secret identities
Concealed true selves
Secret identities are alternate personas that conceal someone's true identity, especially in superhero fiction where a costumed hero maintains an ordinary civilian life: Clark Kent is Superman's secret identity.
The term extends to anyone living a double life—spies, undercover agents, or people hiding aspects of themselves from others: She maintained a secret identity as a romance novelist.
- alter egoA secondary persona
- undercover agentCovert infiltrator gathering intelligence
- deep coverProlonged covert infiltration
- aliasAdopted false name
- Bruce WayneGotham's cowled crimefighter's identity
Clark Kent · mild-mannered reporter · Peter Parker · pseudonym · witness protection · compartmentalization · shadow self · true self · double agent · pen name · anonymity · mask · code name · mole · operative · vigilantes · dissociation · role-playing
- comic book elementssuperheroes, villains, sidekicks, alter egos, speech bubbles
- comic book topicssuperheroes, villains, origin stories, superpowers, graphic novels
- thriller elementstwists, suspense, tension, anticipation, cliffhanger
- DumasThe Three Musketeers, Athos, Porthos, Aramis, swashbuckling
- pseudonymspen name, pen names, pseudonym, pseudonyms, nom de plume
- serialsserial, serials, series, periodicals, magazines
secret identitiespublic knowledge
Facts anyone can access
celebrity status · household names · public figures · legal names
secret identitiespublic figures
Prominent societal personalities
celebrities · household names · famous faces · fame · notoriety