Basic Trope: Superheroes' names aren't mentioned in the movies, despite being used frequently in the source comic.
- Straight: Grass Man's codename is never used at all in the movie adaptation. Not even once.
- Exaggerated: Grass Man not only never has a codename, but never becomes a superhero at all. In fact, the movie is a Romantic Comedy about a professional lawnmower.
- Downplayed: Steven Ulysses is only nicknamed "Grass Man" by the media; he never acknowledges the codename himself.
- "Grass Man" only shows up briefly and subtly in actual coded documents.
- Justified:
- He's trying to keep a low profile or strike fear into his enemies and realizes "Grass Man" is not the most conducive name to that goal.
- The film incarnation of Steven Ulysses doesn’t have a Secret Identity, there's no reason to have a Code Name when you’re open about who you are.
- Steven Ulysses never suits up as Grass Man.
- The film is intended to take place before Steven Ulysses settled on his codename.
- Inverted:
- The character's name is Grass Man in the movie, but just Steven Ulysses in the comics.
- In the movie, the character is really named Grass Man, and his Secret Identity of Steven Ulysses doesn't exist.
- Subverted: Grass Man's codename isn't mentioned at all against the Starter Villain, but as his adventures continue, he adopts it.
- Double Subverted:...Until the next scene, and then it's never mentioned again and everyone insists that it's a dumb name.
- Parodied:
- Every civilian the hero saves insists that he has to have a codename and call him every name except the one in the comics.
- The codename is dropped, but not the hidden identity business. Thus, Steven Ulysses must work extra hard to ensure no-one can link his hero identity, Steven Ulysses, to his civilian identity, Steven Ulysses.
- Zig Zagged: One movie uses the name Grass Man, but the sequel never does.
- Averted: He's called Grass Man throughout the entire film once becoming a superhero.
- Enforced:
- Executives argue that no one is going to take a character called "Grass Man" seriously.
- "We should anticipate that the audience other movie studios would assume to be clueless will already understand that the movie's supposed to be an adaptation of the Grass Man comic book, and it says 'Grass Man' right in the title, so I don't think it's really necessary to have the character actually call himself 'Grass Man' within the film."
- Lampshaded: "I'm lucky this isn't a comic book, otherwise I'd probably have some really embarrassing nickname!"
- Invoked: Steve spends days trying to think of a codename, but decides that just using his real name (or no name at all) is much better.
- Exploited: Grass Man refuses to use a code name, but still uses the normal-sounding "Clay Davidson" as a pseudonym. No one except a few backers at the Pentagon know his civilian name, Steven Ulysses.
- Defied: The second Steve gets superpowers, he immediately proclaims his codename and never lets anyone forget it.
- Discussed:Reporter: "Steven Ulysses, a man with extraordinary abilities but refuses something as garish as a comic book codename..."
- Conversed: Two characters talk about how calling him Steven Ulysses is boring, and that they wish he had the name he had in the comics.
- Deconstructed: Steven Ulysses chooses not to use a codename like in the comics, but this leads to him accidentally letting his real name slip at some point and ruining his Secret Identity.
- Reconstructed: ...But that decision pays off anyway, because he gets far more public trust and support from people who know he has nothing to hide.
- Played For Laughs: Steven Ulysses calls himself "Brass Man", "Crass Man" and even "Ass Man" at various points, but never the name he's known as in the comics.
- Played For Drama: He used to have a superhero name, but after he became a laughing stock and lost all credibility, he retooled himself as a much more no-nonsense, Darker and Edgier hero with no codename.
- Implied: A character named "Steve" shows up and expresses his interest in plants, but it's not clear this is actually Grass Man from the comics.
Back to Comic-Book Movies Don't Use Codenames
