How long can Clark hide his identity?

[robot]

It's weird. I've seen a lot of people using the realistic setting as a defense for a lot of the things that happen in the movie, but when it comes to his secret identity, they flip and say "it's just a movie".

WEll because this thread is about whether realistically he can keep his identity. I am merely saying no n I dont care. Whats wrong with that?

EVeryone have things that bug them more than others. I didn't care that he killed zod or that he destroyed a lot of buildings either.

 

[Lighthouse]

In the sequel, Lucious Fox shows up and gives him some kind of Wayne Tech face camo.

 

[robot]

Posted the below in the Lighthouse's other thread:

This is one of my major gripes with the movie. I feel that Goyer has written himself into a corner with this. If Lex is introduced as an antagonist in MoS2, he must surely know who Clark is given his resources and intelligence. Although a skillful writer can do plenty with Clark's identity as an open secret, I'm not confident that Goyer can address this without help a la The Dark Knight in the sequel.

Right. No way out here. His secret identity is equivalent to a gun silencer or a warp drive or kryptonians speaking english. None of them exist in the real world but you just assume it

 

[Shikamaru]

They did a horrendous job with Clark's identity in the film and this is coming from someone who loved it.

How the hell doesn't the government know Superman's identity? He told them his age and the fact that he grew up in Kansas. They tracked Zod's ships landing in Smallville, and more specifically near the Kent farm. There was an entire battle that took place in Smallville. On top of that, there is a scene where a Smallville police officer drives Lois to the Kent farm where he sees Superman in full costume and hears Lois calling him Clark. On top of that, the kiss that Superman and Lois share establish their relationship before Clark Kent is even in the picture. The government even knows that Lois is close to Superman once she is arrested. Lois will eventually have an open relationship with Clark, not Superman, and that will increase his chances of being exposed even higher.

Look how easy it was for Lois to track him down. After all the events in the first film, the government should be able to find him in no time.

There was always a certain level of suspense of belief present with the whole glasses thing in Clark's identity. This film took it to an entire level. "Horrendous" is the only word I can use to describe how they handled Clark's identity. That is not an exaggeration either.

 

[PacificBoy]

Right. No way out here. His secret identity is equivalent to a gun silencer or a warp drive or kryptonians speaking english. None of them exist in the real world but you just assume it

But isn't MoS based on the realism of the scenario: What if a superpowered, god-like being lived amongst us? Warp drive, Kryptonians speaking English is plausible because of advanced alien blue-sky science and technology, the movie's alien premise and suspension of disbelief necessary to facilitate the world of Man of Steel.

Everything else in the story is 'real', the IHOP, the Sears, the Nokia phones. And with Clark's identity as out there as it is, Smallville community (largely) knowing, Lois knowing, the army general knowing, all the leads and incidences pointing to Clark's roots, and the intense scrutiny to follow after all that transpired in MoS, someone like Lex not knowing who Superman might be is nearly implausible.

 

[C. Lee]

I couldn't believe it when Superman actually told the guy he grew up in Kansas. The army is using a drone to find where Superman lives, they can certainly find out who he is with that little nugget of info.

I mentioned somewhere else....I don't see the military using the drone to find out where in Kansas he lives (when Lois escapes the Kryptonian ship and Superman leaves her on the side of the road in Kansas...she flags down a police car and has them take her to the Kent farm) the government knows where he was raised....they are now trying to find where (to quote him in the movie) "he hangs his cape'.....which I take as, they are trying to find out where he hangs out when not visiting Ma Kent at the family farm.

 

[Spider-Fan83]

at the very least when he got the Job at the planet, he should have used a different name

 

[robot]

But isn't MoS based on the realism of the scenario: What if a superpowered, god-like being lived amongst us? Warp drive, Kryptonians speaking English is plausible because of advanced alien blue-sky science and technology, the movie's alien premise and suspension of disbelief necessary to facilitate the world of Man of Steel.

Everything else in the story is 'real', the IHOP, the Sears, the Nokia phones. And with Clark's identity as out there as it is, Smallville community (largely) knowing, Lois knowing, the army general knowing, all the leads and incidences pointing to Clark's roots, and the intense scrutiny to follow after all that transpired in MoS, someone like Lex not knowing who Superman might be is nearly implausible.

You are right. Goyer wrote himself into a corner. It might be a deal breaker for some. It doesn't bother me that much personally.

There are always plot holes n logic problems with movies but some are tolerable n others not depending on who you ask.

FOr me letting his father die is the most illogical thing and the most unforgivable.

ALso most people liked the matrix but I hated it because I just couldn't get over the entire premise of the movie using humans as batteries or power generation. Its just scientifically impossible to get more out of what you put in.

 

[robot]

They did a horrendous job with Clark's identity in the film and this is coming from someone who loved it.

How the hell doesn't the government know Superman's identity? He told them his age and the fact that he grew up in Kansas. They tracked Zod's ships landing in Smallville, and more specifically near the Kent farm. There was an entire battle that took place in Smallville. On top of that, there is a scene where a Smallville police officer drives Lois to the Kent farm where he sees Superman in full costume and hears Lois calling him Clark. On top of that, the kiss that Superman and Lois share establish their relationship before Clark Kent is even in the picture. The government even knows that Lois is close to Superman once she is arrested. Lois will eventually have an open relationship with Clark, not Superman, and that will increase his chances of being exposed even higher.

Look how easy it was for Lois to track him down. After all the events in the first film, the government should be able to find him in no time.

There was always a certain level of suspense of belief present with the whole glasses thing in Clark's identity. This film took it to an entire level. "Horrendous" is the only word I can use to describe how they handled Clark's identity. That is not an exaggeration either.

GREAT summary. Goyer markets himself as a writer who can deliver realism but he falls way short. I don't think he's taken any classes on critical thinking of logic.

 

[PacificBoy]

There are always plot holes n logic problems with movies but some are tolerable n others not depending on who you ask.

FOr me letting his father die is the most illogical thing and the most unforgivable.

ALso most people liked the matrix but I hated it because I just couldn't get over the entire premise of the movie using humans as batteries or power generation. Its just scientifically impossible to get more out of what you put in.

Yeah there will be plot holes and logic problems in any movie, but I think for those that nitpick it, especially to the death, is cos these inconsistencies took them out of the enjoyment of the movie. I know it did for me here. I liked MoS and the direction - and risks - Synder and Goyer took, just that, the overall execution didn't quite come off and I was left disappointed at what could have been.

 

[robot]

Yeah there will be plot holes and logic problems in any movie, but I think for those that nitpick it, especially to the death, is cos these inconsistencies took them out of the enjoyment of the movie. I know it did for me here. I liked MoS and the direction - and risks - Synder and Goyer took, just that, the overall execution didn't quite come off and I was left disappointed at what could have been.

Right. I think our own background determines what sort of things takes the enjoyment out for us.

Now if in the sequel they just assume his identity was in tact n go with it I think I can live with it but if goyer tries to be smart like have luthor trying to find out who superman is n fail then that would definitely be too much for me

 

[Nathan]

Like I mentioned in another Thread, Lex should totally know who Clark is and actually use his resources and influence, to keep it secret from others. And then let Clark know that he helped to keep the people around him safe, and use that to gain his trust.

This is a page from the Injustice comic. I'd really like if something like this would happen in MOSII.

Lex in Injustice is good though, so he would never do anything with that knowledge. But I think even if his plans would fail, ultimately he wouldn't reveal Superman's secret or endanger his Mother or Lois. Because a Superman with nothing to lose, is too dangerous.

 

[Shikamaru]

The fact that Lois was able to discover Superman's identity so quickly will make Batman and Lex Luthor look like complete idiots if they try to do the same and fail.

 

[blumatic]

The whole military doesn't know who Superman is. Swanwick knows and the girl with him at the end might. Hardy and the scientist are dead.

Perry was too far to identify Superman. And in Smallville they may keep his secret. One person may try to sell his knowledge of Superman's identity. But Superman can use the hologram to project Clark or vice versa.

Look at what Batman did in the Animated Series. Superman can do the same thing but with a hologram.

 

[BH/HHH]

I don't want Lex to know, as far as he's concerned his ego is so huge he would never even believe that Superman would have a secret ID.

 

[Nathan]

Thanks to the news though, he'd know that he has been hiding on earth and has a secret identity. And so far, everyone knows that Lois Lane knows his identity.

 

[Thundercrack85]

I have no issue with Lex knowing.

Batman should definitely know, before they ever even meet. That only seems appropriate. And Clark should know who Batman is before they meet. Just explain that he spent an afternoon figuring it out, without having to leave his office.

 

[Nathan]

Or, you know, Clark uses X-ray vision when he first meets Batman.

 

[Thundercrack85]

Or, you know, Clark uses X-ray vision when he first meets Batman.

That's incredibly unimaginative. Clark is a investigative journalist with superhuman intelligence, he shouldn't have to rely on x-ray vision for that.

 

[robot]

If you guys want to be realistic about it, it won't be who knows and who doesn't. The whole world will know. His identity would be all over the Internet.

LIKE I said. Either you want to play the suspend your disbelief game or keep lying to yourself

 

[BH/HHH]

Thanks to the news though, he'd know that he has been hiding on earth and has a secret identity. And so far, everyone knows that Lois Lane knows his identity.

Not me necessarily as far as anyone knows he might have just arrived. Only the army knows he's been here for 33 years. Also even if they did know, for all they know he might have used different names etc which he kinda did. Now he's revealed Lex might just think why hide behind a secret ID now.

 

[Nathan]

That's incredibly unimaginative. Clark is a investigative journalist with superhuman intelligence, he shouldn't have to rely on x-ray vision for that.

I just wonder why he'd bother trying to find out. But this discussion is probably moot, because we don't know how they'll handle a new Batman. They could turn him into an Urban Legend, that only criminals talk about. The world would be still unsure if he even exists. And if he does, is he a human or does he possess powers? And if Clark would bother to discover Batman's identity, does that mean he'd discover everyone else's identity? Flash's? GL's? Wonder Woman's? Also, does this version of Clark actually possess superhuman intelligence?

 

[Thundercrack85]

Well it shows off his mental prowess. Likewise for Batman (the world's greatest detective). Given his profession it doesn't seem like a stretch.

Batman is the easiest one to figure out. Flash is quite difficult, since there aren't too many threads to follow. Batman by comparison, limits his activities mostly to Gotham, and obviously has very deep pockets. His civilian identity is also famous, unlike Flash (who is a nobody, Wally or Barry). Green Lantern is another difficult one, since he's often off the planet. So it depends.

I simply focused on Batman, because he has the most significant relationship with Superman (and vice versa).

 

[kalelvis]

A lot of talk about people searching for Superman's secret identity. Zod tells the people of earth that Clark had hidden among them but that doesn't for the general population add up to "I bet he as a secret identity and that he works at a normal job". In the Byrne continuity, where Lex is portrayed as the ego maniacal genius we all assume we will see in MoS 2, an employ revealed to Lex that the believe that Superman is Clark Kent. Luthor told them they were insane (this is the part where ego takes over genius). Luthor could not fathom that a godlike person would ever settle for being an ordinary human. (I think this is was in Superman issue 2 of Byrne's run)

Superman is going to be such a presence in the world after the events of the first movie that it will not occur to most people that he has time to do anything else but be Superman.

Some people will know who he really is,just like some people know that their husband, wife, son, dad, etc are spies or undercover cops.

The government knowing, doesn't lessen the chance of Clark keeping his secret, it would more likely allow it.

Ultimately, it is in the hands of the writers and so long as they keep Clark low key and not a world famous journalist there is no reason for the general population to ever know, because it isn't a matter of them not figuring it out, but a matter of them not even thinking about it.

Only comic book fans automatically go to the secret identity conclusion. Maybe in the world of MoS there are no comic books. If that is the case, his identity is safe! lol

 

[robot]

This version has super hearing. He heard his mom being threatened from out of state. I doubt anyone can hide their identity from him. That's why I never bought lex or any humans to much of a villian. How can you keep any of your evil plans from a guy who can listen in on you at anytime