History Main / AntiClimacticUnmasking

** In a [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] issue, Heat Wave manages to unmask the Flash and is disappointed to find that he's a total stranger. It is still a cause for concern for Barry, since Heat Wave could've identified him if he ever ran across Barry in his civilian life, but by the time Heat Wave put two and two together he'd already reformed.
** In another story, Barry has a psychic teenage stalker who draws him to her and makes him unmask himself... and then rejects him and leaves, let down that he looks so "ordinary". Barry can't help but feel a little insulted.
** In ''ComicBook/TheFlashRebirth'', Barry tries to get the anti-hero Fuerza to trust him by removing his mask and revealing his name, only for her to say she both has no idea who he is and [[SecretIdentityApathy doesn't care who he is]].

** One episode has ComicBook/LexLuthor [[FreakyFridayFlip swapping bodies]] with Franchise/TheFlash. As he's being chased through the Watchtower by the rest of the League, he stops in a bathroom and muses that at the very least, he has the opportunity to learn Flash's secret identity. As the director's commentary notes, since very few masked heroes are like billionaire Bruce Wayne or award-winning journalist Clark Kent in their civilian lives, Lex's reaction realistically (and humorously) couldn't be anything but this trope.

* ''Anime/CardfightVanguard'': In the last Asia Circuit stage, Jun attempts to pull a DramaticUnmasking to Aichi... only for a confused Aichi to retort that he has no idea who he is. Nor does most of the audience in the stadium, for that matter. The one person who ''is'' alarmed is Miwa, who explains that Jun is an underground fighter and one of [[TheAce Kai's]] regular cardfight partners. Aichi gets far more alarmed when Jun explains that he's the one who owns that illegal fighting table in the parking lot that Aichi and Kai had a cardfight on prior to the climax of the Vanguard Championship arc.

** In ''Starcrossed'', Flash is wary about revealing his identity for the rest of the Justice League... only for Batman (who'd figured out the others' identities beforehand) to solve that problem by outing Flash, Superman, and himself.

* In ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManTheAnimatedSeries'', Peter is BroughtDownToNormal and is facing off against the Insidious Six because they realized the dude who was always taking Spider-Man's pictures might have a connection to him, and kidnapped Aunt May. Because Peter lacks most of his powers and is facing off against six super-powered foes, he is quickly beaten and unmasked before the Kingpin and dissatisfied members of his criminal empire like Silvermane... only for Doctor Octopus to declare that Peter Parker could not be Spider-Man as Peter did not have any powers. This pisses off Silvermane and he accuses the Kingpin of kidnapping an old woman and strong-arming her desperate nephew to play along.

* ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'': A relatively common reaction from villains who manage to see [[Characters/MarvelComicsPeterParkers Peter Parker]]'s face is to lament how average or unimpressive-looking he is.
** In ''ComicBook/MarvelKnightsSpiderMan'' #4, the Vulture attacks a battered Spider-Man from a hospital bed and finally gets a good look at his face. He's dismayed to realize that his archenemy, who he'd assumed was someone famous, could be stacking shelves or pumping gas for a living. "You could be anybody..." he says, disheartened. "Geeze, this is depressing... all those years of getting beaten by a nobody." PlayedWith in that it might have been Peters' badly bruised face that made him unrecognisable, as Peter Parker was quite well known as "the guy who takes pictures of Spiderman" by that point, and in fact the Vulture ''had'' met him in older stories.

* Done the opposite way to the typical use in ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManAcrossTheSpiderVerse'': When Miles [[spoiler: reveals he's Spider-Man to his mother at the end of the film, she shows no interest whatsoever... [[ForWantOfANail because she doesn't know who]] ''[[ForWantOfANail Spider-Man]]'' [[ForWantOfANail is]] ]].

** In ''Creator/MarvelKnightsSpiderMan'' #4, the Vulture attacks a battered Spider-Man from a hospital bed and finally gets a good look at his face. He's dismayed to realize that his archenemy, who he'd assumed was someone famous, could be stacking shelves or pumping gas for a living. "You could be anybody..." he says, disheartened. "Geeze, this is depressing... all those years of getting beaten by a nobody." PlayedWith in that it might have been Peters' badly bruised face that made him unrecognisable, as Peter Parker was quite well known as "the guy who takes pictures of Spiderman" by that point, and in fact the Vulture ''had'' met him in older stories.

** In ''Creator/MarvelKnights Spider-Man'' #4, the Vulture attacks a battered Spider-Man from a hospital bed and finally gets a good look at his face. He's dismayed to realize that his archenemy, who he'd assumed was someone famous, could be stacking shelves or pumping gas for a living. "You could be anybody..." he says, disheartened. "Geeze, this is depressing... all those years of getting beaten by a nobody." PlayedWith in that it might have been Peters' badly bruised face that made him unrecognisable, as Peter Parker was quite well known as "the guy who takes pictures of Spiderman" by that point, and in fact the Vulture ''had'' met him in older stories.

** [[ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManJMichaelStraczynski "The Other"]] had Spidey thoroughly beaten... when one of the paramedics objects to removing his mask, a more experienced paramedic literally tells him to grow up and cuts him out of the mask. However, he is so beaten and bruised that he wouldn't be recognizable even to people who do know him.
** In what may be a MythologyGag, ''ComicBook/SuperiorSpiderMan'' ends with Peter (back in his own body) unmasking the Goblin King. He expects Osborn, but finds Mason Banks, who Peter has never met in his life. "Banks" [[SubvertedTrope then claims]] he ''is'' Osborn, post-MagicPlasticSurgery.
** In one ''What If?'' comic about possible ends to ''ComicBook/CivilWar2006'', Spidey gets killed, and nobody knows who he is when they remove his mask and try to identify him.

** Inverted in ''The Spectacular Spider-Man'' #308, dealing with the death of Sandman, whom Spider-Man is comforting before he passes away. Spidey offers to unmask to show his old enemy who he'd actually been fighting and Sandman refuses, fearing it might be a little ''too'' climactic for him:

** Provides a humorous resolution to a brief story in ''Amazing Spider-Man'' #262 where paparazzi photographer "Dirty Jake" Jones catches Peter Parker changing clothes at the airport and shoots a picture. After Spidey finally retrieves and destroys the film, Jones consoles himself with the fact that at least he still knows what Spider-Man looks like and asks himself "How hard can it be to find a single face?" ... as the perspective widens to show him [[AloneInACrowd standing in the midst of a typically immense New York crowd.]]
* This is OlderThanTheyThink, since this situation first occurred in a Golden Age ''[[ComicBook/GreenLantern1941 Green Lantern]]'' story. The thugs didn't recognize an unmasked Alan Scott, since he wasn't anybody particularly prominent, but [[spoiler:his buddy Doiby Dickles DID]].
* Revealed [[HiddenInPlainSight retroactively]] in ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}''. [[spoiler:Long before Rorschach is unmasked, his alter ego is shown on-page many times as a random kook with a sign that reads "the end is near".]] Because the character was not notable at all, it was easy for readers to dismiss him as being an extra.
* In ''ComicBook/{{Empowered}}'', when some villains unmask the eponymous heroine and are surprised not to recognize her, she stalls for time by trying to convince everyone that she's really a cross-dressing man (despite her ultra-skin-tight costume), and so are ''all'' the other members of her super-team. This works, and she's rescued, but the story turns up on the news the next day.
* In ''Astonishing ComicBook/XMen'' as written by Creator/WarrenEllis, the X-Men spend the better part of a story arc hunting down a man named Kaga who is using dead X-Men, Brood and Sentinels to try and kill them. Kaga turns out to be [[spoiler: an old cripple in a wheelchair.]] Even better, his motivation for trying to kill them is anticlimactic in itself, amounting to [[spoiler: hatred of them for being gorgeous, picturesque mutants, rather than like him, a deformed old freak whose more mundane mutation was a result of Hiroshima.]] Kaga himself {{lampshade|Hanging}}s this, sneering "What were you expecting? A master plan? A scheme to turn off the sun? [[ThisIsReality This is the real world]]. Hatred and disgust are good enough reasons to want to kill people."
* The long-running Scourge of the Underworld storyline in the Franchise/MarvelUniverse ended when ComicBook/CaptainAmerica catches and unmasks Scourge, only to discover that he is no-one we'd ever seen before, and claims to be the previously unmentioned brother of one of the villains killed by Scourge. Naturally, this turns out to be [[spoiler:a lie used by Scourge operatives when captured (the use of a vaguely credible backstory tying them to one of their victims)]] and the real mastermind is [[spoiler: [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]] hero the Angel, who financed and oversaw the villain-killing outfit]]. Admittedly this was as much a [[FaceHeelTurn left-field reveal]] as the original unmasking, doubly so, since it occurred seven years after the first reveal.
* ''Franchise/TheFlash'':

* In one issue of ''ComicBook/MarshalLaw'', a gang of {{Jerkass}} supers ambush Law while he's trying to get something done and rip his mask off. They then let him go in disappointment when he doesn't turn out to be a celebrity.

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* ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'': A relatively common reaction from villains who manage to see Spidey's face is to lament how average or unimpressive-looking he is.

** Nor is Peter the only Spider-Man to have this happen. In ''ComicBook/SpiderMan2016'', when ComicBook/BlackCat and Hammerhead capture and unmask ComicBook/MilesMorales, they have no idea who he is. Given the level of technology available they try using facial recognition software, only to discover that all record of his identity has been erased. Which leaves them still with no clue as to who Miles is, but since only ComicBook/{{SHIELD}} could've pulled off such a trick [[RevealingCoverup it tells them that he's considered way more important than a rookie hero ought to be]].

* Defied in ''ComicBook/IdentityCrisis'', during the DarkerAndEdgier retelling of a story where the Injustice Gang swapped minds with the Justice League. While the villains didn't know ''exactly'' who the heroes are, they had enough forethought to take a camera along, so they could analyze the heroes' secret identities at leisure.

** Provides a humorous resolution to a brief story where a paparazzi photographer catches Peter Parker changing clothes at the airport and shoots a picture. After Spidey finally retrieves and destroys the film, the photographer consoles himself with the fact that at least he still knows what Spider-Man looks like and asks himself "How hard could it be to identify a single face?" ... as the perspective widens to show him [[AloneInACrowd standing in the midst of a typically immense New York crowd.]]

* ''Franchise/SpiderMan'':
** In one ''Marvel Knights ComicBook/SpiderMan'' comic, the Vulture attacks a battered Spider-Man from a hospital bed and finally gets a good look at his face. He's dismayed to realize that his archenemy, who he'd assumed was someone famous, could be stacking shelves or pumping gas for a living. "You could be anybody..." he says, disheartened. "Geeze, this is depressing... all those years of getting beaten by a nobody." PlayedWith in that it might have been Peters' badly bruised face that made him unrecognisable, as Peter Parker was quite well known as "the guy who takes pictures of Spiderman" by that point, and in fact the Vulture ''had'' met him in older stories.

** Creator/SteveDitko did this even earlier in ''Spider-Man'' with Electro's first appearance. Spidey defeats him, and unmasks Electro but sees a stranger and remarks that he shouldn't have been surprised that the new villain turned out to be just some guy he'd never met. The same thing happens when he learns who Crime Master was.

** A relatively common reaction from villains who manage to see Spidey's face is to lament how average or unimpressive-looking he is.

** Nor is Peter the only Spider-Man to have this happen. When ComicBook/BlackCat and Hammerhead capture and unmask ComicBook/MilesMorales, they have no idea who he is. Given the level of technology available they try using facial recognition software, only to discover that all record of his identity has been erased. Which leaves them still with no clue as to who Miles is, but since only ComicBook/{{SHIELD}} could've pulled off such a trick [[RevealingCoverup it tells them that he's considered way more important than a rookie hero ought to be]].
** In a crossover with Deadpool, this happens when TheManBehindTheMan Patient Zero unmasks himself; his face is so disfigured that neither Spidey or Deadpool recognize him- with the exception of a few cracks at his appearance. [[spoiler: Deadpool actually does know him; he's Weasel, post- DealWithTheDevil.]]
** Inverted in one issue dealing with the death of Sandman, who Spider-Man is comforting before he passes away. Spidey offers to unmask to show his old enemy who he'd actually been fighting and Sandman refuses, fearing it might be a little ''too'' climactic for him:

** In one ''What If?'' comic about possible ends to ''ComicBook/CivilWar'', Spidey gets killed, and nobody knows who he is when they remove his mask and try to identify him.

** Calendar Girl spends [[Recap/TheNewBatmanAdventuresE13MeanSeasons the whole episode]] obsessing about how no-one can see her face, leading us to think that it's some hideous botched plastic surgery she got after being forced out of modeling. Instead she looks perfectly normal, but she can only see the tiny flaws from her aging.

* Done humorously so in the ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'' episode "[[Recap/TheBatmanS1E8QAndA Q&A]]", in which the villain Cluemaster kidnaps three people involved in the 70's children's game show "Think, Thank, Thunk", who he thinks screwed him out of his rightful win when he really lost fair and square. After all three people are kidnapped, he reveals himself as the man he cheated, and removes his mask. The hostages just stare at him for a few seconds, since it's been decades since they last saw him and he's become morbidly obese in the meantime.

[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/Incredibles2'': Played with. After a brief fight with who she believes to be the Screenslaver, Elastigirl defeats him and removes his mask, only to find some brainwashed pizza guy who has no recollection of anything he did with the Screenslaver mask on. Turns out he was a decoy, and the actual Screenslaver turns out to be [[spoiler:Evelyn Deavor]], who Elastigirl ''does'' know.

* Simultaneously played straight and averted in one episode of ''WesternAnimation/WhatsNewScoobyDoo'', when Velma unmasks the culprit to find a random woman she (and the audience) have never seen before, but who another character recognises as his secretary. Velma is not pleased about the culprit being someone she doesn't know, and insists that this doesn’t count as her being wrong.
** A few other Scooby-Doo episodes across the franchise have subverted this by having the unmasked villain ''appear'' to be someone the gang have never met before, only for it to then be revealed that they ''have'' seen them before, albeit in some sort of disguise.

* In ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords'', Visas Marr decides to look under the mask of [[EldritchAbomination Darth Nihilus]]. His face isn't revealed to us, but when asked what she saw she replies: "Just a man. Nothing more."

* In ''Film/{{Halloween|1978}}'', Michael is unmasked while struggling with Laurie, and he is revealed to be a normal looking 20-something. The most unusual thing about his appearance is the injury that Laurie inflicted to his left eye in the previous scene. This just makes him even more terrifying.