One thing that always gets to people who have never read comics before is the superhero genre’s use of the secret identity. They are used to secret identities for spies, a profession that specifically requires the need to be in the shadows and out of the limelight, but for superheroes, who constantly find themselves at the center of the public’s attention, the idea of a secret identity defies their expectations. This is especially true of those heroes who wear little to no mask.
Yet the secret identity is a staple, and one that was created to help suspend disbelief for another staple, vigilantism. The secret identity has been under attack for a while now from within the comic world. Heroes are revealing themselves to the world (and we will no longer accept the extreme, note absurd, lengths writers will go to reverse the outing), but there are a few superheroes who have only hurt the cause of the secret identity over the years. These few, that have done so much to push away those unimaginative masses unable to suspend their disbelief any farther, are now named here...
