Trench coats in popular culture

Trench coats are used in a number of comics, animated series, and graphic novels. Their use could be traced back to the Golden Age of Comics during which time several heroes and villains donned trench coats, often drawing on stereotype to establish aspects of their personality. The designs and characterizations of many of these persona were heavily influenced by earlier pulp detective archetypes.

In comics
Some popular examples of characters wearing trench coats include Rorschach (comics), Doctor Occult, Green Hornet, the Sandman, and the Crimson Avenger, among others. John Constantine, the main protagonist of the Hellblazer series, wears a trench coat as an integral part of his image and refers to himself as a member of the Trenchcoat Brigade. Marvel Comics thief and supersoldier Fantomex wore a white trench coat as part of his costume. During Grant Morrison's run on the X-Men comics, titled New X-Men, the characters Jean Grey and Emma Frost wore leather trench coats. Gambit from the X-men usually wears a brown trench coat over his armor. Hellboy is often seen in his dirty, tattered brown trench coat, with the right sleeved rolled up past his Right Hand Of Doom

Many of the characters in Frank Miller's Sin City wear trench coats. Comic book villain The Joker occasionally wears a gray or purple trench coat, often accompanied by a matching wide-brimmed zoot hat. Tommy Monaghan, the titular star of the comic book Hitman, regularly wears a dark green trench coat. The Phantom (aka Mr Walker) wears a signature trench coat and a fedora when walking in town as an ordinary man. The Punisher AKA Frank Castle also wears a trench coat to conceal his skull t-shirt.

The Crimson Avenger & The Question in Justice League Unlimited.

In Garry Trudeau's comic strip Doonesbury, television news reporters are frequently depicted wearing trench coats. The military details, like the D-rings and the collar strap, are carefully drawn, indeed exaggerated.

In the manga Trigun, Vash the Stampede wears a custom-made red trench coat. One of the villains of the series, Legato Bluesummers, wears a white trench coat before he is rendered immobile. Trench coats are also common wear among various Yu-Gi-Oh! and Yu-Gi-Oh! GX characters, including Seto Kaiba, Ryo Bakura, Zane Truesdale and Chazz Princeton. Those that wear them are usually rivals to their series' respective heroes. The military uniform of the State Alchemist in Full Metal Alchemist are blue trench coats. Trench coats are part of the wardrobe of several of the major characters in Ghost in the Shell.

Fictional detective Columbo habitually wore a single-breasted raincoat on television and in films.

The brutal anti-hero Rorschach of Watchmen fame is usually seen donning a trench coat and fedora. The vampire Alucard from Hellsing usually wears a red trench coat. The bounty hunter Spike Spiegel from Cowboy Bebop wears a trench coat twice in episodes 5 and 26 to hide extra weapons and grenades.

Science fiction
The Replicant Roy Batty in Blade Runner wore a black leather trench coat, while Deckard wore a custom, single-breasted trench coat.

A Duster Style leather trench coat was used as one of the trademarks of vampire Spike in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. Likewise, the vampire Angel, also a Buffyverse character, often wore trench coats, especially during the second season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, when he reverted to his evil self, Angelus.

Kyle Reese wears a trench coat in Terminator 1.

In the 2002 sci-fi series Firefly, the rebellious Independent Faction of the Unification War became known as Browncoats for wearing brown trench coats in combat (as opposed to the sophisticated battle suits of the Alliance).

In the TV series The X-Files, both Fox Mulder and Dana Scully are known for wearing trench coats frequently.

In the TV Series Invader ZIM Dib was the one and only character that wears a trenchcoat.

On the NBC science fiction series Heroes, Peter Petrelli wore a trench coat throughout most of the first season, as did the villain Sylar. In their first encounter, Peter was wearing a white trench coat, while Sylar's was black, in the traditional good and evil motif.

In the BBC television series Doctor Who, the Tenth Doctor played by David Tennant wears a light brown trenchcoat throughout the series; he claims in the episode "Gridlock" that he received the coat from Janis Joplin. The recurring character of Jack Harkness played by John Barrowman wears a Royal Air Force-style greatcoat (similar in pattern to a trenchcoat, but designed for warmth over waterproofing) for most of his appearances on Doctor Who and its spinoff series Torchwood.

Many of the characters from The Matrix series of movies famously wear trenchcoats.

John Taylor from Simon R Green's Nightside books wears a white trenchcoat.

Film
Trench coats are used in films primarily by gun-toting heroes, mainly for their ability to conceal large amounts of guns without drawing suspicion.

In The Punisher, Frank Castle wore a trench coat.

The trench coat was a standard feature of the hardboiled detective in countless films noirs.

Unusually, Van Heflin's private eye in Grand Central Murder (1942) wore a trench coat made of leather, a garment almost always denoting a villain.

Eric Draven, portrayed by Brandon Lee, wore a trench coat as part of his wardrobe in the film "The Crow". Kevin Smith's character creation Silent Bob always wears a green trench coat. Lemony Snicket, fictitious author of the book series A Series of Unfortunate Events, is often shown in photographs wearing a brown trench coat. Carmen Sandiego wears a red trench coat and a red fedora as her main costume.

Many characters in The Matrix film series wear leather trench coats, which have become largely associated with the series.

The Immortals of the Highlander series often wear trenchcoats to conceal their weapons.

The L.A. police detective Alonzo Harris from Training Day wears a black leather Trench coat which hides two pistols.

The vampire David in The Lost Boys wears a black trenchcoat over a leather jacket.

In the movie Moon Child, Sho (Gackt) wears a white trenchcoat, concealing his guns.

In the Japanese tokusatsu series GARO, the main protagonist, Saejima Kouga, wears a white trenchcoat. His rival and sometimes friend or foe Suzumura Rei wears a black trenchcoat.

In the last scene of the film Breakfast at Tiffany's, Audrey Hepburn's character is shown wearing a beige trenchcoat.

In the movie Watchmen, Rorschach wears a brown leather treanchcoat.