Cassandra Posted October 8, 2012 Report Share Posted October 8, 2012 "I am Iron Man" This line uttered at the end of Iron Man exposed Tony Stark to the world as a superhero. In a world where the only other super villain seemed to be Iron Monger, and dead, it might not seem to be a bad idea to tell the truth. However, in a world where there are many super villains who are both evil and tend to hold a grudge, how smart is it? Hollis Mason in The Watchmen exposed his secret identity years before he was beaten to death in a case of mistaken identity. Okay, so it didn't matter in regards to Dr. Manhattan, and Adrian Veidt didn't seem to have any problems exploiting his superhero ID for money, but then again except for Moloch who was pretty well past his prime, there weren't any effective villains around. Secret Identities have their own problems of course. You have to hide who you really are and what your doing from your friends and loved ones, unless you decide to tell them, which sometimes isn't really a problem after all. Lois seems not to be getting into any more danger then she was before knowing Clark was Superman. Jay Garrick's girlfriend Joan Williams knew from the beginning he was the Flash and except getting tied up or chloroformed a few times she didn't suffer for it. What do you think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrosshairCollie Posted October 8, 2012 Report Share Posted October 8, 2012 Re: Public vs. Secret Identity Depends on how well you can defend yourself, I suppose. The FF can get away with it because their home base is crazy-well armed and armored. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greywind Posted October 8, 2012 Report Share Posted October 8, 2012 Re: Public vs. Secret Identity Following the closing coda: Nick Fury: "I am Iron Man". You think you're the only superhero in the world? Mr. Stark, you've become part of a bigger universe. You just don't know it yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuckg Posted October 8, 2012 Report Share Posted October 8, 2012 Re: Public vs. Secret Identity In the games I've run, I got a lot of PCs with Public Identity. Most of them had also partially or completely 'armored' their lives against the common ptifalls of Public ID. (Such as being from an equivalent of the Empyreans, or not having an extended family, or being wealthy and powerful enough to afford the best of security, or etc.) Nobody seemed interested in RP'ing the standard Secret Identity tropes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt the Bruins Posted October 8, 2012 Report Share Posted October 8, 2012 Re: Public vs. Secret Identity I know I'm not. Only one of my characters has the actual Public Identity complication, but the others don't go to any great lengths to hide their backgrounds/identities, their situations just don't lend themselves to enemies easily finding out info or tracking them down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrosshairCollie Posted October 8, 2012 Report Share Posted October 8, 2012 Re: Public vs. Secret Identity I usually don't take an Identity limitation at all, myself. Not worth the hassle one way or the other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balabanto Posted October 9, 2012 Report Share Posted October 9, 2012 Re: Public vs. Secret Identity It depends on who you are and how your gameworld runs. In my game, if you have a family, you should be smart enough to take Secret Identity. Villains will use it against you. One time a player screwed up and put another hero's sid in jeopardy, and villains came to kill him. They set a trap and had a hero who could shapeshift take his place, and they managed to fool the press and put the threat down, but things like that tend to have a lasting effect on games. The problem is that when one player has no sympathy for other people who DO take the disadvantage and undermine it for their own sense of how the world should work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ockham's Spoon Posted October 9, 2012 Report Share Posted October 9, 2012 Re: Public vs. Secret Identity My take on Public ID is that you become plagued by paparazzi and stalkers of various sorts, not that your loved ones are in inherently greater danger. But fame changes how you relate to people anyway. Given the nature of fame, the character of your loved ones is likely to be different, either because they are more like groupies than intimate friends or because they are the type that enjoys basking in the edge of the spotlight. For Secret ID you are keeping your own life from being disrupted; you don't want the fame. That disruption certainly includes threats to loved ones, but also to your lifestyle or career. Think what would happen to a lawyer who moonlighted as a vigilante when he couldn't get a conviction in court; he would be debarred immediately. For someone like Superman, it means he would be unable to relate to people normally. His yellow "S" isn't as negative as Hester Prynn's scarlet "A" but it still would color any interactions he had. I think the threat to loved ones tends to get a lot of airplay because a number of the big Secret ID comic heroes (e.g. Spiderman and Superman) focus on it a lot, and because you get to cover two Complications at once when those loved ones are threatened (Secret ID and DNPC). Also because it can be fun to roleplay those awkward moments when your Secret ID has to come up with a story to cover for your super-powered adventures. But to focus on the threatened-loved-ones angle is missing some of the value of a Secret ID. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassandra Posted October 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2012 Re: Public vs. Secret Identity Returning to Iron Man, the movie version would have the Fame Disadvantage. People know that he's Iron Man, but it doesn't seem to cause him any major problems. He does have NCI with his enemies as they are either trying to destroy his business (Stane and Hammer) or Iron Man (Venko). Wasp in the comics is publicly know to be a heroines, but aside from Whirlwind being a stalker (NCI) it doesn't seem to cause her problems. So maybe she doesn't take the Public Identity limitation at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassandra Posted October 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2012 Re: Public vs. Secret Identity Batman didn't seem to worry too much about Amanda Waller blowing his Secret Identity in Justice League Unlimited. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greywind Posted October 9, 2012 Report Share Posted October 9, 2012 Re: Public vs. Secret Identity Poor writing in the Justice League International crossover with Suicide Squad annoyed me. Thinking Batman would go in letting them get his actual fingerprints was stupid. If you look through Batman: Night in Gotham it gives out a pretty good rundown of who knows/knew and who could reasonably find out who Batman is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted October 9, 2012 Report Share Posted October 9, 2012 Re: Public vs. Secret Identity Returning to Iron Man' date=' the movie version would have the Fame Disadvantage. People know that he's Iron Man, but it doesn't seem to cause him any major problems. He does have NCI with his enemies as they are either trying to destroy his business (Stane and Hammer) or Iron Man (Venko).[/quote'] Iron Man is one of the more exceptional examples of how Identity can interact with a particular superhero's background. Superheroes typically maintain a Secret Identity to protect their loved ones from their enemies, and to help them live a more normal life. Tony Stark never lived a normal life. As the son of a major industrialist and a child prodigy, Tony grew up in a fishbowl, constantly under public scrutiny. Today he's a multi-billionaire with a head full of sensitive technological and defense secrets, his name and face recognized around the world. He could hardly have a bigger target on his back just because he wears the iron suit. And the few people he's close to were already in danger for knowing him. Superficially it seems one might say similar things about Bruce Wayne, but the mystery of the Batman's true identity is one of his more potent weapons. Rather than just being a man in a costume, the Batman carries an almost supernatural aura of fear and intimidation, striking without warning then vanishing without trace. Bruce Wayne in civilian identity may be in some danger simply by virtue of his great wealth and social prominence, but unlike Tony Stark who's relatively non-threatening without his armor, Wayne would have a tactical advantage in being far more dangerous than any would-be kidnappers or assassins could imagine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted October 9, 2012 Report Share Posted October 9, 2012 Re: Public vs. Secret Identity Batman didn't seem to worry too much about Amanda Waller blowing his Secret Identity in Justice League Unlimited. I remember Bats confronting Waller over that, reminding her that he knew as much damning secrets about her as she knew about him. They essentially stalemated each other on that front. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Hiemforth Posted October 9, 2012 Report Share Posted October 9, 2012 Re: Public vs. Secret Identity In my game' date=' if you have a family, you should be smart enough to take Secret Identity. Villains will use it against you.[/quote'] So not taking the Complication is more of a Complication than taking the Complication is? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psyber624 Posted October 10, 2012 Report Share Posted October 10, 2012 Re: Public vs. Secret Identity I don't really think of Public ID and Secret ID as opposites. They are two different complications that each come with their own problems for a character to have to overcome. It would be nearly impossible to take both of them (due to the constant scrutiny a Public ID individual is under maintaining any sort of secret (regarding ID or anything else) is nearly impossible.) And public ID doesn't necessarily impose any more of a risk for family and friends than not having it does (at least not from a rules point of view.) It means, more or less, that you are alot easier to track down, and even the general public can become a hindrance to you. Otherwise, you are basically forcing every player who DOESN'T take secret ID to eventually have public ID. Also note that the whole "loved ones" thing is not necessarily intrinsic to either complication. Superman for instance clearly has a Secret ID, but that does nothing to protect Lois Lane (who is known to be a love interest of his NORMAL id, not his super ID). I would also state that secret ID is not required to protect loved ones identities. Not taking them as DNPC's is all that is required. From a game standpoint anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
assault Posted October 10, 2012 Report Share Posted October 10, 2012 Re: Public vs. Secret Identity A character doesn't need to take Secret ID as a Disad to have a secret ID. In fact, the zero point version is probably the most secure, since stuff that could lead to it being discovered tends not to happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greywind Posted October 10, 2012 Report Share Posted October 10, 2012 Re: Public vs. Secret Identity Also note that the whole "loved ones" thing is not necessarily intrinsic to either complication. Superman for instance clearly has a Secret ID' date=' but that does nothing to protect Lois Lane (who is known to be a love interest of his NORMAL id, not his super ID). [/quote'] Until the Man of Steel reboot this is intrinsically untrue. Only Superman kisses Lois. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clonus Posted October 10, 2012 Report Share Posted October 10, 2012 Re: Public vs. Secret Identity Returning to Iron Man' date=' the movie version would have the Fame Disadvantage. People know that he's Iron Man, but it doesn't seem to cause him any major problems..[/quote'] Actually it caused Loki to base the invasion out of Stark's fortress of ego, Congress to try to pressure him into providing the technology to the DoD and Vanko to attack an auto race for no other reason than that Stark was in attendence. The problem of course is, that the story he was supposed to tell would not in fact have given him a Secret Identity. "I am not Iron Man, but I am Iron Man's boss and the supplier of his weaponry" isn't a Secret Identity at all. The exact same people will still be after you just as much and for the same reasons. The only difference is that they think that you have a wristwatch that summons Iron Man instead of a briefcase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greywind Posted October 10, 2012 Report Share Posted October 10, 2012 Re: Public vs. Secret Identity They didn't want the tech. They wanted the suit. "Give us the Iron Man Weapon." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassandra Posted October 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 10, 2012 Re: Public vs. Secret Identity So that's why a secret identity and a public identity cost the same. Similar headaches. I think Brainiac Attacks convinced Clark and Lois was going to get into trouble regardless of Superman being around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
massey Posted October 11, 2012 Report Share Posted October 11, 2012 Re: Public vs. Secret Identity In traditional comics, secret ID carries with it certain problems. Villains will try to track you down to find out who you really are. Villains will also show up while you are in your normal ID, and it will be tough to use your powers without giving away your secret. Public ID has different problems. When you blow up half a city block during your battle with Omega Man, you get sued. If you break the law (possibly even a minor one), cops come out and arrest you. Those who take neither ID just don't have those sorts of problems crop up. No one really seems to care who the X-Men are. They never expend any energy trying to keep their identities secret from anybody, but it never affects them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psyber624 Posted October 11, 2012 Report Share Posted October 11, 2012 Re: Public vs. Secret Identity Until the Man of Steel reboot this is intrinsically untrue. Only Superman kisses Lois. bleh, your right, i misspoke, i meant that only his Super ID (not his Normal ID) was known to be in love with her. So much for responding in the wee morning hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hyper-Man Posted October 11, 2012 Report Share Posted October 11, 2012 Re: Public vs. Secret Identity Until the Man of Steel reboot this is intrinsically untrue. Only Superman kisses Lois. Actually, the Pre-Crisis Earth-2 Superman was married to his Lois. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackEagle Posted October 11, 2012 Report Share Posted October 11, 2012 Re: Public vs. Secret Identity I can see Advantages and dissadvantages to both. My main chairacter and his team do not have secret Identities. My main chairacter and his wife are also well known in certain communities. So much so he has warrents and a contract out on him. Being exposed does put your hero and anyone close to them in harms way. On the other hand he doesnt have the preasure of hidding who he realy is. Imagine the stress Batman and Superman were under having to hide it from the ones they loved. Besides as Cassandra pointed out in one of her blog entris a pair of glasses does nothing for a disguise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psyber624 Posted October 11, 2012 Report Share Posted October 11, 2012 Re: Public vs. Secret Identity Neither does a domino mask. And frankly in this day and age maintaining ANY sort of secret id would be technically impossible simply due to the technology we have available today. It is merely one of the conventions of comic books. Any attempt to hide your identity is automatically successful until the needs of the author dictate it fails. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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