With a few notable exceptions, the majority of Marvel's characters have made their civilian identities known to the world. However, one person who's not a fan of this trend is comic book writer Mark Millar.
Shortly after Clark Kent revealed his identity to the world in the pages of Superman #18, Millar spoke to the Word Balloon podcast about the abandonment of superhero secrecy — both in Marvel and DC.
"I do think from a storytelling point of view I’m a massive fan of secret identities," he explained. "I think secret identities is the most important component of all superhero things. It’s one of Marvel’s mistakes of 2000 to get rid of the secret identity."
Millar pointed to someone like Bruce Wayne being a shallow person who then puts on the mask and costume and becomes a true hero. He also pointed to Clark Kent as someone who can put on glasses and take abuse all day, even though he can crush a diamond. With his secret identity now public knowledge, there is little chance anyone abuses him anymore.
"That’s the mythology of it," Millar continued. "A god choosing to become a person, and I love that..."
Of course, Millar says this as the man who had Iron Man convince Spider-Man to reveal his secret identity to the world in Civil War. However, that resulted in an assassin shooting Aunt May, which highlights another vital aspect of keeping a secret identity.
With the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Iron Man, Captain America and Thor all proving that fans still love superheroes, even without secret identities, the comics might be following suit. That said, the Superman story could have some twists and turns that ultimately undo his revelation, and according to Millar, that's the way it should be.
(via Screen Rant)