There was an episode wherein some bad guys were walking around in public, but they kept their identities safe from Superman by wearing big lead helmets. That’s about all I remember. It sounds idiotic, like why weren’t they just followed? Somebody here has the answer 
Season 6, Episode 12, The Perils of Superman
A criminal who was sent to prison by Superman and the Planet staff goes to the Planet office and tells them of his intention to go after them. They respond that Superman will stop him. Only problem is that he wears a lead mask to conceal his identity and he has other men wearing the same mask.
Lead helmets and, of course, business suits. Can’t look too casual on the job…
That was my first “action” TV show. I love how Superman didn’t face aliens subjugating the earth or Lex Luthor in Kryptonian Battle Armor. He wasn’t trying to save the planet, just cleaning up one city. So he went up against minor gangsters, and tried to keep Lois and Jimmy out of trouble.
Like in the books. Half his time is spent saving Jimmy and Lois, and the other half is going to crazy extremes to protect his secret identity. Not exactly using his powers in the most beneficial way.
How does Superman’s x-ray vision work, anyway? Is it some property of his retinas that allows them to differentiate naturally-occurring x-rays in the sun’s electromagnetic output (although that should make such vision inoperative under conditions of exclusively artificial light, not to mention pretty diffuse even in direct sunlight)? Or does he actually emit X-rays from his eyes on demand, and somehow persuade them to reflect off a surface behind his desired target and back to his retinas?
Having read the synopsis, I’m wondering what the concealing of their identity has to do with their criminal scheme. How would Superman knowing their identities benefit him? I guess the watching of the episode would answer all questions satisfactorily. Or not
I’m thinking they have incredibly strong necks…
And still - since they are obvious to EVERYONE, a quick punch in the gut by ANYONE would take them down - heck - just trip them.
I wonder how thick the lead would have to be to block Superman’s x-ray vision. If paper-thin was enough, the helmets wouldn’t be that heavy. And if it’s only their identity they need to hide, why not use masks instead of entire helmets? As with most plots that I remember from this program, this wasn’t very well thought out.
The answer, as with all superheroes, is “magic,” or “religion” if you prefer. We who don’t possess the properties of the superhero can’t really understand how it works.
Well, now I finally understand where the creators of The Tick got the idea for the Idea Men.
It’s apparently available for purchase on Amazon ($2 for the episode, $10 for the whole season), and available on Apple TV at least in Canada.
I did look at its TV Tropes entry, which has this to say:
Fatal Flaw: The leader of the villains takes great care to hide his identity; he wears a mask with a lead coating, which Superman’s x-ray vision can’t see through, and all his partners wear a similar one; all the masks are locked on, and the leader carries the only key. The flaw, which Superman figures out is, he can ID the leader by the one who has the key; his x-ray vision can see into pockets just fine.
But that doesn’t say why he needs to ID the leader, and not just go after everyone with a lead mask. My guess would be some sort of time limit, needing to find the leader in time.
Seems to me the head covering is irrelevant anyway.
Superman: “I don’t need to see your face. I’m looking through your clothes and I can see the tattoos on your chest and arms. Also, there’s a mole on your buttocks that you should really have checked out.”
Cf. “Superman vs. the Mole Men.”