Off My Mind: Why Do Superheroes Need to Have a Public Identity?

Should superheroes be in the spotlight? The majority of the heroes out there all operate within the public's eye. They have become the hope they need in a world that grows darker everyday. Being public figures helps to reassure the citizens. Knowing they have a hero out there watching over them gives them a little more peace within their lives.

For the hero, two of the first things they have to decide on is a name and costume. Today's heroes are more than just symbols. They've practically become franchises in their comic book universes. A popular hero tends to have a flashy costume with a symbol that makes them easily recognizable. Artists often draw average people wearing t-shirts or drinking out of coffee cups with those symbols on them.

In order for a hero to be successful, do they really need to be a public symbol of hope? In trying to appease the fears and concerns of the average citizen, are heroes creating more of a problem by making themselves, and the city they protect, a target?

In Superman #713, Kal-El decides to give up being Superman. In a conversation with Superboy and Supergirl, he brings up the question if there needs to be a Superman. When he was growing up in Smallville, he saved lives with his superhuman abilities in secret. He moved at super-speed so no one could see who he was. He wasn't out to make a name for himself. He was only interested in saving lives. He had the abilities and could protect people without making a big deal out of what he was capable of.

We've seen time and time again where villains attack a city looking for or in revenge against a hero. How many times has Metropolis or Gotham City been the target due to Superman and Batman sending a villain off to jail? If a hero did operate as Superman did, there wouldn't be a blame to place on anyone or anywhere.

Batman is another example. Originally he was meant to operate from the shadows. People caught glimpses of him but no one knew what he was about. He became an urban myth that made the low-life criminals on the streets of Gotham think before acting. As he became more active, the costume villains with their elaborate themes of creating chaos became more plentiful. Eventually Batman would even allow himself to be seen on camera, standing next to police officers when news media were at the scene of a crime. With Bruce Wayne publicly declaring that he (and Wayne Enterprises) has been funding Batman, Batman has become more human and now definitely has a personal stake in Gotham City.

Heroes don't have to be brand names in their world. Unless they are looking for endorsement deals (as Booster Gold previously did), they don't need the public's approval. We know heroes have marketable symbols and logos for the sake of comic book publishers to make merchandise adorned with them. Did Batman really need a bat-symbol originally? His yellow chest plate at least served a purpose being made out of kevlar and gave criminals a target to shoot (instead of shooting him in the head). Superman's symbol is his family crest on Krypton. Does Spider-Man really need a spider on his chest? Do the X-Men all wear X's so they can identify each other or are they still using them as high tech communicators?

If heroes kept to the shadows, villains wouldn't know what to expect. They wouldn't know if a city was protected by one or a dozen different heroes. Superheroes aren't out fighting evil for the sake of the glory. They don't need the limelight. Being seen and recognized by the public might allow them to sleep at night but knowing that mysterious forces are out there combating the villains should be enough. Heroes usually keep their identity secret so there really isn't a need for them to be seen by the world.

Good luck saving them from catastrophes in the shadows. Being a hero (ideally) is more about saving people from disasters as compared to fighting crime. Ok maybe in comics it's more about fighting bad guys but still. Can you save a falling chopper while in the shadows? How about a broken bridge?
 
I guess it has to be subjective. Batman and the likes are better in the shadows cause they're more vigilante-types. Superman and the likes need the limelight cause they're source of hope and inspiration to the public.

Really depends who the character is thou i mean frank castle aren't gonna hide but batman has to he still has people he loves that are alive same thing go's for peter parker dunno why superman does it even thou his disguise is the most stupid thing ever .

Superheroes don't need a public identity, that's just how the writers, editors, and everybody involved decided to handle the trend, that people who want to be heroes ASSUME a public identity to face off the "evils" of the world.

I suppose it comes down to the hero. Not everyone operates the same way.

  its very irritating to me that the idea of Superman hanging up the cape and working in secret is just a plot point and not an actual IDEA.  i have always said how much i would rather he be a guest in other titles than have a bunch of his own titles. His greatest appearances to me are his team ups with Robins (Dick when he gave him the idea for Nightwing, and Tim when they had to fight off a vampire outbreak together).
 but NOOOOOOO. Superman has simply got to be in like 3 of his own titles and 5 team books as WELL as a cameo character. 
 This is the reason no one likes Deadpool anymore...

  its very irritating to me that the idea of Superman hanging up the cape and working in secret is just a plot point and not an actual IDEA.  i have always said how much i would rather he be a guest in other titles than have a bunch of his own titles. His greatest appearances to me are his team ups with Robins (Dick when he gave him the idea for Nightwing, and Tim when they had to fight off a vampire outbreak together).  but NOOOOOOO. Superman has simply got to be in like 3 of his own titles and 5 team books as WELL as a cameo character.   This is the reason no one likes Deadpool anymore...

That might work if the hero has super speed or teleportation where they never have to worry about appearing in public. Otherwise people are going to know about them. As soon the public finds out they exist some people are going to devote their lives to uncovering more about them if they aren't coming forward. Its probably better that they have a public presence just to make sure the likes of Perry White are spending their time trying to make their public life more public instead of their private lives. 

They need a public identity as a sign of the real person. Luckily, the likes of Cole MacGrath and Alex Mercer don't need a secret identity.

"Heroes don't have to be brand names in their world." 
  
Agreed in case of Batman.
I more like the Batman who operates from the shadows than the public one, though i really love the Morrison run.

having a day job risks a variety of problems and with that being said they should stick to the hero 

I imagine that if someone saved me at superspeed it would probably scare me half to death.  I believe that in the current continuity though Batman only allowed himself to be seen by the public after we was captured on camera during the War Games arc  saving a child's life.  The situation required that he risk being seen in order to save the life, and after that there was no point in not being seen by the public.  Once the secret is out why hide?

   While most heroes don't need public identities, I think it speaks more to the psyche of the average person that they do. It's noble for a person to want to help from the shadows just for the sake of helping, but how content would the average person be constantly working behind the scenes and never getting any praise for their actions.
 
   Deep down, the average person is constantly seeking attention for even the tiniest accomplishment. Of course, if the hero has a secret identity (as most DC heroes do) then they can't seek it constantly as their hero personas; otherwise you get the results written above (revenge against family, friends and innocents).
 
   So, you take the recognition you can get and still feel safe from reprisals (most of the time). Be it a mild-mannered reporter, a Billionaire  entrepreneur or what have you, a pat on the back that doesn't put a target on it is better than none.
 
   Then again, I could just be over thinking it and it's just a marketing hook...?

Just imagine Clark Kent saving people with his casual clothes... BADASS, lol.. 
You have a good point in here, using the logic some heroes doesn't need a costume or a name, but there are heroes that actually need those things, a good example is Batman, he is a human, the way he works need him to be a symbol, an idea of fear and justice, most of the people would't take seriously a man with a suit, he needs to create a concept, something that may be able to have a reputation and  at the same time remain anonymous, here is when you need that mask and that symbol. 
 
What if Superman had never exsited, he could save the people, but what if someone cross the line, and then Clark stop him with superspeed, everybody would think that that guy just made a mistake and so he was captured, What would avoid future incidents like that? even Clark is unable to be everywhere, here is when you need that symbol, by seeing Superman flying through the skies and the population would feel safe and the murderers, thieves, etc will keept at bay.

Well think about this logically, you are a vigilante, you forsake the company of your friends and family to pursue crime fighting. Where dose you income come from? How would you suffer sociologically being isolated like that? Crime fighting isn’t exactly a “making friends” line of work.

                Good luck saving them from catastrophes in the shadows. Being a hero (ideally) is more about saving people from disasters as compared to fighting crime. Ok maybe in comics it's more about fighting bad guys but still. Can you save a falling chopper while in the shadows? How about a broken bridge?  I guess it has to be subjective. Batman and the likes are better in the shadows cause they're more vigilante-types. Superman and the likes need the limelight cause they're source of hope and inspiration to the public.
           

In earth one superman wanted to help humans in two different ways (as karen starr aka Power Girl do..)
otherwise, they are humans, sometimes even heroes need to be normal, to be weake.

Just imagine Clark Kent saving people with his casual clothes... BADASS, lol.. 

They need a public identity to keep their personal lives private.

This article does make a good point. After all, maybe its more likely supposed to be the objective to serve and protect from a point of secretiveness rather than seek public fame.  Personally for me I think it suits some heroes and others not so much, to work in secret.  Superman I think may be too iconic to just be a secret protector of justice whereas I think the Dark Knight is far more suited to being an urban legend who works from the shadows.  It really just depends on the superhero and the circumstances surrounding that superhero.  More iconic figures with great feats and powers I think are better suited to being out there in the public eye (Supes, Sentry), whereas the more rugged masked avenger types (Batman, Daredevil) are better off working from the darkness and striking fear into the hearts of those whom prey on the innocent.  It all boils down then to who the superhero is, what they stand for, and what their situation is.

I never liked the idea of a superhero being out in the open because the people then get a sense that they own him/her in a sense as a kind of celebrity like in the Superman Grounded arc. The way the people were written seemed very true as they think being a superhero is a job and damn anything they do outside of it. Its more or less saying "dance monkey dance" to the tune they must have as whatever the people as a whole think the superhero should be is completely correct.  
 
Batman Inc. might be an interesting idea but I don't know if they can keep it up forever.

Secret identities are a must, then when I think about it, public identities only give the fame and fortune of a heroes reward.

There's an Elseworlds where Superman and his "Kryptic Order" operated from the shadows (Secret Society of Superheroes, for those curious). It was very creepy, the group use devices to be invisible and guarded the world with anybody ever seeing them (which I found very disturbing). And without public opinion being a concern they had become judge, jury and executioners, trapping people who disagreed with them in the Phantom Zone forever. Also Green Lantern, the Atom and Plastic Man used their abilities to manipulate the world's economy in their favor.
In addition the story show the position of metahumans through the eyes of Bart Allen (who for some reason lives in the present and it's the son of a Barry Allen who never became the Flash). In a world where there are no heroes with unusual powers a young metahuman feels like a freak and has no one to identify with

I think the Secret Identity serves as a mental stability for the heroes, or sometimes villians. The reason why is because the identity is a "get-away" from there normal, super-heroic life.Think about it. Can you really be a hero 24/7, and not suffer from any sort of effect on your mind? Creating that persona, and becoming it is two different things. You can get in-gulfed by the very Idea you created. What if Bruce was "always" Batman? would Wayne ind. collapse or become taken over by a rival Corp? that would have some hard wip-lash on ol' Bruce. We've seen something Like this in Flashpoint with Thomas Wayne.
 
Like use we long to be heroes ourselves, but what of Heroes wanting to be human...like use? Identitay's aren't only just a bad thing Like I said, it's a stability, It can guide use and teach use things we might never have learned. We've seen this a lot from Peter Parker countless times. So theses are my thoughts.

Well it can be okay for superheroes to become public sometimes. Like the fantastic four they are explorers turned into a super-powered  team

The thing is there are covert heroes both powered and non powered who deal with threats without their existence being known but the thing is public examples like Superman show the world that being different does not mean that they have to be segregated from ordinary people and that they serve as aspirational figures which show the world that there is still good left in it and following the path of justice, righteousness and peace is something everyone can do if they wish to.

There's an Elseworlds where Superman and his "Kryptic Order" operated from the shadows (Secret Society of Superheroes, for those curious). It was very creepy, the group use devices to be invisible and guarded the world with anybody ever seeing them (which I found very disturbing). And without public opinion being a concern they had become judge, jury and executioners, trapping people who disagreed with them in the Phantom Zone forever. Also Green Lantern, the Atom and Plastic Man used their abilities to manipulate the world's economy in their favor. In addition the story show the position of metahumans through the eyes of Bart Allen (who for some reason lives in the present and it's the son of a Barry Allen who never became the Flash). In a world where there are no heroes with unusual powers a young metahuman feels like a freak and has no one to identify with

Superman's all about being an icon. Of course he could do it without being seen but Superman wants people to have something to look up to and have hope in. Also he's proud about his heritage. 
 
According to Batman Begins, he wanted to scare people, then again he is the DARK Knight who prefers SHADOWS. 
 
The X-Men (i'm thinking Beast mostly) have been getting a bad rap on the mutant name and have been blamed a few times, and during times where they stop other mutant mobs they could be confused for the bad guys. The X would help differentiate them. 
 
Then again any superhero is there to do the work that cops can't do themselves, partly cos they can't even if they tried, and partly cos the big people wont let them try. So essentially superheroes, Spidey, Flash, would be like special ops/ covert ops right? meaning they should NOT be public?

i think it all depends on the costume and abilities. 
batman's abilities and costume make hiding in the shadows easy.  superman flying aroung in bright blue is a bit harder to do

I think the earlier versions of Batman have him operate out of the public's eye. I think that's more appropriate as he can be more terrifying to the imagination if he isn't fully shown as flesh, blood and costume.

While the article makes a great point for some superheroes, what about the other ones who aren't so easily able to hide in the shadows? Not everyone can move so fast that they can't be seen, like Superman. If you'd like to make a hero that is more effective at what he does, taking a bit of the common ego inflation out of the way they do things is great, but it'd be even better to stay fully visible in the public eye, but also kill the villains when the chance arises. I know it goes against the moral code of most superheroes, especially in DC, but it would still make for a much more effective hero in my opinion. What better way to discourage villains from targeting a city for revenge for being put in jail, if instead of jail he was killed? Of course this method is made less effective with the comic book trend of reviving the dead, but overall I still think it would be a definite improvement.   

Sorry, but again a little research into the background of what you're talking about would show that them coming out into the light doesn't cause any more of a target to exist than them just existing.
 
Batman in his canon was only a myth until No Man's Land and wasn't publicly seen till War Games. That's like Year 16. The Underworld is connected and talks amongst itself. Eventually rumors, even if they are just rumors, will occur and they will draw out the people willing to step up and see if these rumors are true or not.  
 
Further more it's near impossible to stay hidden all the time. By coming out in the public, when you are seen you aren't thought to be a bad guy and who knows what  useful info you may get from people knowing who you are ad reporting stuff to you.