Secret Identities or No Secret Identities?

[Artistsean]

I have added a poll, so I wanted to clarify it a little.

Some superheroes, most, have a secret identity like Spider-Man or Clark Kent. They usually keep their secret superhero life from their friends and family, but this creates drama and conflict.
Can our hero keep his/her secret? What happens when their superhero life and their regular life collide?
Spider-Man has to ditch his job in order to save the day, but then he seems like a flake.
Bruce Wayne pretends to be a rich playboy jerk in order to distance himself from the selfless Batman.
These characters are constantly on guard and worried about their secret getting out or effecting their friends and loved ones.

But sometimes, more and more lately it seems, some superheroes have no secret life or secret identity. They are the same superhero all day every day. The Tick never changes out of his costume, Madman's Frank Einstein wears his costume like clothing and everyone knows who he is. Power Girl doesn't seem to have a secret identity like her cousin Clark Kent/Superman.
These characters don't make the secret identity a big issue, if they make it an issue at all.

So my question in the poll is, which do you like better? Do you like Superheroes having secret identities like Spider-Man?
Or do you like Superheroes not having secret identities like Madman or Powergirl?

There are some superheroes out there who either don't have secret identities and go around as their superhero persona all the time,
then there are other superheroes whose "secret identity" is known to the entire world.
And of coarse there are those superheroes whose secret identity is very secret, like Clark Kent and Peter Parker.

In the past Superheroes having secret identities was standard, along with trying to keep your friends and loved ones from finding out.
But it seems like some heroes no longer have a secret identity like Captain America (who revealed to the public a few years back that he was Steve Rogers, I think) and Iron Man who revealed he was Tony Stark at the start of Civil War.
Spider-Man revealed he was Peter Parker, but has since had it reversed.

So my question is,

What do you think about superheroes and Secret Identities?
Do the secret identities make the stories more compelling? Do you think they are pointless?

How many superheroes can you think of that have NO secret identity, and where their costume like regular clothing?

 

[Manic]

I think the validity of secret identities depend on the personal life of the character. If you have a lot of loved ones or interests that could interfere with or be harmed by your superheroics, then it's best to keep a secret identity. Also, to a lesser extent, it depends on how popular or well known the hero is.

For example, Clark Kent can't go around telling people he's Superman because
1. He's got a wife at home
2. He's got parents back in Kansas
3. He's so popular, he wouldn't have the opportunity to simply walk down the street or do things like a normal person if he had to be Superman all the time.

On the other hand, there's Dinah Lance-Queen, whose identity is public...
1. All of her living friends and relatives are superheroes, and capable of taking care of themselves
2. She's not so popular that she can't own and run a flower shop or walk down the street without being harassed.


One thing I once had trouble reconciling is Bruce Wayne vs. Tony Stark. Both are all out of civilian loved ones, and rich enough to protect anyone they do happen to care about. However, the thing that separates them is their businesses in relation to their adventuring. With Tony Stark, he can openly fund the exploits of Iron Man, as Iron Man was simply considered an employee of Stark Enterprises. Batman, on the other hand, funds the exploits of Batman is secret, and secretly funnels money out of his company to do it. If Batman were to go public with his identity, there'd likely be some white collar crime investigations, plummeting stock, and a possible bankruptcy declared.

So Iron Man had nothing to lose by telling everyone he's Tony Stark, but Batman has everything to lose if the public finds out he's Batman.



So really, it all boils down to whether or not they have something/someone to protect, which is all a part of the story. If the story doesn't dictate the need for a secret identity, then by all means, forget it. Some stories however, do need it.

 

[Artistsean]

I understand that, makes sense.

But what about how you feel as a reader?
If you saw a comic about a superhero who has no secret identity, and right next to it a comic about a superhero who has to hide his/her secret identity, which one would you buy?

If a superhero has no secret identity, there for not having the whole secret aspect to the story like Spider-Man does, does it loose that part of the story for the reader?
Is the secret identity something the readers really want, and maybe need?
Or is it something that a reader doesn't really want anymore?
Not saying its one or the other all the time, I am just curious which most people prefer.
(I would change this thread to a poll if I could).

So,
If you could only buy one comic
would you buy the one with a superhero who must keep his/her identity a secret?
Or would you buy the one that doesn't have any secret identity to deal with?

 

[Manic]

I couldn't make my decision based entirely on whether or not the character had a secret identity. That'd be like basing my decision on whether or not the character wore all blue.

 

[Artistsean]

I was just curious which appealed to people more, secret identity or no secret identity.

 

[Manic]

A secret identity is one of those things like the power of flight. Some got it. Some don't. I don't really have a preference. Not a major pref. anyway.

 

[cerealkiller182]

I favor the private identity over the secret identity as explained by Wonder Woman in Trinity

Secret identity being an act put on by the hero outside of the costume like Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne.

Whereas Ollie and Hal are basically the same personality in and out of their costumes.

 

[Manic]

"Private identity" is nothing but semantic gymnastics used by Diana to justify living a double life. Batman is probably the only superhero whose personality changes depending on whether or not he's in costume. Some say that Clark Kent is an act that Superman puts on, but he's a dorky goody-2-shoes boyscout farmboy even when he's dressed as Superman.

 

[Gilpesh]

It all depends on how many stories there are about how their secret identities almost getting out or on the flip side, how many times does a villain go after their loved ones... that's what makes secret identity or no secret identity matter.

 

[cerealkiller182]

"Private identity" is nothing but semantic gymnastics used by Diana to justify living a double life. Batman is probably the only superhero whose personality changes depending on whether or not he's in costume. Some say that Clark Kent is an act that Superman puts on, but he's a dorky goody-2-shoes boyscout farmboy even when he's dressed as Superman.

Kent is significantly more clumsy and timid than Supes on purpose.

 

[Manic]

Not a hell of a lot more timid.

Then again, I haven't really been reading a lot of Superman comics lately. I remember Clark being a bit of a wise ass.

 

[cerealkiller182]

always seemed under his breath cause people rarely reacted.

 

[Manic]

Still, there's no real difference between what Superman does and what Wonder Woman does.


Correction: Clark Kent is a real person. Diana Prince was created for Diana. So Clark is being a bit more honest with his secret identity because at least he's not lying about his name.

 

[Artistsean]

What about characters like the Tick, Madman, and other characters who don't make the identity thing an issue?
The Tick never changes out of his costume, if that even is his costume. He eats, sleeps, and fights crime, he has no secret identity really.
Frank Einstein, Madman, never changes his identity really. He wears the costume and mask to hide his face but not for superheroing. He also wears his costume, like the Tick, almost all the time no matter what he is doing.
How do you guys feel about characters like that?
Do comic characters like that, who wear their costumes like regular clothes, make them less interesting?

What about characters like Tony Stark, the Hulk, and other characters like that?
These characters, in the beginning had secret identities.
Bruce Banner was a scientist who worked with Ross and the government. Only Rick Jones knew he was the Hulk. But now the entire world knows and he is almost a fugitive.
Tony Stark revealed his identity, [BLACKOUT]in the movie too[/BLACKOUT], but before that he kept his identity secret.
Does them revealing their identities, or having them revealed, to the public like that make their stories any less appealing?

 

[Andy C.]

Really, it all depends on how it's written. Sure, the secret identity is a staple of most superhero lore, but it's hardly a make-or-break issue, as long as the writer can justify it. Some guys can make it work, others can't.

Just as there are no completely 'bad' characters, in comics there are no bad ideas--just badly written ones.

 

[Alastor]

I prefer that heroes have a secret identity. It makes sense for many already stated reasons. But I agree that it depends on the character. The Fantastic Four don't need to hide their identities, but I was disappointed when Iron Man and Daredevil were outed.

 

[Artistsean]

how can I add a poll to this thread?

 

[Ace of Knaves]

Thread tools at the top right.

 

[Mrh7448]

I think secret identities really depend on the character whether they work or not. Same for those who are superheroes all the time, depends on the character.

As for which makes a character more interesting. I think it has less to do with the character and more about what the writer and artist does with them, as well as the plots and scenarios the heroes find themselves in.

I think there are too many variables to simply say one way or the other which is better.

 

[Artistsean]

I agree, the identity thing never comes to mind while deciding what comic to buy for me. Or maybe it does without me knowing, I was just curious if anyone had a subconscious dislike or like of superheroes with secret identities.
I was sort of wandering, given a choice, which people would prefer.

 

[Chris Wallace]

I generally prefer secret identites. Well-protected identities at that. Wearing a domino mask (or not even that) when you have a disticntive hairstyle & are around pretty much all the same people who know you in your civilian life-nope. Truly try to cover your ID both in & out of costume. Now if the character can plausibly function with their ID being well-known, then go for it. But I've always liked the idea that a superhero is one person on-duty & another person off.