Identity is a slippery concept.

Who are we? Does our identity hinge upon our actions? Are we merely the roles we play – citizen, son or daughter, husband or wife, our job title? Is our sense of identity rooted in our performance, possessions, or popularity?

Are we nothing more than the sum of our memories? And, if so, what happens when we lose our memories, perhaps through forgetfulness, or worse, the tragedy of Alzheimer’s or dementia? If we fall prey to such things, does our identity continue through other’s memories of our past?

Is our identity defined by who we were in the past or by who we will become in the future?

Matters of identity impact every aspect of our lives – how we introduce ourselves to others, how we desire others to see us, how we see ourselves. And the more we wrestle with our own sense of identity, the more we realize that there are aspects of ourselves that we keep hidden from others and – whether consciously or unconsciously – from ourselves.

All this leads to the question: Who are we… really?

In order to answer this question we must expose the deep layers of our soul to ourselves. We must uncover the secret identities we possess – including the aspects of our identity we choose not to reveal to the world, to our closest companions, and even to ourselves.

In this session, we will use a common feature of superhero stories – the “secret identity” – to help us uncover our own. A consideration of the various reasons superheroes maintain a secret identity will aid us in discovering why we are more than what we appear to be on the surface.

A Secret Identity

Why would a person disguise his or her identity? What benefit could this possibly hold? Is hiding aspects of our personality from others a positive or negative practice? Is hiding aspects of our personality from our own self positive or negative? Why?

The most common reason superheroes disguise their identity is simple: a secret identity exists in order to protect loved ones from harm. In Superman: The Movie, Jor-El warns Superman to guard his secret identity for this very reason: “Your enemies will discover their only way to hurt you – by hurting the people you care for.” Superheroes know that if their identity becomes public knowledge, their loved ones will stand a greater risk of assault by criminals and villains.

But hiding one’s identity is not always viewed in such a positive light. Criminals mask their identity for personal gain. If someone burst into our home wearing a nylon stocking to distort his facial features, we would know that something bad was about to happen:

A mask is scary. It reduces the person wearing it to a single, sinister element. They are a living threat. You cannot reason with them. Their expression betrays no meaning beyond what their words say. They cannot be up to any good—nor mean you anything but harm. If they did, why would they cover their faces—or at least their true identities—and eschew responsibility for their actions?[1]

A criminal masks his identity in order to act without fear of repercussion and to strike fear in the hearts of his victims. In order to fight fire with fire, Batman masks his identity for the same reasons. His anonymity allows him to fight for justice even if it means bending (or even breaking) the law. (And Batman knows well that law is often unjust and justice is sometimes best served apart from the law.) His mask also allows him to strike fear in the hearts of criminals whom he reasons are “a cowardly and superstitious lot.” As the Dark Knight, Batman’s reasons for maintaining a secret identity have much in common with criminals. But this is not true for most other superheroes.

Though the common reason superheroes guard their identity is for the safety of their loved ones, this is by no means the only reason. There are other noble reasons for maintaining a secret identity.

A secret identity allows a superhero to intimately identify with the human situation. For example, Superman is the most powerful superhero of all, but also the most human. His secret identity as a mild-mannered reporter allows him to fully participate in the human situation – to share our plight, our problems, our passions. Superman is never too far removed from the human experience to forget the reason he does what he does. His greatest weakness – which is also his greatest strength – is that he actually cares. Though villains repeatedly use this against him, he has not lost his passion for us, for he shares our life. He is one of us. This would not be possible apart from his secret identity.

Another reason superheroes maintain their secret identity is to keep their motives pure. If they remain anonymous, they are not dependent upon the applause of others to remain true to their heroic convictions. They can act without thought for human praise. Fingeroth writes, “[T]he masked man doesn’t want to get used to being thanked. If he became too dependent on it, how would he feel if he ever wasn’t thanked? He wants to keep his motive pure: to make sure he does what he does because it’s right, not to get thanked. … They want their deeds to stand alone.”[2]

Generally, people want credit for their good actions. Superheroes, on the other hand, have decided to act upon their convictions without regard for reward or personal recognition. This reveals their character and integrity. “If you had a secret identity, how long would it last? If you had just gone several rounds with the Joker and lived to tell about it, how many minutes would it take before you blabbed everyone you know?”[3] Moreover, if you were responsible for repeatedly saving the world from disaster, you would certainly desire to be recognized – especially on those days when your life as a common citizen proved to be frustratingly difficult and unrewarding. It is this humility that is truly heroic. Christopher Reeve recognized this. In an interview, he said, “The Superman I wanted to play - the only one I could play - was a low-key one. Very warm, very friendly, very accessible and not at all impressed with himself.”

The superheroes’ humility is set in stark contrast to a villain’s hubris. Villains rarely have secret identities. They do not wish to identity with a common humanity. They envision themselves as above the fray of mortal humans. They deserve to rule the world, be recognized, even worshipped by the masses. This is the chief reason they always fail: their ego gets in the way. It is a classic part of the comic formula for villains, just before they are about to kill a superhero, to reveal their plans in full. It is this character flaw that is their undoing. Having revealed their plans, they make themselves vulnerable to defeat.

It is hard to maintain a secret identity. It certainly adds complexity to a superhero’s life. But it also reflects a superhero’s inner integrity, humility, and desire to protect and inspire others.

More Than Meets the Eye

The fundamental truth of a secret identity is that we are more than what we appear on the surface. “Even the genre of teen movies in which a ‘plain’ girl becomes glamorous always involves her removing glasses (and undoing her hair) to show the ‘secret identity’ of the sexpot within.”[4] Though we may not all be closet sexpots, we all can be closet heroes. There is more to us than meets the eye.

Our lives are hidden in Christ (Colossian 3:3). The truth about our identity is more profound than what is revealed on the surface. Moreover, what we shall be has not yet been revealed to us or to the world (1 John 3:2). It is this truth that the gospel calls us to remember and to embody.

As citizens of another kingdom we walk in two worlds. We identify with this world while simultaneously looking forward in hope to a new world (Philippians 3:20-21). As children of God we are called “to shine like stars in the world” (Philippians 2:15). We must embrace our identity – know who we truly are – in order to walk worthy of this calling which we have received from God. Superman knows his heavenly origin and his earthly responsibility. He is not of this world and yet serves the world. Because he knows who he is, he is able to maintain a dual identity for the good of others.

Ultimately, we are not our actions – whether good or bad. We are not the roles we live out. We are not the memories we possess. No, we are much more. We are children of God – beloved, cherished, glorious, immortal. This truth is not yet fully visible to the naked eye, but it will one day be manifest for all to see (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).

Superheroes fascinate us because, down deep, we all desire to live heroic lives of self-giving for the good of others. We all want to release our “inner superhero.” By the power of the Spirit, we possess greater glory than we realize. We are more than meets the eye and we are called to live in light of a noble calling – a deeper identity – than we often recognize.

The Dark Side

The “inner superhero” is one aspect of our “secret identity” that we should learn to manifest more often. However, we also possess aspects of our personality that we choose to keep hidden from others, and even from ourselves. The dark side of our personality is something we are afraid to admit. To do so would be to admit failure. It is not comforting to know how far short we fall of our own ideals. It is easier to justify ourselves and refuse to admit of any shortcomings. We fear that if people knew the full story that we would be despised and rejected.

Though we are on a heroic journey, insecurity underlies all we do. We know how far short we fall. We are afraid that we might not always act heroically. But even superheroes struggle with these insecurities. The “Superman” song by the pop group, Five for Fighting, communicates how even the greatest heroes have their fears. But it is by rising above these fears and showing their true selves to the world that they manifest courage, conviction, and charity to the world.

Life offers us endless opportunities to come out of hiding, and manifest our inner superhero. Fingeroth writes, “there are countless opportunities around us—opportunities that we encounter in our everyday lives—to be heroic.  

They might not require that we scale the sheer face of a mountain, endure arctic weather, possess mastery of a batarang or a black belt in kung fix, or match wits with world-class assassins. But they are no less heroic—that is, if you consider to be a hero someone who helps people and makes a positive difference in their lives, refuses to bow to difficulty or adversity, and possesses integrity and principles in the face of seductive temptation.[5]

© Richard J. Vincent, 2007