The original costume for Kane wasn't quite what fans witnessed at Bad Blood 1997. The early sketch for the Kane character had him wearing a cape and looking somewhat like a superhero. Kane used the cape at early live events, but it didn't stick on television.
Speaking to Steve Austin on the Broken Skull Sessions, Kane discussed his early costume, believing it wasn't going to work until he had a chat with Vince McMahon.
"I thought [Kane] was going to be an escapee from a mental institution, kind of like Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers look. I get the superhero. I called Mark and am like, 'This is not at all what I envisioned.' He's like, 'Not me, either. Why don't you call Vince and see where his mind is at?' I talk to Vince and I didn't have one of those relationships where I felt like I could call Vince on the phone. But I felt it was important. I explained my position. He appreciated that. I was very respectful," recalled Kane. "What Vince explained to me, caused me to realize he's a genius. He said, 'We could do that and it'll be fine. We've done that type of stuff before. But what you have to understand about Kane is, he's trying to make up for these inadequacies. That's why he dresses like a superhero. He's mentally all messed up. He's making a determined effort because of how he views himself. He's a psychological monster to look like a superhero.' When he said that, I'm like, 'That makes all the sense in the world.' It completely flipped my perspective on what the character was."
Kane made his debut as the brother of The Undertaker, costing him a Hell in a Cell match against Shawn Michaels. The gimmick, through many incarnations, continues to this day as Kane is set to appear on Friday's episode of WWE SmackDown.
No cape included.
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