I wondered yesterday whether the new Batgirl series would quickly reveal who was using that identity, or if they'd keep it a secret for awhile, perhaps revealing the answer at the end of the first arc.
Along that train of thought, when it comes to comics published in the monthly format, do you think there's a limit to how long you can keep a character's identity a secret*?
There's a lot of current options to compare, just with Marvel and DC. As far as I know, Jeph Loeb still hasn't revealed the identity of the Red Hulk** after 12 issues, the Spider-writers kept Menace's identity (and the identity of the Spider-Tracer Killer) a mystery for over a year (which translated to around 30 issues), Supergirl had the "Who is Superwoman?" arc, and I think they just answered that this month, so that ran three or four months. The classic example, for me, is the Hobgoblin, where it took them around 4 years to get around to telling us he was Ned Leeds.
So, optimal length of the mystery. Probably how long one could string it out is mostly reliant on the skill of the creative team. They have to decide how prominent that question is for the story. Is it a source of constant focus, at the forefront, or does its importance wax and wane, as the character in question comes and goes from the stage? If its a major plot point, they probably have less leeway, since they keep it in the reader's mind prominently,a nd eventually the reader is going to expect resolution. If they rotate it with other plots, they can probably wait a while longer, since there are other things to occupy the reader (and the characters), but then they run the risk of reader's not caring. Maybe they're more interested in another plot thread running concurrently, and how important can the identity of X be, if it hasn't been mentioned much the previous {insert number} of issues?
I think it probably helps if its treated as a real mystery, where the reader learns clues with the characters, so maybe we can put it together ourselves. Of course, the writer has to have a talent for that, so they don't blow it before they're ready to do a big reveal. And the writer would have to play fair*** if they were going to do that.
How long it can be played out probably also relates to whether the mystery surrounds the protagonist, or an antagonist. If it's an enemy, the mystery can be a boost, because the hero can never be sure (until they think they know who it is) if the foe is around somewhere. I think there'd be more trouble if the creative team tried to have a story where the reader has no idea who the protagonist is. You could still do it, but I think that readers would have less patience for not knowing, especially if a big deal is made of the fact that they don't know.
Maybe it would work if the fact the hero's identity is a secret to us isn't treated as a big mystery. Where no in the story is making any progress in figuring out who the hero is****, and so we don't have any way of knowing either. That could be drifting into meta-territory, where the hero's identity is a secret because each of us envision the hero differently, and so the who the hero is changes constantly, based on the whims of the reader. With that in effect, it would be understandable that the other characters haven't had any success discerning who the mysterious do-gooder is. The trick there would be, for maximum effect, the writer and artist would have to portray the protagonist in the most neutral way possible, from posture, gender, tactics, dialogue, attitude, any personal touches, so that the reader could interpret these as they see fit, and thus see the protagonist on their terms. Which honestly, sounds like an absolute pain in the rear.
Anyway, stories revolving around hidden identities, and attempts to make them hidden no more. How long do you think they could (should?) go?
* I mean secret from the readers, not the other characters in the story.
** Somewhat jokingly, do you think Loeb knows who Red Hulk will wind up being? Do you think the answer changes from one minute to the next, perhaps reacting to his mood, or how his breakfast is digesting?
*** So no, "Oh crap, they realized Captain Atom will be Monarch! Quick, change it to. . . Hawk! They'll never see that coming! We sure outsmarted them!" That's just weak.
**** Or they aren't trying to find out. Or they don't even know there's a hero whose identity they should be trying to learn.
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I think if the solo protagonist has an actual secret identity then it can really only be kept secret for 1-2 story arcs. Otherwise it becomes impossible to tell any stories outside of the costume.
A character who's part of a team can postpone the reveal much longer (Cable's a decent example there).
Antagonists don't have that same problem, so they can be postponed for years (as Hobgoblin was). The risk with this though is that the actual identity changes as writers and editors change it, so when the reveal happens it just doesn't make any sense (see Onslaught) based on previous clues.
And as for Loeb knowing an id for Red Hulk. My guess is no. :)
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