Believable superhero masks

Clark Kenting is obviously out, Domino masks only(kinda) work if whoever sees them doesn't know them, so what would be a superhero mask that can conceal a secret identity without people mistaking them for robots or something?

A cowl? Full face-masks too are pretty good at terrifying your criminal victims while playing up the secret identity more than the public one. If they talk often, I don't think they'd be easily mistaken for robots - just a scary dude in a mask. Drapery does wonders for adding a human quality to armour and stuff too. Anything like a cape or a jacket makes you think a human is under there instead of a robot. Take the soldiers from Titanfall or the upcoming game Destiny. They can be easily taken for as robots if it weren't for the drapery. It gives them a sense of culture, something you don't really associate with your common, preprogrammed automaton.

edited 27th May '14 4:23:55 PM by Nadir

I'd suggest a luchador mask, myself. Does a good job of covering the face, already has positive associations, and reveals enough to be distinctly human while still allowing for identity concealment. Even if it uses mesh to cover every part of the face, it's tight enough to the face to imply flesh beneath.

edited 27th May '14 5:00:55 PM by KillerClowns

A ski mask. Brightly colored so they don't look like a robber. Spider-man basically wears a ski mask with shades.

One of my characters from a hiatused project wears one of these.◊

That might fall under the "mistaken for robots" category, but she's actually trying to make herself look something like a ghost.

edited 27th May '14 8:22:56 PM by Wheezy

What's wrong with looking like a robot? If you talk, people will know you're not some robot.

You know what I thought of when I saw this? Ninja masks. Or even just balaclavas.

To quote Edna Mode: "No capes!"

Also, the character i'm thinking of in particular has a secret identity that the protagonist knows— it has to cover his face enough, or at least shadow it so that he isn't as recognizable, while at the same time enabling the obligatory big dam kiss at one point. It also needs to alter his voice somehow.

The closest thing i could find would be something like this—

I like the ninja idea! I hadn't thought of that! All these are awesome ideas! I have more than the one character, so please keep these coming!!! You're all awesome!!!

edited 27th May '14 9:54:24 PM by whymia

Tinted goggles, prefearably with a single glass (like those skiing, skydiving, or off-road goggles) so they cover more of the face. Could contain a Heads-Up Display and other tech if the hero is tech-savvy.

For the lower part of the face I suggest a big fake beard.

edited 27th May '14 10:38:02 PM by m8e

Unless the character is wearing something along the line of a Power Armor, he'd look obviously human. And what's wrong with looking like a robot? Isn't the point is to conceal your identity? If people think the superhero is a robot, then obviously they won't entertain any connection between him and your character.

He could just alter his own voice by talking deeper/higher while in costume.

Talk in a funny accent while in costume

Since you mentioned altering his voice... an adult-sized voice-changer helmet from a toystore. Optimally, it'd be a Darth Vader or Optimus Prime one. Or seriously speaking, he can make one if he's technologically inclined. It'd be pretty awesome if he did!

And anyway, if you're wearing any kind of mask that covers your mouth, it should be able to muffle your voice enough that it may not be immediately recognisable, along with good old voice-acting. I understand your concern for safety of his identity though.

edited 28th May '14 7:40:53 AM by Nadir

One member of my gaming group created a character who didn't wear a mask. His reasons were as follows:

• The character didn't chatter during a fight, unlike a certain wall-crawler.
• The character didn't stick around for the cops to show up after a fight; just dealt with the thugs and took off.
• The character wasn't an international celebrity like Bruce Wayne or Tony Stark.
• Due to the character's powers, his targets generally didn't get a good look at him (power-wise, he was similar to Vamp). Even if they did, what would they say? "He was about 5'11" and blond." That narrows down the search quite a bit, right?

As long as it's not set on "Helium Voice" mode .

edited 28th May '14 9:49:15 AM by RedneckRocker

There's always that off chance that he might stumble into or rescue someone he does know, which as you know increases exponentially in Fictionland.

And you never know when you'd need that voice. That'd be pretty cool actually! Not the helium voice setting, but the mechanised helmet. It could probably have a voice-cloaking system that - if you hide near someone and get a sample of them talking - you can actually copy their voice, or at least certain commands, which would be useful for tricking mooks as long as you're not seen while talking.

@ Nightwire, it is something similar to power armor, but form fitting (not ken doll anatomy form fitting ), like a futuristic sci-fi, dense polymer, superhero movie jargon suit. Something along the lines of the green lantern movie (which I haven't seen, so i have no idea what the crap that stuff is....) so combined with a traditional power armor helmet, he would look robotic, or come across that way. I would like him to appear obviously human to avoid that.

@ redneck rocker Good for future reference thanks! Also, a flaw in the last point is that police sketchers (whar are they called?) can often get a lot more than that from the witness, with time.

As for getting stuck on the helium setting, all i can say is hahahahhahahaha I am a cruel writer and this is simply too good to pass up. It's like alpha from up *snorts*

@ Nadir I love that whole idea, especially the voice copy! I think my mind died from plot bunnies! Woot!

Edit: since my post before this one didn't show the pic hyperlink, here's the thing again: http://paddlesup.tumblr.com/post/41193618639/tron-legacy-paintball-mask-concept Hope it works this time...

edited 28th May '14 2:12:59 PM by whymia

Ah, that's kinda what I imagined too - like a futuristic bike helmet. What about a external display sort of thing? I imagined like Rorschach from Watchmen, whose mask always shifts appearance, so his display can change either on his emotion or to scare his attackers. I think it might be too gimmicky though and take away from the character, but there's definitely plenty you can do with the helmet, which is even better now that you're going for a Powered Armor sort of hero.

EDIT: However, stuff like multiple sight options like infrared and night vision are cool, but probably have been done already, so I'd only really enjoy seeing that in a movie since I've never seen it explored more on-film. The voice copy is a little more unique and one of the more original things I came up with today. It depends on the character you're going for here. If he's more stealthy than action, then extra helmet functions are definitely a reliable tool. As further suggestion, there could be more stuff like headlights, aiming aid if he uses a futuristic sniper rifle at any point (which would be super badass), a camera if he's the sleuthy sort, stuff like that. This helmet could be an equivalent of Batman's utility belt in itself if that's the direction you want to take it.

I'd like to know more about this character of yours actually. You've gotten me really curious about him.

edited 28th May '14 5:29:24 PM by Nadir

I was thinking something along the lines of a two way mirror, with the exterior being the same color as his suit. He can see out, but you can't see his face. Or it might make use of some kind of light refraction or something that while the visor thing is clear, it looks opaque from the outside. I think that would be a cool idea but have no idea how it would work.

It doesn't have infrared or night vision, unfortunately . The future sniper rifle is cool idea, but is something that he sadly neither has nor would use. And since you asked so nicely i'm going to give a description of him.

He's the first of many superheroes, and is a flying brick, with an emphasis on the brick. He can use a form of ki attack as a distance weapon. He has anger issues and is much more likely to solve conflicts with violence. He feels he should have a good moral code and live up to heroic ideals, but grew up in an abusive household and told he would never amount to anything. Basically, he's a deconstruction of superman. I basically asked myself: what would a superhuman be like if he were raised by people who didn't foster a goodwill to others in him?

He needs a supername by the way

Also, helmet as utility belt, while it doesn't work so much for my flying brick, I could definitely use that for another character and would love to flesh out that idea too :D

Oh, so not very stealthy then.

As for the two-way mirror thing, I think the technology behind that is really simple enough that it can be handwaved as future advancement. I don't think anyone would argue that your guy can see out and no one can see in, since even motorcycle helmets can already accomplish this to some level. There's a reason they don't let people wear those in banks. I don't think it's a problem you have to wrack your brain about.

I was worried about it impeding his vision, but i don't know what wouldn't

What other kinds of masks could work? I know many have been mentioned, but not at length. I have more than his one guy to mask, I they are all very different.

this forum is awesome, i'm so glad I found it!

Glad to be part of the awesomeness. :P

Balaclavas always work to hide identities.

Wouldn't they tend to get...caught in things? Or be really easy to to pull off? I agree that they conceal the identity really well, but it doesn't seem practical, unfortunately...

Not to mention, when I hear balaclava, my first thought isn't hero. It's bank robber. Actually, how would that work if the hero's trying to stop a bank heist?

Actually, that's a funny thought: a superhero in a balaclava foiling a bank heist by a gang all wearing balaclavas. Hilarity Ensues. Or for an ironic twist, have the bank robber gang all wear domino masks. You'd need a visual medium to make it really work, but I for one would like the irony.

edited 1st Jun '14 10:00:48 AM by sharur

Balaclava might work for a first time hero. Just getting into the game, hasn't developed a firm superheroic persona yet.