Superman secret identity reveal worst storyline since "Grounded "?

[Vordan]

Bendis is trying to go into a different direction. Yes could we do a story where Clark gets outed or outs himself and all his loved ones get targeted thus teaching him the importance of having a secret identity? Of course, and we’ve had that story already with Truth. But he’s trying to tell a story where Clark revealing himself is a positive thing that doesn’t result in everyone he loves getting killed. We can argue about whether or not we want that story, but it’s a valid one to explore.

[LordUltimus]

So that story has been done. And Manchester Black is actually an interesting example because his ultimate take away was that it wouldn't work. Luthor in that story had the information and did nothing with it himself (mainly out of his creepy love for Lois, but still).

I don't recall that Cap story, but it sounds like something form the 80's when secret identities were taken as a must as a matter of course. That isn't really the case anymore, particularly for Marvel where most of the Avengers are all public and even street level heroes like Hawkeye, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist are have been public for a long time.

Could they tell those stories? Yes, obviously. Is that the only story you can tell with a public hero? Definitely not. No one's complaining about the Avengers. I don't think it's fair to say it's lazy or contrived to not have his personal life burned down by this, particularly considering that that is the typical trope they go to for this stuff. Superman isn't Batman who has no public attachments to anyone. He has plenty, more than most public heroes probably.

Manchester Blacks ultimate takeaway was that he couldn't break Superman and make him kill, not that he couldn't ruin his life.

The Avengers work because they barely interact with any non-heroes on a personal basis these days. Hawkeye and Luke Cage rarely piss off anyone important, and they've gone into hiding when they have. Iron Fist is rich, so he can protect himself a lot better; which is why Iron Man revealed himself.

[LordUltimus]

Bendis is trying to go into a different direction. Yes could we do a story where Clark gets outed or outs himself and all his loved ones get targeted thus teaching him the importance of having a secret identity? Of course, and we’ve had that story already with Truth. But he’s trying to tell a story where Clark revealing himself is a positive thing that doesn’t result in everyone he loves getting killed. We can argue about whether or not we want that story, but it’s a valid one to explore.

The Kents are effectively being forced to go into hiding. I'm having trouble seeing how that's positive.

[Vordan]

The Kents are effectively being forced to go into hiding. I'm having trouble seeing how that's positive.

Positive for Clark, ultimately. That doesn’t mean everything is perfect for him. But being a superhero resulted in Clark getting beaten to death by Doomsday, so would you say being Superman was a negative thing as a whole?

[Ascended]

Bendis is trying to go into a different direction. Yes could we do a story where Clark gets outed or outs himself and all his loved ones get targeted thus teaching him the importance of having a secret identity? Of course, and we’ve had that story already with Truth. But he’s trying to tell a story where Clark revealing himself is a positive thing that doesn’t result in everyone he loves getting killed. We can argue about whether or not we want that story, but it’s a valid one to explore.

Well said. >brofist!<

We've also seen plenty of stories where Clark's loved ones are put in danger because of Clark (or Lois) too. Death of Clark Kent, for example. The Kents (or whoever) being endangered isn't exactly new territory.

The Kents are effectively being forced to go into hiding. I'm having trouble seeing how that's positive.

In a lot of ways it's not. And in a lot of ways it's probably not supposed to be written as a positive, but as a complication. How this changes and impacts the cast and the world at large. Not all those developments will be good ones. Nor should they be, because that's just boring.

So the Kents....what's the response here? Just to play devil's advocate (because I don't want the Kents back to begin with). The President's parents get secret service, I believe. So maybe the Kents end up with Alpha Centurion or a squad of Rannians hanging around. The Kents will eat those poor saps for breakfast; they'll be adopted into the family by sundown and not be entirely sure how it happened. In their kind, patient, grandparently way they roll over people and make even Amazon princesses sit straight. Super Secret Service doesn't have a chance. Maybe someone attacks the farm? It's already happened of course, but now the Kents are defended.

Or? The Kents move somewhere quiet. And it's Clark's parents, so it's not like they're gonna get Motel 6. And it's not like they'll be prisoners either. Maybe they'll get to go on a tour of the UP. The Kents in space? Sounds like a fun Silver Age story. Or the Kents as permanent residents of the Watchtower? I can't wait to see Martha make Batman eat a cookie. Or maybe Clark just says f*ck it, and he actually brings them into the new political fold. This is the era of giving your kids high ranking political positions, apparently, so maybe Pa gets a seat consulting with the UP's Department of Agriculture. Or the UN's, if Clark's UP position gives him authority on earth (and you'd think it would). Martha could end up who knows where, depending on the version (I feel like she's changed a lot in the tellings).

Or who knows what? Kents could end up doing anything. Dying. Living. Both. Having a great time or having an awful time. Looks like Bendis is writing the version where they have a good time. At least so far. But it's early yet, really.

And through the whole thing the Kents can miss their land and their quiet, simple life, despite knowing that it serves the greater good, and that can help drive their characters a bit. Until the story gets undone and retconned anyway. It's damn unlikely this will actually last, even if DC is trying like hell to make it good enough to deserve it.

I'm just saying. It doesn't have to be doom and gloom. I don't want the Kents back at all, but this ID reveal doesn't have to end in flames. And if Bendis bases this off what happens to real world politicians like the POTUS, it won't.

[marhawkman]

So that story has been done. And Manchester Black is actually an interesting example because his ultimate take away was that it wouldn't work. Luthor in that story had the information and did nothing with it himself (mainly out of his creepy love for Lois, but still).

I don't recall that Cap story, but it sounds like something form the 80's when secret identities were taken as a must as a matter of course. That isn't really the case anymore, particularly for Marvel where most of the Avengers are all public and even street level heroes like Hawkeye, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist are have been public for a long time.

Could they tell those stories? Yes, obviously. Is that the only story you can tell with a public hero? Definitely not. No one's complaining about the Avengers. I don't think it's fair to say it's lazy or contrived to not have his personal life burned down by this, particularly considering that that is the typical trope they go to for this stuff. Superman isn't Batman who has no public attachments to anyone. He has plenty, more than most public heroes probably.

Also, how much work would it actually take to keep someone like Edward Nygma or Lex Luthor from finding your secret identity?

Well... just look at how easy it was for Batman to figure out who Superman is.

Realistically that story in Birds of Prey about how the Calculator and Spysmasher were trying to figure out Oracle's secret feels like it should be a part of everyday life for anyone with a secret identity.

[Agent Z]

It's not a DC story, but in Spider-Man's first battle with the Sinister Six they kidnapped Aunt May and Betty Brant to force Spider-Man to confront them. They didn't know Peter was Spider-Man and that these two women were close to him they just grabbed two random people to force a confrontation with Spidey.

[Yoda]

Also, how much work would it actually take to keep someone like Edward Nygma or Lex Luthor from finding your secret identity?

Well... just look at how easy it was for Batman to figure out who Superman is.

Realistically that story in Birds of Prey about how the Calculator and Spysmasher were trying to figure out Oracle's secret feels like it should be a part of everyday life for anyone with a secret identity.

Oracle also figured it out on her own apparently. Oracle think's Lois is about to expose her because I think a senator or something had had a run in with her and wanted her taken out so they leaked her id to Lois. Lois realizes it's a set up, and though she knows Oracle is Barbara tells her she won't run it. Barbara had a photo of Clark changing while giving Lois a kiss and was prepared to use it to blackmail Lois into preserving her own secret identity.

The point of all that is that realistically, if Barbara could get a photo like that through some kinda hacking or just tailing Superman, how on earth hasn't Luthor or literally anyone else figured it out yet? It wasn't like some sort of high level hack, it was a photograph.

[Vordan]

Oracle also figured it out on her own apparently. Oracle think's Lois is about to expose her because I think a senator or something had had a run in with her and wanted her taken out so they leaked her id to Lois. Lois realizes it's a set up, and though she knows Oracle is Barbara tells her she won't run it. Barbara had a photo of Clark changing while giving Lois a kiss and was prepared to use it to blackmail Lois into preserving her own secret identity.

The point of all that is that realistically, if Barbara could get a photo like that through some kinda hacking or just tailing Superman, how on earth hasn't Luthor or literally anyone else figured it out yet? It wasn't like some sort of high level hack, it was a photograph.

Well with Lex it’s usually less that he doesn’t know, more that he refuses to accept it. He needs to see Superman as just pretending to be a good person, and as an alien thing he can hate rather than a person. Accepting that Superman is Clark Kent means accepting that Supes really is a good person who doesn’t want to lord over humans like Lex would if he had Superman’s powers.

But yes in our current age with facial recognition technology and surveillance tech, the government would more or less be easily able to identify all the superheroes. Even with Batman it’s pretty easy to figure it out, especially when Bruce Wayne announced he was funding Batman. But superheroes aren’t realistic so no one figures out unless the writer wants them to.

[Frontier]

Well with Lex it’s usually less that he doesn’t know, more that he refuses to accept it. He needs to see Superman as just pretending to be a good person, and as an alien thing he can hate rather than a person. Accepting that Superman is Clark Kent means accepting that Supes really is a good person who doesn’t want to lord over humans like Lex would if he had Superman’s powers.

But yes in our current age with facial recognition technology and surveillance tech, the government would more or less be easily able to identify all the superheroes. Even with Batman it’s pretty easy to figure it out, especially when Bruce Wayne announced he was funding Batman. But superheroes aren’t realistic so no one figures out unless the writer wants them to.

Even in Truth he was still in denial about the Clark Kent thing.

Didn't they establish once that Superman does something to throw off facial recognition software? Like vibrates his face like The Flashes do?

[marhawkman]

Even in Truth he was still in denial about the Clark Kent thing.

Didn't they establish once that Superman does something to throw off facial recognition software? Like vibrates his face like The Flashes do?

His glasses subtly change his eye color. Superman has blue eyes in a shade only Kryptonians have. The glasses make that normal Human blue.

[Ascended]

Even in Truth he was still in denial about the Clark Kent thing.

Didn't they establish once that Superman does something to throw off facial recognition software? Like vibrates his face like The Flashes do?

Yeah, that was a thing back in the.....late 80's? Early 90's maybe? I personally don't care for that too much, since it means Jimmy can never get a clear shot of Superman's face. If the guy is all action and running off after the big save then it's fine, but if he's standing around making conversation, then people will realize that no matter what they can never get a good photograph, and that'd make people suspicious.

But I think it's also been said that he uses his vision powers (in some weird conjunction) to mess up cameras pointed at him, including ones in orbit and whatever. So he just doesnt do that to Jim, and maybe lets a few others get a semi-decent shot now and then just so Jimmy stands out less. And I've always liked the idea that he's got Kryptonian programs hidden in the internet, seeping into any linked system, and those quietly screw up facial recog results. That, or Superman, despite being a fairly good looking guy, is so typical in his appearance that facial recog generates so many possible matches it's worthless. When facial recog tells you that Clark Kent is a 86% match for Superman, but so is Bruce Wayne and thousands of others....

With Lex, and with most people, I think the identity remained a secret because no one thought Superman had a secret identity in the first place. The villains can't find what they're not looking for. And yeah, Lex's ego gets in his own way too.

[LordUltimus]

Okay, here's the bigger question: will Clark be forced to give up his job at the Daily Planet? Because all the examples mentioned (heroes that gave up or never had a secret identity, real-life politicians and businessmen) don't have "normal lives". They don't have "real jobs". They've given that up along with the secret identity.

[Lvenger]

Okay, here's the bigger question: will Clark be forced to give up his job at the Daily Planet? Because all the examples mentioned (heroes that gave up or never had a secret identity, real-life politicians and businessmen) don't have "normal lives". They don't have "real jobs". They've given that up along with the secret identity.

Bendis has hand waved that problem away by Perry firing Clark and then rehiring him immediately to write articles for the Daily Planet as Superman. It's a lazy and poorly thought out justification and it's executed terribly but Bendis wants to have his cake and eat it. By that I mean he wants to make this ground breaking change to Superman's status quo with the secret identity reveal but he wants to keep writing journalism scenes at the Daily Planet. One of the biggest problems of Truth was that it removed the Daily Planet supporting cast and the replacement supporting cast was simply uninteresting.

[Ascended]

And this way, we keep the cast. And Clark keeps a job he enjoys and is good at that is integral to the mythos. It's unethical as hell, but whatever. The entire Clark-Planet-Superman situation has always been questionable at best. In the real world, every news outlet from CNN to Fox would be fighting each other for the chance to hire Superman. And the Planet has always had a pro-Superman bias, this is just taking it a step or three further.

It is kinda rushed past, or at least feels like it right now. But we haven't even really seen what Clark's life is going to be like going forward, we're still dealing with the impact.