Monday, April 24, 2017

Manic Monday--Not-So-Secret

Faith is hangin' with a couple of friends who know her super-hero identity:

Testify, sister.

I've seen some folks praise the CW approach as "doing away" with the cliche of secret identities, which were an "obstacle" to good writing.

The problem, of course, is that those shows haven't had the courage to actually do away with secret identities. The public at large doesn't know that Barry is the Flash, or that Kara is Supergirl. They still jump through the same hoops keeping their bosses and other folks in the dark about their civilian identities.

Nope, instead they've just created a comfort peer group, 5-12 people every episode who just hang around HQ chillin' with our heroes, like some millennial Friends for super-heroes. Sure, there's no way a circle that big could ever keep a secret like that too long from a determined villain--but just relax, we're all bros, here!

When the Flash pulls off his mask in public and everyone knows that he's Barry Allen, then you can give CW credit for doing away with the cliche. Until then, not so much.

From Faith #10 (2017)

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