OH MY GOODNESS this explains so much! Now I know why they can just casually shove me aside as they walk aimlessly around in circles.. they are actually stronger than I am. LOL Tell you what that guy that pretends to be a bum and sleeps at the entrance to the old Dance club in Talos is an amazing actor .. He really does look and act like a bum and here all the time as soon as I am out of sight he's pounding on Freakshow and Tsoo. This also explains why that old lady in Atlas who is having her purse snatched can hang onto it so long until I show up to "save" the day? Bet as soon as I round the corner she whips that Hellion around by the purse straps and pounds him silly on the sidewalk. hmmm must set up hidden camera in Atlas to record this and send it to World's Funniest Videos.
/heartily signs approval to this revealing discovery and will never bother helping a civillian again.
�We�re always the good guys. In D&D, we�re lawful good. In City of Heroes we�re the heroes. In Grand Theft Auto we pay the prostitutes promptly and never hit them with a bat.� � Leonard
�Those women are prostitutes? You said they were raising money for stem cell research!� � Sheldon
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Why does Superman even need to be Clark Kent? For the amazing money I'm sure he makes as a reporter?
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I'm sure he would like to walk the streets of New York with some semblance of normalcy. I mean, who doesn't like at least a little anonymity
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It lets him know when something is happening as it happens. That and he's apparently pretty good at the whole journalism thing.
Aegis Rose, Forcefield/Energy Defender - Freedom
"Bubble up for safety!"
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For Bruce Wayne/Batman the normal man is the true nature and the hero is the affectation while for Clark Kent/Superman the normal man is the act and the hero persona is his true self.
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I've always seen it as just the opposite. At least, that's how the DCAU characterizes them, so that's good enough for me.
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I'd even go s far and say there is NO normal man with Batman. There is only Batman and the disguises Batman wears. Bruce Wayne is one of these. If needed, Batman can shed the Bruce Wayne character, but he can't stop being Batman. I think there was a story arc where Bruce Wayne was wanted, so Batman shed the Bruce Wayne disguise until he could clear its name.
Clark Kent is an idealist raised in the country. He's an honest and helpful man. Who, by the way, is from the plant Krypton and can benchpress continents. But he's still an honest and helpful man. With that kind of power, he became Superman. What he thinks a true hero should be. Superman is an idealistic boyscout, because that's how Clark sees the ideal hero, and he has the power to act on that ideal. If he needed to, Clark could stop being Superman and settle down quietly. But as long as Superman is needed, he'll keep up the act.
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Exactly the way I see them too. Although you left out the fact that Superman/Clark Kent is about as exciting as watching paint dry...
Main Hero: Flame Blade (Scrapper lvl 50; Katana/Regeneration)
Main Villain: Elenor Seahawk (Mastermind lvl 44; Necromancy/Poison)
My Arcs: #337278: Learning Curve
Fight my Brute: SMASH
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Why does Superman even need to be Clark Kent? For the amazing money I'm sure he makes as a reporter?
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I'm sure he would like to walk the streets of New York with some semblance of normalcy. I mean, who doesn't like at least a little anonymity
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It lets him know when something is happening as it happens. That and he's apparently pretty good at the whole journalism thing.
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I've heard a few theories over the years- originally, it was just so he'd have his finger on the pulse of what was happening as it happened (given that at that point, he couldn't hear a gnat fart in Pnohm Penh while sitting at his desk).
In more recent years, it's partially a way to unwind, and partially a way to continue the "Neverending Battle"- he can do things as Clark Kent, Respected Journalist that would simply be impossible for Superman. It's also a job he can do without feeling like he has a huge unfair advantage- sure, he can seek out more dangerous stories than average without much risk, but to actually write well- that's all 'man', without any 'Super' interfering.
And I'm a fan of both Batman and Superman when they're written well.
"A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head." Seven Habits of Highly Effective Pirates
MA Arcs: #12285, "Small Fears", #106553, "Trollbane", #12669, "How to Survive a Robot Uprising"
The mystery is solved, thank you.
Now knowing that all those civilians are Supers in disguise, maybe I won't be obsessively compelled to stop every purse snatching and mugging I see...
I try to stay as high up off the streets or run through them as fast as I can for a reason, and not just to get to point B faster.
"Where does he get those wonderful toys?" - The Joker
Scene at a Paragon City school for adult education:
"Welcome back class. Tonight we are going to review the lessons we learned last week for how to react to a street thug when you are in your secret identity. Now, what was the word I asked you all to remember?"
"Crap!"
"Right, C.R.A.P.
Cower back in fear.
Run away as though in terror.
Assume your hero garb once out of sight.
Pummel the bad guy once you go back."
My mind wanders so often you've probably seen its picture on milk cartons. - Me... the first person version of the third person Steelclaw
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For Bruce Wayne/Batman the normal man is the true nature and the hero is the affectation while for Clark Kent/Superman the normal man is the act and the hero persona is his true self.
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I've always seen it as just the opposite. At least, that's how the DCAU characterizes them, so that's good enough for me.
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I'd even go s far and say there is NO normal man with Batman. There is only Batman and the disguises Batman wears. Bruce Wayne is one of these. If needed, Batman can shed the Bruce Wayne character, but he can't stop being Batman. I think there was a story arc where Bruce Wayne was wanted, so Batman shed the Bruce Wayne disguise until he could clear its name.
Clark Kent is an idealist raised in the country. He's an honest and helpful man. Who, by the way, is from the plant Krypton and can benchpress continents. But he's still an honest and helpful man. With that kind of power, he became Superman. What he thinks a true hero should be. Superman is an idealistic boyscout, because that's how Clark sees the ideal hero, and he has the power to act on that ideal. If he needed to, Clark could stop being Superman and settle down quietly. But as long as Superman is needed, he'll keep up the act.
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I have to agree with Bruce Wayne being Batman's disguise. There is a Batman Beyond episode titled "Shriek", where the main bad guy (Shriek, of course) is an acoustic engineer and uses focused sound waves to demolish things. Bruce Wayne is injured in one of Shriek's attacks, and is hospitalized. While Bruce in the hospital Shriek bribes a nurse to put a tiny transmitter in the bandages on Bruce's head, and Shriek then proceeds to try to make Bruce think he is crazy...hearing voices. The voices (Shriek) say things like "Bruce, you should just give up." "Jump out the window Bruce." After the plot is discovered and Shriek defeated, this exchange occurs between Bruce and Terry (paraphrased):
Bruce: I knew I wasn't crazy. The voices kept calling me 'Bruce'. When I talk to myself in my head, I don't call myself 'Bruce'.
Terry: Oh? So what do you call yourself.
Bruce: ...
Terry: Oh, right.
So, in his own head Bruce Wayne doesn't say, "Come on Bruce, keep it together!", he says "Come on Batman, keep it together!"
FYI here's the dialogue:
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Bill: As you know, l'm quite keen on comic books. Especially the ones about superheroes. I find the whole mythology surrounding superheroes fascinating. Take my favorite superhero, Superman. Not a great comic book. Not particularly well-drawn. But the mythology... The mythology is not only great, it's unique.
The Bride: [who still has a needle in her leg] How long does this [censored] take to go into effect?
Bill: About two minutes, just long enough for me to finish my point. Now, a staple of the superhero mythology is, there's the superhero and there's the alter ego. Batman is actually Bruce Wayne, Spider-Man is actually Peter Parker. When that character wakes up in the morning, he's Peter Parker. He has to put on a costume to become Spider-Man. And it is in that characteristic Superman stands alone. Superman didn't become Superman. Superman was born Superman. When Superman wakes up in the morning, he's Superman. His alter ego is Clark Kent. His outfit with the big red "S", that's the blanket he was wrapped in as a baby when the Kents found him. Those are his clothes. What Kent wears - the glasses, the business suit - that's the costume. That's the costume Superman wears to blend in with us. Clark Kent is how Superman views us. And what are the characteristics of Clark Kent. He's weak... he's unsure of himself... he's a coward. Clark Kent is Superman's critique on the whole human race. Sorta like Beatrix Kiddo and Mrs. Tommy Plimpton
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@Blood Beret(2)Twitter
I am a bad speeler, use poorer grammar, and am a frequent typoist.
MA ArcID: 1197
You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life. Winston Churchill
Wait a minute, Clark Kent is actually Superman!!?
Thanks for, you know, not warning me about the spoiler or anything. 
We've been saving Paragon City for eight and a half years. It's time to do it one more time.
(If you love this game as much as I do, please read that post.)
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What about BicycleRepairMan?
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Robotics Mastermind with Super Speed.
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No. Ulli means this guy.
Superman can live without his secret identity, but he doesn't want to. He'd probably go nuts. He was raised in perhaps one of the most 'normal' households you can get, he's comfortable living as an ordinary guy and donning the cape when people need his help.
Batman... is far more complicated than just an opposite. He has personas within personas- the public sees the irresponsible, carefree, reclusive billionaire, and the mysterious, intimidating Batman. Batman uses fear to his advantage, and scares many criminals straight with just a look, but is that really him?
There's the side to Batman that only his allies and enemies see- the cunning, resourceful and knowledgeable detective, who can use his brain to outwit brutes and super-geniuses before even throwing a punch, but also a broody loner who hides his emotions as best he can. And finally, there's the one very few people in the world can claim to have seen- the sad compassion of a man who has seen much of the suffering the world has to offer, who channels his grief, pain and trauma into a never-ending battle to try to stop anyone from having to go through the things he had.
Let's face it, Batman is a pretty interesting character. Only the readers get to see every side of him, and try to piece together the full picture of the man.