History Main / StevenUlyssesPerhero

** When Marvel needed a surname for Alicia, the fans picked "Masters", as her father was the villain Puppet Master. This retroactively made him an example of this, and he'd later be given the full name Phillip Masters, to boot.

** SpiritualSuccessor ''ComicBook/BatmanCreatureOfTheNight stars Bruce Wainwright, who finds after his parents' death that he can summon a bat-like wraith that does his bidding. Being a Batman fan, he naturally chooses to try and fight crime with it. [[spoiler: It is later revealed that the bat creature is really Thomas Wainwright, his deceased brother.]]

* William I. Zard, the Wizard, was a [[MediaNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]] supervillain.

* The superhero duo Hawk and Dove's real names were ''Ha''nk Hall and ''Do''n Hall. Their names are derived from old names for pro and anti-war protestors. It just so happens that Hank, whose name sounds like Hawk, is a hawk, and Don, whose name resembles the word dove, is a dove. Still present to a lesser degree with their female counterparts, Holly and Dawn Granger, whose names start with the same letters as their name sakes.

* ''ComicBook/{{Daredevil}}'' has Leland Owlsley, a crime boss who goes by the name Owl, who can fly, has claws and back in MediaNotes/{{the Silver Age|OfComicBooks}} had both a owl shaped lair and a owl shaped air ship.

* Parodied in [[VideoGame/RiddleSchool Riddle School 2]] with Mr. O. Boe, Phil notes that he doesn't know anything about music and only got hired because of his name.

* In a ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' skit featuring [[Wrestling/DwayneJohnson Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson]] as a terminally incompetent Superman, Jimmy Olsen comments on how much his secret identity-keeping has improved: "At least he's not calling himself 'Supe R. Man' anymore."

Most common in [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] comics, although it still shows up from time to time.

* [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]] "hero" Johnny Thunder, an inept UnluckyEverydude who is fated to be the master of the Thunderbolt, a powerful magical being. He uses it as a SecretPublicIdentity.

* William I. Zard, the Wizard, was a [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]] supervillain.

* Though the Calculator was given the name Noah Kuttler in his later appearances, creator Bob Rozakis has said in interviews that his [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] secret identity was "Calvin Q. Later".

** '''X'''avier himself, leader of the ComicBook/XMen (supposedly named for the "X-factor" mutant gene, not Charles' initial, so it counts). His secret super-hero codename is "[[Characters/MarvelComicsProfessorX Professor X]]" (no one would [[SarcasmMode ever suspect]] they were the same guy). Also relates to the similarly-pronounced "savior," as this man has proven to be for generations of mutants. This was played with by Creator/NeilGaiman in his ''ComicBook/{{Marvel 1602}}'' miniseries: "Xavier" became "Javier" and "X" became what the "witchbreed" were branded with when they were persecuted. And in the first-ever issue of ''X-Men'', Xavier explained that he named his protege the X-Men because their mutations gave them an e'''X'''tra power. (It was UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks. That's just how things were then.)

* ''ComicBook/{{Daredevil}}'' has Leland Owlsley, a crime boss who goes by the name Owl, who can fly, has claws and back in UsefulNotes/{{the Silver Age|OfComicBooks}} had both a owl shaped lair and a owl shaped air ship.

* The title character of the UsefulNotes/{{Amiga}} game ''Benefactor'' is named Ben E. Factor.

With villains, this trope frequently coincides with {{Idiosyncrazy}}. PropheticNames is the more general case, where names reflect a character's status, abilities, personality, or other features. A character who just never bothers with a pseudonym has a SecretPublicIdentity. See also SueDonym for real people who do this. Compare AstonishinglyAppropriateAppearance, which is when the appearance rather than the name is meaningful. Also compare with EpunymousTitle, when the title of a series uses a character's name as basis to compare with the series' premise.

* In ''Literature/VillainessLevel99'', the {{dark|isnotevil}} magic user is Yumiella ''Dolkness'', while the {{light|emup}} magic user is Alicia ''Enlyght''.

** Victor Fries (pronounced "freeze") became [[Characters/BatmanRoguesGalleryPart2 Mr. Freeze]] after an accident made him incapable of surviving in anything but subzero temperatures. In his origin story in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'', he is employed by Mr. Boyle (pronounced "boil").

* Johnny ''Blaze'' gained hellfire powers to become the Comicbook/GhostRider.

* A possibly unintentional example: by claiming Dr Ivo Robotnik was a SdrawkcabName, ''Comicbook/SonicTheComic'' made Robotnik/Eggman's "real" first name in this continuity "Ovi" ... which is a Latin prefix meaning to do with eggs.

* Painkiller in ''Comicbook/BlackLightning'' was never given a real name. In [[Series/BlackLightning2018 the TV series]], he's NamedByTheAdaptation as Khalil Payne.

** Lock-Up, real name Lyle ''Bolton''.

* ''ComicBook/DoctorStrange'' is not just a cool name for the Sorcerer Supreme, the most powerful magician in the Marvel Universe; it's also just his actual name and title -- Dr. Stephen Strange, M.D. (he was a neurosurgeon before becoming a sorcerer).

* A very occasional nemesis of Spider-Man: Johnny Ohnn, the Spot.

** In his native language, [[Characters/TheInhumans Black Bolt]]'s name is Blackagar Boltagon. He just happens to dress in black and have bolts from his head.

* ''Film/UpPompeii'' has '''Procur'''ia. "Procure" means to obtain something, which makes sense for a slave trader.

** [[Characters/MarvelComicsEmmaFrost Emma Frost]] is an interesting case. Her name is "Frost" and she dresses in white, but has ''telepathy''. Downplayed later when she gained a secondary mutation to turn into a diamond-like (or ''ice''-like) substance. In the mid-90s, she had a story arc with X-Men member [[Characters/MarvelComicsIceman Iceman]] in which she ended up inhabiting his brain for some time. The chances of a romantic relationship happening afterward were hinted at repeatedly, but the endless opportunities for kitschy fan names ran rampant, which is possibly why the relationship never materialized. And in ''Film/XMenFirstClass'', she is played by Creator/JanuaryJones, which sounds like a comic-book name.
** The Vanisher, an X-Men villain (and now a member of the newest DarkerAndEdgier version of X-Force) with teleporting powers. His real name is Telford ("Telly") Porter. No, really.

** James '''Howl'''ett became the lupine-influenced feral superhero Wolverine. It's not as well known, as Wolverine's preferred civilian name is "Logan" a name given when he did Black Ops work for the government.

** Jubilation Lee. AKA, [[Characters/XMen90sMembers Jubilee]], a mutant with fireworks powers.

** Characters/{{Emma Frost|WhiteQueen}} is an interesting case. Her name is "Frost" and she dresses in white, but has ''telepathy''. Downplayed later when she gained a secondary mutation to turn into a diamond-like (or ''ice''-like) substance. In the mid-90s, she had a story arc with X-Men member [[Characters/MarvelComicsIceman Iceman]] in which she ended up inhabiting his brain for some time. The chances of a romantic relationship happening afterward were hinted at repeatedly, but the endless opportunities for kitschy fan names ran rampant, which is possibly why the relationship never materialized. And in ''Film/XMenFirstClass'', she is played by Creator/JanuaryJones, which sounds like a comic-book name.

* One of the later additions to the {{Runaways}} was a girl named Klara Plast with a GreenThumb power -- her name sounds like Chloroplast, the part of a plant responsible for photosynthesis.

** In ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'', when Stephen Strange introduces himself to [[ComicBook/SpiderMan Peter]] as "Doctor Strange", Peter assumes that it's Strange's CodeName and introduces himself as Spider-Man. Strange gives him a look that says SureLetsGoWithThat (in this case, ''both'' are true, as he is a former neurosurgeon).

** A new villain is named Echo [=DeMille=]. [[MakeMeWannaShout And his power is shouting.]]

* The incredibly subtly-named Fenix from ''VideoGame/StarCraft'', who goes through OnlyMostlyDead returning as a ManInTheMachine ([[spoiler:unfortunately KilledOffForReal in the expansion]].)

-->'''The Chick:''' [[Characters/XMen90sMembers Jubilee]], so called because she was born to Chinese-American hippies who named her "Jubilation Lee", so her mutant name was really convenient and it matched [[StuffBlowingUp her mutant power]] really well.

* Series lead writer for the TV adaptation of ''Literature/TheCousinsWarSeries'', ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_White_Queen_%28TV_series%29 The White Queen]]'', is named [[Characters/EmmaFrostWhiteQueen Emma Frost]].

* The UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis video game ''VideoGame/{{Contra}}'': Hard Corps (itself an example of this, a military take on the word "Hardcore", also referring to the game's legendary difficulty) has 2 selectable characters exemplifying this trope: Ray Poward (whose primary weapon is the classic Laser from the original Contra) and Brad Fang (a wolf-man).

* On ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'':

** Ember [=McLain=] has [[FlamingHair fire hair]], Penelope Spectra's a spectre, Nicolai Technus has a technology powers, Desiree, as a genie, grants desires, etc.

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