History Main / ComicBookMoviesDontUseCodenames

** Averted with Ras al Ghul and the Court of Owls, as both have been around so long that their titles would have been taken perfectly seriously in their eras of origin.

** The giant robot that the League faces in the first episode of ''Unlimited'' is supposed to be Brimstone from ''ComicBook/{{Legends}}'', but that name is never used.

** In fact, the popularity of the ''Teen Titans'' cartoon and its version of him means that (a) in ''any'' DC series he's required to show up, and (b) he'll be called Deathstroke once or twice to get it out of the way and he'll be Slade from then on. In ''{{WesternAnimation/YoungJustice|2010}}: Invasion,'' he was referred to as Deathstroke at first but mostly conversed with the one member of the LegionOfDoom who knew him well enough to call him Slade. He was the BigBad of the final arc of ''WesternAnimation/BewareTheBatman,'' in which there's a battle with the mysterious Deathstroke ''before'' anyone knows what he's all about, but when it's time for him to take center stage as the new main threat, Batman and Alfred learn that Deathstroke and another of his aliases are both Slade Wilson, and from then on he's Slade no matter what he's wearing. In ''Arrow,'' we know him pre-villainy, then find out about the assassin Deathstroke, and like ''Beware the Batman,'' when we learn that Slade and Deathstroke are one and the same, he's called Slade from then on. In ''Smallville,'' he's a general, not a supervillain, so it's no surprise he never uses a codename.

** In fact, the popularity of the ''Teen Titans'' cartoon and its version of him means that (a) in ''any'' DC series he's required to show up, and (b) he'll be called Deathstroke once or twice to get it out of the way and he'll be Slade from then on. In ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice: Invasion,'' he was referred to as Deathstroke at first but mostly conversed with the one member of the LegionOfDoom who knew him well enough to call him Slade. He was the BigBad of the final arc of ''WesternAnimation/BewareTheBatman,'' in which there's a battle with the mysterious Deathstroke ''before'' anyone knows what he's all about, but when it's time for him to take center stage as the new main threat, Batman and Alfred learn that Deathstroke and another of his aliases are both Slade Wilson, and from then on he's Slade no matter what he's wearing. In ''Arrow,'' we know him pre-villainy, then find out about the assassin Deathstroke, and like ''Beware the Batman,'' when we learn that Slade and Deathstroke are one and the same, he's called Slade from then on. In ''Smallville,'' he's a general, not a supervillain, so it's no surprise he never uses a codename.

* ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'':

** Edward Nygma is only one to call himself The Riddler, possibly highlighting his SmallNameBigEgo tendencies. By contrast, Batman calls him "Nygma" and Catwoman calls him "Eddie".

* Played with in the films. Film/{{Hellboy|2004}}'s real demonic name is not known to him until towards the end of the first movie. He grew up with the name Hellboy and since his other name is tied with the destruction of all mankind and wasn't known until he was about 70, he kept it.

* ''[[Film/Deadpool2016 Deadpool]]'' uses codenames more than the character's real names. Negasonic Teenage Warhead, a relatively minor X-Men character, got promoted to one of Deadpool's partners simply because the writers really liked her codename and wanted to defy this trope as much as possible. The one exception is [[BigBad Ajax]], whom Deadpool insists on calling by his real name of Francis just to annoy him.

* Inverted in ''Film/MortalKombat2021''. [[LizardFolk Reptile]] is OnlyKnownByTheirNickname in the games, but here, he's only called Syzoth, his real name. Presumably because [[ADogCalledDog calling him "Reptile"]] would make him come across as less scary than he actually is.

* Outside of his bios in ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamAsylum'', ''[[VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity Arkham City]]'', and ''[[VideoGame/BatmanArkhamKnight Arkham Knight]]'' and his character showcase in the latter two, the ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamSeries'' version of Hush is never referred to by that name, but rather "the Identity Thief" or his real name of Tommy Elliot.

->''"The Avengers roster bloats even further with Vision, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, who for some reason, are never called 'Vision', 'Scarlet Witch' or 'Quicksilver'."''

** In the case of Diana, this is averted in ''Film/ZackSnydersJusticeLeague'', where Barry does call her "Wonder Woman" in one scene. Also, the name "Justice League" is seen on the ruined Hall of Justice in the Knightmare future. And [[spoiler:Calvin Swanwick introduces himself to Bruce as the Martian Manhunter in the final scene]].

However, because the producers don't want to ''completely'' alienate the comic fans which supported the character to begin with, they add a little ShoutOut [[PanderingToTheBase just to appease them]]. "Grass Man" was definitely in the movie, even if that wasn't officially his name. They might even [[ArtifactTitle call the movie "Grass Man"]] without ever calling the ''character'' that. However, sometimes this trope gets taken UpToEleven and the superhero name is never used ''at all''.

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[[folder: Western Animation]]

** The original Ratcatcher is only referred to by that name. His real name from the comics, Otis Flannegan, never comes up, and may not apply in this continuity since the character was subjected to an AdaptationalNationalityChange.

* ''Avengers of the Moon'', by Creator/AllenSteele, is an OriginStory homage novel of PulpMagazine sci-fi hero Literature/CaptainFuture. InUniverse Curt Newton hates the name, which he came up with while he was a child playing at being a superhero, and when it's adopted to protect his SecretIdentity everyone regards it with derision, ''except'' [[BigBad Ul Quorn]] (known as the 'Magician of Mars') who sees it as a sign they are NotSoDifferent.

* Played with in ''Film/Shazam2019'', as the title character is never directly referred to as such (nor his ''original'' codename Captain Marvel, since that's held by ComicBook/CarolDanvers in her [[Film/CaptainMarvel2019 competing film]]). However, he is referred to by several other tentative codenames as a RunningGag throughout the film, and he indirectly implies that he considers "Shazam" to be his superhero name since when [[spoiler:he gives his family superpowers and tells them to say his name to activate them]].

* Played with in ''Film/Shazam2019'', as the hero himself is never referred to as Captain Marvel (which is [[EnforcedTrope currently in use]] by [[Film/CaptainMarvel2019 a competing film]]) or Shazam. [[spoiler: The same goes for Mary Marvel and Captain Marvel Jr]] but he is referred to by several other tentative codenames as a RunningGag throughout the film.

** Played straight and averted in the [[Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan2 sequel]] though. Spider-Man is called such very frequently. Electro refers to himself as such even when he's just being tortured and continues to when he becomes a proper villain. [[spoiler:Harry,]] however, isn't called the Green Goblin at all. The Rhino gets very little screen time but is only identified by his civilian name (though he calls himself The Rhino). We also have "Felicia" but she doesn't become Comicbook/BlackCat within the film.

** Averted with Comicbook/{{Aquaman}} and Batman. Wonder Woman also calls Victor "a [[Comicbook/{{Cyborg}} cyborg]]", though it's unknown if he will adopt it as an official codename in future movies.
** Played straight with Comicbook/TheFlash and Wonder Woman, who are only called Barry and Diana, respectively. Creator/EzraMiller has attempted to justify this by saying it makes sense that Barry doesn't have an official codename yet, since he's still a young man who has only just recently started his crime-fighting career. His first exposure to the name comes in ''Series/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths2019'', when a run-in with [[Characters/ArrowverseBarryAllen another Barry Allen]] literally gives himself the idea of his iconic code name.

* One of the reasons that ''Comicbook/BatmanTheDarkKnightReturns'' is considered a notable move towards "Grim and Gritty" storytelling in comics is that it manages to go the entire story without referring to any of the superheroes (other than Franchise/{{Batman}}) by their code names, thus making it easier to put the story in a real world context.

* ComicBook/GreenArrow: During the 80s run by Mike Grell when he lived in Seattle, Ollie abandoned most of the "superhero" trappings of his life, including the name "Green Arrow". In the entire 80-issue run, he's never referred to by that name. People usually call him [[SecretPublicIdentity Ollie]] or "That RobinHood lookin' dude."

** Slade Wilson gets a Marvel movie-style codename treatment: as a GeneralRipper and not a supervillain, "Comicbook/{{Deathstroke}} the Terminator" is never uttered. However, after [[UnexplainedRecovery coming back from a should-have-been-fatal injury]] with no harm beyond now having his EyepatchOfPower, he said that "the reaper can swing his sickle at me, but I'm beyond death's stroke now." Also, because the ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' cartoon version is so well-known, ''way'' more people are on a FirstNameBasis with him than you'd expect with a general. He is pretty much just called Slade.
** Comicbook/{{Brainiac}} is short for "Brain Interactive Construct" and he's usually described as that when not being called by the name of his assumed human identity. We don't hear the name "Brainiac" for several seasons after his introduction.

** Comicbook/BlueDevil is only the name of an in-universe superhero movie Daniel Cassidy starred in. [[spoiler: Even when he transforms into his demonic form, nobody calls him that.]]

** Averted with Comicbook/MadameXanadu, who, being an eccentric fortune teller, is addressed by that name.

** Comicbook/{{Cyborg}} is mostly called Victor or Vic by his teammates, but is still well known as Cyborg by the public. Whenever he's addressed by a civilian or a villain, it's usually as Cyborg.

** Comicbook/FlexMentallo is fond of introducing himself as "The Man of Muscle Mystery," and Rita recalls that he was referred to as "The Hero of the Beach" in old advertisements.

* Likewise, Creator/{{Hasbro}}'s Marvel Legends Comicbook/{{Thunderbolts}} box set had to refer to Satana (the literal daughter of the devil) by her civilian name of "Judith Chambers" to avoid controversy.

* In ''Videogame/BatmanTheTelltaleSeries'', Joker is never referred to by that name and is instead known as John Doe. C-Lister villain Blockbuster is also only known as Roland. Subverted with the other characters, who are referred to by their code names at some point or another. [[spoiler:John does eventually become the Joker by the end of Season 2, though depending on your decisions he'll either be a vigilante or a villain]].

* ''Webcomic/CiemWebcomicSeries''

** The giant robot that the League faces in the first episode of ''Unlimited'' is supposed to be Brimstone from ''Comicbook/{{Legends}}'', but that name is never used.

** Comicbook/JeanGrey is never called Marvel Girl. But it had been a long time since the comic book version had used a codename anyway.

** Due to NeverSayDie, DC villain Comicbook/{{Deathstroke}} went by his civilian name "Slade" throughout the animated ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' series. (It probably helps that "Slade" sounds like a codename without the "Wilson".)

** The name "Catwoman" spreads quickly in ''Batman Returns'', even though Selina Kyle tells only one person that that's her new codename. However, most of the other characters do not call her that, usually only making smart remarks about how she ''looks'' like a cat ([[{{Double Entendre}} "Just the pussy I've been looking for!"]] or offering her "a very big ball of string"). The only exceptions are tabloid newspaper coverage ("I read that Catwoman is supposed to weigh 140 pounds") and one of the Penguin's speeches:

* Averted in ''Film/{{Godzilla 2014}}''. Despite [[http://www.scified.com/site/godzillamovies/igns-godzilla-set-visit-reveals-new-stills-potential-spoilers--godzilla-easter-eggs rumors]] that Franchise/{{Godzilla}} would not be referred to as such in this film, Dr. Serizawa introduces him during the briefing as "Gojira" and the military uses the name Godzilla as a code name for the beast. News broadcasts even dub him "King of the Monsters." In the sequel, Godzilla, Mothra, Rodan and King Ghidorah are all referred to by name several times. A notable twist with King Ghidorah: his true name unknown for the first half of the film, he is merely adressed as "Monster Zero" (an actual alias of Ghidorah in the Showa films), before being referred to as "Ghidorah", and only once in the film is he called "King Ghidorah", after he defeats Godzilla and takes command of the rest of the Titans. [[spoiler:Similarly, in ''Film/GodzillaVsKong'', Mechagodzilla is primarily referred to as the Mecha by Apex, but [[FanNickname Team Godzilla]] explicitly calls him Mechagodzilla. Kong, meanwhile, is referred to with the King in his name until he arrives in Hollow Earth, where he finally claims his own kingdom]].

* Averted in ''Film/{{Godzilla 2014}}''. Despite [[http://www.scified.com/site/godzillamovies/igns-godzilla-set-visit-reveals-new-stills-potential-spoilers--godzilla-easter-eggs rumors]] that Franchise/{{Godzilla}} would not be referred to as such in this film, Dr. Serizawa introduces him during the briefing as "Gojira" and the military uses the name Godzilla as a code name for the beast. News broadcasts even dub him "King of the Monsters." In the sequel, Godzilla, Mothra, Rodan and King Ghidorah are all referred to by name several times. A notable twist with King Ghidorah: his true name unknown for the first half of the film, he is merely adressed as "Monster Zero" (an actual alias of Ghidorah in the Showa films), before being referred to as "Ghidorah", and only once in the film is he called "King Ghidorah", after he defeats Godzilla and takes command of the rest of the Titans.

** Unlike the Avengers in their movies, the name "Justice League" is never actually used in the film.
** In the case of Diana, this is averted in ''Film/ZackSnydersJusticeLeague'', where Barry does call her "Wonder Woman" in one scene.

** In the case of Wondy, this is averted in 'Film/ZackSnydersJusticeLeague'', where Barry does call her "Wonder Woman" in one scene.