by older super heroes like the Golden-age Green Lantern. Who was probably influenced by wrestlers and circus performers (who'd influenced Siegel and Shuster in the first place) – Shawn V. Wilson Mar 22 '23 at 19:12
  • He's protecting Lex Luthor in that middle example? That must've been a strange day... – Darrel Hoffman Mar 22 '23 at 20:38
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    can someone please explain the context of Luthor calling Superman "sir" – shanu Mar 23 '23 at 06:38
  • @shanu You might want to write a context/episode identification question – Clockwork Mar 23 '23 at 08:07
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    @ShawnV.Wilson: In what sense is Golden-age Green Lantern "older" than Superman? I thought Green Lantern appeared in 1940, whereas Superman was wearing his cape on the cover of Action Comics #1 in 1938. – Lee Mosher Mar 23 '23 at 13:32
  • @LeeMosher I think there's a version where, in-universe, Superman was one of the "modern" heroes who debuted in the last few decades, but the WWII heroes like the original Green Lantern predated them. – Shawn V. Wilson Mar 23 '23 at 15:40
  • Sometimes this works, sometimes this doesn't. I definitely remember in Superman Annual #2 (1987) where his cape was ordinary material, and was destroyed when a burning tanker truck he was lifting into the air exploded, leaving the yellow S-Shield to flutter down and let the watching firefighters and policeman think Superman been killed. But In the early post-crisis era, the suit was ordinary cloth, and the cape stuck out of the field. – notovny Mar 23 '23 at 18:58
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Aerodynamics

In the CW Supergirl series, it is stated that adding a cape to her costume helps Supergirl maneuver more accurately in flight. Presumably the same would be true for Superman, but I don't have a source explicitly about him.

Valorum
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TyJ
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    What is CW supposed to mean? – Clockwork Mar 22 '23 at 19:45
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    @Clockwork The CW Television Network – Laurel Mar 22 '23 at 19:47
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    That is, of course, stunningly wrong. Cloth flapping in the wind induces lots of unequal drag forces. – RonJohn Mar 22 '23 at 23:56
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    @Clockwork CW is the result of a merger between UPN and WB (the latter standing for "Warner Bros"). At the time of the merger, UPN was owned by CBS, so the combined network was given the initials CW. – Acccumulation Mar 23 '23 at 00:57
  • @RonJohn: that is unless the cape has turbo jet capabilities and embedded flaps ;) Since the cap cannot be controlled, it obviously cannot be used for... controlling the flight - unlike wings or tails. – virolino Mar 23 '23 at 06:26
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    @RonJohn I guess a "cape made from structured polymer composites" somehow negates that problem. – Barmar Mar 23 '23 at 16:06
  • @Barmar call me crazy, or maybe an old grump, but "structured polymer composites" sounds like the technobabble version of "lignin". Superman's cape is made of wood! – RonJohn Mar 23 '23 at 16:31
  • @Acccumulation. What about UPN? – Mad Physicist Mar 23 '23 at 16:51
  • @MadPhysicist United Paramount Network. And CBS is Columbia Broadcast Network (which is now a subsidiary of Paramount). – Barmar Mar 23 '23 at 16:59
  • @RonJohn Exactly. The only cases I'm aware of where anything (aerodynamically) resembling a cape has been intentionally placed on an aircraft is that streamers are sometimes attached to (at least model) rockets specifically for the purpose of slowing them down... a lot. (i.e. used as a somewhat-lower-drag alternative to a parachute during recovery.) – reirab Mar 23 '23 at 17:08