History ComicBook / SupermanSecretIdentity

->''Maybe I had a '[[TitleDrop secret identity]],' but then when you think about it, don't we all? A part of ourselves very few people ever get to see. The part we think of as 'me.' The part that deals with the big stuff. Makes the real choices. The part everything else is a reflection of.''
->-- Clark Kent

->''Maybe I had a 'secret identity,' but then when you think about it, don't we all? A part of ourselves very few people ever get to see. The part we think of as 'me.' The part that deals with the big stuff. Makes the real choices. The part everything else is a reflection of.''

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/secret-identity-cover_7466.jpg

From that point onwards, he decides to secretly use his powers for public good, adopting a Superboy and later Superman costume. Later, as an adult, he starts collaborating with the US government agent Malloy and settles down with one of the former joke-hook-ups, Lois Chaudhari, whom he develops genuine feelings for. The story ends in Clark's elderly years, when he looks in satisfaction at his past life, in a society that has accepted the existence of superhumans (including Clark and his children) and benefited from it.

* TheGreatestStoryNeverTold: Even after TheUnmasquedWorld in the DistantFinale, Clark states that he is keeping superpowers secret, [[spoiler: along with the rest of his family]], apparently just because he likes having a quiet life.

* ClarkKenting: Averted, and as such, Clark has to take care to hide his face when in the costume.
* DaChief: Subverted with Ms. Mittelmark at ''Magazine/TheNewYorker''. She offers Clark supportive and constructive criticism on his writing, but all it takes is her saying his name when Clark comes very close to laying into one of his coworkers after another bad Superman joke, then calmly telling him she needs one of his pieces by the afternoon without even looking at him.

* SecretKeeper: Lois. It's also eventually revealed that [[EverybodyKnewAlready Malloy found out "Superman"'s real identity years ago]], but didn't tell him or anyone else.

* DaChief: Subverted with Ms. Mittelmark at ''TheNewYorker''. She offers Clark supportive and constructive criticism on his writing, but all it takes is her saying his name when Clark comes very close to laying into one of his coworkers after another bad Superman joke, then calmly telling him she needs one of his pieces by the afternoon without even looking at him.

* ShoutOut: The art shifts at the end, including one in the style of [[{{DCAU}} Bruce Timm]].
** In the first issue two students are seen talking about ''QuantumLeap''. In an amusing little meta CallForward, one states he'd like to see an episode where Sam leaps into either Al or himself when he was younger... two episodes that would in fact occur later on in the series.

* ThisIsReality: Just about throughout the whole thing. To further drive the point home, each issue opens with a page from an old ''Superman'' comic, contrasting with the "realistic" collage-like art of the main comic.

Provides examples of:

** In the first issue two students are seen talking about ''QuantumLeap''. In an amusing little meta CallForward, one states he'd like to see an episode where same leaps into either Al or himself when he was younger... two episodes that would in fact occur later on in the series.

* SecretKeeper: Lois. It's also eventually revealed that [[TheNotSecret Malloy found out "Superman"'s real identity years ago]], but didn't tell him or anyone else.

* TheyWouldCutYouUp: And actually try to. (His relationship with the government gets better eventually.)

* PaintingTheFourthWall: The narration is printed on Clark's typewriter; in the final part, he switches to a computer, and the appearance of the "bubbles" changes accordingly.

''Superman: Secret Identity'' is an 2004 {{Elseworld}} story based on the idea behind [[AscendedFanboy Superboy-Prime]] from ''CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'', but executed as a standalone non-canonical story without ties to the larger DC universe.

On an Earth much like our own, where superheroes don't exist but ''{{Superman}}'' comics do, Mr. and Mrs. Kent decide to name their newborn boy Clark, as a homage to the fictional superhero. He is frequently bullied in school (and later in his life, at work) for his non-existent powers, and people try to jokingly hook him up with girls named Lois. One day on a weekend trip, however, the teenage Clark discovers that, seemingly out of nowhere, he has acquired real superpowers that seem to match Superman's in all aspects.

* ItGotWorse: [[spoiler: Averted. You ''expect'' it to, but it never does. If anything, the opposite!]]

-->'''Molloy:''' Talk about hiding in plain sight.

->'''Molloy:''' Talk about hiding in plain sight.

* ItGotWorse: [[spoiler: Averted. You ''expect'' it too, but it never does. If anything, the opposite!]]

''Superman: Secret Identity'' is an {{Elseworld}} story based on the idea behind [[AscendedFanboy Superboy-Prime]] from ''CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'', but executed as a standalone non-canonical story without ties to the larger DC universe.