Why do superheroes have secret identities

We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from. To learn more or opt-out, read our Cookie Policy. In the beginning, nearly every superhero had a secret identity.

It protected them from villainous revenge, and created a delicious dramatic tension while interacting with loved ones who had no inkling of their other life.

But the strict secret identity is fast becoming an anachronism. Most heroes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe operate in the open, while other caped cinema stars, like Supergirl , are perfectly willing to trust close allies with their name.

In comics, the X-Men no longer hide who they are or where they live. And all of this is for the better, delivering not only greater dramatic possibilities, but also a healthier idea of heroism. The Scarlet Pimpernel provided the prototype for the superhero in Zorro also pursued his love interest in both of his identities, originating the juicy two-person love triangle that would become a frequent staple of superhero sagas.

The popularity of The Scarlet Pimpernel , Doctor Syn , and Zorro led to more masked heroes with secret identities in newspaper cartoons, radio shows, and pulp magazines. Then, in , Superman debuted, igniting a new genre and providing the template for superheroes after him. Maintaining an identity as journalist Clark Kent allowed him more resources to investigate corruption, and he believed his secrecy prevented friends from endangering themselves by trying to aid him.

In early , Spy Smasher became the first masked hero to share their identity with a loved one. That same year, Batman , the Flash, Hawkman, and Sandman all followed suit, trusting people who then became their crime fighting allies.

Some, like Batman co-creator Bill Finger, saw dialogue with trusted allies as a more engaging way to deliver exposition than thought bubbles and narration. Still, some creators stuck hard to the masked hero as a lone wolf, trusting no one. As a popular form of entertainment during the Great Depression and World War II, comics were designed to be easily digestible, episodic escapism with a timeless atmosphere.

In , Siegel scripted a story where Superman is forced to reveal his secret to Lois. Who is faster, Flash or Superman?

Prediction: I think the next wonder of the day will be on trees. Awesome, Bella! If you were a superhero, what would your super power be? Jay Jaco Feb 27, Feb 28, JL Feb 27, If I could be super hero I'd be flash or batman. Feb 27, Batman was rich, though. TGI Fridays worker Jan 18, Jan 19, Thomas Nov 30, I already knew this but I like it I gave it a five rating. Dec 1, Thanks for giving this Wonder such a great rating, Thomas!

We appreciate you, Wonder Friend! This game is fun! If you made a superhero costume, what color would it be? Nov 18, That's a good point, sean! Thank you for adding your thoughts! Sophia Nov 11, My secret identity is named Aoesome s Nov 12, Karter Nov 4, Mine is spider pool he's an mix of deadpool and spider man. Nov 4, Cool, Karter! We like how your superhero identity is a hybrid!! Oct 27, Thanks for joining the discussion, foxy!

Dec 3, It's one of our favorites, too! Kitty with blue hair Nov 19, Ummm after I was watching this you the kept saying and I got in trouble. Nov 19, Jonas Morgan Holder Nov 12, Mine is Ultra-Man with Extreme strength and Extreme speed STILL wish i had level in every place value even Googol zeros of every superpower P. Nov 13, We appreciate you visiting Wonderopolis and leaving a comment! Oct 20, Julian da super!

Aug 25, Aug 26, Julian : Aug 25, I agree on flash because he can rescue the city by Aug 5, Wonderopolis Apr 15, Hey, aiva! I am a super hero master and I bet we secretly all know that superman is the best hero, so I would be him or the flash because he has super speed, extreme reflexes, and the best invulnerability of all super heroes. Super man has super strength, super speed, invulnerability, flying ability, laser eyes, freeze breath, extreme exhale, x-ray vision, and super hearing.

Wonderopolis Apr 14, Thanks, Wonder Friend! If I had super powers I would be the incredible hulk. Rey May 14, Wonderopolis May 15, Rey Apr 27, I would be The Legendary Wildfire. I would carry two swords that could shoot lasers in any direction, or combine into a double sword that could shoot a single, ultra-powerful, explosive laser.

When I got enraged, my entire body would set on fire and I could hurl fireballs. Wonderopolis Apr 27, If I had superpowers, I would want the ability to fly, be immortal, go into video games, make anything appear and super strength.

Wonderopolis Jan 9, Wonderopolis Dec 10, Wonderopolis Jan 6, That was so cute! The little girl even more! Anyway, I would love to have those powers! Alexx Jacobs Oct 20, Anna Grace Oct 18, I think that video was very magical! I wonder how they did all those stunts? I'd sure like to try! Kristin Oct 18, This is the best wonder yet! What a great list of words to "wonder" about too. Reminds me a lot of the style of the new The Electric Company too.

Cheers, SuperCoffeeMomma aka Kristin. Related Wonders for You to Explore Match its definition: be on one's guard; be cautious or wary about; be alert to. Word Match Congratulations! Share results. Play Again Quit. Next Question. See your results. Joker doesn't tell anyone because he doesn't want them to hurt Batman because he wants to. The al Ghuls know as well but keep it secret. Sometimes, a secret like this is just too good to reveal, even for a villain.

There have been lots of times when villains have found out the identities of heroes, whether it be because they switch bodies or some other reason. As revealed in Identity Crisis, sometimes, the heroes had to go to extents that they otherwise wouldn't and that has included mindwipes.

This came back to bite them and it's not something they do anymore, but it's not off the table. If the situations were bad enough, though, it's almost certain that mindwipes would be back on the table.

It can be immoral but sometimes, these kinds of things have to be done to keep secret identities safe. Superheroes have friends in high places and that's often literal. Take Wally West. Once, he revealed his identity to the world and it ended very badly for him. He went to the Spectre, who at that point was Hal Jordan, and had him erase the memory that he was the Flash from the world.

This backfired on him, but it shows that it's in the realm of possibility. Superheroes know powerful people and they can help out with keeping a secret identity safe, using their nigh-omnipotent power to literally change the minds of people who know. A surefire way to keep one's identity safe is to do a job that no one would expect a superhero to do. Take the Atom for example - both Ray Palmer and Ryan Choi are the last people anyone would expect to be superheroes. They're bookish, nerdy people and the stereotypes associated with that kind of person means that most people would never believe that they were superheroes.

This happens for a lot of different heroes - no one suspects a professor of physics to be a superhero, for example.

All kinds of heroes have had nerdy secret identities that have stopped many people from suspecting a hero's secret identity.

Superheroes that work for news agencies, whether they be newspapers or otherwise, have the perfect way to stop people from finding out their secret identities.