History
While next to nothing is known about the Cloak of Levitation before it is given to Doctor Strange, it is suspected that the Cloak is many centuries old, since it was in the possession of the Ancient One.
The red Cloak's first appearance is in Strange Tales #127, where, after Doctor Strange prevails in a battle with Dormammu, The Ancient One presents it to Strange as a sort of "prize", having deemed him worthy to wear the Cloak.
The Cloak of Levitation is seen in a great many battles, most of which it plays a significant part. While it is extremely durable, there are a few occasions where it manages to take damage. Due to its mystical origins and properties, simply mending the Cloak with average needle and thread would not suffice. Instead, a person with great knowledge of a mystical weaving technique must mend the garment (though, as a test of worthiness for The Living Tribunal, Strange uses a great amount of mystical energy to reconstruct the Cloak).
It is because of this that Strange gains a friend and valuable ally; after the Cloak is damaged in battle, it is sent to Enitharmon the Weaver to be repaired. After Enitharmon finishes repairing it, he sends it back in the hands of Rintrah, his assistant. After getting his valued Cloak back, Doctor Strange offers Rintrah a position as his disciple, and Rintrah accepts. Rintrah himself later gains Strange's first, blue, levitation cloak, a separate object from the red one.
Misuse of magic (which included a bond with the demonic Zom) causes Doctor Strange's fate as Sorcerer Supreme to be left up in the air. After several days on the run from evil forces, Strange supervises the transfer of the title to the heroic Brother Voodoo. The new Sorcerer gains the Cloak, now slightly modified, as part of his new status.
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