History Main / SecretIdentityApathy

** In post-Crisis continuity, ComicBook/LexLuthor refuses to believe Superman even ''has'' a secret identity. The idea that someone with all that power would pretend to be a normal person [[EvilCannotComprehendGood just doesn't make sense]]! This goes to the point that he actively rejects any evidence that Superman is Clark Kent; he fires an investigator who makes the connection and deems a computer he built that reached the same conclusion to be malfunctioning. When he finally ''does'' realize the truth during ''The Black Ring'' -- by having it shoved in his face such that he can't deny it anymore -- his reaction is one of utter rage... not because he cares that Superman and Clark are the same, but because he's jealous that his archenemy had a normal childhood and good parents while he was stuck with his abusive father.

* ''ComicBook/TheFlash'': During ''ComicBook/TheFlashRebirth'', Barry unmasks himself to the anti-hero Fuerza to try and get her to trust him... as she points out, she has no idea who he is, and doesn't have any reason to care, so his gesture doesn't mean anything to her.

** ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyondReturnOfTheJoker'' has this overlap with AntiClimacticUnmasking. A flashback shows how the Joker [[spoiler:kidnapped and tortured Tim Drake into a version of himself]], discovering Batman's identity in the process. However, it's strongly implied from how he sets everything up that he still views him as primarily Batman, even continuing to refer to him as such instead of using his real name, and would keep the secret to himself for his own amusement. Demonstrating how he doesn't actually need to learn his identity to personally get to him. That said, he makes no bones about finding Batman's identity and pathology to be utterly pathetic, and expresses such in a ''very'' sadistic manner:

--->'''Joker:''' Hey, I never asked. What's the big secret? Who is the big, bad bat? His name. Tell me!\\

* ''Manga/KaitouSaintTail'' has SympatheticInspectorAntagonist Asuka Jr. decline Takamiya's offer to tell him PhantomThief Saint Tail's identity, telling her that knowing Saint Tail's identity won't change the fact he'll still want to catch her anyway. In fact, he's actually ''very'' curious about her identity, but it's a question of intellectual curiosity that he wants to have as [[TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou something he figures out himself]]; he sure as hell isn't letting his AbhorrentAdmirer be the one to hand it to him, let alone the fact he has a [[NotADate totally-not-a-date]] with his actual [[BelligerentSexualTension favorite bickering partner]] Meimi at stake. It's then subverted when he starts suspecting that Saint Tail might be none other than Meimi herself, which ''does'' make figuring out Saint Tail's identity into a life-or-death issue for him... but since "catching her" is the easiest way for him to do so, he continues on as usual while preventing others from doing it for him, subtly trying to create opportunities for him to catch her in ways that won't expose her identity to anyone else. [[spoiler:By the end of the series, "her identity doesn't matter" ends up actually meaning the opposite of apathy, since the phantom thief cat-and-mouse game stops being literal as much as it means "I don't need to know [[BeneathTheMask who she really is]] for me to still want to [[DeclarationOfProtection catch her]] anyway."]]

* ''Manga/KaitouSaintTail'' has SympatheticInspectorAntagonist Asuka Jr. decline Takamiya's offer to tell him PhantomThief Saint Tail's identity, telling her that knowing Saint Tail's identity won't change the fact he'll still want to catch her anyway. In fact, he's actually ''very'' curious about her identity, but it's a question of intellectual curiosity that he wants to have as [[TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou something he figures out himself]], and he sure as hell isn't letting his AbhorrentAdmirer be the one to hand it to him, let alone the fact he has a [[NotADate totally-not-a-date]] with his actual [[BelligerentSexualTension favorite bickering partner]] Meimi at stake. It's then subverted when he starts suspecting that Saint Tail might be none other than Meimi herself, which ''does'' make figuring out Saint Tail's identity into a life-or-death issue for him... but since "catching her" is the easiest way for him to do so, he continues on as usual while preventing others from doing it for him. [[spoiler:By the end of the series, "her identity doesn't matter" ends up actually meaning the opposite of apathy, since the phantom thief cat-and-mouse game stops being literal as much as it means "I don't need to know [[BeneathTheMask who she really is]] for me to still want to [[DeclarationOfProtection catch her]] anyway."]]

* ''Manga/KaitouSaintTail'' has SympatheticInspectorAntagonist Asuka Jr. decline Takamiya's offer to tell him PhantomThief Saint Tail's identity, telling her that knowing Saint Tail's identity won't change the fact he'll still want to catch her anyway. In fact, he's actually ''very'' curious about her identity, but he wants this to be [[TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou the one who does it himself]], and he sure as hell isn't letting his AbhorrentAdmirer be the one to hand it to him, let alone the fact he has a [[NotADate totally-not-a-date]] with his actual [[BelligerentSexualTension favorite bickering partner]] Meimi at stake. It's then subverted when he starts suspecting that Saint Tail might be none other than Meimi herself, which ''does'' make figuring out Saint Tail's identity into a life-or-death issue for him... but since "catching her" is the easiest way for him to do so, he continues on as usual while preventing others from doing it for him. [[spoiler:By the end of the series, "her identity doesn't matter" ends up actually meaning the opposite of apathy, since the phantom thief cat-and-mouse game stops being literal as much as it means "I don't need to know [[BeneathTheMask who she really is]] for me to still want to [[DeclarationOfProtection catch her]] anyway."]]

* ''Manga/KaitouSaintTail'' has SympatheticInspectorAntagonist Asuka Jr. decline Takamiya's offer to tell him PhantomThief Saint Tail's identity, telling her that knowing Saint Tail's identity won't change the fact he'll still want to catch her anyway. In fact, he's actually ''very'' curious about her identity, but he wants this to be [[TheOnlyOneWhoGetsToDefeatYou the one who does it himself]], and he sure as hell isn't letting his AbhorrentAdmirer be the one to hand it to him, let alone the fact he has a [[NotADate totally-not-a-date]] with his actual [[BelligerentSexualTension favorite bickering partner]] Meimi at stake. It's then subverted when he starts suspecting that Saint Tail might be none other than Meimi herself, which ''does'' make figuring out Saint Tail's identity into a life-or-death issue for him... but since "catching her" is the easiest way for him to do so, he continues on as usual while preventing others from doing it for him. [[spoiler:By the end of the series, "her identity doesn't matter" ends up actually meaning the opposite of apathy, since the phantom thief cat-and-mouse game stops being literal as much as it means "I don't need to know [[BeneathTheMask who she really is]] for me to still want to [[DeclarationOfProtection catch her]] anyway."]]

** ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyondReturnOfTheJoker'' has this overlap with AntiClimacticUnmasking. A flashback shows how the Joker [[spoiler:kidnapped and tortured Tim Drake into a version of himself]], discovering Batman's identity in the process. However, it's strongly implied from how he sets everything up that he still views him as primarily Batman, even continuing to refer to him as such instead of using his real name, and would keep the secret to himself for his own amusement. Demonstrating how he doesn't actually need to learn his identity to personally get to him. That said, he makes no bones about finding Batman's identity and pathology to be utterly pathetic.
-->"Beneath all the sturm and batarangs, you're just a little boy in a play suit crying for mommy and daddy! It'd be funny if it weren't so pathetic. Oh, what the heck, I'll laugh anyways."

** Averted for [[spoiler:ComicBook/ThePenguin, who is utterly livid after learning his family's archrivals really ''are'' responsible for all of his misfortunes, and ComicBook/TheRiddler, who refuses to believe his nemesis is "a superhero ''hobbyist''"]].

** In ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamKnight'', Scarecrow couldn't care less who Batman really is, but knows that if he reveals Batman's identity to the world, he will reduce his legend to a mere man. [[spoiler:Indeed, when he ''does'' find out Batman's identity in the endgame, he only has a few seconds of mild surprise followed by a "Meh" attitude about it. Considering that, unlike some other members of Batman's rogues-gallery, Scarecrow has no personal history with Bruce Wayne, it makes some sense. If you talk to captured villains in the GCPD post-game, they range from mild amusement to complete apathy.]]

** As a quite obvious consequence of the [[ComicBook/BatmanHush Hush]] storyline, [[spoiler:the Riddler]] finds out that Bruce Wayne and Batman are the same person, [[spoiler: however Batman is able to convince him to not reveal it [[BatmanGambit by playing on his pride]]; just as a riddle is worthless if everyone already knows the answer, if Batman's identity is common knowledge, then the Riddler isn't special for figuring it out. Thus, the Riddler's own obsession with proving himself the smartest means that he'll never tell anyone. Nygma reluctantly concedes the point]].

** In ''ComicBook/BatmanTomKing'' #85 (specifically the epilogue, written by Tom King's successor James Tynion IV as a prelude to the Joker War storyline), it was confirmed that the Joker knew Batman's secret identity all along. In response to Superman publicly revealing himself as Clark Kent in issue 18 of ''ComicBook/SupermanBrianMichaelBendis'', the Joker is convinced to make his big play at exposing Batman while he still has leverage, even if it means the end of their ongoing feud as they know it.

** In post-Crisis continuity, ComicBook/LexLuthor refuses to believe Superman even ''has'' a secret identity. The idea that someone with all that power would pretend to be a normal person [[EvilCannotComprehendGood just doesn't make sense]]!

* In ''Film/SpiderMan1'', ComicBook/NormanOsborn (a.k.a. the Green Goblin) honestly doesn't care that much about Spidey's secret identity. At first he just wants to work with him. He isn't even trying to find him when he accidentally learns his identity and then only goes after him because [[PapaWolf his son's feelings were hurt]]. He earlier actually had Spider-Man captured and unconscious, but evidently did not unmask him. Then he changes his mind and brutally exploits his knowledge once he learns of it later.

** ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyondReturnOfTheJoker'' has this overlap with AntiClimacticUnmasking. A flashback shows how the Joker [[spoiler:kidnapped and tortured Tim Drake into a version of himself]], discovering Batman's identity in the process. However, it's strongly implied from how he sets everything up that he still views him as Batman, even continuing to refer to him as such instead of using his real name, and would keep the secret to himself for his own amusement. Demonstrating how he doesn't actually need to learn his identity to personally get to him.

** ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyondReturnOfTheJoker'' has this overlap with AntiClimacticUnmasking. A flashback shows how the Joker [[spoiler:kidnapped and tortured Tim Drake into a version of himself]], discovering Batman's identity in the process. However, it's strongly implied from how he sets everything up that he still views him as Batman and would keep the secret to himself for his own amusement. Demonstrating how he doesn't actually need to learn his identity to personally get to him.

* ''Franchise/TheFlash'': During ''ComicBook/TheFlashRebirth'', Barry unmasks himself to the anti-hero Fuerza to try and get her to trust him... as she points out, she has no idea who he is, and doesn't have any reason to care, so his gesture doesn't mean anything to her.
* ''Franchise/SpiderMan'':
** An interesting variant happens in several different [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] issues of ''[[ComicBook/SpiderMan Amazing Spider-Man]]'', where the police consistently refuse to unmask a captured or unconscious Spider-Man regardless of the public's demands... well, J. Jonah Jameson's demands, anyway.

* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'':

* In ''Film/TheBatman2022'', the Riddler mocks the people's attempts to unmask the Batman, stating that they're all missing the bigger picture: that Batman's mask is the real face, not the man behind it. [[spoiler:It's why he never figures out that his beloved vigilante idol is also [[HatesMySecretIdentity the rich boy orphan that he despises]] in his childhood days.]] This is interesting because in the comics, the Riddler seeks to uncover Batman's secret identity, seeing it as proof that he's smarter than Batman (and when he finally does, he gloats about his success right to Batman's face).

* ''Series/Batwoman2019''. In "If You Believe In Me Ill Believe In You", TheMafia captures Batwoman and decide to sell her in an AuctionOfEvil without unmasking her. No one's going to pay for Kate Kane, real estate tycoon, after all (though it's strange that none of her captors were curious enough to peek under the cowl).
* In ''Series/Daredevil2015'', [[ComicBook/ThePunisher Frank Castle]] declines to unmask Daredevil even after he captures him because he just doesn't care about the man's secret identity. Castle himself doesn't bother with a mask--he's a soldier and feels no need to hide behind one, either to protect his identity or separate his actions from the man who commits them.
-->'''Castle''': Don't give a shit who you are.

** In the season 1 finale of ''WesternAnimation/HarleyQuinn2019'', a BlackComedy series that's not even trying to be a serious adaptation of the comics, Scarecrow unmasks Batman in front of Joker, who is so annoyed that his arch-nemesis is revealed to be "some boring rich asshole with parental issues" that he melts Scarecrow's head with acid. Pointing out how he always could have done it himself, but "half the fun of [their] relationship was the mystery". Furthermore, when he does rant to Bruce afterward, it's about Bruce's company not delivering an electric car they'd promised, not really anything related to Batman.

* ([[TheRealRemingtonSteele The second]]) Red X in ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003'' is a villain whose identity the ''heroes'' don't care about. Once they affirm he's not Robin pulling a trick on them like the first time, the Titans figure the new Red X is just a StrangerBehindTheMask, and dismiss any more detail as irrelevant--except Beast Boy, who's too wrapped up in ridiculous theories about him being some kind of copy of Robin. (The practical benefits of knowing someone's SecretIdentity are something the show broadly ignores.)