Pointless superhero secret identities

[Rubixcube]

I’ve never really liked the idea of a secret identity in superhero stories, but I at least understand from a plot standpoint why they’re necessary for some characters. Peter Parker doesn’t want to endanger his aunt/girlfriend/wife; Bruce Wayne is technically a fugitive and so on. But there are plenty of comics where the secret identity is there for no real reason. These have always bugged me since not only are they completely pointless, but they often make things significantly harder for the heroes in question.

The two big examples I can think of are Tony Stark and Henry Pym. For Tony the whole bodyguard thing was pointless, it wasn’t to protect his factories since they were attacked nearly every issue anyway. And villains figured out very quickly that Iron Man showed up whenever they went after Stark, Pepper, or Happy, so he wasn’t protecting himself or them either. If everyone had known then he could have simply changed into the armor anytime it was necessary, rather than having to slip away and explaining his many mysterious disappearances.

Pym had even less reason; the only person he was close to was Janet, who also has powers. Also his rogue gallery was far too lame to be any sort of danger to anyone at all. So can anybody else think of any unnecessary secret identities?

[DocCathode]

The two big examples I can think of are Tony Stark and Henry Pym.

IIRC Hank Pym hasn't had a secret identity since Byrne took over the Avengers in the late eighties. Instead of Ant Man, Giant Man, or Yellowjacket, he goes around in red coveralls with many pockets containing shrunken doohickeys.

[The Other Waldo Pepper]

The two big examples I can think of are Tony Stark and Henry Pym. For Tony the whole bodyguard thing was pointless, it wasn’t to protect his factories since they were attacked nearly every issue anyway. And villains figured out very quickly that Iron Man showed up whenever they went after Stark, Pepper, or Happy, so he wasn’t protecting himself or them either. If everyone had known then he could have simply changed into the armor anytime it was necessary, rather than having to slip away and explaining his many mysterious disappearances.

Part of the reason he's so good at slipping away and getting into the armor is that his would-be kidnappers are primarily looking all around for Iron Man while doing a half-assed job of keeping an eye on the guy they're after. (Also, an early story had someone try to bribe Iron Man into betraying Tony.)

[DocCathode]

Re Bruce Wayne

I though the Fugitive storyline was over and done with.

[Rubixcube]

IIRC Hank Pym hasn't had a secret identity since Byrne took over the Avengers in the late eighties. Instead of Ant Man, Giant Man, or Yellowjacket, he goes around in red coveralls with many pockets containing shrunken doohickeys.
They don't have to currently or recently have had secret identities. I'm simply asking about heroes that have or had an identity solely for the sake of an identity without any real plot or character justification. Another one I just thought of was Golden Age Captain America. You spend massive amounts of time, effort, and money on making a super soldier, and then you make him pretend to be a buffoon around base so nobody finds out his real identity instead of, y'know actually sending him on missions where he would be useful.

[DCnDC]

Thor.

They work it into his story that he falls in love with his nurse and blah blah blah must maintain secret identity to protect her blah blah blah but they never needed to go there with him. He's a freakin' GOD. There was no reason for him to have to disguise himself and have a day job playing doctor, when he could have/should have just spent his days professionally asskicking.

[Quercus]

Maybe Clark Kent fits. I mean, it's not like he needed to protect himself, and I can't recall Clark really picking up leads for Superman or anything while supposedly working, so there was no real benefit to it. I think he was Clark just so he could hang out without having people pestering him constantly to get their cat out of a tree or use his heat vision to remove their grandmother's tumor or stop an out-of-control drunk driver or something else annoying.

[Rubixcube]

Thor.

They work it into his story that he falls in love with his nurse and blah blah blah must maintain secret identity to protect her blah blah blah but they never needed to go there with him. He's a freakin' GOD. There was no reason for him to have to disguise himself and have a day job playing doctor, when he could have/should have just spent his days professionally asskicking.
Wasn't it explained that Odin forbid Thor from revealing his identity because he exiled him to earth in the first place to teach him humility, and having him reveal his identity would defeat that purpose?

[johnpost]

the absolute most pointless one is the Shadow.

[DocCathode]

the absolute most pointless one is the Shadow.

Ya know, Cranston wasn't his real identity either. It was revealed after many years that Cranston was a cover ID as well and he was really Kent Allard.

I disagree with it being pointless though. The Shadow shoots at people and they shoot back. If he'd like to go anywhere without being shot at, he kinda needs another identity.

[Czarcasm]

the absolute most pointless one is the Shadow.Kent Allard? I think the "secrets within secrets" deal worked out very well for him.

[DCnDC]

Wasn't it explained that Odin forbid Thor from revealing his identity because he exiled him to earth in the first place to teach him humility, and having him reveal his identity would defeat that purpose?

Hmm... it would seem so. Touché. :)

[Tom Tildrum]

Green Arrow, after growing the beard. Who's he fooling?

[Czarcasm]

Green Arrow, after growing the beard. Who's he fooling?Yeah, everyone knows he's Travis Morgan.

[Intergalactic Gladiator]

Maybe Clark Kent fits. I mean, it's not like he needed to protect himself, and I can't recall Clark really picking up leads for Superman or anything while supposedly working, so there was no real benefit to it. I think he was Clark just so he could hang out without having people pestering him constantly to get their cat out of a tree or use his heat vision to remove their grandmother's tumor or stop an out-of-control drunk driver or something else annoying.

I like how they inverted it -- Superman was the secret identity and Clark Kent was the real guy. It makes sense to me that he would want to be a regular guy.

[Little Nemo]

Legal liability. If people knew it was Tony Stark inside that Iron Man suit, he'd be getting hit by lawsuits five times a day. By maintaining the fiction that he and Iron Man are two separate people he avoids this personal liability.

Sure, they can sue Stark Industries but that's what limited corporate liability is for.

[Rubixcube]

Legal liability. If people knew it was Tony Stark inside that Iron Man suit, he'd be getting hit by lawsuits five times a day. By maintaining the fiction that he and Iron Man are two separate people he avoids this personal liability.

Sure, they can sue Stark Industries but that's what limited corporate liability is for.
Why? Iron Man wasn't doing anything illegal, almost all of his actions were done either to protect Stark property, or under official Avengers business. Did he start getting into legal trouble after revealing his identity?

[DocCathode]

Why? Iron Man wasn't doing anything illegal, almost all of his actions were done either to protect Stark property, or under official Avengers business. Did he start getting into legal trouble after revealing his identity?

I don't think illegality enters into it.

'While fighting Titanium Man, you totalled our building. Pay us for the damages.'

[Rubixcube]

I don't think illegality enters into it.

'While fighting Titanium Man, you totalled our building. Pay us for the damages.'
But wouldn't that happen regardless? Whether an employee of Stark Industries causes property damage or the owner does Stark Industries will be paying either way.

[Tom Tildrum]

In the comics, Stark Industries funded much of the Avengers' operations, IIRC, including damages.

[Chronos]

There's a difference between a secret identity and an alter ego. Even if you don't have a secret identity, it might make sense to have an alter ego for the same reason you have a costume: It's flashy and cool. A number of celebrities in our world do something like this. It's no secret, for instance, that Lady Gaga is actually Stefani Germanatta, but the alter ego lets her be more glamorous.

[kenobi 65]

Wasn't it explained that Odin forbid Thor from revealing his identity because he exiled him to earth in the first place to teach him humility, and having him reveal his identity would defeat that purpose?

In the origin story, Dr. Blake doesn't even know he's Thor...he's been exiled to Earth with no memories of being an Asgardian. It's only when he finds the "walking stick" that's actually a disguised Mjolnir, and raps it on a rock or something, that he transforms into Thor, and learns about being exiled.

In addition (at least, up through the early 1980s), there was also an enchantment on Mjolnir (placed there by Odin) which caused Thor to revert to Blake's mortal form if he let go of Mjolnir for more than 60 seconds. The enchantment was removed by Odin, and transferred to Stormbreaker (the Mjolnir-like hammer which Odin had made for Beta Ray Bill).

[johnpost]

the absolute most pointless one is the Shadow.

Ya know, Cranston wasn't his real identity either. It was revealed after many years that Cranston was a cover ID as well and he was really Kent Allard.

Kent Allard? I think the "secrets within secrets" deal worked out very well for him.

that was in print which i've never read. only know some of the radio where it only was Cranston after the Shadow became a character.

[Kamino Neko]

There've been a couple stories where Superman considers giving up the 'secret identity' thing.

It don't result in people going after the Kents, or stepping up their efforts to go after Lois or Jimmy (ie, going after them to get to him, rather than just because they have a tendency to look for trouble on their own), because he didn't reveal that Clark and Superman were the same person, he just let Clark's life go fallow for a while.

What happened was that he was run ragged because whenever he went to stop for a coffee or a bite to eat, people were asking him why he wasn't out superheroing. The idea that a superhero might need to take a mental health day, or even stop and catch his breath now and then, just didn't occur to them. (And telling them to stuff it, he just stopped a Rao bedamned tsunami and he needed a break before going out to do more never occurred to him, more justifiably.)

[Morbo]

I'm watching the old Lynda Carter Wonder Woman online (http://www.thewb.com/shows/wonder-woman) (and you should too - they're hilarious). I can see no reason whatsoever why she just can't be Wonder Woman the whole time.

It also doesn't say much for our military that those glasses were totally fooling everyone. I'm pretty sure I'd recognize someone as drop-dead gorgeous as Lynda Carter even if her disguise was that rubber suit from American Horror Story.

[WotNot]

I like how they inverted it -- Superman was the secret identity and Clark Kent was the real guy. It makes sense to me that he would want to be a regular guy.
Superman's really been all over the place, through the years.

Back in the Silver Age and Bronze Age, he essentially had three different identities: Superman, crime-fighter and protector of Earth; Clark Kent, mild-mannered reporter; and Kal-El, last surviving Kryptonian (other than his cousin, that is. And the Phantom Zone criminals. And that city of Kryptonians he kept in a carboy in his den.)

After the John Byrne reboot in the 80s, the Kryptonian heritage back-story changed, and the Kal-El persona fell by the way-side. But then we saw a second side to Clark: he wasn't just the shy, awkward disguise that Superman put on when he worked at the Daily Planet, but also the more relaxed, open Clark when he was at home with the Kents in Smallville – just this guy who grew up on a farm, talking with his folks.

Since then, depending on the writers and various changes in continuity, I think there've been times when the big guy's been juggling all four identities.

And people think Batman's the screwed-up one.

[guizot]

. . . I at least understand from a plot standpoint why they’re necessary for some characters. . . .it might make sense to have an alter ego for the same reason you have a costume: It's flashy and cool.Well, I've always thought that secret or alternate identities are never really about plot function at heart -- or even coolness. These stories are pretty much modern versions of fairy tales, which have always had their appeal in the transformations of the principle character--c.f., Cinderella, Ugly Duckling, etc. That's what delights Butters most of all by becoming Professor Chaos (http://www.southparkstudios.com/guide/episodes/s06e06-professor-chaos) on South Park: the idea that the other kids don't know it's actually him. What he does as Professor Chaos is almost irrelevant.

[Lemur866]

Wasn't there a storyline where Oliver Queen decides to reveal that he's Green Arrow, and everyone tells him, "Uh...it was supposed to be a secret? OK then. So that was why you were so shy about putting on your costume."

[Der Trihs]

Legal liability. If people knew it was Tony Stark inside that Iron Man suit, he'd be getting hit by lawsuits five times a day. By maintaining the fiction that he and Iron Man are two separate people he avoids this personal liability.There was also that time during the "Armor Wars" storyline where Stark publicly "fired" Iron Man.

[Bakhesh]

Thor.

They work it into his story that he falls in love with his nurse and blah blah blah must maintain secret identity to protect her blah blah blah but they never needed to go there with him. He's a freakin' GOD. There was no reason for him to have to disguise himself and have a day job playing doctor, when he could have/should have just spent his days professionally asskicking.

Thor at least tried harder than Hercules, who occasionally called himself "Harry Cleese", and wandered around looking exactly the same, and talking with his usual speech patterns.

[G0sp3l]

Legal liability. If people knew it was Tony Stark inside that Iron Man suit, he'd be getting hit by lawsuits five times a day. By maintaining the fiction that he and Iron Man are two separate people he avoids this personal liability.

Sure, they can sue Stark Industries but that's what limited corporate liability is for.

plus with him being blitzed half the time, I'm sure the lawsuits would skyrocket :D

[Biffy the Elephant Shrew]

Thor at least tried harder than Hercules, who occasionally called himself "Harry Cleese", and wandered around

...doing a silly walk?

[cochrane]

How about the Elongated Man? If I recall correctly, he made his alter-ego of Ralph Dibney public knowledge, so apparently, he didn't see the need to even maintain a secret identity.

Also, aren't the identities of the Fantastic Four, Reed and Sue Richards, Johnny Storm; and Ben Grimm widely known in their fictional universe?

[cochrane]

n/m

[cochrane]

Nevermind. I accidentally quoted myself. D'oh! :smack:

[Tom Tildrum]

How about the Elongated Man? If I recall correctly, he made his alter-ego of Ralph Dibney public knowledge, so apparently, he didn't see the need to even maintain a secret identity.

Well, but

his wife later got murdered.

[BigT]

The biggest example I know of are superheroes of a different sort: The Mighty Morphing Power Rangers. They keep their identity secret due to a decree from on high (Zordon). But the main reason most superheroes keep secret identities is invalid. It doesn't in any way protect their loved ones because--get this--the bad guys already know their secret identities, and always have.

There is a second reason that sometimes comes up for secret identities: to let the heroes also have an ordinary life, free from fans treating them differently. Thing is, you can fanwank that this is the reason, but it never comes up in the show at all. In fact, later seasons have Rangers whose identities are not secret, and their lives are the same either way.

Oh, and they had some comics, so they still count.

[DocCathode]

Also, aren't the identities of the Fantastic Four, Reed and Sue Richards, Johnny Storm; and Ben Grimm widely known in their fictional universe?

OTTOMH Ben had no living relatives when he became the Thing. Johnny and Sue only had eachother. Reed's father later turned out to be alive and in another dimension, but as far as he knew Reed had no living relatives when the FF formed.

There were no relatives to protect.

[DocCathode]

The biggest example I know of are superheroes of a different sort: The Mighty Morphing Power Rangers. They keep their identity secret due to a decree from on high (Zordon). But the main reason most superheroes keep secret identities is invalid. It doesn't in any way protect their loved ones because--get this--the bad guys already know their secret identities, and always have.

Strangely, the bad guys only take advantage of this in one story. In one episode, they kidnap the Rangers parents and make them give up their power coins.

[cmkeller]

Doc Cathode:

Johnny and Sue only had each other.

Their father was still alive when they got their powers. Franklin Storm was killed by the Super-Skrull, which underscores the danger of super-heroes having open identities.

[DocCathode]

I sit corrected.

[DocCathode]

On the great live action show Los Luchadores, the superheroes (Lobo Fuerte, Turbine and Maria Valentine) have no secret identities. But, being true luchadores, they never remove their masks.*



* except once at the mask repair shop.

[Don Draper]

An interesting case is the late 40's Marvel (or Timely or whatever it was called then) star Venus (http://toonopedia.com/venus.htm). She fought crime, but also had a day job using the name Vicki Starr. As Vicki, she was perpetually trying to convince the people around her that she was the ancient goddess Venus and the glam super heroine...but nobody ever believed her!

Similarly, there was a very early issue of the Amazing Spider-Man in which Spidey is sick, and thus is easily defeated by Dr. Octopus. Holding the subdued hero in two of his arms, he removed his mask to reveal Peter Parker beneath it. No one believed that nebbishy bookworm photographer Peter could really be Spider-man, not J. Jonah, not Betty Brant, not Doc Ock. They all assumed that Peter had simply dressed up as Spidey as a stunt to get pics of Octopus, and that the "real" Spidey was somewhere else.

[Levolor the Blind]

No one believed that nebbishy bookworm photographer Peter could really be Spider-man, not J. Jonah, not Betty Brant, not Doc Ock.

There's a Superman story from the 80's where an employee of Luthor's figures out that Clark Kent and Superman are the same person, but Luthor scoffs at the idea because he can't comprehend that how someone wouldn't want to be Superman all the time.

I've been listening to some Superman radio serials from the 40s lately. Superman spends a lot of time as Clark Kent investigating bad guys. It is never explicitly said, but the implication I have taken from this is that, while Superman can stop a crime, Clark Kent's reporting can act against the broader social ills the crimes are a symptom of.

[Peter Morris]

Wasn't there a storyline where Oliver Queen decides to reveal that he's Green Arrow, and everyone tells him, "Uh...it was supposed to be a secret? OK then. So that was why you were so shy about putting on your costume."

During the Mike Grell run, the cop that had been working with GA turned up uninvited at Oliver's home.

Oliver: How did you know who I was? :confused:
Cop : It was supposed to be a secret? :rolleyes:

He stopped wearing the mask after that.

[Peter Morris]

I've never read a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic, except for the Usaji Yojimbo crossovers, nor seen the movies. Can someone explain why they wear masks?

[Kamino Neko]

Because they're ninjas. Duh.

[DrFidelius]

I recall an Elliot S! Maggin story with Luthor (the Silver Age Luthor, with fantastic super-science inventions and all that jazz) thinking about how trivial it woud be to uncover Superman's "secret identity," and how pointless. Luthor maintains several alternate identities himself, and if one were revealed he would just abandon it and use another.
His arrogance prevented him from ever considering that Superman might actuall have any emotional investment in another identity.

[The Other Waldo Pepper]

I recall an Elliot S! Maggin story with Luthor (the Silver Age Luthor, with fantastic super-science inventions and all that jazz) thinking about how trivial it woud be to uncover Superman's "secret identity," and how pointless. Luthor maintains several alternate identities himself, and if one were revealed he would just abandon it and use another.

But before reaching that conclusion and breaking off the attempt, Lex actually narrows it down to a remarkably short list of dark-haired guys with broad shoulders who stand about six-foot-two: Superman, he swiftly reasons, is probably Joe Namath, Bruce Wayne, or that guy who works with the Daily Planet...

[Steve MB]

The biggest example I know of are superheroes of a different sort: The Mighty Morphing Power Rangers. They keep their identity secret due to a decree from on high (Zordon). But the main reason most superheroes keep secret identities is invalid. It doesn't in any way protect their loved ones because -- get this -- the bad guys already know their secret identities, and always have.

Also, in some cases the known friends and loved ones of the super identity are at least heavily overlapping the ones for the secret identity, so the bad guys know who to go after even if they don't know the secret ID.

Similarly, there was a very early issue of the Amazing Spider-Man in which Spidey is sick, and thus is easily defeated by Dr. Octopus. Holding the subdued hero in two of his arms, he removed his mask to reveal Peter Parker beneath it. No one believed that nebbishy bookworm photographer Peter could really be Spider-man, not J. Jonah, not Betty Brant, not Doc Ock. They all assumed that Peter had simply dressed up as Spidey as a stunt to get pics of Octopus, and that the "real" Spidey was somewhere else.

That actually made sense -- his fighting was so impaired that he really did look like some ordinary schlub making a really stupid attempt to pass himself off as a superhero.

[gytalf2000]

I'm watching the old Lynda Carter Wonder Woman online (http://www.thewb.com/shows/wonder-woman) (and you should too - they're hilarious). I can see no reason whatsoever why she just can't be Wonder Woman the whole time.

It also doesn't say much for our military that those glasses were totally fooling everyone. I'm pretty sure I'd recognize someone as drop-dead gorgeous as Lynda Carter even if her disguise was that rubber suit from American Horror Story.



I don't think that this is ever specifically mentioned in any of the episodes, but I always thought that a great explanation for no one ever recognizing Diana Prince as Wonder Woman would be Amazonian magic -- let's just say that Queen Hyppolyta cast a spell preventing any mortal human from ever "putting two and two together" in regards to Princess Diana's secret identity.

[foolsguinea]

I don't think that this is ever specifically mentioned in any of the episodes, but I always thought that a great explanation for no one ever recognizing Diana Prince as Wonder Woman would be Amazonian magic -- let's just say that Queen Hyppolyta cast a spell preventing any mortal human from ever "putting two and two together" in regards to Princess Diana's secret identity.I think this was canon in the comics briefly, when Heinberg was writing the book. But it was Circe who did it IIRC.

No, wait, I'm remembering wrong. A co-worker figured it out when the next writer took over.

Of whom am I thinking? Oh, yeah, they tried that in Spider-Man of all things. Blech.

[Balance]

From an episode of Teen Titans:

Beast Boy: But what about my secret identity?
Raven: What secret identity? You're green.

On the other hand, the other Titans apparently didn't learn his real name until much later, which kept them from giving him grief over being named "Garfield".

I don't think he had a secret identity in the comics, either.

I've never read a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic, except for the Usaji Yojimbo crossovers, nor seen the movies. Can someone explain why they wear masks?
They don't have hair to soak up or divert blood from wounds to the scalp/upper face, so they wear the masks to prevent blood from running into their eyes in the middle of a fight. (Okay, not really--I have no idea if they ever offered a reason beyond "Ninjas!", but it at least sounds sort of plausible.)

[Tom Tildrum]

From an episode of Teen Titans:

Beast Boy: But what about my secret identity?
Raven: What secret identity? You're green.

On the other hand, the other Titans apparently didn't learn his real name until much later, which kept them from giving him grief over being named "Garfield".

I don't think he had a secret identity in the comics, either.

In the comics, he had previously been a TV child star on a science-fiction show, in which he used his powers. So the whole world knew who he was.

[Kamino Neko]

I don't think he had a secret identity in the comics, either.

He actually did for a while. In his early days with the Doom Patrol, he wore a purple mask that looked like a real face, so that people wouldn't connect the green kid who hung out with them as civilians with the green kid who hung out with them as a hero, so they wouldn't get in trouble for child endangerment.

[Peter Morris]

Green Lantern : I'm not sure why any members of a police force should wish to conceal their identities, but it sounds a bit fascist to me.

[DocCathode]

Green Lantern : I'm not sure why any members of a police force should wish to conceal their identities, but it sounds a bit fascist to me.

For most GL's the mask is just a part of the uniform and everybody knows who they are. IIRC I have an issue where Boudicca visits her mother, who has been telling everybody about her daughter the Green Lantern.

It seems to be just the Lanterns of Earth's sector who have secret identities.

ETA

Except Guy of course.

[CaptMurdock]

In the comics, Stark Industries funded much of the Avengers' operations, IIRC, including damages.
He actually set up the Maria Stark Foundation (named after his mother) to fund the Avengers, so that his own financial vicissitudes wouldn't affect the team.

There was also that time during the "Armor Wars" storyline where Stark publicly "fired" Iron Man.

He even created a "Randall Pierce" person who The Guy Hired to Play Iron Man all those years ago. Stark thought ahead about this stuff.


Also, aren't the identities of the Fantastic Four, Reed and Sue Richards, Johnny Storm; and Ben Grimm widely known in their fictional universe?
Yep. This was because Stan could wanted to try having superheroes with no secret identities, just to be different.

OTTOMH Ben had no living relatives when he became the Thing. Johnny and Sue only had eachother. Reed's father later turned out to be alive and in another dimension, but as far as he knew Reed had no living relatives when the FF formed.

There were no relatives to protect.
In addition to Franklin Storm, mentioned upthread, Ben's paternal uncle Jake and his second wife Petunia live out in Arizona or somewhere. The big joke was that for years Ben made Aunt Petunia sound like a crazy old lady, and she turns out to be this young dish that Uncle Jake married late in life.

[DocCathode]

In addition to Franklin Storm, mentioned upthread, Ben's paternal uncle Jake and his second wife Petunia live out in Arizona or somewhere. The big joke was that for years Ben made Aunt Petunia sound like a crazy old lady, and she turns out to be this young dish that Uncle Jake married late in life.

There really is an aunt Petunia? I always assumed she was just a figure of speech.

[Grestarian]

I think that, beyond the plot point, the meta-marketing trick is to allow the everyday average teen fan to imagine, "Yeah...I could do that. I could be Norbert Nobody during the school week and on weekends I could be Major Mayhem, the hero who spreads confusion amongst street gangs and organized crime. I'd have a shield like Captain America's and a hammer like Thor's and..."

---G!

But he's nobody's hero.
Saved a drowning child...
Cured a wasting disease...
. Geddy Lee (Rush)
. Nobody's Hero
. Different Stages

[Sister Vigilante]

Oh I've thought a lot about it. On my salary, I can't afford to be up all night fighting crime and then go to work (Peter Parker would have been so fired by now). If I even once considered using it for good, I would try to hide my identity, and not just because people I love would be endangered; I just wouldn't want people to know, period. (They call me "mysterious" at work for a reason.). I'd try to make it so no one even knew what happened. Of course that would depend on my power(s). If it's something like invisibility, teleportation, or telekinesis, all mine baby. Fend for yourselves.

[Grumman]

There's another reason to have a secret identity:

For the lulz. (http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/8835/attachmentxx.jpg)

[Mister Rik]

What happened was that he was run ragged because whenever he went to stop for a coffee or a bite to eat, people were asking him why he wasn't out superheroing. The idea that a superhero might need to take a mental health day, or even stop and catch his breath now and then, just didn't occur to them.
My dad was a cop and he said this exact thing happen to cops all the time when they're on their lunch breaks. "Why aren't you out arresting criminals?! This is how my tax dollars are spent?!"

Well, but

his wife later got murdered.
By the ex-wife of another superhero

It seems to be just the Lanterns of Earth's sector who have secret identities.

ETA

Except Guy of course.
And of course, that's Guy's ego at work there. "Am I a superhero? DAMN RIGHT I AM!" Same reason that his is the only GL ring that makes noise.

[Balance]

Same reason that his is the only GL ring that makes noise.
Except Rot Lop Fan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F_Sharp_Bell#Rot_Lop_Fan)'s, of course. I suppose you could argue that his isn't strictly a Lantern ring.

[Cayuga]

There's another reason to have a secret identity:

For the lulz. (http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/8835/attachmentxx.jpg)

Dear heavens, that's funny! Thank you for that.

[Scupper]

I'm pretty sure I'd recognize someone as drop-dead gorgeous as Lynda Carter even if her disguise was that rubber suit from American Horror Story.

I'll be in my bunk.

[Mister Umbrella]

Wonder Woman's seems most pointless: i always forget she has one.

Captain Marvel's (DC) seemed silly too as he didn't really have much going for him. Thought to his credit, he was a completely different person.

[Scupper]

Captain Marvel's (DC) seemed silly too as he didn't really have much going for him. Thought to his credit, he was a completely different person.

While having a helpless alter-ego who has to utter a magic word to become powerful no doubt originated as a plot device to avoid the Superman problem (lack of vulnerability makes it difficult to come up with credible threats) and to create a more identifiable hero for young kids, the power to become Captain Marvel wasn't intended to completely overshadow Billy Batson's life. The fact that he had to spend a significant part of his life without that power was probably a wise decision by the wizard Shazam (at least in retrospect).

The Alan Moore "Miracleman" series, which was analogous to Captain Marvel, showed what that amount of power could do to the psyche of the person in question when he (Kid Miracle) didn't have to revert to his mortal form for years on end. It was not pretty.

[BMalion]

Did Jocasta (the robot-chick) ever have a secret identity?

[Bakhesh]

Did Jocasta (the robot-chick) ever have a secret identity?

Don't think so. Her boyfriend, Machine Man, used to go about as Aaron Stack though

[DocCathode]

Don't think so. Her boyfriend, Machine Man, used to go about as Aaron Stack though

Machine Man has one of the best justified secret identities. All the other androids the project made went insane and became homicidal and/or suicidal. X-51 was the only one who stayed sane, because Stack had given him an identity and guided his emotional development.

[TBG]

The Superman thing got really weird in some Byrne era (or a few years thereafter, but before they started Zero Hour Hypertime Reality Punch Final Crisis 52ing everything up) story where Lois or Perry or someone at the Planet figured out the whole Kent/Superman connection. So what does Supes do? Concocts some bullshit about how the Kents found him (well, that's not bullshit, but here it comes) and raised him side by side with Clark, like they were brothers.

WHAT? What purpose did that serve? How is that any better than "yep you got me, I'm Clark, but don't tell anyone kthx"?

That's almost as ridiculous as the silver age story where revealed he used super-hypnotism to make everyone on Earth think Clark Kent was a bald fat guy as part of his identity cover.

[The Other Waldo Pepper]

That's almost as ridiculous as the silver age story where revealed he used super-hypnotism to make everyone on Earth think Clark Kent was a bald fat guy as part of his identity cover.

Minor nitpick: the balding Clark appears thin and frail -- not fat.

[cmkeller]

Doc Cathode:

There really is an aunt Petunia? I always assumed she was just a figure of speech.

That's what everyone had assumed. John Byrne decided to reveal her as real in Fantastic Four # 239.

[Cuckoorex]

Didn't the Hulk at some point have some lame "Mr. Fix-it" identity, where he was still giant, green, and unbelievably strong but somehow pretended NOT to be the Hulk? I'm really asking, here, because that was the impression I got from seeing that persona in a few odd issues but I never got into the Hulk enough to follow the comic for long.

[BMalion]

Didn't the Hulk at some point have some lame "Mr. Fix-it" identity, where he was still giant, green, and unbelievably strong but somehow pretended NOT to be the Hulk? I'm really asking, here, because that was the impression I got from seeing that persona in a few odd issues but I never got into the Hulk enough to follow the comic for long.

In those days I remember him being grey.

[Bakhesh]

Didn't the Hulk at some point have some lame "Mr. Fix-it" identity, where he was still giant, green, and unbelievably strong but somehow pretended NOT to be the Hulk? I'm really asking, here, because that was the impression I got from seeing that persona in a few odd issues but I never got into the Hulk enough to follow the comic for long.

He adopted Mr Fixit so he could hide out in Las Vegas for a while. He had undergone a mutation at the time, which meant he was grey, had average intelligence, and wasn't quite as strong. He started working as a leg breaker for a casino owner, and used to walk around in designer suits.

As the Hulk is well known in the marvel universe as green and stupid and walking round half naked, no one really made the connection. I think he had officially been declared dead at the time too

It was all during Peter David's run, so it actually worked pretty well

[BMalion]

I liked that arc.

[Attack from the 3rd dimension]

Oh I've thought a lot about it. On my salary, I can't afford to be up all night fighting crime and then go to work (Peter Parker would have been so fired by now). If I even once considered using it for good, I would try to hide my identity, and not just because people I love would be endangered; I just wouldn't want people to know, period. (They call me "mysterious" at work for a reason.). I'd try to make it so no one even knew what happened. Of course that would depend on my power(s). If it's something like invisibility, teleportation, or telekinesis, all mine baby. Fend for yourselves.

I like that this poster already has a SuperDoperName.

[Son of a Rich]

He actually set up the Maria Stark Foundation (named after his mother) to fund the Avengers, so that his own financial vicissitudes wouldn't affect the team.



He even created a "Randall Pierce" person who The Guy Hired to Play Iron Man all those years ago. Stark thought ahead about this stuff.


Yep. This was because Stan could wanted to try having superheroes with no secret identities, just to be different.




IIRC, early in the FF series, Johnny Storm tried to keep his Human Torch identity secret. He used to exit the house by zooming up the chimney. There's a story where it's revealed to him that everybody knew his secret, but played along for some reason, like to give him privacy or something.
Why can't I remember important things? :confused:

[Agent Foxtrot]

Maybe Clark Kent fits. I mean, it's not like he needed to protect himself, and I can't recall Clark really picking up leads for Superman or anything while supposedly working, so there was no real benefit to it. I think he was Clark just so he could hang out without having people pestering him constantly to get their cat out of a tree or use his heat vision to remove their grandmother's tumor or stop an out-of-control drunk driver or something else annoying.I came in to mention Superman, but on further reflection, even Superman needs to pay his rent. Due to his Midwestern values and the "American way" he so strongly believes in, he'd rather have an honest job instead of selling out and pimping himself out for money (which he could very easily do). There's no way Superman would be able to exist in any workplace without being constantly pestered, plus he wants to get ahead on his own merits instead of that of being a celebrity.

Edit: Why does Deadpool need a mask? After the massive scarring caused by Project X, no one would have a chance in hell of recognizing him. The only thing I can think of is that he's vain.