What if Superman wore a mask?

[OverMaster]

No, really.

Let's suppose Siegel and Shuster, back at 1938, had decided their creation needed something to conceal his face and secret identity, and put a mask on Superman. How would that have changed the character through the years, in your opinion?

And what if they had decided to give him a mask, not at 1938, but in Byrne's 1986 reboot? Would it have stuck?

What if they gave him a mask right today?

[666MasterOfPuppets]

Nah, it wouldn't stick. It wouldn't have worked in 1986 nor now. Superman's appearance is classic, and changing it would be nothing short of heresy.

Yeah, I know, there's Superman Blue/Red, but that's a whole different approach.

As for Siegel and Shuster doing it when they introduced the character, I guess we'd have accepted it as a normal thing, now, like we accept him wearing his "underwear" outside his pants. I mean, there would have been no difference.

[Eliseu Gouveia]

I think it could have worked if Siegel and Shuster launched him wearing one back in the 30-40´s.
But now that it´s ingrained in pur minds, it´s extremely hard to pull such a radical change off.
People simply don´t like change, look how they´+re willing to grab pitchforks over the underwear issue..

[The Batman]

By not wearing a mask, it makes it easier for Superman to inspire trust in people (in universe of course). It makes people less inclinded to think that maybe he's hiding something or keeping secrets. They see his face, his eyes, his smile, and it can maybe put people at ease a little better than if he wore a mask.

[gideon]

An interesting question arises from this about how the DC universe may have played out. I seem to recall mention before in the books that superman was one of the first heroes of the age, after the Mystery Men, and that his NOT wearing a mask, his apperance of not hiding anything, gave comfort to the masses about this God among them. If he was masked, would the DC universe have ended up perhaps more like the Marvel one, in a sense, with civilians worried about the heroes, and not trusting them, as they used to before recent story arcs.


<Doh,should have refreshed the page before posting, The Batman hit some of my points. Ahhh well>

[Rob on the Job]

Superman wearing a mask would look like something out of a shabby Mexican porno film from the early 1950s.

[Mike Smash!]

But Superman does wear a mask.

http://www.eysterengineered.com/gallery/eyeglasses.png

[Darth Joker]

No, really.

Let's suppose Siegel and Shuster, back at 1938, had decided their creation needed something to conceal his face and secret identity, and put a mask on Superman. How would that have changed the character through the years, in your opinion?

He'd be more like Batman, and he'd probably be less embraced by the public than what he currently is.

I think that one of Superman's appeals to the DCU public, and partly why he leads the JLA, is because he doesn't wear a mask - he doesn't hide his face. This probably strikes people as being more open, and transparent, than the super-heroes who do wear a mask (i.e. the majority).

And what if they had decided to give him a mask, not at 1938, but in Byrne's 1986 reboot? Would it have stuck?

Not for long. Five years tops.... tops

What if they gave him a mask right today?

It would actually have a better chance of sticking today than back in '86 since we've already gone through the Superman Blue/Red stage - a mask seems mild compare to THAT change.

Still, I doubt it would stick for long.

[666MasterOfPuppets]

But Superman does wear a mask.

http://www.eysterengineered.com/gallery/eyeglasses.png

Well, that's a good point right there.

[MichaelMogg]

I read a Secret Origins of Golden Age Batman recently, and in it Bruce uses the bat costume to strike fear into his opponents on first sight. So that's the initial reason why Bruce decided to wear a mask, to come across as something larger than life and more than human.

Superman, on the other hand, hasn't that need to strike fear into them. For Batman, he has to avoid bullets and those few precious moments a mask may bring him count dearly. Not so for our pal Supes.

Also, to introduce a mask now is futile. The other purpose of a mask is to conceal one's identity, so having been flying around for 60+ years maskless, it seems pointless to "hide" himself now (as if he won't stand out flying around). The proverbial cat was never in the proverbial bag to begin with. :D

[Eliseu Gouveia]

The proverbial cat was never in the proverbial bag to begin with. :D

Actually, the cat has been in the bag the whole time, that´s the genious of it.
The best part is that nobody knows that.

"The best trick the Devil ever pulled was to convince people it doesn´t exist."

[Conner_Kent]

nah they tried using a "mask" on him when he has those energy powers and that did'nt turn out so well, I think small changes in the suit is fine but dont do somthing like add a mask, that would just ruin him