After "Truth"... Secret Identity: Yes or No?

[Jon-El]

If the creators believe in the changes they make then they should stick with them. If it's absolutely clear that have no secret identity hurts sales then they'll find a way to go back. If sales are strong then they should stay with what works.

[Myskin]

But that depends on what you want out of Superman. If you want a more earthbound social crusader and design Superman to fit that role you get a different character than if you want to play up the star-spanning, planet juggling universal legend version. Clark works as the inconspicuous reporter digging up the dirt on who crusader Superman will target, but planet-hopping Superman might find Clark a burden when he has to be gone from Earth for a mission.

That's a different matter. The problem is not what version of Superman you prefer. The problem is, how much coherent, functional, that particular version of Superman is. In all of its parts. If you choose the social crusader, everything should "click" and work in order to create that version of the character. If you choose cosmic Superman, you should create elements which are reciprocally coeherent in order to create that particular version of the character.
The problem with Superman is that they have been keeping all of its traditional elements alive, but they stopped asking WHY they should be kept. You are talking about Clark "the incospicuous reporter", but I'll repeat it again; WHEN, for God's sake, in the latest decades you have seen Clark behave like a real reporter, in a way which wouldn't conflict/contradict other elements of his personality (except for a couple of occasions)?

And no, Flash and Daredevil (just to name a few) are in a wholly different situation. Flash is basically always a cop. His M.O., the enemies he faces, the fact that he operates in a certain city... His "super-job" is basically an extension of his real-life job. I don't care if it is presented in a completely realistic way, because generally speaking his world is rather coeherent: a mix-up of investigation and crazy laws of physics. That's something which is recognizable, discernible, coherent. For example, I think that the Flash could live in a world which similar to the one presented in Fringe, the TV series.
Daredevil? His job as a lawyer is one of the few jobs in comics which is presented in a real respectful, interesting way. Some of Daredevil's best story are story focused on Murdock, the lawyer.

On the issue of why Clark is a reporter. It provides the broadest window for getting involved while allowing him not to be supervised in the process. On the crime beat Clark can investigate Glenmorgan or Mannheim along with everyone else. Noone is questioning him being at a crime scene but he also isn't telegraphing to the crooks that Superman is looking. Covering a fire let's Superman do the rescue while Clark can observe and gather facts for the story- he's able to use the time Superman is in action as part of his Clark Kent time.

I know what you are saying, but the examples you provide are simply hypothetical. They aren't really seen in the stories at all. It is just something which could be, not something which really is.
Does the fact that this concept isn't really used make "Clark the reporter" an inherently wrong idea? Nope, but that's not the point. I am not saying that Clark SHOULDN'T be a reporter. I am saying that if they decide to make Clark a reporter, they should justify it within the stories. By showing (not simply saying!) that Clark as a reporter in a great American city is more useful than, for example, as a member of Doctors without Borders in a city which could REALLY use some justice (and without any effort I can think of 100 cities minimum in worse conditions than Metropolis. Most of them aren't in the US).

And no, I don't care what Morrison said, because as far as I am concerned he completely failed in presenting these elements in a credible way during his run (and please note that Morrison is my favourite writer). I don't care about declarations of principles. EVERYBODY can make a declaration of principle. The real skill is creating a credible, discernible fictional world within the stories. And that's something which Pak is currenly doing way better than Morrison did in AC.

[DieHard200904]

Yes, give him back his secret identity, and the ways that this can be done is limitless, thanks to some imaginative minds at work. FWIW, he could wake up and find that what was going on was just a dream or that he maybe didn't come back into the real universe after he fell into a black hole or some other crazy #$%^# like that.

[DieHard200904]

Kentville? I'm not aware of this. Sounds intriguing.

Kind of hope that you are right, if Mxyzptlk is just being an ******* and messing with reality, that would be an awesome way to introduce him. Although it would be really wierd to find out that events didn't really happen.

[Patrick Gerard]

I get what you mean, and I know you're just making an example, but I think any superstar writer like Morrison will find a way to make it work. Just look at his JLA run. There Morrison had to deal with electric blue Superman. Remember how he made due with that? He had him push the moon back into orbit and wrestle an angel to a stand still. Remember how he couldn't us Hawkman? Well that's how we got the character Zauriel and his rich unappreciated myth. I could honestly go on and on about all of the times DC has told Morrison that he can't do or use something only to have him make something cooler.

Morrison didn't do that. Morrison's script (submitted something like 6 months early) had Superman holding back the moon with physical strength and fighting Asmodel the same way. Dan Raspler, the editor, rewrote the scene himself, called up Grant (who was traveling) and Grant gave a thumbs up.

Now, sure, that scene felt like a Grant Morrison scene. But that's because Dan Raspler "gets" Grant Morrison like only a handful of other writers/editors in the industry (which I would include Tom Peyer, Kieron Gillen, Cam Stewart, and Jonathan Hickman in).

China Mieville gets Grant, I think, and doesn't care for his work. Waid doesn't ALWAYS "get" Grant but compliments him well as a collaborator. So I'm not saying you have to 100% work with Grant to play in his sandbox or that you have to like him to "get" him. But Raspler was part of that rare combo who "got" Grant, seemed to enjoy working with him, and could practically finish his sentences in a way that you'd assume Grant himself wrote it.

[Rod G]

Let's see how it goes. I have high hopes for this story. Ultra hyped from what I saw from Pak and Yang. Now it's to hope for the best from Tomasi. If it's well done, why not keep the status quo?

Sounds good to me, dumbduck.