In the recently released list of "Top 100 Comic Characters," Batman came in an honorable second place behind Superman. As the fans admit, they are attracted to the character by the fact that Bruce Wayne is, first of all, an ordinary person. And technical devices, such as a special raincoat, make him a hero.
The cloak is a "native" element of the costume, firmly entrenched in the hero from the very first appearances on the pages of comics. Its main purpose is flight: thanks to a special structure (in the trilogy of Christopher Nolan, the property was called the "memory effect"), the cloak, feeling the fall of its owner, became dense, turning into an analogue of a glider and allowing it to dive from any height.
It is worth giving credit: not so long ago, scientists subjected one of the episodes of the Batman movie to a serious analysis and considered that the cloak would be deadly for the hero. Yes, a millionaire would be able to dive from any height and even, perhaps, take off a little - but the average speed of the character would be 80 km per hour. Obviously, a "soft" landing would not have been expected.
Batman often uses his cloak for improvised purposes: extinguishes fire, warms the wounded and actively waves them in a fight. This can be seen especially often in films and cartoons about the superhero (in which the dynamics are clearly greater than in the comics).
However, the rag cape is not the only device of Bruce Wayne: for example, in several issues of the comic, a special version of the cape appeared, allowing full-fledged flying and, in addition, having some stock of weapons (a pair of missiles under the "wings"). It is obvious, however, that the design was quite cumbersome and was used only in special cases.
Do not forget that the cloak at times (by the magic will of the writers) became bulletproof and resistant to explosions, making Batman an almost invulnerable target.
But nothing in the world is perfect. Sometimes a large cape becomes dangerous for Wayne himself. Thus, the sent electromagnetic pulse can bring the cloak out of its “solid” state, transforming elegant planning into a shattering fall. It is difficult to calculate, besides, how many times the hero (again, thanks to the writers) caught fire because of the cloak; clung to ledges and corners; was noticed by the enemy and disoriented. A couple of negative characters even managed to confuse Batman in a cloak by putting it on his head.
