It may not seem it, given the MCU continues to downplay their value, but secret identities are still really important. They're prevalent across Marvel and DC, and serve a purpose in protecting heroes and their loved ones from being targeted as civilians. Having that safety net exposed, then, tends to be a pretty big deal, and it's no surprise that it's a trope multiple comics have deployed in different years to different figures.
But whereas most identity reveals come from characters choosing to share their identity, sometimes - as Spider-Man: Far From Home demonstrated - that opportunity is robbed from them.
Sometimes they get exposed, either due to an ally or enemy connecting the dots and figuring out who they really are, or because they were careless in the line of duty, and it usually leads to some explosive scenarios.
Secret identities might be considered a tired staple in some circles, but they serve a valuable purpose. That's what makes it so terrifying when villains or other characters are able to lift the lid and peer underneath, as it opens up a hero to a whole new realm of possibilities - none of them good...
WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well.
In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.
