REVERIE: The Batpod debunks 'The Incredibles' cape controversy, reveals potential Batman 3 plot detail

"The Dark Knight" filmmakers proved that Edna 'E' Mode from "The Incredibles" is partially wrong about capes. They can be as fashionable as they are functionable.

Her argument for not including a cape in a redesigned suit for Mr. Incredible was that other superheroes met their ends in the past when their capes were caught in missiles, jet turbines, express elevators and vortexes. That might be true with the exception of the real-life Batpod.

"We felt that the cape would immediately get caught in the rear tire and pull the rider off," said "The Dark Knight" Director Christopher Nolan about originally conceiving in the story to have the memory fabric cape fold up into a backpack-like shape so as to avoid any entanglements.

"But as Chris (Corbould, special effects supervisor), and his guys started tests with the running of the bike with the costume on, they found that in fact it picks up the wind right away and it never actually got caught in the wheel," Nolan said in "Gotham Uncovered: Creation of a Scene: Evolution of The Knight," a special feature of "The Dark Knight" DVD and Blue-ray.

Serendipity seemed to agree with Nolan that it would not have looked quite like The Batman if he were riding the The Bat-pod without his signature cape flowing in the breeze.

Aside from flash, the cape lacks substance for the vigilante's crime fighting exploits when he is not gliding through the Gotham skyline. Like the suit, the cape should be improved or better utilized to function as even more of an asset to justify its defect as a potential liability. Perhaps a sequel to "The Dark Knight" will reveal its other possible uses.

DC Comics writers and 1995's "Batman Forever" envisioned the cape as being bullet-proof or flame retardant. Though these seem like viable cape functions, they have already been executed on the silver screen and would rob the need for The Batman to be quick on his feet. 

 

Instead of finding new ways to make The Batman as invincible as Superman, screenwriters should use the cape as a way to show his resourcefulness while in a tight spot. After all, he is already mostly bullet-proof, and it is unrealistic to portray him as anticipating and preparing for every possible predicament with some convenient gadget.

The fabric could be used as a way to hide the exposed part of his face in the darkness, a secondary mask should the original become damaged, a sling should his arm sustain injury, a hiding place for backup gadgets should his primary arsenal be rendered useless, a guard with which to run into a burning doorway when soaked in water, or as a man-sized diversion when it is electrically charged and becomes rigid.