Miles Taylor and the Golden Cape is a comic/novel series by Robert Venditti.
Gilded is the hero of the planet Earth. Where did he come from? No one knows. How did he get his powers? No one knows. Who is he really? No one knows. All that is known is that he just showed up one day in October of 1956, and since then, the world has looked to him in times of trouble.
Miles Taylor is a twelve-year-old kid who recently moved to Atlanta with his dad after his mom left him. Because he's the "new kid", nobody likes him, everyone avoids him, and the only time anyone ever notices him is when Craig "The Jammer" Logg decides to torment him.
All that changes one day, however, when, during an attack by an alien, Gilded is knocked into a parking garage that Miles was in, causing it to collapse. In his final moments, Gilded takes off his cape and hands it to Miles.
Now, Miles is the new Gilded, and has to learn to be the hero his planet needs.
So far, two books have been published in the series: Attack of the Alien Horde, and Rise of the Robot Army.
Miles Taylor and the Golden Cape contains examples of:
- All of the Other Reindeer: Miles is this because he's the new kid at his school.
- Black and Nerdy: Henry Matte. He's a bespectacled black kid who's really into comic books, particularly those about Gilded.
- Buried Alive: General Breckenridge, when his whole base collapses on him.
- Call-Back: In Rise of the Robot Horde, Miles uses a fire truck to put out a fire near the Hollywood sign. While doing so, he begins talking about hydrostatic pressure, referencing his first trip out as Gilded where he used a water tower to put out a fire, and the consequences of that.
- Character Name and the Noun Phrase: The series is titled Miles Taylor and the Golden Cape, after all.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: In Rise of the Robot Horde, when told he has to cut back on being Gilded now that he's in Eighth Grade, Miles starts searching for an excuse to become Gilded, almost as if it has become a drug for him. He sneaks out at some points to do some minor heroism in hopes nobody will notice, and starts feeling high anxiety when Henry takes the cape from him.
- Fantastic Slur: The Unnd from Attack of the Alien Horde loathe the alien race that made the golden capes so much that they only refer to them as the "GGARL!", followed by spitting some acidic phlegm.
- General Ripper: General Breckenridge.
- Honor Before Reason: General Breckenridge would rather have his whole base come down on him than be rescued by Gilded.
- Jerk Jock: Craig "The Jammer" Logg.
- Kid Hero: Miles becomes one after inheriting the golden cape.
- Medium Blending: Whenever Miles becomes Gilded, the book changes from a written format to comic format.
- New Kid Stigma: This is Miles' situation at the start of the series. He and his dad moved to Atlanta, and Miles hasn't made any friends in that time. This has made him a target for Jerk Jock Craig "The Jammer" Logg, who enjoys tormenting him every chance he gets. He doesn't make any friends until he meets Henry.
- Passing the Torch: Miles inherited the golden cape from the previous Gilded in his final moments.
- Reptiles Are Abhorrent: The villainous Unnd from Attack of the Alien Horde are very reptilian in appearance.
- Shipped in Shackles: In Rise of the Robot Army, Lenore is always escorted between her cell and the mess hall by two of General Breckinridge's robot soldiers, in chains that are only long enough that she can walk and bring her hands to her mouth. This is because she seems to have superpowers.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: In Attack of the Alien Horde, on his first official outing as Gilded, Miles puts out a raging fire along a highway. First, he tries to blow it out, but just ends up making it worse. Then, he rips a nearby water tower off its legs and opens it up, pouring the water all over the fire and putting it out. When he gets back to the school, however, Henry tells him he not only destroyed that town's local landmark, but that the purpose of a water tower is to keep water elevated so there's enough hydrostatic pressure
for a building's faucets to function. In a nutshell, Henry tells Miles that, thanks to him, that town is now without water.
