Secret Identity: Yes or No?

[Primal Slayer]

No. I don’t think it’s necessary. Diana is a very busy woman between her superheroics and philanthropy, as well as numerous other activities. She doesn’t need a secret identity with another occupation, residence, friend group, etc.

If Diana wants some downtime to shop, dine out, see a movie, etc, then she can do what every celebrity who doesn’t court the paparazzi does - go about her business in a low-key manner, possibly wearing a hat or sunglasses. The fact that Diana can fly and has super speed (and an invisible jet) would make it pretty easy for her to avoid any unwanted attention.

I like that Diana doesn’t have or need a secret identity - it sets her apart in the trinity and it feels true to her character who wields the lasso of TRUTH.

Diana is more Princess Diana when it comes to celebrity status. She should be hounded everywhere she goes once they have a sighting of her.

[Lightning Rider]

I can see her using disguises from time to time, but I don't see her living a double life the way other heroes do. My favorite incarnations see her openly communicating her mission to the world and living in her own skin without any form of deception. Truth is her thing, after all.

[Gaius]

No. I don’t think it’s necessary. Diana is a very busy woman between her superheroics and philanthropy, as well as numerous other activities. She doesn’t need a secret identity with another occupation, residence, friend group, etc.

If Diana wants some downtime to shop, dine out, see a movie, etc, then she can do what every celebrity who doesn’t court the paparazzi does - go about her business in a low-key manner, possibly wearing a hat or sunglasses. The fact that Diana can fly and has super speed (and an invisible jet) would make it pretty easy for her to avoid any unwanted attention.

I like that Diana doesn’t have or need a secret identity - it sets her apart in the trinity and it feels true to her character who wields the lasso of TRUTH.

This, and what Natamaxx brought up, are about the extent I can see Diana having a usefulness for a secret identity; more a private life.

But a full-on second life ala "mild-mannered Clark Kent" or "foppish playboy Bruce Wayne" never struck me as really integral to her and more just done because that's what you did with superheroes at the time.

[Agent Z]

Off the top of my head she gets
attacked by Decay
Attacked by mobster demons (who cripple her mother)
Kidnapped by the White Magician
brainwashed by Doctor Psycho on three separate occasions
Kidnapped by Cheetah
Has Doctor Psycho implant a copy of himself into her head to haunt her nightmares for the rest of her life
Groomed by an evil asshat to turn against everyone she knows and loves
Experimented on and turned evil twice
And murders dozens of children at Cassie Sandmarks school thanks to Psychos mechanations.
And that was just post crisis.

Current continuity has her just as a random collatoral damage during a super fight who had never even met Diana before said super fight where her mother is murdered, she winds up a cripple, and shes randomly given Cyborg tech, turning her into Silver Swan with her deciding to just be evulz for the lolz and wants to killz Wonder Woman for funsies

She's a civilian in a superhero universe. This stuff happens to people regardless of whether or not the hero has a public identity. Ask Gwen Stacy, Alex DeWitt or any of Matt Murdock's girlfriends how dating a guy with a secret identity turned out for them.

[Agent Z]

Diana is more Princess Diana when it comes to celebrity status. She should be hounded everywhere she goes once they have a sighting of her.

I don't think that will be an issue for a woman with super speed.

[marhawkman]

I can see her using disguises from time to time, but I don't see her living a double life the way other heroes do. My favorite incarnations see her openly communicating her mission to the world and living in her own skin without any form of deception. Truth is her thing, after all.

Yeah, so much this.

wearing normal clothes as a Themiscyran ambassador is fine, but pretending to be a mortal? doesn't feel right.

[BiteTheBullet]

I don't think that will be an issue for a woman with super speed.

She still has that ability?

[Primal Slayer]

I don't think that will be an issue for a woman with super speed.

If she's with friends or anyone, speeding away aint always gonna be an option.

[BiteTheBullet]

If she's with friends or anyone, speeding away aint always gonna be an option.

If she doesn't have super speed, then she should just fly away

[Primal Slayer]

If she's with friends or anyone, flying away aint always gonna be an option.

[Agent 86]

Diana is more Princess Diana when it comes to celebrity status. She should be hounded everywhere she goes once they have a sighting of her.

IF Diana exists in a universe where the public doesn’t know that the superhero Superman and the journalist Clark Kent who writes stories about Superman and often gets exclusive interviews with Superman are one and the same, then I don’t think it’s too incredible that Diana could avoid the more paparazzi style press when going about her daily business (most of which would involve a certain level of press / attention anyway, whether her superheroics or charity work).

I could easily see Diana as one of those celebrities who “agrees” to pose for 5 minutes when “discovered”, in exchange for then being allowed to go on her merry way. Given that the paparazzi couldn’t easily stake out her home or follow her car (as her form of transport when coming and going is flight), it shouldn’t be a major issue.

I just don’t really see it being an issue that Wonder Woman media needs to address or concern itself with.

[Primal Slayer]

IF Diana exists in a universe where the public doesn’t know that the superhero Superman and the journalist Clark Kent who writes stories about Superman and often gets exclusive interviews with Superman are one and the same, then I don’t think it’s too incredible that Diana could avoid the more paparazzi style press when going about her daily business (most of which would involve a certain level of press / attention anyway, whether her superheroics or charity work).

I could easily see Diana as one of those celebrities who “agrees” to pose for 5 minutes when “discovered”, in exchange for then being allowed to go on her merry way. Given that the paparazzi couldn’t easily stake out her home or follow her car (as her form of transport when coming and going is flight), it shouldn’t be a major issue.

I just don’t really see it being an issue that Wonder Woman media needs to address or concern itself with.

You're comparing someone who is changing their identity compared to someone who wouldn't be. If she didn't go Diana Prince then she'd be Diana whose WW. One of the most famous people in the world, fashion icon, best of the best. I think she'd always have people hounding her.

[Koriand'r]

Yes, yes, a million times yes. My stance is unchanging. Being WW all the time is boring.

Transforming into WW is exciting.

I don't understand why people don't get this? Marston created the Diana Prince identity from the very beginning, so he must have thought it was integral to the character. It adds a lot of drama and other avenues for storytelling. It's for that reason it's beeen included in all live action depictions of Wonder Woman. The whole celebrity superhero thing has been done for 40 years and has gotten extremely tired.

[Alpha]

I don't understand why people don't get this? Marston created the Diana Prince identity from the very beginning, so he must have thought it was integral to the character. It adds a lot of drama and other avenues for storytelling. It's for that reason it's beeen included in all live action depictions of Wonder Woman. The whole celebrity superhero thing has been done for 40 years and has gotten extremely tired.

Because I think Marston had lots of good ideas, and Diana Prince wasn't one of them. He followed the standard of every superhero having a secret identiy (even Steve Rogers, can you believe it?).

Diana is confident and comfortable in who she is. She grew up being in the spotlight, and it's what made her so strong. She wants other women to stand right alongside her, even without powers. She uses all of her history to connect to others in the daylight. If she wants to rest somewhere full of people, she still wouldn't need a double life to do that. Just a pair of sunglasses and different outfit.

Most of those stories about Diana were about her pretending to be something she isn't, which is a waste of time considering why she came to this world. And I certainly hated the idea of Diana being unhappy because Steve Trevor loved WW and not the army nurse in glasses

[Agent 86]

You're comparing someone who is changing their identity compared to someone who wouldn't be. If she didn't go Diana Prince then she'd be Diana whose WW. One of the most famous people in the world, fashion icon, best of the best. I think she'd always have people hounding her.

Agree to disagree : )

She’s got the Diana Prince identity in the DCEU, so I can’t see it going away anytime soon.