# Reaction to Superhero Alter-Ego Puns **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** comic-books-manga\ **Created:** [November 29, 2022, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reaction-to-superhero-alter-ego-puns/975745 "2022-11-29T16:15:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2022, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reaction-to-superhero-alter-ego-puns/975745/61 "2022-11-30T15:11:44Z")
And to pick a peck of pickled peppers. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2022, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reaction-to-superhero-alter-ego-puns/975745/62 "2022-11-30T16:51:20Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > > [@Smapti](#): > > > > Within the last few years they’ve retconned his name into being Edward Nashton > > Seriously? Are they intent on sucking every last bit of fun out of the Batman franchise? It’s been half a century since Adam West; you would think they could stop overcompensating by now. He was Edward Nashton in Matt Reeves’ _The Batman_. And in the 1966 Batman movie, the Penguin bought a surplus submarine under the name of “P. N. Gwynne”. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2022, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reaction-to-superhero-alter-ego-puns/975745/63 "2022-11-30T16:54:59Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > > [@pianodave](#): > > > > Maybe I’m overthinking it. Wonder Woman: Diana Prince (she’s a princess, right? Princess Diana reference?) > > You’re overthinking it. Wonder Woman was Diana Prince long years before Diana Spencer was born. And also, Wonder Woman’s own name is actually Diana and she is an actual princess of the Amazons Themyscira (Paradise Island). ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2022, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reaction-to-superhero-alter-ego-puns/975745/64 "2022-11-30T19:18:58Z")
Good children’s literature almost always works on two levels: a straightforward story that kids will get and jokes and references that only adults will, making the work more appealing for them to watch or read a million times. One of the rites of childhood is growing old enough to get the adult jokes that passed over their heads the first times around. Comics did that all the time until they too “grew up” (i.e. got sickeningly violent and misogynistic). They were _for_ kids _by_ slightly older kids. Few of the writers in the early days were over 25. _The Spirit_ was by far the most sophisticated comic of its time and Will Eisner started it when he was 23. (It also was not a comic book. It appeared as an 8-page insert in newspaper comic strip sections, which were themselves 16 or 32 pages. As an inset it could be removed where the kids in the house wouldn’t see it.) Looking back at comics though 2022 eyes will give grotesquely distorted views of that reality. Dick was a perfectly respectable shortening of Richard for hundreds of years before the alternate meaning of penis and/or jerk suddenly became the norm. That probably started in the 1960s. With Dick Nixon being the archetypal dick the name itself became tainted. The process happened again with Karen, with leagues of innocent older Karens utterly bewildered and appalled at what happened. Dr. Doom goes back to 1940, from the very first issue of [Science Comics](https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=41559). Go to page 45. He has his own strip even though he’s the villain, who shrinks people down to molecular size. The issue also featured Cosmic Carson, Navy Jones, underseas with Princess Coral, Bill Powers as the flying Eagle, and Perisphere Payne, Interplanetary Explorer, whose villain is named… Villon. All I can suggest for perspective is to read some 2022 children’s books and see what names you find there. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2022, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reaction-to-superhero-alter-ego-puns/975745/65 "2022-11-30T19:24:37Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > And in the 1966 Batman movie, the Penguin bought a surplus submarine under the name of “P. N. Gwynne”. One of Batman’s most famous villains often uses the alias Joe Kerr. Bet you can’t guess which one! ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2022, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reaction-to-superhero-alter-ego-puns/975745/66 "2022-11-30T20:20:55Z")
_The Incredibles_, as a pastiche of comic book superheroes, is blatant with its puns. Mr. Incredible’s alter ego is named Parr. At least Frozone gets to be named Best. The topper is the character in the sequel named Evelyn Deavor. Not subtle. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2022, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reaction-to-superhero-alter-ego-puns/975745/67 "2022-11-30T22:15:19Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > And “Harley” is a perfectly cromulent name (I know a guy with that name) So is “Quinn”, for that matter. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2022, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reaction-to-superhero-alter-ego-puns/975745/68 "2022-11-30T22:32:04Z")
Oops. I didn’t see that Peter already mentioned that. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2022, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reaction-to-superhero-alter-ego-puns/975745/69 "2022-12-01T07:51:25Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > So is “Quinn”, for that matter. I heard that an Inuit fellow by that name is gonna be getting here soon. ---
**Author:** ![TheTooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/919ad9/32.png) [@TheTooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheTooth)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2022, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reaction-to-superhero-alter-ego-puns/975745/70 "2022-12-01T08:37:45Z")
I have an uncle, Richard Dickie. He goes by Dick, and while not a superhero he is, officially, a hero: he received the Star of Courage for pulling a couple out of a burning propane truck on the Trans-Canada. Mock his name at your peril, mortals! ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2022, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reaction-to-superhero-alter-ego-puns/975745/71 "2022-12-01T09:28:17Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Hey! Peter Parker was at least the name of a famous admiral in the British Navy. And the Chairman of British Rail; at one time, my boss. > **[Peter Parker (British businessman)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Parker_(British_businessman))** > > Sir Peter Parker KBE LVO (30 August 1924 – 28 April 2002) was a British businessman and chairman of the British Railways Board from 1976 to 1983. > Parker was born in France on 30 August 1924 but spent part of his childhood in Shanghai where his father worked for an oil company. The family were evacuated from China in 1937, and while his father went to work in Africa, his mother and the rest of the family settled in Bedford, England, where he attended Bedford School. After leaving school, he w... ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2022, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reaction-to-superhero-alter-ego-puns/975745/72 "2022-12-01T12:27:27Z")
I’m astonished that nobody has mentioned that scurrilous jackanapes, Jack Napier, aka “the Joker.” ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2022, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reaction-to-superhero-alter-ego-puns/975745/73 "2022-12-01T12:34:39Z")
Aside from when his name is Arthur Fleck, Oberon Sexton, John Doe, or, as of the latest retcon in September of this year, Jack White. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2022, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reaction-to-superhero-alter-ego-puns/975745/74 "2022-12-01T13:15:40Z")
> [@pianodave](#): > > Black Cat: Felicia Hardy (Feline is in her name) “Felicia” is derived from the Latin word for “happy”, while “feline” is the Latin for “cat” > **[felicia | Etymology of the name felicia by etymonline](https://www.etymonline.com/word/felicia)** > > FELICIA: "happy" (see felicity). See origin and meaning of felicia. > **[feline | Etymology of feline by etymonline](https://www.etymonline.com/word/feline)** > > FELINE: "cat-like," 1680s, from Late Latin felinus "of or belonging to a cat," from Latin feles (genitive felis)… See origin and meaning of feline. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2022, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reaction-to-superhero-alter-ego-puns/975745/75 "2022-12-01T13:44:36Z")
It’s just fun playing with the idea of nominative determinism. "Oh, your name’s Block Steel? What are you going to grow up to be? ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2022, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reaction-to-superhero-alter-ego-puns/975745/76 "2022-12-01T14:30:14Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > “Felicia” is derived from the Latin word for “happy”, while “feline” is the Latin for “cat” Ah, but “Felicia” is the feminine form of “Felix”. And everyone knows Felix the Cat. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2022, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reaction-to-superhero-alter-ego-puns/975745/77 "2022-12-01T14:40:57Z")
> [@Isamu](#): > > It’s just fun playing with the idea of nominative determinism. "Oh, your name’s Block Steel? What are you going to grow up to be? Not to mention Johnny Ohnn: The Spot! ---
**Author:** ![dirtball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dirtball/32/18772_2.png) [@dirtball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dirtball)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2022, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reaction-to-superhero-alter-ego-puns/975745/78 "2022-12-01T18:52:21Z")
> [@Isamu](#): > > It’s just fun playing with the idea of nominative determinism. "Oh, your name’s Block Steel? What are you going to grow up to be? Reminds me of this bit from WKRP in Cincinnati: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/bo-kVwHL7So/hqdefault.jpg "WKRP") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bo-kVwHL7So) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reaction-to-superhero-alter-ego-puns/975745.md?page=3)