The DARK TRUTH Behind Superman's Glasses!
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- Опубліковано 9 вер 2024
- There have long been discussions as to just how Superman hides the fact that he is Clark Kent from the world and his friends. Just how can Lois Lane, Lana Lang, Jimmy Olsen, Perry White and more not glean that he is the Man Of Steel. Well a Bronze Age comic running with a fan idea submitted by a superfan attempted to answer just that question. Can this classic DC comics story satisfy all? Why was it polarising? What does it have to do with The Spellbinder. Find out all that and more here on Casually Comics!
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We don't need an explanation for why nobody can recognize Superman as Clark Kent in a world where Tony Hawk keeps getting told he looks like Tony Hawk.
Charlie Chaplain once entered a Charlie Chaplain lookalike contest and came third.
@@ianfinrir8724 The same thing happened to Dolly Parton
@@Scalesthelizardwizard. Sounds wild!
the reason superman's disguise works is because nobody thinks he has a disguise! Unlike other heroes superman doesn't have a mask and is very open about his kryptonian origin. Also who would ever believe the god like superman would pretend to be a mild mannered reporter. Most people probably just think clark is a dude who kinda looks like superman.
EXACTLY!
Watch the original Superman movie, there is a scene where he shows how different he can appear as Clark Kent or Superman.
yeah because there are people IRL who look similar to each other
@@rotwang2000 Right after he takes Lois flying. Reeve was the one who made me believe in the glasses as a disguise.
@@bigshow771 Christopher Reeve was such an amazing actor that playing Superman was almost a shame for him in that he definitely got less roles because of it. I'm pretty sure nobody else is gonna nail the two personas like he did.
"Lex will take 20. Nah! Forty!"
And that's terrible.
it's as many as four tens!
I kinda liked the Lois and Clark line. "With trunks that tight, no one's looking at your face."
And it was his MOM who said it!! LOL!
Yes! I loved that scene.
Some how even though ive seen every episode twice I forgot that line how could I forget it 😂 even though it was said by his mom I could so see Lois saying something very similar after finding out superman is Clark in order to explain why she never figured it out 😂
I've always preferred the idea that he doesn't NEED to try hard to look different simply because no one thinks super even HAS another identity. They know he's Kal-El from krypton and that he seems to live in his legendary fortress of solitude. I remember there's a panel where he reveals his identity to the jla and Kyle Rayner is just stunned. "He doesn't wear a mask... I didn't think he HAD a secret identity". Lex once fired someone for suggesting superman might be Clark Kent. Because lex can't imagine superman ever choosing to be perceived as weaker. There's another panel where Clark says that he takes his glasses off all the time. I mean he's gotta clean them, right? And people point out his resemblance to superman. But of course, he CAN'T be superman because he's not Kal-El. The whole thing just amuses Clark, he's just as shocked that this works
Of course, the Christopher reeve argument also helps. Clark and "Kal" ARE very different so even Clark might sorta resemble Kal, it's not enough for people to imagine it's possible. Because in their minds, it's just not
It also definitely helps that Clark/Kal/Superman are all super generic looking white dudes.
Seriously, I spent about 25 years as a generic white dude with glasses: people would routinely tell me I looked like people who bore *no* resemblance to me other than glasses and similar length hair, and I got comments all the time like "hey did I see you at [some place I've never been] at [some time when I was def at home]?!" It felt like a superpower.
Yeah. I mean, if you see someone who looks a lot like Superman, what are you going to do other than say “hey, you look a lot like Superman. That’s kind of cool.”
Different posture, different persona, glasses… those things go a lot further than most people I think realize
Took the words right out of my mouth
@@willowbarrelmaker8269 even just the clothing change... go from skintight outfit to a looser fitting outfit.
If you are only used to seeing someone in skintight outfits (cyclists, athletes, ballet dancers) would you recognise them as easily in a suit without being told?
This is my favorite explanation.
I read a story that, while filming Dawn of Justice, Henry Cavill walked around New York in his Clark Kent glasses and no one recognised him
He wasn't even wearing glasses . He was wearing a superman shirt in Times Square in front of a Giant Superman vs Batman Dawn of Justice billboard 😂😂😂😂
There is video of it
If you had a buddy that looked just like a celebrity, you would joke with them about how they look like that person. But you would never believe that they are the same person...
THAT is how he tricks you. 😏
I think Christopher Reeve showed beautifully how the disguise works in the first movie. There is a scene when he wants to come out with Lois, to then suddenly change his mind. He starts slouching loosing a couple inches in height that way, his tone shifts to a slightly higher timbre. It actually works rather well.
Had a girlfriend in the 90s who'd never seen the movie before. Until that scene, she was adamant that different actors were playing the roles lol.
100% it works only if Clark Kent is so THE LEAST PERSON you'd ever suspect was really the Man of Steel which is why Christopher Reeve was the PERFECT Superman/Clark. Dean Cain and Henry Cavill look AMAZING in the hero costume but as Clark, they're still dreamy and hunky. They'd never be able to pull off the alias.
I've heard of this explanation, and boy was it more convoluted than I thought. Never cared for the "hypnosis" angle, because the idea of Clark acting completely different than his Superman self was enough for me, and many. As time went by, i've seen people pull off the Clark Kent effect, and you know what, it works, as long as you sell the role, people will buy it.
Bendis taking away his identity, and it hasn't reverted back... is... ugh.
(Huh, so have the fashion sense of the 6th Doctor now that you mention it lol)
Bendis sucks
Everything Bendis Did needs to by retcon away from the identity m, to what happened to krypton to poor Johnathan Kent's de-aging.
@@WannabeWryter I couldn't agree more
Why would they give it back at this stage? Superman's a representative of Earth among the United Planets, he's locked inside of Mongul's home with the authority, he's already going to be busy with a ton of shit They'll give it back to him later, but for now it's the most interesting the Superman books have been in a long time.
Fact- I can never mock Clark's glasses as I once talked to my manager at work on the bus without realising because he had his glasses off (which is even more embarrassing because I've worn glasses for as long as I can remember!)
I experienced this first hand when I first started wearing glasses in 6th grade. First time I looked at myself in the mirror, I did a double take cause I couldn't believe it was actually me.
Honestly, the amount of times i have walked by people i knew without realizing due to me not expecting them being in a public area is startling.
I've had relatives not recognize me after I started wearing contacts.
As I've seen pointed out elsewhere, at least one major flaw in the hypnosis explanation is that Superman would sometimes use robot copies (or occasionally a disguised Bruce Wayne) to double for him as Clark Kent and they always looked exactly like Supes with a suit and glasses... not the anemic looking figure this story wants us to believe that other people see.
Lillie: “I want to see something…”
*Lillie wear her red glass, change her outfit, hair and bit more of schoolgirl*
Lois Lane: “Who are you? You must be new around here because I never saw you.”
Lillie: “My name is Lillie and just a girl who from out of town.”
*Lillie unknowingly has the power hypnosis with her abilities of acting make people think she normally from this universe.*
Questioning suspension of disbelief like "oh reader, you silly rabbit, you really bought this bs? Hahaha who are you, Jimmy?"
Lillie: “Nobody will recognize me as magical girl, especially with these glasses!!!!”
I feel like this is a reference to pokemon that I don't get but I want to
@@iananderson4754 Sun and Moon episode number 113
It’s good filler episode!!!!
@@thisisasupersayin376 Thank you so much
@@thisisasupersayin376 As you can see I’m really committed to the act. If you any look or recommendations for me I really appreciate it alot.
I liked the John Byrne explanation that Superman changes his tone of voice, how he stands, and other factors to appear as either Clark or Superman.
The best explanation I saw was in the "All-Star Superman" comic. With Clark wearing baggy cloth that made him look heavier. Always hunched over with hair all messy, covering his face. Talking with timid voice clumsily. It was perfect and shows it's more than just the glasses.
I think youre giving to much credict to All-Star. With how he tries to tell Lois hes Clark and she dosent believe him, and that scene where he takes the Clark suit off in front of everyone and yet they all think its just Superman disguised as Clark, thats just ridicoulus. And i think it was consuously ridicoulus, like a self-aware play about how things worked in the Silver Age (when they werent being suspucious of him all the time).
Yea but in a normal world people would just say hey Super man why are you wearing those glasses and acting like that
Y'see, kids, the reference to the cake-stealing Lex Luthor reminds us that yes, there was a time when all Metropolisians would gladly come together as a community to be hypnotized by Superman. Ahh, the classic times.
I've found that when I talk to people about Superman and Clark, of the ones who think that Superman is the real person and Clark is the disguise, most of them aren't using anything from the comics as the basis of their belief - they're using Bill's Superman speech in Kill Bill Volume 2.
Which let's be honest, given the contents of Bill's speech, it may as well have been delivered by Lex Luthor himself. Because given the type of person Bill is, it isn't too much of a stretch to say that he and Lex's values are based on very similar personal philosophies/worldviews.
I never rell like that space of him and so many now see sups like that were it far from the truth.
@@gergernzero6904 Quite a few typos but I think I understood what you meant.
@@jhornacek sorry was in a hurry. manly said i do not like that who speech that he gave. It was so wrong yet so many pepole use that and see that as what superman is.
Bear in mind that in Pre-Crisis continuity (like this comic), Clark was the disguise and Superman was the real person. Byrne codified Clark as the real identity Post-Crisis.
I always thought that people wouldn't think that Superman has a secret identity because he doesn't hide his face. He is an alien so people would think he is saving other people, not working a 9 to 5.
So that’s how Lois always thought Superman was going to marry her. He hypnotized her to be hopelessly in love.
When you live in a multimillion population city, you're bound to find a lot of people who look like people you know. You especially notice this when you came from a small town. The larger the city, the greater the chance to see someone who looks like somebody else.
My mother told me that she stopped trying to ask people if they were related to somebody she knew when she ran into someone that looked a lot like her older sister waving for her attention as she approached. But lo and behold it was my aunt who wanted to do a surprise visit.
16:37 Zatanna and 5 other justice leaguers are really sweating right now
Definitely love Christopher Reeves take on this. Slight hunched and clumsy / awkward. The only real suspension of believe is they share the exact same face / voice / build.
"You're much to heavily built, and Muuuuch to Handsome to be Clark"
Officer...I would like to report a Murder of one Clark Kent/Superman...
And everyone thought it'd be Lexx to do him in.
Lana destroyed Clark without laying a finger on him.
I know that this must be strange, but I had friends that knew me for years and they discovered what color where my eyes only five/six years after we first met and only cause I casually mentioned because we were talking about eye colors, and they though I was making it up until I took off my glasses and showed them to... them...
Would have been much more credible in the past since glasses were much more thicker than now, honestly, not gonna lie, but wearing glasses, fedora and avoiding eye contact can really mask you, specially if no one is particularly attracted to you and you try your best to fly low.
*Edit
Without mentioning the fact that if people usually see you with glasses, they'll be momentarily confused on how different you look without them, cause they alter the shape and size of your eyes and bone structure.
In the early sixties there was a story where Supes was facing a foe possessing lots of kryptonite and before the confrontation Kal stood before the mirror in his super-hypnosis mode and said, over and over, "you will not feel the pain of kryptonite" hence he saved the day without being destroyed. That image has stayed with me for six decades and sometimes, when faced with overwhelming odds, I say "you will not feel the pain of kryptonite" over and over. Super-hypnosis is real.
I read this when it came out way back then and I was fine with the glasses being an explanation for the fact that people didn't see right through it. I was grateful for finally having a plausible explanation. But today you reminded me that it was something he was doing all the time, it was a subconscious act and paraphrasing you, "I wonder what else he's subconsciously making people do". In my innocent youth and different times, an all good, super powerful being doing that was a benign act. Now in my cynical old age and your ominous tone I see it in an entirely different perspective.
In a superman from the 2000s or 2010s, I can't remember, he's in his early years just moved to a tiny apartment in Metropolis and he pays for private acting lessons to help separate his personal. So he really takes on this character of mild mannered Clark Kent. I like the idea that he's low key as good as a Ed Norton who just is so much the character that you can't see the actor anymore.
I remember coming across a theory on 'net once I've always favored. Sorta of an expansion on the Superman movie idea. It went like, the reason that people ( like the 3 Ls ) don't realize is Clark is Superman is due to a rose-colored glass thing; that someone so powerful would want to be a "mere mortal" as if they had that power . . .
Now I’m kinda interested in the history of Spellbinder. I thought that his powers where a lot more simple
This made me realize Spellbinder from Batman Beyond was a legacy character and not a new one.
In New Frontier, there's a bit where the Flash reveals his secret identity to Iris, and she said she already knew, because she's a reporter, after all.
And my first response was, "Are they intentionally throwing shade at Lois Lane? 'Cuz DAMN."
That's too savage *not* to have been intentional shade thrown at Lois!
When this issue came out, I thought the "sketch artist's conception" of what Clark looked like was meant to resemble Olan Soulé, the skinny, balding, bespectacled actor who ironically had voiced Batman in the various Super Friends series.
I can't believe we are still having this discussion (in fandom, I mean. Not here on the channel). The video already references the most compelling arguments that should put it to rest. We see Clark LITERALLY show his transformation in the first Superman movie is such a compelling and convening way, it's clear that it's not "just the glasses." Further, we do live in a world with the Zooey Deschanel meme (as noted in the video," not to mention Natalie Portman and Keira Knightley acting as target an decoy in a film (Star Wars - The Phantom Menace). There are PLENTY of people who resemble each other - famous people - and nobody actually thinks they are ACTUALLY the same person. The idea that this is still a fandom debate is ridiculous.
They did too much leaning into explaining the secret identity stuff in this issue. The hypnotic stuff was disturbing and revealed some of Supes original character design of being an evil overlord instead of the boyscout we've come to know.
I enjoyed the version of Spellbinder in Batman Beyond and the thieving monk version in that episode of the Batman.
I remember when his powers included "super hypnosis". At one point he was also super intelligent, on a level with Brainiac.
I'm old enough that I bought this issue when it came out, and my feelings about it have always been mixed. On the one hand, it seemed to provide a plausible explanation for the disguise (to my childish way of thinking), but on the other, it overcomplicated things and raised more and more awkward questions the more I thought about it. And, yeah, Christopher Reeve did a fantastic job of making all the discussions about why the disguise works moot. The only problem with Reeve's Clark Kent (which is actually also a problem with the super-hypnosis version) is that it makes 'Clark Kent' an artificial construct. Kal-El is always acting when he's Clark - acting timid, acting clumsy, pretending to be naive. So he's never really himself unless he's in uniform, which means he can never really relax unless he's with other heroes who know him well. That problem was fixed in the John Byrne reboot, which very much made Clark the real person and Superman the construct. But then, that also reintroduced the basic problem that glasses alone aren't much of a disguise ... In the end, I guess I'd rather just suspend my disbelief about the effectiveness of Clark's disguise than accept that Superman is constantly hypnotizing everyone.
Well, I own a Superboy comic from this same decade where Superboy tells Pa Kent to call him "Kal" instead of Clark. Clark being the disguise was the conventional wisdom in canon during the 70s
Well in Superman American Alien they gave a way more down to earth and more believable reason, simply put, no one is aware Superman even has another identity, dude doesn’t wear a mask, he’s not hiding anything. Everyone thinks he’s just superman 24/7, and Clark Kent is just some nobody that just looks like Superman.
“You wanna know what people say when I take off the glasses, they say ‘hey, you look just like Superman’, then I reply ‘thanks I get that alot’ then they just move on with their day”
@@alexmansfield3268 Max Landis is a rapey tool, but I have actually wanted to read that for a while. You definitely recommend?
@@njaum Clark is a bit bro-y, but it's good and you can 🏴☠️ it easily if you really, really don't want to support Landis.
@@realkosherpork9223 that I can 👍🏾👍🏾
I mean, how many people in Metropolis, or on the rest of the planet for that matter, would even think superman bothers with a secret identity. I mean, with a masked super, the mask invites the question, but not Superman. Besides plus, having a civilian identity in a big city would be willingly suffering through traffic/public transport when it is in ones power to be a blur in the sky.
Beyond that, say you start work at an office job with a guy who looks exactly like a celebrity, but with different mannerisms, standard office apparel, and no sign of excitement around them. Even before introductions, you are more likely to take it as a coincidence, or possibly that your new coworker has intentionally styled themselves to capitalize on a natural resemblance. After all, why on earth would that celebrity be working an office job.
And that would be if Clark wasn't making any attempt to differentiate his two identities. Mind you, the effort he puts into the secrecy is definitely necessary to deal with being a more prominent figure as Clark, as well as all of Clark's disappearances.
I remember an episode in season 1 of the Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman show where Lex learned that Superman had a secret identity, and he was legitimately surprised by this. Before this, he, like everyone else in Metropolis, assumed Superman had just recently arrived to Earth and he was Superman 24/7.
@@jhornacek I mean, why wouldn't they? He's revealed his kryptonian name (kal-el), his parents names (jor-el and lara lor-van), where he comes from (krypton), and even where he lives (the fortress of solitude). The guy is basically a celebrity, not to mention all the tv appearances and other helpful stuff he does. So to think he had a secret identity would be crazy. Its like if batman revealed he was bruce wayne, and people still thought he had a secret identity.
@@ProjektTaku For the public they would naturally assume he was Superman 24/7 and had just arrived. But if you lived in Metropolis and really looked into it you'd realize that for most of the day Superman is not active or seen anywhere, so you would start to wonder "What is he doing for most of the day? Shouldn't there be reports of him doing Superman-stuff all day every day?"
As Lex realizes in that L&C episode I mentioned, he is surprised when he says "He walks among us!"
@@jhornacek I mean, do you wonder where a police officer goes for a day? The guy could need a break every once in a while.
@@ProjektTaku But the public *knows* that a police officer has a "secret identity" i.e. they take off their uniform when they're not a duty and have a non-police officer life.
As far as the public knows, Superman just came to Earth and is fighting crime. They would not naturally think that he would disguise himself and live among us.
I actually used to have this comic...I pretty much ignored it from the get go...modern readers have no concept of how judgmental random people were back in the 30’s...wearing glasses used to have a huge negative effect on a person’s social status...the idea that the most powerful man in the world would wear glasses (in public, before he got old) was considered ludicrous...
I remember reading the 'special lens from his spaceship' stories when I was younger - it was a subject of much debate how Lois never figured out Clark was Superman (unless you read Mad Magazine). Personally I love the way Christopher Reeves played the distinction between the two- mannerisms count for a lot.
I feel like this story was told backwards. It would have made more sense if the childhood hypnotism came up first, then he used what he remembered to be better than another hypnotist. Then, in the end we discover how people see Clark and Superman slightly different. .
My earliest memory as a kid with the glasses obscuring Clark’s identity with people that know both Clark & Superman was so unbelievable. I always felt that it needed a proper explanation.
Lana: "You're too heavily built!"
Clark: "My eyes are up here, Lana."
BTW: the only flaw in this video is that you showed your own gaudy jacket just laid out on a table instead of letting us see you *wearing* it!
Wait, he was an anchor? So I guess nothing generally goes wrong during the evening news hour?
That's what Superman Robots are for...
Yeah, plus back in that era he was splitting time between the Daily Planet and WGBS. He'd have to squeeze superheroics between commercial breaks.
The comments about both Lois and Lana being investigative reporters had me rolling. I used to think about how Commissioner Gordon, as a detective, must also know Bruce is Batman. I also always thought Aunt May really knew Peter was Spider-Man.
I think Gordon knowing Bruce is Batman is prety much canon nowadays. In the Joker current series he reveals he had known Barbara is Batgirl for a long time, and i think there this implication he knows Bruces secret too.
I am living for the fade to purple hair Sasha! It’s amazing! I’m totally not being hypnotized by Sasha’s glasses to say this!
It might be worth mentioning that Clark Oppenheimer, the Superman expy in the original run of The Tick, used hypnotic glasses to maintain his split identity.
I am so glad that you covered this one. I had this comic back in the day and always bring this up when the Superman/Clark conversation comes up and NOBODY believed me that this explanation existed. Heck, I even started to doubt its existence myself. I'm so glad I actually remembered something from childhood.
The best way for Clark's disguise to work is to simply NOT tell everyone he has a secret identity! There are lots of unrelated people on the planet that look alike, so that he can proudly tell his friends, "yeah, I could look like Superman if it weren't for my stigmatism!"
Also, in another issue, someone guessed that Clark was Superman because this man was an optometrist. While visiting the Daily Planet, he came across Clark's glasses and saw they were just window glass. So Clark goes to get real glasses with real prescription lenses at the conclusion. (So much for smashing them super flat and carrying them in his cape pocket!)
Remember they have done a few comics and shows that shows that Bruce and Clark looks similar enough that they can help each other to hide their identity. And I find It a little funny
Clark: I take my glasses off all the time. You know what people say? "Wow, you know you look a lot like Superman?"
This is where trying to make a lore explanation just gets very convoluted.
As a person who wears glasses, I can say being seen without glasses from people who have never seen you without glasses when you always wear glasses will throw people off. They may even look past you because they so associate you with those glasses. I am not talking about people who wear glasses casually for like specific situations, but people who are rarely to NEVER seen without them. If you are also intentionally presenting yourself differently, people won't see what they don't want to see.
I always wagered most people were so dazzled by Superman as Superman that equating him with any mortal man (or perceived mortal man) just does not occur to them right away. There are so many things in life where we don't fully recall all the details because those details weren't important to us. If someone actively has the idea to prove Superman and Clark are one in the same, it's not hard to prove. But there is no reason for most people to pursue that thought.
Characters like Lana, Jimmy, and Lois are the exception because they are his friends and/or love interest. But as they know Clark as this dude from small town Kansas trying to make his way in the big city, I still feel like their brain pretty much talks themselves out of the idea that he could be a Superpowered God and Clark has to do very little to carry forward that idea. I even feel like he could take his glasses off on occasion (not for long stretches, but like to clean the lens or something) and people would still see Clark Kent when he is not dressed as Superman.
“mmmm that’s good plexiglass”, is the deep cut easter egg joke I never knew I really needed. Thank you.
One comment you made kind of stuck out. When you chided Superman for referring to Clark as the one who was the disguise. This really was the case before crisis. In the Silver Age, he was more Superman as a personal identity, Kal-el the Kryptonian, raised on earth. He might use the name "Clark" when thinking of himself, but everything about the Clark Kent identity was an act. When John Byrne re-created the character in Man of Steel, post-Crisis, he intentionally flipped that. He wanted to make the character more relatable and human. Superman was the invention, and he remained Clark Kent at his core. This is also why his parents survived into his adulthood and why the Superboy years were removed. His powers developed later as well, to cement his identification with us mere mortals. There were interviews with Byrne at the time where he discusses this openly, and I'm sure your quote-sleuthing abilities can find those! In fact, reviewing the Man of Steel Miniseries and what choices were made to produce which differences might be an interesting video in itself!
My recollection of the Byrne era was that he wanted to invoke more of the George Reeves portrayal of Kent, completely opposite of the cowering awkward simp.
@@Raja1938 True. Also, Jerry Ordway never gets enough credit in the reinvention. IIRC, Byrne originally wanted to keep Lex Luthor a super-scientist, and Ordway convinced him to go with the corporate tycoon. That might be another good episode. Lex's first Post Crisis appearance (in Swamp Thing of all places), was very much in keeping with the scientist. A cabal of bad guys basically paid him a consultancy fee of something like $1 million for five minutes of his time. Corporate Lex wouldn't have bothered.
damn, Lana didn't need to crush Clark's self esteem like that
The dark origins of my glasses is that I needed them earlier
Jeeze, I'd almost prefer that they DID reveal that Lois, Lana and Jimmy had of course long ago figured out that Clark was Superman, but humored and covered for him to make sure that no-one else did. This is indeed WAY too convoluted. And yeah, if Clark is subconsciously hypnotizeing everyone to do what he wants, does this explain why Lana and Lois are so crazy in love with him that they compete with each other to win him?! Or why when Clark gets annoyed with Lois and wants her to go away that she'll fall head over heels for the next guy she meets and want to marry him!? Yeah, SUPER creepy!
That... Actually explains a lot...
I remember an episode of the johnny Carson show when Christopher Reeve took off his glasses and shows how he would change his appearance.
My own head canon is that the glasses contain Kryptonian tech that changes his outward appearance as Kent, sort of like what Schwarzenegger used in Total Recall. The real reason the disguise as persisted however is that it's a great storytelling devise. Rather than having Kent look completely different from Superman, we as the audience get to see him looking the same in both roles while enjoying how differently he acts and how differently people react to him.
I was happily intrigued by Clark's hypno-glasses idea when it first came out; then, I kept it in mind during the dramatic scene in Superman II, when I said, "I get it".
When I was a kid in the 90’s, the Superman editors floated the idea that Clark would subtly “vibrate” the muscles of his face when he was working as Superman so no one could get a really good look or create any decent quality photos. It was pretty convoluted and half hearted. I only remember it being mentioned a couple times.
It does work better than this ridiculous “hypnotic glasses” thing.
That was started in the Man of Steel 6 part miniseries in 1986 by John Byrne,
That idea was rolled over to flash cause it makes more sense
Back in the '30s Superman had the power to alter his facial features so he could go undercover and infiltrate gangs and such. They took that power away from him pretty early on.
@@dadoctah I remember reading about that and thinking it was an insane power but I recently watched some of Jim Carrey's old stand up/impressions and he does this in real time in real life and it completely changed my mind on the whole thing. Someone could absolutely look completely different by changing how they hold the muscles in their face.
If you want to see it for yourself and be amazed I think it's something like 'Jim Carrey celebrity impression faces' jack Nicholson is a good one
I saw that happen inequivocally only once: Superman #2 (the 1986 series by John Byrne). The same issue that had Lex Luthor find out and then doubt his secret identity.
I found that very hard to take at all seriously, though. For one thing, the very action of vibrating his face would all but assure anyone watching that he had a secret identity to hide. For another, Superman is precisely the kind of character that is rendered unconscious all the time. Byrne himself had Supes be hospitalized just two issues later.
It was a bit lazy of Byrne, really. Were we to expect that Superman would keep vibrating his face muscles while fighting for his life and the protection of innocents against such powerful opponents as Darkseid, Bizarro and Metallo? Every single time? While very often being filmed live by the Daily Planet crew and others (including Luthor drones in that same issue #2)?
He might as well attach a poster to his cape asking people not to pay attention to his face, for all the good it would do to his secret identity.
Wasn't there an experiment where a very famous actor put some glasses on and then stood in front of a giant screen displaying his face, and nobody in the street recognised him???? Why wouldn't Clark be able to do the same???
yeah, Henry Cavill himself
I'm old enough to have bought this issue when it was new. At the time I thought it was a clever story, with a decent explanation for those who felt one was necessary. It was rarely if ever mentioned after that, so it really was a personal choice whether even to think about it. I never considered the ramifications of hypnotizing the world. I just felt it was more like him doing it subconsciously for so long that it was more like a "super-disguise power." Thanks for the walk down memory lane, Sasha. Love your channel.
Kind of agree with that
For me, it’s just a suspend your disbelief thing. I do like Clark’s changing of posture and acting a bit more clumsy thing. But I also don’t subscribe to the “Superman is the real Kal” thing or vice versa. Nor do I like “Clark Kent is Superman’s critique of humans” thing from Kill Bill. In my opinion if people can believe a little domino mask for certain heroes they can totally believe this, a lot just don’t want to cause it’s kinda fashionable to hate on Superman for whatever reason. In my experiences with these arguments at least. I’m sure there is nuance somewhere. I just haven’t found it.
I dont think that anyone that likes Superman would like the Kill Bill argument. It just has nothing to do with the character. And what you mention of "Superman is Kal" is what sorta puts me off Silver Age stories. Its a constant in those that Superman, Kal-El, is the real him oposing to the Clark Kent mask. And that, more often that not, make him feel too alien. I mean, hes an alien, but he is also Superman. He can be humane without being human. Its why i think Clark generaly has to be the real him, Superman just a skin tight suit he uses. And maybe with some suble clumsy act that dosent take away from the fact that this is who he is. It dosent quite work otherwise. Theres also the compromise of making both Clark and Superman personas of him, his real self being a midle ground between the two. But i feel that might be unnecesary complicated.
@@pedrovallefin8406 same here with the silver age stories. As for who is the “real kal,” I don’t so much think it is a middle ground between Clark & Superman, I just think both are him and he’s just showing different aspects of himself. Like how we become different people when we’re at work or with friends or at home. That sorta thing. That’s how I think of it at least. That’s how I enjoy it most ☺️
@@FiggityJones Yeah, i guess that makes the most sense. When talking about superhéroes one tends to think about "who's behind the mask" since identity issues always come up. In a way Superman is a prime example of this with his secret identity being so diferent from his hero identity. But with how the character evolved though time, it kinda works better if he's the excetion to the rule. After all he's one the few who dosent wear a mask, so maybe that's as metaforical as is literal.
Your point about the domino mask reminded me of the very first Spirit strip I read. The Spirit is in a bar crooks hang out at, trying to gather information wearing his normal blue suit but wearing sunglasses. No one recognizes him until he takes off his sunglasses and his domino mask is under it. Every crook in the bar yells out, once they see this, "It's The Spirit!". Found it both hilarious and wonderful when I read that as a kid.
I think the Reeve movie was a good point. There was a similar point made in a Supergirl comic. I don’t know the issue, but it from the comics adapted in Superman/Batman: Apocalypse. It was using the celebrity reason. No one would expect Superman having a normal life. Supergirl mentions it to Clark while looking at the Superman statue.
They only said that in those comics to get ahead of readers thinking about how dumb Clark’s disguise is. If you think about it a lot of D.C.’s heroes have equally as inadequate disguises. Green Lantern and Robin only wear masks that barely cover their eyes. They might as well wear no masks at all.
I feel like the realization the he has always been hypnotizing everyone around him without realizing it wouldn’t just be something Superman shrugs of casually.
My question tho: How is he fooling the visually impaired?
I'd previously seen the older stuff about him hypnotizing people, and yeah, that's messed up.
First and foremost, yes, Superman, or rather Clark, needs his duel identity. I'm in the camp that Clark should be the true persona and Superman is just what he can do - basically Superman is the disguise. The thing I think that makes the most amount of sense to me as the core nature of Clark as a character and how anyone with that level of power could have any hope of being as altruistic and honest and pure of heart and all that shit, is if Clark is effectively the so-called "everyman" who grew up living a pretty average life, only discover as he came of age that he had extraordinary powers. He had the benefit of growing up with parents who loved him and instilled in him values that would guide how he would use those powers, but at the end of the day he doesn't want to be Superman 24-7. He wants to help, but he also wants the simple life.
As for the disguise, I've known plenty of people who, with subtle changes to their hair and the way things like glasses redefine how you picture the shape of their face; his disguise is not all that implausible.
I don't think it's just thing though, like the glasses, but the cumulative effect of many different things, combined with the lower number of people who see Clark Kent regularly, versus people who've seen Superman, either in person or in pictures; and further compounded by the biases of our perceptions of people. We tend to exaggerate certain traits, and most people can't typically give an accurate description of someone; especially if they're complete strangers. No doubt people would be more prone to overlooking any flaws in Superman or pump up their concept of what he looks like to the extreme; and conversely downplaying how they perceive Clark Kent.
And honestly, I say it probably wouldn't hurt if Clark invested in a fat suit. And I say this as a heavy man myself, who would love nothing more than to do a grand reveal that the gut is nothing more than padding and I've secretly had a six pack all along.
I've read a few Doctor Who works of fiction like this. That attempt to explain away continuity things. And some of them get so convoluted I finish them and think 'I really could have gotten on ok without knowing that.' This reminds me of those.
Simple truth though is that people sometimes don't notice the obvious right under their nose. I started my current job in December 1987. I was interviewed for it by one lady manager. It wasn't till a casual conversation with a colleague in January 1994 that they pointed out to me this person only had one arm. I had just never noticed. I can be forgiven for doing that because she was fairly harm-less [badda boom tish!] but I rest my case.
My theory: Different Colognes!!!! Clark wears Old Spice and Superman wears Axe.
Great video! I prefer Clark/Kal-El to have a secret identity and think that Christopher Reeve successfully demonstrated that it could work. I also concur with writer/artist John Byrne who, while also recognizing the success of Reeve’s performance, proposed that the general public would never even assume Superman would have a disguise, since he was an alien and did not wear a mask.
During John Byrne's run it was suggested that if Superman was physically close to someone he would vibrate himself at superspeed thus causing people to see a very blurry image. I much prefer that idea to hypnoglasses which I find sillier than the idea he just looks different with glasses. By the way, YOU look very different is a shorter-haired wig.
Problem with that is even in the 90s there was surveillance cameras, telephoto lenses. Superman would always have to be vibrating his face and people would wonder why.
@@Raja1938 Probably why the concept completely diseapared after Byrne was gone.
I love the idea that Clark starts to panic at the thought that Lana and Lois have just been playing along with his disguise the whole time to humor him😂 that’s actually so relatable and hilarious.
Haven't watched the video yet: One nerdy idea (which might be in the video, we'll see...) is that the glasses are actually Kryptonian technology and have holographic projectors that subtly make small changes to his face.
Tyler Hoechlin really sells me on the idea that the glasses (plus Clark's demeanor) serve as an adequate disguise, especially if you have no reason to assume that Superman spends his off-time at a day job. That makes Lois sound like she's nuts when she suspects that Superman is actually Clark.
His kids have no excuse for not recognizing him. That part was just silly. I still like the show though. The writers should have his kids know Clark’s identity the whole time.
Rodney C my favorite way I’ve seen them poke fun at using the glasses as a disguise is a episode of Lois & Clark where Tempest a villain from a Utopian future where Lois & Clark are Legendary brought back to the past by H.G.Wells, takes Wells glasses and puts them on saying Clark Kent, then removing them saying Superman & calling her the most galactic idiot of all time
there was a great sketch on SNL with the Rock whering Jimmy, Lois and Perry are just pretending to buy the secret identity thing, hilarious!
“But I also own a coat that looks like this… so you probably shouldn’t listen to me.”
Brilliant!
There was an episode of The Tick (live Fox show) where the superman character would take his glasses off and on while talking to Patrick Warburtons Tick. The tick would get confused when he put the glass on. Couldn't connect the dots.
Best line, "short time, no see".
OMG! I had this comic! I mean, it was old when I bought it in the early 90s, but I loved the story. At the time, it made sense but there were still holes in it.
Silver age Super man is NOT Clark. He is Kal-El and Clark is an identity he uses to have friends that he's sure are not there for any superness. He made up hobbies like recording commercials to show people who visit him as Clark and everything.
Correct, he truely became Clark in the Man of Steel mini series (1986) as an attempt to make him more relatable, unfortunately I think the Superman persona is now more real than his "Clark" side again, having him reveal his secret identity to the world has sort of obliterated Clark as a character (at least to me) good job DC(!)
@@tigerbread78 I liked Clark is Kal's character for ordinary friendships and honoring the Kents. Tho I do prefer Ma Kent to not die before he's Superman.
Different goats for different boats tho.
That makes Kal sound like a total sociopath
@@creed8712 He is.
His being a minor sociopath with kryptohypno glasses it is little wonder friends like Lois went crazy trying to marry every superbro.
He saw her that way.
Henry Cavill once wondered if people really wouldn't recognize Clak was Superman. He was in New York and asked people on the street for directions. While he was standing underneath a billboard with him on it as Superman. Nobody recognized him. When you see people out of context, you tend not to recognize them.
another example of the glasses really being a good explanation: Henry Cavill apparently went for a walk around Times Square, with posters and such of him as Superman everywhere, with only a pair of glasses as a disguise. NOBODY recognized him.
"Next thing you'll tell me that all those the Sashas are really the same person, despite the different topic-appropriate hair!"
"Lex will take 20!.. No.. 40!"
I see what you did there!
I always thought it was a combination body language and expectations; I can see the problem if Clark goes around proudly declaring left and right "THIS IS A JOB FOR CLARK KENT!" but I think he uses alpha posturing for Superman, beta for Clark Kent and then the people around Clark do the rest of the work.
Sasha, you said it yourself, suspension of disbelief. Clark is a soft spoken mild mannered reporter, the only thing he has in common with Superman is height and hair color and those are hardly uncommon.
OR they all know he's Superman and they're all too embarrassed to point out his "disguise" didn't fool anyone. That works too. Wow... he thought of that possibility himself, that's equal parts sad and funny.
Also, because Superman doesn't wear a mask, most people just assume that he's always Superman. They're not even looking for a secret identity so it never crosses their minds.
That cover has some big "THINK MARK, THINK" vibes going on
I've really enjoyed your episodes where you dive into the wacky weirdness of Silver or Bronze Age comics. I would love to see your take on old Legion of Super-Heroes stuff. They had that stuff in abundance. As far as Clark and the glasses, I always lumped "Clark has a convincing disguise" along with flight, invulnerability, super-ventriloquism, etc. In some cases things get worse rather than better if you try to hard to explain them. Just allow people to suspend disbelief and don't worry about the handful of joyless continuity nerds who insist on dissecting every little aspect of everything.
It's really not that far-fetched to mistake someone in this manner. The changing of demeaner like in the Christopher Reeve movies, combined with just how different people can look with a different hair style/glasses/outfit; like Zooey Deschanel. But also remember when Henry Cavill was stood in the middle of New York, next to a Man of Steel poster, wearing a Superman T-shirt.... and nobody noticed.
However, it relies on people not paying attention to your face much - so being a news anchor on TV would be a bad idea. People who pay really close attention to you (such as close friends / lovers, etc) would also catch on. Lois and Lana would be the obvious ones. Maybe Jimmy too, after all he is a keen-eyed photographer. He might notice the subtleties more than most.
Anyway... with today's technology: CCTV, everywhere, spy satelites, social media, etc. Facial recognition would see right through it. And considering some of Supes enemies like Lex and General Lane - they are the type of people that would use such tools to track him down. Destroying that one satelite in Man of Steel would not have been very effective at all.
Oddly enough the same facial recognition tech also can’t recognize the same face sometimes for how much a face can just change positions each time so I don’t think Clark would have trouble if he’s lucky or does take down a satellite that’s tracking his home.
The posters that Cavill was with were the ones for Batman v Superman.
Grant Morrison/Frank Quietly showed that a change in posture and mannerisms could do a lot in All Star Superman series.
My favorite explanation was on reddit a few years back. It doesn't work so well for those close to him (but Reeves portrayal makes up for this theories short comings), but it goes like this: Most people don't see superman that close up. Often it is far away, such as he's flying through the air, and even when he saves them they are in high stress situations. Also not everyone knows what Clark looks like and when you're moments from death you aren't going to think "Hey, this super sexy buff dude who just saved my life looks an awful lot like that reported dude."
It is a nice and simple idea that doesn't require an super powers or magic of any sort. Just the idea most people don't get that close to superman to deeply examine his features.
I always thought that he was such a good actor that it’s one of those things you would have to see to believe. Like someone that’s 300 pounds running a 4.4 in a 40 yard dash. Not impossible but I would have to see it to believe it.
So, Revolver Ocelot's hypnotic misadventures are getting a full comic book? Nice
I kind of like the alternate (but scientifically dubious) explanation I heard, that as Superman his body is vibrating subtly so people don't actually see his face clearly 🤷♂️
To quote Lucy Lawless, "a wizard did it."
Weird how hypnosis is low-key the best part of superhero stuff. From vintage creativity in retro comics and Mad Mod episodes of Teen Titans.
Omg “Are they just humoring him?” 😂😂 Jimmy is all like “I know Lois, they’re just glasses, but can’t we just let him have this one thing?” 😂😂😂
"Let's all pretend we don't know who he is and laugh at him for thinking he's fooled us."
If Spider-Man had only known about Kryptonian glasses he would have saved himself a lot of trouble
I remember Spell Binder was from the Electric Company! He was Letter Man's Foe !
Nice to hear the “true love” thing . I just got dumped from a 4 year relationship.. I got used and played . Sad .. but all I can do now is hope for the best and someone better .
I think we forget as an audience we know way more than the characters and it affects our perception. A. We know Superman has a disguise. B. We know the disguise is Clark Kent and C. We able to very carefully examine both which wouldn't happen to either because Clark Kent isn't famous and Superman is usually speeding around and saving people.
I was hardcore on this “the glasses are bullshit everyone should know it’s him” until the meme about Zoey Deshanelle when she takes off her glasses and puts her hair up.
Omg Sasha, this totally reminds me of that SNL Sketch where The Rock plays a super oblivious Clark Kent who writes articles about superman that would go in and out of first person and whose bright superman suit colors standout beneath his light blue collared work shirt and Louise and Jimmy make fun of how he's clearly superman but never tell him they know lol have you seen that? It's GOLD! 🤣🤣🤣
For example Louise and Jimmy would intentionally call Clark Superman and laugh when Clark would answer and then quickly try to cover it up lol
Priceless 🤣🤣
I never thought of those colours under the white shirt! But that is a far more realistic giveaway then taking off his glasses!
Okay late to the party and this is a little convoluted itself, perhaps, but I always thought it was an exaggeration of the effect played so well by Christopher Reeves in the movies.
So since Superman can move and do things so fast, his sense of the passage of time has to be much slower; he can see what he's doing when we can't, so he's seeing in slow-mo, basically. We also know he can see tiny details in the environment, and even see things like how the muscles are working under people's skin.
Now give him, consciously or unconsciously, 'super physical acting', where he changes so many little things in so many little ways that it actually tricks our brains to not be able to connect the characters; he moves, stands, makes expressions, on a level we can't even consciously register, in a way that seems literally impossible to connect to Superman, when he's Clark.
He could even shift the muscles under his face in a way that would change his facial profile, not dramatically, but enough to increase the effect.
I can even see how this would develop unconsciously, with him having to learn to 'act normal' as a child, and just reflexively exaggerating what he saw as human frailty as a model.
This is actually the first time I've written this out, it's just what I assumed was going on given what I knew of his powers.
Well that, and the fact that people do see what they want to/believe more than they see the world around them, way more than we normally even realize. So add in the social dynamics making us 'want' to see a different person, and there you have it...? Maybe?