OK in comics and comic based films there is always plot armour which prevents the heroes from being unmasked or when it does happen it gets ignored or the reset button gets hit so everyone forgets.
Case in point - Spider-Man 2 which sees Peter unmasked in front of an entire train full of people, camera phones existed at the time of release, granted they are much more primitive than smartphones but still anyone could have gotten a photo of Peter's face and sold it to the highest bidder to mint some serious coin. Instead the crowd just puts his mask back and agrees to forget about it collectively.
Now let's fast forward to 2021 and break down everything a superhero would need to contend with to keep their identity hidden.
Smartphones automatically massively exponentially increase the number of cameras in any given area, with HD video and decent still image quality in the pockets of pretty much everyone ready to snap a pic or video literally instantly. Also consider cloud based back ups even if our bystander loses their phone there is a strong chance the data is backed up. Then on top we have drones which makes following a superhero in real time a possibility. Then we also have dashcams to think about as well on, cars, buses and taxis etc. Plus superheroes will attract both pro and amateur photographers as well, some equipped with high end gear.
Following on from this, home CCTV has exploded in popularity with wall mounted cameras and Ring style doorbell cameras. So when we factor in government operated CCTV, home CCTV, smartphones, dashcams, superhero chasing photographers and drones, you suddenly find that getting away from cameras is extremely difficult.
Also if you're carrying a smartphone, you are a goldmine of information, email, call history, message history a camera and microphone that could be activated without your knowledge at any second. Highly accurate location tracking too, a hacked or real time tracked smartphone is a checkmate level move given the amount of information they contain.
Then there is the biggest threat of them all, the one that ties it all together - social media. Once any or all of this get onto social media it's just a matter of time, sighting data and videos/photos get collated and reported in real time, once analysts start cross referencing what is out there it won't take long for patterns to become apparent.
Given all of this, realistically no superhero makes it 6 months or less without getting ID'ed.
Case in point - Spider-Man 2 which sees Peter unmasked in front of an entire train full of people, camera phones existed at the time of release, granted they are much more primitive than smartphones but still anyone could have gotten a photo of Peter's face and sold it to the highest bidder to mint some serious coin. Instead the crowd just puts his mask back and agrees to forget about it collectively.
Now let's fast forward to 2021 and break down everything a superhero would need to contend with to keep their identity hidden.
Smartphones automatically massively exponentially increase the number of cameras in any given area, with HD video and decent still image quality in the pockets of pretty much everyone ready to snap a pic or video literally instantly. Also consider cloud based back ups even if our bystander loses their phone there is a strong chance the data is backed up. Then on top we have drones which makes following a superhero in real time a possibility. Then we also have dashcams to think about as well on, cars, buses and taxis etc. Plus superheroes will attract both pro and amateur photographers as well, some equipped with high end gear.
Following on from this, home CCTV has exploded in popularity with wall mounted cameras and Ring style doorbell cameras. So when we factor in government operated CCTV, home CCTV, smartphones, dashcams, superhero chasing photographers and drones, you suddenly find that getting away from cameras is extremely difficult.
Also if you're carrying a smartphone, you are a goldmine of information, email, call history, message history a camera and microphone that could be activated without your knowledge at any second. Highly accurate location tracking too, a hacked or real time tracked smartphone is a checkmate level move given the amount of information they contain.
Then there is the biggest threat of them all, the one that ties it all together - social media. Once any or all of this get onto social media it's just a matter of time, sighting data and videos/photos get collated and reported in real time, once analysts start cross referencing what is out there it won't take long for patterns to become apparent.
Given all of this, realistically no superhero makes it 6 months or less without getting ID'ed.
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