Random Thoughts about Secret Identities...

While chatting with someone online the other day, I got to realize that while I love the idea of secret identities and exploring superheroes in their secret identities, none of my absolute favorite heroes really have one.

I mean take Guy Gardner. Everyone knows Guy Gardner's a Green Lantern or Warrior, depending on the time period. Heck, his bar was a museum to that fact. It makes sense though, Green Lantern (at least for the Corps Lanterns) is more of a job title than a codename. In space, the Lanterns all call each other by real names (since when you're around thousands of Lanterns, addressing everyone as "Green Lantern" gets confusing. It's only on Earth, with its prevalent superhero culture, that Green Lantern becomes a name in its own right. And then only for Hal and Kyle (and to be honest, that boy transformed in a crowded coffee shop, people are going to figure it out.) John...to be honest, I'm never sure how secret John's identity IS at any particular time. But Guy's certainly isn't. No one ever really called him "Green Lantern" anyway..."Guy Gardner" is more than enough name for anyone, I suppose.

"Honor Lantern" is a pretty kickass title though.

Hank Pym at least has a masked identity. Sometimes. But at this point, the question kind of becomes "Why." And has been for years. When you've cycled through four different codenames in possibly that many years, you're probably better off just going by your name. You're not fooling anyone.

Besides as long as you pull shrunken weaponry out of your pants, I'll be happy. Laughing and telling really bad, immature jokes, but I'll be happy.

Sand and Bucky kind of predate the need for sidekicks to have actual disguises. I mean, sure they wore masks, but dude. They didn't HAVE code names. "Bucky" is not a code name. "The Golden Boy" might have been, if Wes had the brains to stop introducing his sidekick as "Sandy" first. Dude, eventually someone's going to realize: "Hey, the Sandman is always with a tiny, blond, elegantly coiffed, snarky kid named Sandy! And Wesley Dodds is always with a tiny, blond, elegantly coiffed, snarky kid named Sandy! I wonder if there's a connection!"

Then again this WAS the forties.

Both characters do at least have codenames, but everyone and their uncle seems to know that the Winter Soldier (which is a really kickass codename, I think) is Bucky Barnes. I'm not sure if anyone knows the Sandman's identity, but considering Sand didn't have one as Sand, I think folks can do the math.

It's just interesting to me, because there are characters that absolutely require their secret identities to function. Superman's nothing without Clark Kent. Bruce Wayne and Batman are such twin fucked up sides of the same character that losing one is inconcievable. On the other hand Diana's shed Diana Prince pretty easily. Secret identities are vital for most heroes to function in the "real world" and keep their loved ones and themselves safe with some semblance of a normal life. I think secret identities are smart. At the same time, EVERY SINGLE ONE of my absolute favorite characters doesn't have one. That's so weird.

It's not like there's any sort of common trend for any of them either, they've each got complely different reasons. I certainly wouldn't stop liking them if they decided to somehow create their own secret identities. I just think it's a really weird connection.