Why secret identities?

[Moe Ronalds]

Everyone knows that just about every comic-book hero has a secret identity, and as a result every character in a superhero game would have one too. What I'm looking for input on, is why. There is of course, always the bit with someone who has an aunt may, but what about the average super-heroic joe? What reason do they have to hide?

 

[Neo]

1. Prevent Family and Loved ones from being associated with you and thus become targets.

2. Some people just prefer to keep out of the public eye while still doing good acts, i.e the man who pulls someone out of a burning building and doesn;t hang around for the press to tell him he did good, simple knowledge that he did being enough in itself.

3. Keep media Circus away from you, if you beat the bad guy and then are on every TV or Radio and everyone knows where you'll be and where you'll live how will you ever be able to get the jump on the bad guy.

4. Prevent any complications with socail life, such as friends suddenly worshipping you because your that guy in those lovely spandex pants..oh your so yummy.... But Sue i've known you since I was 6 and just don;t think of you that way!

5. Becoming public knowledge means fans, hangers on, flunkies, stalkers and all manner of other civilians who will follow you about and thus potentially be in the line of fire should a villain show up.

6. The typical Super Famous attitude of "Hey when I'm in the spandex fine i'm public property, but when they come off my lifes my own leave me be"! where the famous want some time off, time out etc without people adoring them all the time.

7. You may be a villain or redeemed criminal trying to do good, your identity becoming public knowledge could compromise and complicate that when the Avengers start trailing you everywhere in order to bring you to justice. i.e "But I was waiting for the robbers to come out, not casing the bank!.... sure you were Captain Chaos....sure you were".

8. You may not be a very human looking super hero, Marvel is a great example of this where a huge anti mutant sentiment exists..... and ties back in to number one above, but also if you were a normal kid, who mutated into some five headed eight eyed gimpoid, would you really want people to know who you were...

9. Prevent complications with work i.e "Say mr giles I was wondering if you were going to let me know about my six monthly pay review?........ sure Mr Chaos just don;t cursh me like a tin can anything you want, how abut a 200% raise and a corner office with a window?....say isn't that yours?"!!

10. to avoid complicating what your doing.... I mean not every hero is out to save the world, a lot are just out to protect thier little corner of it, or sjimply remove all drug dealers, or pimps or whatever.... if people know your a super hero, suddenly you'll be bombarded with every request under the sun from stopping the school bully, to getting Mrs Clarks cat Tabby down from the tree....all of whcih will eat into your serious hero time, and if you turn down the peoples little requests...your name suddenly becomes mud and you get villified.

Basically someone with a secret Identity is free to do good without complication, though often at the sacrifice of reward and acknowledgement. whereas someone with a Public Identity has to keep in good with the people and the press and find time to do good, making Public Relations an absolute must, which means having to spend time opening malls, visiting hospitals, kissing babies...and all the rest of it in order to keep your adoring public and generous patrons happy.

 

[Churchill]

Neo echo

Neo did a pretty good job at nailing down pretty much every reason for having a secret ID, though I think the fact that it's a 15 point Disad in Champions was missed.

The main justification the heroes always seemed to fall back on in the comics was the old, "protect my family and friends from my fiendish foes" schtick.

Anywho.

I always got a kick out of the fact that the DC superheroes of the early 60's were paragons of virtue, but these lily-white, goody two-shoes lied (like the proverbial rug) to their girlfriends and wives about their dual identities.

 

[Ranger REG]

Well, they have to lie about their other life with good reasons, so we can forgive that little flaw.

 

[Victim]

If you don't have a secret ID, I suppose villains could cripple you with lawsuits and stuff.

 

[Femerus the Gnecro]

Seriously. Every time a superhero inadvertantly destroyed a piece of public property while 'fighting the forces of evil', he could get sued.

Furthermore, it's concievable that a superhero could be sued for inaction in some cases if they lacked a secret identity. A plane is hijacked and Superman doesn't respond? Sue superman for negligence.

How would the good samaritan law apply to people who can hear across continents and fly faster than light?

-F

 

[ZSutherland]

While all of the above mentioned reasons are right on the money, I feel one, above all the others should stand out even if it doesn't get the press time in comics that it should. Fear.

It's a commonly stated truism, "People fear what they don't understand." The laws that society lives by are, at least on a very fundamental level, governed by the expected norm, but what if you are, even if only in a one-dimensional way, totally removed from the expected norm. Take Jean Gray as she's presented in the X-Men movie, telekinetic with some very under-developed telepathy. Given that she's not super-good as well as super-powered, what might she do with that? The creative mind can find so many lucrative scams. Now, she would never do any of those things, but if people knew she was capable of it, the fear that she "might" would be enough for them. Most comic character face this early in their careers. They're seen as deviants, potential criminals, or vigilantes at best. Sure, they can earn that reputation for being the beloved do-gooder, but the mask and the lie keeps them out of jail and out of the lynch mob's hands long enough to do so.

Coincidentally, I think this is also why supers are prone to spandex, flashy colors, and silly names. It's just hard to be scared of a guy named Master Disaster when he shows up in dayglo yellow & red spandex so you can see his love-handles and the fact that he has an outie.

 

[Mal Malenkirk]

Secret identities are intrinsic to the genre but they're taking a different approach in the Ultimate Universe. They are either less common or harder to maintain;

For one thing, heroes without ressources trying to maintain a secret identity are having a hard time doing so; (Ultimate) Spider-Man's identity is known to S.H.I.E.L.D, the Fantastic Four, the Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, Mary Jane (he told her) and Harry Osborn. Wolverine, Doctor Strange, King Pin, Electro and the three enforcers don't know his name but have seen him unmasked and could recognize him on sight (and smell and in one case). Kong, a classmate, actually figured out that Peter Parker is Spider-Man but have since been convince he was wrong.

That's all in just 28 issues! Furthermore, Spider-Man frequently has trouble trying to interven without letting even more people discover his secret. It's not as easy as it sound to find a quiet spot to undress and carrying your spandex uniform under your civilian clothes is a constant threat.

But it makes sense when you think about it. Trying to run a Batman way of life without the Bruce Wayne ressources? Heck, of course you're going to have a hard time maintaining your cover!

Let's consider another bunch of Super Heroes; The Ultimates.

Few know that Steve Rogers is Captain America. AFter all, he was a top secret project in the 40s and has just recently been unforzen!

But everyone knows that Anthony Syark is Iron Man. He gives interview to teh Press unmasked! The Pym's identity is also known. After all, teh Wasp doesn't even bother to wear a mask. Few know that Banner is the Hulk and that's a life saver for the Ultimate PR given the latest events. I don't think that Thor is bothering with a secret identity. No mask and Banner throw at his face in front of his supporters that he used to an ex nurse (!) who had a nervous break down on his thirthieth birthday and spent 18 month in an asylum. It cause no shock; it's probably common knowledge.

So here you go; the Ultimates only secret identity is that of Captain America. And even that one could be dealt with easily if it wasn't that he insist on living in Brooklyn.

As for the X-Men; quite a few do not really have secret identities. They just have a secret location for their school and groovy uniform! Everyone knows Charle Xavier as he doesn't even bother with one of these nickname, everyone knows Iceman's identity as his parents are suing the pants off Xavier. I believe Jean Grey's and Scott SUmmer's name are also common knowledge. Storm's name is easy to figure out (along with snapshots and fingerprints) as she was in jail when she was recruited etc.

 

[Neo]

Let's consider another bunch of Super Heroes; The Ultimates.
[/B]

In the normal runs of the Comics Captain America has revealed his identity to the world, as has Anthony Stark as iron Man and Proff X has revealed he is a mutant and exactly what his school for the gifted is.... Secret identities seem to be on a major decrease, mostly I suspect because the storylines have been veyr much following World crisis, as opposed to local threat in their nature, and hence making the question of Who less redundant than the question of Why...

 

[hong]

When you come right down to it, it's because nobody can wear their underpants on the outside 24 hours a day.