How important are masks and secret identity for the peril fantasy?

[LovetheFallenAngels]

Hi,

I've been outlining an original peril story after I had what I consider a good idea and I'm probably going to write it. I'm creating a unique super heroine and I've been using stable diffusion for character design. However, the character design doesn't include a mask. I was wondering what the general opinion on that was. How important is a mask to the peril fantasy in your opinion?

I recognize the mask can represent the preservation of the super heroines secret identity. I wasn't planning on having a secret identity for this super heroine. Again, how important is a secret identity for the peril fantasy in your opinion? I can change things at this point as I've just been outlining and I haven't actually started writing the meat of the story.

I'll give some background on the idea for the heroine. She's called Beguile and her powers involve dancing and singing to mesmerize/hypnotize anyone who can see or hear her, incapacitating them. She works with a partner called Throng who can split himself into thousands of copies. Throng stops the baddies from getting close while Beguile charms them into giving up. She's a pacifist hero and her powers allow her to peacefully resolve most conflicts. I was planning on having her be a pop star as well where she uses a milder version of her powers to hypnotize audiences into feelings of joy/euphoria.

A major part of the planned plot involves jealousy from other stronger heroes. Beguile is a media darling because of her pacifist philosophy/celebrity status but she's far from the strongest hero and she only fights human criminals. Stronger heroes/heroines fight real monsters and they despise Beguile's pacifist preaching/philosophy because they claim it would never work against monsters.

This background is why I didn't include a mask in her character design. Her pop star identity and heroine identity are the same. But I could add a mask to both and have a secret real life identity. I'm looking for input from this forum. Mask or no mask? Secret identity or no secret identity?

Thanks for your help and input in advance.

[sneakly]

I, personally, am not a huge mask fan. I think some of them can be sexy. Batgirl's cowl or a narrow robber-style mask (like Robin wears) can be great, but usually they are not particularly important to me. They are good plot devices, but if you are writing a story, the Clark Kent effect can be plenty. The best use of masks that I have seen are in the Japanese magical girl style of porn, where the heroines powers come from her mask.

[Abductorenmadrid]

If you want to do a peril fantasy about a hero(ine) then the secret identity thing is only of many perils you could choose from, it's optional, not mandatory. The peril may just be being defeated in a battle, or somehow being banished. It could be that their powers are stolen, or turned off somehow. The peril could be they are blackmailed into doing what the villain wants, or even being controlled some other way like hypnosis. Or that they have a source of their power removed or stolen... etc.

It's never been an issue for me when a story did not make a thing of uncovering the secret identity of the hero. What's important is that if you're doing a peril story the peril is as cleverly thought out as you can make it.

Just a final little thought - a mask doesn't have to necessarily mean that the wearer's identity is a secret - Tony Stark was openly Iron Man - though you could argue the helmet was more a part of his defences rather than for identity protection.

[LovetheFallenAngels]

Very good points. I'll keep that in mind. It's always hard to tell what others preferences are. Thanks for weighing in.

[bushwackerbob]

It's not something you have to have in a SHIP fantasy, but it is nice to have that aspect. For me, part of the fun of SHIP is that superheroine sliding scale, you see in the beginning at 10, that arrogant, overconfident superheroine in that all powerful superheroine stance in all her glory. The fun is seeing her sliding down that scale, seeing the heroine suffer her indignities and humiliations down to 5,4,3,2, and 1 on that scale and unmasking the heroine is one tool in that toolbox that one can use. When you take the mask off, it is as if you are to some degree taking the superheroine's identity away from the heroine. Unmasking the superheroine can be very sexy if done well, if it is done slowly and deliberately and played out for the drama.

[shevek]

It's almost always more fun to have a secret identity. There is an anxious tension, an enthusiastic anticipation, and a sexy thrill that the heroine can experience in her stimulating transformation from someone weak-looking, civilian, nerdy and mundane into a gorgeous, muscular and powerful superheroine in a tight revealing costume. The mask helps delineate the clear difference between the two, and as long as it doesn't cover too many parts of the face which convey emotional expression, it can also be a very sexy part of the outfit.

So, mask recommended when possible. If not, the civilian to heroine change could involve other aspects, like a change of face, hair color, body size, etc. or other things that would throw off anyone who tried to connect the two identities. That's always a possibility as well.

[spandex4fun]

In my honest opinion, while it's not mandatory & everyone got their own tastes, it would be good bonus to the SHIP genre. The super cocky heroine losing her secret ID by getting unmasked as the nail in the coffin in her lost/humiliation & she all out in the open like she's naked and exposed.

[Maskripper]

Short version:
I LOVE masks (surprise!) and everything around it.
But there are also completely uninteresting masks for me.. a tiny, cheap eye mask... does nearly nothing for me.
The mask has to conceal the face to a certain minimum ....so glasses (Superman) or crappy, tiny eye masks... doesn't really qualify for me.
A heroine without a secret identity, without a mask.... is far less interesting to me. (always prefer heroines without superpowers)
Of course, the costume (material, shape, components) and the action/peril are also important, alongside some backstory (in full movies/TV shows).
My favorite masks are rubber cowls.
My "holy grail" combo would be the rubber/leather Batgirl suit from "Batman and Robin" or the variant from the "Birds of Prey" TV show in combination with a fully secured Batman cowl from Batman Returns. And then put Jessica Biel or Scarlett Johansson in their early 20s in it... et voila: JACKPOT!
(alternative: the Batgirl cowl from the Arkham video games)

[Dazzle1]

Short version:
I LOVE masks (surprise!) and everything around it.
But there are also completely uninteresting masks for me.. a tiny, cheap eye mask... does nearly nothing for me.
The mask has to conceal the face to a certain minimum ....so glasses (Superman) or crappy, tiny eye masks... doesn't really qualify for me.
A heroine without a secret identity, without a mask.... is far less interesting to me. (always prefer heroines without superpowers)
Of course, the costume (material, shape, components) and the action/peril are also important, alongside some backstory (in full movies/TV shows).
My favorite masks are rubber cowls.
My "holy grail" combo would be the rubber/leather Batgirl suit from "Batman and Robin" or the variant from the "Birds of Prey" TV show in combination with a fully secured Batman cowl from Batman Returns. And then put Jessica Biel or Scarlett Johansson in their early 20s in it... et voila: JACKPOT!
(alternative: the Batgirl cowl from the Arkham video games)

A cheap mask like a cheap costume does not work for me.

But with the right character is works well: Catwoman, Batgirl

[DrDominator9]

While masks do make for an occasionally fun extra level of peril in regard to exposed identity, it's not a favorite of mine. Masks obscure the beauty of a face for me. While a mask enhances the transformation scene of a heroine/hero, giving it a sort of grand finale, it also slows the process of getting to the scene of a battle where seconds can matter. That could be a crucial plot point if a writer wanted to make it one. The guilt!
In the case you describe, I'd say go without the mask.

[LovetheFallenAngels]

Thanks again for sharing your thoughts everyone. It's really interesting and seems like a fifty fifty split based on this relatively small sample size. It's very instructional and I'm glad I asked.

I think ultimately I'm going to go maskless for this heroine just based on the context of the story I am writing. A huge part of the plot is Beguile's open relationship with the media and her pacifist philosophy. She functions in the story as a kind of moral ideal that heroes should aspire to and her identity being public works well with that sentiment. It doesn't really make sense for her to be using a secret identity so she doesn't really need a mask either.

That said, I appreciate everyone's feedback and it was very illuminating. Thanks again to everyone who weighed in. :]

[shevek]

Thanks again for sharing your thoughts everyone. It's really interesting and seems like a fifty fifty split based on this relatively small sample size. It's very instructional and I'm glad I asked.

I think ultimately I'm going to go maskless for this heroine just based on the context of the story I am writing. A huge part of the plot is Beguile's open relationship with the media and her pacifist philosophy. She functions in the story as a kind of moral ideal that heroes should aspire to and her identity being public works well with that sentiment. It doesn't really make sense for her to be using a secret identity so she doesn't really need a mask either.

That said, I appreciate everyone's feedback and it was very illuminating. Thanks again to everyone who weighed in. :]

You might also want to study up on some of the pacifist superheroes in comics, and see what their practices are.
Some of the ones I can think off, right off the bat, are:

Gateway (Australian aborigine, Marvel)
The Doctor (from the Authority, Wildstorm)
Wonder Man (Simon Williams, Marvel)
Silver Surfer (he avoids fights to some extent)
and of course the most famous is Dove, in both the male and female incarnations.

I'm sure there are others, but I just can't think of more right now.