I think excluding the bright green might be for the best. You could add it back on the shoulders to draw attention there, but keep it minimal so that it's not distracting.
The folds on this new cape don't make any sense. Capes drape, and they're held up by shoulders. This means the shoulders are the tension points. This means the folds on a cape will either be tubes like you drew before, or crescent shapes where the tips of the crescent will point towards the shoulders, or most likely both. If you look up "cape back" and similar online, you should find some reference images to help you figure out how the fabric would act. You could also grab some fabric yourself and experiment in front of a mirror.
What was making the cape/body look flat before was the position of the folds, it didn't look like there was a body behind them. Sketch in the body, it might make it easier to figure out how to draw the cape. It might also turn out that parts of the body should be visible.