A Superman Surprise

[seneschal]

Decades of comics, movies, and radio and TV shows have persuaded us that if Lois Lane could ever catch  Clark Kent without his glasses the jig would be up, his true identity as Superman would be revealed.  The spectacles must be magic or something.  However, I’ve been reading an omnibus of Forties Superman stories.  In the August 1942 tale “Muscles for Sale” the unthinkable happens.  As part of investigating a crime spree, Kent joins a gymnasium and has a boxing lesson with the brawny proprietor.  He’s sans suit and glasses, boxing trunks only.  Lois is surprised at how buff he is but still doesn’t recognize the hero she has the hots for even when he’s standing two yards away.  As Kent easily dodges the instructor’s blows, she sniffs at what a chicken he is and walks away.

Wait, it gets better.  The crooks, believing they have their latest customer hypnotized, dress Kent in a Superman costume and send him to help rob a fancy dress ball Lois Lane is covering.  Lane doesn’t gasp that Superman has turned to crime; she wonders why her co- worker is in costume and with the bad guys.  It isn’t until Kent falls (apparently to his death) out a window then returns through the same window as his alter ego (still wearing the substitute costume) that she identifies him as Superman.  And she buys the explanation that Clark was made-up to look like Superman and was rescued by the real thing seconds before Superman bounded in to save the day.

It isn’t just Lois.  None of the other characters in the story, having met Clark Kent, Kent in costume, and Superman scratch their heads and say, “Hey, wait a minute!”  Yeah, yeah.  Comic book logic.  But still, really?

Edited August 24, 2018 by seneschal

[Atgxtg]

Year ago I read something by DC that claimed that Superman had some sort of (subconscious) hypnotic power that distorts how people see him as Clark. That was supposed to explain why nobody recognized him. It's a silly explanation, but at least it was an attempt to address the obvious issue-made more obvious by TV and film, where the audience can't miss it. 

 

Personally, I'd just say that Ka-Els baby blankets had some sort of perception filter built in. 

[seneschal]

Yes, I remember that.  It was after one of their many reboots of the DC universe.  The gimmick was that Kal-El’s face actually changed subtly when he switched identities.  They quickly dropped that and went back to the magic glasses schtick.  Things were especially dicey after the Death of Superman saga.  Superman and Clark Kent vanished and returned at the same time — the former sporting a flowing mane and the latter noticeably beefy with his hair pulled back in a ponytail.  The Daily Planet office is stuffed with bright, nosy investigative reporters.  Riiiiiiiight.

The transformation from Clark Kent to Superman was most convincing on radio, where actor Bud Colyer’s voice dropped a full octave when the soft-spoken newsman ditched his street clothes.  The change in attitude and personality was utterly believable.  Of course, there was the storyline where a minor hood burglarized Kent’s apartment and stole his costume.  Superman called on Batman to help him get it back and prevent gangland from figuring out where it came from.

By the way, aren’t you glad the Cthulhu Mythos doesn’t get rebooted like the DC and Marvel universes do?  We’d have had Cthulhu for president and epic rapp battles with Godzilla for sure.  😳

Edited August 25, 2018 by seneschal

[1d8+DB]

The whole secret identity thing would be especially problematic given modern technology: voice prints, DNA matching,   facial  analysis;  it would be more work than its worth to try and protect a secret identity. Or every 'super' would go 'Iron Man', with a head to toe body armor.

[seneschal]

Or go the Fantastic Four route and have public identities, celebrities with powers.  Doc Savage went that way, too.  Must have quiet retreat with good security.

[ORtrail]

Yeah, given all the ways to track people in big cities now, or gather even minute DNA samples?  It would be a matter of weeks to work out a short list of suspects.  Maybe if you could teleport and lived in Oregon while fighting crime in NYC you could hide your secret ID for some time. 

[Michael Hopcroft]

Clark Kent traditionally pulls it off mainly b the way he behaves. He's no wimp as Clark, but his mannerisms, attitudes, and body language are so different from Superman that nobody makes the connection. It even reached the point where Lex Luthor in the comics, did the research, traced down all the leads, found conclusive proof that Clark Kent was Superman -- and then discarded the notion completely because he believed anyone as powerful as Superman would be as selfish and ruthless as he is by definition.

[seneschal]

Heh, I read that issue!

[seneschal]

Reading more reprints from 1940.  Superman, defender of the weak and oppressed, can be quite the bully, using intimidation to get what he wants.  He plays pretty rough even with the people he's trying to help.  In one instance he tosses an honest union boss out a window to get him away from gangsters, assuming he can rush outside and catch the guy before he hits the ground.  Good thing the union leader didn't have heart problems!  He nerve pinches people into unconsciousness to keep them out of his way, even women, decades before Gene Roddenberry invented Vulcans.  While he turns bad guys over to the police (sometimes) he is willing to disobey or rough up the cops if they attempt to thwart him.  He routinely confronts or even threatens public officials.

Superman is also willing to endanger or even kill criminals, especially ones who have attempted to kill him (even though he is invulnerable).  It seems a "you reap what you sow" thing since The Man of Tomorrow can't claim his actions were in self defense.  He leaves goons he has interrogated in precarious situations, casually destroys public roadways to catch crooks (and leaves the road that way for the next innocent traveler to crash into -- he's busy!), and causes master villains to perish in their own deathtraps.  Sure, Superman isn't as lethal as pulp heroes such as The Spider or even rival superheroes such as Archie Comics' The Comet.  But he's much more ruthless than the wise, fatherly character I read or watched on television in the 1960s.  His attitude resembles that of The Eradicator of The Reign of the Supermen saga from the 1990s.  Given that most of his opponents are ordinary people, his hard-nosed outlook and lack of accountability to anyone are kind of scary if you think about it too hard.  In his world might does make right, and there isn't anyone -- good or evil -- who can restrain him.

During these adventures Superman gradually expands his power set.  He's been "faster than a streamline train" but now he's zipping in at the last moment to block bullets and knives with his body.  He's still leaping and clinging to the sides of buildings rather than flying (at least in the comics -- he does fly on radio and in theatrical cartoons).  Superman had keen senses but now he's exhibiting X-ray vision and super hearing for the first time, out of the blue and without any attempted explanation.

Edited August 25, 2020 by seneschal