Anti-Climactic Unmasking: Difference between revisions

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Well, that was completely pointless. It turns out that, in addition to his mask, The Hero has something much more powerful protecting his [[Secret Identity]]: obscurity. The guy under that super suit could be the same guy bagging your groceries at Walmart. He could be your kid's soccer coach. He could be the President's niece's boyfriend. He's just one of a billion average faces amongst the entire human race.

Please note, however, that this doesn't mean that the mask is ''useless''. All it would take is enough people getting a good look at his face (such as in print, on television, ~~or--worse~~ ~~yet--on~~ the internet) and the hero's identity is blown for good. The mask helps keep the face beneath it obscure enough to keep him [[Hidden in Plain Sight]].

Please note, however, that this doesn't mean that the mask is ''useless''. All it would take is enough people getting a good look at his face (such as in print, on television, or—worse yet—on the internet) and the hero's identity is blown for good. The mask helps keep the face beneath it obscure enough to keep him [[Hidden in Plain Sight]].

Do not confuse with [[They Look Just Like Everyone Else]], when the villain has no alter ego and is simply too plain to distinguish from ordinary people, or [[The Un-Reveal]], when taking away one mask simply reveals another. This can overlap with [[Stranger Behind the Mask]], if the audience has never seen the unmasked party before. But this trope, emphasizes that it's a stranger to the in-universe ''characters''.

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== [[Film]] ==

* In ''[[Spider-Man (film)|Spider Man]] 2'', Spider-Man's mask is removed after he saves a train full of innocent civilians. They take a glance at him and realize that he could be anyone. One guy even states that Peter Parker looks a lot like his own son.

* Played with in the 2009 ''[[Speed Racer (film)|Speed Racer]]'' movie. Right after the Monte Cristo 5000 race, Speed and Racer X <ref>who is really Speed's older brother, Rex Racer</ref> meet on an empty track. When Speed claims that X is his older brother <ref>which he really is</ref>, X removes his mask to show that he is just some ~~guy--not~~ Speed's older brother, Rex Racer <ref>[[Running Gag|even though he is Speed's older brother, Rex]]</ref>. This turns out to be a ruse pulled off thanks to [[Magic Plastic Surgery]], because as we all know, {{spoiler|[[Overly Long Gag|Racer X is Speed's older brother, Rex Racer]]}}.

* Played with in the 2009 ''[[Speed Racer (film)|Speed Racer]]'' movie. Right after the Monte Cristo 5000 race, Speed and Racer X <ref>who is really Speed's older brother, Rex Racer</ref> meet on an empty track. When Speed claims that X is his older brother,<ref>which he really is</ref> X removes his mask to show that he is just some guy—not Speed's older brother, Rex Racer.<ref>[[Running Gag|even though he is Speed's older brother, Rex]]</ref> This turns out to be a ruse pulled off thanks to [[Magic Plastic Surgery]], because as we all know, {{spoiler|[[Overly Long Gag|Racer X is Speed's older brother, Rex Racer]]}}.

* Quietly played straight in ''[[Kick-Ass (film)|Kick-Ass]]''. Our hero is beaten down by thugs early into the film and stripped of his costume by the paramedics. They toss the suit out and never tell his father. Later, when Kick-Ass becomes all the rage, it seems no one remembers that geeky kid who was just one more random mugging victim.

* Inverted and combined with [[Stranger Behind the Mask]] during the ending to ''[[8mm]]'' when [[Nicolas Cage]] takes the mask off [[The Dragon|Machine]] and he's just a bald fat guy who "does it because he enjoys it". He even has a speech about the fact his unmasking was inevitably going to be anti-climactic.