# How many superheroes are immediately recognizable out of costume? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 29, 2009, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-superheroes-are-immediately-recognizable-out-of-costume/483561 "2009-01-29T15:52:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-superheroes-are-immediately-recognizable-out-of-costume/483561/61 "2009-01-30T14:29:05Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > When he wasn’t Captain Marvel he was Billy Batson and Billy wasn’t really much different from any comic-strip kid. Well, Billy’s kind of easily recognizable, what with all of his shirts being identical. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-superheroes-are-immediately-recognizable-out-of-costume/483561/62 "2009-01-30T16:03:47Z")
> [@Tengu](#): > > Well, Billy’s kind of easily recognizable, what with all of his shirts being identical. He was poor! He only owned the one shirt. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-superheroes-are-immediately-recognizable-out-of-costume/483561/63 "2009-01-30T16:28:45Z")
Matt Murdock. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-superheroes-are-immediately-recognizable-out-of-costume/483561/64 "2009-01-30T16:43:50Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > I think Blue Devil and Detective Chimp are pretty obvious. > > On the other hand, how much alike do Captain Marvel (Shazam), Superman, and Wonder Man look? Big dark haired guys… Wondy’s eyes glow constantly unless he wills them not too, which he doesn’t do much as it gives him a headache. When is Captain Marvel ever out of costume? When Billy, Mary, or Freddie says the magic word, the clothes come along for the ride. (Though I have no doubt they’ll eventually find a way to have Mary change and wind up naked in the process). ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-superheroes-are-immediately-recognizable-out-of-costume/483561/65 "2009-01-30T21:32:18Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > Matt Murdock. Or it might be Cyclops with hair dye. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2009, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-superheroes-are-immediately-recognizable-out-of-costume/483561/66 "2009-01-31T21:13:20Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > Or it might be Cyclops with hair dye. and a white cane? ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2009, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-superheroes-are-immediately-recognizable-out-of-costume/483561/67 "2009-01-31T21:19:41Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > and a white cane? He didn’t always have the cane. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2009, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-superheroes-are-immediately-recognizable-out-of-costume/483561/68 "2009-01-31T21:26:52Z")
> [@Sr\_Siete](#): > > Yeah. Although I thought it kind of wrong when they showed him as a regular character in some DC contiunity title. > > Does that mean that there’s a whole other world inside the Earth of the DC univers and people like Superman never noticed? I’m not sure, I thought Skartaris was in another DIMENSION (using the silly comic book definition of that word) and that the portal into it just happened to be a great big hole in teh ground (and said portal wasn’t always open). Otherwise it’s difficult to explain Clark, Hal, or Cave Carson not knowing about it. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2009, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-superheroes-are-immediately-recognizable-out-of-costume/483561/69 "2009-01-31T21:28:11Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > and a white cane? Does Matt use the cane now that his secret ID’s toast? ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2009, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-superheroes-are-immediately-recognizable-out-of-costume/483561/70 "2009-02-01T18:40:18Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally Posted by **Tengu** > Well, Billy’s kind of easily recognizable, what with all of his shirts being identical. That’s not true! Sometimes he wears a red shirt with a yellow collar, and sometimes he wears a red sweater over a yellow shirt! Totally different! This thread is the reason that George Perez is my favorite comics artist. He could always give each character a distinctive nose, a distinctive chin, and distinctive cheekbones. You could instantly tell Dick Grayson from Wally West, even in a black-and-white picture. Speaking of Teen Titans, Jericho’s blonde afro and sideburns were pretty unusual in the 1980s comic world. Did Mike Grell draw Warlord before or after he drew Green Arrow? ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2009, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-superheroes-are-immediately-recognizable-out-of-costume/483561/71 "2009-02-01T23:53:02Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > Did Mike Grell draw Warlord before or after he drew Green Arrow? Warlord came before Grell’s Arrow, though the look the two of them shared was given to Ollie by Neil Adams in 1969, so for purposes of this thread… ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-superheroes-are-immediately-recognizable-out-of-costume/483561/72 "2009-02-03T19:05:06Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Does Matt use the cane now that his secret ID’s toast? Don’t know. I’m very much out of the loop of the last ten years of comic continuity. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-superheroes-are-immediately-recognizable-out-of-costume/483561/73 "2009-02-03T19:56:09Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > and a white cane? Back in the '70s, anyway, his cane was red, because it transformed into his billy club. > [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I’m not sure, I thought Skartaris was in another DIMENSION (using the silly comic book definition of that word) and that the portal into it just happened to be a great big hole in teh ground (and said portal wasn’t always open). Otherwise it’s difficult to explain Clark, Hal, or Cave Carson not knowing about it. 😉 This is the interpretation that the _Books of Magic_ used. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-superheroes-are-immediately-recognizable-out-of-costume/483561/74 "2009-02-03T19:58:45Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > Back in the '70s, anyway, his cane was red, because it transformed into his billy club. > > This is the interpretation that the _Books of Magic_ used. And the one that makes the most “sense.” Does anyone recall whether Warlord was involved in _Crisis on Infinite Earths_? ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-superheroes-are-immediately-recognizable-out-of-costume/483561/75 "2009-02-03T20:13:17Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > And the one that makes the most “sense.” Does anyone recall whether Warlord was involved in _Crisis on Infinite Earths_? He wasn’t, unless it was a very brief, very unmemorable, cameo, or in a tie-in book, other than the Legion or Amethyst issues. (Guess which series I’ve read most recently of the ones that had Crisis tie-ins.) ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-superheroes-are-immediately-recognizable-out-of-costume/483561/76 "2009-02-03T20:33:06Z")
You can always tell Commissioner Gordon. He’s got the thick-rimmed nerd-style glasses, gray-white hair, and the booshy cop mustache. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-superheroes-are-immediately-recognizable-out-of-costume/483561/77 "2009-02-03T23:57:47Z")
[Herbie the Fat Fury](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/2f/Herbie-fat-fury-200.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![bmoak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@bmoak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmoak)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-superheroes-are-immediately-recognizable-out-of-costume/483561/78 "2009-02-04T01:39:28Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > I disagree about Oliver Queen. There was a comic where Travis Morgan (out of costume) turned up in Seattle, and was constantly mistaken for Oliver. I’m guessing you aren’t aware that those bits were a running gag. The Green Arrow writer/artist for that story was Mike Grell, who CREATED Warlord many years before and admitted he modeled Travis on Neal Adams’ version of Oliver. ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-superheroes-are-immediately-recognizable-out-of-costume/483561/79 "2009-02-04T06:23:22Z")
You could probably say Oracle, she being pretty much the only major DC character in a wheelchair (plus, she’s a redhead). I’d say Tony Stark was pretty recognisable, and early Peter Parker certainly was. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-superheroes-are-immediately-recognizable-out-of-costume/483561/80 "2009-02-04T14:44:54Z")
The invisible man. Out of costume. That dude is everywhere 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-superheroes-are-immediately-recognizable-out-of-costume/483561.md?page=3)