Deducing the Secret Identity

"You probably want to know how I uncovered your secret. It was simple, really. Using information readily available to anyone, I began by narrowing down Gotham's population of 750,832 males. Those not falling inside the Batman's probable age range of 18-36 were eliminated. Medical records revealed body-type matches, tax records indicate those who possess the wealth and resources to create his technology, but the true key to the puzzle was deducing who of the remaining candidates had motive to become the Batman. [...] And once [I] put it together, the answer was obvious: Bruce Wayne, son of the late Thomas and Martha Wayne."

— D.A.V.E., The Batman

Being a superhero or supervillain is tough. With all the people you're beating up, you'll make enemies who want revenge. And even if you can defend yourself from them, chances are your friends and family cannot, making you a potential liability to their safety. Even if they're evil, assaulting people isn't necessarily the most legal thing to do, so no matter which side you're on, law enforcement will probably be after you. That's why you need a Secret Identity.

But sometimes, keeping your civilian and costumed identities apart is more challenging than it looks. Physical traits, your voice, injuries sustained, your fighting style, or how you always disappear before the super appears will make people suspicious. Maybe your costume doesn't cover your features well. If you need specialized tools, you'll have to buy them or the materials to make them, leaving a paper trail that connects your secret and super identities.

This trope is when someone pieces together enough details about a masked identity (usually a superhero, but any kind of Secret Identity situation can qualify), and someone they know, to figure out that they are the same person. If they stay quiet about it, it will make them a Secret Secret-Keeper.

This trope does not cover things like someone unmasking a superhero against their will, catching them during their Secret Identity Change Trick or Transformation Sequence, or someone using their powers (such as mind-reading or Super-Senses) on another person to learn their secret identity. A character motivated to try these things after developing a suspicion (perhaps after Spotting the Thread) might count.

Compare Photo Doodle Recognition, when someone accidentally matches a person up with an old photo.

Since this trope is often a Plot Twist, all spoilers are unmarked. You Have Been Warned!

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Examples:

Anime & Manga

• Detective Conan:
  • When Shin'ichi's parents are introduced to the story, it's shown that they both know "Conan's" true identity. Part of it is because he's a dead ringer from when Shin'ichi was a child (because Conan is Shin'ichi physically regressed into a child form), and partially because his cover story (being a relative of their next-door neighbour Professor Agasa) is easily disproved by anyone who has even a passing knowledge of Agasa's family. It doesn't help that his father Yuusaku is a Great Detective in his own right, while his mother Yukiko was a talented enough actress in her time that she sees right through his initial "I'm just a widdle kid!" act.
  • Fear of this happening is why Ai tries to stay out of the limelight as much as possible whenever the Detective Boys get caught up in a case, and why she gets so annoyed by Conan whenever he grandstands. She and her sister had been part of the Black Organisation since childhood, and it isn't impossible that some of the more veteran members would recognise her even in her current child-like form. When Conan allows news that "Shin'ichi Kudo" had solved a case to spread, she's livid because she fears that that will tip the Organisation off to the fact Shin'ichi is alive, which will in turn lead them to the conclusion that she's alive too because she's probably the only person alive who could possibly undo the effects of APTX 4869.
• Dragon Ball Z: Videl deduces the identity of the mysterious new superhero Great Saiyaman fairly easily (only needing a single chapter of the manga to do so while the anime stretches it out via filler).
  • In the manga, she was already suspicious of Son Gohan due to his unusual physical abilities (such as taking a fastball to the face without blinking and jumping several meters into the air). What clinches it is how when they first meet, she recognises Gohan's voice and he addresses her by name despite it being the first time she and Great Saiyaman have met. She also casually asks him how he managed to get out of class (she has special permission to leave and help with situations), and he just as casually replies that he lied and said he needed to go to the toilet.
  • In the anime, the sequence where she tricks him into revealing his identity is omitted, and all the other stuff simply makes her suspicious. Instead, she identifies him thanks to a Revealing Injury: a small cut on Gohan's cheek that just happens to be where Great Saiyaman was scratched during a fight with attacking dinosaurs.
• Princess Tutu: In "Cinderella", Fakir cuts the chain on Princess Tutu's pendant mid-fight, which later falls off, leaving Ahiru stuck in her duck form. Fakir finds the untransformed pendant and, realizing it must be Tutu's, keeps it, hoping to force Princess Tutu's true identity out of hiding. While he later decides it's not worth the effort of acknowledging Tutu (leaving the pendant, unwittingly, with Ahiru's duck self), when he sees human Ahiru sneaking back into the dorms after another battle, he spots the untransformed pendant on her and deduces she's Princess Tutu. Downplayed, since he doesn't figure out Ahiru was the duck until she reveals it herself in "Banquet of Darkness"; he assumes the human Ahiru found it with the duck.

Comic Books

• Over the years, some of Batman's villains have uncovered his Secret Identity as Bruce Wayne. The most common method is using the process of elimination to answer the question Where Does He Get All Those Wonderful Toys? and deducing that, since Batman uses so much expensive gadgetry (the Batsuit, Batmobile, Batarangs, etc.) and seemingly replaces them with no issues (blow up a Batmobile and he'll have another one soon), it is a given that he would NOT be some working-class guy, but rather a very wealthy citizen of Gotham, and Bruce Wayne just so happens to fit that description.
  • Bane figured out Bruce Wayne's identity by simply studying Batman and Wayne's physical mannerisms, instantly deducing that they're the same. Bane has never really cared much about his identity though, as he finds Batman to be a Worthy Opponent, and the threat of revealing his identity doesn't mesh well with his ideologies.
  • Owlman is an evil Thomas Wayne version of Batman from Earth-3. When he traveled to Earth-2, he visited the Wayne family graves and deduced that the Batman of Earth-2 is Bruce Wayne because he must be the only surviving member of the family.
  • Ra's Al Ghul deduced Batman's identity by following the money. He has too much respect for his Worthy Opponent to ever entertain the thought of revealing it.
  • Tim Drake's origin as Robin involved him, at just 9 years old, working out both Robin and Batman's identities: He noticed that Robin was performing a quadruple somersault that Dick Grayson had performed while in the circus. Thus if Robin was Dick, then by extension his adoptive father Bruce Wayne would be Batman as well.
  • At the end of Batman: Hush, it's revealed that The Riddler pieced together Batman's identity and orchestrated the whole plot with that information. He threatens to blackmail Batman once he's caught, but Batman points out that The Riddler would never, ever give away the answer to the biggest riddle in Gotham, rendering it useless.
  • Superman & Batman: Generations II has Commissioner Gordon arrive at the doorstep of Wayne Manor to ask for Bruce's help in stopping Ra's al Ghul, explaining to Bruce that he always knew Bruce was Batman.
    Commissioner Gordon: Wouldn't be much of a cop if I hadn't been able to figure that one out, would I? My oldest friend is gunned down by a robber...and nineteen years later, just about the time his son comes into his inheritance...the Batman makes his first appearance in Gotham City.
• Batman Beyond: "Tales of the Dark Knight: Dana" has Dana Tan revealing to Terry McGinnis and Bruce Wayne that she knows they're respectively the current Batman and his predecessor, having figured it out when Terry called her by name during one of his scuffles with the Joker King, observing that this explained Terry's tendency to disappear whenever Batman was present as well as get bruised and injured more often and reasoning that only Bruce Wayne would have the intelligence and money required to make Terry's suit.
• Batman: Three Jokers:
  • It's common in most versions of the Batman mythos for the Joker's identity to be a complete mystery even to Batman, and the series even references that with the Joker Venom rendering its victims impossible to identify. This series, on the other hand, shows that with Batman's detective skills and resources, he figured out the Joker's (at least the Comedian version) identity a week after their first meeting.
  • Given that her Batgirl costume doesn't hide her identity the way Bruce's or Jason's does (especially the long red hair), it comes as no surprise in the final issue that Gordon knows it's Barbara; it's his daughter, of course he would recognize her (build, voice, mannerisms, etc.).
• The Batwoman prequel comic features Bruce Wayne tailing his cousin Kate Kane for several days to determine whether or not she is Batwoman. He eventually confirms that she is after noticing that she employs the same fighting style as Batwoman.
• Defied by Doctor Doom. He has the resources and intelligence that would make identifying most superheroes fairly easy, but he's outright dismissed the notion of taking that option. Part of it is his own Awesome Ego: dedicating resources to that kind of project would suggest that such costumed adventurers are enough of a threat to him that he'd need that kind of leverage, and he just can't accept that. ^note That's not to say he wouldn't take advantage of an opportunity: when he and Iron Man were briefly trapped in the future, he took the time to go to the local library to see if Iron Man appeared in the history books, and from there learned of his secret identity of Tony Stark.
• Subverted in Hawk and Dove: In the miniseries that introduced the female Dove, Hawk is desperate to find the woman who he thinks has stolen his dead brother's secret identity. Using faulty logic he decides that his girlfriend Ren must be Dove so he grabs her and tries to scare her into turning into Dove. When the real Dove shows up to show that Ren isn't Dove, Hawk makes another incorrect guess. This convinces Dove to reveal her secret identity to keep Hawk from falsely accusing other women.
• It's a bit of a running joke in the DC universe that a lot of people have figured out that Dick Grayson is Nightwing just by looking at his ass. As the openly gay Midnighter puts it, "I'd know that ass anywhere."
• Runaways: Played for laughs in Runaways (Rainbow Rowell) when Karolina tries to play at being a superheroine without the others finding out but gets captured on videotape. Her girlfriend Nico spots her immediately because she'd "know those thighs anywhere".
• Spider-Man 2099:
  • Miguel's brother Gabriel figures out that Miguel is the new Spider-Man from his very first outing because his suit is the costume that Miguel wore to the Festival of the Dead the year before. Miguel thinks that Gabriel doesn't know, but Gabriel instead of revealing that he knows he instead plays at being a Secret Secret-Keeper and a Stealth Mentor.
  • Vulture 2099, while he doesn't identify Miguel by name (they never met before), he quickly figures out that Miguel is a corporate scientist who got his powers from a Corporate Samurai experiment gone wrong after just a few lines of dialogue.
• Spider-Man: In "Flowers for Rhino", a story featured in the Spider-Man's Tangled Web series, the Rhino underwent an experimental procedure that made him smarter. So smart, that he became completely bored with everything and couldn't relate to anyone. He figured out that Spider-Man was Peter Parker, as well as the secret identities of every other hero, but didn't do anything with the knowledge. The story ended with him going back to the people who made him smarter and having them reverse the procedure to make him dumb again.
• Superman: In some versions of the mythos, Clark Kent takes several steps specifically to minimise the chances of this happening. Some of the methods are fairly straightforward and deceptively simple, such as utilising different body language (as Superman he stands straight and tall, as Clark he slouches to look smaller than he really is) and psychology (as Superman he doesn't wear a mask so people don't have any reason to assume he even has a secret identity, compared to how people speculate that Batman must either have a hideous face or a famous one). Other methods are a bit more fantastic, like his famous glasses making his eyes look grey through the lens instead of Superman's brilliant blue, or making use of robotic decoys to appear in more than one place. That said, this isn't foolproof:
  • In one story arc, Amanda McCoy compiles all known data about Superman — observed height, build, face shape, skin tone, eye colour, etc. — and Clark Kent, including his employment history, school records, and medical history, then feeds them into a supercomputer to determine what connection exists between them. The computer correctly concludes that they're the same man. However, Lex Luthor refuses to believe that Superman would pretend to be an ordinary man and fires her.
  • The fact that he can't turn off his invincibility means he has to actively try to sell attacks aimed at "Clark Kent, mild-mannered news reporter", normally by falling when shot (and then claiming the bullet was deflected by something in his pocket) or appropriately going limp when struck.
• The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: Nancy instantly sees through Chipmunk Hunk and Koi Boi's Paper Thin Disguises and recognizes them as her classmates Tomas and Ken. When Squirrel Girl expresses shock, Nancy asks how could she possibly have fallen for the ruse when all the boys use to hide their identities are Domino Masks. Plus, when your roomie is obsessed with squirrels, and then you meet a female superhero who calls herself "Squirrel Girl"? It's easy to make the connection.

Fan Works

Crossovers

• Ben 10: Unlimited: Much like how she found out Bruce Wayne's secret, Amanda Waller was able to figure out that Ben Tennyson was the mysterious alien shapeshifter working in the Justice League. Unlike Batman, Ben isn't threatened by this; he doesn't have a notable civilian life (the most noteworthy thing he does every day is stop by a smoothie place), doesn't need to work due to some very generous gifts from Bruce Wayne, and he has no family or friends he needs to protect (the Plumbers and everyone from his old life is in another dimension, his only living relative is one of the most powerful beings in existence and the rest of his family is the flipping Justice League). The Justice League founders took it worse than he did, and force him and Kara to move into the Watchtower so CADMUS won't try to attack while they're off-guard.
• The Boys: Real Justice: The Boys managed to figure out that Bruce Wayne is Batman based on Frenchie doing some research. They try to out him when they're arrested and brought to Arkham...only to see Bruce Wayne and Batman in the same place at the same time, proving their theory wrong and making the Boys all look crazy. Good thing Martian Manhunter is such a good actor...
• Child of the Storm: In the sequel Ghosts of the Past, Lois Lane figures out that Clark Kent is Superman (or Kal El as he goes by) thanks to the resemblance and personality. And he flew into his barn to try, vainly, to hide. As is noted, at this point Clark is legitimately terrible at keeping a secret identity.
• Code Prime:
  • After Laserbeak captures an image of Lelouch holding Zero's mask, Soundwave compares samples of his voice to those of Zero, finding that they match perfectly. He then realizes that the records they have of Britannia's Royal Family mention a Lelouch vi Britannia. Megatron decides that they should keep this information to themselves so that none of the other Decepticons wind up doing anything reckless with the information. Namely Starscream.
  • Both Tohdoh and Schneizel realize who Zero is after noticing that he shares the same dramatic mannerisms and tactics as Lelouch.
• The Dark Lords of Nerima:
  • After circumstances bring the Nerima Wrecking Crew and Sailor Senshi into conflict with each other, Usagi, Rei, and Ami (Makoto and Minako haven't joined yet) decide to head to Nerima in their civilian forms to investigate their new opponents. The NWC, however, is already expecting them to show up sooner or later, so when three girls they don't know arrive asking about Ranma (which in the Ranma-verse means one of two things: they are either heretofore unknown fiancées or enemies), it immediately causes suspicion, especially since they brought the moon cat Luna, who was also present during the initial encounter. They try to pass themselves off as friends of his, but that is quickly seen through (Ranma is deathly afraid of cats), and since the crew know of only one trio of girls plus cat that might be looking for them, they conclude these must be the Sailor Senshi. This allows the Nerima crew to keep tabs on them in both forms for the rest of the story.
  • Tanizaki is implied to have done some off-screen deduction of the Sailor Senshi's identities. He's shown to be highly intelligent, meticulous in how he conducts his studies, and as the CEO of a megacorporation, has access to vast resources of information — and he has been observing the Sailor Senshi for some time. It should be no surprise, then, that he was able to identify them by name and where they live.
• In The Echo Ranger, Tommy figures out that Toshinori is secretly All Might. As he explains to him, they have the same height, hair, eyes, and facial features when adjusted for mass and musculature, and while his voice sounds different while transformed, it's still the same. He also notes that the physical transformation he undergoes pales in comparison to how Ryukyu or Godzillo transform.
• Hands Of Fate has Korra be the first one to figure out that Peter is Spider-Man Noir in this fashion, much to his surprise.
• Hunters of Justice:
  • Weiss is able to deduce Batman's identity when, during an undercover op with Raven and Nightwing, some women recognize the latter as Dick Grayson. Since it would be difficult for Bruce Wayne to not know about his adopted son's vigilantism, the only other option is that he would be in on it, ergo...
  • When RWBYJNPR decide to live on Earth, Batman makes fake IDs to help them avoid unwanted attention. This backfires when several people (specifically Lois Lane, Lex Luthor, and Amanda Waller) are able to notice that these people not only just appeared, but also around the same time a group of people matching their general descriptions very publicly fell through a boom tube.
• In A Ninja's Guide to Gotham, Kei and Hayate don't work especially hard to hide their secret identities, with the latter not even realizing that masked superheroes are a thing until Jason explains the concept to them.
  • Jason notices that "Spike" wears the same kind of kunai holster that Hayate does, and asks him about it.
  • Tim notices that "Genbu" and "Suzaku" share the same equipment loadouts, right down to the katana each of them carries. Which is an issue mainly because kunai leave distinctive wounds, indicating that one of them killed two people.
• The Secret Return of Alex Mack: Despite Alex's extensive efforts to separate "Terawatt" from her real identity, the SRI can match up first her, then "Acid Burn"/Willow. Fortunately, they're looking to recruit and support her, rather than retaliate for anything.
  Jack: Terawatt has to be female, white, age sixteen to twenty-two, about 5'7", fit and trim, athletic, a connection to the PVC plant and Danielle Atron, and educated. She has to fit a psych profile we put together: serious, conscientious, family values, responsible. She has to have had her powers for long enough that they're stable and reliable now. She had to be missing from school for at least three straight days, not that long ago. She has direct connections to chemists or biochemists or doctors with chem backgrounds, so she didn't freak out and go screaming to the hospital as soon as she started showing crazy symptoms from that GC-161, like glowing funny colors or shooting lightning out of her hands or turning into a silvery blob. Put all those together, and we get...
• The Spectacular Spider-Man: Lost in Gotham: Oracle is able to figure out that Spider-Man is Peter Parker after Spidey revealed that he'd been to the library that morning to look for quantum physics books. Oracle, aka librarian Barbara Gordon, only knew of one teenager who'd asked for books on that subject that morning: Peter.
• In Unity (Finmonster), Violet is assigned by Dicker, Ramsbottom, and Monger to try and find the members of Big Hero 9 while she's attending her classes at SFIT. She suspects Fred (her soon-to-be new boyfriend) and his friends as being the Big Hero 9 due to all of them having similar body types and heights to the hero team's members, and several of them having majors in the sorts of fields that would grant them their various pieces of equipment (robotics, chemistry, etc.). However, she has no way to confirm it until an emergency forces Fred to reveal his hero identity to her.

Danny Phantom

• Danny Phantom: Stranded: In Forgotten, Valerie reveals that she figured out that Danny is Phantom thanks to the events of the previous story in the series, Found. Specifically, she noticed the Strong Family Resemblance between him and Danielle in both his civilian and superhero guises, while Star ripped her a new one for her vendetta against Phantom. Oh, and Star accidentally called Phantom "Danny-boo" in front of her.
• In the first story of the Facing the Future Series, after Sam becomes a half-ghost, Maddie is able to recognize her in her ghost form through a combination of noting how much Danny changed when he transformed and the fact that as a mother, she'd notice her son's girlfriend.

The Loud House

• In Loud Heroes, the Loud siblings decide to become superheroes after they discover they gained superpowers following a lab accident from Lisa. They do try to keep their identities hidden by making their own aliases and team name, but a couple of other characters are able to figure out who "the L-Crew" are before they're publicly exposed from the growing chaos of superheroes and supervillains in Royal Woods (in addition to the ones who just happen to witness them changing their identities, such as Clyde and Mr. Grouse).
  • Ronnie Anne uses logic as she takes attention to the L-Crew (e.g. they showed up right after the aforementioned lab accident, the Loud siblings tended to be unusually aloof since then, the team consists of ten girls and a boy, etc). When Lincoln finds out about this, Ronnie Anne assures him that their identities are hidden with her (even helping and then joining their team later in the fic).
  • Chandler (who had just started his career as the supervillain Hydro) doesn't even need any more evidence than simply discovering Lincoln is one of the L-Crew's members during a fight between the two.
    Chandler: Hold on. If you are Firecracker, that means the rest of the L-Crew are your dumb sisters.

Marvel Cinematic Universe

• Antichrist Verse: Ten-year-old Peter Parker figures out that Matt Murdock is Daredevil via Sherlock Scan.
  Peter: You have the same build and even when you had bruises, your knuckles were still bloody and you only get bloody knuckles from fighting back. I also noticed the way you walked? How you use your cane sometimes and follow along tables and walls and stuff, and then how you hold it close to your chest and tilt your head like you're listening to something and walk without it. You never look lost. I also? in court, when the landlord was? insinuating stuff about my neighbors, you got really still at your desk and your hands went into fists and you tilted your head right at him. You looked really angry. It was familiar, the way you were holding yourself.
• In So You Want to Be an Artist, it didn't take much effort for Karen to figure out Matt was Daredevil. Her suspicions about the true causes of his injuries caused her to notice a correspondence between Daredevil sightings and Matt's absences and injuries. However, since (like most people) the idea of a blind guy being a vigilante is pretty hard to believe, she tried to think of other rational explanations... until the Hand kidnapped her. When Matt rescued the hostages and checked if she was okay, she knew it was him because she recognized the familiar shape of his jawline. Additionally, it turns out that the head injuries Matt sustains at night slipped into his daily work, with Karen having to go back in and correct his mistakes.

Miraculous Ladybug

• Every Day In My Shoes is an Alternate Universe Fic where Marinette is deaf, so Adrien starts learning sign language to better communicate with her. In addition, he frequents her balcony as Chat Noir to keep a close eye on her while she recovers from a near-death experience. When Adrien eventually tells Marinette he's Chat Noir, she wasn't as shocked as Adrien thought she'd be. She said she was able to put two and two together because of how similar Adrien and Chat's signs were due to muscle memory.
• Hero Chat:
  • Chloe managed to figure out the heroes' identities a while ago. With Ladybug, it was a matter of considering who she knows that is short, Asian, has blue eyes and pigtails, is a savant at thinking of plans and improvising on the spot, and is sweet as can be. She also notes an incident where Marinette dropped her bag and Tikki fell out, which she brushed off as a plushie. When Chloe met Pollen, she noticed the similarities with Marinette's 'plushie', and put two and two together. With Cat Noir (whom she claims was the first one she figured out), it was that fact that both he and Adrien are blonde with green eyes, dorks who love Puns and anime, 'act cool but are a disaster', and are allergic to feathers (that last one was the clincher). With the other heroes, it's simply a matter of considering the rest of Marinette's classmates and narrowing down those she'd trust the most with this sort of thing. She confides this to Alix (who helps her figure out that Viperion is Luka), and the two of them, sick and tired of the Adrinette/LadyNoir lovesquare, stage a series of events that result in all the heroes learning each other's identities.
  • Max reveals that Markhov was able to figure out their identities with a program that compares faces, body types, and voices, since A.I.s are apparently immune to the Glamour the protects their identities. However, because Max wasn't immune, he initially wrote it off as a glitch in the program, which Markhov, due to Max's efforts to 'correct' him, agreed. After everything was sorted out, Max reveals that Markhov has discovered a new emotion: Smug.
• In Lying on the Job, Ladybug confronts Chat Noir about repeatedly betraying her trust, falsely claiming that they're already dating, and generally prioritizing his desire to force her into a relationship over his responsibilities as a superhero. Chat Noir attempts to convince her that she can't confiscate his Miraculous so long as she doesn't know his Secret Identity, only for her to give him a Sherlock Scan and immediately deduce that he's none other than Adrien Agreste.
• Mother Hen: After Caline Bustier becomes the titular heroine, Orriko teaches her how to see through the Glamour that protects their identities while transformed. This helps her realize that Max is Pegasus.
• Nymph and the Corrupted Miraculous: When Marinette is turned into a champion^note In this AU, the butterfly miraculous is used by Marinette herself who uses its power to create heroes referred to as 'champions'., her friends can easily figure out it's her because A) her hairstyle remained the same; B) the champion's outfit had French and Chinese elements much like Marinette has French and Chinese heritage; C) Marinette can't walk, and the champion never used their legs the whole fight.
• Scarlet Lady: An ongoing storyline in the series is Chat Noir trying to learn the identity of Bee Miraculous holder Marigold (aka Marinette). Later, after Marinette sees Tikki be "stolen" by Chloe when the former is too sick to fight back (Chloe actually holds the Ladybug Miraculous in this AU and was simply refusing to get the sick Tikki help), she enlists Chat Noir's help in trying to deduce Scarlet Lady's identity so they can take the earrings from her (thinking that if Scar is careless enough to let her kwami get kidnapped, then she's too irresponsible to be a hero).
• Two Letters: One of the Driving Questions Marinette and Luka are faced with is figuring out the Secret Identity of the new Ladybug, as well as who her partner is, as it turns out that the original Chat Noir also retired — or rather, Ladybug stripped him of the Black Cat Ring, then ensured said Ring was kept well out of risk of the villains. Luka eventually deduces both of their identities, then explains just how he figured it out when they meet up. The new Chat Noir wants to get rid of him for knowing too much, but the new Ladybug is simply impressed... and doesn't want to risk provoking Marinette's wrath.
• Volpimania reveals that Lila secretly spent months figuring out each of the Miraculous heroes' secret identities. This knowledge gives her a critical edge that helps ensure her victory.

Persona

• Hours 'Verse: After the Casino Palace, Ann finds out that her entire class had figured out that she, Akira, and Ryuji are members of the Phantom Thieves, given that Akira takes Morgana everywhere with him, he makes lockpicks in class, and he suddenly started missing school after the leader of the Phantom Thieves supposedly committed suicide.

Spider-Man

• The Greatest of Them All has Silver figure out Peter's secret identity when she notices that he's gained superhuman abilities around the same time that the vigilante makes his debut. Plus, he also got a pet spider.

Superman

• The Metropolitan Man: By analyzing the timing of Superman sightings, Lex Luthor notices that they're much less common during normal workday hours, something that would require him to have both a day job and a civilian identity. He eventually compares photos of Clark Kent to Superman and realizes they're the same person.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

• Towards the end of Snow Blind, Donatello comes to the conclusion that the Nightwatcher, the vigilante who saved/kidnapped him, is actually Raphael. It doesn't take him much to figure it out, namely that the vigilante was so calm despite meeting a mutant turtle, knew the second he saw Don fighting the Purple Dragons that the Dragons were the bad guys, and (after looking at pictures of the Nightwatcher that ended up online), the fact that the Nightwatcher looks like a giant metal turtle. The only reason he didn't figure it out instantly was because he was temporarily blinded in a fight.

Worm

• Subverted in A Darker Path, when Director Wilkins realises that it's possible to deduce Atropos' identity, or at least get a strong suspect, by checking school records to see who lodged the most complaints about Sophia Hess. Director Piggot frantically warns her not to try, but Wilkins is dismissive — until Atropos appears behind her, seizes her by the throat, and puts a blade to her eye, as her second and final warning.
  Wilkins: If Atropos and Stalker went to the same school, all you have to do is cross-reference the complaints to see who put in the most, then we have our suspect. Then we put pressure on the friends and family, and she falls straight into line. From loose cannon to valuable asset under our control, in one easy step.

Films — Animated

• Batman: Hush: With the intelligence boost he received from being exposed to the Lazarus Pit, the Riddler is able to finally figure out Batman is Bruce Wayne.
• In Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, upon encountering Batman in the cemetery, Andrea figures out he's Bruce when she realizes he had been looking at the tombstone of his parents.
• The Incredibles: Syndrome built an entire business empire solely for the purpose of tracking down Supers to pit against his Omni-droid, improving it with each iteration (and killing off many superheroes in the process), all so that no one but him will be able to defeat it. Since the Supers are all in hiding, this means he has to figure out their secret identities and then send an agent to make contact with them. This actually leads to an on-screen example as by the time of the movie he's sent Mirage after Lucius (Frozone), and by watching him and Bob do some covert superheroics she realizes Bob is Mr. Incredible.
• In Justice League: The New Frontier, before Barry decides to fight against the Centre, he chooses to tell Iris he is the Flash, but she reveals to him she already knows that because she recognized his voice on the news when he announced his retirement as the Flash the night before.
• TMNT: After the Turtles go off to do their things following the Shredder's defeat, Raphael secretly becomes a vigilante known as the Nightwatcher. Casey Jones can figure it out as he still looks like a giant turtle.
  Raphael: How did you know it was me?
  Casey: Wasn't that hard, man. You know, you look like a big, metal turtle.

Films — Live-Action

• The Amazing Spider-Man 2: After becoming the Green Goblin and arriving at the OsCorp power plant, Harry figures out that Peter is Spider-Man when he sees that Gwen is there with him.
• Ant-Man: Just as it appears Scott is about to successfully steal the Yellowjacket suit, Darren Cross not only reveals that he is prepared for the new Ant-Man, but he has already figured out Scott's identity due to doing research on him as the kind of man who Hank would seek out, a man who lost everything including his family for doing the right thing, and the fact that Scott disappeared from jail without a trace despite having no money to his name.
• Batman: Love interest Vicki Vale eventually figures out Bruce Wayne is Batman. First by following Bruce to the alleyway where his parents were shot to place the roses, after he lied that he'll be going on a business trip. Then while Batman is taking her to the Batcave, she notices Batman has the same grim expression as Bruce at the city hall press conference, after coming from the alley. Later, Bruce pulling a Stealth Hi/Bye after Vicki saw the Joker leave her apartment. Lastly, Alexander Knox shows her the newspaper of the Waynes' murder and she sees young Bruce staring towards the camera with the same grim expression. Before the climax, Alfred takes her to Bruce at the Batcave, likely having told Alfred she knows, and he has no reason to deny it.
  Alexander Knox: What do you suppose something like this does to a kid?
• Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice: Being a man of enormous intelligence and vast resources, Lex easily discovers the Trinity's secret identities (and also those of other future Justice League members). The only reason he doesn't go public with this information is because he has been declared mentally insane, so no one is gonna take his word seriously.
• The Dark Knight Trilogy:
  • In Batman Begins, the League of Shadows arrives at Wayne Manor to confront Bruce. It's never said how they figured out he was Batman, but the context of the movie implies that it was obvious to them; the oligarch that they trained in combat and tactics returns to his home city, and shortly afterward a masked vigilante utilizing the League's fighting style and tactics and armed with very expensive gear appears.
  • In The Dark Knight, an accountant for Wayne Enterprises discovers Bruce's identity as Batman simply by going through the company files on how Bruce's money is spent, and locating the blueprints for the "Tumbler" Batmobile in Wayne Enterprises' archives. On the other hand, this knowledge doesn't do him any good, because as Lucius Fox points out, he is attempting to blackmail an oligarch who is also a ruthless vigilante; there is no possible way this will end well for him, and he concedes.
  • The Dark Knight Rises: Bane probably figured out Batman's identity via similar logic to how Ra's Al Gul did, but Officer John Blake, who also lost his parents to violent crime and grew up an orphan, figures it out after meeting Bruce Wayne and realizing he and Bruce were both the same, having had to learn to cover their grief and anger with smiles and pretend they're getting on with their lives.
• Green Lantern: Carol immediately recognizes Hal as Green Lantern because she's known him so well for so long and his mask only really covers his cheekbones.
• Hatching Pete: During a casual encounter with Pete, Angela tells him that, unlike everybody else, she doesn't want to learn who the Chicken is because the magic of the mystery would be gone. Many days later, a local journalist asks the Chicken to show up for a televised interview (with a voice modifier). The Chicken explains he won't take his mask off for the same reason as the Lone Ranger, because by revealing his true identity, the magic would be gone. Angela immediately realizes that the Chicken is Pete because there was no one else around when they talked.
• Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: When Indiana asks his Absent-Minded Professor father how he figured out Elsa Schneider was secretly a Nazi, he replies, "She talks in her sleep," causing Indy to do a Double Take. (According to the Novelization, she said, "Mein Fuhrer".)
• In Joker, after Arthur kills the three employees of Wayne Enterprises in his clown outfit, it doesn't take long for the police to immediately suspect him; a man who worked as a clown that was just recently fired for having a gun on him and is generally regarded as a creepy guy is going to be the first person the police would think is the culprit.
• Man of Steel: Unlike previous installments, Lois is able to figure out Clark's identity from the start, by following his work history and getting information from people who worked with him until it finally leads her to Smallville.
• The Mask of Zorro:
  • It's implied that Don Rafael has done some off-screen deduction before the start of the film, as he comes to the home of Don Diego de la Vega with a contingent of soldiers. It's clear he already knows Diego's secret, but he confirms it by grabbing a fresh wound from their most recent battle.
    Don Rafael: Blood never lies, Zorro.
  • Years later, after Diego and his protégé Alejandro have infiltrated one of Rafael's social events, Alejandro as a young noble from Spain and Diego as his servant, followed by Alejandro's debut as the new Zorro, Diego goes to confront Rafael about his daughter, who Rafael had taken the night he came to Diego's estate. Once he reveals who he is, Rafael quickly realizes this old man, the former Zorro, could not have been the young and athletic Zorro who stormed through his compound the other night, so it must have been the young noble instead.
• In Mystery Men, one of the title characters manages to (correctly) deduce that oligarch lawyer Lance Hunt is the Secret Identity of Captain Amazing, but his friends shoot him down because "Lance Hunt wears glasses."
• In Radio Rebel, Stacy is able to figure out that Tara is Radio Rebel, when she mentions her "Number One Fan" on the radio, something Tara called her earlier when talking about Morp, the party the radio station is throwing for their school to make up for the canceled prom.
• SHAZAM!: When Billy's foster siblings see Shazam arguing with Freddy on the news, Mary pieces together that Billy is Shazam because not only were Billy and Freddy similarly arguing at the dinner table, but when Shazam rescued Mary earlier in the film, he knew her name and that she lived in a foster home. Darla, who found out Billy was Shazam earlier in the film and promised to keep it a secret, congratulates the kids for finding out on their own.
• Spider-Man: Norman Osborn realizes that Peter is Spider-Man because he has the exact same injury that Spider-Man got in their last fight.
• Spider-Man: Homecoming Trilogy:
  • Spider-Man: Homecoming: When Peter is riding with Liz and Adrian Toomes to the school dance, Toomes pieces together that Peter is Spider-Man when Liz talks about how he keeps disappearing, both at her party and in Washington DC.
  • Spider-Man: Far From Home:
    • With all the time that MJ spends spying on Peter, she would notice all the times he disappears without providing a decent explanation as to why especially since he and Spider-Man are somehow never in the same place at the same time. Adrian Toomes figured it out in the span of one conversation, small wonder that an intelligent girl with a crush on Peter realizes it long before the movie begins.
      MJ: I mean...It was kind of obvious.
    • Peter Parker himself is his own worst enemy when it comes to this. Yes, he wears a mask, but not only does he speak in his regular voice, he talks a mile a minute, cannot shut up to save his life, is a horrible liar, and has the world's worst poker face. Therefore, it is not difficult for several people to figure out his secret identity.
• Steel: Since John Henry Irons has Shaquille O'Neal's rare and enormous physique, pretty much anyone who sees Irons and Steel can put two and two together. Including the Big Bad (who worked with Irons for years):
  Burke: [upon seeing Steel for the first time] Now I wonder who that is.
• Superman II:
  • Sometime after starting to date Clark, Lois begins to notice that Clark and Superman are never in the same place at the same time. Eventually, she calls him out on this and throws herself into the Niagara River to prove her point. Clark can save her, as Clark, using a few of his Superman abilities when she's too distracted to see. Lois feels foolish, but then as they return to their hotel room, Clark trips and his hand falls in a fire, and naturally, he's not hurt at all. By this point, he just decides to let Lois know the whole truth.
  • In the film's "Donner Cut", Lois also tries shooting a gun at Clark to prove he's Superman. She uses a gun with blanks just in case she is wrong, but Clark, having never felt the pain of getting shot, isn't able to tell the difference.

Literature

• In the romance series Bigtime, reporter Carmen Cole made her career out of unmasking superheroes and ubervillains. Much of this apparently stemmed from most of them not being nearly as good at hiding their identities as they think they are.
• Terra Ignota: The Anonymous, the world's most influential political commentator, is an anonymous individual. They're also a Legacy Character: the role of Anonymous is traditionally passed on to the first person who manages to figure out the current Anonymous' identity, based on whatever clues can be extracted from their editorials or from the personal habits of that true identity (having the Anonymous tell you who they are doesn't count). There have been seven Anonymouses when the series begins, technically eight counting the main character, who for various reasons cannot fulfill the duty, and the ninth and tenth have been appointed by the end of the series.
• In Thrawn: Alliances, Thrawn himself manages to deduce Darth Vader's real identity beneath the mask. When exactly he figures it out is unknown, but he always hints that he knows that Vader is Anakin Skywalker based on his responses to Vader's constant assertion that he killed Anakin Skywalker throughout the story.
• Worm: Aisha, by paying attention to how the times he is absent line up with what she hears of supervillain activity, deduces that her brother Brian is the supervillain Grue.

Live-Action TV

• Arrow: Oliver Queen planned on this happening. As he tells Diggle, him returning seemingly from the dead and then a masked vigilante stalking the city would have been far too easy for people to conclude it. But having Diggle act as the vigilante while he's under observation puts him in the clear.
• In Batman, Egghead, the World's Smartest Criminal, is able to deduce Batman's secret identity. First, he reasons that the enormous "egg-spense" involved in producing Batman's various gadgets would point to only one of three Gotham City millionaires, and then he deduces which two of them can not be the Caped Crusader (one has a French accent, which Batman does not have, and the other is left-handed, whereas Batman is right-handed). He concludes that the last, Bruce Wayne, must be Batman.
• Breaking Bad: In the episode "Gliding Over All", Hank goes to the bathroom at Walt's house and finds his copy of Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass. He finds a message written on the cover page: "To my other favorite W.W. It's an honor working with you. Fondly, G.B." Hank thinks back to his discussion of Gale Boetticher's murder with Walt, and how he found mentions of a "W.W." in his notes. This is the moment Hank realizes Walt is Heisenberg. In the following episode, "Blood Money", Hank is still holding out some faint hope that he's wrong (the idea that his beloved brother-in-law is such a horrific criminal is something Hank can barely process, it even gives him a panic attack) and steals the book from Walt to confirm it. He compares Gale's handwriting from his own notes to the dedication he wrote for Walt, which proves his theory beyond a shadow of a doubt.
• The Flash:
  • In "The Trap", Iris realized that Barry was The Flash when she felt a Speed Force spark after touching The Flash's hand, which she had felt earlier when she touched Barry. She had also interacted with both many times, so may have subconsciously noticed the similarities between the two before the spark put the pieces together.
  • In "The Reverse Flash Returns", after Barry acts strangely towards Patty, she goes over Barry's old case files and realizes all the ones that involve the Flash saving the day include details that Barry couldn't have known unless he was the Flash. After Joe and Barry try to gaslight her, Patty calls Barry with a fake emergency while on the train to see if and how quickly the Flash shows up. When he realizes he's been caught, he stops vibrating his face in front of her, proving to Patty she was right before they part ways.
• Early in Season 1 of Henry Danger, Henry's friend Charlotte works out that Henry and Kid Danger are never in the same place at the same time; whenever Kid Danger is done saving the day, Henry suddenly appears, looking roughed up or tired, and not to mention, the mask does not completely obscure his face.
• In the second season premiere of Legends of Tomorrow, Nate Heywood comes to Oliver Queen for help and mentions that he knows Oliver is Green Arrow. When Oliver asks how he knew, Nate points out he figured it out from Oliver returning and the vigilante becoming active at the same time and saw through the ruse of having someone else wear the costume.
• Lois & Clark: One episode has a Superman fangirl using a computer analysis program to try and determine who he really is. Based on all the data she has, she finds a 97% match in... Jimmy Olsen.
  Superman: You were a 97% match?
  Jimmy: Yeah.
  Superman: Really?
• The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: Now that Galadriel finally got to rest a little bit in Lindon, she started to think more clearly and see things she never noticed before about Halbrand. With the passing of time and Halbrand and Celebrimbor's attempts to process the mithril, Galadriel becomes suspicious of Halbrand. Seeing his weird influence over Celebrimbor and Celebrimbor suspiciously starting to act like Sauron, she decides to search in the Elvish archives only to find that Halbrand the lost king of the Southlands never existed, and that the last king of the Southlands died one thousand years before. When she finally confronts Halbrand about it, she learns he was Sauron all along.
• In Smallville, the Season 8 episode "Identity" shows Clark deploying Super-Speed to rescue Lois from a mugger, but while doing so, he is captured in a blurry photograph by Jimmy Olsen. Jimmy researches the details of the hero's rescue work from the past several years and quickly figures out who the hero really is. Clark has to set up an impostor rescue situation that persuades Jimmy he's wrong. In the season finale, however, events spiral out of control, and Clark apologizes to Jimmy for deceiving him earlier. Jimmy bears no ill will towards Clark and promises to keep his secret.
• Fern discovers her girlfriend Izzy is the Green Ranger in Power Rangers Dino Fury episode 39 because she confided to Green Ranger that she was in love with Izzy, and then Izzy mentions what had been said later when she shouldn't have known.
• Alyssa’s father in Power Rangers Wild Force is able to recognize his daughter as the White Ranger when she is fighting against Samurai Org, due to his daughter using their family’s fighting style.
• Stargirl: Cindy reveals she knows Courtney is Stargirl because, "You think after all this time we've spent together, I wouldn't recognize you through that stupid mask?"
• Supergirl: Happens multiple times with Cat Grant. She deduces that Kara is Supergirl due to how she conveniently leaves before Supergirl arrives at the scene. She also figures out that Barry is the Flash during his crossover episode because he arrived at National City at the same time the new speedster did and that James is Guardian due to how she easily recognizes that a black man is wearing the suit via the gap between his eyes. Though she initially seems thrown off by Martian Manhunter shapeshifting into Supergirl while Kara is present in the first case, by the end of Season 2, Cat is confirmed to either have figured out the ruse or was never fooled by it in the first place. The series finale confirms that Cat figured it out in the first week after Supergirl's debut.
• Wonder Woman: In an episode where an alien race called the Scrill come to Earth, they investigate two women who have been thwarting their plans. They get images of Wonder Woman and Diana Prince and then simply put them together, determining it is unquestionably the same woman.

Theatre

• Before his fight against Spider-Man in Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, the Green Goblin reveals he knows that it's Peter Parker under the mask, as while reading the Daily Bugle's Spider-Man retrospective, he noticed that every picture of the web-swinger was credited to one person - one of the same high schoolers who was at OsCorp the day his spider went missing.

Video Games

• The Batman: Arkham Series has some examples of people figuring out the Bat's identity, though some of them never reveal it to Batman or anyone else:
  • In an interview tape found in Batman: Arkham City, Hugo Strange managed to deduce Batman's identity by simply creating a psychological profile of a man who would be the caped crusader, and then matching it to the most likely person who could fit the mask. Strange smugly taunts The Riddler about the fact he figured it out before the Insufferable Genius could.
    Riddler: I know you were lying, Strange. There's no way that you could have figured it out! It's some kind of trick. It must be!
    Strange: Oh, I use no tricks, no childish puzzles. I simply created a psychological profile of the man most likely to be the Batman, and then matched it against the most logical candidate. I was right, of course.
    Riddler: Well, who is he?!
    Strange: Ah, but that would spoil the game for you, wouldn't it?
    Riddler: You must tell me! I implore you Strange! I—
    Strange: Really, Edward? If I could figure it out, it must be child's play for you.
    Riddler: But I... I...
    Strange: Interesting. Tell me Edward, how is the Riddler like a blank dictionary?
    Riddler: ...
    Strange: You're both at a loss for words.
  • In Batman: Arkham Origins, it's implied that Bane figured out Batman's identity by tracking radar telemetry of the Batwing's movements.
  • In Batman: Arkham Knight, one random mook conversation has two henchmen managing to put the pieces together based on a couple factors. The first is Batman's funding, and if he isn't government-funded, it'd have to be some rich guy. Another mook throws out Bruce Wayne as a candidate, with another one replying "Yeah, maybe it's him." This is followed by a chuckle, with them all dismissing it as impossible, but they managed to figure it out before the aforementioned Riddler could.
• In The Legend of Heroes: Trails to Azure, Cao Lee deduces the identity of the masked assassin Yin as dancer Rixia Mao because there were certain times when Yin refused to do jobs or appear at meetings, which, once he did some digging, turned out to be the times of practices or performances of her dance troupe. However, by the time he has confirmation, everyone he could have threatened to reveal this information to also knew because her mask got destroyed in a fight.
• Persona 5:
  • The final stage of each Confidant (outside of Confidants that are already in the know) will have them reveal that they have deduced that the protagonist is a Phantom Thief, either via the nature of the protagonist's requests, their relationship, or simply applying logic and reasoning across extended interaction. They all decide to keep quiet due to the trust they have built with the protagonist.
  • The Phantom Thieves quickly connect Akechi to the Black Mask assassin after realizing he reacted to Morgana's voice several months ago, which shouldn't have been possible if he had only gained entry to the Metaverse recently like he claimed — and the only other person with access at that time was the Black Mask. Though the Thieves later obtain more damning evidence, Akechi is dismayed to learn an attempt at small talk was all it took to blow his cover.
• In Spider-Man (PS4), Peter's tendency to act the same both in and out of the suit means that while an average Joe likely couldn't make the connection, those who know Peter can easily figure it out. Otto did have the benefit of seeing the broken suit, but his intelligence combined with the hints Peter gives him subconsciously without even noticing (Both Peter and Spidey joke in tense situations, for example) allow him to realize their connection. And since Aunt May raised Peter, she would have little difficulty noticing their similarities. Peter's small social circle is one of the main reasons why his identity isn't more widely known.
  • In Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Miles is tasked with helping out his Uncle Aaron with the sabotaged subway system. Miles tries disguising his voice by changing his inflections as Spider-Man, though Aaron is a little suspicious and wonders if they've met before, to which Miles denies. After the mission is over, Aaron gives Spider-Man a free subway pass that has Miles Morales' name written on it. Aaron reveals afterwards that he was watching him fight on TV, explaining he figured it out due to Spider-Man's movements being extremely similar to Miles' own.
• Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II – The Sith Lords: Gain enough affinity with G0-T0 and you can deduce that he isn't a crime boss communicating with you through a remote droid, he is the remote droid itself! You even get an achievement for figuring this out on the Steam version of the game.

Webcomics

• In the Batman: Wayne Family Adventures episode "Clean Up", Duke races to pick up his crime-fighting gear before the people setting up for the Manor's gala see it. This trope is his reason for panicking: as Signal is one of Batman's sidekicks and Duke is one of Bruce's adopted children, the fact that Duke is Signal would allow someone to figure out that Bruce Wayne is Batman.
• The "Other" in Girl Genius is the name for an unknown Spark who laid waste to the continent two decades ago. Their identity was unknown to the general public, but Benevolent Dictator Baron Klaus Wulfenbach managed to analyze the Other's technology and get a good idea of the perp: Lucrezia Mongfish, who everyone else assumed was the Other's first victim. Klaus is actually right about this. Not only that, but he manages to see through Lucrezia's disguise in her Body Backup Drive when they reunite by looking at her body language.
• Towards the end of Joe vs. Elan School, during a video call sometime after the titular abusive school's closure, Gino flat-out asks Joe whether he was "Dave Westminister," the guy who anonymously fueled the Internet Counterattack against the school. Joe is so stunned by Gino's brazenness that he instantly confirms it.
• In Jupiter-Men, Quintin's mom Beatrice, a cop for the Jupiter City Police Department, realizes that the handwriting on the sticky notes left by the Jupiter-Men matches Quintin's handwriting. She soon confronts him about his absences and can tell he's lying. The only reason she doesn't blow the lid on Quintin's Secret Identity is because Nathan arrives and gives a hasty, more palatable excuse for Quintin's behavior. Although Quintin's alibi is flimsy, Beatrice takes this excuse if only because she'd rather not confront the idea that her son is risking his life to fight monsters.

Web Videos

• Epic Rap Battles of History: In "Sherlock Holmes vs. Batman", Sherlock deduces in his first lines that Batman is Bruce Wayne because he once met "a rich fellow that smells of guano and pain", and because his wealth would allow the Bat to "afford all the toys he needs" since he has no superpowers.

Western Animation

• American Dragon: Jake Long: In "Professor Rotwood's Thesis", after failing to show Jake in his dragon form in front of a camera crew, due to him changing back to his human self, Professor Rotwood begins to suspect that Jake was the dragon. He was able to confirm it in "The Rotwood Files", after stopping his former mentor from exposing Jake, and using a potion said mentor created to expose a dragon, by using the last drop of it to expose Jake's dragon claw.
  • Likewise in this episode, Sigmund Brock, Rotwood's afformentioned mentor, suspects Jake, Spud, or Trixie could be a dragon based on reading their student files on their unexplained absences and curious behavior, as well as how quickly they went to investigate the the giant bugs he planted in the basement, like they have experienced it before.
• Avatar: The Last Airbender: Admiral Zhao is able to figure out that Zuko is the Blue Spirit when he sees that Zuko has the same swords that the Blue Spirit used when he helped Aang escape from Zhao's custody.
• The Batman:
  • When Ethan Bennett is mutated into Clayface, after exposed to a chemical the Joker created called "Joker Putty", Batman is able figure out that Ethan is Clayface when analyzing a staple he got from him during a fight, and remembering how Clayface was first spotted in Ethan's neighborhood, and how Clayface attacked Chief Rojas, who Ethan has been at odds with before the former suspended him before his mutation. The same goes for Detective Ellen Yin when she talks to her former partner.
  • When Barbara first becomes Batgirl, or "Batwoman" as she originally preferred, the costume she made covers her eyes and most of her hair, so that her dad doesn't recognize her without his glasses. Batman, however, figures out immediately that "Batgirl" is Barbara Gordon for a good number of reasons: her hair color and voice are the same, and they move with a gymnastics style while fighting. Plus, Barbara said she wanted to help Batman save her friend Pamela. Pamela became Poison Ivy when she called him for help, and he rebuffed her.
  • Barbara manages to figure out Batman's identity in a later episode. But, thanks to the Contrived Coincidence, Batman lost his memory about being Batman. The result: Barbara decides that she made a mistake. Batman later told her his secret identity when he made her his official sidekick.
    • When Barbara is finally brought to the Batcave and sees that Batman is Bruce Wayne, she is able to connect that Robin is Dick Grayson, recognizing him as the orphan Bruce recently took in.
  • In one episode Joker tries to take in Donnie, a failed comedian and classmate of Barbara, as his own Kid Sidekick, Prank. Barbara is able figure out that Donnie is Prank by his Annoying Laugh.
  • D.A.V.E., a super-intelligent robot, deduces Batman's identity by cross-referencing everyone in Gotham City against Batman's gender, approximate age, build, resources, and motivation to fight crime, and attempts to use this to manipulate him.
  • Batman is able to deduce Superman's identity by tracking the trail of micro-sonicbooms he makes and notices he frequents two locations in particular; the Daily Planet building, and an apartment building that's home to Daily Planet reporter Clark Kent.
  • After seeing that Batman’s butler is Bruce Wayne’s chauffeur, Green Arrow realizes that Batman and Bruce Wayne are one and the same.
    Batman: Now do you see why I’m so sure of him, Ollie?
    Green Arrow: How did-?
    Alfred: He is the Batman, after all.
  • Barbara is able to figure out that David, Justin, and Amber, three outcasts at her school, Gotham University, are the Terrible Trio when Amber closes the door on her and she finds a feather, which she takes back the Batcave and it gets identified as a vulture feather.
• Batman Beyond: Subverted in "Hidden Agenda". Terry's classmate, Max, deduces that he's living a double life. However, she thinks he's the leader of the Jokerz gang who's targeting her instead of Batman. In the end, when Terry, as Batman, saves her from that gang, which was actually led by another classmate, she finally figures it out and becomes Terry's Secret-Keeper.
• Batman: The Animated Series:
  • Discussed in the episode "Day of the Samurai" when Batman tells Alfred that his old training rival Kyodai Ken is certain to have deduced that Bruce Wayne and Batman are the same person via Fighting Fingerprint.
  • In his first appearance in "The Demon's Quest Part 1", Ra's Al-Ghul explains to Batman that he deduced his secret identity simply by identifying who could have wealth to fund Batman's war on crime, and then narrowing that down by looking at who would have the desire to use their wealth to fight crime.
• Ben 10: In the episode "They Lurk Below" Ben and Gwen hang out with Edwin, the grandson of an old friend of Max, but he gets suspicious when Ben keeps disappearing to fight aliens attacking his grandfather’s new resort. Despite Gwen's best efforts, Edwin quickly figures out that the aliens helping them are Ben. He points out that Ben disappears shortly before a helpful alien appears.
• Ben 10: Ultimate Alien: Jimmy Jones realizes that Ben is all the mysterious aliens that fight crime because he notices that they are frequently seen in Bellwood. Also, he collects pictures of them and notices that all the aliens have the same dial as Ben's "watch". Too bad that Jimmy is too young to realize the consequences of exposing Ben's identity to the world; he thinks that Ben deserves to be famous.
• Beware the Batman plays this for drama. Deathstroke figured out that Bruce Wayne is Batman because both had Alfred as a mentor, and they have the same fighting style as a result. The fact that Alfred "replaced" Slade with "a spoiled rich kid" makes the villain angry enough that he decides to kill his "brother" and assume his position, to cement that Alfred was wrong about him.
• Danny Phantom: Inverted in "The Ultimate Enemy". While Jazz, the Secret Secret-Keeper, had discovered Danny was the Ghost Boy by spotting him mid-Transformation Sequence in an earlier episode, Danny figures out Jazz knows the truth since she sent a note to him, tied with her signature headband and using her handwriting, via the Fenton Boooo-merang.
• Attempted in the DuckTales (1987) episode "A Case of Mistaken Identity". Scrooge's nephews try to deduce the identity of Gizmoduck, but their first suspect is Launchpad. Of course, they continue to be Entertainingly Wrong due to Contrived Coincidences that make Launchpad look like he's Gizmoduck.
• Played for Laughs in DuckTales (2017). Fenton Crackshell-Cabrera does try to keep his identity as Gizmoduck a secret but he's spectacularly bad at it. At one point, he pulls out a list of people who know: Dr. Gearloose, Scrooge, Launchpad, Huey, Dewey (Louie doesn't find out until the last season), Webby, Gandra Dee, Fenton's mother, Mark Beaks, a barista at a coffee shop, at least one delivery guy, and literally everyone on his block. Considering the fact that his mother is a cop, his girlfriend is a Badass Normal gadgeteer, and he works for a duck who can fight/think/buy his way out of any situation, one wonders why he needs a secret identity at all...^note The series finale implies that he stopped bothering with it now that the entire main cast (as well as half of Duckburg) knows.
• Parodied on Hamster & Gretel when a villain is able to deduce that Gretel is really the superhero Gretel. He first had his suspicions because they were both named Gretel and both have a pet hamster, but what really confirmed it was when he realized they were both right-handed.
• Invincible: Throughout the first season, Mark's relationship with Amber is strained by his struggling to balance his civilian life with his heroic responsibilities, with her calling him out for "ditching" everyone during an emergency. In the penultimate episode of the first season, aptly named "We Need to Talk", he decides to reveal his secret identity, only for Amber to reveal she'd already figured out he was Invincible and was upset by how he'd tried keeping her Locked Out of the Loop for so long.
• Iron Man: Armored Adventures:
  • In "Armor Wars" Pepper is able to figure out two of the Guardsmen's (Force and Shockwave) real identities by using the FBI database and getting voice-prints off the news to match them, as unlike Tony they don't have good voice modulators.
  • In "Heavy Mettle", as Obadiah Stane is fired from his position of CEO at Stark International, he figures out Tony and Iron Man are the same person as they both used the term "manufactured evil" when they confronted Stane.
  • In the penultimate episode, Howard reveals that he always knew that Tony was Iron Man since the latter first appeared because he knew nobody but his son could create the armor.
• Justice League:
  • In "Maid of Honor", Wonder Woman dances with Bruce Wayne at a gala. At the episode of the episode, Wonder Woman tells Batman she has figured out that he and Bruce are the same person, and even says he owes her a dance.
  • In the second season finale, the League members are forced out of their costumes in order to sneak around Earth which is currently under alien martial law. The Flash attempts to interject, stating that while he trusts the other members enough that he doesn't mind them knowing his identity, he's unsure if the rest of them are. Batman immediately calls him and all the other members by their real names before ripping his mask off and stating his own.
• Miraculous Ladybug:
  • While most of the masked heroes are protected by magic that obscures their identity, in "Anansi" Alya seems to figure out that Nino is Carapace due to recognizing Nino's verbal tic after he rescued her in costume. This was confirmed in "Catalyst".
  • In "Cat Blanc", Marinette, as Ladybug, leaves her gift for Adrien in his room, not knowing that Adrien saw Ladybug leaving. After puzzling over why Ladybug would drop off Marinette's gift (and Plagg trying to throw him off), he figures out that Marinette is Ladybug. Due to Apocalypse How and Status Quo Is God, this gets Ret-Goned by the end of the episode (though not without Marinette knowing that Cat Noir discovering her identity could destroy the world).
  • In "Representation", Kagami reveals to Felix that she figured out that Marinette was Ladybug after she overheard her mentioning losing the Miraculous back in "Perfection", which she had kept to herself until then.
• Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur (2023): In the season one finale "O.M.G", we find out that Lunella's grandmother, Mimi, knew from the start that her granddaughter was Moon Girl, because: Moon Girl was a teen using technology that only Lunella is smart enough build, Mimi already knew about Lunella's secret lab where Devil Dinosaur stays, and Mimi used to be a scientist and built the portal that brought Devil to LES. She's also secretly been helping her keep her identity safe. It makes some of their previous scenes alone together a lot more meaningful once the viewer knows this.
• My Adventures with Superman: Clark lampshades how ineffective a disguise it would be to simply change his clothing, posture, demeanor and go around without glasses as a means of avoiding detection, and it's later revealed that those who know him both as Clark Kent and Superman swiftly see through his Secret Identity. Jimmy realized years ago thanks to Clark's frequent bouts of Power Incontinence, and it only takes Lois a few days to realize the same. The main reason Clark's not been discovered is simply because his civilian identity of Clark Kent is under everybody's radar, and nobody even realizes he has a civilian life.
• The New Adventures of He-Man: Discussed in the initial pack-in comics included with the toys. Before going into the time portal that will take him to the future world of Primus, Prince Adam transforms into He-Man right in front of his parents King Randor and Queen Marlena, Captain of the Royal Guard Teela, and his archfoe Skeletor. An outraged Skeletor can only scream, "You?! It was you all this time?!" and later rages that it had never occurred to him that He-Man even had a secret identity, otherwise he would've certainly dedicated resources to discovering it and using it against him.
• The Owl House: Eda quickly realizes that the leader of the BATS is her old flame Raine because of their voice and stage fright.
• Static Shock:
  • In "Brother-Sister Act", Sharon recognizes her brother's mannerisms and hairstyle during a television interview with Static and starts to deduce that they might be the same person. It takes an Identity Impersonator to throw her off track.
  • Parodied in "Hard as Nails", after Batman calls Static "Virgil".
    Static: You know? I guess you really are the world's greatest detective!
    Batman: [hands Static his student ID card] It fell out of your pocket. You probably shouldn't carry that while you're in uniform.
    Static: [embarrassed] Uh, right.
    • At the end of the episode Bruce drops a hint or two to allow Virgil to figure out his identity, as a show of trust.
  • In "Gear", Ebon recognizes that where Richie Foley is, Static tends to show up. This leads Ebon and his crew to look at whom Richie runs with at school and notice his best friend Virgil wears his hair similarly to Static's. They kidnap Virgil in the hopes that they can get him to reveal his powers. However, Richie manages to save Virgil and uses Camera Spoofing to trick the crew into thinking Virgil is still imprisoned when Static shows up, keeping the secret from being revealed for real.
  • In "Now You See Him...", a villain named Speedwarp, who can travel through hyper time, unmasks Gear and recognizes him as Richie Foley, and deduces that Static is Virgil Hawkins due the fact the former is best friends with the latter, threatening to reveal their identities if they continue to get in his way. Fortunately, Speedwarp's current condition at the end of the episode, where he is left moving at slower than normal pace, stops him from revealing their identities.
  • In "Kidnapped", Robert easily figures out that his son Virgil is Static, as he points out the obvious logic in why someone would go through the trouble of abducting social worker Robert as leverage against Static. He further admits that, deep down, he always subconsciously knew the truth, but was in denial. From there, he deduces Gear must be Richie and asks Virgil if that's the case. While Richie is quick deny to this, Virgil confirms his deduction.
• Superman: The Animated Series:
  • In the "My Girl" episode, Lana Lang, Clark's childhood friend and old girlfriend, reveals she knew he was Superman, for two reasons. 1) Superman showed up in Metropolis after Clark, and 2) she was one of the first people he told about his powers, she even saw him use them in once in Smallville.
  • In the ending of "The Late Mr. Kent", as he sits in his cell waiting for his execution, Detective Bowman tries to puzzle out how Clark Kent could've survived a car bomb that blew up his car and sent the wreckage careening into the ocean. It's only moments before the execution is carried out that it hits him: the only way Clark Kent could've survived the assassination attempt would've been if he was actually Superman. He takes this revelation to the grave.
• The Spectacular Spider-Man: While it's never outright stated, it's heavily implied throughout season two that Captain George Stacy has figured out that Peter Parker is Spider-Man, and has known for some time. He begins implying to Peter that he knows, and helps Spider-Man a few times during the gang war arc (i.e. taking down Rhino with knockout gas, arresting Tombstone when Spidey said he was the Big Man, offering advice and a listening ear when Spider-Man needed to vent, etc). ^note  Which makes the revelation that Captain Stacy is eventually KIA in this dimension so much sadder.
  • Word of God says that Mary Jane Watson figured out that Peter was Spider-Man some time before they met, and has kept it to herself. This is fairly obvious when one rewatches episodes where she and Peter appear, as she's always the first one to trust Spider-Man in a dangerous situation or to forgive Peter for missing something due to Spider-Man business (like when he had to leave her at the school dance to go fight Goblin). Sadly, we never get to see her tell Peter that she knows or learn how she figured it out.
• In Ultimate Spider-Man, one of Peter's biggest fears in the pilot is that Aunt May would be furious if she ever found out he was Spider-Man, especially if it brought villains to their doorstep. As a result, he takes great pains to hide his secret identity from her. The season three finale reveals after Grandmaster took her and most of New York City hostage, that she always knew about her nephew's superheroics. As she tells Peter, who insists that she evacuate and "I'm sure Peter is fine," she raised Peter and is practically his mother. A mother always knows. May was fine with Peter working with the Avengers and Nick Fury because they're professionals; being solo with a ragtag team against a greater threat is a whole other level of danger. Peter has to reassure her that he has to do this because it's what Ben would do. She reluctantly agrees but makes him promise to be on time for dinner so that she knows he's okay.

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