Is the secret identity a dead concept for Superheroes?

[CaptCleghorn]

They're superhero comics. Many aspects of them require a suspension of disbelief. It's fun to go through and impose reality on many of them in a joking manner, but really, we accept so much without questioning so it's silly to allow a few points to annoy us.

And did the domino masks ever fool anyone?

[Osiris-Rex]

They're superhero comics. Many aspects of them require a suspension of disbelief. It's fun to go through and impose reality on many of them in a joking manner, but really, we accept so much without questioning so it's silly to allow a few points to annoy us.

And did the domino masks ever fool anyone?

I guess if glasses can, a domino mask certainly can.

[Agent Z]

IMO, it's not merely a matter of supporting casts, but also a matter of the breadth of the world in which the characters inhabit. For example:

The poster child is The Fantastic Four, who largely lived in a celebrity bubble, with the exception of Alicia. They had other characters, like The Inhumans, or Wyatt Wingfoot, but these were almost always temporary additions.

This seems to be the case with all heroes regardless of whether or not they have a secret identity. How many of the supporting characters introduced in, say, Superman, have stuck around? The only constants seem to be the Daily Planet Staff and even that is mostly just Lois, Jimmy and Perry. Steve Lombard, Lana Lang and Pete Ross are virtually non-existent and Cat Grant is more associated with Supergirl these days.

Hell, if you were to treat the constantly changing supporting cast as a feature rather than a bug, then Wonder Woman is less likely to stay in a bubble than most superheroes since she meets new people all the time.

Repeating my earlier post, I suspect that narcissism lies at the heart of the departure from the secret id. Too many of us seem to think that the world isn't any bigger than ourselves and the bubbles in which we choose to live. Only our own stories matter to us. It shouldn't surprise me so much that the way comic characters are portrayed reflect that.

I don’t think it’s narcissism, so much as many writers are starting to see the numerous ethical issues with secret identities. See the criticisms the CW versions of Barry Allen and Oliver Queen got for their secrets. Or Peter Parker defrauding a newspaper to gain money. Or Clark’s lack of ethics in journalism. Hell, think about how irresponsible it would be to go on a date or go to work and none of the people involved know you’re a superhero and that they could become targets of villains due to association with a superhero.

[BeastieRunner]

I dunno.

I watched my friend's husband try to pick her up at a masquerade ball, thinking she was somebody else. It ended in alimony from him.

I guess it depends.

If you're a low level super, people might not be tracking you but someone like Superman would probably have world agencies designated to find you.

I could see a Batman or Green Arrow hushing people up like they did in the Dark Knight.

[Grim Ghost]

How long do you figure you'd manage to keep that secret once law enforcement (or even the military) starts to get serious about finding out who this guy is?

Forever because comic books are not reality. This is all about writers being embarrassed of their own genre and trying to make it "grown up".

[Carabas]

Forever because comic books are not reality. This is all about writers being embarrassed of their own genre and trying to make it "grown up".

How many superheroes do you know who have never had their secret identities exposed?

[ed2962]

Somewhere I've got an old copy of Amazing Heroes that has an interview with Lyle Wagner who played Steve Trevor on the Wonder Woman TV show. He was talking about the Diana Prince ID and says something like, "It was one thing during the first season...she'd dress dawdy, wear her hair different, put on glasses, Ok. But when the show moved to CBS, she'd be standing next to me looking like a supermodel and I'm supposed to not know that she's Wonder Woman?!"

[Agent Z]

The recent episode of Black Lightning is a pretty good example of how pointless secret identities are. spoilers:

Jefferson has been framed for murder by Tobias Whale and since he can't come down to the station to make a statement and give his alibi he now has to worry about clearing his name outside the law on top of combating Whale

end of spoilers.

[The Darknight Detective]

The recent episode of Black Lightning is a pretty good example of how pointless secret identities are. spoilers:

Jefferson has been framed for murder by Tobias Whale and since he can't come down to the station to make a statement and give his alibi he now has to worry about clearing his name outside the law on top of combating Whale

end of spoilers.

It actually sound like a good reason to have a secret identity.

[Agent Z]

It actually sound like a good reason to have a secret identity.

How?

10chars

[The Darknight Detective]

How?

10chars

Because he would be arrested.

[The Dying Detective]

What if you had multiple identities? It's more complicated but if one is compromised then you just take on another?

[ed2962]

What if you had multiple identities? It's more complicated but if one is compromised then you just take on another?

This was Moon Knight's thing back in the 80's. To tell the truth, I perferred it to him having split personalities.

[The Dying Detective]

This was Moon Knight's thing back in the 80's. To tell the truth, I preferred it to him having split personalities.

It would be interesting if there was a superhero that had multiple identities to the point no one knows which one his his real face. It's something the Joker is known for but what if a hero had it? Though the Shadow is one example of that.

[DrNewGod]

It would be interesting if there was a superhero that had multiple identities to the point no one knows which one his his real face. It's something the Joker is known for but what if a hero had it? Though the Shadow is one example of that.

Exactly. It's something I wish MK's writers had done: make each ID plausible, and leave you guessing which one is real.

I guess the problem is it's tough to get kids to project themselves on to a character when you're never sure who the character is. It worked for The Shadow because the POV was mainly through his agents. But even The Shadow caved in and eventually established him as Kent Allard.

However, since comics aren't for kids anymore, maybe we've reached a point where an unending "who is he?" idea might work.