Secret Keeper / Comic Books

• Astro City has dozens of these, given the sheer number of superheroes and supervillains in the 'verse. Special recognition goes to the entire town of Caplinville, where the Close-Knit Community maintains an Extra-Strength Masquerade for local hero Roustabout.
• Batman:
  • More people are in on Bruce Wayne's secret than one might expect. Alfred Pennyworth is his primary Secret Keeper. He knows things about Bruce that even Dick Grayson doesn't know.
  • Lucius Fox is sometimes portrayed as most likely knowing that Batman and Bruce Wayne are one and the same, but not telling anyone, not even Bruce, this knowledge.
  • In "Hush," The Riddler reveals that he deduced Batman's Secret Identity while taking a dip in a Lazarus Pit. However, Batman convinces him to keep it secret for two reasons: first, having such a secret is no fun for an obsessive puzzler like him if every one knows it; second, it would give the owner of the Lazarus Pits, the Big Bad Ra's Al Ghul, a vital clue that the Riddler used a pit without permission, and he would have his League of Assassins kill the Riddler no matter where he is. More recently, the Riddler has developed a mental block preventing him from remembering this.
  • "Hush" actually showed a lot of Batman Secret Keepers: the Robins, Superman and Lois Lane, the Huntress, Leslie Thompkins, Zatanna, Batgirl, Catwoman, Ra's and Talia Al Ghul...
  • Jim Gordon is generally portrayed as being a good enough detective to have found Batman's secret, but reserved enough not to tell anyone, even Bruce, likely because it would put him in an uncomfortable legal position. In Superman/Batman, Batman, while noting the same thing about Superman's Perry White, reveals that he's aware that Gordon most likely knows. In Batman: Year One, after an unmasked Bruce saves his son's life, Gordon is clearly blatantly lying when he says his lack of glasses prevents him from recognizing the man, who he has met before, standing less than two feet away from him in broad daylight.
  • In the New 52, it's revealed that Harvey Dent has known that Bruce was Batman for a long time, but has to constantly fight himself in order to convince himself not to kill Bats or out him.
  • It's been shown (primarily by Amanda Waller) that at least some people in the government are aware of who Bruce really is, but allow him to carry on generally because they don't see Batman as a threat to them. Or possibly because multi-billionaire Bruce Wayne, with his power and connections, is, so it's better to let him spend his money on toys to fight crime and other threats than to turn it on them.
  • The Joker knows, but he isn't going to tell anyone because a) that would spoil the fun, and b) the Joker doesn't give a damn about Bruce Wayne. Bruce simply isn't worth his time, to the Joker it's all about Batman. Besides, the Joker knows that Bruce Wayne isn't Batman's secret identity, Bruce Wayne is Batman's secret identity.
• Batman: Beyond the White Knight: Derek Powers figured out that Bruce Wayne was Batman long before he publicly revealed himself.
• Batwoman has her dad, Colonel Kane, who is also her main source of logistical support. Also, Renee Montoya and Nightwing deduce her identity in 52 (the former knows her quite intimately, while the latter comments that she has been leaving him clues on purpose as a sign of trust).
• In one issue of Birds of Prey, Barbara Gordon revealed her operations as Oracle to her father, who was initially stunned but ultimately proud of his daughter. Barbara then pulled out her old Batgirl costume, saying, "I'm so glad that you're handling this so well, Dad, because there's more to it, I'm afraid." Jim Gordon's response: "Okay, this part I knew."
• Blue Beetle:
  • Jaime Reyes, the current Blue Beetle, was thrown a year into the future after Infinite Crisis. His family, naturally enough, freaked out on his return, so Jaime decided to prove his story about what had happened to him by revealing his secret identity. His family and friends know, but keep it a secret outside of that.
  • The second Blue Beetle, Ted Kord, had his girlfriend Tracy as a Secret Keeper during his Charlton incarnation.
• Daredevil:
  • In a villainous example, from Born Again onwards, Wilson Fisk learns Daredevil's real identity. But he keeps it a complete secret for years, to the point that among his goons, it's well known that he knew exactly who DD was. However, a no-name criminal decides that this is unacceptable, since Daredevil still ruins criminal operations, and thus, Fisk is indirectly responsible for the losses other gangs have suffered. Thus, the upstart turns all of Fisk's goons against him.
  • Foggy Nelson is a longtime secret keeper. In the All-New, All-Different Marvel run, after Matt somehow forces the world to forget that he's Daredevil, he allows Foggy to remember, thus making Foggy Matt's only secret keeper.
  • In one Marvel/DC graphic novel, Two-Face stole a prototype biological computer chip from Wayne Tech, then high-tailed it to New York City. Batman encounters Daredevil while in pursuit. While chasing Two-Face and his primary accomplice down, Daredevil mentions he knew Harvey back in college, and reveals he's blind (he can't use the device that will deactivate the chip due to the sequence being a color-based code). Later, Matt and Bruce meet at a fancy party. Matt recognizes Bruce's scent and heartbeat, while Bruce takes about two seconds to realize Matt is Daredevil. When Foggy mentions that their firm might open a branch in Gotham, Bruce tells Matt to stay out
    Matt: Why Mr. Wayne, are you daring me?
• In the Domino Lady comics, Ellen's friend Lulu Chambers serves this role for Ellen.
• Green Lantern: Hal Jordan's first Secret Keeper was his airplane mechanic, Tom Kalmaku. When Tom accidentally learned Hal's identity, he respected GL enough to offer to let him erase the memory from his mind — but the offer convinced Hal that Tom was trustworthy, so he let him keep the knowledge and they became close friends.
• It's revealed in DC Comics' Identity Crisis (2004), that all the superheroes (the ones whose identities remain a secret) know each other's identities. However, whether or not the superheroes' secret keepers are aware of the others are open to debate. Especially considering that Jean Loring knows Tim Drake is Robin, despite Tim having his identity a deep secret even from Bruce's allies.
• Irredeemable. The Plutonian reveals to his girlfriend that he's actually her coworker Dan Hartigan. Instead of The Reveal Prompts Romance, she's angry over his deception and immediately blurts it out to her coworkers at the radio station, who would have broadcast this had the Plutonian not quickly flown into outer space and destroyed their satellite relay. When he returns, he is Burning with Anger and rips into them over how his enemies would torture them and their loved ones to find out his Secret Identity. Most of them end up committing suicide because they can't live with the paranoia this creates.
• In Jupiter's Legacy, Jason's schoolmates reveal that they know about his powers, but nonetheless support his super-heroics and promise to think up excuses for him if anyone asks.
• Wesley Dodds' girlfriend Dian Belmont knows he is the Sandman, and occasionally helps him in his cases.
• Spider-Man:
  • Mary Jane Watson is the most well-known Peter's secret keeper. Her Ultimate Marvel counterpart was the first to be told (Peter told her soon after acquiring his powers).
  • Aunt May until that entire "One More Day" thing happened.
  • In Ultimate Spider-Man, former bully Kenny McFarlane. Kenny actually figures it out on his own, staying up late at night, thinking about Peter's new awesomeness (ie: he flipped Kenny once, broke Flash's hand, replaced Flash on the basketball team, etc.) and Spidey's apparent availability at Midtown High School. Then he tests it.
    Peter Parker: (to himself, while he's loading books in his locker) What the-? Oh, come on... My Spider-Sense is going off at school. That can only mean one thing. And the Academy Award for best performance by an amateur super hero trying desperately to hold onto his secret identity goes to...
    Kenny: [kicks him into the locker]
    Peter Parker: Ow! Owy ow! Why did you- ow! What is wrong with you!!?? Ow- Owww!!
  • Miles Morales, the new Ultimate Spider-Man, shared the secret of his powers with his friend Ganke.
  • Aunt May seems to play this role in the Spider-Man Trilogy movies, particularly the second movie, where she gives Peter a speech seemingly directed at Spider-Man, which helps him decide to become Spider-Man again.
  • Aunt May definitely plays this role later in Ultimate Spider-Man. With that awesome matriarchy, Aunt May subverts There Are No Therapists. At one point, she pulls a gun on a recognized supervillain.
  • Daredevil and Spider-Man knew each other's identities for a long time. Currently, neither remembers the other's identity due to some shenanigans both pulled on separate occasions; Spidey made a Deal with the Devil and Matt did some unexplained trick.
  • Both the Eddie Brock and Max Gargan versions of Venom knew Peter Parker was Spider-Man, they didn't tell anyone because it was no one else's business.
    Gargan: I'll never tell, Parker. Why would I give away such a perfect stick to beat you with?
  • It's been hinted very often throughout the series that Robbie Robertson figured it out almost from the beginning. Robbie even admitted it after Peter revealed it during the Civil War storyline when Jonah was ranting about Peter being deceitful all the time.
    Robbie: Come on, Jonah! How could you have not figured it out? There's an emergency, Pete makes some excuse and runs out the door, then Spider-Man comes climbing through the window five seconds later! How many times did that happen? You didn't figure it out because you didn't want to figure it out!
  • After Dr. Strange cast a spell that made the world forget Peter's secret identity, Pete's re-revealed his secret identity to several characters, including the Fantastic 4, J. Jonah Jameson, and Black Cat.
• Over in the Spider-Gwen universe, Gwen Stacy revealed her identity as Spider-Woman to her father.
• Static: In the original comics, Frieda was a secret keeper for Static, unlike in the cartoon show.
• Superman:
  • In the Post-Crisis era, Lois Lane discovered Clark Kent's secret identity around the time they got engaged. Afterwards, Lois was a very able Secret Keeper. Early in the New 52 relaunch she did not know, but she eventually found out.
  • Bruce Wayne is also one of Clark's Secret Keepers (as is Clark for Bruce). This led to an amusing sequence when Bruce assumed Lois knew his secret, because he didn't expect Clark to keep secrets from his wife, whereas Clark felt it wasn't his secret to share. By the end of the story Lois has become another of Bruce's Secret Keepers.
  • Lana Lang, in Pre-Crisis continuity, sometimes knew Clark's secret and sometimes didn't. In some stories she knew it but was hypnotized to only remember it in certain circumstances (such as, for example, being in the 30th century as Insect Queen). One 1958 story even Deconstructed why Lana would make a poor secret keeper when she tried to cook up a new secret identity for an amnesiac Superboy as her 'cousin Andy'. Unfortunately her attempts to cover for 'Andy' backfired badly and she later ruefully concluded she just wasn't "smart enough" to hang onto the secret without blowing it. Post-Crisis onward, Lana definitely knows since Clark told her and has been a special confidant to him ever since.
  • Jonathan and Martha Kent started keeping Clark's secret long before he knew about it himself.
  • Supergirl knows her cousin's secret in all eras, and Superman also knows her Secret Identity. In the Pre-Crisis universe, Kara often helped him protect his Clark Kent persona.
  • Pete Ross discovered Superman's secret ID back when he was just Superboy during a camping trip. A convenient flash of lightning revealed Clark changing clothes, and Pete kept it secret, not even letting Superboy know that he knew. He once even used his knowledge to become an honorary member of the Legion of Super-Heroes by claiming he had telepathy and knew Superboy's secret ID. Writing the identity on a lead tablet so Superboy couldn't see. Superboy assumed Pete was bluffing and that everyone else was just going along with the joke.
  • In Superman (Volume 3) #38, Clark reveals his secret to Jimmy Olsen.
  • In Superman vs. the Amazing Spider-Man, it is implied — although not outright stated — Clark and Peter figured each other's Secret Identities:
    Clark: [shaking hands] It seems we covered the same event, Parker — though I don't recall seeing you there.
    Peter: I stick to the shadows, Kent... apparently just like you.
  • In Krypton No More, villains Protector and Radion kept each others' existence secret for years.
  • In the Pre-Crisis era, Supergirl's Secret Identity is Linda Lee Danvers. Her cousin Superman, her foster parents Fred and Edna Danvers -who were told in The Unknown Supergirl — and Barbara "Batgirl" Gordon know this since The Attack of the Annihilator story arc. In 2004 story Young Love, it was revealed that her childhood crush Dick Malverne always knew, but he kept mum.
  • In the Post-Crisis era, Superman, Lois, Pa and Ma Kent and Lana know that Linda Lang is Supergirl. Lana actually helped Kara set it up, pretending that she is her niece. Stephanie Brown — the third Batgirl — knows Kara's secret identity and vice versa.
  • In Supergirl (Rebirth), only Supergirl's foster parents — Jeremiah and Eliza Danvers — and her boss — Director Cameron Chase — know who Kara Danvers is.
  • In Elseworld's Finest: Supergirl & Batgirl, Supergirl and Batgirl -Barbara Gordon- figured out each other's identities.
  • In The Girl with the X-Ray Mind, Lex Luthor confesses to Supergirl that Lena Thorul is his little sister. She is completely unaware of her family roots, though, and he does not want her to know to not create problems for his sister. Supergirl agrees to keep their blood relationship secret from Lena.
  • In The Strange Revenge of Lena Luthor, the titular character learns Supergirl's secret identity and reassures her friend that she will keep her mouth shut.
  • "The Super-Steed of Steel": After Comet reveals he is not a normal horse but an ancient centaur turned into horse and given super-powers, Linda agrees to pretend he is a normal equine. She does not even tell her adoptive parents his secret for a while.
  • "Supergirl's Big Brother": Deconstructed. When their long-lost son reappears, Fred and Edna assure Linda that she can trust Jan with her secret identity. Linda ends revealing her secret, but she comes to regret it when "Jan" turns out to be a fraud impersonating the real Jan Danvers, and he tries to use the knowledge of her secret identity to blackmail her.
• Wonder Woman (1987): When Cassie started out as Wonder Girl she wore goggles and a wig to hide her identity to protect her mother, but kept her best friend George in the loop even while trying (and failing) to hide her activities from her mother.