Maintaining your secret identity

But part of the Superman powers set is that they turn any pair of glasses into a hat of disguise... ;)

We also have an issue in modern times, where to change? All the phone booths have disappeared or is that also part of the Superman powers set? Manifest phone booth...

Instead of reporter, I would probably either become a hacker or secret agent and use the agencies resources to keep my identity hidden. Maybe equip your super hero suit with IR light emitters to block camera's...
 

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TLDR: Any modern surveillance state will relatively quickly figure out who you are, but they will almost certainly want to get on your good side and actually happily aid any deception about your identity (to the point of suppressing media enquiries etc.). You won't need to forge your identity papers etc. because the state will be doing it for you to try and get you to work with them.
Logical. And most other nation-states will be able to do the math, and they will figure that your local government is working with you and/or covering for you, so they know an attack on one is an attack on the other. If they don't have their own superheroes, this will be a dramatic global power imbalance, so lead-lined spaces and kryptonite will become strategic national security matters.
 

We have Superman comics where he takes nuclear blasts and survives. Nothing in any country's arsenal is going to put a dent in him.
Barely survives. And if you then put him somewhere away from the sun he’s not going to recharge. Even worse, put him somewhere with red sunlight. That’s what they did with Supergirl in the Flash movie—kept her locked up for years like that until the other superheroes rescued her.

And if Kryptonite exists? Then I reckon your days are numbered. Some shadowy government agency is going to track you down and disable you and then bury you in a facility like that. They only have to get lucky once.
 

. But this also assumes your secret identity hasn't already been compromised by average/bad choices, like having your fingerprints on file somewhere, having donated blood, etc.,

Having donated blood does not put your genetics into a searchable registry from which authorities or super-rich villains can identify you based on a sample found in the field.
 

I mean, the big problem is, with superman's power set, they probably can't do anything at all to you yourself. And threatening your friends and family? That seems like a surefire way to get their agents maimed or killed unless you are incredibly forbearing
Remember we’re talking about you, not Superman. I’m not sure I could go on a murderous rampage even despite extreme provocation like that. And you’d basically be declaring war on the world at that point. You’d be subject to the worst propaganda and smear campaigns, everybody would hate you, it would be a super-cancellation. I guess if you don’t want to exist in the world? But most people need to, even if only psychologically.

Maybe that’s just me. Maybe some folks here would be psychologically capable of all that, but not me.
 

I also wonder about Supes’ information gathering abilities. Clark Kent is a reporter with the resources and cover of a major newspaper. A lot of ‘plans’ in this thread assume a degree of information that the power set doesn’t lend itself to. Hell, I’d even have trouble basically navigating the world let alone identifying and locating some shadowy intelligence operatives—I’m not the CIA and even they don’t know everything.
 

Logical. And most other nation-states will be able to do the math, and they will figure that your local government is working with you and/or covering for you, so they know an attack on one is an attack on the other. If they don't have their own superheroes, this will be a dramatic global power imbalance, so lead-lined spaces and kryptonite will become strategic national security matters.
Yup exactly. And at least in the UK (and I imagine most other surveillance states) if police or other arms of the state try to investigate you they're going to get scary notices coming up on their computers essentially saying "Don't look into this further, don't talk to anyone about it, your superior offices have been notified" like they do when they cross paths with any intelligence services operation.

I wonder if there's been a comic which has really covered this yet. You'd think there would be. In the 20th century, particularly in the pre-9/11 US, things might have been very different, but in the 21st century? It's going to be entirely the domain of the intelligence services.

But part of the Superman powers set is that they turn any pair of glasses into a hat of disguise... ;)
You jest but I think there is at least one version of Superman's power set where that's actually true. In that case though I still think the sheer power of modern surveillance states means they'd narrow it down pretty quickly, even if you effectively had a full face mask, by tracking your movements. With super-speed it seems like it'd be hard to do so, but you'd really only have to get unlucky once, and given the sheer amount of manpower the intelligence services would likely devote to it, it'd just be a matter of time.

Having donated blood does not put your genetics into a searchable registry from which authorities or super-rich villains can identify you based on a sample found in the field.
They may well be countries where the intelligence/security services have "interfered" with the blood donation services, but I suspect that's pretty rare and targeted if so because it would be an insane scandal if it came out and would harm blood donations to the point of itself being a serious national security risk.

However, in the UK, ever having been arrested and processed even once, even under entirely false or unreasonable arrest conditions where no charge was made or even really possible (in theory you shouldn't be processed in the latter case - in practice people often are), even if the arrest was later removed from the books does permanently put you on a police DNA registry though (which the intelligence services will have access to, and any paid spies for the mega-rich/corporations who have infiltrated the police and/or intelligence services will thus be able to access). Not sure if that's true in the US - I assume not, or that it would primarily be state level - but similar situations may be the case in other countries (the UK is one of if not the most extreme Western surveillance state though). Obviously one's relatives may also clue the intelligence services (and others) in by willingly exposing their DNA data on databases too (for example, both my parents have done so, so I'd be pretty easy to find).

I suspect the best option you might have for maintaining a secret identity would actually be to immediately find someone senior in the intelligence services, or the elected head of your government (but probably not the latter, a lot of those guys are going to be unreliable flakes) and just tell them who you are and what you want to happen. Especially if you're not looking for perks or bribes (better to wait for them to come for you if you are, otherwise it looks like extortion rather than tribute).
 

Well, luckily Superman has a lot of nearly endless but helpful powers. Like the Kiss of Forgetfulness or the even more vague "mental powers".

I think reaching into the deep cuts of 80+ years of comics continuity and claiming all of it is more commenting on how comics are written than investigating the question.

Though, the point that the powerset matters is still there. If you have invisibility, teleportation, or shapeshifting powers, for example, that changes the question.
 

I think reaching into the deep cuts of 80+ years of comics continuity and claiming all of it is more commenting on how comics are written than investigating the question.

Though, the point that the powerset matters is still there. If you have invisibility, teleportation, or shapeshifting powers, for example, that changes the question.
Yeah I suppose I should have clarified as the question becomes too broad if we make it a composite of every version of Superman ever. I guess for the purposes of this thread, the power set in the most recent movie makes sense to use. So flight, super toughness, speed, heat vision, x ray vision, super hearing, and super strength? I think that covers it. Nothing too wacky!
 

Remember we’re talking about you, not Superman. I’m not sure I could go on a murderous rampage even despite extreme provocation like that.
If people had hurt my friends/family in order to try and exert control over me? I have no doubt, sadly, that I could hurt them, especially if it was essentially effortless. I don't think that's bravado or internet tough guy (it might be, who knows), it's about personality. I've never punched or kicked anyone as an adult but I haven't hesitated to restrain people committing violence or got in their way (including armed people). This isn't like the dreadful horror of trying to beat someone slowly to death with normal strength or something, which I agree, I probably couldn't manage, I'd probably start throwing up. This is a level of power where a snap of your fingers can literally rip someone in half. Where you can shoot energy beams as far as you can see and instantly vapourize people. Power corrupts, too, and changes people. You probably wouldn't even mean to do it the first time (something that HAS been extensively covered in comics).

And you’d basically be declaring war on the world at that point.
Nah, you keep it on the downlow. You don't declare a public war and blow up parliament or whatever. Well, not as a first move. You just kill or harm or better yet just massively inconvenience (i.e. fly them to rural Mongolia or w/e) the people who you find doing their bidding. And the heads of the intelligence services in the UK are public figures, as are politicians and others with influence. Also, they're going to be helping you in keeping it on the downlow, just like they do with conflicts with foreign spy agencies wherever convenient/possible, because they don't want this to be public either, not whilst there's any chance of rapprochement.

Hell, if agents did overstep, they might well kill them for you, as a gesture of good faith! They're negotiating with a god or at least an immortal invulnerable demi-god. You don't want to push your luck with them, do you?

EDIT - Superman has actually done this before, I note, in comics and film - messing very seriously with intelligence services attempts to control or track him. So I'm not even suggesting something without comics precedent.

ou’d be subject to the worst propaganda and smear campaigns, everybody would hate you, it would be a super-cancellation.
The history of the 20th and 21st centuries, and thousands of years of human nature says otherwise.

People fear and respect power. An invulnerable god striking out against people who aren't well-liked, i.e. spies and cops and politicians? Half the country would cheer in the UK, from both the left, right and centre, for very different and conflicting reasons (even whilst fear and uncertainty permeated society), even if they really shouldn't. Especially now as society becomes ever more unequal and people less invested in it (things might have been different in say, the 1960s, the post-war boom). The media wouldn't have a neat coordinated response because it's not controlled by the government, it's controlled by billionaires, who would both fear you (because they are individuals) and want you on their side.

There's no way it unfolds remotely as neatly as you're suggesting. It would be messy as hell, because too many people would want you on-side, or fear being destroyed by your wrath (even if you were a nice person, but had demonstrated your level of destructive capability for some good reason).

Hell, I’d even have trouble basically navigating the world let alone identifying and locating some shadowy intelligence operatives—I’m not the CIA and even they don’t know everything.
You have super-speed and you have x-ray vision and you can fly. Any intelligence agents who armed or wearing comms gear or body armour or operating drones are going to be instantly obvious even in a crowd to you. Maybe they'll be smart enough not to do that, but how do they even know you have that power?

More to the point, I don't think they'd push it that far, because it would obviously be stupid. So it's kind of a moot point in my opinion. A politician might do something that dumb, but not most intelligence services (maybe the CIA).

Hell, I’d even have trouble basically navigating the world let alone identifying and locating some shadowy intelligence operatives—I’m not the CIA and even they don’t know everything.
I 100% agree, but they're flesh and blood and drones. They're not magic. They can't vanish behind a passing bus like Jason Bourne. They have to exist in the world. You wouldn't use Kewl Hacking Powerz or whatever to find them, but GCHQ is a place, the SIS building is a place, and so on. They have to move through the world, they can be caught and questioned (which is also why you couldn't hide from them for that long), and even if you can't find them, the reality is that if they've declared war on you by hurting your family/friends, then you potentially, depending on what you think is appropriate, may have a wide range of targets.

Again though, I think it's moot because it won't be likely to come to that. Much more likely they do practically anything to help get you on-side.
 
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