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Post by rberman on Jul 8, 2019 14:02:48 GMT -5
Astro City Vol 1 #3 is about a two-bit hoodlum who accidentally sees an unmasked hero and then later is able to figure out who he is. The knowledge proves dangerous to him.  
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Post by String on Jul 13, 2019 10:35:05 GMT -5
If someone were to take off Robin's domino mask, what are the chances they recognize him as Dick Grayson? Jay Garrick supposedly always vibrated his face so as not to be seen but would anyone know him if they did? (I don't know any police lab techs in my city, just saying). I think this potential flaw was best highlighted in Amazing Spider-Man #12 when Peter was unmasked by Doc Ock and no one believed it. In Detective Comics 374 ( "Hunt for a Robin Killer") Robin is badly beaten and Batman takes him to the hospital. After a doctor has to remove his mask to tend to him, Batman remarks "It was worth your discovering Robin's secret identity to save his life, Doctor..." the Doctor responds with "But I haven't the slightest idea who Robin is! After all, in a city of eight million people, I can't know everybody by sight..." A few years prior to that, in Batman 173 ( "Secret Identities for Sale!") a photographer named Pearson has developed an X-Ray camera which takes effect when the image is held before a mirror. Pearson shows a picture of Batman and Robin to villain Mr. Incognito and while they see the faces of Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson reflected in the mirror clearly, as the photographer notes "Of course, I don't know the names of these two yet -- but that shouldn't be hard to track down now!" At the end of the story, Batman figures that Incognito saw their faces for only a fleeting moment before he and Robin broke into the room, but as for Pearson, "You know Dick, there's a reasonable chance that our unmasked faces may be indelibly-stamped in Pearson's mind! But there's a better chance he doesn't know which of the many millions of faces in Gotham City they belong to!" Robin notes that with Pearson spending the next ten years in prison, "we'll just have to hope our paths don't cross [when he gets out]". Spider-Man 262 (" Trade Secret") has a photographer stumble upon Peter Parker while he's changing into Spider-Man. He snaps a shot, later loses the negative, and while he has no doubt that he'll recognize Spider-Man's true face should be ever see it again, he realises that in a city the size of New York, such an eventuality is practically impossible. As for The Golden Age Flash vibrating his head all the time - I wonder how many people bought the whole "I have to do this to protect my secret identity" and how many figured he was suffering from alcohol withdrawal or something like that. "I'm shaking to hide my face!" "Why don't you just wear a mask then?" "uhhhh……" Some great examples all around but to me, it seems like a golden opportunity was lost with that Spider-Man example. Losing the negative is a loss but just imagine if he had kept it or found another copy; the photographer may not know Peter personally, but what if he tried to sell the pic to Jameson and the Bugle, hm? Better yet, the photographer seeks out work from the Bugle afterwards and bumps into Peter in the Bugle's offices. What then? The advent of social media has made a plot point such as this much easier to resolve (or worsen). However, back then, I would think any criminal who does chance upon seeing our hero unmasked would have put forth some Herculean effort of detective work if he/she really wanted to learn who that was. |
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Post by zaku on Jul 15, 2019 11:36:53 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Jul 15, 2019 11:47:36 GMT -5
If you haven't already I can recommend the episode "Stop the Presses" from season 2 of The Incredible Hulk.
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