Superheroing and Wrestling. BOTH FIXED?

Aremis · Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2005 12:09 pm Post subject:

Actually - Capes can be found in use today.
Look at the gothic scene. I have a lot of girlfriends who are heavilly into the goth scene, wearing corsets, lace up granny boots (They hurt me when I say that, but thats what they look like), and yes, even capes. Some with hoods, some without, some tied around their necks like we use to with our bath towels when we were kids, some with ornate clasps or rings or chains across the neck.

But a scary thought to think a Goth might swoop in and save the day!
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Ratteler · Forum Member Joined: Jun 10, 2002 Posts: 561 Location: NYC

Capes were common place at some point in history. The modern Goth is really inspired by the fashion of the 18th-19th Century.

I doubt Jerry Seigel and Joel Shuster had a bunch of peircings and wore black lipstick in the 1920-1940's.

Goth Culture is cool, but it's not so popular that we see them out of their element. No one goes to their 9-5 in a cape. Nor has any one for the past 100+ years.

The theory goes like this.

Superman is the FIRST SuperHero.
He was givent he odd choice of wearing a cape.

His popularity allowed other Super Heroes to wear capes, emulating Super Man at least in that respect.

This later branched out into Wrestling characters.

After almost 70 years (Yes... Supes will turn 70 soon.), the super hero cape has become an iconic pop culture image even though it was never something that real people wore. Especially Superman's which apparently has no clasp or tie, but simple attaches at the shoulder.

The entire culture of super hero's costuming was based... on needing to show motion!!! :shock:

Now that we know where it really came from the trick is figure out a motive for Clark Kent to put on a cape if we intend to bind him more realistically to our world.

outofmymind · Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2005 7:30 pm Post subject:

A few thoughts...

Majesty. Capes can be associated with lords and kings. Capes have an effect of grandeur. I'd suppose that should one wish to dress up in flashy outfits to establish an imposing image, a cape would be a nice detail. Capes also lend an illusion of increased size/mass. In some cases, the cape is dramatically manipulated in a distracting swirling fashion (usually reserved for maniacal villainry).

Personally, i'd imagine that a guy demonstrating the ability to fly, deflect bullets, bend steel, beam lasers from his eyes, etc, would be a magnicent sight regardless of his longjohns. However I grant you, if someone of the physical stature of a young Jerry Lewis or Bill Gates had these abilities (which it is rumored he has), I wouldn't be as impressed. Nor could I imagine a costume would help in that regard.

As for other comicbook heroes of the time wearing capes, consider the financial success of Superman and the perceived need to emulate him (i.e., copy him). Not only that, but that trend continues. Perhaps by caping a hero today, whereas the cape may have been inspired by regal kingly vestment, it now reflects on the majesty of Superman.

Lumina · Forum Newbie Joined: Mar 25, 2003 Posts: 2

Was Superman truely the first caped crime-fighter though? I don't have early versions of the Zorro stories (which started in 1919) but in later versions and movies he certainly wore the cape in his heroic persona.

Could it be that Superman's cape was inspired by this?

battle · Forum Newbie Joined: Feb 21, 2004 Posts: 4

I'd be quite scared if Superman were real. For example let's say he has to pee really bad one day on a 12 story building. His stream of urine could explode a toilet , go through many floors and pop a hole through someone's head like a laser beam.
His ejaculation could even blow a woman's head off but since he's a superhero he'd most likely feel guilty and place the dismembered head back on the body. Then walk away quietly while checking to see if anyone witnessed it.

The life of a superhero can't be easy. You'd have to spend almost all of your time just trying hard not to hurt people with any of your bodily functions. If he suddenly decided to expell gas it could even start a mini Earth quake resulting in many deaths which of course he'd have to try and save but it would keep him pretty busy never the less.

Blix

I have to say that I am a little jaded by life. I am a goodie two-shoes who has been burned one to many times. I really find the world as a place filled with unbelievablely horrible peolple who do things that still amaze me. I have become stunned by the lengths people will go to get over on one another. I am also amazed (still) by the amount of satisfaction that some people get from decieving other people.

So I think that if people had super powers their would be some really super deception going on. Their would be squeaky clean heroes that were actually the most vile creatures when no one was looking. The media machines would turn noble crime fighters into public villians for the purpose of making a buck and pushing an agenda.

Yes, I am jaded. I do have hope that man kind will one day evolve into something that i would be proud to be a parft of but I am not holding my breath. I doubt that I will see it in my life time but I have hope.

I beg anyone reading this to be a good person. Please be kind to one another. Take care of your loved ones and make sure that you give to the world as much as you take. Remember, a lie is easy to tell and deciet is easy to achieve. So long as we take these paths we are nothing. To become more than what you were is a true acheivment and is its own reward. A hero does not need powers only a desire to do whats right. Villians are a dime a dozen, be something special, be a hero, the world needs those more than you realize.

Hasdrubal · Posted: Sat Jun 11, 2005 1:41 am Post subject:

What if superheroes were real?

I'm surprised no one has suggested that there have been some real-life superheroes.

I can think of one man who was known to the entire world under an assumed name. He wore an elaborate cape and costume. He fought evil where ever he saw it. He was lord over an entire country. He helped destroy an evil empire, and survived several bullets from a 9mm pistol.

You should be able to guess who he was.

Lumina · Forum Newbie Joined: Mar 25, 2003 Posts: 2

If you are referring to the late Pope I don't really think he would qualify as a superhero, especially to the many groups that his religion vilified.

If you are referring to someone else, then I'm not sure who you mean.

Kizoku · Forum Newbie Joined: Dec 07, 2003 Posts: 1

Ratteler · Forum Member Joined: Jun 10, 2002 Posts: 561 Location: NYC

Good "Reasons" and bad intelligence don't go hand in hand.

We were sold the Iraq war based on WMD's. There are none. If they had said straight out they wanted to kick the shit out of some 'Rabs and steal their oil, I might have gone for it... but instead they lied about WMD's.

Some one should be fired for that. (Besides me!)

Hasdrubal

I hope there aren't any hidden weapons, but they should still be looking for them.

It's surprising that it took until this week to find a huge under ground bunker with living quarters, and cooking facillities, when we have remote sensing technology that can find concavities in rock with heat signatures.

But on the other hand, it took about 80 years to find a tunnel full of German explosives from World War One. The Germans were planning to ignite 3 or 4 railroad size tunnels full of explosives under the Allied lines. It's been estimated the blast from igniting all the tunnels at once would have been the eqivalent of a small nuke. It was fortunate the German lines were shelled and overrun on the surface before they could detonate the tunnels. There may be surprise finds for our grand children any place a war has been fought.

TOPcat831 · Posted: Sun Jun 12, 2005 11:10 am Post subject:

Okay, but what about the secret identity thing. I can understand the need to have one. But what I never understood was how in the world did a simple pair of eye glasses keep everyone from ever realizing that Superman was Clark Kent, duh?

Ratteler · Forum Member Joined: Jun 10, 2002 Posts: 561 Location: NYC

I think the real point of this exercise was to track down that fine line where the fiction of Super Heroes joins our reality.

If we put on a silly costume and go outside on any day other than Halloween, we're a huge target. So why do we accept a comic book reality where silly costumes are perfectly OK?

The reason for the bright colors was the limitation of 1930's print technology. The cape, we know now, was a simple visual cue for motion.

I know in the case of Captain Marvel (Shazam) his original coloring was very much like Superman, who he was purposely supposed to look like and his Costume was that of a Cavelry officer, hence HIS cape.

DC sued Fawcett and they changed the color of his costume, but not the cut.

It these real motivation we have to understand before we can come up with a creadible reason as to WHY our heroes appear as they do.

x2000 · Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2005 6:30 am Post subject:

If people with superpowers were to start popping up, many of them would indeed wear silly costumes. Why? Because superheroes wear silly costumes, right? Never underestimate the power of expectation. A superhero would be as likely to dress like a politician as a politician would be to dress like a heavy metal singer and a heavy metal singer would be to dress like a cowboy, and etc. We all have our uniforms to wear.

If superheroes had started showing up before Superman's creation, it might be a different story. But now, a costume would almost be a requirement. It's just like the Goths Aremis mentioned. If you want to be taken seriously by your peers, you have to conform.

Ratteler · Forum Member Joined: Jun 10, 2002 Posts: 561 Location: NYC

Interesting point... but I tend to disagree.

I don't think any one with super powers would survive wearing a silly costume. The Governement would be all over them without ever calling attention to themselves. Never mind if they were playing dressup.

Also... most of our uniforms serve a purpose beyond fashion. They are special equipment for a particular line of work.

In the real world Clark couldn't move at super speed without his clothes exploding off him. It actually happen when a plane suffers a structual falure, the passengers bodies are ussually found nakid because the wind shere of being sucked out of plane at 600Mhp causes stresses that comerically available clothing can't stand.