To Mask Or Not To Mask, That Is The Question

The question of identity comes up time and time again with superheroes.  Where do you draw the line at keeping your identity at bay?  There are pros and cons to all the different levels of identity-keeping.

The two extremes here are: No Mask, where everyone can clearly see your face, and Full Cowl, where no one can see your face (or majority of your face) and hair, leaving everyone to wonder who you are.  You can see the full spectrum on the diagram below.

No Mask - Some heroes opt to not wear a mask.  They don’t feel the need to hide their identity or keep anything a secret.  No one can hold your identity over you as leverage, but in civilian life you may run into people asking you about your RLSH work.

Hat or Helmet - I suppose we could also include wigs in this section.  Wearing a hat, helmet, or wig can help hide your real identity without forcing you to wear a mask.  Your identity can still be known, but it may be enough to separate your civilian life from RLSH life.

Eyewear - Sunglasses, Glasses, Smart Glasses, Goggles, or Colored Contacts can act as a type of mask without being a full mask.  Also, you can get some of these things with corrective lenses.  Eyewear will often remain in people’s minds as part of your look.  If your eyewear has lenses, I recommend either colored or mirrored if possible.  Make sure that your eyewear is suitable for your regular patrol times and that you can clearly make out appropriate colors.

Makeup - Simple makeup can change your appearance, act as a mask, and won’t get in the way like some masks can.  An issue with makeup lies with removing it.  A quick change out of your uniform may not be possible with makeup.  Another part of “makeup” would be prosthetics, adding facial hair, a fake nose, a scar, or something else that can alter your appearance so onlookers can’t identify you.

Eye Mask - Eye masks are only situated around the eyes, such as what you see with Robin (Batman’s sidekick).  These come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and materials.  There are prosthetic eye masks, which need to be applied with spirit gum and taken off with spirit gum remover (Rogue Design FX).  You may want to opt for a leather eye mask, which run about $20-40 usually.  They work, they’re easy to take off/put on, and they keep your identity secret at a glance.

Half Mask - A half mask is something that covers half of your face.  In the 2010s, covering the bottom half of the face grew in popularity (covering the nose and mouth).  Top half masks tend to cover the top front half of the face and sometimes part or all of the back of the head (like Wolverine).  These are pretty good at keeping your identity a secret while providing head/neck mobility and allowing for full vision.

Full Cowl - A full cowl covers the entire head (sometimes the exception is the mouth) and neck.  We see this with comic book heroes like Batman, The Flash, Deadpool, The Tick, and others.  This does keep your identity a secret, but there are issues.  Depending on the material used, you can have head/neck mobility issues. Luchador masks cover the entire head, but don't cover the neck.  Depending on the style of cowl, you can lose some vision.  You may have an increase of people wondering who you are, a repeated topic in Batman comics.

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What are your preferences when it comes to this? Mask? No Mask? Something in between?