There's Just Me!': The Gradual Loss of the Mask and Secret Identity in Superhero Comics

“There’s Just Me!”: The Gradual Loss of the Mask and Secret Identity in Superhero Comics by Leah Smith A Senior Project Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Major in English and the Bachelor of Arts Degree Stetson University, DeLand, Florida Advisor(s): Prof. Rusty Witek, Prof. Lori Snook, and Prof. Grady Ballenger December 4, 2015 Smith, 2 The secret identity, a familiar aspect in the superhero mythos, is an element that is jealously protected by the heroes. When superheroes willingly reveal their secret identities to someone it is a sign of trust, since those who are told the truth also become the protector of the mask and the identity it conceals. The mask was precious, it was an honored thing in the beginning of the comic book age. However, today’s comic heroes live in a time where both the physical and metaphorical mask is a symbol of distrust and fear, resulting in the heroes losing their masks along with their secret identities. But what happened? What has led the heroes into this predicament where their hidden lives are being forced out into the open? Changes in the industry can be correlated with the shift of comic book ages, sets of times that have been accepted and are recognized in the comic book community: the Golden Age (1938-1950), Silver Age (late 1950s-1970), Bronze Age (1970-around 1985), and the Modern Age. Comic book events occurring within the ages caused the gradual perception of the “mask” to change, with many of these events influenced by actual ones the readers were experiencing. As comic book writer Grant Morrison puts it, these characters are part of “. . . fictional world(s) haunted by the all-too-familiar injustices of the real one” (5). Affairs such as World War II, the Cold War, youth drug abuse coupled with an energy crisis, and 9/11 caused a shift in American trust, culminating into the issue of privacy invasion and the loss of an individual’s personal life; of having their mask ripped away. The birth of the superhero came at the most despondent time that America—and a large percentage of the world—has ever faced. With the fall of the stock market the U.S. was reeling from the sudden poverty that gripped a large portion of the population. To make situations worse, a power hungry dictator in Germany had taken Austria and was planning his domination of Europe. One month later a hero came in the form of an orphaned baby—who was not from around here— who would bring a beacon of hope back to America and the rest of the world. Superman, along with other Golden Age Smith, 3 superheroes like Batman, Wonder Woman, and Captain America, was brought into existence when people needed them most. The world was collapsing around them, and not even the President of the United States could stop it. What is interesting about the beginning of this genre, a genre famous for its masks, is the lack of one on Superman, instead using the alternative identity Clark Kent as the mask. This scenario reflects the “masks” worn by the new additions to the American population at the time, including the creators of early superheroes. Most were first generation American Jews, and the idea of a secret identity began with them: the creators of Superman, Jerome Siegel and Joseph Shuster (alias Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster), the godfather of comics who created Captain America among many others, Jacob Kertzberg (aka Jack “The King” Kirby), and the man responsible for making Marvel the giant that it is, Stanley Martin Lieber (or more commonly known as Stan “The Man” Lee). The concept of a pen name was a very common practice at that time, although for many comic book creators it was also used for something else: self preservation. As he mentions in his documentary With Great Power . . . The Stan Lee Story, “I didn’t want to use the name Stanley Martin Lieber because I was saving that for the great American novel for which I never wrote.” However, the mask does eventually come off as he honestly speaks about the great comic book protests from the early 1950s which brought an end to the Golden Age of comics: I didn’t want to admit what I did, and I would say something like ‘Oh, I’m a writer’ . . . ‘What do you write?’, ‘Um, stories for children’, . . . ‘What kind of stories?’ at some point I had to say comic books, at that point he would turn around and walk away. The masks that comic book creators made for themselves protected them from public shame, but also tied back to their origins. Since a majority were first generation Americans they struggled to balance between becoming “American” and honoring their culture. Smith, 4 This is why Superman became so critical in the thirties and forties. Before he became a champion for the Allied forces he was a symbol for immigrants, being the ultimate immigrant himself, as they struggled to find themselves in this new world while remaining proud of where they came from. Danny Fingeroth, a former comic book writer, editor, and comics writing teacher at New York University and several other schools, states that Superman is the essence of the immigrant mindset: “The simultaneous need to blend in and to stand out, echoing the immigrants’ insecurities and self-confidence, are there in the Man of Steel” (56). Every Clark Kent wanted that assurance that inside they are Superman. The lack of a physical mask allowed anyone to believe that they were a superhero, and everyone would know the truth if they just looked beyond the glasses. The first superhero was soon followed by an onslaught of heroes and although some were maskless, the majority possessed a physical mask. For many of the popular masked heroes of the thirties and forties—Batman, Captain America, The Flash, Captain Marvel (who owned a full body mask in his ability to transform from 12-year-old Billy Batson to the adult superhero)—their identities became a way for them to recreate themselves, to shed a weaker form and be the person they always wanted to be. Bruce Wayne wants to lose the feeling of helplessness he has felt since his parents’ murder, Steve Rogers likewise does not want to be frail and unable to defend his country on the frontlines; one loses emotional weakness, the other physical, and both dons a mask in order to represent their transformed selves. Transformation was a constant theme the world was facing in the Golden Age. In a time where the people in power may not always be trusted, who wore masks to disguise the cruel dictator, the crippled President, and the conniving emperor, hidden identity was a familiar occurrence. In his book Comic Book Nation, Bradford W. Wright, an associate professor with the University of Maryland University College European Division says that, “Even as comic books celebrated the common man, they evinced a more conservative warning about the political corruption and populist demagoguery” (24). Smith, 5 Unfortunately, the number of evil masks (at least in the minds of America at the time) outweighed the good, so when these new super powered beings appeared and fought for justice—even naming a team after it (The Justice Society of America)—the public was ecstatic. These heroes would protect them, would help solve all their problems. They wore masks but they were good, fighting for truth, justice and the American way. That was all that mattered. Then World War II ended. The great villains attempting to take over the world were defeated, soldiers came home, and the great superheroes who had encouraged American unity for freedom and justice, who led the people to rally behind the war effort, who taught the children the difference between good and evil, were no longer needed. Toward the end of the forties, the identity that had made the superheroes so relevant to society earlier on had been taken away. With the defeat of the Axis powers, the greatest villains at that time, their relevance was void, the ideals they had taught before “a loosely defined Americanism synonymous with lofty ideals like democracy, liberty and freedom from oppression” (Wright 42) had no place in this post war era, and as America went into the fifties, they wanted to move on from the war. Reading comics about the evils they no longer faced did not help with this goal. Only three superheroes were able to survive the war: Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. For these three characters, the fifties were not good to them. A new belief that comic books were poisoning the minds of children emerged, headed by psychologist Dr. Fredric Wertham, and triggered protests via comic book burnings and court trials. As a result superhero comics became stale and dull, and the ensuing Comic Code Authority which was created to appease the concerned parents helped in making the equivalent of the dark ages for the superheroes. A mass of pressure was placed on the comic characters who were desperately trying to fit into the new world of the fifties because “the superhero—more than even the ordinary fictional hero—has to represent the values of the society that produces him” (Fingeroth 17). A new revival—a sort of Renaissance—would not occur until the sixties, Smith, 6 the same time a redefining of American culture was being attempted to the dismay of a great number of the population. The arrival of both these events can be attributed to a result from World War II that had increased the strife in American culture: The Cold War. In the forties the enemy had been outside the U.S. borders, but now the fear of Communism caused people to see “Red Spies” in everyone from their neighbors to politicians to film creators. McCarthyism spread like wild fire, making anyone with secrets—with a mask— appear dangerous. During this time Marvel finally stepped into the spotlight. The beginning of the Silver Age of comics (or as some fans call it the Marvel Age) began with the reboot of popular forties superhero The Flash from DC, then led into the onslaught of Marvel characters: Iron Man, Thor, Black Panther, Daredevil, Black Widow, Falcon, and of course Spider-Man to name a few. Minus the Fantastic Four, every character possessed a mask, whether it be physical like Spider-Man’s or a civilian form like Thor’s, all had a secret identity. However, unlike superheroes of previous years, the new masked Marvel characters (DC would follow later on) faced something heroes never had before: mistrust. This new theme is immediately apparent. In The Amazing Spider-Man issue number one, the newly minted superhero is attempting to approach the Fantastic Four in order to submit a request to join them. However, when he arrives to their base of operation, it is revealed that even the Fantastic Four are uncertain if Spider-Man can be trusted. Spider-Man leaves in frustration, “I might have known! You’re just like all the rest! Ready to believe the worst of anyone!” (Amazing #1, 18). Spider-Man historically is one of the most persecuted superheroes, both by the public and at times his fellow do-gooders, “Spider-Man’s plight was too be misunderstood and persecuted by the very public he swore to protect” (Wright 212). He is also one of the few heroes who possess a costume that conceals his entire body. Much like the original superheroes, Peter Parker based his suit on entertainers, although instead of circus performers (which are what inspired the superhero costumes of the forties) the idea for his suits came from wrestlers. Also, unlike many comic book heroes, he is a teenager. Up to Smith, 7 that point the only young men who were involved in crime fighting were sidekicks to the superheroes, and this complexity that is added to the Spider-Man mythos only increases the strain identity has on Peter. As a young man trying to find out who he is , he now has the additional stress of a superhero mask to be concerned with. Public criticism does not help matters. In fact at one point it drives Peter to do the unthinkable in the superhero comic genre: he decides to quit. In the famed Amazing Spider-Man issue “Spider-Man No More”, the tension of being Spider-Man has finally become too much for Peter. In a single issue, Spider-Man stops some criminals while being shown hostility by the civilians he saves, discovers his Aunt May has fallen severely ill, is told by his college professor that he is failing the class, disappoints Gwen Stacey the girl he cares for by not being able to go to her party, is forced to turn down his dream job at a chemistry lab, and learns of a $1,000 reward for Spider-Man’s capture. A bad day to say the least. All of this is not lost on Peter, “Being Spider-Man has brought me nothing . . . but unhappiness!” (Amazing #50, 7). His decision to quit being a superhero is derived from the loss of his personal life because of his Spider-Man mask, but if it were not for the public hatred he receives he may have continued helping them. The source of the animosity is from Daily Bugle editor-in-chief, J. Jonah Jameson. His public campaign to have Spidey arrested, and his never ending contempt toward the web slinger is the cause of grief for Spider-Man throughout the character’s history. Jameson publishes articles citing Spider-Man as the villain, the cause for all the city’s problems, refers to him as the “masked menace”, and sets incentive after incentive for his capture or for information concerning his secret identity. This mirrors Joseph McCarthy during the sixties when he called for Americans to hunt down and expose potential Communists living in America. Many of the accusations brought forward trying to condemn someone as a Soviet spy or Communist sympathizer were against “innocent victims” (ushistory.org), yet the witch hunt continued, ruining lives and careers, making the tried seem untrustworthy, resulting in an era of wariness in America. Smith, 8 However, instead of propagandizing McCarthyism and the Red Scare, comic books turned the persecuted masked heroes into sympathetic characters. Readers knew that Spider-Man was not a villain, that he was a good person trying to help others, that wearing a mask helps him in that endeavor. Bradford W. Wright acknowledges the part the comic artists and writers played in this, “The relative dearth of stories dealing with American Communists suggests that comic book makers were not entirely persuaded by claims of Joseph McCarthy and other redbaiters” (Wright 126). Neither it seemed was the public. As fast as McCarthyism began, it ended in the mid-fifties (ushistory.org). His claims became too outrageous and with no solid evidence he never was able to successfully prove anyone was a spy. Although his search never came to fruition, his actions left many people exposed and vulnerable. Similarly, the problems of unmasking began to appear and became a high concern for superheroes. Spider-Man dishes out some unmasking persecution in Daredevil’s early run. In a two part storyline, a group of villains disguised as Daredevil wreak havoc on New York City. Spider-Man then uses his powers to hunt down Daredevil in order to get some answers. A problem unfolds when Daredevil’s civilian identity, blind lawyer Matt Murdock, is with his friend Foggy Nelson, and Spider-Man attacks Foggy believing him to be the devil of Hell’s Kitchen, putting Matt in a difficult situation. In the issue “None Are So Blind!”, he thinks, “. . . He’d (Spider-Man) never imagine that a blind man could be the one he seeks! So naturally he assumes it’s poor Foggy! And I can’t interfere without giving myself away!” (Daredevil #17, 1). Just as Foggy was hurt through association, the loved ones of those persecuted by McCarthyism were punished as well even if there was no “mask” involved. After they were unmasked and their secrets revealed many people who were tried—especially those in Hollywood—attempted to work again in their field. Sadly, many were barred from returning, and studios rejected submissions from suspected screenwriters who once were very prominent in the industry. While actors and directors were unable to go back to work, screenwriters attempted to send in scripts under different names (writer Dalton Trumbo received an Oscar for his screenplay for The Brave Smith, 9 One under a pseudonym when he was blacklisted), and through this created new work identities for themselves (ushistory.org). Daredevil was forced to do likewise in the comics when his identity is accidently revealed. By creating a fake identical twin brother, Matt placed the cowl of Daredevil on this fictional person in order to maintain his blind lawyer identity with his friends. Balancing three separate identities soon becomes tiring and confusing to Matt; at one point, he asks himself who the real him is, the fearless superhero, the blind and helpless lawyer, or the wise cracking mischief maker? The balance of secret identity and civilian life—of these two different masks— is a challenge that superheroes face. Those who lived during the Cold War began to feel the loss of their secret identities as the Red Scare spread, as Russia aimed missiles at the United States, and as Sputnik flew unseen in space. Although the Red Scare eventually subsided, missile strikes were diverted, and America beat Russia to the moon, that quick taste of apprehension never did leave American society, and distrust with hidden identities grew as a new century loomed closer and a new, different, generation of readers was coming into being. Meaning for comics “the mass medium so appropriate for propaganda and star-spangled saber rattling in the 1940s now survived among a subculture raised on cynicism, irony, and moral relativism” (Wright 288). After several decades where trust was built and destroyed within a single generation, Americans finally wanted the truth of those they looked up to, of those they called neighbor and those they called hero. The Bronze Age of superhero comics came upon a disillusioned country, one where Presidents could no longer be trusted, where internal struggles became the forethought of America, and a growing conflict in the Middle East became an oversight to the public. The seventies and eighties saw what was—and probably still is—the greatest shift in the comic book industry concerning superheroes. While superheroes had shown their flaws in their past, the Bronze Age saw a new wave of defilement toward the characters as they maneuvered around changes in society, mirroring what was happening in the real world. One of the greatest sources of strife for Smith, 10 America at the time was the increase in drug abuse. Parents were beginning to become concerned with the amount of drug use among teenagers, and President Nixon declared a “war on drugs” in order to combat the rising issue. While programs like DARE and “Just Say No” were being implemented into schools, the government decided to reach American youth another way, through comic books. Stan Lee once shared his experience about writing a drug abuse based story in a Spider-Man comic: I got a letter from the Department of Health Education and Welfare . . . which said, in essence, that they recognized the great influence that Marvel Comics and Spider-Man have on young people. And they thought it would really be beneficial if we created a story warning kids about the dangerous effects of drug addiction (qtd. in Sergi). Marvel was happy to comply, but they had a problem. The Comic Code Authority rejected the story, citing that it went against the Code. Stan Lee did not like the verdict. “We would do more harm to the country by not running the story than by running it. I felt that the United States Government somehow took precedence over the [CCA]” (qtd. in Sergi). In the pages of one publication, Marvel succeeded in two things: successfully publishing and selling a comic without the Code’s approval which later led to the CCA to reconsidering their rules and beginning the anti-drug comic book movement. While Spider-Man became the first to encourage kids to not take drugs, allowing Marvel to gain the upper hand, DC quickly followed. In the pages of popular series Green Lantern/Green Arrow, Speedy, Green Arrow’s teenaged sidekick, is revealed to be a heroin addict. By the end, Speedy has overcome his addiction and vows to help others do the same. Drugs would be the cause for heroes to fall and villains to rise, for good guys to grieve and for bad guys to gain. The superheroes were fighting the battle along with the concerned individuals of America in the 70s and 80s. Not only were drugs among teenagers an issue, but there was also an economic crisis to be concerned over, it was the worry on everyone’s minds along with racial inequality, political corruption, Smith, 11 etc. The early comic book readers had grown up, and they wanted their superheroes to as well. This movement for realism in comics introduced the world to the darker side of the superhero mythos, revealing a fact that was not needed, not necessary, maybe even not wanted in the comics of the Golden and Silver Age; that the superheroes are human, and like us they have their faults. Many popular storylines came out of this time period, all focusing around the idea of more realistic superheroes whose secret identities began to taint the heroes’ masks. Tony Stark deals with alcoholism in the storyline “Demon in a Bottle” and had to forfeit his Iron Man mask to his friend Rhodey as a result. The critically acclaimed novel about less than super superheroes Watchmen revolves around an alternate 1980s where superheroes are forced to give up the mask in order to become permanent civilians. The new, grittier tones introduced to Batman and Daredevil comics, courtesy of famous comic book artist and writer Frank Miller, redefined the superhero genre into a darker, more introspective style which is still widely followed today in comics and the superhero film industry. It was what the adult comic book readers had been wanting, for more realistic heroes who fit into the world of the seventies and eighties, representing the overall change in national perception: “. . . the very notion of a troubled and brooding superhero who could not always accomplish what he set out to do, that was not infallible, betrayed the limited scope of his superpowers—and suggested perhaps the limitations confronting the American superpower as well” (Wright 217). Unfortunately, to incorporate the ugly truth of reality death must have a hand in it. During the Bronze Age, a number of heroes and their loved ones died as the result of the loss of their mask. It began with the 1973 Spider-Man storyline “The Night Gwen Stacey Died”, where the tragic death of Peter Parker’s girlfriend, Gwen Stacey, shocked comic book lovers and became a controversial story, and is still considered to be so by contemporary fans. Her death is brought about by the Green Goblin discovering Spider-Man’s secret identity, and his decision to enact revenge by persecuting the love of Peter’s life. Daredevil’s on-again-off-again girlfriend Elektra is killed over a battle to see who would Smith, 12 obtain the title and identity of master assassin for the King Pin of Crime. Jean Grey is killed in the X-Men story “The Dark Phoenix Saga”, where the hero loses a battle to retain her identity as Jean to a celestial being that transforms her into one of the deadliest forces in the universe. The Bronze Age rounded off the death toll list in the mid 1980s with three of the biggest deaths of the era: The Flash and Supergirl in Crisis on Infinite Earths, and Spider-Man for a time in “Kraven’s Last Hunt”. Supporting characters also felt the cold hand of death: detective and friend of Spider-Man’s, Jean DeWolff (killed in her sleep), Aquagirl (drowned during Crisis on Infinite Earths), Stick (sacrificed himself for his student, Daredevil). The world of masked heroes was becoming more challenging and deadlier, the mask becoming less of a symbol and more of a target. Death colored the Bronze Age red, a morbid time for a population that no longer feared the villains outside their borders, but the ones within. This new approach turned into a more pensive and morose change for the comics, but it also made an element of the comic book medium stand out in a glaringly negative way, “One of the byproducts of the greater insistence on certain types of ‘realism’ in superhero fiction has been that, the more ‘real’ the characters become, the sillier the idea of the duel identity . . . has come to seem” (Fingeroth 59). By making masked avengers more real, the mask becomes unbelievable. It is a dichotomy that was paid no mind until a fateful Tuesday morning in September. As conflict increased in the Middle East for several decades the American people were more consumed with problems at home than in a far away land. Gas prices escalated to phenomenal rates during the energy crisis, job losses kept stress levels high, and the ever increasing drug culture kept families ever vigilant of their children are just a few factors that kept the eyes of America inside its borders. However, after the events of 9/11 the eyes of the world turned toward the Middle East, causing a global cultural shift which has only increased with time. Security has become the number one concern, creating the ever debatable topic of sacrificing privacy for safety. Smith, 13 Although this was not the first time America had been attacked on a large scale, it was the first time that it was attacked with its own property. American planes were hijacked and used to attack its citizens; instead of the assault coming from the outside like in Pearl Harbor, it came from within. It created a fear based culture, one where everything and everyone must be questioned. The superhero comics also felt the impact of this new paranoid age. After 9/11, the superheroes faced new challenges with their security, with their masks. Their identities are taken and taken advantage of, their allies and friends turn against them, and iconic heroes are torn down in the Modern Age of comics. The change in the superhero mask motif during this age would greatly take off after 9/11; however, a sign of things to come came in the very beginning of the Modern Age in the 1992-1993 storyline “The Death of Superman”. In the story, Superman has finally met his match in the Kryptonian created monster Doomsday. Although he succeeds in killing the creature, Superman also dies due to injuries he receives during the battle. The year long story focuses on his death and how his family, his fellow heroes, and the world respond to it. It is his death that ultimately takes his identity away from him. Four “Supermen” come into existence, each bearing Superman’s symbol, each willing to take his place. The Man of Steel (later called Steel) is John Henry Irons, an African American iron worker and former military weapons designer who decides to honor Superman by continuing on the job of protecting the innocent. Out of all the Supermen, he is the only one who never attempts to claim the name or that he is Superman. Superboy is the most controversial character in the story. He is a young clone of Superman, made from a DNA sample of Superman’s corpse. Although he makes it plain that he is not the original, he attempts to become the new Superman. The Last Son of Krypton claims to be Superman, but his emotionless persona is noticed by Lois Lane (who at the time is engaged to Clark Kent) and is later revealed to be a former villain named the Eradicator who has come to help the real Superman return. Cyborg Superman claims to be an amnesiac Superman, but is later revealed to be Hank Henshaw, a former astronaut turned super villain who wants to destroy Superman’s reputation. Smith, 14 The four Supermen are representatives of different forms of identity theft: Superboy represents identity cloning by claiming to be Superman although he is not the original, Cyborg Superman stands for criminal identity theft by misleading officials, The Last Son is medical identity theft since he uses Superman’s medical equipment on himself while claiming to be Superman, and although he does not have a secret agenda Steel is a form of synthetic identity theft by combining Superman’s and his own qualities together to form a new identity. Even in the case of Cyborg Superman and The Last Son, they manage to obtain some of Superman’s memories, making it seem even more so that one of them could potentially be the real Superman (“5 Types of Identity Theft”) . When Superman died so did an American icon. The first superhero, arguably the most powerful, was defeated. Not only that, but his identity was taken and used to serve other purposes, albeit some were for the good of others. The symbol of hope in America was destroyed, and something precious was lost as well. Less than ten years later, the attack on the World Trade Center would do the same thing. The famous image of the twin towers showed American prosperity, American success, but when they came down and threw the country into chaos those buildings were not the only thing taken. No longer did people feel safe in their own country, things that were once enjoyed were now seen as threats. The safety that was supposed to be felt on American soil no longer existed, and the world felt the impact. The superheroes did as well. Post 9/11 is met with a stream of ground breaking superhero stories introducing new concepts never seen before in comics, generally focused around attacking the mask and identity, including: humanizing the heroes, turning gods into mortals with flaws, weaknesses, and a more cynical attitude toward the world hidden beneath the bravado of their past incarnations. What better way to begin than with the one who started it all? In 2004’s Superman Birthright the hero’s story is re-envisioned portraying a Clark Kent who is attempting to find himself in a world where he does not fit in, where he is not human. In Mark Waid’s proposal for the story, he says, Smith, 15 Following high school, the boy begins a personal and desperate globe-spanning vision quest, eager to find out where he does belong . . . young Clark is perfectly aware every moment of every day that every single message the universe sends him regarding his life on Earth is this: you don’t belong here (Reimagining the Man of Tomorrow). Traveling the world Clark quickly makes friends, but when they need help and he uses his powers to save them they become frightened and treat him like a pariah. When Clark begins to discover his heritage, although unaware of the mysterious details of it, he is concurrently excited and confused about coming closer to discovering who he is. This is apparent in an email to his adopted mother about his findings and as he attempts to describe the alien race: “The images are of pretty much what we’d always imagined: people not very –and at the same time, quite—different from us. From u. From . . . Earth people” (Waid 38). His transition to the cape in this retelling is quite different in terms of home life than in previous versions. While before his parents never called him the “A” word, in this version they do not hesitate to reference his alien heritage. The artists even depict him wearing an alien shirt with the large statement “I Believe” printed across his chest. His mother, likewise, is a UFO enthusiast with a “hobby room” dedicated to it, and his father enjoys reminiscing about how Clark and his mother “’Dropped in’ on Area 51” (Waid 60-62). However, unlike his origin stories in the past, only one parent is initially thrilled about Clark embracing his alien heritage and becoming a superhero. Jonathan is hurt by Clark’s seeming desire to want to create a new identity and believes that Clark does not want to be a Kent. He also fears that he has failed as a father since he believes that Clark would rather have an alien name than his adopted father’s, “But a dad’s job is to give to his son. Pass along what he knows . . . and enough of who he is to matter” (Waid 81). Clark explains to his father, “Yes. A ‘new identity’—but I don’t want to stop being Clark Kent—so more like a ‘dual identity’. Somehow” (Waid 82). Clark wishes to balance an Earth identity and the identity of where he came from, honoring both his new home and the old; similar to how the early comic book creators did in the thirties and forties. Smith, 16 Now instead of adoration from the grateful citizens he rescues, Superman is met with hostility when it is revealed that he may be from another planet. An ironic moment in the story is when Clark is forced to write a story about Superman, titled “Not One of Us” where he reveals that scientists believe Superman is a being from outer space. In one scene where Superman stops a derailed train, he calls out for help from those standing by, “The engineer’s had a stroke! Is there a doctor here? For God’s sake, please! Won’t somebody please step forward?” The only response he receives are looks of fear and suspicion, and a crowd backing away (Waid 150-152). These responses mimic the modern world since the 9/11 attacks. Those who are given the title of “hero” come under suspicion, trust is nonexistent among strangers, and the belief that assault is eminent reigns on the public’s minds. Superman is aware of this in Birthright, which is why he decides early on to make his human self a mask and his hero self his true self. He wants people to trust him, something he has never had as Clark Kent, so he wants to step out as his own person—maskless—and help others, because as he says to a friend, “Where I come from, masks tend to symbolize distrus(t)” (Waid 29). He does not want to be a created persona, when he helps others he wants to be himself, to be the child of a lost world and the man his parents helped him to become; combining where he came from and where he is now. However, even though he is able to be this hero he still is hiding a side of himself, a side that desires to be human, desires to be a part of his adopted home world. He craves this so much that he chooses to create a façade of a weak man who is awkward and an undesirable acquaintance to his coworkers; another mask. Clark Kent turns into an outcast, an image he has been attempting to shed his whole life just so he can still be a part of this world. This feeling carries over into Superman, which must be sensed by those around him since once the public begins to change their minds about him, Jimmy Olsen tells him, “Which, by the by, is not to say you don’t still freak me out a little. . . “ (Waid 269). They know there is something he is hiding, they do not know all about him, and it is these hidden factors that drive the fear of the unknown, even if it is a superhero. Smith, 17 Since the undying trust in the American government has been brought into more scrutiny “as the expansive national security state pervaded American society to protect the public” by way of “. . . . invading the private, or attempting to call the private so service” (Costello 54) loyalties were then drawn tighter into fold of friends and relatives. However, even these bonds have been betrayed. Since 9/11 there has been an increase in violence and casualties. Although “. . . the number of terror attacks has declined since Sept. 11 . . . the number of fatal attacks has ticked up of late” (Plumer) and there has also been a significant increase in mindless attacks; between 2000 and 2013 there have been 557 wounded and 486 killed due to mass shootings, bombings, etc (Schmidt). These attacks are all done by the hands of those who were considered trustworthy by loved ones who discover too late that their trust was given to the wrong person. It is one thing if you cannot trust strangers, but when the enemy is a loved one the world becomes much darker. It calls for more revelation into the private lives of those around us. With the increase of invasion of privacy, we continue to entrust our real selves— our secret identities— to those closest to us, and feel betrayed if they take advantage of it. The superheroes were feeling the burn of betrayal as well. In the popular 2006-2008 DC storyline Identity Crisis the heroes realize that someone has discovered their secret identities, and is attacking and threatening their loved ones. It begins with the murder of Elongated Man’s wife Sue Dibny. Elongated Man had revealed his secret identity to the world years before, and that decision is believed to be the cause of her death; that a past villain is getting their revenge by killing the hero’s wife. This belief is strengthened by the attempted hanging of another self-outed hero’s (The Atom) ex-wife Jean Loring, who is saved by him at the last moment. The heroes begin to track down old adversaries, attempting to discover who is behind the attacks. However, their suspicions are derailed when Superman’s wife Lois Lane is threatened via a suspicious letter delivered to her at the Daily Planet. This causes concern and panic; they believed the targets to be related to heroes who have revealed their identities, but now they realize that someone Smith, 18 has discovered their identities, enormously increasing the number of potential victims. They search with renewed vigor after another death—the death of the current Robin’s father—rattles their world, calling all the superheroes to band together as they hunt down and interrogate every enemy they had ever faced. Imagine their surprise when they discover the second victim—Jean Loring—is the culprit. One of their own turned against them, all in the name of getting the Atom to come back to her, all for selfish gain. Their masks were compromised, a person they trusted with the knowledge of their identities ends up using that knowledge against them. The intimidation of revealing ones true self is great enough, but knowing that even those you trust may turn against you can keep people on edge. This can explain the need to be exposed yet still contain a private life, a secret identity. The increased usage of social media gives us a platform to reveal ourselves to the world as we want to be presented, making what we keep hidden more precious. It is no wonder that when our privacy is at risk do we become so defensive, because we do not want those secrets revealed to others without our consent. Literature often calls for a look at the “inside” and “outside” presentations that a character gives, comparing them to see how they differ and to search for a reason for the differences. With outside presentations a character is often putting on a front, appearing to be genteel and put together while inside, usually in the home setting, the character can be themselves around their family and friends. This protects the loved ones from any disgrace that may be brought on them or, in the case of superheroes, villains who intend to harm them. The Green Arrow and The Flash discuss this in Identity Crisis: “You don’t just wear the mask for yourself. . . . And when it comes to family, we can’t always be there to defend them. But the mask will” (Meltzer ch. 6). Perhaps the greatest storyline that presented the most change in the superhero mythos is 2006’s Marvel Civil War. Within the year long event a look into the loss of privacy is heavily focused on, very similar to what occurred in the wake of the 2001 attacks, “the U.S. intelligence state boomed in Smith, 19 the wake of 9/11. The growth resulted in a marked increase in government intrusion, primarily through a vast, clandestine network of phone and web surveillance” (Green). In Civil War a fight between villains and heroes who are part of a television show results in the catastrophic loss of 600 civilians, including the destruction of an elementary school. Because of this as well as other incidents, the government enacts the Superhuman Registration Act, a law that requires all superheroes to register with the government, becoming government employees who will be trained and monitored, and forces all masked heroes to reveal their secret identities. This quickly divides the Marvel heroes as some believe heroes need accountability, while others believe it is a violation of their rights. This feud correlates with the public response to the American government’s dramatic increase of surveillance regulations, which many believe goes against their rights to privacy: . . . the government’s creation of a post-9/11 surveillance society in which the long-standing “wall” between surveillance for law enforcement purposes and for intelligence gathering has been dismantled . . . As a result, the most sweeping and technologically advanced surveillance programs ever instituted in this country have operated not within the rule of law, subject to judicial review and political accountability, but outside of it, subject only to voluntary limitations and political expedience (Shamsi and Abdo). While there seems to be a consensus on the invasion of privacy, there are those who support the advancement of surveillance through civilian technology. A study has also been done on the issue, saying that if a law was passed to limit the surveillance not only would there be more safety risks but also that the economy would lose $33 billion dollars in the initial five years (Zaru). The Marvel Universe was divided on this issue ultimately splitting into two groups: those for the registration side with Iron Man who helped manage the act, and those against joined Captain America. Although neither man wanted the law to cause a battle among their fellow heroes and friends, they could not come to a common understanding of superheroes and their place in this new world based on Smith, 20 fear and mistrust. Iron Man believes it is a heroes’ duty to side with the government, to obey the law, and to take responsibility for his or her actions: “The public doesn’t want masks and secret identities. They want to feel safe when we’re around, and there’s no other way to win back their respect” (Miller Part 3). Captain America on the other hand believes that too much government control will cause the mission and purpose of the heroes to become skewed, telling S.H.I.E.L.D. Commander Maria Hill, “Don’t play politics with me, Hill. Super heroes need to stay above that stuff or Washington starts telling us who the super-villains are” (Millar Part 1). “ One of the major indecisive heroes in terms of choosing which side to join is Spider-Man. He is one of the few characters who has possessively protected his secret identity even among the other superheroes, only revealing it to a few people. However, when he is approached by Iron Man (who knows his secret identity) to reveal it to the world, Peter Parker is hesitant because of his concern over his wife’s and aunt’s safety. Iron Man sums up the situation: “We live in a time when everyone has had to make sacrifices of their privacy. Wiretaps. Increased surveillance. Random searches at airports. Did you really think we (superheroes) would be immune to that for long?” (Straczynski and Garney “The War at Home” Part 1). After consulting with his family, Peter decides to follow Tony, trusting that his mentor is making the right decision. Whenever a hidden side of a person is revealed, it can lead to great hostility from those around them. Peter Parker experiences just that as soon as he reveals his secret identity. Crowds attack him and his family, villains hunt them, and Iron Man forces him to track and capture his fellow heroes, his friends, if they do not follow the new law. As time goes by certain events and revelations unfold that cause Spider-Man to question if he is on the right side: the death of superhero Goliath by the hands of another hero, the revelation that Iron Man gave him a tech suit that not only sends private data about Spider-Man’s abilities to Tony, but also allows him to control Spider-Man, and the discovery that the heroes who are arrested for not registering are locked away in an inhumane prison in the Negative Zone Smith, 21 where they will stay until they agree to register. Spider-Man decides that he has made a mistake, and it is time to rectify it. In a commandeered news special, Spider-Man tells the public of what Iron Man and his supporters are doing, publicly stating that he is fighting against the Super Human Registration Act, and declares that enough is enough: “But there’s a point where the end doesn’t justify the means, if the means require us to give up not just our identities, but who we are as a country” (Straczynski and Garney “The War at Home” Part 5). This announcement not only turns the tide for the heroes but also proclaims the beliefs of Americans concerning the increase of government access into their private lives. The Superhero Registration Act not only invades the private lives of heroes, but also puts their lives at risk. Revealing their identities enables super-villains to learn who to target in the hero’s life, and how they can best hurt them. Invading their privacy also destroys the civilian lives of the heroes, for example Peter Parker loses the trust he had built at the Daily Bugle and those he calls his friends. The forced registration makes the heroes subservient to the government, causing them to fight the politician’s battles to the point that they are destroying each other and the community they had worked so hard to build. Spider-Man acknowledges this when he is facing off against his hero, Captain America, who encourages Peter to join his crusade, “My whole life, all I’ve ever really wanted is the respect of the people I admire. Aunt May. MJ. And people like him (Captain America). Finally, at last, after so long . . . I’ve got it. And now I’m about to lose it forever” (Straczynski and Garney “The War at Home” Part 3). This iconic comic altering storyline has a tagline that asks “Who’s Side Are You On?” Any law abiding citizen would quickly agree that Iron Man and those who support the Registration Act is in the right, and thus is the correct side to choose. After all, “. . . it isn’t a matter of right or wrong, moral or immoral. It’s legal vs. illegal. At least, that’s what I tell myself . . .” Spider-Man says after his fight with Captain America (Straczynski and Garney “The War at Home Part” 3). Spider-Man struggles with these thoughts, with what is or should be considered right. It is not until a talk with Captain America, the man Smith, 22 who is the country as Spidey consistently refers to him as, that the answers come to him. In what is considered the most famous speech given by Captain America, he references in true American fashion a quote from Mark Twain’s “Glances at History” (suppressed) to help give his response: . . . In a republic, who is the country? Is it the government which is for the moment in the saddle? Why, the government is merely a temporary servant: it cannot be its prerogative to determine what is right and what is wrong, and decide who is a patriot and who isn’t. . . . Each must for himself alone decide what is right and what is wrong, and which course is patriotic and which isn’t. . . If you alone of all the nation shall decide one way, and that way be the right way according to your convictions of the right, you have your duty by yourself and by your country. He finishes off this speech in a way only someone like Captain America can: Doesn’t matter what the press says. Doesn’t matter what the politicians or the mobs say. Doesn’t matter if the whole country decides that something wrong is something right. This nation was founded on one principle above all else: The requirement that we stand up for what we believe, no matter the odds or the consequences. When the mob and the press and the whole world tell you to move, your job is to plant yourself like a tree beside the river of truth, and tell the whole world––“No you move” (Straczynski and Garney “The War at Home” Part 5). These uncertainties about this issue crosses over into the real world, reflecting on the debate of sacrificing privacy for security which is escalating as technological advancements continues, whether it is right to allow the government all this access into the people’s lives, or to fight back and protect their rights before they completely strip the identities of the American people down to the core, exposing their weaknesses like it did the heroes. Smith, 23 After Civil War, Marvel rebooted several of their titles including the starring roles in the last storyline. Iron Man’s new origin with threats coming not from Vietnam as it had been in his original origin story in the sixties, but instead from Afghanistan. In order to combat the villains, Tony Stark does not just create an external suit of weaponry, but instead exposes himself to a virus to enhance his abilities, allowing the protection inside instead of just remaining on the out. Captain America is rebooted as well, but instead of the traditional origin story, the book incorporates flashbacks of World War II to make it seem as if he is misremembering his past. Marvel’s Civil War heralded in the drastic change in the United States in the depiction of the two great Marvel leaders at war, pitting the past and the future against one another. Costello notes, “As Iron Man has redefined the threats facing the nation in the twenty-first century and the implications of the self-altering response to these threats, the Captain America books render mutable the American self as defined by the past” (232). The image here is that we cannot look to the past any longer, so the past must die and all that represented it as well. The stars and stripes are just too old fashioned. Just as 9/11 altered a country to a point where it is unfamiliar to what it had been less than two decades prior, so it affected the superhero genre. Though the lines may blur between fantasy and reality, though trips to places like Metropolis and Wakanda may still possess some manor of wonder of the fictional world, the realities of our world have left their mark. Even in moments that do not include social or political commentary, the essence of fear and distrust remain immensely prevalent in the multi-superhero universe. Unlike previous intense moments in America’s history that caused superheroes to remark on or address in their stories, the 9/11 events have been discussed, have been tied back to, and has even created a new source of villains. However, the layer of fear and distrust is a new permanent feature to the comics and whether it will stay present forever is still waiting to be seen. Where this layer has come from is no longer a factor referenced to in the comics. They do not mention the source like they did for the drug abuse or the Soviets or Germany and Japan. 9/11 does not play a Smith, 24 part anymore though it is the cause for the shift in the past decade concerning masks and identity in superhero comics, and how the horror of that day will be a constant presence just as it is in our modern world. Robert Wilonsky, a writer for SF Weekly, was aware of this change: “In a post-Sept. 11 world, even the phrase, ‘Look, up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane!’ sounds different; its awe has been replaced by shock and revulsion. The sense of escapism comic books have provided no longer exists; the fantasy world must give way to the real one” (qtd. in Wright 289). In a medium that was created for escapism—for any person to feel like there is a Superman inside of them—the heavy presence that the real world has on it creates new challenges to the mask trope. Masked gunman, masked bombers, masked terrorists, the mask carries a new meaning. Secret identities are no longer trusted. So how is a superhero that has existed for over seven decades with a mask cope with having it taken away? Similarly, how can a country that a generation before had focused on developing their private selves deal with having it violated and exposed? Grant Morrison says that "We live in the stories we tell ourselves" (xvii), and that includes comic books. Within these stories are characters who embody what we want to be, who we think we can be, and perhaps who we already are. They struggle to find themselves in this changing world where secrets are dangerous, where masks are a threat, and where looking “up in the sky” does not preface the arrival of a hero but instead heralds the world falling down around us. These characters are trying to find stability in a time where the earth is continuously shaken with bombs and security threats, where we cannot even go to school or the movie theater without the fear that someone may come in and kill us. While the debate rages on about what lines should or should not be crossed in order to secure our safety, the superheroes battle to answer this question as well. What happens when the mask is gone? Can a hero still continue to fight for good when their personal life is revealed for all to see? Is their secret identity no longer sacred as it once was? What does that say about us today? It says that we are on the same level with the superheroes that have helped define our country for over seven decades, Smith, 25 that for the first time we are trying to discover the answer to the same question that emerges when our trust and mask are taken from us: what do we do now? Maybe in some ways these superheroes have already given us a clue to the answer. As Peter Parker says when his life—including, literally, his mask—is taken from him, “There is no spider! . . . There’s just me! . . . Just a normal guy . . . who got tapped on the shoulder by fate . . . Just Peter Parker: that’s my weakness. That’s my strength” (DeMatteis). Maybe we can take a cue from the superheroes, that even when everything is taken, even when our masks are removed and the world knows our weaknesses, we turn that into our strength and fight back. Smith, 26 Works Cited ”5 Types of Identity Theft." Www.tombruno.com. N.p., n.d. Web Costello, Matthew J. Secret Identity Crisis: Comic Books and the Unmasking of Cold War America. New York: Continuum, 2009. Print. DeMatteis, J.M., writer. Web of Spider-Man. Penciling by Michael Zeck. Inking by Bob McLeod. Coloring by Janet Jackson. Lettering by Rick Parker. 1st ed. Vol 1. Number 32. New York City: Marvel, 1987. Print. Green, Matthew. "How 9/11 Changed America: Four Major Lasting Impacts." Kqed. N.p., 10 Sept. 2015. 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