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A secret identity is an element of fiction
Fiction

Fiction is an imaginative form of narrative, one of the four basic rhetorical modes. Although the word fiction is derived from the Latin fingo, fingere, finxi, fictum, "to form, create", works of fiction need not be entirely imaginary and may include real people, places, and events....
 wherein a character develops a separate persona
Persona

A persona, in the word's everyday usage, is a social role or a Character played by an actor. This is an Italy word that derives from the Latin for "mask" or "character", derived from the Etruscan language word "phersu", with the same meaning....
 (usually adopting a pseudonym
Pseudonym

A pseudonym, , is a fictitious alternative to a person's legal name. In some cases, pseudonyms are adopted because it is part of a cultural or organizational tradition, as in the case of Religious names used by members of some religious orders and "cadre names" used by Communist party leaders such as Leon Trotsky and Joseph Stalin....
), while keeping their true identity hidden. The character also may wear a disguise (ranging from makeup or a mask
Mask

A mask is an article normally worn on the face, typically for protection, concealment, performance, or amusement. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practical purposes....
, to a complete costume
Costume

The term costume can refer to Wardrobe and style of dress in general, or to the distinctive style of dress of a particular people, class, or period....
). A character may have several types of secret identities simultaneously (such as adopted names, pen name
Pen name

A pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a pseudonym adopted by an author. A pen name may be used to make the author's name more distinctive, to disguise his or her gender, to distance an author from some or all of his or her works, to protect the author from retribution for his or her writings, or for any of a number of...
s, undercover
Undercover

Being undercover is deception one's own identity or using an assumed identity for the purposes of gaining the trust of an individual or organization to learn secret information or to gain the trust of targeted individuals in order to gain information or evidence....
 identities, and crime fighting codenames).

use of secret identities dates back to early 20th century with characters such as The Scarlet Pimpernel
The Scarlet Pimpernel

The Scarlet Pimpernel is a classic play and adventure novel by Emma Orczy, set during the Reign of Terror following the start of the French Revolution....
, The Lone Ranger
The Lone Ranger

The Lone Ranger is an United States, long-running, old-time radio and early television show created by George W. Trendle , and developed by writer Fran Striker....
, and Zorro
Zorro

Zorro is a fictional character created in 1919 by pulp magazine writer Johnston McCulley. He has been featured in several books, films, television series and other media....
.






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A secret identity is an element of fiction
Fiction

Fiction is an imaginative form of narrative, one of the four basic rhetorical modes. Although the word fiction is derived from the Latin fingo, fingere, finxi, fictum, "to form, create", works of fiction need not be entirely imaginary and may include real people, places, and events....
 wherein a character develops a separate persona
Persona

A persona, in the word's everyday usage, is a social role or a Character played by an actor. This is an Italy word that derives from the Latin for "mask" or "character", derived from the Etruscan language word "phersu", with the same meaning....
 (usually adopting a pseudonym
Pseudonym

A pseudonym, , is a fictitious alternative to a person's legal name. In some cases, pseudonyms are adopted because it is part of a cultural or organizational tradition, as in the case of Religious names used by members of some religious orders and "cadre names" used by Communist party leaders such as Leon Trotsky and Joseph Stalin....
), while keeping their true identity hidden. The character also may wear a disguise (ranging from makeup or a mask
Mask

A mask is an article normally worn on the face, typically for protection, concealment, performance, or amusement. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practical purposes....
, to a complete costume
Costume

The term costume can refer to Wardrobe and style of dress in general, or to the distinctive style of dress of a particular people, class, or period....
). A character may have several types of secret identities simultaneously (such as adopted names, pen name
Pen name

A pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a pseudonym adopted by an author. A pen name may be used to make the author's name more distinctive, to disguise his or her gender, to distance an author from some or all of his or her works, to protect the author from retribution for his or her writings, or for any of a number of...
s, undercover
Undercover

Being undercover is deception one's own identity or using an assumed identity for the purposes of gaining the trust of an individual or organization to learn secret information or to gain the trust of targeted individuals in order to gain information or evidence....
 identities, and crime fighting codenames).

History

The use of secret identities dates back to early 20th century with characters such as The Scarlet Pimpernel
The Scarlet Pimpernel

The Scarlet Pimpernel is a classic play and adventure novel by Emma Orczy, set during the Reign of Terror following the start of the French Revolution....
, The Lone Ranger
The Lone Ranger

The Lone Ranger is an United States, long-running, old-time radio and early television show created by George W. Trendle , and developed by writer Fran Striker....
, and Zorro
Zorro

Zorro is a fictional character created in 1919 by pulp magazine writer Johnston McCulley. He has been featured in several books, films, television series and other media....
. Starting in the 1930s, the concept of a crime-fighters, superhero
Superhero

A superhero is a Character "of unprecedented physical prowess dedicated to act of derring-do in the public interest". Since the debut of the prototype superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes?ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas?have dominated American comic books and crossed over into other mass...
es, and vigilante
Vigilante

A vigilante is a person who violates the law in order to exact what they believe to be justice from criminals, because they think that the criminal will not be caught or will not be sufficiently punished by the legal system....
s (and their adversaries) adopting secret identities became more widespread in dime novel
Dime novel

Dime novel, though it has a specific meaning, has also become a catch-all term for several different forms of late 19th century and early 20th century U.S....
s, pulp magazine
Pulp magazine

Pulp magazines were inexpensive fiction magazines. They were widely published from the 1920s through the 1950s. The term pulp fiction can also refer to mass market paperbacks since the 1950s....
s, comic book
Comic book

A comic book is a magazine or book of narrative artwork and dialog and descriptive prose. The style was introduced in 1934. Despite the term, comic books do not necessarily feature humorous subject-matter; in fact, it is often serious and action-oriented....
s, old-time
Old-time radio

Old-Time Radio and the Golden Age of Radio refer to a period of radio programming lasting from the proliferation of radio broadcasting in the early 1920s until television's replacement of radio as the dominant home entertainment medium in the late 1950s and early 1960s....
 radio drama
Radio drama

File:Opname van een hoorspel Recording a radio play.jpgRadio drama is a form of audio storytelling broadcast on radio broadcasting. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagination the story....
s, movie serials
Serial (film)

|}Serials, more specifically known as Movie serials or Film serials, were short subjects originally shown in theaters in conjunction with a feature film that were related to pulp magazine Serial ....
, and other popular fiction. Such characters remain popular to this day.

Purpose

The artistic purpose of the secret identity on the part of the writers is that it allows the characters to have ordinary lives which can allow for human drama as well as create tension
Suspense

Suspense is a feeling of uncertainty and anxiety about the outcome of certain actions, most often referring to an audience's perceptions in a dramatic work....
 with the effort needed to preserve the secret. This can include challenges such as throwing off the suspicions of associates who suspect, and the need to quickly improvise means to get out of sight to change identities. And superhuman
Superhuman

A superhuman is an entity with intelligence or abilities exceeding normal human standards.Superhuman can mean an human enhancement, for example, by genetic modification, cyberware, or as what humans might human evolution into, in the distant future....
 characters may benefit from an 'everyman' aspect through having a secret identity, giving them a sympathetic
Sympathy

Sympathy is a social affinity in which one person stands with another person, closely understanding his or her feelings. The word derives from the Greek language s??p??e?a , from s?? "together" + p???? , in this case "suffering" ....
 link to their audience. For example, Captain Marvel
Captain Marvel (DC Comics)

Captain Marvel is a Fictional character comic book superhero, originally published by Fawcett Comics and later by DC Comics. Created in 1939 by artist C....
's secret identity is a boy named Billy Batson - a deliberate attempt to play on the daydreams of a young readership.

Sometimes the distinction as to which persona is the "real one" may be blurred or confused, as has sometimes been the case with Clark Kent
Clark Kent

Clark Joseph Kent is a fictional character created by Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel. He serves as the civilian and secret identity of the superhero Superman....
 and Superman
Superman

Superman is a Character , a comic book superhero widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, Ohio, and sold to DC Comics in 1938, the character first appeared in Action Comics Action Comics 1 and subseque...
. (For example, in the television series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman

Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman is a live-action United States television program based on the Superman comic books. Lois & Clark aired on American Broadcasting Company from September 12, 1993 to June 14, 1997, and starred Dean Cain as Superman/Clark Kent and Teri Hatcher as Lois Lane....
, after Lois Lane
Lois Lane

Lois Joanne Lane-Kent is the primary love interest of Superman in the DC Comics? Superman stories. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, she First appearance in Action Comics #1 ....
 learns that Superman is Clark Kent, he discusses his dual identity with her. "Clark Kent is not a disguise. 'Clark is who I am', while 'Superman is what I do'.") Likewise, in the case of Batman
Batman

Batman is a Character , a comic book superhero co-created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger , appearing in publications by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Detective Comics #27 in May 1939....
, various incarnations of the character have disagreed whether Bruce Wayne or Batman is the disguise (In Batman Begins
Batman Begins

Batman Begins is a 2005 superhero film based on the fictional DC Comics character Batman, directed by Christopher Nolan. It stars Christian Bale as Batman, along with Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Cillian Murphy, Morgan Freeman, Ken Watanabe, Tom Wilkinson, and Rutger Hauer....
, the love interest declares at the end of the movie that "This [your face] is the mask." Similarly, Kevin Conroy
Kevin Conroy

Kevin Conroy is an United States actor of Theatre, screen and voice acting, best known for his portrayal of DC Comics superhero Batman in numerous list of animated television series and features that comprised the DC animated universe....
, the longest-serving Batman as a voice actor, in the commentary for Gotham Knight states that he has always played the dual role as though "Bruce Wayne was dead before his parents hit the ground").

Some common motivation
Motivation

Motivation is the set of reasons that determines one to engage in a particular behavior. The term is generally used for human motivation but, theoretically, it can be used to describe the causes for animal behavior as well....
s for a character to choose to have a secret identity include:
  • Allowing the character to live a "normal life" when not fighting crime.
  • Preventing the hero's enemies from seeking revenge on others the hero may care about.
  • Giving the hero an advantage in crime fighting (e.g. Batman
    Batman

    Batman is a Character , a comic book superhero co-created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger , appearing in publications by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Detective Comics #27 in May 1939....
     or The Shadow
    The Shadow

    The Shadow is a collection of serialized dramas, originally on 1930s radio and then in a wide variety of media, that follow the exploits of Character vigilante The Shadow....
     striking fear into criminals).
  • Gaining timely information on incidents as they happen, often through their occupation or that of their associates (e.g. a reporter
    Reporter

    A reporter is a type of journalist who researches and presents information in certain types of mass media.Reporters gather their information in a variety of ways, including tips, press releases, sources and witnessing events....
     or a newscaster would likely be more informed about incidents that a hero might be able to help with).


  • Aliens, upon coming to Earth, may choose to set up one or more secret identities as a learning tool. By pretending to be humans, they can explore the different roles and lives that a regular human is expected to have in his/her life and using their deeper understanding of human condition to help others.


See also

  • Alter ego
    Alter ego

    An alter ego is a 2 Self , a second Personality psychology or persona within a person. It was coined in the early nineteenth century when schizophrenia was first described by early psychologists....